Crow catching !!!

 

காக்கைகளை  மையமா வெச்சு ஒரு படம் எடுத்தால் !!

ஹையா!!   எனக்கும் காக்கா பிடிக்க வரும் !!

Some success stories revolve around Crow catching !!!

Irumbu kuthiraigal !! ~ குதிரைகள் உலகம் எளிது

 

குதிரைகள் உலகம் எளிது — எதிர்பார்ப்பு ஏதும் இல்லை!

  போட்டி, பொறாமைகளும் இல்லை !!  ~  இரும்பு குதிரைகள் படித்துள்ளீர்களா !

கடற்கரை மணலைக் கிளப்பியபடி, கட்டுப்பாடுகள் ஏதுமின்றிக் காற்றோடு போட்டியிட்டு ஓடும் மூன்று அழகிய குதிரைகள்… இலக்கு எதுவென்று தெரியாது; ஆனால் அவற்றின் ஓட்டத்தில் வேகமும், கம்பீரமும், எல்லையற்ற சுதந்திரமும் தெரிகின்றன!

Horses pictured on the golden sands of Goa  !   Galloping towards freedom

பாலகுமாரனின் இரும்பு குதிரைகள் படித்துள்ளீர்களா !   பெயரைப் பார்த்தால் குதிரைகளைப் பற்றிய நாவல் எனத் தோன்றலாம். ஆனால் இதன் களம் பெரும்பாலும் லாரிப் போக்குவரத்துத் தொழில்.   நெடுஞ்சாலைகளில் ஓயாது ஓடும் லாரிகள் ஒருபுறம்; சுதந்திரம், கம்பீரம், மென்மை ஆகியவற்றின் உருவகமாக வரும் குதிரைக் கவிதைகள் மறுபுறம்!

பாலகுமாரனின் புகழ்பெற்ற நாவல்களில் ஒன்று இரும்புக் குதிரைகள், 1984ஆம் ஆண்டில் கல்கி இதழில் தொடராக வெளிவந்து, பின்னர் நூலாகப் பதிப்பிக்கப்பட்டது. லாரி நிறுவனத்தில் பணியாற்றும் விஸ்வநாதன், திரைத்துறையில் நுழையவும் தனது படைப்பாற்றலை வெளிப்படுத்தவும் விரும்புகிறான். குடும்பப் பொறுப்பு, அலுவலகச் சிக்கல்கள், மனித உறவுகள் ஆகியவற்றுக்கு இடையே சிக்கித் தவிக்கும் அவனது மனப்போராட்டமே கதையின் மையம்.  சென்னை தண்ணீர்த்தொட்டித் தெருவைச் சுற்றியுள்ள லாரிப் போக்குவரத்து உலகத்தைப் பின்னணியாகக் கொண்டது. விபத்தில் சிக்கும் லாரிகள், காணாமல் போகும் சரக்கு, முதலாளிகள், ஓட்டுநர்கள், கிளீனர்கள், சரக்குத் தரகர்கள், காவல்துறை, சாலையோர மனிதர்கள் என நாம் சாதாரணமாக அறியாத ஒரு பெரிய தொழில்சங்கிலியை பாலகுமாரன் கதையில் காட்டி இருந்தார்.  அந்தக் காலத்திய லாரித் தொழிலின் எழுதப்படாத விதிகள், சிறு ஊழல்கள், விசுவாசம், வஞ்சகம், அபாயம், மனித உழைப்பு ஆகியவை நுணுக்கமாகப் பதிவாகியுள்ளன.

வாழ்க்கை மனிதன் மீது ஏற்றிவைக்கும் பாரங்களைச் சுமந்தபடி ஓடுபவன் விஸ்வநாதன்; அவனுக்குள் இருக்கும் குதிரையோ கட்டுகளற்ற வெளியைத் தேடிக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறது. நம்மில் பலரும் விஸ்வநாதன்களே - என்ன நாம் படும் கஷ்டங்கள் விடிவதுமில்லை .. அதை ரசனையாக எழுத, ஏன் காது குடுத்து கேட்க  மனிதரும் இல்லை.

கடற்கரை மணல்வெளியில்  தறி கேட்டு ஓடும் குதிரைகள் மனதிற்க்கு ஏதோ இதத்தை அளிப்பது உண்மை !!

