Author: Natarajan

Bhagavad Gita …A Management Guru……

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Borrowing From Antiquity…..
source::::: Article by Naresh Wadhwa in Silicon india net …..

Natarajan

My wife often tells me I spend more time in airport lounges and on board aircraft than I do at our home in Mumbai. I would imagine that is true for every modern-day leader, as they fly from one meeting to another, crisscrossing the world at dizzying frequencies. My constant companions during the innumerable flights every week are my books: whether in hardbound, paperback, or in their digital avatar on my iPad. But what really surprises me every time I read about the concepts and theories of modern-day management gurus is how many of the issues have been discussed and addressed in a book that is rarely seen as a management book. What surprises me even more is the fact that this book was not written in the last century, or even the last millennium. Yet, its true essence remains as relevant today as it was on the turbulent day its two protagonists began the conversation that was to turn into the Bhagavad Gita.

The Corporate Karma

In a volatile business environment that changes by the hour, even the most focused organizations and leaders can be tempted off course. The corporate battlefield is strewn with the remains of companies once deemed too big to fail, struck down by competition or circumstances, or both. Lured by the false hopes of short-cuts to glory and glitter, once hallowed logos and corporate reputations today lies in tatters. As the recent years have shown, the ones that survived are the ones that have often chosen a tough trek through adverse climate rather than a cushy elevator ride to the top. In most cases, the ones that have emerged unscathed through the recent crises are the ones that chose unglamorous prudence over flashy recklessness and arrogance.

Ancient Indian wisdom and the teachings of the Bhagavada Gita tell us that our results follow from our actions. Good actions today will give us good results tomorrow. Similarly, for companies, performance in line with the needs of its key stakeholders – clients, employees, investors, and communities – will result in profitability and sustainability. The story that keeps coming to my mind in this context is that of 1,400 year-old Japanese construction company named Kongo Gumi. This family-held temple construction company had been in continuous operation since the year 578, with an enviable run of more than 1,400 years. It had weathered countless domestic upheavals and global turmoil, even temporarily shifting production to make coffins during World War II. Internally, the company had a robust yet flexible succession policy in practice, with its last president being the 40th member of the family to lead the company. The unraveling of this venerable organization began somewhere in the 1980s, when, uncharacteristically, Kongo Gumi started to borrow heavily to invest in real estate. The real estate bust that followed in the 1990s in Japan left the company with a mountain of debt and a pile of assets that had lost most of its value. To make matter worse, business in its core market, temple construction, dived off a cliff roughly around the same point of time. Revenues plunged and the firm was left with an unserviceable debt portfolio. By 2006, Kongo Gumi had been liquidated and absorbed into another Japanese organization.

A leader is only as good as his or her team and the people who form the links of the hierarchical chain. In a utopian world, every team member is perfect and they are perfectly aligned to roles tailor-made for them. In reality, we operate in a volatile and uncertain world characterized by complexity and ambiguity. Most organizations are locked in a constant search for the right employees and consequently countless studies and reams of pages in management manuals have been devoted to decoding human behavior. Interestingly, thousands of years ago, the Bhagavad Gita seems to have sorted out human characteristics, when it mentioned four types of ‘followers’: those seeking respite from distress, those looking for wealth, those who are inquisitive, and those looking for the ultimate and absolute knowledge. Fast forward to present times and, somehow, this classification seems similar to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, whichseeks to segregate individuals by their needs: Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Love and Belonging Needs, Esteem Needs, and Self-Actualization Needs.

Yes, the classification in the Bhagavad Gita may not exactly match the needs and desires of today’s knowledge workers but the fact remains that most modern day organizational structures focus much of their time and energy in fostering organizational harmony by understanding what drives employees and what their motivational factors are. For some, it is money. For others, it is the pursuit of higher goals, or, to put it in the words of the Gita, ‘the inquisitive, and those looking for absolute knowledge’. For high performing modern-day organizations, few tasks are as important as reading people, understanding people, and harnessing the power of people to drive corporate goals and deliver organizational targets.

