Measurements - Metric and .. : படியுடையார் பற்றமைந்தக் கண்ணும்

தமிழ் ஓர் சிறந்த மொழி.  படி என்ற பெயர்ச்சொல்லுக்கு படித்தல், கற்றல் செய்ய சொல்லும் அறிவுரையாக பொருள் கொள்ளுவோம்.  கீழே உள்ள திருக்குறளில், படி வேறு அர்த்தத்தில் வருகிறது.  நீங்கள் காணும் படத்தில்  உள்ளது ஒரு அலகு - இதிலும் படி உண்டு !! 

படியுடையார் பற்றமைந்தக் கண்ணும் மடியுடையார்

மாண்பயன் எய்தல் அரிது.

செல்வம் பொருந்தியவன் வேந்தன்.  அத்தகைய நாட்டை ஆளும் தலைவருடைய உறவு,  தானே வந்து சேர்ந்தாலும் கூட, சோம்பல் உடையவர் சிறந்த பயனை அடைய முடியாது. முயற்சி அதி முக்கியம் என தெளிவுற உரைக்கின்றார் நம் திருவள்ளுவர்.

In antiquity, systems of measurement were defined locally: the different units had independent definitions going by customs and usages – in a manner of the length of a king's thumb or the size of his foot, the length of stride, the length of arm, or maybe the weight of water in a keg of specific size, perhaps itself defined in hands and knuckles. Obviously there was need for standardization as geographical barriers were broken.

Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events.  The scope and application of measurement are dependent on the context and discipline. In natural sciences and engineering, measurements do not apply to nominal properties of objects or events, which is consistent with the guidelines of the International vocabulary of metrology published by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. However, in other fields such as statistics as well as the social and behavioural sciences, measurements can have multiple levels, which would include nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales.

The French Revolution gave rise to the metric system, that  has spread around the world, replacing most customary units of measure. In most systems, length (distance), mass, and time are base quantities.   The metric system has meter, centimeter, millimeter, and kilometer for length; kilograms, milligrams, centigrams, and gram for weight; liter, kiloliter, centiliter, and milliliter for capacity; hours, minutes, seconds for time.

அளவை என்ற பெயர்ச்சொல்லுக்கு : தானியங்களை அளவையிடும் படி; அலகுகளைக் கொண்டு அளவு (measure) எடுக்கும் முறை; தத்துவம் - அறிவைப் பெறுவதற்கான வழி.; நிறுத்தலளவை அல்லது எடுத்தலளவை (weight), எண்ணலளவை (count), நீட்டலளவை (distance,height) போன்ற அளக்கும் முறை, என பலவற்றை கொள்ளலாம். ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட அளவை அளத்தல் என்பது அதன் மதிப்பை நிலையான மற்றொரு மதிப்போடு ஒப்பிட்டுக் கூறுவது ஆகும். இந்த நிலையான அளவு 'அலகு' எனப்படுகிறது. கணிதம், இயற்பியல், கட்டுபாட்டுவியல், புள்ளியியல், கணினியியல் ஆகிய துறைகளும் அளவியலுடன் நெருங்கிய தொடர்பு கொண்டுள்ளன.   

The metric system is a decimal-based system of measurement. The current international standard for the metric system is the International System of Units (Système international d'unités or SI), in which all units can be expressed in terms of seven base units: the metre (m), kilogram (kg), second (s), ampere (A), kelvin (K), mole (mol), and candela (cd). These can be made into larger or smaller units with the use of metric prefixes. 

Britain officially converted to the metric system in 1965, but just like the commonwealth countries of Canada and Australia, there’s still a mix of measurements—both metric and imperial—in everyday usage throughout the UK.  India adopted metric system immediately after Independence.

முகத்தல் என்றால் : மொள்ளுதல்; அளத்தல் ; தாங்கியெடுத்தல் ; விரும்புதல் ; நிரம்பப்பெறுதல் ; மணம் பார்த்தல்.  மாவடு போன்றவற்றை படி (கால் படி; அரைப்படி; 1 படி) எனவும்; வேப்பம் பூ போன்றவற்றை ஆழாக்கு என்ற அளவையிலும் விற்றார்கள் - நாம் வாங்கினோம் என்பது ஒரு புதிய தகவலாக இருக்கலாம்.  இன்னமும் பூ கட்டி விற்பவர்கள் - ஒரு முழம், இரண்டு முழம் என (முப்பது பைசா மூணு முழம் அந்த காலம் !!) முழம் அளவையாக விற்கிறார்கள் .. .. முழம் ஒரு மனித கையின் அளவு.  அளப்பவரின் கையை பொறுத்து இது மாறலாம்.

