the braying donkey gets the appreciation ... !!

Some do loads of work throughout yet when it comes to recognition, they are not treated properly  ! no straight references !!........ we  call it doing donkey work !!! – the donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the horse family, Equidae.  These animals were domesticated thousands of years back and have been utilized for carrying loads ….. while domesticated species are increasing in numbers, the African wild ass and another relative, the onager, are endangered.

Sure you would have read the moral story of ‘a donkey and a dog’ being kept by a man.  Dog was a pet, while donkey had to do backbreaking work without reward or recognition. On a day when thieves broke out, the dog barked – the owner was proud of the dog and provided it with delicacies … at a later point of time, donkey watched thieves trying to enter through the backyard – it brayed and brayed hard – the owner only got annoyed at the noise at odd hours – took a stick and gave a harsh beating to the animal – moral being – one should do only duties assigned …

                    

Not always as reported in Daily Telegraph of an incident in Lancashire.  Mary Beetham is a resident of Preston, Lancashire and in June in early hours, her fostered donkey Jaffa began braying loudly raising the alarm. The retired teacher aged 73, jumped from her bed to see what the commotion was and “saw someone run down the drive” clearly spooked by the noise. The noise apparently was the reason and the  would-be burglar didn’t manage to get away with any goods from the home. Ms Beetham had fostered Jaffa three months previously, after he was rescued in Ireland and tended to at The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon.

She is reported as telling that the animal was in a state of distress  and required calming down – the owner stayed with the animal for 30 minutes calming it down. Ms Beetham, who has been looking after donkeys, alerted the police the next day. “Jaffa was very quiet and sleepy, he was shaken up. But he’s fine now. He just shouts at the postman now,” she said. The foster carer has been taking care of donkeys for 17 years and said Jaffa had been badly treated before being rescued in Ireland but “brought back to life” by The Donkey Sanctuary, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of donkeys.

There is a small island with 24,000 people, 6,000 donkeys, and just two cars. It is Lamu, just off the coast of Kenya, is known as the donkey capital of Africa. It is a place where there are donkey traffic jams, the largest humanitarian organization is a donkey sanctuary, and donkeys are the key to earning a living.

Lamu Island is a part of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya; Lamu Old Town, the principal inhabited part of the island, is one of the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlements in East Africa. The island is linked by boat to Mokowe on the mainland and to Manda Island, where there is an airport. There are no roads on the island, just alleyways and footpaths, and therefore, there are few motorized vehicles on the island. Residents move about on foot or by boat, and donkeys are used to transport goods and materials. In addition to Lamu Town, there are three villages on Lamu Island: Shela, Matondoni and Kipungani.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

27^th June 2014.

man who dropped huge money at mall - rewarded with arrest

India is a poor country, which has so many rich men…. Those rich are very rich … and one wonders how they really keep track of their health…  we think that people may not keep wads of currency … only in tinseldom, we see people carrying huge amounts of currencies in suit cases, gunnybags and everything else…..

Strange are the ways of people …. A few months ago, of all the parties – it was Indian Communist Party official - Samar Acharjee, in the northeastern state of Tripura, decided to sleep on a bed of cash as his friend recorded the golden moment on a cellphone.  The web was inundated with footage of the official in a yellow shirt and blue jeans lounging on stacks of rupee notes.  He never imagined that it would go viral and cost him his position. "I have withdrawn 20 lakhs from my bank account and fulfilled my long cherished dream of sleeping on a bed of money," Acharjee was quoted as saying… !

Not many may remember - Lakhubhai Pathak, a trader in pickles and food items  living in England and his allegation that Chandraswami and K.N. Aggarwal alias Mamaji, along with Rao, cheated him out of $100,000. The amount was given for an express promise for allowing supplies of paper pulp in India, and Pathak alleged that he spent additional amount for entertaining Chandraswami and his secretary. It created more than a flutter as it was stated that crores of money put in suitcases were handed over… how much could a suitcase contain and how they were handled became the key points of discussions all over….

