There is nothing greater than mother’s love. Mother’s words are always sweet. At times she may use harsh words, but understand that those words are meant only to correct you, not to hurt you. There may be a wicked son or daughter, but there can never be a wicked mother in this world. All of you must understand the value of mother’s love and her concern for you. Among the mother, father, teacher and God, mother is given the highest rank and priority. In the present times, modern youth do not care for their mother or parents. Many think they are highly educated and that the mother does not know anything. It is a great mistake to think poorly about anyone. Never look down upon your mother. Always remember the love she has for you, and at all circumstances strive and make her happy. God will be pleased with you only when you truly make your mother happy.
A Japanese engineer by the name of Shizuo Shinoda was digging with a bulldozer when he accidentally scraped some markings into a road with its claw. Later when he drove over the markings he realized that the vibration produced in his car can be heard as a tune. In 2007, a team of engineers from the Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute refined Shinoda’s designs and built a number of “melody roads” in Japan. These roads have groves cut at very specific intervals along the road surface. Depending on how far apart the grooves are and how deep they are, a car moving over them will produce a series of high or low notes, enabling designers to create a distinct tune. The closer the grooves are, the higher the pitch of the sound. The critical ingredient in the mix is the speed of the car.
The Civic Musical Road in Lancaster, California. Photo credit: roadtrippers.com
There are four melody roads in Japan, one each in Hokkaido, Wakayama, Shizuoka and Gunma. They all play different tunes. They stretch between 175 to 250 meters, and are carved with thousands of groves. Aside from street signs, the roads are marked by colored musical notes painted on the surface of the road which alert motorists of the incoming musical interlude. The grooves are laid down on the side of the road near the curb and not in the middle, so drivers have the option to either go over them or avoid them. In order to hear the tunes, they need to keep the car windows closed and drive at 28mph keeping one wheel over the grooves . Drive too fast and it will sound like a tape on fast forward. Drive too slow and it will have the opposite effect.
The first musical road, however, was not Japanese. It was created in Gylling, Denmark, by two Danish artists Steen Krarup Jensen and Jakob Freud-Magnus, in October 1995. Called the Asphaltophone, the street is made from a series of raised pavement markers, spaced out at intermittent intervals so that as a vehicle drives over the markers, the vibrations caused by the wheels can be heard inside the car.
The idea of musical roads has caught engineers in several other countries. There is one “Singing Road” in South Korea close to Anyang in Gyeonggi. It plays the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Unlike other melody roads, it was designed not to draw tourists but to help motorists stay alert and awake. The Singing Road is located on a particularly treacherous section of a highway where lots of accidents occur due to dozing and speeding. 68% of traffic accidents in South Korea are due to inattentive, sleeping or speeding drivers.
America got its first melody road in 2008. It was originally built on Avenue K in Lancaster, California, for a Honda commercial. The Civic Musical Road, named after Honda Civic, stretches for a quarter-mile and plays back a part of the Finale of the ‘William Tell Overture’. But the intervals are so far off that the melody bears only a slight resemblance to the original tune. Later, when residents complained that the grooves produced too much noise from nocturnal drivers, they relocated the strip to Avenue G.
Another musical road is located in the village of Tijeras, in New Mexico. Driving over the grooves at 45mph causes the car to play the famous song “America the Beautiful”. The project was funded by the National Geographic Society, and overseen by the New Mexico Department of Transportation who said that the real motive behind the musical road is to get drivers to slow down.
A sign ahead of the Civic Musical Road in Lancaster, California. Photo credit: roadtrippers.com
The Civic Musical Road in Lancaster, California. Photo credit: roadtrippers.com
A poem by Charlie Chaplin written on his 70th birthday on April 16, 1959. When I started loving myself
I understood that I’m always and at any given opportunity
in the right place at the right time.
And I understood that all that happens is right –
from then on I could be calm.
Today I know: It’s called TRUST.
When I started to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
When I tried to force my desires on this person,
even though I knew the time is not right and the person was not ready for it,
and even though this person was me.
Today I know: It’s called LETTING GO
When I started loving myself
I could recognize that emotional pain and grief
are just warnings for me to not live against my own truth.
Today I know: It’s called AUTHENTICALLY BEING.
When I started loving myself
I stopped longing for another life
and could see that everything around me was a request to grow.
Today I know: It’s called MATURITY.
When I started loving myself
I stopped depriving myself of my free time
and stopped sketching further magnificent projects for the future.
Today I only do what’s fun and joy for me,
what I love and what makes my heart laugh,
in my own way and in my tempo.
Today I know: it’s called HONESTY.
When I started loving myself
I escaped from all what wasn’t healthy for me,
from dishes, people, things, situations
and from everything pulling me down and away from myself.
In the beginning I called it“healthy egoism”,
but today I know: it’s called SELF-LOVE.
When I started loving myself
I stopped wanting to be always right
thus I’ve been less wrong.
Today I’ve recognized: it’s called HUMBLENESS.