அளவீட்டிற்கான பொதுவான ஒப்பீட்டுக் கட்டமைப்பாக அனைத்துலக முறை அலகுகளே பயன்படுத்தப்படுகின்றது. இவ்வமைப்பின்படி ஏழு அடிப்படை அலகுகள் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகின்றன. அவை கிலோகிராம், மீட்டர், கேண்டெலா, நொடி (கால அளவு), ஆம்பியர், கெல்வின், மோல் என்பனவாகும். இவற்றில் கிலோகிராம் தவிர்ந்த ஏனைய ஆறு அலகுகளும், குறிப்பிட்ட ஒரு பொருள் சார்ந்து வரையறுக்கப்படவில்லை. ஆனால் கிலோகிராம் என்ற அலகானது, பாரிஸில், Sèvres இலுள்ள, பன்னாட்டு எடைகள் மற்றும் அளவைகள் ஆணையத்தின் தலைமயகத்தில் வைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் ஒரு குறிப்பிடப்பட்ட பொருளுடன் ஒப்பிட்டுப் பார்க்கக் கூடியதாக உள்ளது.

நெல், அரிசி, பருப்பு, தனியா வகைகளை - படி, மரக்கால்களில் சொரிந்து அளப்பது பெய்தல் அளவை ஆகும்.  படி என்ற  பெயர்ச்சொல் இங்கே  அளக்கும் கருவியை குறிக்கும்.   8 ஆழாக்கு = ஒரு படி. 'ஆழாக்கு' என்பது பயறு தானியங்கள் போன்றவற்றை அளக்க பயன்படுத்தி வந்த அளவை.  படியை விட சிறியது.  ஒரு ஆழாக்கு என்பது கிட்டத்தட்ட 200 கிராம்,அதாவது ஐந்து ஆழாக்கு ஒரு படி ஆகும், ஒரு படி என்பது கிட்டத்தட்ட ஒரு கிலோவாக இருக்கும்

 

Interesting !
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
23.10.2024 

Sound of Nadaswaram ~ nagumOmu ganalEni nAjAli telisi

Abheri (ābhēri) is a raga in Carnatic music – it is a Janya raga (derived scale), whose Melakarta raga (parent, also known as janaka) is Kharaharapriya, 22nd in the 72 Melakarta raga system. Bhimpalasi (or Bheempalas) and Dhanashree of Hindustani music sounds close to Abheri. 

I know little or nothing of Carnatic music but hear one song in Abheri often, first heard by me in a Mohanlal movie.   Triplicane is an enchanting land – the place of Emperuman Sri Parthasarathi.

 

Yesterday morning my friend Essel (Lakshmi Narasimhan) who is a well known Carnatic music aficionado messaged me that he heard ‘ābhēri’ – being played so well at the temple – this is photo post on that Nadaswara vidwan Nagaraj of Thiruvallikkeni Sri Parthasarathi swami thirukkovil.  

Kalyani is the daughter of a wealthy NRI Ramachandran Menon who resides in the United States. Kalyani, brought up in Madras by her father's friend Purushothaman Kaimal, falls in love with another man and decides to marry against the wishes of her father. When her boyfriend finds out that she will be disinherited, he ditches her at the altar.   

Vishnu steps into the wealth house, later,  it is revealed that Vishnu is actually an escaped convict from jail who is sentenced to death and the   prison warden is in hot chase. Vishnu's past is shown in flashback and he was a freelance photographer who was married to a woman named Revathy, a mute dancer.  On the last night of Vishnu's stay at the house, he asks Jail Warden, is it possible for him to live, as he started to like life again. The warden does not reply to this question, as he is helpless regarding this. After a happy fortnight, Kalyani's father returns to the US. The final scene shows the warden taking Vishnu to jail, where his execution awaits him, with Kalyani watching him leave. This film ends with Vishnu and Kalyani waving goodbye.  

The movie ‘Chitram’ with Mohanlal as Vishnu was a great hit – the  songs were composed by Kannur Rajan and lyrics penned by Shibu Chakravarthy. MG Sreekumar sang most of the songs in the film. Carnatic music singer Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was a guest singer. The classical Krithis like "Nagumo" and "Swaminatha" featured in the film gained  mass popularity.  This particular song ‘Nagumo ganalEni’, a keerthana of Thiyagaraja  was sung by - Neyyattinkara Vasudevan & M. G. Sreekumar, set in raag – Abheri.    

