SpeakOut#21 - Marian's Tuesday Morning Motivator from Genesis 28:15 :)

This is an adapted version of a part of a conversation I had with Marian, my Coptic friend.

Marian -

Hello Alen. I missed chatting with you. I disappeared these days because I'm a little bit sick (cough and sore throat) but it is ok; but pray for me to be able to sleep because tonight was a horrible try to sleep and resulted in a very bad mood because I slept only for 5 minutes then woke up again coughing and so on!Wow! Do you know? For the first time I felt that I had to thank God, every time I wake up for having a quiet and peaceful hours of sleep. It really deserves to be done constantly because you can simply know how valuable this gift is when you miss it for sickness or troubled times like what I experienced lately. Anyways, I am fine. Don't worry! Just wanted to speak with you!
By the way, today a very nice verse attracted me and I wanted to share it with you. In Genesis 28:15, when Jacob was escaping from his brother Esau and meeting our Lord in a dream, this is what God told to him "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to his land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."
What wonderful words especially "I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you". Wow! They are very comforting and encouraging words that are worthy to be recited all the time. I felt how is God is faithful to us regardless if we are or not or we deserve it or not. Although Adam lost eternal life with his own will but through his words I feel God is addressing the whole mankind with this great promise "I won't let you perish or forsake you!" till I get you by any means back home! Isn't this an amazing promise?"
Whenever you feel down or disappointed, just rehearse these words slowly and experience their deepness. I ensure to you, whatever you meet in life and obstacles you may face, everything is under control. It has a purpose and leads finally to fulfill this promise. Nothing is happening by coincidence. Just try to watch how God manipulates everything in great wisdom, even if it doesn't seem to be like that. Don't worry about anything, just present all your concerns before Him. Trust him and let Him deal with them in His Own Way! May God be with you!

Alen -

Good morning. Thanks for your words  Pray that you get much better. God bless. 

Hello again  I was reading through your message again. I was reading through message again. It is true that we do not realise the gifts of the life God has given us until we miss it. I always remind myself to say thanks to God and go to sleep after saying the Jesus prayer.

and the thought you mentioned after it is really motivating  I hope I can remember this further in life and not forget it. 

Speakout#20 - Spiritual Self Pride & Ego

I've come across people who have a prayerful life or spiritual knowledge but often do not put it into actual use and turn it to wisdom but bloat about it and expect to float nicely in life and exhort their claimed prowess over whoever they want.

They think that they do all that is needed to satisfy the Almighty above and their deeds have brought the goodness around and no one else they co exist with have a hand in them with their actions.

These people have not tried to see everyone equally but judge everyone with prejudice. Their thoughts are the principles of life. Those who give heed to them blindly are blessed and the rest will meet trouble in their way soon. The Living God will punish whoever they feel won't go their way. At times, trouble does fall upon the ones they keep ill thoughts against and they take it as God's judgement and are pleased with it. Sadistic, they do not even think for a moment keeping ill thoughts lets evil play around too. Unfortunately, everything they do is justified.

These thoughts shared probably have a damp and negative aura surfacing but take a moment, reflect yourselves and recognise how much we ignore our faults while evaluating others for theirs every second and accuse them thinking 'because their fault is not as same as  mine so give them some cleansing, I'm fine'.

I believe Karma applies along with faith for a good spiritual life. Smile. Share goodness. Stop bickering just because things do not go the way you want. Stop forcing your burdening thoughts on others and make them drown.

SpeakOut#19 - What happened after I went to attend an exam in a different way? 'The hidden life changing experience'

Have you ever felt your sub consciousness or inner self? Have you ever felt the presence of a being unseen that is around you that takes care of you? A life changing experience.

I believe I have. The day I had my accident on the way to write my exam. The day when many people prayed for me.  The day when I gained consciousness uttering the Vespers without knowledge of the time and the place. That day.

I'm sharing here what I've shared to only some people and tried to share but couldn't to much more. The incident that changed me first without notice and which I realised later. Like every other good thing that happened to me in life.

Darkness. Moving in a void. Feeling that I'm being held safely. Smiling within. Feeling a presence that holds me from behind. Feeling warm. Feeling that I'm let go to wake up when ready. Feeling tears go down slowly and hear myself say 'Kurielaison'* and I sang

'Arhikkaatha nanmakalkkum enikkekidum daya nidhe... Yaachikkatha nanmakal polumee enikkekuvone sthuthi...'**

'You grant me your goodness which I don't deserve, O Merciful One... O One who has given me the goodness which I've never asked for, Glory to You...'**

Light enters. Eyes open slowly. Scanning the place. Silence.

