RANDOM ART USING MICROSOFT PAINT - A CROWN

I have often been fascinated by the crowns worn by Kings who ruled India, be it the Hindu kings or those from the Mughal dynasty. More than the embellishments that the Kings had on their crowns, it was their ability to retain the crown for long that fascinated me. Anyone having a crown, knows how difficult it is to retain it. We don't need to have a real crown like that of a king to feel this situation. Even I went through this at school for many years with the first rank crown. Only later did I realize that in the huge kingdom of life, the first rank crown meant nothing.

Here's one random crown I designed using the Microsoft Paint package. May be a few more plumes and some gems studded on the borders would have made it even more superb :)) Shall post more.

THE BEAUTY OF THE MOUNTAINS

A SCHOOL BAG FULL OF REMINISCENCES - THE ANGLO INDIAN FLAVOUR

My first five years at school had so much English and an Anglo flavour to it. If it was something else, I believe I would have genuinely felt the loss of having really missed something precious. My teachers, right through those five years were Anglo Indians. My music teacher too was an Anglo Indian and for the first two of these five years, our Headmistress was an Anglo Indian too. This had a bearing on almost everything that happened in a day at school, be it the way the classes were conducted, the disciplinary aspects, the way the interactions with the teachers happened, the exposure to the language that we gained through the Anglo Indian syllabus taught by these teachers, the music sessions and then the Christmas celebrations and the stage plays during the annual day meets every year. This to me, is the biggest gift I got during my school years.

The neighbourhood surrounding the school, also had a British tinge in it. The road where the Railway Mixed Higher Secondary School was located in Perambur, was studded with so many Anglo Indian families. Besides this bunch, there were those on the Foxen Street too that lay next to this road. Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine that stands on the Paper Mills Road was where many of us students went either during our lunch breaks or after school and we always got to see a large Anglo Indian population flock there. There are two other churches adjacent to our school and one of them is just beside the playground. This is where we went when we had a free period, either to play or to sit and chat. Some teachers even took classes under the tree shades, close to this church.

Christmas parties were special and it happened just before the school closed for the Christmas holidays. Each student brought cakes, pasteries and decorations. We had Christmas trees decorated in our classes. I can still feel the hard pinch on my nose, given by one Santa Clause, while he went around distributing gifts. I am still not sure who it was. Annual day every year came with it's own colour and grandeur. We had lots of stage plays and singing and each of these had so many rehearsals at the Railway auditorium that stood opposite to our school. I still recall the feeling of having lip stick smudged all over my lips and cheeks, just before stepping on to the stage for the different plays. Quite a number of them set the tracks on fire and came out in flying colours in the field events too, during the annual sports competitions.

Many of my Anglo Indian classmates had their homes very close to the school and I had the opportunity to visit some of their homes. My immediate neighbour at the Railway Quarters where I spent my childhood, was an Anglo Indian. Kevin Geer, the eldest of the three sons in that family, was my playmate during those years. I got to hear a lot of English music from his home. Hid dad was a saxophonist. I am in touch with many of these friends even now. My dad had an Anglo Indian friend Duncan who gave him so many English music cassettes. He even screened Biblical movies for our prayer group's annual gatherings. If it was not for Duncan Uncle, I would never have had a tryst with so much English music at that age.

A life without this flavour would certainly have been bland. I really cherish those days when I lived in the middle of an Anglo Indian world.

WHERE THE CYCLONE JUST KISSED AND PASSED BY

Today's drive down the Constable Road at Perambur, was my third after the Vardah cyclone had battered Chennai. I got a pulse of the damage, when I drove down this road the very next day after the cyclone and I wanted to see it again, after the dry parts of the battered trees had fallen off. The green canopy is still more or less intact here and the loss was just a few trees. It could be because the Integral Coach Factory is on one side and the Railway Quarters is there lined up on the other side. This had broken down the wind speed in a big way.

I have a big sentimental connection with this road as it is this route I took to school, by walk and by cycle, for twelve sweet years. My mother took off on her heavenly abode from the Railway Headquarters hospital that is down this road. This was also the place where both my father and mother had worked for several years. The convoy that followed the mortuary van that took her on her final journey, took this road first. l dabbled with cycling and learnt my motorbike and car driving on this road.

Today, am on this road again, to get medicines from the same hospital for my sick father. I hope this greenery stays for long and that my romance with this road continues.

BIRTHDAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

Many times it's on one day
That you will sit and count all blessings,
Sit and reflect,
Look forward and dream
And look up and thank God
For this unique painting of destiny, that made you.

Yes, Birthdays are unique
And you should tell yourself today
That there is no other creation like you.

So unique you are,
That you were sculpted for doing unique things.

Like the sweet symphony of music,

May your life strike a chord,

With every moment in it.

A FUNNY POEM FOR THE NEW YEAR