 

nagumOmu ganalEni nAjAli telisi nanu brOvaga rAdA shrI raghuvara nI

nagarAjadhara nIdu paraivAra lella ogibOdhana jEsE vAralu gArE yiTu  

 

O RAma! Supreme among Raghus! Missing your charming smile-lit face, I languish here. Knowing my mental plight, can't you come and protect me?  

 

With passage of time to understand the bakthi rasam of Thigayya, mere knowledge of Telugu may not be enough, and one may need to know Sanskrit too – and for dullwits like me there are knowledgeable friends like Essel and of course Google !!

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
22.10.2024.

  

fabulous Kolam of Triplicane

 

Fabulous Kolam spread across the entire South Tank Sq Street, Triplicane

-and the five who drew this art

Taken in low light with Samsung A34

“épluchette de blé d’Inde” – what !?! ~ மானே என் மல்லிகையே;

“épluchette de blé d’Inde” – what !?! ~  மானே என் மல்லிகையே;

 

மயக்கும் மாலைப்பொழுதோ !  காரிருள் சூழ்ந்த இரவோ !;  தனிமையிலோ அல்லது மனதுக்கு பிடித்தமானவர்களோடோ - அல்லது பிடித்தவர்களை நினைத்துக்கொண்டோ, ரேடியோவில் ராகதேவன் இசைஞானி இளையராஜா பாடல்களை கேட்டு மருகிய நாட்கள் உண்டா ! ஆம் எனில், இந்த வார்த்தைகளோ உங்களை நிச்சயம் கவர்ந்து இழுத்து இருந்து இருக்கும். 

 

மானே என் மல்லிகையே;  மருத மரிக்கொழுந்தே

தேனே தினைக்கருதே; திருநாளு தேரழகே

உன்ன நினைக்கையிலே;  என்...ன மறந்தேனடி

பொன்னே பொன்மயிலே  .. ..  எண்ணம் தவிக்குதடி 

 

SA ராஜ்கண்ணு அளிக்கும்,   என ஸ்ரீதேவி ஓடியாட, சப்பாணி, மயில், பரட்டை, குருவம்மா என பெயர்கள் ஓட இசைஞானி இளையராஜா தன் குரலில் 'சோளம் வெதைக்கையிலே   - சொல்லி புட்டு போன புள்ளே........ ..' என மிரள வைக்க ரசிகர்கள்  ஆரவாரித்த படம் '16 வயதினிலே'

கிராமத்திலேயே மிக அதிகம் படித்தவளாக, 'பத்தாம் வகுப்பு தேர்ச்சி'யாகி விட்ட மயிலிடம் (ஸ்ரீதேவி) ஒரு தலைக் காதல் கொள்கிறான் கோவணம் கட்டும் சப்பாணி. அவளோ கிராமத்திற்கு வரும் மருத்துவ இளைஞனிடம் மனதை பறிகொடுத்திருக்கிறாள். ஒரு கட்டத்தில் அந்த மருத்துவன் காதலிப்பது தன்னையல்ல, தனது பதினாறு வயதையே என்று அவள் உணர்கையில், அவளது தாய் இறக்கிறாள். இடையில் கிராமத்து சண்டியர் பரட்டை வேறு பிரச்னைகள் செய்கிறான். அனாதையாக நிற்கும் மயிலுக்கு ஆதரவாக சப்பாணி துணை நிற்கிறான்.  சப்பாணி பரட்டையை கொலை செய்து ஜெயிலுக்கு செல்கிறான் !!! 

16 Vayathinile touted as  a cult film and a landmark in Tamil cinema, diverging from traditional Tamil films of that time.  With Annakili (1976), the film was a trendsetter for realistic portrayals of rural life 

சோளம் வெளஞ்சு ..  காத்துகிடக்கு  .. .. என இளையராஜா குரலில் பாடல் பட்டிதொட்டி எங்கும் இளைஞர்களை கவர்ந்து இழுத்தது.   எந்த  ஒரு அறிவு சார்ந்த சமுதாயத்திலும் ஒருவரது உடல் அமைப்பையோ குறைகளையோ கேலி செய்வது  நாகரீகமல்ல !  .. .. எனினும்பலதிரைப்படங்களில் – இது போன்ற காட்சி அமைப்பை, காமெடி என்ற பெயரில் முகம் சுளிக்க வைக்கும் நையாண்டிகளை கண்டுள்ளோம்.  சரியாக நடக்கமுடியாதவர்களை 'சப்பாணி' என கிண்டலடிப்பது !! பரவலாக கண்டுள்ளோம்.   

Corn – a hot favourite of many, especially roasted ones sold at Beach and every other tourist places !   