I saw people lying unconscious in beds around. I realised I was in a hospital. A nurse came towards me suddenly saying something not clear. I started to hear then and I realised I heard myself talking along with her voice. I tried to concentrate and I heard myself saying a prayer which was from the Vespers.

I paused. I had come to realise I had an accident and I asked the nurse about what happened and where I was and the time. By the time, she was done explaining, another nurse came and inserted a syringe into my arm and I dozed off.

When I woke up later, I found myself repeatedly chanting Kurielaison*. Not stopping the chant, I looked around for anyone conscious from the patients and there was an old lady to my right side who lay looking into the space above and she noticed me and her eyes changed her direction towards me looking confused (probably from hearing the chants) and I smiled and took my turn to look at the space above for a while and close my eyes. Knowing that I had experienced something which I couldn't explain clearly in words but filled me with a spiritual re-awakening.

Like this, I woke up many a times feeling strengthened and renewed; chanting Kurielaison and a prayer which I had learned from Pampady Dayara*** which later I realised was the Jesus prayer.

This experience brought a spiritual growth in me and a new way in how I saw the spiritual life which I probably had as an acquired knowledge but not being able to use it earlier.

Glory be to God. Kurielaison. God bless us +

*A greed word meaning 'Lord, have mercy upon us' used often in Orthodox Prayers.

** Lines from a Malayalam Christian devotional song.called 'Nanniyode Njan Sthuthi Paadidum'
*** A monastic ashram in Pampady, Kottayam built by Late Kuriakose Mar Gregorios a.k.a. Pampady Thirumeni, a bishop from the Indian Orthodox Church.

SpeakOut#18 - Spending time with Children with no Inhibitions! Part 2

And like we said, we came to M. G. M. Bethany Shanti Bhavan the next day!

Again, the children overwhelmed us by taking us into their home. All of us wondered how we could spend time with the children, whether it would be helping them out with some activity or playing games with them. What we found there however was a cultural program all prepared already by the children there and all we were asked to do is to sit and watch and be among them as they performed.

At that moment, I realised we call them 'differently abled'. It is not because their skills or abilities are a level lesser than anyone else's but because they have much different talents and skills from a normal person.

There were singers like nightingales among them! There were dancers who moved to the rhythm of music so beautifully where if we had tried we would have looked like crazy ducks dancing to the sight of water! There were state level volleyball and throwball players amongst them! We just couldn't cover their list of talents. They were great!

We talked to them and discussed about ourselves and they were so keen in making more friends. After executing the befriending task, they took us around their school showing different places where they are taught, what they do and can do. While most of us say do or learn what you have an interest for yet we learn the most usual and boring of things which is basically stuff that is taught from a syllabus at school. However, they were taught according to their skills and talents which they had and those which they could improve.

 We had a play time where we played throwball with them and they won ;) and also other games! It felt so good spending time doing the most innocent of things, playing like a child. It brought us back a gift we had felt long back and lost in the course of time.

While leaving, the children there were confused learning that we planned to leave at the end of the day. They concluded by their innocence that 'ofcourse they have to go home but they would be back here the next day, wouldn't they?'. None of us had the mind to break their heart so we said we would be back soon. Yet, the brightest and smallest of them all, Appu knew what was happening and she left us with her face swelling up due to the rush of feelings but she came back to see us again. When our bus started moving, she did shout a couple of times and when tears filled her again, she left running away.

Ofcourse, we knew this would happen from the way she was with us and binded with us from her visit at college. Yes, Appu was the star among the representatives who came to visit us the previous day. A couple of us left the bus and went back to the school with a huge pack of chocolates and found her at a corner sitting and not wanting to talk. The sisters called her and told to see who had come but she wouldnt wanna see anyone again who would  leave them so soon. But then when we called, she recognised the voices and came back bursting with a huge smile and we gave her the chocolates and told her to share it with her friends at school till the next time we returned. Her face was gleaming and it was a sweetening touch to a hard goodbye until next time.

And I would like to repeat again,

We met kids with no inhibitions; knowing only to love and share! Many moments of wonder, joy and care! Children with many talents who weren't afraid to show it! Giving away what they have to one another which made the world around them look so fair! 

God bless them :)

SpeakOut#17 - Spending time with Children with no Inhibitions! Part 1

Last year at June, my friends and I from college shared a very touching experience in life when we went to spend time with diffrently abled children at the M. G. M. Bethany Shanti Bhavan, Kadamankulam, a place near Mallapally, Pathanamthitta, Kerala. 

M. G. M. Bethany Shanti Bhavan, Kadamankulam

It was part of a Community Outreach Intiative we took from our department at college as our first activity for the year. The thought of doing a good deed and using our time for such an activity itself inspired us to search around for a place which could show students different ways of life. And so we found out M. G. M. Bethany Shanti Bhavan.