The Corporate Soul

One of the most well-known and often quoted lines talk about the immortality of the soul: ‘nainam? chindanti ?astr?n?i, nainam? dahatip?vakah?, nacainam? kledayanty?po, na?os?ayatim?rutah?.’ Somehow, this line keeps reminding me of the mortality of organizations. In an unforgiving marketplace, the great survivors have been the ones that have stayed true to their soul. Over time, these companies have metamorphosed to remain relevant to the demand of the times, but one look under the hood reveals their souls have remained intact. Here, I’m reminded of that famous comment by Peter Drucker: ‘The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.’ The companies that have survived and thrived despite the ravages of time and market are the ones that were quick to understand this and set it as a constant lighthouse for their corporate voyage.

This topic, close to my heart, also reminds me of a management classic that I’d picked up from an airport bookstore many years back: The Living Company by Arie de Geus. Today, Arie de Geus is not as widely remembered as, say, Peter Drucker or Tom Peters, or even Sumantra Ghoshal. But de Geus’ seminal work on corporate mortality remains one of my favorites and a must read for all those bewildered by the prevailing high rate of business casualties. In this book, de Geus and his colleagues at a famous Anglo-Dutch company carried out deep research into the secret sauce of corporate longevity. The results were eerily similar to what is widely understood to be the secrets of human longevity: long-surviving corporates and businesses practices a life of caution, prudence, and moderation. They stayed true to their soul and corporate identity. Centenarian firms practiced conservative financing models, scrubbed clean of the fancy financing products with glitzy acronyms that have led to the downfall of many. Above all, such companies have been robustly cohesive, paid heaps of attention to their people and communities, and accepted continuous learning as a way of life.

The Call of Duty

In today’s turbulent times, the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita rarely fail to offer me a solution to the mind’s conflicts. In a fast paced, outcome-hungry, result-driven world, it often helps to fall back on that one great saying from the Gita: ‘Karmanye Vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana’- ‘Do your duty and don’t expect any benefits out of it’.

Living with the Men in Blue…..

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On the 80th anniversary of the IAF ,Pankaja Srinivasan recalls what it is like to be the wife of an Air Warrior…
in
THE HINDU….

Natarajan

Air Force wives are digging out saris from their boxes even as you read this. They are readying themselves for the Air Force Day party on October 8. As I look back on all the parties I have attended in the last 25 years as a wife of an Air Force pilot, I can’t help but smile.

Initially, I struggled to keep up with the ranks and names of my husband‘s colleagues. Pilot officer, flying officer, flight lieutenant… It was all right for them, they only had to remember me as “Ma’am”. My husband almost called off our wedding because I wrote letters to him addressed as ‘Lieutenant’ instead of ‘Flight Lieutenant’.

Even now, after all these years, he is not amused. But I got the hang of it eventually. I learnt to pack my entire household into 20 boxes and move at short notice. I moved into towns I did not even know existed. But I also learnt that in the Air Force we knew how to have fun whether we were living in Ladakh, Rajasthan or Assam. We lived out of one box or two, in messes, in impossibly small rooms, sometimes sharing space with snakes and scorpions, and sometimes the bathrooms with total strangers, while the rest of our luggage was parked in a friend’s garage or in an aeroplane hangar.

Sometimes, of course, we got lucky. “Madam, you live in such a big bungalow. I am sure you can afford the fee I am asking.”

This was the tabla master as we discussed lessons for my son. He was right about the big house. It had a huge courtyard and gardens in both front and rear. But I wish he had seen the previous places I called home. I have lived in accommodation with walls made of mud or bamboos, and so small that if I fell off the bed I would land in my neighbours’ yard. If size was a criterion, he would have taught my son for free!

In the days before running water and mobile phones (Leh in the 1990s), we created our own entertainment. When newly-wed Ritu got off the aircraft at Leh to join her husband, she was told her husband was on duty so one of his colleagues had come to pick her up.