In Québec, the French expression for corn roast is “épluchette de blé d’Inde”. Épluchette means to remove or peel and blé d’Inde literally means Indian wheat. Why call it Indian wheat? Well, when Christopher Columbus landed there and discovered corn, he thought he was in India at the time, so that’s what he named it! Since colonization, corn has been an important staple to Canadian  culture.  In the old days, corn roasts were part of the chores at the end of the harvest season to ensure that the corn wasn’t wasted. It meant removing the husks and preparing the corn for storing for the upcoming year.   

Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked ear of sweet corn (maize) eaten directly off the cob.  The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender. Ears of corn are steamed, boiled, or grilled usually without their green husks, or roasted with them. The husk leaves are removed before serving.

Corn on the cob is normally eaten while still warm, and is often seasoned with salt and butter.   Indian Roasted Corn | Bhutta Masala is lovely to  have in the rainy season. The corns are roasted in  open flame until charred. Add more masala in the form of lime and salt & pepper ! 

Intersting !
 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
21.10.2024 

Scary foxhead !! ? !! - Bats come flying !

Scary !   - can you identify the animal with a mugshot of its face and eyes somewhat resembling monkeys, face looking like a dog or a fox even !!  – I queried this morning asking whether it is a - Fox, Dog breeed, Jackal, wolf, Coyote, Dingo ?  I didn’t tell you all that it is a cropped inverted photo !

 

Many of you got it right – yes, they are Bats ! -  Fruit bats to be precise !!

 

We have seen them on some old temples, I have seen them at Thavana uthsava bungalow gori !!  - the  Egmore Museum does not just house priceless artefacts from the past. It also houses colonies of fruit bats in the trees outside, as a plaque informed the  visitors those days.  This season I am seeing them again  come with a buzz around 600– 630 pm –   they fly with unerring precision from nowhere and hang on the Arasa maram [peepal tree] at Vasavi Parthas, Venkatrangam Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600005.

 

When we think of bats, an unfavorable image often comes to mind. Whether it's the scary portrayal of them in vampire films and literature or a general fear of how their real-life counterparts might transmit viruses, bats have gotten a bad rap that's actually more fiction than fact.  Understand that there are more than 1,400 bat species in the world ! Bats can be as large as a small dog or as small as a bee. The ones that come nearer home resemble crows !! The largest bats are the flying foxes with wingspans of up to 2 metres and a body weights of up to 1.5 kilograms.

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera. With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more manoeuvrable than birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium.  The second largest order of mammals after rodents, bats comprise about 20% of all classified mammal species worldwide.   A few species feed on animals other than insects; for example, the vampire bats feed on blood. Most bats are nocturnal, and many roost in caves or other refuges; Bats are present throughout the world, with the exception of extremely cold regions. They are important in their ecosystems for pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds; many tropical plants depend entirely on bats for these services. Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats —flying foxes.  

For centuries, bats have been called sinister and spooky, likely because of their beady eyes and razor-sharp fangs. But there’s more to these nocturnal creatures than meets the eyes.  The scientific name for bats Chiroptera,  is Greek for “hand wing.” That’s because bats have four long fingers and a thumb, each connected to the next by a thin layer of skin.  To navigate dark caves and hunt after dark, microbats rely on echolocation, a system that allows them to locate objects using sound waves. They echolocate by making a high-pitched sound that travels until it hits an object and bounces back to them. This echo tells them an object’s size and how far away it is.

The age-old question of upside down bats. Yes, it is awfully weird that there is an animal—a mammal even—that hangs upside down. Sure, some monkeys do it when they're just monkeying around. Bats are the only animals that actually spend most of their time hanging upside down: feeding this way, raising their young this way, and, yes, sleeping or roosting this way. Bats are not birds, nor are they insects.   The difference between bat flight and bird or insect flight is weight—specifically, the ratio of weight to lift-capacity of the wings.  Birds have hollow bones; bats don’t.  To compensate for the extra weight that mammals must have, to compensate for the problem of getting off the ground, evolution found another way for bats to transition from being motionless to immediately being able to fly when necessary.  

Back home in Chennai -   the grove behind the Egmore  museum's Bronze Gallery has been home to more than 2,000 Indian flying foxes (a species of fruit bat), and  in 2012 a board was put up stating the significance of the area. The plaque stated there are 49 species of fauna on the premises that support the fruit bat. This information was based on a World Wildlife Fund survey , which also studied the trees (in this case tamarind, copper pod and sapota) where they make their home.

