Comparison robs the joy !!!

 

In humans – there is often comparison, more so on who is more beautiful !! Which is more beautiful—the cow or the calf?" 

 

True beauty is defined by peace of mind and character, not by external comparison. The constant question of "who is more beautiful" stems from the human ego and social conditioning, which falsely view beauty as a scarce resource.  When you shift your perspective, you change the rules of the game:  A rose does not compete with a lotus; both make the garden beautiful.

 

"Comparison steals joy; appreciation reveals beauty."

 

The Q on Cow or Calf -  the  question itself misses the point. 

The mother carries strength, experience, and quiet dignity.

The calf carries innocence, wonder, and the promise of tomorrow. 

Nature never compares. It simply allows each life to be what it is. Much of our unhappiness begins when we compare ourselves with others. Much of our peace begins when we appreciate our own unique place in the world. 

The cow need not be the calf.

The calf need not be the cow.

Both are beautiful. So are we.

 

போட்டியும் பொறாமையும் இயல்பானவை என்றாலும், அவை ஆரோக்கியமானதாக இருக்க வேண்டும். மற்றவர்களைக் கண்டு பொறாமைப் படுவதற்குப் பதிலாக, நம்மை நாமே மேம்படுத்திக் கொள்ளும் ஆரோக்கியமான போட்டியை ஏற்படுத்திக் கொள்வது சிறந்தது.

 

Interesting !

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar

18.6.2026

illegal immigrant tries to cross into Dover in underside of horse box... !!

It is not ‘grass is greener on the other side’ – sometimes, the situation in the home front is so bad that people resort to every means to flee !

Valegro is a famous horse, the one  ridden by the British equestrian Charlotte Dujardin in the sport of dressage. He stands 16.2hh and has the stable name of Blueberry. He is a multiple World Champion in Dressage, such as winning WEG (World Equestrian Games) 2013 and 2014. The combination became part of the team which won gold in a European Dressage Championship event in Rotterdam.  Selected to represent Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics, in the first round they set a new Olympic record.  

Calais  is a town and major ferry port in northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the  English Channel, which is only 34 km (21 mi) wide here, and is the closest French town to England. The White Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. Calais is a major port for ferries between France and England, and since 1994.  Due to its position, Calais since the Middle Ages has been a major port and a very important centre for transport and trading with England. The town was virtually razed to the ground during World War II, when in May 1940, it was a strategic bombing target of the invading German forces who took the town during the Siege of Calais. Today, Calais is visited by more than 10 million annually. Aside from being a key transport hub, Calais is also a notable fishing port and a centre for fish marketing and some 3,000 people are still employed in the lace industry for which the town is also famed.

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel.  The name of the town derives from the name of the river that flows through it, the River Dour.

More than 2,500 migrants who are “willing to die” to come to Britain are currently in Calais, the mayor of the French port has told MPs. Natacha Bouchart, the centre-right UMP mayor of Calais, told the Commons home affairs committee during a special evidence session that part of the problem was that the British government had done nothing to tell potential migrants that there was no ‘El Dorado’ for them in the UK. Bouchart said that the nature of the migrants, many of whom came from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria and Egypt, was changing. They were becoming more violent with more mafia-types and people traffickers among them. She claimed that they were desperate to reach Britain because they had heard that asylum seekers received £36 a week subsistence in the UK.

An illegal immigrant was caught hanging on to the underside of a horse box transporting a racehorse from Calais to Dover.  Daily Mail reports that the man was found clinging to the chassis of the horse box carrying Valegro, which won gold with rider Charlotte Dujardin at the London Olympics in 2012. Police with sniffer dogs caught the man, who had chosen the largest and most accessible vehicle in the queue, as the vehicle was readying to return to England after an event in Norway.

Groom Alan Davies said: 'We had queued at a manned booth to check in for the train, with just a couple of cars in front of us, and after checking in we were told to pull over once we'd gone through the barrier. 'I thought they just wanted to check the gas was off as they do on the trains, but security came over and looked under the lorry. They then said: "There's someone under there". 'They'd seen him on CCTV waiting around and when he'd disappeared they became suspicious.' Mr Davies said that he was shocked by what happened as he had taken precautions to guard against stowaways.  If a trucker is caught with migrants in his vehicle when on British soil it is the driver, not the company, who is liable for a £2,000 fine.