She got into the vehicle and to her horror found herself surrounded by masked men who relieved her of her mangalsutra and handbag, and then let her go. She was inconsolable. She wanted to take the first flight out of Leh and return to her father’s. That evening, at a party, she tearfully unpacked her welcome gift and was astounded to find her handbag and her jewellery. Ritu’s abductors were her husband’s colleagues and this was their way of welcoming her into the fold.

Lessons in life

Incidents such as these keep us going through the postings, packings and unpackings, and the cold, heat and dust. “I have moved thrice this year and my kid has changed three schools,” is a common refrain. But the upside is, this lifestyle is a huge learning curve for the kids. And for us. We became good hostesses, event managers, crisis managers, public speakers, counsellors…all rolled into one. Some of us became innovative cooks. Many of us learnt to make gulab jamuns from scratch only because we got all that milk powder in the rations.

Most importantly we learnt to take life in our stride.

The first Air Force officer I met after my husband was Sameer. He came to our wedding. Four days later he died in a crash at Bidar. We learnt to accept that part of the Air Force too.

And so it goes. Happy landings to the Air Warriors on the 80th Anniversary of the IAF, and to their wives too.

Keywords: Air Force, Air Force officers

A Sweet Tale of Neem Leaves !!!!!

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A sweet tale of how neem trees yield money
Story by:::
P. OPPILI in “THE HINDU “……

Natarajan.

The agreed procurement price of neem leaves is Rs.100 per kg for the top quality leaf.

Implementation of National Biodiversity Act enables people in two villages in Andhra to earn additional revenue

Some hundred neem trees have changed the lives of people in two villages, Amarchintha in Mahabubnagar district and Revalli in Nalgonda, both in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.

They have helped them earn additional revenue of few thousand rupees, thanks to the implementation of access and benefit sharing (ABS) mandated under the National Biodiversity Act 2002.

SUCCESS STORY

Sharing this success story with The Hindu, Sriram Gangadhar of Bio-India Biological Corporation (BIB), Hyderabad, said that a couple of years ago, a Japanese company approached him for developing a food ingredient from neem to be mixed with water.

Generally, Japanese do not drink plain water. Instead, they prefer green tea water, energy water or medicated water. It is because of this habit that he received a proposal from the Japanese firm for developing neem-based water, which can be easily soluble and which gives a typical taste with its medicinal benefits.

Based on the Japanese inputs, BIB decided to work with local communities for collecting the neem leaves without involving any middle men, brokers or traders and under the National Biodiversity Act principles.

The company has identified two Neem rich villages and entered into an agreement with local communities, providing them five per cent on procurement price of leaves.

It is the Biodiversity Monitoring Committee in the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board that takes care of processes including signing pacts with local communities and collecting leaves.

Mr. Gangadhar says the agreed procurement price is Rs. 100 per kg for the top quality leaf. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), which has concluded an agreement with the BIB, gets a royalty of five per cent on the sale of the leaves.

About 2,100 kg of leaf was, so far, exported to Japan. The Indian company is keen on working with many communities on sustainable harvesting methods to meet bulk needs of Japanese firms which are for increasing the quantity of production and expanding the project to a bigger scale with a lot of investment and research.

Similarly, the Neem water has proved to be good for overall health and it is a hit. “This is one of the successful case studies on ABS,” Mr. Gangadhar says, adding that the proceeds of revenue, meant for the villagers, are immediately passed on to them.

DIFFERENT FORMS

Balakrishna Pisupati, NBA Chairman, said that in order to implement the ABS system, there are four different types of forms: Form I — application for access to biological resources and/or Associated Traditional Knowledge; Form II — transferring the results of research to foreign nationals, companies, Non-resident Indian for commercial purposes or otherwise; Form III — intellectual property rights and Form IV — third party transfer of the accessed biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.

The NBA, which till now received over 600 applications, has cleared around 100 applications, Dr. Pisupati said, adding the maximum number of applications, coming under Form III, relate to prior approval for patents.