When I started loving myself
I refused to live further in the past
and worry about my future.
Now I live only at this moment where EVERYTHING takes place,
like this I live every day and I call it CONSCIOUSNESS.
When I started loving myself
I recognized, that my thinking
can make me miserable and sick.
When I requested for my heart forces,
my mind got an important partner.
Today I call this connection HEART WISDOM.
We do not need to fear further discussions,
conflicts and problems with ourselves and others
since even stars sometimes bang on each other
and create new worlds.
Today I know: THIS IS LIFE!
1) She was very excited today, after all the school was re-opening after a long summer break.
Now, once again, she could start selling stationery at the traffic signal to feed her family.
2) She, a renowned artist and a strict mother, often scolded her 6-year-old son for he could never draw a line straight.
As he breathed slowly into the ventilator, she begged him to make one more crooked line on the ECG.
3) “Everyone goes with the flow¦ but the one who goes against it becomes someone remarkable.
Before I could explain this to the traffic police, the man issued me a Fine.
4) Their love was different; She was happy every time he kicked her in the stomach.
Every time he kicked she loved him more. She waited for the time she would hold her baby for the first time.
5) “Don’t go out now. It’s not safe. You don’t know how cruel men are, said the husband to his wife who was about to step out of the house.
She smiled, looked at him with a swollen black eye, his gift to her from the night before and asked,How much worse can they be ?”
6) Two men fought, we cheered.
They kissed, we jeered.
7) All my toys are yours,
read her brother’s death note.
8) The hook in the door caught her sari and ripped it apart. She turned around and slapped the guy behind her.
He couldn’t express his innocence; he had suffered for being mute.
9) I can’t believe my neighbor had the nerve to knock on my door at 3:30 AM in the morning.
Luckily for him, I was still playing my drums.
10) They took his father,
and only returned a flag.
11) Her step father pushed her after taking her to a height, despite her ceaseless pleading and requests.
The little girl enjoyed a swing for the first time.
12)He snatched my child from me and I cried that day.
But those were tears of joy that a mother would eventually shed one day!
13)He couldn’t believe his eyes, he had just won the lottery and could now repay the loans he took from those who threatened him in the morning.
As his eyes closed slowly, he wished he hadn’t taken poison an hour ago.
14) At 23, I became a mother of one; at 27 I became a mother of two; and today, at 55, I have become a mother of three!
My son got married today, and brought home his wife!
15) Born to rich parents, this boy is so lucky, exclaimed the neighbors!
Somewhere in heaven, three unborn sisters cried.
16) I watched him searching for me, his shadow approaching closer and I crouched behind the car.
But then he found me and shouted, “I caught you! In the next game you should become the seeker.â€
17) You ruined my career, I was supposed to be an executive director, she thought to herself.
The little angel held her finger tightly and she forgot everything; A mother was born.
18) Once a 5-year-old boy was standing barefoot in the shallow water of the ocean.
He was repeating the same sentence to the waves”Even if you touch my feet a thousand times, I won’t forgive you for taking my parents away.
In most Murugan temples, Kanda Ṣaṣṭi festival is celebrated for six days only. In some temples it is celebrated for seven days, with the divine wedding of Lord Murugan the day after Ṣaṣṭi. But in Tiruchendur the festival is held for twelve days; the first six days of Kanda Ṣaṣṭi comprise Ṣaṣṭi vratam (the vow of Ṣaṣṭi) and Sūra Samhāram (the annihilation of the demon, Sūra), on the seventh day it is the divine wedding of Lord Murugan and Teyvānai, and in the next five days, the Lord in His wedding gear appears and blesses in the Unjal Sevai that is, sitting on the swing.
At Tiruchendur, every day nine times poojas are performed for Lord Murugan. During these poojas different naivedyams (food offerings) like dhal pongal, kanji (gruel), thosai, appam, ghee-rice, balls made of cooked green gram and jaggery are offered. Though there are many temples for Lord Murugan in Tamilnadu, six temples are specially worshipped as paṭai veeṭu(armory house). Where the Commander-in-Chief who goes for battle stays with his army is called his paṭai veeṭu. Accordingly, Tiruchendur is the only place where Lord Murugan with His army stayed, when He went to destroy Sūrapadman. But we also call as Ārupaṭai Veeṭu the other five temples also together with Tiruchendur.
Lord Murugan won and accepted Sūrapadman on Ṣaṣṭi (sixth day) of the waxing moon (bright) night (valar pirai) of the month Aippasi. This day is celebrated as Kanda Ṣaṣṭi. This incident happened at Tiruchendur and hence, the Kanda Ṣaṣṭi festival is celebrated here with all grandeur. In the Kanda Purana of Mahābhārata, two other causes are indicated for the celebration of Kanda Ṣaṣṭi festival, apart from the extermination of Sūrapadman. Once a few sages conducted a yāga (sacred fire worship) with a behest to get a son for the welfare of the world. It was begun on the New Moon day and went on for six days. From the fire erupted out of the sacrificial altar (yāga kundam), six seeds – one seed each day for six days respectively – were collected. Lord Murugan was born on the sixth day, when all these six seeds were made as one. The Mahābhārata asserts that the day of the birth of Lord Murugan is the Kanda Ṣaṣṭi Day.
