I was browsing through google images and found this. It is said to be a symbol of Chinese good luck.

I wish this year at least, brings a good luck to me. :)

Dollar Bahu

A story of a middle-class family of well-respected Sanskrit school teacher and a simple man, Shamanna and his wife who is a  home maker and a mother of three. Gouramma, very fond of reaching sky high forgets her boundary limits and day dreams of visiting the US of A if her kids settle down in an foreign country such that she could show off the richness of a Dollar against the Rupee. Meanwhile, she forgets that money can only buy materialistic comforts and also cause bitterness in relationships.

Their eldest son fulfills her dream settling down in the US and being an NRI, contributes the major finances to the family, while their younger son, a clerk at a bank, is married to a school teacher, Vinutha. Their second daughter-in-law, though not from an affluent family respects and takes cares of the family by supporting them financially and doing the household chores. Though, Vinu never says NO to Gouramma, she had always found fault in Vinu to make her feel inferior. The situation goes beyond control after the arrival of the eldest daughter-in-law from a very rich family. The gifts bought in "dollars" meant a lot more than the affection and love. Vinu, who had a golden voice had stopped singing since no one would ever appreciate.

Gouramma, who had always been longing eagerly to visit the US gets an opportunity to stay there for any year to look after the to-be-mother, her elder DIL.

She learns the lifestyle was entirely different though they hail from same country. How people change once they leave home and homeland. There was good and bad about the US. She meets most of her acquaintances from Bangalore, now well established in a foreign land, inviting her for lunch and dinner. While few narrate their journey so far was a pain, few express that the country had given them joy and success than the past.

The book is a must read if you are a mother-in-law.

Dollar Bahu was also produced as an Indian Television serial http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010930/spectrum/main5.htm  that gained a huge popularity.


© Manasa. All rights reserved.

Drafted on 9th Jan 2009

Sudha Murty shares her real life experiences as a teacher, a social worker, a mother and a wife. The book is a collection of short stories she records. When her grandmother requests her to teach how to read since she was very much fascinated by a weekly column in a magazine.

The author also writes the various incidents when people donate, they give away all their stuff which are not in a usable condition or unwanted.

Whenever you want to give something to somebody, give the best in you, never the second best. That is the best I have learned in life. God is not there in temple, mosque or church. He is with the people. If you serve them with whatever you have, you have served God.

Donate with kind words,
Donate with happiness,
Donate only to the needy,
Donate without expectation because it is not a gift. It is duty.
Donate with your wife's consent.
Donate to the other people without making your dependents helpless.
Donate without caring for caste, creed and religion.
Donate so that the receiver prospers.

What we preach, we should practice.

She also shares few of her personal incidents as how she reacted when her husband decides to start a company of his own and the money she saved was useful. The letter written to Tatas that their company did not want to employ women in a technical field.

Each incident is a valuable lesson. The book has been written in a simple, free flow language and with utmost honesty. :)

My Rating: 3.5/5

© Manasa. All rights reserved.

Just a couple of months I enjoy listening to music collection my iPod everyday traveling in the bus to office-home, I lost the ear cushions of my Sennheiser headphones. After an endless search to find a spare ear cushion, I learned that Sennheiser service was not available in Bangalore, none of the showrooms including Imagine or the shops at SP Road had. :(

I shot an email to the concerned person on their website and soon I was communicated that the spare ear cushions for the head phone model I own was available and that they would send it through courier on the receipt of an AT PAR cheque.


I was happy to see the quick service by Sennheiser. Now, I enjoy listening to the music again!

For any issues, they can be contacted at:

http://www.sennheiserindia.com/india/home_en.nsf/root/contact

Address:
Sennheiser Electronics India Pvt Ltd
Office No. 503, Midas Buliding,
Sahar Plaza Complex,
Andheri Kurla Road, Andheri-East,
Mumbai - 400 0059

PS: This has been second experience after the Vodafone Recharge.

Times have really changed for good.

© Manasa. All rights reserved.

I got an opportunity to capture the famous Indian Cricketer Anil Kumble on my camera last January amidst the huge at the am phi theatre at office. The pics were taken with full zoom of my camera. :)






On the podium, Kumble spoke of highs and lows in his career. His speech was great to listen. Off the field, Kumble is a photographer too.

© Manasa. All rights reserved.

Drafted in July 2007


The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
I completed reading this novel a couple of months back. The title is self explanatory: its all about a name.

Many may be named after our ancestors that sounds to be obsolete when heard of the modern names. Some named after favourite deities of their parents, some named after the popular actors, musicians, role-model, sports person or even an author.

I had written about my name here and here.

Most of us may know the meaning of our name. Isn't it? The meaning might be a smile, beautiful, youthful, energetic.... What if my name has no meaning at all? When someone asks, "What does your name mean?", "Why were you named so?" And the worst thing that: we don't don't what it really means! Or we were just named after grandparents which the modern youth don't understand.

The Bengali couple, Ashoke Ganguli and Ashima, blessed with a baby boy in the US are not aware that the infants are named at the time of their birth unlike in India where the infants are named after a couple of months after their birth. Without a birth certificate, the hospital wouldn't discharge Ashima and the new born. Meanwhile, Ashoke names his son, "Gogol", a Russian author Nikolaoi Gogol, his all time favourite author whose novel had saved his life. Ashoke was always grateful to Gogol. Gogol becomes a "good" name instead of a pet name.

Ashima and Ashoke decide to change their son's name to Nikhil but the young brat loves being called Gogol and the couple continue calling him as per the child's wish. On a fine day, during school excursion to a cemetery, kids roam across gazing at the graves along with their names and the life span of each person. Gogol realizes that his name was obsolete just like the dead person's name who lived during the 18th or 19th century. "A child's mind is like a clay". A clay retains the shape we give. Learning that his name has no meaning and obsolete, his heart is filled with mere hatred to his parents and regrets living with them.

Jhumpa Lahiri describes the lives of Indians abroad, their solitude and being selfish, how children desert aged parents once they settled down in life, children's attitude towards their parents when they attain teenage.

The author, Jhumpa Lahiri, is also called Nilanjana Sudeshna, which is her good name.

The identity of a person is not by his "name", by his deeds.

I rate: 4.5/5

I had been longing to write this post on my progress during the year 2009. There wasn't much I could achieve as the year brought in more frustrations.

I picked up the book: "I too had a love story" by Ravinder Singh. I am not fond of reading the love stories but was recommended by many avid readers. Having borrowed the book from a friend, finished reading this book at the earliest. :)

As many of us find jobs through networking sites like naukri.com and freshersworld.com, few of us do online transactions, making friends online through chatting, blogging or orkut, then why not find a life partner through matrimonial sites? The story kicks off with Ravinder registering for a mtrimonial site and his endless "show interests" on the gals profile he likes. One fine day, Khushi rings up and both chat for more than an hour. They share common interests and soon become close to each other in a short time though they haven't not seen each other. Two bodies and a single soul. Love has made them inseparable.

The author has written beautifully the emotions, respect for each other, the sense of caring and how they would long to see each other, how small things become so important, the silliest information they share... The last few pages brought tears and I couldn't stop myself from crying. A must read book.

I would rate : 4.5/5

© Manasa. All rights reserved.

Amazing effects. Shown that the life would end either by earth quakes or Tsunami waves and only spaceship could few human beings. :| I am wondering, how couldn't they find any other reasons for the end of life like comet hitting the Earth at a single sweep. :P

Watch this movie on a big screen and feel the shiver with chill pepsi in your hand. ;)

© Manasa. All rights reserved.