In respect of the third party transfer of biological resources accessed and associated knowledge, the Authority has signed agreements with 17 applicants.

Keywords: National Biodiversity Act, neem leaves, neem water, sustainable harvesting

True Friends are Like Shining Stars!!!!!

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Source:::: Input from one of my friends…what a nice way to say THANK YOU to your friend!!!…I am sure you will appreciate the sentiments expressed in this small poem and share it with your friends and well wishers

Just smile and say… THANK YOU ….to all your friends …

Natarajan

Dear Lord,
I know you’re watching over me
And I’m feeling truly blessed
For no matter what I pray for
You always know what’s best!

I have a circle of E-mail friends,
Who mean the world to me;
Some days I ‘send’ and ‘send,’
At other times, I let them be !!!

I am so blessed to have these friends,
With whom I’ve grown so close;
So this little poem I dedicate to them,
Because to me they are the ‘Most’!

When I see each name download,
And view the message they’ve sent;
I know they’ve thought of me that day,
And ‘well wishes’ were their intent.

AND to YOU, my friends, I would like to say,
Thank you for being a part;
Of all my daily contacts,
This comes right from my heart..

God Bless YOU, is my prayer today,
I’m honored to call You ‘Friend’;
I pray the Lord will keep YOU Cheerful
Until we MEET AND GREET again!!!!!!!!!

Natarajan

Tell Your Address … I will Show the Visual Location!!!!!

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SOURCE::: Input from one of my friends… truly amazing…. pl try this link to findout any address in this world!!!!!…what a simple way to locate spots and sites!!!!!… Hats off to the persons behind this tech.
Natarajan

WOW! This is incredible!!
Try it at once…!!!
This is truly a keeper.
Faster and better than Google Earth..
ANY ADDRESS – ALL OVER THE WORLD
Much faster than we imagine!!!!!
It’s unbelievable technology.

Is there nowhere to hide,then ??

After opening the link below,
slowly type in the address you want,
one letter or number at a time,
then pause, letter by letter,
space by space, and watch
each time where it takes you.

http://showmystreet.com/
showmystreet.com – fast & easy street viewing
showmystreet.com

Smile with a Slogan!!!!!!!!

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source::::unknown…. input from one of my friends…. these slogans bring instant smile on your face and makes you to spread your smile in the surroundings!!!!!…..just read and smile!!!!!

Natarajan

Sign on a railway station at Patna : **
Aana free, jaana free, ** **
pakde gaye to khana free.** *

———————————————————————————————————-
Sign at a famous beauty parlour in Bombay : ** **
Don’t whistle at the girl going out from here. ** **She may be your grandmother! ** **
—————————————————————————————————————

Sign on a bulletin board: ** **
Success is relative ** **
More success means more relatives. ** **

———————————————————————————————————–

Sign at a barber’s saloon in Juhu, Bombay : ** **
We need your heads to run our business.** *
————————————————————————–
A traffic slogan: ** **
Don’t let your kids drive if they are not old enough – or else they might never be…..** *

*THE BEST ONE : * *
**It’s God’s responsibility to forgive the terrorist organizations. **
It’s our responsibility to arrange the meeting between them and God.** **- Indian Armed Forces*

Tirumala Temple Shows The Way for Green Tech.

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India’s richest shrine goes green
Source::::Report
By Shilpa Kannan
BBC News, Tirumala……

Green temple: India’s Tirupati Temple has adopted a range of green technologies – and the shrine is now trading carbon credits
Surrounded by seven hills, high above lush green forests is the temple town of Tirumala.
The crown jewel is the dazzling gold-plated temple of Lord Venkateshwara. Located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, this is not just one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines, but also one of the richest.

It has an annual income of $340m – mostly from donations.

Between 50-100,000 people visit this temple every day. This puts enormous pressure on water, electricity and other energy resources.

Now the temple is using its religious influence and economic might to change the way energy is used here.

Sustainable sources
Developing reserve forests around the temple to act as carbon sinks, the management has transformed the environment.