Like usual work done around, we collected contributions from well wishers and students and provided the children  with study materials at the School run by the Shanti Bhavan according to their needs. Something we that we learnt at the school was that there is much more value and good done by spending time with the children and being a part of their life than just providing books and pencils. This was also voiced out by Sister Mercilette, the In charge of the Bhavan who we were in touch with; when she came to visit us at college after receiving our invite.

These kids do not need sympathy from you. What they need is your empathy. They are no different from us being God's children. We are all talented in different ways. - Sister Mercilette

Sister Mercilette had a surprise for us when she came to see us first at college. She brought her representatives along from the School. Five cheerful and bubbly students :) They befriended us so fast when we thought we would have to approach them and make the attempt first. These kids were so cheerful that it was a burst of smiles and happiness everywhere at the department that day! After welcoming them to our college, we promised them we would go and meet the rest of the children at their School the next day and made the trip as said.

We met kids with no inhibitions; knowing only to love and share! Many moments of wonder, joy and care! Individuals with many talents who werent afraid to show it!

SpeakOut#16 - The different way I went to attend an exam

My final semester University exams began on April 15th.

I won't be attending it this time though because I had an accident the same day it started.
I made a move so a car that came my way wouldn't hit me or a man walking aside wouldn't get hit. 

Both of them were safe. It gave me a head injury which wasn't massive.
Damage is inside. Skull crack and blood clot. Just abrasions on head and hand.

I got admitted to a hospital for 5 days through which I missed 3 papers.

The news spread fast and from the moment I was taken for treatment, my relatives and friends kept getting so many calls.
My parents were broken at the moment then. They're fine now. 

I brought a major shock to a lot of people. They kept telling me that.

My smile assured a lot of people that I would be fine. 

That's what got everyone along in between when I was shifted from hospitals after the accident.

I opened my eyes and I saw all my relatives and friends together and smiled at them and said Hi and asked how they were doing. It made them happy so they knew it wouldn't be all bad.

Everyone said I'm doing well because of a multitude of prayers.

It was only when I gained consciousness in the ICU that I realised what had happened completely.

Amma was all distraught when she was in Abu Dhabi. She reached here fine, thanks to our relatives and friends and her co-workers there. When she got to see me in ICU and saw me smile and identify her even when she was covered in mask, I believe She understood I'll be fine.
Appa was stuck in between the rush too but thanks to our relatives again, he did well too.

Hehe, all my friends and family kept telling my parents that too many good things kept happening to me so 'aarandu kannu vechatha'* (hehe) but yes, it hasn't gone critical due to God's grace and all the prayers which are still coming.

I was like some guy in some inspirational comedy movie when I woke up in the ICU realising what all happened and experiencing the after effects (hehe). I wish someone would have recorded all the things I remembered and I did in the ICU and stuff. It really made me and whoever heard me smile.

Because of all this, in the ICU I realised how precious my life is by not what it means to me what how it means to others I guess.

I understood my family and friends and teachers meant a lot to me when I remember how happy I was when I saw them during the shift from a hospital.

I remember I do have a spiritual self when I woke up in the ICU actually praying halfway and finishing it.

I understood although I'm scared of death, my death is of no meaning to me but it worries me only cos Ill miss everyone else.

And about my studies, well in a minute's matter I remembered I do have time but how much I will do later is not sure.

I know I want to speak more but some words are missing from my mind.

(I've been having some words forgotten from my usual usage ever since the accident. It will take time.)

I know my friends and family are my inspiration now.
These moments are rare and I feel that this was all meant to happen.
Thank God. Thanks to everyone's prayer and care. Keep doing it. :) I will too.

SpeakOut#15 - Back with a Rebrand

I'm making an attempt again to get back to blogging after the huge writer's block that put me down.

I moved my blog here as part of renewing myself. After all, it is a new year.

I'll be sharing experiences that I came across earlier but couldn't share in time.

Anyways, food for thought.

A while back, I was sharing an inspirational message written by my friend Obed from Philippines who is a young prodigy who voices his opinions for cultural excellence for the youth and his nation. I've mentioned him earlier in one of my posts.

Anyways, I shared his message among some groups online to give the inspiration I felt but what I received from one of the groups was a comment from a person that 'did I have only to share about some Filipino and  had I not heard about Gandhi and A. P. J. Kalam?'. This disappointed me because there I was trying to share something to give a thought and brighten one's evening and he foiled the initiative probably to prove what? His hypocrisy, maybe.

To inspire someone or share such a work doesn't need to be done by all the huge life figures we have always heard in life. It can be done by anybody who does a good work. Your family, friends and people around you. The chances are endless. Promote it.

