Speed of the Mind

Speed of the Mind “Underneath a banyan tree in Panchavati alongside Sita and Lakshmana, Prabhu is looking especially beautiful. This vision gives all auspiciousness, says Tulsidas.” (Dohavali, 3) pañcabaṭī baṭa biṭapa tara sītā lakhana sameta| sohata tulasīdāsa prabhu sakala sumaṇgala deta || Tulsidas herein continues his meditation that opens his transcendental work of dohas, or couplets, praising the Supreme Lord. All the great devotees, the saintly class of men who remember their beloved object of worship at all times, begin important spiritual activities with a period of meditation, a sort of remembrance and offering of respects to those who are important to them. Through meditation, Tulsidas is hoping that his writing will come out nicely, as without the grace of the Lord no one can compose beautiful poetry that describes the inner meanings of the sacred Vedic texts. Based on the wonderful outcome that would follow, we can understand that Tulsidas’ dhyana was indeed fruitful. The perfection of his writing can be attributed directly to the object of focus, the image that was firmly established in the poet’s mind at the beginning of composition. In this way we see that for meditation to provide tangible results, the concentration must be on something real, an entity that is full of form, names, attributes and pastimes. Since the mind can travel at remarkable speeds, when meditation finds the proper object to focus on, the desired association can be had within a second. Traveling to distant places requires some advanced means of transportation, such as an automobile or airplane. The mind, however, operates differently. We can think of someone or something situated thousands of miles away and be transported to their company within a second. Let’s say that we visited a natural wonder of the world or a famous landmark in the recent past. Though the firsthand vision is no longer with us, the memory of the incident still is. By focusing the mind on that experience, we can be transported back to the same time and scene. In this way the powers of the mind, which are driven by the individual identifiable aspect in every form of life, the soul, prove to be wondrous and difficult to properly understand. “A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.5) With power comes great responsibility. If the abilities of the mind are not harnessed and utilized properly, they can lead to delusion, dementia and constant angst. On the other hand, when the mind is properly controlled through divine meditation, the resulting condition is supremely beneficial. After all, if we remain forever in the company of the Eternally Blissful, why should we not always be happy? When our friends and family leave after visiting us, what follows is a period of sadness, a feeling of emptiness within the heart and home. If we could remain forever in the company of the departed, keeping them always by our side, then surely the pain of separation would be alleviated. For the soul, there is one person whose company is always meant to be kept, irrespective of time, space, circumstance, body type, age, gender, or any other variable factor. Ironically enough, the soul’s complementary life partner actually never leaves its side. In the Bhagavad-gita, the Song of God, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, reveals that as the Supersoul, He resides within the hearts of every living entity. But due to our forgetfulness and our lack of control over the mind, thoughts and consciousness get shifted elsewhere, towards objects of the phenomenal world. Even the powerful force of memory is constantly focused on such temporary things, while the real source of pleasure rests right within us. Engaging in constitutional activities can help us better understand the central properties of the soul and its spiritual counterpart, the Supersoul. Though this discipline as a whole is known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, it can have many different aspects, each of which, when practiced properly, can lead to the same destination of a perfected consciousness. Remembering, or smaranam, also can be practiced as dhyana, or meditation. Meditation is a popular outlet for the frustrated looking for peace of mind and relief from the rigors of life. Yet without an identifiable object of attention, meditation will prove fruitless. Once the period of concentration breaks, the lack of distress will vanquish, leaving the mind an open target for attack from the influences of nature that are sure to resurface. On the other hand, when meditation is practiced in the mood of bhakti, wherein the proper object of worship is identified and targeted, a purified vision remains burned within the consciousness for an extended period of time. The differences between the two types of meditation are somewhat similar to the differences between cardiovascular exercise and weight training. When one jogs for a few hours, runs in a race, or spends some time on a specific cardiovascular machine, their heart rate is elevated and calories are burned. Though there is physical exertion, the muscles being utilized aren’t necessarily challenged or forced to grow. Therefore the benefit to these activities remains present mostly during the actual time of exercise. With weight-training, however, the muscles being worked are strenuously challenged. Indeed, for