In the Kanda Purana, Kachiappa Sivāchāriyar says that the Devas, in order to become powerful to challenge the asuras, carried on a vow by soliciting Lord Murugan to be in the kumbham (sacred pot) for six days. Lord Murugan blessed them likewise. This incident is remembered as Kanda Ṣaṣṭi and celebrated after Aippasi New Moon day – so says Sivāchāriyar.
Every aspirant who seeks the Eternal through the path of devotion should strive to keep away from the turmoils, cruelties, and falsehoods of this world and practice truth, righteousness, love, and peace. This is indeed the path of devotion. Those who seek union with God and those who seek the welfare of the world should discard as worthless both praise and blame, appreciation and derision, prosperity and adversity. They should courageously keep steady faith in their own innate reality and dedicate themselves to spiritual uplift. No one, not even a great spiritual personality (maha-purusha) or Avatar, can ever escape criticism and blame. Learn from their lives. Great souls hold on to truth and live by them. Those who indulge in criticism or blame will realise their greatness in time. As aspirants, stay away from ignorant people and desist in discussing your beliefs and convictions with them. Become immersed in holy books and be in the company of the Lord’s devotees.
33 children from Karnataka were awarded for their acts of bravery by the Governor, Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, on the occasion of Children’s Day this year. The award ceremony was held at the Jawahar Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park, Bengaluru. These children showed exemplary courage and did not think twice before putting their lives in danger to save other people.
Two of the 33 award recipients are Siddesh Manjunath and Siya Vamanasa Khode. This is how they displayed immense courage and presence of mind in dangerous situations:
Siddesh Manjunath
This 10-year-old boy was conferred the Hoysala bravery award for stopping a passenger train that was about to cross a nearly two-inch wide crack on the rail track. His action saved about 850 passengers.
Siddesh is a student of class 5 at Avaregere government school in Davanagere city of Karnataka. He has a habit of watching trains pass by his father’s tea stall in their village. On March 14, 2015, he was at the tea stall and felt that something sounded wrong when two trains passed by. While his father told him that it was just the sound of stones on the track, Siddesh wanted to confirm. He went near the tracks to find a very risky gap there. On hearing about it, his father Manjunath rushed to the tracks and tried alerting other people. By that time, the Harihara-Chitradurga train was approaching and Siddesh knew that they had to do something to stop it. It was then that an idea struck the child. He took off his red t-shirt, and started waving it while running towards the train. His father and some villagers also ran behind him, thereby alerting the loco pilot from a distance. The train stopped and many lives were thus saved. Siddesh explained that he got t-shirt the idea from a movie that he had seen earlier.
Siya Vamanasa Khode
This 11-year-old girl from Hubballi saved her younger brother from electrocution. She was felicitated with the Keladi Chennamma award for bravery. She was playing with her 7-year-old brother, Yellappa, when he accidentally came in contact with a live wire.
“While we were playing, I saw my younger brother holding the iron railing, but standing still with his eyes wide open. When I tried to pull him away, I received an electric shock. That’s when I realised Yellappa was electrocuted. I tried to hold his hand, but received yet another electric shock. So I pulled him away from the railing by holding on to his shirt,” she told The Hindu.
Anjan is now making headlines for all the right reasons. He recently won a national award for Outstanding Creative Adult with Disabilities, instituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment this year.
His various paintings and caricatures drawn over the last several years won him the prestigious award. He will receive a purse of Rs. 50,000 and citation, which will be presented to him at a function in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on December 3.
A former student of Adarsh Special School, Tripunithura, Anjan has learnt 3D animation at Toons and now works as a computer teacher there. His other achievements include awards like Amrita Keerthy Puraskaaram (Amritanandamayi Math) at the age of 8, Rotary International Special Talent Award (2001), Medal in Art at the National Abylimpics, Chennai (2005).
He was also praised by ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for his creativity. Anjan had drawn a caricature of Sachin when the master blaster had come down to watch an ISL match of Kerala Blasters in Kochi.
Photo: Twitter
Anjan’s most memorable moment is his meeting with the former president Late APJ Abdul Kalam, who appreciated his work in 2005 during his visit to Adarsh. In fact, a photo featuring Dr. Kalam and Anjan became part of the book titled ‘Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges’. He also organized an exhibition of his work at Kerala High Court in 2009, becoming the first artist to hold an exhibition inside the High Court and to get a Full Court Honour.
“Disability cannot defeat me ..straining to reach there for which I am made for..aiming to become a legend with what I have in me,” he wrote on his blog.
Check out his website to know more about his work.
Take off with Natarajan 