P. S. Here's the link to Obed's message. <- Click

Poem#10- The Journey, Its Lesson

its raining, its cold
the wind surrounds me, but still i can feel the light
its the change thats coming, the change in seasons,
its still dark and cold, but i aint staying in fright

i dont declare that i'm great
nor try to persuade that i'm something more or less
all i need are your prayers, a great deal of them,
that i be by God and you, so blessed

i'm in a journey
where its fatigue i have and no sleep
because its revival i search for,
i'm commited for it, and that i'll reap

those demons of time,
who come and creep
so jobless, they want me down
but i've learned more, felt whats there down deep

i'm prepared, they can't do anything
they'll just try and have to whine,
because i've fought and will more,
its with even bigger trouble with which, i've dined

i can feel it getting warmer
do you think its becoming fine?
i know that i've travelled a lot and enough
but still i'm not sure, am i near the finish line?

its springtime now,
its done, now i'll be free
the time, the moment,
has come, most awaited by me

welcome, the sunshine says
and now i can last
for long with peace,
not being called again by my past

your prayers, my will
thats what brought me here,
you were the one, that made my will,
yes its true, dear

it was a hard time to learn, that all
what was needed was something forgetten in this world
something that needed to be followed by everyone,
but not jus preached by word

it is what, that i claim
that i have for her,
but has to be given,
to everyone, starting from my misunderstood brother

all i want now,
is that others see their spring too,
suffer less than i did,
but reach their destination, along with learning the truths

SpeakOut#14 - Kerala becoming the new work destination?

Sunday, June 3, 2012

I used to say always that Keralites would be the only people to inhabit their own land by majority and yet migrate to other lands and grow out whether in India or abroad for work and settlement.

I never thought there would be a day when my opinion would change. Alas! it has changed.

Wherever I go now, I notice people from outside the state. Although majority of the migrants are from the neighboring states which is not a new thing around the country, I for one person never thought it could happen. It must be the labour-starvation that made this happen, but even the white-collar job hunt is going on here from outside.

Even as I was having tea outside at a hotel this morning and brooding over this matter, two people next to me started to converse after having their food and I realised they were outsiders too.

Call it my weird Keralite pride! Somehow this has made me happy that people from outside come here to work. Plus, a lot of people here can start learning other languages and dealing with people from all kinds.

But now I wonder whether a day will come when Keralites will complain about their work being stolen here?

News I came across #2 - Zurker, a new SocialNetwork

Friday, May 11, 2012

So a few days back, I came across this site called Zurker which my friend referred me to.

It appears, this is the latest rival in the SocialNetwork field created by the twins from whom Mark Zuckerburg stole the idea of Facebook.

As Zurker is in beta test at the moment, you can only join on referral.
Want to checkout Zurker? then check my referral http://www.zurker.net/i-79306-jdjymwayun

What is great about Zurker is that it claims to make all new members shareholders of its site! YEP, you gain a share in this site when you're a member and you can grow them more by referring it to more people!

BUT I DONT BELIEVE ANY OF IT AND IT FAILED TO IMPRESS ME!

SpeakOut#13 - Bonding over a cup of coffee :)

Sunday, May 6, 2012

It may be at the movies. At the bowling center. A hangout at home or outside. At the usual cafe.
While shopping. Over a coffee. Over some pizza. During a ride. May be just a get together where you get back to your crazy self. And not to forget, chatting!

There is always a standard setup which gets you bond with a person anew. It also applies to get back with your friends to return you to your normal self from your stress filled day or to refill the gap when meeting after a really long time.

I've felt this is why we keep our hang-outs because they help you to be yourselves with your people and even relive your good times even when things dont feel like anything possible as such (only in the most drastic cases of one's life).

During high-school, my friends and I used to meet up at any of the usual cafes or at our friend's place.
During college, its been usually at the college canteen or at a shop near the ashram that runs our college or just at anyone's house.

You can open up about what you felt that day or during previous ones.
Make new friends and concrete the foundation on something you built new.
Laugh about memories and smile with them recovering from those that pinched you before.

Do you want to have a cup of coffee? :)

SpeakOut#12 - Always think before you judge?

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Always talking from your own experiences is the most authentic source perhaps for a person to convince others or teach others.

 I chose that method recently when I had to talk or express my ideas. In my last blog citing incidents at the airport, I pointed out about not passing me as one who is judgemental.

Why? It is so because all of us tend to judge others without giving a thorough thought. A day before leaving for U.A.E. last month, I was chilling with my friends after getting done with an exam and we get onto the topic of me leaving for holidays. A friend then joked teasingly saying 'so Alen returns to Abu Dhabi finally as a Man eh?' to which I replied 'Haha, yeah right. I was man enough when I had come here. What is it that you have done which I haven't man?'.
He gave me a reply which although didn't fit the topic gave me a thought as hard as a brick hitting my head. A thought which brought me back to earth.
He answered 'I felt the comfort of running tap water recently, have you?'