Though they are reportedly harmless, they are scary and in the twilight – crows do appear agitated, when these bats start homing in to the peepal tree.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
20.10.2024 

  

flowers bloom after rain !

To some of my friends – who felt that seeing that face in close quarters was not very amusing ! – here is something of Nature – flowers blooming (in my terrace) welcoming rains or because of rains !!

 

Rain is liquid precipitation: water falling from the sky. Raindrops fall to Earth when clouds become saturated, or filled, with water droplets. Millions of water droplets bump into each other as they gather in a cloud. When a small water droplet bumps into a bigger one, it condenses, or combines, with the larger one. As this continues to happen, the droplet gets heavier and heavier. When the water droplet becomes too heavy to continue floating around in the cloud, it falls to the ground.  Precipitation supplies the water that terrestrial organisms need -- either directly in the form of rain that falls on soil where plants grow, or indirectly in the form of lakes, streams and ponds where animals can drink. 

Human life depends on rain. Rain is the source of fresh water for many cultures where rivers, lakes, or aquifers are not easily accessible. Rain makes modern life possible by providing water for agriculture, industry, hygiene, and electrical energy.   

Interesting !

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
20.10.2024 

rainbow !

 

Rainbow !  faintly captured today at Triplicane

Will Indian selectors sack some for the 45 debacle ! - Six-hitting spree !!

Do you know the details of Test no. 25 played at Sydney in  Jan 1887 and why Indians search about that test after the first day debacle of Bengaluru ?

 

It is improper to compare players of different era, yet a medium-fast bowler with a batting average of 15.55 in 102 tests compares better than the mighty Isaan Vivian Alexander Richards! – if you are to say that statistics would not lie !! 

Timothy Grant Southee   has captained New Zealand cricket team in all formats of the game. He is more of  a right-arm medium-fast bowler  who can bat too.  He has 382 test wickets; 221 ODI wickets  & 164 T20I wickets.   In his debut at the age of 19 in Feb 2008,  against England he took 5 wickets and made 77 off 40 balls in the second innings. 

It was shambolic below par performance by the much hyped Indian batting line-up getting bowled out for measly 46 – and at day 1 end, NZ were leading by 136 runs – this morning, it appeared as though the lead could be contained around 200-220 but Southee and Rachin Ravindra had different ideas as they took the score to 402, a lead of 356!!   Indian reply gave hope to lot of dreams at 231/2 but off the last ball, Virat Kohli got out !!  

After the ignominy at Multan where they last by an innings after scoring 556 - Pakistan boldly made  big changes to the squad for the second and third Tests against England. They dropped their star batsman Babar Azam and also their fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.   A PCB statement termed  it had "taken into account the current form and fitness of key players" before leaving out the three players for the remaining two Tests. The decision to leave out arguably Pakistan's three highest-profile players  was not stunning but perhaps the need of the hour.  Nobody should take their place for granted and be complacent !!   

Now without them, Pakistan has won the 2^nd test. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan combined for the second time in the match to bowl out England and seal Pakistan's first win in a home Test since 2021. Eight wickets fell in less than two hours as England went down in a flurry of sweeps and reverse-sweeps.  Noman claimed seven of them himself to finish with 8 for 46 and 11 for 147 in the match, both career-bests. With Sajid, who took 7 for 111 in the first innings, picking up the other two, they became the first pair to take all 20 wickets in a Test since Dennis Lillee and Bob Massie in 1972. A crushing result, achieved within three-and-a-bit days on a re-used surface that Pakistan had hoped would help their spinners, means the series is level at 1-1 ahead of the third Test in Rawalpindi. It also provided Shan Masood with his first victory since taking over as captain, after a horror run of six consecutive defeats. 

Back home at Bengalure, Indians had started dreaming of some miracle when Kohli Sarfraz partnership blossomed but the last ball out of Kohli has dashed some hopes.  Lot would depend on whether Rishab Pant would walk in and bat his usual way, reducing the deficit and whether Indians can manage to get some lead too.   

Now about that test at Sydney in Jan 1887, touring England were skittled out for 45 yet won the match by 13 runs !   

Today morning Tim Southee with his big six hitting skills breezed past cavalier Virender Sehwag’s 91 sixers – Southee is playing his 103^rd test, a performance, every no. 9 would be proud of.  Statistically, Sehwag played 10234 deliveries to get 91 – Southee stormed it in only 2606 balls.  Now only Ben Stokes 131 in 106; Brendon McCullum 107 – 101; Adam Gilchrist 100-06; Chris Gayle 98 I 103 & Jacques Kallis 97 in 166 are above him.   The super Star IVA Richards hit 84 sixers in his 121 tests !!   Indian young star Yashaswi Jaiswal has hit 32 sixers in his 12 tests / 22 innings career.     