Regards – S Sampathkumar

3.9.2026

convoy of Hon'ble CM of Tamil Nadu passing !

 

Convoy of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Mr C Joseph Vijay passing through

Mount Road, Chennai this evening 2.9.2026

: https://youtu.be/PfnqQpDkGm0

No political post this ~ so no adverse comments !!

Never text while on wheels ~ and even Sender might be liable....

This morning at Thiruvanmiyur signal, a two wheeler rider was busy checking (tampering with) his mobile placed on petrol tank – signal changed – the bus driver nearer horned impatiently – the man with earplugs on, was busy looking at his mobile – the annoyed driver let out some expletives – the boy moved on, still exhibiting no sense and not connected to the road and traffic – vexatious behaviour. ( and he is not alone – there are so many out there in public places)

Some use technology – while many get addicted and allow technology to become their boss.  Any system is good only when it is properly used. About a couple of decades ago, only elites had landlines at home. People coming to make free calls at neighbouring residence and people speaking non-stop in Office lines made very popular jokes. Life has changed …….. now so many carry more than a mobile or have dual sims on their mobiles. People generally speaking – are speaking all the time.

To most the mobile besides being a medium for talking (continuously all the time) – is an utility for sending messages (both audio and video), for games, for taking photos (for posting on social media), listening to music with ears plugged and attention glued elsewhere.  There are service providers who offer unlimited SMS packages which are a hit with users.  It’s common knowledge that texting and driving is a bad idea – do you know that in a number of jurisdictions abroad it is illegal. New Jersey is one of them.

It might appear strange to us – US laws are different and exhibit far outstretched thinking …… while texting while driving for sure is bad – there reported is a case in New Jersey about ‘extended testing’ – that is knowingly texting a person who is on wheels.  Can there be a liability ?

This pertains to an incident that occurred way back in 2009 in a rural high way. The driver behind the pickup truck was a teenager and was dating one, who was an year younger.  They reportedly exchanged 62 texts that day according to court documents. In the opposing lane a man and his wife were cruising in a motorcycle. The teens were having a text chat, volleying each other messages every few moments. Seventeen seconds after the youngboy sent a text, he was calling a 911 operator. His truck had drifted across the double center line and hit the motorcyclist  head-on.

Those on the twowheeler were severely injured with fractures.  The victim losing legs sued not only the opposite vehicle but also the person who had texted to the driver.  It was claimed that the texter was distracting the driver and hence was also a party to the accident.   The plaintiff went on to state that the text sender was electronically in the car with the driver receiving the text and should be treated like someone sitting next to him willfully causing a distraction. 

In principle, there appears to be some agreement as it was ruled that  if the sender of text messages knows that the recipient is driving and texting at the same time, a court may hold the sender responsible for distraction and hold him or her liable for the accident. The sender of messages is reported to be in the habit of sending more than 100 texts a day and was oblivious to whether recipients were driving or not. She nonchalantly stated in her deposition  that she is a young teenager and that’s what they do. 

The Court also ruled that driver is ultimately responsible and has the obligation to keep eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and pay attention to what one is expected to doing.  It is imperative that States crack down on texting while driving and punish errants hard.  Elsewhere in a different ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that a marketing consultant that hired a firm to send text messages for a third party could also be held vicariously liable for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). 

~ and how responsible are you on road …. More than responsibility, ensure that you are in a position to respond to outside environ all the time. Never have your senses of hearing and vision blinded by any distraction, be it technology or otherwise.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th Oct 2014

iPod; iPad; iPhone .... " i-pub" order through tablets - responsible drinking !

The standard scene in any local hotel – is on entry – the customer would ask – ‘what is available’ … the waiter would reel out the list of items available, ‘idly, vada, dosa, poori, parotta, rava dosa ….. coffee, tea, masala milk’…….. and the customer would ask for a cup of coffee.  In olden days, the not so tidy waiter would take out the pencil tucked between the head and ear and write on a small piece of paper, the value to be paid – later days came the printed bill (which itself was a novelty those days). Couple of years ago, the neatly dressed waiter in a famous chain restaurant – took the orders on his handheld device and had the order printed out from electronically connected device !