Everyday in his life, my friend had to draw water from the well till the bucket went full and carry it to his
house whether he needed it to drink or for something else; until recently when he installed a motor and could just open the tap to get water. It was a new thing in his life.

Such a feeling isn't known to most of us who blindly get anything with ease when we need it.


Although my question to him was not meant seriously in the slightest manner, it reminded me how we go on to judge about how others are, what they do, how we are better, how some people behave etc. but our conclusions aren't always true.

'To put yourself in another's shoe' is a phrase that we could profess than proceeding to judge someone.

GoodToListen#2 - Beethoven's 5 Secrets - OneRepublic (Cello/Orchestral Cover) - The Piano Guys

although I do have some songs lined up to share and pending, I felt this had to be shared ASAP!

an amazing rendition.

SpeakOut#11 - Peculiar people I saw at the Airport

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

So three days back, I was unloading myself and my bags from an auto early at 5 in the morning, the sun still away from the horizons of Trivandrum. Yet the people were awake and living around the city. The airport looked busier than it usually did during the day and so I guessed that it was probably the prime time for the airport.

I was excited about going to Abu Dhabi finally after a year and that made me anxious about how I fare through the airport procedures without having a problem. Due to that cautiousness, I noticed how the people, the crowds around me that walked in general turned to peculiar characters in the flight to Sharjah which I was going to board.

There was a man who struggles to speak English and yet asks the lady at the airport cafe in English while she replies nicely in Malayalam. He stuck to talking English still and made her reply struggling too. She speaks better yet the whole thing looked awkward. In the end he inquired of every price there and bought cheap thinking he did good  but still managed to wipe out his budget.

There was a lady around her 50s who did not know to speak a word or write other than from Malayalam. She got around the whole way by talking and it seemed like it was all she did. Everything that she found hard to do, she accomplished it by complaining or shouting around the passengers who would then oblige to do it for her. It was evident by this that where she was going, it was for household work and I wondered if she would get her work done there by talking alone too.

Keralites, as we ourselves have noticed, are people who mostly find it hard to do certain jobs because it doesn't stand upto their statuses yet go abroad to find themselves work for all those things they didn't like to go for at their native place.

Another person I noticed was a man who with his wife and 3 children was stopped at the last scanning area before the boarding gate because he had 3 huge family size bottles of water in his bagpack. It is against rules to carry liquid above 100ml and here this guy had 3 huge bottles. The guy reasoned by saying it was for his young daughter. The security then allowed them to carry a bottle however the man still persisted on wanting to carry 3 bottles! He finally took a bottle and left after the security repeated his offer several times even when he didn't need to.

That man even after being given a good offer although he was the one in violation still couldn't accept it when he was the one doing the wrong.

Don't pass me as judgemental. This is how we can notice things around and at times we can see bits of ourselves around through these things and even probably keep such incidents as reminders and mend ourselves. It was quite amusing to watch them too as I had nothing else to do other than passing off the airport procedures which was not much work.

SpeakOut#10 - Easter Resolution!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

I'm a very restless person. Cranky and grumpy infact lots of times. Resulted due to a habit of shoving away things that bother me.
Earlier, I was very good at shutting it inside and letting me and myself interfere with my problems and finish it. That was, however, plain burying it down somewhere until it came back to bug me real bad.
Then I learned to express it out somehow and it has been a good way to vent out, although keeping it inside or letting it out later still gives me a big headache for a while.
I had noticed that it gave me a bonus to burdens by adding a lot of stress to my face and body. I've only looked older because of it and that should prove how many changes one goes through in looks by stress alone.
However, by God's grace the smile my face can put up has been bigger than ever. He probably let me have that one thing to put down these problems.
I've realised that dealing with it at the earliest chance and clearing my mind from these unnecessary pounds of waste can take off a great deal of weight from my heart and wrinkles of my face. Talk about an effective anti-aging process along with those anti-oxidants from wine and ketchup :)

Why a resolution now and not one for New Years? Why hopes up for this resolution?
I'll work for this resolution from Easter because it is something way more special to me than New-Year's.
An oath taken between myself and God to keep the lent and reach the special day. I can finish that.

One of the mini-hurdles accomplished in life with ease, I can say for He is with me always.
So I keep another one for Him and me. Looking forward to accomplishing this effectively.
A good deed done to others along to myself hehe. May God be with us all.
Happy Easter! Our Lord has risen!

Our Lord has risen! Hallelujah!

SpeakOut#9 - Covering up for Memories that should have belonged to Childhood (2/2)

Saturday, April 7, 2012

So this is what Aaron found the other day. Owlets from our relative's place!