 

So, what would be the action taken by the BCCI / Selection Committee/ Coach for that poor performance of 45 all out ! in Indian soil.  

One sadly remembers the tale of Ajit Wadekar, who catapulted to lead the Nation from leading Bombay – a side that included Sardesai, Gavaskar, Abid Ali, Jayanthilal, Salim Durrani, Jaisimha, Bishan Bedi, Prasanna, Venkatraghavan and Chandrasekhar.  India won a Series in WI under his captaincy and beat England too in their soil.  A couple of years later, WAdekar captained India in their first ODI in 1974 and in that summer, Indians were bowled out for 42 – following that debacle, he was forced to retire and played just one more First class match after that disastrous tour.   

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
18.10.2024

  

Mountroad Munro Statue !

 

Ever seen him this closer !!  ??  !!

 

எங்க ஊரு மெட்ராஸ்ஸு !

அதுக்கு இந்த குதிரை சிலையும் அட்ரஸ்ஸு

 

The equestrian statue of Thomas Munro , 1st Baronet, Major-General in the British Army and Governor of Madras from 1820 to 1827,  is a major landmark in Chennai city on the arterial Mount Road.   The bronze statue was  sculpted by Francis Chantrey in the United Kingdom in 1834 and shipped to Madras in 1839

Appreciate rains !! ~ மாமழை போற்றுதும் மாமழை போற்றுதும்

 

Praying and appreciating Rains !!!  ~  Silappathikaram

 

"மழை இல்லாமற் போனால்தான் மழை எவ்வளவு அவசியமானதென்று மக்களுக்கு புரிகின்றது' எனினும் மழை பெய்யும்போது பலர் தூற்றுகின்றனர். தெரிகிறது. வேத காலத்து ரிஷிகள் சூரியனை எப்படி தோத்திரம் செய்தார்களோ அப்படியே வருணனையும் பிரார்த்தனை செய்தார்கள். சிலப்பதிகாரம் காவியத்தில் சூரியனையும் சந்திரனையும் போற்றிவிட்டு, "மாமழை போற்றுதும்" மாமழை போற்றுதும்" என்று அழகாகப் சொல்லப்பட்டுள்ளது.

 

மாமழை போற்றுதும் மாமழை போற்றுதும்

நாமநீர் வேலியுலகிற்கு அவன்அளிபோல் மேல்நின்று தான் சுரத்தலான்.

 

யாம் பெரிய மழையைப் போற்றுவோம் ; பெரிய மழையைப் போற்றுவோம் ;  அச்சத்தைத் தருகின்ற கடல்சூழ் உலகிற்கு,   அவன் அளி செய்யுமாறுபோல,  மேலாகி நின்று தன் பெயலால் வளஞ்சுரத்தலால்.!!

 

நாம் என்னும் உரிச்சொல் ஈறு திரிந்தது. வேலி - சூழ்தல். அளி - ஈகை.  மழை என்பது அருளின் குறியீடு; அது தெய்வம் சார்ந்தது. வஞ்சிக் காண்டம் தெய்வீகம் நிறைந்தது; ஆகவே மழை வஞ்சிக் காண்டத்துக்குக் குறியீடு.

 

S Sampathkumar
17.10.2024

Rains, Bengaluru Test, Birds and .. .. மகராணி உன் வரவை !! ராப் பகலா எம் மனசு தேடுதடி..

Not many would have seen – Prashant / Subashri starrer ‘Enga Thambi’ released in 1993 directed by Sabapathy Dekshinamurthy.   The film was dubbed in Telugu as Allari Prema.  Yet every Ilayaraja fan would have heard this song for sure !! 

Rains have relented ! – no way closer to what it was hyped to be !! – Weather bloggers failed miserably.  Today there was not much of rains and one could get even Sunshine too ! 

Nearer in Andhra, Meteorological Department, Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Authority said in their release :  “Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in several places in the South Coast and Rayalaseema, with extremely heavy rainfall likely in some areas. Along the coast, wind speeds of 40-60 km/h are expected” 

The South Western Railway on Wednesday (October 16, 2024) cancelled some trains due to waterlogging over tracks following heavy rains. “The decision was taken due to waterlogging in the up-fast line over Bridge No. 114 between Basin Bridge Junction (Chennai) and Veysarpadi stations,” an SWR official said.  

