The Musing Mind

--- 1 --- Its been two weeks and I could not post. Some jobs to be completed and deadlines to be met. Well, its the starting of Diwali week. Looking forward to a joyful time with family. --- 2 --- Festival of lights! Diwali, Deepavali is here again. The festival of brightness, colourful fireworks, zest and fervour! Loads of fun and sweets. Though I am not a big fan of fireworks, I like to light up my home and surroundings. The climate also turns pleasant. Chirpy atmosphere everywhere. People buying new things for their homes, new clothes, lit up faces..... eye candy! Today is the first day of the festival. Dhanteras or Dhana Trayodashi or Dhanvatari Trayodashi, as we call. This day is auspiciously marked for purchase of gold, silver, or an asset etc. This significance is mostly visible in northern parts of India. This day is followed by Naraka Chaturdasi or Choti Diwali. It is the day when Satyabhama, one of the worthy consorts of Lord Krishna slayed the demo

--- 1 --- This week, though it has been calm at work place due to Dusshera holidays, I had been too tied up with work. So much occupied that I had been going home late almost every day. Still I think there's a lot more to do. --- 2 --- The older I grow in age, the younger I feel at heart! Yes, I am one less to step into forties today. Just cannot believe this figure! At times I feel I still act childish. Last night when my family wished me, the first thing that caught my attention was a banana lying on the dining table. Bananas were my life saviours itseems, my dad quips. As an infant I refused to have milk and food. Due to their not so good financial condition, my parents could not afford rich food for me. But they soon found out that I was liking bananas. They used to feed me with this humble fruit and I survived. But to my misfortune, I had to give up my choicest food upon developing high blood sugar levels. But last night I did indulge in the world's

--- 1 --- Last week I took a break from writing. At times I feel that life is becoming lifeless. My routine does not have scope to include anything else in between office-eat-sleep-office; so much so that on Sundays sometimes I am total loss of thoughts and ideas to pass my time constructively as I feel too tired to explore anything new. --- 2 --- "Three things are certain: Death, taxes, and lost data. Guess which has occurred?" -- Japanese Haiku Data loss, certainly! My pen drive is a toast. I used to store huge amount of data in that. It has been reliable for past six years. A tiny power fluctuation that resulted in restarting my PC (to which it was connected) rendered it lifeless. I tried all fixes like attempting to format, both in Windows as well as on Linux; all possible data recovery tools on the net; sifting through a plethora of fora discussions. Alas! what is lost is lost forever now. I could recover some data partially from various other so

Dear friends, I am taking a breather this week. Will see you next week with some interesting quick takes. Till then, have a good weekend and enjoy your work week!

--- 1 --- A very hectic week! Sometimes it is nice to have a very busy work week. Some new beginnings, though not without issues, but ending in a positive note. Temps are moderate. Looking forward to a cool October. --- 2 --- “To find a career to which you are adapted by nature, and then to work hard at it, is about as near to a formula for success and happiness as the world provides. One of the fortunate aspects of this formula is that, granted the right career has been found, the hard work takes care of itself. Then hard work is not hard work at all.”  ― Mark Sullivan We have some edupreneurs who are building something called " EduXtree ". Its an online education portal developed by a bunch of young engineers. It also aims at serving the purpose of a guide to make a right career choice for school children upto higher education level. As a part of it, they are conducting a survey on " Career Choice and Satisfaction "; short, yet a good s

--- 1 --- It has been a stably good week. Traveled to my choicest nearby place. Did some awesome work that gave out equally awesome results. For a librarian like me, challenging tasks and learning opportunities only can give immense happiness. Climate is a bit hot and humid with a couple days breezing awhile. I know I am one restless soul, but I have to accept that the physical body needs some rest. --- 2 --- “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  ― Benjamin Franklin So true! One of my recent experiences provoked me to travel down the memory lane only to reminiscence about the teachers, mentors, guides, friends and philosophers I had the fortune to associate myself with. A moment to stand and offer my heartfelt thanks to them all; and above all to Him for bestowing upon me such good fortune to strike some time with them. Almost of them taught something to me without even a slightest hint that they are teaching me. They

--- 1 --- It has been a very good week. Don't they say, "all is well that ends well"? So true. As the night ends with the break of a new dawn, a new hope rises. Sometimes a new beginning, a fresh start is what required. The feeling is to completely erase the dark phase from our memories, make a new beginning and build a fresh story. At such times we are reminded to "forgive and forget". I am also reminded to beg God for forgiveness for if I have done something wrong during the dark phase, intentionally or unintentionally; pray for strength from Him to tread the path of righteousness. --- 2 --- Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ For the first time I got to know about Kshamavani Diwas , the Universal Forgiveness Day . The Jains beg for forgiveness from one and all on Samvatsari , the concluding day of their Paryushana festival.  Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ  is a ancient  Prakrit  phrase literally meaning — may all the evil that has been done be fruitless.  Michchh