one who wants to bulk up their physique, the recommended practice is to push the muscles into almost tearing by doing short repetitions of various exercises, with the resistance increased with each successive set of repetitions. Through this style of exercise, the muscles actually continue to develop throughout the day, long after the exercise period is over. Therefore most fitness trainers recommend that weight training play a significant role in an individual’s weight loss or exercise regimen, as the muscles continue to burn fat throughout the day versus remaining stagnant, as is seen with ordinary cardiovascular exercise. With bhakti, meditation really bears fruit because of the effect had on consciousness. When focused on the most loveable object in the world, the mindset of the worshiper drastically shifts from desiring to lord over nature and enjoy the senses to actually wanting to remain forever a servant of the Supreme Lord. No two people better exemplify the bhakti spirit than ShriLakshmana and Sita Devi. God, through His kind mercy, kindly appeared on earth in His avatara of Lord Rama many thousands of years ago. While others may scoff at the notion that God can come to earth in a spiritual form that is immune to the effects of nature, the behavior of Shri Rama and His closest associates certainly gives every indication of the divine and His influence. Just by hearing Lakshmana’s authorized words we can understand that Rama is God. Rama was the eldest son of a royal family ruling over Ayodhya, so the throne was His birthright. Tulsidas, a wonderful poet and devotee, easily could have chosen to meditate on the form of the Lord in a royal garb, where He is fanned by adoring members of His inner circle while seated on the throne. Yet Tulsidas, in the above referenced verse from the Dohavali, remarks that the vision of Rama sitting underneath a banyan tree in the Panchavati forest brings all auspiciousness. Now, when we go with our family to get professional pictures taken, do we go out into the woods and sit underneath a tree wearing nothing but clothes made out of bark, with our hair tied up and placed on top of our head? When we have a big event to go to, like a dance or a formal dinner, can we wear the simplest clothes and still look beautiful? While God can be viewed and worshiped in a mood of awe and reverence, the divine lovers who are always connected with the Supreme Spirit in the highest rasas, or transcendental mellows, derive the most pleasure by remembering the Lord dressed in simple garb, outfits that allow His natural beauty and grand mercy to shine through. How did Rama end up in the Panchavati forest? Moreover, how did He get two others to follow Him and remain by His side underneath a banyan tree? Though the Vedas are the ancient scriptures of India containing all truths of life, they are not easily understood by the common man, especially those who are inimical to spirituality. Therefore the long tradition has been that the essential truths of spiritual life have not been openly discussed with just anyone. The brahmanas, the priestly class of men, are the torchbearers of Vedic wisdom, and without their blessings, one cannot even begin to understand the reason for the unending showers of mercy heaped upon the fallen souls by the Supreme Lord or how to receive them. If one is truly inquisitive, approaching a bona fide guru, a superior spiritual master, is required. Yet on special occasions, for the most fortunate individuals God actually takes the impetus by appearing on earth and roaming around from village to village and town to town, granting everyone His darshana. The vision of God is as good as the knowledge contained within the Vedas. Indeed, if one takes to studying Vedic wisdom without developing an attachment to the personal form of the Lord, there will be no benefit. On the other hand, one who simply sees God walking around in the garb of a hermit pretending to be a human being can find eternal happiness by gaining the true fruit of their birth, eternal succor for the eyes. Lord Rama was so kind upon the great souls inhabiting the earth during the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation, that He purposely altered events in such a way so He could roam around the outskirts of the cities, visiting people who were deemed not civilized to live the city life. These people surely weren’t considered fit to understand Vedic wisdom, but since they were sincere at heart, Rama granted them His divine vision. Seeing the Lord walking by in the garb of an ascetic, they became infused with transcendental loving emotions. Rama didn’t just assume the garb of an ascetic on a whim. Through a series of interconnected events, Rama was banished from the kingdom of Ayodhya by His father, Maharaja Dasharatha. Not wanting his beloved older brother to suffer, Lakshmana insisted on accompanying Rama. Sita Devi, Rama’s wife, also refused to remain home without her husband for the duration of the exile period, which was fourteen years. Rama tried His best, invoking every mundane rule and regulation pertaining to married life found in the Vedas, to get Sita Devi to stop her devotional service. But as a woman who has no other dharma, Sita is greater than Rama in the sense that there is nothing the Lord can do to stop her undivided worship and love for Him. The conditions of the exile went