celebrating Women's Day 2026

 

Chennai Corporation celebrated Womens’ Day 2026 at Marina beach – honouring Women Health workers, Sanitary workers & drivers.

Part of the celebrations ! a group performing gymnastics !!

: https://youtu.be/6rmm5hSDOSA

what war does ! ............. a Price Drop !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

காதல் கத்தரிக்காயும் ! ஈரான் சண்டையும் - என்  செய்யும் என் தங்கமே !!

 

Few years ago, Brinjal (egg plant) prices soared in local market in Chennai – when asked the vendor said - there is WAR  between Iran and Iraq.

 

Almost every household purchase brinjals every week.  In Chennai, the wholesale market is in Koyambedu (earlier it was kothawalchavadi!!) – supply of vegetables come from Tindivanam, Cuddalore, Maduranthakam, Trichy, Krishnagiri.   Yes, brinjal and vegetable prices do go up  due to the Gulf/Middle East war (Iran-Israel-US conflict),  they would say - higher fertilizer, fuel, and logistics costs disrupting supplies.  Wars often trigger price spirals – to distant places too. 

Post-WWII hyperinflations hit Germany (1921-23) and Hungary (1945-46) after massive war financing via currency issuance. Post-1973 Yom Kippur War oil shocks sparked 1970s stagflation globally.  The war started on 6 October 1973, when the Arab coalition launched a surprise attack across their respective frontiers during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, which coincided with the 10th day of Ramadan. Wars cause GDP drops (13%), consumption/investment falls (11-14%), and inflation surges (50-62%) lasting years, financed by printing money that erodes purchasing power. 

Can you imagine some  price drop ! in the backdrop of war !! that too of something that has been going up, up, up and up in  India !! 

 

Gold rates in the Gulf are falling due to a stronger US dollar, rising US Treasury yields, and reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts amid persistent Middle East tensions and inflation fears. Spot gold dropped about 5% recently to around $5,029-$5,118 per ounce after peaking above $5,300, pulling Gulf prices down (e.g., Dubai discounts amid air traffic issues disrupting flows). Dubai physical gold trades are  at discounts due to suspended Middle East air routes halting bullion to India/Asia, amplifying local rate drops despite global safe-haven bids. 

News reports suggest that Dubai's gold market is offering significant discounts, as Middle East conflict disrupts flights and shipping. Buyers are hesitant due to high costs and delivery uncertainties, leading traders to offer up to $30 an ounce below the global benchmark. While some shipments are moving, delays are impacting physical bullion availability in India, though current inventories are ample.  Many shipments remained stranded on Friday, the people said, although some bullion had been loaded onto flights leaving Dubai from the middle of this week. 

The United Arab Emirates, and Dubai in particular, is an important center for refining and exporting bullion to buyers across Asia, as well as a conduit for shipments from Switzerland, the UK and several African countries. Its airspace has been partially closed due to a barrage of Iranian missiles as the US-Israeli war with Tehran extends for a seventh day with no sign of resolution. Gold is typically transported in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft.  With  flights from the UAE severely restricted, traders and logistics firms are reluctant to transport high-value cargoes overland to airports in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, due to the risks and complications involved, particularly when transiting land borders.  

While the Dubai Good Delivery standard — the standard of gold bars widely used locally and regionally — is typically traded at a discount to the London prices, the shipping bottleneck is making the gold even cheaper.  But buyers in India – one of the largest consumers of gold shipped from Dubai – can afford to wait, with near-term demand relatively muted and inventories swollen by a large volume of imports in January, said  a  consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus.  “As of now, there is ample stock,” he said, “but if this drags on for a few months, then there will be a problem.” 

There are also some signs that refiners are encountering challenges in sourcing doré – semi-refined gold bars typically cast at the mine site. India’s largest precious metals refinery, MMTC-PAMP, gets around 10% of its doré from a mine in the Middle East, but supplies have been disrupted, said a spokesperson. For new contracts supplied from elsewhere, logistics costs have soared by 60% to 70% since the war began, he said.

 

The not so good news for Indian buyer is - Indian gold rates are likely to remain volatile short-term but trend higher overall in 2026, driven by global safe-haven demand, inflation hedging, and seasonal factors like weddings, despite recent Gulf-linked drops. 

தங்கம் வாங்கலையோ தங்கம் !!  இதை படிச்சுட்டு வீட்டுக்காரம்மா உடனடியாக தங்க கடைக்கு போகணும்னு சொன்னா !!  Enjoy life with Thangamani !!

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar
7.3.2026
 

Tiger-nap ! (Catnap) - sleep without guilt !!

On holidays, do you fall sleep in the Afternoons !  (not a Q to those fortunate to sleep on all days of the week !)  Sleep is every day activity.  Many a times, when you get up after a short [or long sleep in AN] – you may have some confusion on the time of the day – is it morning or evening ?

A few decades ago, most people believed sleep was a passive activity during which the body and brain were dormant. “But it turns out that sleep is a period during which the brain is engaged in a number of activities necessary to life—which are closely linked to quality of life.” 

For many of us  addicted to social media, the sleeping time is getting reduced.  When one is sleep-deprived, eyes and mind crave for a nap.   Napping offers various benefits for healthy adults, including: relaxation, fatigue reduction, increase in alertness, good moods, quicker reaction and better memory.  The timing of sleep in humans depends upon a balance between homeostatic sleep propensity, the need for sleep as a function of the amount of time elapsed since the last adequate sleep episode, and circadian rhythms which determine the ideal timing of a correctly structured and restorative sleep episode. 