Reports suggest that migrants are flocking to Calais in increasing numbers this year, with up to 2,000 people living in makeshift shelters as they wait to cross the English channel. The impoverished conditions in the port city has lead Natacha Bouchart, the mayor of Calais, to announce a new refuge for migrants, likened by many to the infamous Red Cross camp at Sangatte. French authorities insist they have been left with few options after fighting between migrant groups lead to 70 people being injured this summer, while people have also been targeted by criminals. Just last month a crew aboard a P&O ferry were forced to turn a firehose on a crowd of around 250 people as they tried to force their way on to the boat.

British dressage rider Carl Hester MBE, part of the 2012 team, tweeted: 'Valegro arrived safely back at Folkestone unlike the illegal immigrant found underneath the lorry!'

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

3^rd Nov. 2014.

Miss Honduras gets killed without getting to Miss World Pageant

Honduras  is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, prior to being conquered by Spain in the sixteenth century.  Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982.  The country is in news – for wrong reasons.

The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant, created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. The winner spends a year travelling to represent the Miss World Organisation and its various causes. The current Miss World is Megan Young of the Philippines who was crowned on September 28, 2013 in Bali, Indonesia. Traditionally Miss World lives in London during her reign.

This post is about the girl who would have flown to London to compete in the Miss World pageant the high point of her reign as Miss Honduras. Sadly, it is not to happen - the beauty queen and her sister were found shot dead on a remote river bank, and police said the sister’s boyfriend confessed to killing them in a jealous rage over his girlfriend dancing with another man. Bodies believed to be 19-year-old Maria Jose Alvarado and her 23-year-old sister, Sofia, were discovered buried near the spa where they disappeared a week earlier while celebrating the boyfriend’s birthday. At some point during the night of November 13, 2014, a heated argument broke out and Plutarco Ruiz pulled a gun, firing first at his girlfriend and then at Alvarado as she tried to flee, said National Police director, Gen. Ramon Sabillon. Alvarado was hit twice in the back.  Alvarado was to have boarded a flight to London to compete in the Miss World pageant, the winner of which will be crowned on December 14.

The sisters’ mother, Teresa Munoz, told Televicentro  that  her daughters were trusting and naive. “They were not very astute about assessing the people around them. They were just friendly,” Ms. Munoz said. “They were going out with people they hadn’t known very long.”  In connection to crime, Ruiz’s brother reportedly had  met a violent end, gunned down in a restaurant in San Pedro Sula in February by men carrying AK47s.

The shooting deaths of Alvarado and her sister highlight what experts call an alarming trend of violence against women in Central America, fuelled by poverty, domestic violence, street gangs, drug trafficking and a culture of chauvinism. According to a report by the United Nations, murders of women and girls in Honduras increased by 263 per cent between 2005 and 2013. The country has the highest murder rate in the world for a country not at war, with an estimated 90 to 95 killings per 100,000 people. An official is quoted as saying that a lot of girls die this way, but because they’re not famous, it doesn’t get the attention and the crimes go unpunished. 

Beauty pageants are popular in Latin America, where the winners are viewed as celebrities and often go on to become entertainers. The winner of this year Maria Jose Alvarado has died without ever getting a chance to further her reputation.

Koyal Rana, an Indian model was crowned Femina Miss India 2014 beauty pageant and will represent India in Miss World 2014 which is to be  held in London.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

20^th Nov. 2014.

stray dogs menace !

 

Stray/ Street  dogs  - menace !! or are they kind as some claim them to be !! 

From safety / Insurance perspective – could reckon this well-guarded shop to be a better risk ?  

- for the moment, the ones relaxing seem to say 'please don't disturb' !! tell, honestly, would you dare walk on the road in this scenario !!  

In the lanes and bylanes of Triplicane, Mylapore, Mandaveli, Mambalam – the scenario is more or less same ! in late evening / night time, dogs would start barking at people walking or on two-wheeler.  They have attacked people, especially children too !!  

Some may say that they may not harm - - you may have sound logic !!!!  -  yet  I am afraid of walking in a dark lane, where there are dogs !, their shriek, barks, chasing and stark  possibility of biting !! 

பஞ்சவா்ணக்கிளி நீ பறந்த பின்னாலும் ~ perception bias

How beautiful is this photo ? – please do think something about  this – read this post till the last line and may be you may rethink your opinion ! – that is what life is all about ?

 

Often we think ourselves to be calm, well-informed and taking right decisions peacefully.  Life is all about perceptions – we carry lot of negativism and bias  it starts with the thinking that we are perfect and rightly justified in thinking something about others !  ~ and all of that could be wrong !!   