beyond just Rama’s leaving the kingdom; He also had to renounce all ties to royal life, which included the elegant wardrobe. Thus the trio roamed the forests looking like hermits, though they were the wealthiest individuals in the world. Sita Devi is an incarnation of the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi. She is the rightful owner of all property in this world, as she manages the finances nicely produced by her dear husband. Lakshmana is forever Rama’s supporter, so when the time came to build a cottage, Rama asked him to find a nice spot and do the needful. “O Rama, for as long as You shall stand before me, even if it be for one hundred years, I will always remain Your servant. Therefore You should be the one to choose a beautiful and appropriate place for the cottage. After You have selected a spot, please then command me to start building.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 15.7) Lakshmana’s response to Rama’s request highlights the undying passion for service that exists in the most exalted of divine servants. Lakshmana noted that if he had the pleasure of being in Rama’s company for one hundred years, he would forever remain His servant. This sentiment reveals the infinite nature of bhakti-yoga; there is never any end to divine love. There may be achievements along the way and attainments of goals that lead to enlightenment, but the further one advances in arousing their love, the more firmly committed they become to continuing their devotional practices. Therefore Lord Chaitanya, the sweet preacher incarnation of God who travelled across India by foot some five hundred years ago to spread the wonderful mercy of bhakti, recommends that everyone regularly chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. When this mantra is recited regularly, for at least sixteen rounds daily on a set of japa beads, the intense fire of transcendental love burns constantly, with remembrance of the names, forms, pastimes and qualities of the Lord serving as the fuel. Tulsidas especially loves the vision of Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana sitting under a banyan tree in Panchavati because it crystallizes all that the living entity needs to know about God and service to Him. More than just an order supplier or a grand enjoyer, the Supreme Lord is the best friend of the living entity, its eternal companion. That closeness can be established in one second through properly directing the mind. Just remembering Rama’s sitting with Sita and Lakshmana is as good as being with Him in person. And there is no higher benefit in life than to have the association of the Supreme Spirit, the person from whom all good things in this world emanate. Tulsidas says that this particular vision of Rama brings all auspiciousness, sakala sumangala. Though in seemingly humble surroundings shorn of opulence, Rama appears most beautiful, as He is surrounded by two great souls, divine figures who are ever worthy of worship in their own right. Actually, anyone who is with Lakshmana and Sita in a mood of love will always look beautiful, irrespective of what they are wearing. Combine this with the fact that Rama is naturally gorgeous and you get the divine vision that Tulsidas never wants to forget. The saints inspire us through their behavior to achieve new heights of devotional practice and to always remain committed to the proper path. In this respect, not only is the picture of Shri Rama in Panchavati beautiful, but so is the vision of Tulsidas sitting down and meditating on it. The other secret to the effectiveness of this vision for meditation is that no one else is around. By remembering Rama with just Sita and Lakshmana, the devotee essentially makes God and His inner circle their own. Those who invoke terms such as “My God” and “My religion” are mistaken in the sense that religion, or spirituality, is open to every single form of life, irrespective of outward features and country of origin. Indeed, this fact was proven by Rama Himself, who granted His vision to every type of living being, even monkeys. But in another sense, operating under the personal conception of “My God” is a good practice for increasing spiritual attachment. By making Rama your own, you get a more intimate relationship, one where the loving emotions can flow freely without any side distractions. The temple environment is surely beneficial towards cultivating spiritual understanding, but at the end of the day, it is the mind of the worshiper that must remember the Lord at all times. In this sense, when God and His close family members become our only friends, our primary source of pleasure, and our only sustenance, the lords of our life breath if you will, the devotional attitude has peaked. Tulsidas makes Sita, Rama and Lakshmana his own by remembering the peaceful and quiet portion of their stay in the Panchavati forest. This vision is open for anyone to paint in their own mind, as the sweet Lord in all His glory and splendor is just waiting for His sincere sons and daughters to come back to Him. He is incapable of cheating anyone, but we have forgotten Him through our desire to associate with matter and search after illusory enjoyments. By keeping the vision of God in His beautiful forms always in front of us, the loneliness caused by the broken association with the Lord will soon vanish.

என் முதல் காதல்...