The Super Cool Owl Pose

I was happy that he had thought of getting the pictures. What a great sight, they are.
Their mother was confident with her kids being with them, since she was keeping watch from a tree.
Much better, one of them even nipped at Aaron's finger when he tried to play. Reason why Owl Mum was fine!

Another incident that was good recently was how I learned to roast cashew nuts after plucking cashew fruits from the tree and biting them carefully, sipping the juice from it while trying to light a furnace in an old flower pot haha. My friends Riyas and Arun were those who introduced me to this very prevalent pastime amongst kids and elders alike in India who have come across a cashew tree. Shame, I noticed it in my backyard only when they came here hehe.

Riyas getting the cashews down!

Arun with his prized Cashew Fruit

One for y'all to see

(More pictures coming soon!)

They say the whole neighborhood gets to know if you're roasting cashew nuts... as if the aroma gets faster than sound! The aroma was fresh and different too! Especially when the nuts hiss in the fire when the oil within leaves and calls you to inform that it is about to be ready :D Yummy!

Pictures like this can settle my point well, how one's Childhood can be great at the countryside here. It would be great if you can get your company from the surroundings and even better if you've got people along.

GoodToListen#1 - Saari Raat by Noori from Coke Studio, Season 2

Gonna stay as one of my favorites!  The kind where you sit alone and listen to it in your huge headphones as you go immersing yourself in an amazing potpourri

SpeakOut#8 - Eye-Openers from Idukki Forest Reserves (3/3)

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Dams in Idukki are signatures of man's power with science at such an early time. From the classes given by our Forest Ranger, I learned that help to built the Idukki Arch Dam was given from the Government of Canada. We were also told that even though the advancement in technology has taken a very vast stride in the past years, at the time of emergency when the shutters of the dam have to be opened, engineers from Canada have to be called to operate the equipment there as the ones in India do not know yet how to operate them. I considered that as a careless remark though.

The Idukki Arch Dam, Cheruthoni Dam and Kulamavu Dam (which lies distant) together created an artifical lake that is 60 square km! (which is a really really huge size for those who aren't bothered by numbers).

Cheruthoni Dam, at a bird's eye view. 

Walk from the Forest Office, Vellapara for around 2-4 kms towards Idukki town, there is a diversion leading to the Hills View Park &amp; Govt Guest House, Idukki. Closing in towards the end of the walk, first, we saw a small monument stating the name of the emissary from Canada who had come and stayed for the construction of the Dams. A training area by the Indian Navy for professional divers is also situated here. Walk a bit more and you can find the entry gate to the Cheruthoni Dam where access is strictly prohibited without permission.

Cheruthoni Dam from within the Artificial Lake

                               
We were in luck as our teachers had already obtained necessary permits to visit the dam. It is a very long walk from that gate where you cover the Cheruthoni Dam and marvel at the structure and view around the artificial lake and then reach the other side of the dam. This leads to the Kuravan Mala* where you've another long walk to the Idukki Arch Dam and then through a tunnel through Kuravathi Mala you can exit out at another side of Idukki. Signs of architecture were seen around these mountains. I had no count on how long that walk was but it was extremely tiring in the heat that day; but it payed off from the sight of power one could see with which the Idukki Arch Dam holds the water. Unfortunately, everywhere there Photography is strictly prohibited.

Myth has it that when Sita was bathing in the river of Periyar, a tribal couple called KuravanKuravathi saw her bathing (not knowing it was a wrong). When Sita saw them, she screamed for help. Lord Rama who came in a fit of rage cursed them to turn into separate mountains for eternity. The KuravanKuravathi couple pleaded innocent and explained and Lord Rama realised the mistake. However since the curse was made, Lord Rama promised them that during KaliYug, they would be united again by man. Although this didn't sound like logic to us in the first case for Sita having made a huge deal out of it, the Idukki Arch Dam which was built between the Kuravan and Kuravathi mountains thus joining them; proved this to become true apparently.

The Kuruvan &amp; Kuravathi Mountains joined by the Idukki Arch Dam.
Picture from www.subups.blogspot.com

If you keep walking without turning for the Cheruthoni Dam Gate, you reach the Hills View Park &amp; Govt. Guest House, Idukki. The view from the Hills View Park (and the Govt. Guest House that border each other) of the Cheruthoni and Idukki Arch Dam is a breathtaker. The Hills View Park is also a great picnic spot for families with a huge pond within it which reminded me of the beach.

View of the Artificial Lake

The view of the Artificial Lake.
At the center, Idukki Arch Dam.
To the left out of sight, Cheruthoni Dam is situated.