A great deal of information is stored in our subconscious minds, and this information allows our brains to make decisions and draw conclusions quickly, often without us even being aware of it. While this does make decision-making easier, it also leads to a lot of established assumptions, beliefs, or attitudes that are known as unconscious biases. Before we even speak with someone, we’ve made an assumption or a judgment about who they are based on how they look, speak, or the clothes they wear.  Perception bias is all around us, if we look closely at our actions and surroundings, we are under the influence of this cognitive factor. From building perceptions about colleagues or friends to sharing views about people or things, we are under the spell of perception bias. It drives us to perceive situations about different things on the basis of our preconceived notions and pre-existing beliefs, which could be far away from the reality !!  

Our Common assumption is all Parrots are Green hence ‘Green parrots’.  Colloquially, the brightly coloured hued parrot is Panchavarna kili (the one with 5 colours).  Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the tribe Arini.

நமக்கு தெரிந்தது எல்லாம் பச்சை கிளி - பல வர்ணங்கள் இருந்தால் பஞ்சவர்ண கிளி ... எனினும் இவை மக்காவ் எனப்படும் பஞ்சவர்ணக்கிளிகள் அல்ல, வடிவிலும் சிறியவை.  சங்கமம் படத்தில் ஷங்கர் மஹாதேவன் பாடிய பாடல் காதில் ஒலித்தது : 

கண்ணில் வரும் காட்சியெல்லாம் கண்மணியை  உறுத்தும்

காணாத உன் உருவம் கண்ணுக்குள்ள இனிக்கும்

 

வராக நதிக்கரை ஓரம்  ஒரே ஒரு பார்வை பார்த்தேன்

புறாவே நில்லுன்னு சொன்னேன்; கனாவாய் ஓடி மறைஞ்ச!!

 

பஞ்சவா்ணக்கிளி நீ பறந்த பின்னாலும் ..  அஞ்சு வா்ணம் நெஞ்சில் இருக்கு !!  

 

Parrots are known for their bright colors, and some of the most colorful members of the parrot family are lories and lorikeets. Also known as honeyeaters, the many members of this parrot group (subfamily Loriinae) can be found throughout the islands of the South Pacific and Australia.   

Perception bias is a cognitive bias that occurs when we subconsciously draw conclusions based on what we expect to see or experience. Once we make an assumption, we tend to look for evidence that reinforces it, rather than being open-minded and objective about a given situation. This often happens without us realizing it because perceptions are entrenched in our cultural and personal history. Personal biases are influenced by a wide variety of factors, including: age, gender, race, physical appearance,  background, societal norms, political beliefs, communication styles, social skills, our own health or disability.  

Take movies, for example.  The villain has a definitive colour and often has  a physical marker, such as a scar or a limp? Nerds (Padipps) are socially awkward and wear glasses, while the academically challenged popular kids play sports well. These stereotypes exist because they’re easy for our brains to process. They simplify complex situations and allow us to make snap judgments about people without really getting to know them. The problem with perception bias is that it can lead us to make all sorts of inaccurate judgments. And these judgments can have real-life consequences.

In the workplace, perception bias occurs when assumptions about how people look, think, work, or behave influence workforce dynamics. Bias can develop personally between individual colleagues or on an organizational level throughout the company culture. Many a times, qualified candidates may miss out on jobs or promotions because they don’t fit the employer’s image of the perfect candidate. Or, some employees may be paid less.  One of my bosses often quipped, that ‘that person had to struggle for things life, which otherwise, happen easily and normally to others” – true or perception ?

Good Monday Morning  – welcome to my Photo story – today my photo  story captures this beautiful Parakeet.  The background has been edited !  You may think them to be a pair on the same twig.  The top one is real, the lower one is same layer, cut and pasted below to that – unreal.   In life, it is not always necessary to understand all details, there are images that capture our attention and make us happy.  Just live life simply.

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
4.8.2025 

simple exercises for Stress relief

How calm are you, how happy are you ! – how often do you get irritated ? how often do you smile at people ???? – modern day life is all about STRESS. 

Stress testing is a method of evaluating how a system, device, or component performs under extreme or abnormal conditions. It's used to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities, determine the system's breaking point, and assess its ability to handle expected load and recover from failures.  Stress tests for humans, specifically cardiac stress tests, evaluate how well the heart functions under stress, like during physical activity. They can help diagnose and monitor heart conditions, such as coronary artery disease and arrhythmias. The tests typically involve walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike while being monitored with an electrocardiogram (EKG). 

Then there are various tools evolved for assessing Mental stress.  Some of them use  the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Originally created by Cohen et al (1983), it is a highly recognised psychological tool for measuring stress that's clinically validated and widely used. The test measures the degree to which situations in your life are perceived as stressful by scoring how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded you feel your life to be. The questions ask about your thoughts and feelings during the last month, are easy to understand and are of a general nature. 