என் முதல் காதல்... அது ஒரு பேருந்து நிழற்குடை உன் கல்லூர்ப்பேருந்தும் என் அலுவலக பேருந்தும் நிற்க்குமிடம்,நீ உன் சக தோழிகலுடன் வருவாய் நானும் என் என்னுள் முதன் முதலில் காதல் வந்தது அந்த இனிய தருனத்தில் தான், அடுத்த நாள் அந்த பேருந்த நிறுத்தத்தில் மீண்டும் உன்னை கண்ட போது தான் நீயும் தினமும் வருவதை தெறிந்து கொண்டேன்,ஒரு நாள் உன்னையே நான் உற்று கவனிப்பதை நீ பார்த்து விட்டய் நீ பார்த்த்தும் நான் சட்டென தலை குனிந்தேன் அப்போது உன் அழகிய இதழ்களால் புன்னகைத்தாய்,அந்த புன்னகையில் நான் என்னை தொலைத்தது நிச்சயம் உனக்கும் தெறியும்,  நாட்கள் சென்றது இப்போதெல்லாம் அருகருகில் அமர்வதெல்லாம் நமக்கு சாதரனமாக இருந்தது ஆனாலும் நாம் பேசியதில்லை,நீ என்னை பார்ப்பதும் சிரிப்பதும் நான் உன்னை பார்ப்பதும் அடிக்கடி நமக்குள் நிகழ்ந்தன, ஒரு காலைப்பொழுதில் நீ ரோஜா நிற உடையனிந்து வந்தாய் அந்த தருனத்தில் என்னால் உன்னை என் மனைவியாகவே நினைக்கத்தோன்றியது,உன் பேருந்து வந்ததும் மெல்லமாய் ஓடிப்போய் ஏறினாய் மெதுவாய் நகறும் பேருந்திலிருந்து சற்று திரும்பி எனக்காக சற்று கையசைத்தாய் ஆனால் அந்த இனிய தருனத்தில் என்னால் ஏனோ பதிலுக்கு கையசைக்க முடியவில்லை அதற்க்காக நான் பல முறை அழுத்தெல்லாம் உனக்கு தெறிந்திருக்க வாய்ப்பில்லை, ஒரு டிசம்பர் மாத இருதியில் உனக்கு பிறந்த நாளென்று எல்லோலாறுக்கும் சாக்லெட் கொடுத்தாய் தின்றால் தீர்ந்து விடுமென அப்படியே வைத்திருந்த்தெல்லாம் உனக்கு தெறியாது, ஒரு நாள் நீ மழையில் நனைந்து வந்தாய் நானும் தான் நனைத்தேன் நீ குடையில்லாமல் நனைந்தாய் நான் குடையிருந்தும் நனைந்து வந்தேன் ஆம் உன்னை நனைத்த மழைத்துளிகள் என்னையும் நனைக்க வேண்டுமென,பல முறை நான் என் காதலை வெளிப்படுத்த முயன்றேன் ஆனால்என்ன சொல்வது எப்படி சொல்வது என்ற கலக்கம் என் மனதிற்க்குள் அகலாமல் இருந்தது, அன்று காதல்ர் தினம் வழக்கத்திற்கு மாறாக நாம் ஒரு மனி நேரம் முன்னதாகவே வந்தேன் நீயும் தான் எனக்கு முன்னதாகவே வந்து அமர்ந்திறுந்தாய் இருவரும் அருகருகில் அமர்ந்திருந்தும் வார்த்தைகளை பரிமாறிக் கொள்ளமுடியவில்லை,  உனக்காக நான் தேடி வாங்கிய வாழ்த்து அட்டையும் அந்த ஒற்றை ரோஜாவும் என் கணினி ப்பயில் பத்திரமாய் இருந்த்து, என் மனதை திடமாக்கி உன்னிடம் பேச முயன்றேன் ஆனால் ஏனோ என் நா வறண்டு வார்த்தைகள் வர மறுத்தன, இப்படியே என் காதலை உன்னிடம் பலமுறை சொல்ல முயன்று சொல்லாமல் மறைந்தேன்,இப்படியே மூன்றாண்டுகள் கழிந்தன உன் இறுதி தேர்வும் வந்தது என் வாழ்க்கையை தீர்மானிக்கப்போகும் கடைசி தின்ங்கள் இவைகள் தான், தினமும் உன்னிடம் சொல்ல வேண்டுமென அருகில் வருவேன் ஒருவேளை நான் சொல்லி நி மறுத்தால் அந்த மறுப்பை என்னால் நிச்சயம் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள முடியாது என்னை பாதித்த காதல் உன்னையும் பாதித்திருக்க வேண்டும் அப்படியிருந்தால் நீயே சொல்வாய் என நான் சொல்லாமல் தவிர்த்தேன்,   நீ கடைசி தேர்வெழுதிவிட்டு வந்தாய் நானும் உனக்காக காத்திருந்தேன் எப்பயிருந்தாலும் இன்று சொல்லி விட வேண்டும் என்று