Pond within Hills View Park

Government Guest House, Idukki

Note : Mala - Mountain
A detailed official description of these dams can be found at http://www.theindia.info/travel/idukkidam.htm

SpeakOut#7 - Covering up for Memories that should have belonged to Childhood (1/2)

Your childhood memories can be your constant resort to revive your happiness and they can be awesome especially if you had it in India. Sure not all can have it same, but I've always wished I had something to remember as such from India.

My childhood spent in India was only when I used to come for summer/winter vacations from Abu Dhabi and they would flash by so fast since it would be just a lot of visits made to many relatives.
I was brought up in Abu Dhabi, U. A. E. Since my parents used to work and I had my younger brother along, we seldom used to go out to play and would rather be at home or baby sitting when we were very small. A part of the reason why I was stuck at home was because I guess I looked out to make the most from within the apartment because all my fun and frolic came from the visits my cousins used to make. I had a lot of big brothers and sisters to look up to then and they were all the fun I wanted then. Other than that my constant joy was at Church from what I can remember. I miss the fun and happiness which both my cousins and Church used to give me.

However, this pretty much proves that I'm not much of an outdoor/sports person while my brother, Aaron is the opposite to this. He loves to go outdoors and catches the fun there and has covered up for all the time lost so in Abu Dhabi by using it here. Dislocated an arm after falling while climbing a tree, roamed around fields and played around, made good acquaintances and also does a lot of pastimes which I joined along with too.

Eating from the Chambakka Tree has been one of them (which used to happen even during vacations). Another thing to point out (or which you would have already deduced) is that I'm an avid eater more than a writer, reader or traveller.

When it is hot and I've nothing to do, I go to my backyard and look around. Checking if there is something I want to do like tend to the animals (Appa* has made it quite a small farm out here)

or walk around and watch the activity around silently, I go to the Chambakka tree to pay my homage and search for the  reddest chambakkas and eat a few, relish them especially if it is after a fast rain to feel the cold and moist but tangy taste charge me. Once that is done and I've summarised to myself that all is good, I go back inside my den to cool off.

Note : *Appa - Father

SpeakOut#6 - Eye-Openers from Idukki Forest Reserves (2/3)

As we came to our place of stay at Vellapara and went in and around the forest at Idukki what we noticed was we couldn't spot any wild animals of any sort except a blue parrot and green spider, but we saw a lot of dried up and burnt shrubs, plants and even trees. At first it didn't click to our slow minds that what we were seeing were huge wounds to an ailing forest. The weather was extremely hot once it was mid-day so it didn't occur to us but later seeing burnt trees at a lot of places, it hit me like a brick on my head that this could only be man-made. Suddenly the reason why all the signboards and constant repetitions to fight against forest fires dawned upon me. Forest Fires are 90% man made!
A talk with our Forest Ranger in charge enlightened us on the situation of how ignorant people set fire to these areas for personal purposes to try bring around some kind of cultivation or to protest against the authorities for wrong reasons. Another sad thing I realised was that this problem wasn't confined just here but everywhere.

Peermade, another beautiful hill range in Idukki that borders Kottayam (i.e. where I come from) is one of the picturesque beauties where we camped for a week last December as part of the NSS activities. Even there one morning, we spotted a fire but I thought that it was done on private land so it didn't bother me much, but then I realised from Vellapara that the situation was all same around and  that land was not private.

What these people do not realise is that they're setting fire to human lives along with this, maybe not directly on themselves but to their children who will suffer later from a weak and dying environment that has lost its ties with man. The Keralite's disinterest in involving with nature is already seen by the dependency on Tamil Nadu's vegetable and fruit produce. After the MullaPeriyar problem however the warning bells sounded loud and clear and even I have started working a bit in the backyard with my father at times who loves tending to his land in his spare time.

Anyways, back to the Reserves, it isn't that all is lost at Idukki. It still keeps its beauty despite the damage, with the variety in landscapes and trees and waters held around. It is a sight from heaven when you're there early morning. At the end of our stay, we were asked if anything caught our attention here and what we could do for nature. My answer was the Dams and the Forest Fires and that I'm not the activist who could run around demanding changes but I can help make people aware from the contacts I have and the media I use to interact with people. Word of Mouth and the Internet.

SpeakOut#5 - Motivation to my comeback, Obed De La Cruz

I've a friend on facebook called Obed De La Cruz from Philippines who is a brilliant guy. I met him on www.poemhunter.com, a site where you post your poems for people to read, share and get reviews from.
Talking with him after a long time and getting to know about his accomplishments till now gave me the push I needed for a long time to respond to the urge and get back on this blog.

Obed De La Cruz writes beautiful poems and is a guy who voices for cultural excellence amongst students and his nation and more. You can catch him from www.obed-dela-cruz.blogspot.com God bless him!