Now here is my recommendation.  Stand in front of a glass – look straight, but don’t stare at your own image; then slowly rotate your neck and touch your right shoulder with your head, stay for 10 seconds, slowly revert back.  Repeat the same the other way ie., touching left shoulder with your head.

 

Do this for ten minutes – most important – during this exercise don’t see your mobile social media .. stay away.  A suggestive pose representation modeled by a Giraffe.   Some may think this is impossible but see people driving two-wheeler on roads with mobile between their ear and shoulder – it is simple ! 

Sunday Good morning message from Aasami sirippu sinthanaiyan

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
8.6.2025 

Aircraft identification No. - clairvoyance - and Airlines changes No..

TAM Airlines operates in Brazil. The company is currently the largest Brazilian airline by market share and fleet size.  Just as the Transport corporation buses have Nos.. eg., 21H runs on OMR passing Karapakkam …. it originates at Broadway and winds its way  through Kamarajar Salai; LB Road; OMR for Kelambakkam with scheduled time of 85 minutes for the 21 stops in between  … akin to route No. in MTC and IMO in Ships,  there is IATA codes.  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines. It represents some 240 airlines or more than 84% of total air traffic.  IATA airline designators are used to identify an airline for commercial purposes in reservations, timetables, tickets, tariffs, air waybills and in telecommunications.

The term clairvoyance (from French clair meaning "clear" and voyance meaning "vision")  refers  to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known senses, i.e., a form of extrasensory perception.  Premonition is the  feeling or belief that something is going to happen when there is no definite reason to believe it will.. then there is ESP (Extrasensory perception)  that involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. Foretelling the future is a complicated subject !

Nooravathu Naal (Hundredth Day) directed by Manivannan starring Mohan, Vijayakant, Nalini and Sathyaraj was released in 1984 ….the suspense thriller was of a psychopath who abducts young women and kills them.  In the film, they will see a weekly magazine with a cover photo of horse (much before the release of the magazine) and sooner the same will hit the stands ….more  such premonitions would follow ……… including killings..  In the 1990s, Malayalam films of Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi had good run in Chennai, especially in Saffire theatre… ‘Iyer the Great; was one such psychological thriller directed by Bhadran, starring Mammootty & Geetha.  The storyline was on ‘ESP’…..it was about Vaikundam Surya Narayana Iyer (Mammootty), a normal business executive who on a day climbing a tall tree in order to capture an escaped pet parrot, undergoes acrophobia (fear of heights) and suddenly acquires  the power of clairvoyance. A couple of days later, he foresees a train accident with exact train number, and time of incident and warns the railway authorities. A couple of days later, Iyer foresees a terrible airplane accident and informs the authorities about a future bombing at a flight in Delhi.

Ever wondered what will happen in real life, if somebody claims to have such power and forewarns about an accident, providing details including the area and the flight number – simple change the flight number ! – stumped by the answer – read this report that appeared on MailOnline on 24th Nov 2014.

TAM airlines left nothing to chance for a Sao Paulo flight to Brasilia following the warning from renowned psychic Jucelino Nobrega da Luz. The man who claims he predicted the deaths of both Princess Diana and Brazilian racing hero Ayrton Senna, claimed TAM flight JJ3720 would develop engine trouble and crash on Sao Paulo’s main Paulista Avenue.  He claimed he also correctly predicted the death of presidential candidate Eduardo Campos. However, his predictions that a cure for AIDS would be discovered in 2008 and the outcome of Brazil's 2006 elections did not come true.

Superstition over flight numbers is nothing new. Airlines don't ever schedule a flight 13 and many airlines opt not to have a row 13 on board their planes. Other numbers avoided include flight 911 and 666. Airlines also retire the flight numbers of jets that have crashed, with US Airways ditching flight 1549 following the 2009 crash which saw hero pilot safely land the plane in the Hudson River, as did Malaysian Airlines MH 370.

Brazilian authorities were concerned over the prediction. In light of the 'indispensable information', TAM changed the flight code to JJ4732, stating that passengers security was paramount at all times. Jucelino Nóbrega da Luz, 51, is considered the clairvoyant with greater credibility in Brazil. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

25th Nov. 2014.

which wire to cut - the sad story of bomb defusing !!