They are promoting the use of sustainable technologies and hope to influence public opinion.

LV Subramanyam is the executive officer of the temple trust.

“While we currently use a mix of conventional and non-conventional energy sources, our aim is make the place more reliant on sustainable sources of energy,” he says

“Most of our devotees are progressive. In a religious place like Tirumala, we can set the example by going green. Probably the impact will be much more than normal government advertisements or publicity.”

The community kitchen feeds thousands of pilgrims every day
Inside the temple complex, a large multi-storey building is dedicated to just one thing – cooking free meals for pilgrims.

Several cooks work in tandem stirring large pots of rice, curry and vegetables. Nearly 50,000 kilos of rice along with lentils are cooked here every day.

Open all day, this community kitchen is the biggest green project for the temple.

Located on the roof of this building are rows of solar dishes that automatically move with the angle of the sun, capturing the strong sunlight.

The solar panels on the roof of the temple power solar cookers, powering the community kitchen below
Then the energy is used to convert water into high pressure steam, which cooks the food in the kitchen below.

Generating over 4,000kgs of steam a day at 180º C, this makes the cooking faster and cheaper. As a result, an average of 500 litres of diesel fuel is saved each day.

Credit score
By switching to green technologies, the temple cuts its carbon emissions and earns a carbon offset, or credit, which they can sell.

Carbon credits

The Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism, an international tool created to fight global warming, gives developed countries incentives to invest in clean technologies and projects in developing countries
In return, the companies from the developed countries get carbon credits for meeting their emission reduction targets, while the projects in the developing country get the capital and technology
Badal Shaw is the managing director of Gadhia Solar Energy Systems, which has set up the solar cookers. He estimates that this has resulted in a reduction of more than 1,350kgs of green house gases in the atmosphere.

“This was the first project to get a gold standard certification – it’s a registered project and it is issuing carbon credits,” he says.

“From a monetary value, carbon being a tradable commodity – the prices keeps going up and down … we sold the carbon credits of this and various other projects to the German government.”

Blowing on the wind
But it’s not just the sun that the temple is tapping into. On top of a hill, the site is ideal for harnessing wind energy.

Companies like Suzlon and Enercon have donated turbines which generate a combined total of 7.5 megawatts of power.

The temple also uses electricity generated by wind turbines
A Tirupati-based company called Green Energy Solutions now wants to develop multiple wind farms to supply the entire temple’s energy.

Madhu Babu, the founder of the group, says they want to tap into the pool of devotees worldwide, asking them to make a donation of green power to the temple.

The temple is unique because devotees are known to make generous donations of both cash and resources. While some have given diamonds in the past, others have given sheets of gold or bundles of cash.

“We have found that a lot of non-resident Indians are interested in donating sustainable technology instead,” says Mr Babu.

Tens of thousands of people, including these two young pilgrims, visit the temple every day
“We want to facilitate such donations and translate them into wind farms, so that the entire temple town can be run on green energy.”

Big appetite
India is growing rapidly and is hungry for energy, supplied largely by fossil fuels.

Global consultancy McKinsey predicts that the country’s carbon emissions will double in the next decade.

This is why it is more important than ever for India to look at alternative sources of energy, says CB Jagadeeswara Reddy, the local government officer in charge of promoting non-conventional energy development.

The temple city has been identified as a future ‘low-carbon footprint city’ by European Aid and Development, which works under the European Commission.

But a lot of these technologies cost money and Mr Reddy says it’s important to involve the private sector.

“It’s important that we make technology accessible for people,” he says.

“When pilgrims use the water and learn that sustainable sources of energy are being tapped into make the water, food, power available to them, it inspires them. They too will want to learn more about the technology behind it.”

Clean-tech India?
As India is taking steps to limit its emissions, it’s also one of the largest producers of carbon credits in the world.

“It’s important that we make technology accessible for people”

According to a 2010 study by HSBC Research, India’s share of the $2.2 trillion market for low carbon goods and services in 2020 could be as much as $135bn.

