obtuse angle

Prelude : I am happy to upload this blog in commemoration of my 45 years of happy married life. Today I am entering the 46th anniversary with my adorable wife. It is a coincidence that this is my 45th blog. I thank everyone who has been reading my blogs. I upload my blogs every fortnight. Marriages are made in heaven. Is it? Now-a-days, marriages (or marriage ideas) are made in offices, pubs, streets, bus shelters, parks, (even) schools etc.. You name a place, there, marriage proposals are done. There was a Tamil drama long back, titled "Marriage made in saloon". But I for one, believe that 'marriages are made in heaven'. Though it appears to take place in various places (mentioned above), the seed is sown in heaven. It is predetermined 'there'. Marriage is an 'institution', which most of the present generation youngsters do not respect. They think marriage is a 'convenience'. They go further still and think there is no need for 'marri...

HABITS DIE HARD. It is generally true (and that is why it is an 'axiom'). But like every rule (or axiom) this too does have exceptions, right? For your ready reference, I give below some of the common habits that we have. biting fingernails/pen (they are supposed to be in deep thought...!) smoking (habit inculcated during school/college days) obsessive checking of phone (everybody does now) chewing gum ( cannot imagine some established players without chewing) timely eating (good habit) watching movies (depends on the movies) day-dreaming (yes, most of us do) procrastinating (except a few, almost all others do ) gossiping (no exception, I think) argumentative (Indians are supposed to be argumentative - as per economist Amartya Sen) fiddling with keys/paperweight (really irritating habit) (I too have this habit!) regular workout (good for us, but neglected by many) These are just a few of the common habits. No one can escape from having some of these habits (and s...

When we go to a crowded restaurant (where there is no reservation system), we may have to wait for a table. The occupants of the table would appear to us as monsters taking their sweet time to finish off their meals. It may look like, we are waiting for eternity! We will curse them in our mind. "Can they not finish their meals soon? How long do we have to wait? They do not have the courtesy to quickly finish and give way to people waiting for the table. What kind of people....?" Okay, now finally we get the table for us. During the course of taking our grub, there comes another group of people and waits for our table. "Why do they have to breath down our neck? We cannot even take our meals peacefully; what a pity?" - This is how we would grumble, right? We go out to a nearby place for some shopping, by walk. Very surprisingly so...! We did not follow the IMD report for the day. Suddenly it starts poring. We curse the rain as if we do not need rain for our surv...

Most of us (menfolk) would have at one point or the other must have gone through the experience (ordeal) of the wife selecting the 'matching blouse' for her saree! The saree selection would have consumed the whole day. Yet when your wife comes out of the shop, she would think that the saree worn by a passerby looks better (than her own selection)! Many men assiduously avoid such encounters (may be after one or two occasions!). There would be a myriad range of colors and designs (blouse material) arranged in the textile shops. But your wife will not be able to select the right color & design, out of the huge stock tirelessly shown by the sales person. The colors available will be rivaling that of the colors available with a paint manufacturer. So, do we have to invent more colors? Do we need more and more 'fashion designers'? I am really baffled....! People witness death everyday. At that moment we lament the insecurity and uncertainty of life ('the one who w...

Life is full of compromises. Without compromising on something, we cannot live our lives. We cannot be stubborn. We should not be rigid. A strong wind can break the 'moringa' tree, but cannot affect the 'bulrush' (usually found on the river banks) which will bend and withstand the strong wind. So, wherever needed we should be like the bulrush and survive the onslaught. That is the secret of survival in life. In any situation in life, we will be facing conflicting set of choices.We may have to choose the right options (the best possible), given the circumstances. That might not have been the ideal solution, but the 'best possible' one. When I give my clothes for stitching to my tailor, who is good in his work, he always delays the delivery of the finished apparel. He keeps postponing his 'delivery promise' at least 5 or 6 times. I normally like things to be delivered as per 'promise'. Remember, he is very good in his workmanship. If I want to...

Meryl Streep, the legendary American actress was 'rejected' in her first ever audition for the film King Kong. The director of the movie rejected her as 'she was too ugly' in his assessment. She did not take it lying down. She weathered all the storm and went on to become the most successful Hollywood actors of her time, bagging the Academy awards and Golden Globe awards several time. The 'rejection' should spur us on and not deflate us. Many people get totally devastated by a single rejection. Push me down 'n' times and I will get up 'n+1' times. That should be the attitude and we should work towards that relentlessly. Getting up from the fall and reaching 'lofty heights' is the best form of revenge we take to make the 'pushers' cringe and regret.... We in India have solid examples: the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan, the ever-green Hema Malini. Rejected initially for his tall frame (not suitable for Bollywood movies those days)...

Remember the legendary animation characters, 'Tom & Jerry'....? Who can forget....! One of the best loved characters in the cartoon series. (My favorite, actually). Without Tom, there is no Jerry and without Jerry, there is no Tom. They are made for each other (in fact, mad after each other!). Unless we have an adversary, to detract and derail us from our path, we will be naive and lie low. Faced with the difficulty brought in by our nemesis, we think of strategies to counter that and come up with brilliant ideas to surmount such difficulties and become victorious. The process makes us very strong, by unearthing our hidden and buried strengths. We become very strong eventually, ready to face even stronger problems (that might be posed by our detractors, in future). It is a never-ending process, making us stronger and stronger. For a hero to be glorified, there is a need for a villain. The stronger the antagonist, the protagonist becomes much more stronger. That is why ...