In Cricket, an ungainly shot, an unintended cut (an inside edge) flying between the stumps and keeper is called ‘French cut’ (sometimes Chinese cut).  In Baasha, Rajnikant would in nick of time take out the bomb planted in the Ganesh pandal.  In Vathiyar, hero Arjun would remove and defuse the bomb saving the lives of people.  In fiction-land, disarming just about any bomb is a matter of cutting the right wires in the right order  ~ there will be differently coloured wires -  if the wrong wire is cut, the bomb will explode instantly, and with the clock ticking – with seconds to go, the hero would pick the correct wire, cut and save all !!

On that fateful day when Mumbai was under siege, IPS officer Vishwas Nangre-Patil and his talented bunch saved hundreds of lives by calmly disposing unexploded grenades.  The officers of bomb disposal squad risked their lives while defusing hand-grenades and RDX boxes at Trident and Taj hotels under the terrorists' fire.   While all reel-life heroes are successful, in real-time, things can be alarmingly different as read in this MailOnline story.  Sad that a hero succumbed while passersby casually filmed last moments of brave bomb disposal officer. 

Sadly, it was to be the images capturing one man's last act of staggering bravery - and another's utter cowardice. As an Egyptian bomb disposal officer edged carefully towards an explosive device hidden in the base of a plant outside a Cairo petrol station, bystanders filmed his every move.  Seconds later the bomb exploded in his hands, throwing the man several feet into the air. As the debris cleared, police and bystanders were seen rushing to his side ~ not all  including the person who recorded these images on their mobile phone.

In the video, the police officer, dressed in protective clothing, is seen edging towards the device - hidden beneath the plant behind the backpack. In the background, three bystanders film on their mobile phones. The detonation proved fatal as the officer was blasted several feet into the air as it detonated in his hands. While some onlookers rush to his aide, the cameraman behind this footage made sure he recorded the scene.

Jihadists claimed responsibility for the attack, which also left three employees of the Cairo petrol station wounded. The group Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) claimed on Twitter that it had placed the device, saying it was targeting police officers at a nearby station.  The footage represents a recent shift in the way information has come out of conflict zones around the world, amid advances in technology and the increased use of social networking sites. Footage of recent atrocities in Syria and Iraq is readily available online. The most graphic images do not come from traditional news organisations but from amateurs who have recorded distressing scenes and then uploaded them.  In some cases, people posed for selfies against a background of explosions. Some have argued that the trend means there is a permanent record of criminals who have committed such atrocities.  However, others claim it shows how desensitised the world has become to the shocking sights and that the stream of footage could belittle the horrors which so many face.

Policemen and soldiers have faced regular militant attacks since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.  Hundreds have been killed in attacks claimed by jihadist groups in retaliation for a government crackdown targeting Morsi's supporters.   The wave of anti-Christian violence followed the breakup by security forces of two sit-in protests by Morsi's supporters, an operation that killed hundreds.

Sad to read of such incidents.

Akku starring Anu Hasan and Riyaz Khan flopped at the box-office. It was a story of an IT Pro falling in love with a chirpy girl whose brother is a bigtime terrorist.  In trying to elope they are caught by the brother who plants a shoe bomb on the person  and dumps him in city centre – he is asked to run and if he stops, bomb will explode.  The storyline was about how the Police Cop defuses the bomb !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

13^th Jan 2015.

Happiness is not a destination - missing tile syndrome !!

Another New Year (2025) is about to dawn – sure, many of us have ‘list of to do’ and that includes ‘many things you want to buy !’ – may be Merc Benz !!  or a valuable diamond ring !!  - heard of ‘Missing tile syndrome !!’

 

Most of us believe that if we tick a series of boxes (great job, fancy car, holiday destination, costly iphone, camera, etc.,) we attain success  and live happily every after.  Don’t confuse with the concocted myths of Tamil cinema – the highest paid actor would advise you not to run after money and the most paid writer would say, rich men are unhappy !!  - whatever it be – Happiness is no destination.  

There is joy in giving ! – recently went for a medical camp for students of Veda patashala and learnt life that how little things give happiness to hundreds of kids.   The art of gift giving can come in many shapes and sizes, yet  for some people, the ultimate gift is to revel in luxury and splendor.  

In many parlance, ‘a costly diamond’ is the ultimate gift that women would feel happy about !  there was this diamond  originally bought by Harriet Annenberg Ames, the sister of the billionaire publisher Walter Annenberg, in 1967. Annenberg Ames feared wearing the diamond in her native New York City, and decided to sell the stone. She later said that "I found myself positively cringing and keeping my gloves on for fear it would be seen. ... It sat in a bank vault for years. It seemed foolish to keep it if one could not use it. As things are in New York one could not possibly wear it publicly". 