New Zealand have now gone six consecutive days of Test cricket in India without any actual cricket. After the Afghanistan misadventure in Greater Noida,  where the test was abandoned without a ball being bowled – the   first day of the first Test in Bengaluru remained a non-starter as the rainy week continued. Bengaluru did wake up to optimistic news as the expected apocalyptic rain had skirted the city. However, a drizzle of varying intensity - sometimes so fine that it wouldn't result in an interruption if play was already on - continued until a big shower at 2.30pm put paid to all hopes of a toss on day one. Now that this will start as a Test of four days or fewer, a team wanting to enforce a follow-on will need to lead by 150 and not 200.  

It had rained very heavily in Bengaluru and  M Chinnaswamy Stadium had taken copious water, yet taken   the sub-air drainage system at the ground that can drain a claimed 10000 litres of water per minute gave more than a glimmer of hope. However, there was another obstacle in the course: because of the rain a day before the match, the Hawk-Eye formatting couldn't be done. This process, too, takes an hour and a half. However, it didn't come down to that as the rain at 2.30pm was heavy. The authorities will hope this formatting can be done before the second day, which by the way is forecast to be impacted by rain again. Play will start 15 minutes early on the remaining four days and end 15 minutes late so that 98 overs can be bowled every day. An extra half an hour can be added to make up for slow over-rates.  

Rain inconveniences too – especially birds – we see  birds perched and hunkered down than flying around. Not sure whether their wings are waterproof – though they can withstand rains briefly.    However, when their feathers get wet the pockets of air can fill up with water and a bird’s temperature can drop rapidly putting it at risk of hypothermia.  

Can birds fly in the rain? They can—but not very well. While it’s not impossible for birds to fly in the rain, they usually choose not to. You may see birds fly short distances in poor weather to find something to eat, but most of them prefer to stay put.  While every bird wears one feather coat, different kinds of feathers – and even different parts of the same feather – can perform various functions. The outermost tips of the main body feathers, called the contour feathers, are built so that the feather surface forms a fine, breathable but water-resistant mesh. This water-repellent property allows the downy bases of the same contour feathers, and other completely downy feathers, to stay dry underneath, allowing them to trap warm air.

 

Here is a Koel (Cuckoo / Kuyil) getting drenched in rains.  The species' binomial name is derived from the Latin cuculus (the cuckoo) and canorus (melodious; from canere, meaning to sing). The cuckoo family gets its common name and genus name by onomatopoeia for the call of the male common cuckoo.  

How far does the cuckoo fly?  -  A bird named Onon completed one of the longest migrations (over 12,000 km) ever recorded by any land bird from southern Africa to Mongolia.  The cuckoo bird  created a stunning record by flying more than 12,000 km (7,500 miles) and crossing 16 countries to migrate from southern Africa to its “native” place in Mongolia. The bird fitted with satellite tag in June 2019 “landed” at the Church Bird Banding Station in Mongolia at 3.22pm local time on May 27, 2020. According to bird conservation organisation Birding Beijing that had been monitoring long distance migration of the bird along with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia, the bird named Onon was one of the five birds fitted with satellite tags as part of the Mongolia Cockoo Project. According to the scientists Onon was the only bird that had completed a round trip from Mongolia to its winter home in Zambia and back flying over mammoth 26,000 km in the journey. 

Before completing here is the song sung by Mano & Minimini set to the melodious music of Isaignani Ilayaraja from the movie ‘Enga Thambi’

 

மலையோரம் மாங்குருவி!  மாவிலையில் பாட்டெழுதி பாடுதடி...

மகராணி உன் வரவை !! ராப் பகலா எம் மனசு தேடுதடி..

மண மேளம் காதில் கேட்குதா?  மனசோடு தேனை வார்க்குதா?

 

With regards – S Sampathkumar
16.10.2024 

it rained in Chennai !!! ~ 'வான் சிறப்பு' தடிந்தெழிலி !? !! ???

 

Arrogant collectibles dealer Charlie Babbitt is in the middle of importing four grey market Lamborghinis to Los Angeles for resale. He needs to deliver the cars to impatient buyers who have already made down payments to repay the loan he took out to buy them, but the EPA is holding the cars at the port because they have failed emission tests. Charlie directs an employee to lie to the buyers while he stalls his creditor.  .. …  Name the movie and do you know why it got such a name ??

 

3 photos in this photo – one what the weather bloggers predicted, what actually happened and the sequence now !!!