News I came across #1 - Coping with autism, a poorly understood disorder from IBNLive

I read this today. All I knew the most about autism was from the movie 'My Name is Khan' and I realised that that was nothing.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/coping-with-autism-a-poorly-understood-disorder/244884-17.html

SpeakOut#4 - Stay at the Idukki Forest Reserves

The place where we stayed for this visit was at the Forest Office's Educational Centre at Vellapara, Idukki built for students like us who come to learn from the place. It was very simple, neat and nice place with two big rooms for accommodating the visitors 'male' and 'female' and a hall for lectures, classes and movies on nature. The kitchen was kept outside and so was the dining area which made the dining part of our visit entertaining with our jokes around and letting us view the landscape around while eating. These were basically the places of our main interest at our place of stay. One can see the Cheruthoni Dam from where we stayed.

The one thing unusual to us were the early morning trips to the terrace to do Yoga.  The main officer in charge of the Forest Office there made it a must that everyone who came there had to involve in Yoga to realise the grand experience that relaxes your body and does the repair and maintenance of your body.

However that was of no interest to quite some lazybums like me. I didn't quit the practise anyhow.

I can say proudly I loved the asana where you lie on your stomach just like how you sleep and snore on your bed in a cold morning hearing the birds chirp and the smell of the dirt on the land which comes when it goes moist from the morning dew.

SpeakOut#3 - Eye-openers from the Idukki Forest Reserves (1/3)

Around the end of February this year, the group of students including those from the NSS (a student organisation) and Zoology students from our College went for a Nature Camp to Idukki, Kerala.
I've been to Idukki many times but this trip made me realise that the places there where I've been to were merely the sides to it and there then I saw the centre of it.
Idukki has a huge part of Kerala's forest reserves, lying in the Western Ghats. Although on the way, you can see some of it, abandoning the road and going into the green side will only help you actually see the forest, its huge untouched haven of life that resonates peace and a prize to watch a lot of things beautiful move around with life which you cannot do without keeping silence. The Western Ghats as a whole is a breathtaker!

Photography by NA Naseer.
https://www.facebook.com/naNaseer

Another good thing to watch out in Idukki is its dams. Idukki has a lot of dams that hold the waters of Kerala that power up our state, and also feed another. It was these dams that actually caught my attention the most from this trip.
What look like natural reservoirs are actually manmade structures that not just hold water from a very vast area stretching around kilometres but create power from it that benefits millions of people. The MullaPeriyar Dam, Idukki Dam and Cheruthoni Dam are the prime from these dams which are actually the current topic for talk amongst common people, activists and governments. About that, I'll explain another time.

Idukki Dam sight from Hills View Park, Idukki

Poem#25 - Your Burdens My Sorrows III

so this i write
completely unto thee
thee are rather those
the dear ones close to me

i stay here, happy to serve as someone
as always with who you can confide
cause thats my purpose i see
a keen listener, the dear friend, i provide

ill be there for you
to share your pain
to double your happiness too
wanna play in the rain?

i stay here, happy to serve as someone
as always with who you can confide
cause thats my purpose i see
a keen listener, the dear friend, i provide

ive put down my time
all for you all,
to talk about and settle
stuff about your rise and fall

i stay here, happy to serve as someone
as always with who you can confide
cause thats my purpose i see
a keen listener, the dear friend, i provide

i might be left alone
i might be swept along the raging tides
but whatever it is, if youre alone
unlike the others, in darkness i shall not hide

i stay here, happy to serve as someone
as always with who you can confide
cause thats my purpose i see
a keen listener, the dear friend, i provide

Poem#24 - No-one's Great just by their Stupid Fights

where is the love
why these fights
fights that last way longer
than the 101 arabian nights

fight cause he aint family
yet fight with kith and kin
fight cause he's religiously different
fight cause his color aint the one on your skin

fight cause you aint better
or fight cause you feel pristine
rather why dont you teach him
whats his cloud's silver line

such helping hands can work
how could they bring you defect
if doubts and hates, you for no reason make
you lose your own respect

all these fights for pride
makes your shine fade away so far
have the guts to chill and make others better?
then thats how you become the shining star

Poem#23 - To Be as Perfect as you can, Never Utopian

you call me utopian?
then how is it that we've God?
dont give such clueless talk
like a kid says, only Superman can bend that rod

life is flawless as it can be
if you keep time to spare
dont sit and talk, brew negative thoughts
and create in everyone, despair

like i said, life is flawless it can be
if there is time to spare
sew those torn up spots in life
live pretty decent in your wonderful flair

pray to live life as beautiful
as the strongest of blues in the sky
like the clouds, snow white
that you may feel they might blind your eye

i dont say always go out and play in the rain
who knows if then lightning strikes on your head
but if theres something good, that would make you happy
try it, why fear to tread?