So it went on sale in an auction in Oct 1969 -   with the diamond listed as lot 133, at Parke-Bernet in New York City. The diamond was flown to Gstaad in Switzerland so that the actress Elizabeth Taylor could see it, and flown back to the United States for the auction. Taylor's husband, the actor Richard Burton, had set a maximum bid of $1 million for the diamond, with his lawyer, Aaron Frosch, bidding on the telephone from London, and Al Yugler of the jewellers Frank Pollock and Sons, bidding in the room for Burton. 

Elizabeth Taylor’s passion for glamorous jewels was legendary. Over the years she amassed a remarkable collection from the great houses—Bulgari, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and more. The jewels and diamonds were gifts from husbands, lovers and friends, and many she purchased for herself right up until she died at age 79 in 2011.

 

The Taylor–Burton Diamond, a diamond weighing 68 carats (13.6 g), became famous in 1969 when it was purchased by actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Burton had previously been the underbidder when jeweller Cartier bought the diamond at auction for $1,050,000, setting a record price for a publicly sold jewel. Thousands of people in New York and Chicago queued to see the diamond after its 1969 sale.   

Taylor stunningly  wore the diamond at the 42nd Academy Awards on 7 April 1970, where she wore a dress designed by Edith Head. Taylor presented the Academy Award for Best Picture to Midnight Cowboy at the ceremony.  A $1 million insurance policy was secured against the diamond with Lloyd's of London. The terms set by Lloyd's stipulated that it could only be publicly worn for thirty days in any given year, that it be stored in a vault, and that Taylor was to be accompanied by armed guards when wearing it in public. Taylor would later have a replica made of the diamond that cost $2,800.  After her second divorce from Burton in 1978, Taylor sold the diamond in June 1979 to Henry Lambert, a jeweller from New York for a figure believed to between $3–5 million. Part of the proceeds from the sale funded the construction of a hospital in Botswana. Taylor and Burton's second marriage had taken place in Botswana in 1975.   

Moving away to history, in 1778, after three years of war with Great Britain, the United States was short of money and signed a treaty of alliance with France. This treaty gave them an unlimited supply of weapons and military support to win the American Revolutionary War and included enough money to get through the war. On September 3, 1783, the war resulted in the independence of the United States. Today it remains the most expensive gift ever given in history with a value of €18,6 billion. 

The Treaty of Alliance  (1778)), also known as the Franco-American Treaty, was a defensive alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States formed amid the American Revolutionary War with Great Britain. It was signed by delegates of King Louis XVI and the Second Continental Congress in Paris on February 6, 1778, along with the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a secret clause providing for the entry of other European allies.  The agreements marked the official entry of the United States on the world stage, and formalized French recognition and support of U.S. independence that was to be decisive in America's victory.

 

Meandering away, we want to be happy and have all along been led to believe that   happiness is a final destination — one that can be reached if we make the right choices, learn from our mistakes, and keep pushing forward. We are taught that, once we finally find it, we’ll be forever satisfied in our lives, and so we live feeling overwhelmed and inadequate, chasing this dream, never stopping to question if it is, in fact, flawed. 

The reality is that it is flawed. “Happiness” is not a destination. It’s a state of mind, and you don’t need to be in it every moment of every day. Not only is that impossible, but it’s also unhealthy. Life is complex and uncertain. Ups and downs are normal. The day you land that promotion you’ve been longing for might also be the day you suffer your first heartbreak.  It is  said where attention goes, energy flows. If we focus on negativity, we will perpetually be unhappy despite having everything. The Missing Tile Syndrome is an obstacle to happiness.  

It’s so easy to focus on what we don’t have in life rather than enjoying the things in our life that we do have.  Even though we have a life filled with happiness and all blessings, we often obsess for the things which are missing. “Missing Tile Syndrome” is   simply focusing on the things which we are missing and thus robbing ourselves of happiness. Imagine that you are in a Museum and look  up and see a beautiful ceiling made up with thousands of tiles. As you  look around – your eyes gets fixed on that one tile that is missing. Although the rest of the ceiling is perfect and beautiful, many thoughts are fixed on that missing and mars enjoying the wholesome beauty !! 

Don’t worry – Be happy ! – life is not to be spent worrying ! – morning thoughts of aasami sirippu sinthanaiyan !

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
23.12.2024 

Sleep well and earn !! ~ தூங்காதே தம்பி… தூங்காதே…நீயும் சோம்பேறி

 

When do you hit bed daily ~ how long and how well do you sleep !! ~ it is around 2 pm now – and would you like to have a short nap !    For sure a cosy bed like this gives a comfortable sleep, then there are some who can literally sleep on any floor !!