The chronology dated back to Dec 1983 of the alleged meeting with the pickle tycoon and only in 1987, Pathak lodged a complaint – FIR registered in Feb 1988.  In June 1991 PV Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister…. In Dec 2oo3, the former :PM,  Chandraswami and KN Agarwal were acquitted of all charges by a special CBI court after one and half a decade. The special judge stated that evidence was not realiable. 

More than that incident, you are likely to remember ‘Sivaji, the Boss’ - directed by Shankar and produced by AVM Productions.  The film revolves around a well-established software systems architect, Sivaji, who returns home to India with dreams of doing good to the society by providing quality education and medical treatment free.   The influential businessman, Adiseshan (played by Suman) impedes and hampers all his efforts.  Sivaji gets killed, resuscitated and returns in disguise as a friend MGR….. and in a long fight on the terrace of the educational institution run by villain, the black money obtained from enrolled students spills, flies all over…. all students come running to collect their share and the villain gets killed in the stampede……………….one could imagine crores of (fake currency) notes flying all over……

That could have been good to look out in a movie……… but not in reality as found out by a man in US…… Daily Mail reports that a man  who threw a thousand dollars cash into a crowded shopping mall has seen his generosity rewarded with arrest and a charge of disorderly conduct.

Serge Vorobyov said he made the gesture to make up for a rough year and to help others out on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and traditionally one of America’s busiest shopping days. Vorobyov dropped the money from the fourth floor of the Mall of America in Minneapolis into the rotunda below. He timed his act to coincide with a choir in the rotunda performing the Christmas song “Let it Snow”. Referring to his tough year in a Youtube Vlog explaining the incident Vorobyov said: “I went through a horrible divorce, and she even took the cat and won’t tell me where it is. I thought I would just spread some holiday cheer … pay it forward.”

Sadly for Vorobyov the local police didn’t see it that way. Saying that the money drop could have caused a major disturbance resulting in injury at the mall - America’s largest - they arrested him and charged him with disorderly conduct.

So as the punchline goes … ‘you have little money – you protect it … when you have lots of it .. even money will not protect you.”

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

Deepavali on air !!

 

Half-century or so ago ! – Deepavali was not this brilliant yet the vibes would be felt much earlier than what happens now !

A single shot on air – resembling wagonwheel of Abhishek Sharma in full flow

rain droplets on plant leaves !

 

கம்பர் வாழ்ந்த காலத்தில் மக்களின் சிறப்பு பற்றி ஒரு கதை கேள்விப்பட்டு இருப்பீர்கள். ஒரு மாலை நேரம் ஆற்றங்கரை ஓரம் தென்னந்தோப்பில் நீண்ட கீற்றுகளின் நிழலில் கம்பர் உலா சென்றாராம். உழவன் ஒருவன் கபிலை ஏற்றத்தில் நீர் இறைத்துப் ஏனைய விவசாயிகள் தம்தம் மனைவியுடன் பாடிக் கொண்டிருந்தனர். 

“மூங்கில் இலைமேலே...” என்றான் முதல்வன்; இரண்டாமவன் - “தூங்கும் பனி நீரே...” என மற்றொரு உழவன் . “தூங்கும் பனி நீரை...” எனும் போது அந்தி இருள் சூழ்ந்தது. கம்பர் பாடலில் மனதை பறிகொடுத்து அடுத்த வரி என்னவாக இருக்கும்? என யோசிக்க, மறுநாள் பாட்டை தொடர்ந்த உழவர்கள் - வாங்கு கதிரோனே!" என, "என்ன அழகான சொல் நயம். மூங்கில் இலையை, பனித்துளி சூரியனோடு பொருத்திக் காட்டியது சிறப்பு .. .. என போற்றினாராம் கவிச்சக்கரவர்த்தி கம்பர்.. 

எமக்கு தொழில் கவிதை என முழங்கிய பாரதி வாழ்ந்த மண்ணில், வாழ்ந்தாலும், நமக்கு ஒரு வரி கவிதை கூட வராது ! - இன்று பெய்த மழையில் - புல்லின் மேல் தங்கிய மழை துளிகள் படம் .. .. .. . 

File pic of 2021