When released in Oct 2001, iPod took the World by storm.  It is a line of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc, that came after iTunes (Macintosh version) was released. iTunes itself was a media player, media library, and mobile device management application.  Through the iTunes Store, users can purchase and download music, music videos, television shows, audiobooks, podcasts, and movies.   The most recent iPod redesigns were announced in Sept 2012. There are three current versions of the iPod: the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle, the compact iPod Nano and the touchscreen iPod Touch. Like other digital music players, iPods can serve as external data storage devices. Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic. ………but cheap MP3 players are available in the market, which have taken lot of air out ..

iPad is the line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., - the first version was released in 2010;  second generation iPad Mini, were revealed in Oct 2013.  The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. An iPad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions such as web-browsing and emailing. Other functions—games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, etc.—can be enabled by downloading and installing apps. There have been five versions of the iPad.

The other stylish ‘iPhone’ is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It runs Apple's iOS mobile operating system. From 2007 model to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, unveiled in Sept 2014 they have been a big craze in the market. 

Some of you may be possessing the various  “-i-” apple products – have you heard of this “-i-” – the iPub that  allows drinkers to pull pints at their table after ordering on iPads ?

Daily Mail reports that punters at Britain now would be able to pull their own pints is a pub-goer's dream,  as barmaids have been ditched for iPads. Landlord Mark Lingwood has cut the queues The Westbourne pub in Swansea, South Wales, which allows drinkers to help themselves to lager on pumps - as well as snacks from the bar.

The tablets are fixed to tables at the digital-friendly boozer, which cost the 33-year-old £20,000 to develop. Drinkers at the newly refurbished pub first have to buy a special card to use the iPads. There's an app for that!  This is then placed under a sensor on the iPad to allowing them to pour themselves pints using the pumps fixed to three of the bar-room tables. Bar staff can see how much punters are drinking using a central system - and they check up on them to make sure they are getting on OK. The pub currently has Sagres and Amstel beers on the self-service taps. The pub's staff aim to bring snacks and other orders over to drinkers within two minutes of them placing an order.

~ and elsewhere in the Globe a recent survey titled "International Outlook on Responsible Serving and Selling of Alcohol Beverages, the first of its kind, highlights important, new findings across gender, age and culture. The research, conducted by Brunswick Insight and commissioned by AB InBev, polled adults of legal drinking age in eight countries — Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, the UK and the U.S. It asked about the prevalence of activities such as checking identification to verify legal drinking age and also attitudes toward responsible serving and selling of alcohol beverages. More than one in three adults across the markets surveyed (36 percent) said they would welcome responsible drinking tips from servers and sellers. This includes listening when a seller says to slow down, eat something or even stop drinking.

………… So a technology driven bar that improves drinking ! – can happen where there is the concept of responsible drinking !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th Oct 2014.

Advertised sale ........... and devoid of horn - Rhinoceroses...

They are identified by their horns but the horn of these animals, unlike bovines, consist of keratin only and lacks a bony core.  In the wild, they have  few natural predators other than humans. Young ones can fall prey to predators such as big cats, crocodiles, wild dogs, and hyena.  They are  of large size and have a reputation of being tough,  but are poached in great numbers - Rhinoceros often Rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Though herbivorous, they are very strong and have a thick protective skin.  They generally eat leafy material.

The black rhinoceros or hook-lipped rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), is a species of rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Although the rhino was referred to as black, it is actually more of a grey/brown/white color in appearance.  The other rhino is white rhino – misleading as both the species are not really distinguishable by colour.  The species overall is classified as critically endangered, and one subspecies, the Western Black Rhinoceros, was declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011.

The post started with words ‘they are identified by their horns’ …………. and there is news that Namibia has started dehorning rhinos in national parks and private conservation reserves to save the animals from poaching after 14 of the pachyderms were slaughtered this year, according to the Environment Ministry. Namibia has one of the world’s largest populations of black rhinos, which are under threat from poachers who sell their horns on the black market mainly for use in Chinese medicine, according to the World Wildlife Fund. About 1,750 black rhinos live in Namibia, out of a global population of 4,800  according to Save The Rhino and WWF.