 

This song of Pattukkottai KalyanaSundaram from MGR starrer    “Nadodi Mannan” [literally – the vagabond King]  released in 1958 was a great hit and used to blare loudly. The film was re-released several times.   K. Ramnath was appointed to direct this movie, but upon his suddden demise in 1956, MGR took up the direction as well. According to some reports the completed movie ran for around 5 hours; in between, many Editors changed and finally  the film  ran more than 3.5 hours. Music Director N. S. Balakrishnan was appointed to compose music and made three songs. Then S. M. Subbaiah Naidu stepped in and completed the remaining songs and composed the background score as well. 

The song titled “தூங்காதே தம்பி… தூங்காதே…” is primarily an advice of not to sleep at wanton places and to be alert.  It says, those who sleep mindlessly will earn the sobriquet of ‘lazy / idle persons’ and lists out what and all those who slept at the decisive hour missed in life….true words of advice indeed.

 

தூங்காதே தம்பி… தூங்காதே…நீயும் சோம்பேறி என்ற பெயர் வாங்காதே!!

நல்ல பொழுதையெல்லாம் தூங்கி கெடுத்தவர்கள்;

நாட்டை கெடுத்ததுடன் தானும் கெட்டார் !

சிலர் அல்லும் பகலும் தெரு கல்லாய் இருந்துவிட்டு

அதிர்ஷ்டம் இல்லையென்று அலட்டிக் கொண்டார்.

விழித்துக்கொண்டோர் எல்லாம் பிழைத்துக் கொண்டார்…

உன்போல் குறட்டைவிட்டோர் எல்லாம் கோட்டை விட்டார்

 

 

Some of us  try to sleep as little as possible. There are so many things that seem more interesting or important than getting a few more hours of sleep, but just as exercise and nutrition are essential for optimal health and happiness, so is sleep. The quality of your sleep directly affects the quality of your waking life, including your mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality, and even your weight. Sleep isn’t exactly a time when your body and brain shut off. 

Sleep is a vital biological process that plays a crucial role in maintaining physical and mental health. It allows the body to rest, repair, and restore itself, impacting various functions including memory, mood, and immune response. Afternoon naps can be a beneficial practice for many individuals, but their effectiveness largely depends on timing and duration.   A short nap can improve mood, boost alertness, and enhance cognitive performance.   Napping has been linked to improved memory retention and learning capabilities.   For those who are sleep-deprived, a brief nap can help mitigate the effects of sleep loss, making it easier to remain alert and safe, particularly for drivers or those operating machinery.  The ideal time to take a nap is in the early afternoon, typically between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., coinciding with a natural dip in energy levels known as the "post-lunch dip". 

While one cannot dream of sleeping while at work, there seemingly is one who is paying for sleeping – a Company called Wakefit that runs a programme - ‘Sleep Champion’ in Wakefit’  unique sleep internship program. 

Saishwari Patil, an investment banker from Bengaluru, won Rs 9 lakh for prioritising sleep in Wakefit's sleep internship program. Participants were tasked with adhering to strict sleep schedules while gaining insights into sleep science and improving their overall rest quality.S aishwari, an investment banker from Bengaluru, has turned her dreams of catching up on sleep into a lucrative reality. She  won the ‘Sleep Champion’ title in Bangalore-based start-up Wakefit’s third season of its sleep internship program. She was one of the 12 ’sleep interns’ of the program — designed for individuals who prioritise sleep but often find their lives interfering — requiring participants to sleep diligently for at least eight to nine hours every night. 

The sleep internship, designed for individuals who struggle to get enough rest, requires participants to sleep at least eight to nine hours each night. Saishwari was one of twelve selected "sleep interns," each provided with a premium mattress and a contactless sleep tracker to monitor their sleep patterns. Interns also attended workshops led by experienced sleep mentors to enhance their sleep habits. The selection process for the internship involved multiple steps. Initially, applications were screened to create a shortlist, followed by a video resume round where candidates expressed their passion for sleep. Finalists then underwent personal interviews to evaluate their enthusiasm for improving their sleep quality. 

Perhaps from today, many of us would practice sleeping !  and apply for internship, irrespective of age !!  - Are you ready ??  - it is AN time to take a nap !!  -   yours friendly aasami sirippu sinthanaiyaan.

 

With regards – S Sampathkumar
24.9.2024

 

 

வாத்து மடையன் - discipline and intelligence of Ducks !!