மழை உலகிற்க்கு மிக அவசியம்.  செந்நாப்போதார் தம் திருக்குறளில் 'வான் சிறப்பு' என ஒரு அதிகாரமே இதற்கு அளித்துள்ளார்.  தடிந்தெழிலி என்ன ஒரு அற்புதமான சொல்லாடல் !! எழிலி என்றால் மேகம். தடித்து என்பதற்குத் திரளுதல், மின்னல் என இரு பொருட்களையும்  கொள்ளலாம்.   திரண்டெழுந்த மின்னலடிக்கிற மேகம் என்று பொருளாகிறது இந்த சொல்.  “நல்குதல்” எனில் பெருங்கொடை. “தடிந்தெழிலி” யால் தான் கடலில் நீர் கொண்டு சேர்க்கும் பெருங்கொடையாகிய பெருமழையைத் தரமுடியும்.  இங்கே அவர்தம் குறள் ஒன்று :

நெடுங்கடலும் தன்நீர்மை குன்றும் தடிந்தெழிலி

தான்நல்கா தாகி விடின்.

மேகம் கடலிலிருந்து நீரைக் கொண்டு அதனிடத்திலே பெய்யாமல் விடுமானால், பெரிய கடலும் தன் வளம் குன்றிப் போகும்.  பரிமேலழகர் உரை:   மிக பெரிய அளவிட இயலாத அளவு அகன்ற கடலும் தன் இயல்பு குறையும்; எழிலி தான் தடிந்து நல்காது ஆகி விடின் - மேகம் தான் அதனைக் குறைத்து அதன்கண் பெய்யாது விடுமாயின்.  உலகில் உயிரிகளுக்கு, பயிர்களுக்கு, மனிதனுக்கு மட்டுமல்ல - கடலுக்கும் மழை அவசியம். அத்தியாவசியம். 

Earth is truly unique in its abundance of water. Water is necessary to sustaining life on Earth, and helps tie together the Earth's lands, oceans, and atmosphere into an integrated system. Precipitation, evaporation, freezing and melting and condensation are all part of the hydrological cycle - a never-ending global process of water circulation from clouds to land, to the ocean, and back to the clouds.  "Water is at the heart of both the causes and effects of climate change." 

Rain is liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then become heavy enough to fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle. A monsoon often brings about thoughts of torrential rains, similar to a hurricane or typhoon. But there is a difference: a monsoon is not a single storm; rather, it is a seasonal wind shift over a region. The shift may cause heavy rains in the summer, but at other times, it may cause a dry spell.  

The way  Print, digital & social media hyped it, commoners started fearing as though it would rain 100 cm a day –  there were apprehensions of rain water inundating everything and areas getting submerged.  It rained but nowhere close to what it had been made out to be – yet there was water logging at places.

The IMD report puts the rainfall from 8.30am Oct15 to 5.30am Oct 16 (in mm) at:   

Nungambakkam (Chennai): 139.0 mm

Meenambakkam (Chennai): 116.4 mm

Cuddalore (Cuddalore): 36.0 mm

Tirupattur (Tirupattur) (upto 1730): 28.0 mm

Puducherry (Puducherry): 26.0 mm

Tiruttani (Tiruvallur) (upto 1730): 22.0 mm   .. .. and lesser !!!

Now the sky is clear with light drizzling and may be some weather blogger by afternoon would report that it is a hot day out there !!!   The news about the depression is – it is moving away !!

The depression over southwest Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 12kmph during the past 6 hours and lay centered at 5.30am over the about 360km east-southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu), 390km east of Puducherry and 450km southeast of Nellore (Andhra Pradesh). It is likely to move west-northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu - South Andhra Pradesh coasts between Puducherry and Nellore, close to Chennai during early morning of October 17.

The movie plot described at the start is ‘Rain Man’ a very famous movie directed by Barry Levinson released in 1988. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish, young wheeler-dealer Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed virtually all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), an autistic savant of whose existence Charlie was unaware.  

The movie was a blockbuster and won International accolades also winning the Golden bear at the  39th Berlin International Film Festival. The film grossed $354 million (on a $25 million budget), becoming the highest-grossing film of 1988, and received a leading eight nominations at the 61st Academy Awards, winning four (more than any other film nominated): Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Hoffman), and Best Original Screenplay.

Though named ‘Rain Man’ – the movie was not about rains or weather.  Raymond (played by Dusti Hoffman) autistic has great abilities to instantly perform complex calculations and count hundreds of objects at once, far beyond the normal range of human abilities. Charlie Babbit later realizes that Raymond had lived with the family as a child and was the "Rain Man" (Charlie's infantile pronunciation of "Raymond"), a comforting figure Charlie had remembered as an imaginary friend.

So most people would have only breads, biscuits and other food items bought in huge quantities and stored !!

With regards – S Sampathkumar
16^th Oct 2024.