Siesta,  a ‘Spanish’ word  from the Latin hora sexta – "the sixth hour" (counting from dawn, therefore noon), hence "midday rest”.  It is the  traditional daytime sleep of Spain, and through Spanish influence, of many Latin American countries. Factors explaining the geographical distribution of the modern siesta are mainly high temperatures and heavy intake of food at the midday main meal.   The "siesta" can refer to the nap itself, or more generally to a period of the day. 

The afternoon sleep is often called ‘Catnap’. A catnap is a short sleep, usually one which you have during the day.   The phrase dates back to at least the early 1800s, with notable literary use in 1916 by Edgar Rice Burroughs in "The Son of Tarzan."  The term takes its origin from how cats take a series of naps throughout the day and night. This idiosyncratic cat-like behavior is thought to help cats stay their alert and agile selves, and humans can take afternoon napping to reap similar benefits. There’s no medical definition of a catnap, and there’s no strict limit on how long they last.   

In case you get confused when you get up of the time of the day ! – thinking of getting up, brushing your teeth as in the morning, while it is evening, don’t feel bad and never start crazily querying on forums and searching on web.  If you do so, you might get influenced by some modern phraseology like : 

Confusional arousals -  a sleep disorder that causes you to act in a very strange and confused way as you wake up or just after waking. It may appear that you don’t know where you are or what you are doing. One may have slow speech, stammering, confused thinking, poor memory, blunt responses !!   When a confusional arousal occurs, you may seem to be awake even though you have a foggy state of mind. Episodes often start when someone else physically wakes you up forcefully. 

Sleepwalking or shouting during an episode is common. Some people with confusional arousals also grind their teeth.  Confusional arousals is considered a parasomnia. 

‘Sundowning" refers to a state of confusion that occurs in the late afternoon and lasts into the night. Sundowning can cause various behaviors, such as confusion, anxiety, aggression or ignoring directions. Sundowning also can lead to pacing or wandering. Sundowning isn't a disease. It's a group of symptoms that occurs at a specific time of the day. These symptoms may affect people with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.   

வேதநூல் பிராயம் நூறு மனிசர்தாம் புகுவரேலும்

பாதியும் உறங்கிப் போகும் நின்றதில்  பதினையாண்டு

 

தொண்டரடிப்பொடி ஆழ்வார் - திருமாலை பாசுரம் -  ஓர் தினத்தில்  உள்ள அறுபது நாழிகையில் முப்பது நாழிகை உறக்கத்தில் கழிகிற கணக்கில்  வேதசாஸ்திரத்திற்படியே  நூறு வருஷங்கள்   வாழ்ந்திருப்பர்களேயானாலும், அந்த சதாயுஸ்ஸில் பாதியான ஐம்பது வருஷமும் உறக்கத்தாலே கழியும் !!! 

There is still some stigma about naps but as long as it does not affect your work, your mind or your night sleep, never mind.  Don’t have any guilt, it is acting to the demands of body and mind.  Sleep well and happy – have naps and do not have interrupted sleeps.  Life is too beautiful to be spent worrying.

Pictured here is a White Tiger – cat-napping at Vandalur even as restless visitors wanted it to be active  ! – it did get up to the amusement of onlookers. White tigers, a color variant of Bengal tigers, sleep 16-20 hours per day on average, much like other tigers.  They are crepuscular, most active at dawn and dusk for hunting, so they rest extensively during daylight in shady spots like thickets, caves, or under trees to conserve energy after intense bursts of activity.

This long sleep helps them recover from high-energy hunts, maintain their large body mass (up to 500 pounds), and avoid human conflicts by aligning rest with daytime human activity. However, life is different for them in captivity.  Captivity alters white tiger (as is the case of most caged / zoo animals) sleep patterns, reducing total sleep time compared to the wild (16-20 hours daily) while increasing fragmented resting and stereotypic behaviors like pacing due to unnatural environments and feeding schedules.

Fresh from today’s afternoon sleep – yours friendly aasami sirippu sinthanaiyaan.

 

With regards – S Sampathkumar
7.3.2026 

தலையைக் குனியும் தாமரையே ! Parakeet !!

 

தலையைக் குனியும் தாமரையே; தலையைக் குனியும் தாமரையே

என்னை எதிர்பார்த்து வந்த பின்பு வேர்த்து

தலையைக் குனியும் தாமரையே 

A rape story in Tamil movies - Raghuvaran visits his friend's place on a tour and one night he happens to see a woman while returning from a party. On that rainy night, he rapes her and leaves. 

Oru Odai Nadhiyagirathu (transl. A stream becomes a river)   written, produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar and starring Raghuvaran,  Sumalatha and Manochitra (daughter of T. S. Balaiah) hit the screens in 1983.  Film is remembered for the great songs of Isaignani Illayaraja.   

1983-ல் வெளியான "ஒரு ஓடை நதியாகிறது" திரைப்படத்தில் இடம் பெற்ற "தலையை குனியும் தாமரையே" பாடல்.  இசை: இளையராஜா; பாடியவர்கள்: எஸ்.பி. பாலசுப்ரமணியம், எஸ். ராஜேஸ்வரி

 

A parakeet with its head tucked and not seen !

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar

6.3.2026