 

Human often ridicule other living things and many of them are mere perceptions.  Ducks are often associated with foolishness, however, they are disciplined too!  -  An army of ducks can be seen crossing the traffic in line and when they swim, ducklings follow their mother in line !!

 

வாத்து (Duck)  நீர்நிலைகளில் நீந்துவதை பார்க்க அழகாக இருக்கும். சிலருக்கு அவை இறைச்சி மற்றும் முட்டை தரும் ஒரு தொழிற்சாலை.   வாத்து ஒரு நீர்வாழ் கோழியினம். இது சிறந்த நேர்த்தியான, அழகான நீண்ட கழுத்து கொண்ட பறவை.  ஏனோ மனித இனம் வாத்துக்களை புத்தி குறைந்த ஒன்றாக உருவகப்படுத்தி உள்ளது.  பாக்கியராஜ் தனது ஒரு கை  ஓசை படத்தில் - ‘வாத்து மடையன்’ காமெடியையும்  வாத்து மடையன் வார்த்தையும்பிரபலப்படுத்தினார்.  முருகன், சங்கிலி முருகனாக தெரிய வந்ததும் இப்படத்தில்தான்.

பறந்து செல்லும் வாத்து கூட்டத்தை சுட்டால், அடிபட்ட ஒரு வாத்து விழும் போது - அடிபடாத சில வாத்துகள் கூட, தமக்கும் குண்டு பட்டுள்ளதாக நினைத்து விழுந்து விடுமாம்.  இது உண்மைதானா தெரியாது. கிராமங்களில்,  கோழி, சேவல அந்திசாயும் நேரத்துல ஒன்றாக திரும்பாமல்  நாலும் நாலு திசைல ஓடி, வேலை வாங்குமாம். ஆனால் வாத்து - ஒன்றை பிடித்து  சாக்குப் பையில் அடைத்தால், , அடுத்தடுத்த வாத்துகள், தானா வந்து கோணிப்பையில்  விழுமாம்.  மற்றது மனிதனுக்கானது !!   தங்க முட்டை இடும் வாத்தை, பேராசைப்பட்டு   அறுத்த மடையனை ஒப்பிட்டு சொல்லுகிற வார்த்தை வாத்து மடையன். 

 

யாரும் விளையாடும் தோட்டம்; தினம் தோறும் ஆட்டம் பாட்டம்

பொன்னு தரும் சாமி;  இந்த மண்ணு நம்ம பூமி

 

ஆத்தி இது வாத்துக் கூட்டம், பாத்தா இவ ஆளு மட்டம்

போட்டா ஒரு ஆட்டம் பாட்டம், சொல்லுறத கேளு நீ வேற ஊரப் பாரு

 

படம் :  நாடோடி தென்றல்  -  இசைஞானி இளயராஜாவின் இன்னிசையில், மனோ, சித்ரா குரலில் ஒலித்த பாடல்.   

Ducks are interesting creatures.  They can fly and are  gifted swimmers having waterproof feathers, which have a waxy coating that protects an inner layer of down, to keep them warm and dry. They can swim in cold water without catching a chill because their feet have blood vessels that are close together so they don’t lose heat. Some duck species can dive up to 240 feet below the water, and others can fly as high as 21,000 feet in the air – and they migrate long distances too.   

Ducks actually  are very intelligent animals with complex social relationships.  Young ducklings capture images of their mother and siblings, permanently solidifying these creatures as objects for the duck to follow. This process is very time-sensitive as the imprinting period only lasts about two days, and if a bond is not formed within this window no bond ever will.  

They follow their mother in a straight line. As with most characteristics of animals, the shape seems to have developed as a survival tactic. To start off, the more experienced and cautious mother in front can easily identify threats and react quickly before any of her ducklings reach the threat. The following ducklings can then respond accordingly to their mother. Secondly, although it may seem safer to huddle in a group away from predators, the line can actually work better to ensure the safety of the most number of ducks. In a huddle, a predator can attack all the ducks at once, whereas in a line the predator must pick one target to focus on. This decision the predator must make will not only keep the entirety of the flock safer but might also discombobulate and confuse the incoming threat.  

Ducklings coordinate hatching by communicating with each other while they’re still in their eggs. Hatching at the same time is important, because sticking together as a group helps protect them from predators. After hatching, they swim and walk together, following close behind their mothers. Even as adults, ducks prefer to be in a group.  

Good Morning.   – welcome to my Photo story – today that of Ducks ! never form impressions, perceptions which could well be misconceptions.  Treat all fairly with open mind.

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
16.8.2024