This is a drastic measure aimed at preventing poaching of rhinos.   The Minister is quoted as saying that the  dehorning exercise is being conducted in the northern Kunene and Omusati regions on the border of Angola and Erongo in the west, where rhinos face the biggest risk of poaching.  The animals are darted with an anaesthetic, sometimes from a helicopter, and have their horns cut off with a chainsaw or hack saw, according to Save the Rhino.  The government plans to stockpile the horns and it will need consent under the United Nations’ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, before selling them,  added the Minister.

In neighboring South Africa at least 769 rhinos have been poached so far this year, compared with 1,004 in all of last year. Most rhinos in South Africa are white rhinos, the bigger of the two types of the animal found in Africa. They can weigh more than 2 metric tons ~ and if you have plans, you can buy rhinos ! – yes, true.

South Africa’s Kruger National Park is inviting bids for rhinos under a plan to move 500 of the animals to safety to counter a wave of poaching for their horns, highly prized in some Asian countries as a sign of wealth. In newspaper adverts, South African National Parks invited potential buyers to “make a written offer to purchase white rhinos in batches of 20 or more”.

Private ranchers own around 5,000 of South Africa’s 20,000 rhinos, part of a thriving game farming industry in Africa’s most advanced economy that caters for eco-tourism and hunting. The government is turning to the private sector because the Kruger has become the main poaching ground for the animals. More than 1,000 were poached in South Africa last year – three times the tally in 2010 – to meet soaring demand for rhino horn, coveted as an ingredient in traditional medicine in fast-growing economies such as China and Vietnam.

People buy rhinos as an investment for a number of reasons. Rhinos are used to attract tourists to a lodge for game viewing and for legal trophy hunts and are traded in an open market. Some ranchers have also bought rhinos in the hope that trade in horn will be legalised at some point.

Poaching of elephants and rare animals in Africa is increasing. The products are sold to Asian countries where elephants’ tusks are used in medicine.  “China is the biggest consumer of ivory (70 percent of the world’s ivory ends up as trinkets for the Chinese middle class), and Vietnam is the main consumer of rhino horn,” says activists. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16th Oct 2014.

Bangalore Cubbon Park

 

Cubbon Park—officially called Sri Chamarajendra Park—one of Bengaluru’s most treasured green spaces. Situated in the very heart of the city, it provides a striking contrast to the traffic and densely built surroundings outside.

The park was laid out in 1870, soon after the completion of the Attara Kacheri—today’s Karnataka High Court. It was conceived by Major General Richard Sankey, then Chief Engineer of Mysore State. Initially called Meade’s Park, it was later popularly named after Sir Mark Cubbon, a former Commissioner of Mysore. Its present official name commemorates Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar.

2.9.2026

Allikkeni Raja procession 2019

 

தெருவெல்லாம் ஒலிக்கணும் ஐயா!  திருநாமம் முழங்கணும் ஐயா
கூட்டம் கூட்டமா கூடி வர; கணபதி நாமம் ஓங்கி வர!

கணேசா கணேசா வேகமா வா ! எங்கள் வினைகள் எல்லாம் போக்க வா!

Jai Veera Vigneshwara Maharaj ki …  Pillaiyar chathurthi on Sept 14, 2026

Pic of 2019 – able to identify the location of this pic easily !?

 

Crow bath - [காக்காய் குளியல்] at Marina beach

 

Crow-bath at Marina !! 

Which is your favourite brand of Soap and which actress you like most ! – in good olden days, when there would be stream of advertisements before the start of film in a theatre, there was this famous jingle, loved by all – ‘‘La, lalala, la, la, la’. 

It was that  of ‘Liril’   now manufactured by Hindustan Unilever in India.  If there is one thing that has been consistent with commercials for Hindustan Lever’s Liril soap, it has been its jingle. Think Liril and the next thing that comes rushing to mind is its trademark  tune and the   visual of a girl frolicking under a waterfall.  The Liril Girl, conceived in 1974 by ad agency  was  an audio-visual treat.  Read that  Vanraj Bhatia was asked to compose a music track for the audio-visual presentation and he composed a twenty-minute track. The background music had the sounds of Sitar and Tabla blended with western music.  The track, Laa lalala laa lalala laaa laalaalaa was sung by Preeti Sagar. The man behind the advt,  Surendranath happened was impressed by  Karen Lunel.  All the commercials were shot at  kodaikanal falls.  After a decade, Anjali Jathar replaced Lunel. Then Sonali Mehta, Pooja Batra, Priety Zinta, Deepika Padukone, Tara Sharma, Anabelle, (a Brazilian model), and Amyra Dastur were seen in commercials.  