The report further predicts that India’s clean technology market could create 10.5m green jobs, and is likely to grow faster than any other country.

Dr Prodipto Ghosh from The Energy Research Institute says there are already over 2000 companies in the country involved in research and innovation for the low carbon goods and services market.

He says that companies have a financial incentive to use clean development mechanisms, as they monetise projects which otherwise would cost the company a lot more.

Dr Prodipto Ghosh says carbon credits give companies an incentive to go green
While going green may not make economic sense for everyone, the carbon offsets or credits offer a lucrative incentive to do so. Businesses can exchange, buy or sell carbon credits in international markets at the prevailing market price.

This also is important in relation to the country’s energy security.

India now spends 45% of export earnings on energy imports, and this is expected to increase even further.

While the temple assesses the savings that each of these investments can make, the pilgrims enjoy meals cooked using green sources of energy.

To fuel India’s growth, there is an increasing demand for alternative sources. Whilst the temple might be one small step, the hope is that this could be a model that is replicated across the country.

English Ticklish !!!!!!

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Source::::: unknown….input from one of my friends…an interesting read for all ages!!!!!!!

Natarajan

You think English is easy?

Read all the way to the end……………. This took someone a lot of work to put together!!!

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow..

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race . That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. – Why doesn’t ‘Buick’ rhyme with ‘quick’ ?

What Warren Buffet says on Investing …..

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source::: yahoo finance….

Natarajan

The teachings of Warren Buffet

By P V Subramanyam | Yahoo! Finance
What Warren Buffet says about basic investing, spending, savings are so true. Most of us know it, however too many of us do not live it.
If it does make a change in your life, thank HIM (I mean God) because this is common sense. WB said it once, I am just reproducing it.
1. On Earning:
Do not depend on a single income. Invest and create a second/ third source of income:
This means when you are young your first task should be saving and investing. By creating a second source of income you are quickly reducing your dependence on your job. This could help you to set out on your own one day. The quicker you can do it, the better.
2. On Spending:
If you buy things that you do not need, you may soon have to sell things you need:
It kind of summarizes Gen X’s reaction towards ‘luxuries’. As a part of Gen X we were perhaps criticised for some of our expenses, so it could be a generational thing even for WB. However, having goals and knowing where you are going, and not spending just to ‘show off’ are important lessons for all generations.
3. On Savings:
Do not spend what is left after spending, instead spend after you save/invest:
Also called ‘Pay Yourself First’. If you realise that investing in a pension plan or for your kid’s education is just helping you to save more later on. It is not a sacrifice, it is just postponing consumption. So understand, invest and then spend.
4. On taking Risk:
Never test the depth of the river with both your feet:
If you are doing something, do small. If you are a first gen investor, do not be carried away by equity lovers like me and put all your money in equity. Do a SIP with a small amount, and test the waters. Do a SIP of Rs. X (which could be 10% of your take home pay) for 5 years and then step up. And for heavens sake understand risk of inflation, and the concept of real returns

5. On Investing:
Do not put all eggs in one basket:
Immaterial of who you are and how much you understand, create a portfolio. A full range lunch plate is always better than just one item. So create a portfolio with bonds, bond funds, PPF, NSC, equity, mutual funds, and on the risk side medical and term insurance.
6. On Expectation:
Honesty is expensive, do not expect it from cheap people:
Not everybody is honest, nor does everybody want to be honest. Honest advisers are difficult to find especially in Health and Wealth, be careful.
The author P V Subramanyam is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a financial trainer by profession. Writing being a passion he also regularly pens his thought in his blog Subramoney.com

Do You Know?….why it is raining cats and dogs ?!!!!!

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Source::::unknown… input from one of my contacts…. an interesting read….

Natarajan
.

** LIFE IN THE 1500’S IN ENGLAND**

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to be In England in 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled” pretty good” by June. so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying,” Don’t throw the baby out with the Bath water.. ”

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying -” It’s raining cats and dogs”.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a “thresh hold. ”