Today evening happened to see a Crow bathing at fountain waters in Marina beach near Labour statue.  Crow bath -   [காக்காய் குளியல்]  has somewhat derogatory meaning of something incomplete !!!  :  :  https://youtu.be/eqPyrkqhlTE

“காக்காய்க் குளியல்” என்பது முழுமையாகக் குளிக்காமல், உடலில் சிறிது தண்ணீரைத் தெளித்துக்கொண்டு அல்லது தலையை மட்டும் நனைத்துக்கொண்டு, அவசரமாகக் குளியலை முடிப்பதைக் குறிக்கும். அதிலிருந்துதான் அரைகுறையாகச் செய்தல், பெயரளவுக்கு முடித்தல் என்ற சற்றே இகழ்ச்சியான பொருள் வந்திருக்கிறது.

காகம் நீரில் இறங்கி நிதானமாகக் குளிக்காமல், தலையையும் உடலையும் சிலமுறை விரைவாக நீரில் முக்கி, சிறகுகளைப் படபடவென்று அடித்துவிட்டுப் பறந்துபோகும். இந்த இயற்கைக் காட்சியை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்ட உவமை இது.  வடமொழியில் மிகப் பழமையான “தீர்த்தகாகः — tīrtha-kākaḥ” என்ற சொல் இருக்கிறது. இதற்கு:

·        நீரில் தலையை மட்டும் முக்கிக் குளிப்பவன்

·        ஓரிடத்தில் நிலைத்து நிற்காதவன்

·        குருகுலத்தில் முறையாகத் தங்கி முழுமையாகக் கற்காத மாணவன்

என்ற பொருள்கள் தரப்படுகின்றன. பாணினியின் சூத்திரத்திற்கான பதஞ்சலியின் மகாபாஷ்ய உரையுடன் இந்தப் பயன்பாடு தொடர்புபடுத்தப்படுகிறது. காகங்கள் தீர்த்தத்தில் சிறிது நேரமே தங்கி உடனே பறப்பதுபோல, கல்வியை முழுமையாகப் பெறாமல் வெளியேறும் மாணவன் தீர்த்தகாகம் எனப்பட்டான். 

“Crow bath” என்பது பொதுவான, நிலைபெற்ற ஆங்கில மரபுத்தொடர் அல்ல. அதை நேரடியாக மொழிபெயர்த்தால் -  அது சரியான ஆங்கில வார்த்தையாக அமையாது !!   அதற்கு நெருக்கமான, நன்கு நிலைபெற்ற ஆங்கில மரபுத்தொடர்கள்: 

·        a quick wash – அவசரக் குளியல்

·        a cat-lick / a cat’s lick – மேலோட்டமான, மிக விரைவான கழுவுதல்

·        a lick and a promise – ஒரு வேலையை அவசரமாகவும் அரைகுறையாகவும் செய்தல்; குறிப்பாகச் சுத்தம் செய்தல்

·        a sponge bath – நீரில் முழுமையாகக் குளிக்காமல் உடலைத் துடைத்துச் சுத்தம் செய்தல்; இதில் இகழ்ச்சிப் பொருள் அவசியமில்லை

Cambridge Dictionary, “a lick and a promise” என்பதற்கு “a quick and careless act of cleaning or washing” என்று பொருள் தருகிறது. இது உருவகப் பொருளில் காக்காய்க் குளியல் என்பதற்கு மிக நெருக்கமான ஆங்கிலத் தொடர் -  “a lick and a promise” என்பதுவே எனலாம்.

Interesting !!

Regards – S  Sampathkumar

1.9.2026

beauty .............. refined is redefined !!

 

A thing of beauty – gets more attraction when  redefined by display !!

the red roses appear like vivid punctuation marks scattered

across a sea of pale-yellow chrysanthemums.

driving skills .......... on a slope !!

 

என்ன குமாரு ! பயமா !! - How good is your driving skill ? can you do this !!!

 How fearless are you ? – the descent takes couple of seconds only