நினைத்து, நீயும் வந்தாய் அந்த பேருந்து நிழற்குடையில் இருவரும் அமர்ந்தோம் மவுனமாகவே சில நொடிகள் கரைந்தன,நாளை முதல் இந்த பேருந்து நிருத்தத்தில் உன்னை கானமுடியாது என் தொண்டை வறண்டது உயிர் பிரியும் வலியை முதன் முதலில் உனர்ந்தேன்,  இருதியில் உனக்காக நான் எழுதிய அந்த காதல் கடித்த்தை உனக்கு தர முயலும் தருனத்தில் உன் தந்தை வந்தார் நீ கன் கலங்கி ஓடிப்போய் உன் தந்தையின் இரு சக்கர வாகனத்தில் ஏறினாய் அப்போது உன் ஒற்றை ரோஜா கீழே விழுந்த்து அதை நாம் பத்திரப்படுத்தியதை நீயும் கண்டாய் நீ மறையும் வரை நான் இமைக்காமல் பார்த்துக்கொண்டிறுந்தேன்,   அடுத்தடுத்த தினங்களில் நீ வருவதே இல்லை அது நாள் வரையில் பசுமையாய் இருந்த அந்த பேருந்து நிறுத்தம் பாலைவனமாய் காட்சி தந்தது, நி இல்லாத இந்த நாட்கள் நகர்வது எனக்கு கொடுமையாய் இருந்தது, ஆனால் என்றாவது ஒரு நாள் உன்னை சந்திப்பேன் என்ற நம்பிக்கை என்னுள் இருந்தது, உன் நினைவுகளில் மெதுவாய் என் நாட்களை நகர்த்திக்கொண்டிருந்தேன்,  சில வருடங்கள் கழித்து உன் வகுப்புத்தோழியை சந்தித்தேன் அப்பொது தான் தெறிந்தது தவிர்க்க முடியாத காரனத்தால் நீ உன் உறவுக்காரப்பையனை திருமனம் செய்து கொண்டது, அப்போது தான் முதன் முதலில் வெட்கப்பட்டேன் என் இயலாமையை நினைத்து, காலங்கள் மாறினாலும் என்னால் உன்னை மறக்கவோ அதை மறைக்கவோ முடிய வில்லை,  நீ முதன் முதலாய் எனக்காக சிந்திய அழகான புன்னகை கடைசியாய் சிந்திய அந்த கன்னீர்த்துளியும் ஒற்றை ரோஜாவும் என்னும் என்னுள் பசுமையாய் வாழ்ந்து கொண்டிறுக்கிறது, நீ கிட்த்திருந்தால் மனைவியாகியிருப்பாய் கிடைக்காமல் போய் விட்டாய் அதனால் தான் இன்னும் காதலியாகவே இருக்கிறாய், என்றும் பசுமையான உ(எ)ன் முதல் காதலோடு பயனிக்கும் உன்னவன். அலுவலக தோழர்களுடன் வருவேன்,உன்னை முதன் முதலில் ஒரு புனித வெள்ளியன்று தேவாலயத்தில் தான் கண்டேன் உற்று கவனிக்கும் முன் சட்டென மறைந்தாய் அடுத்து ஞாயிறு அண்று மீண்டும் உன்னை தேவலயத்தில் கண்டேன் வெள்ளை நிற உடையில் நீ ஒரு தேவதையாய் காட்சி தந்தாய்.அது ஒரு பேருந்து நிழற்குடை உன் கல்லூர்ப்பேருந்தும் என் அலுவலக பேருந்தும் நிற்க்குமிடம்,நீ உன் சக தோழிகலுடன் வருவாய் நானும் என் அலுவலக தோழர்களுடன் வருவேன்,உன்னை முதன் முதலில் ஒரு புனித வெள்ளியன்று தேவாலயத்தில் தான் கண்டேன் உற்று கவனிக்கும் முன் சட்டென மறைந்தாய் அடுத்து ஞாயிறு அண்று மீண்டும் உன்னை தேவலயத்தில் கண்டேன் வெள்ளை நிற உடையில் நீ ஒரு தேவதையாய் காட்சி தந்தாய். என்னுள் முதன் முதலில் காதல் வந்தது அந்த இனிய தருனத்தில் தான், அடுத்த நாள் அந்த பேருந்த நிறுத்தத்தில் மீண்டும் உன்னை கண்ட போது தான் நீயும் தினமும் வருவதை தெறிந்து கொண்டேன்,ஒரு நாள் உன்னையே நான் உற்று கவனிப்பதை நீ பார்த்து விட்டய் நீ பார்த்த்தும் நான் சட்டென தலை குனிந்தேன் அப்போது உன் அழகிய இதழ்களால் புன்னகைத்தாய்,அந்த புன்னகையில் நான் என்னை தொலைத்தது நிச்சயம் உனக்கும் தெறியும்,  நாட்கள் சென்றது இப்போதெல்லாம் அருகருகில் அமர்வதெல்லாம் நமக்கு சாதரனமாக இருந்தது ஆனாலும் நாம் பேசியதில்லை,நீ என்னை பார்ப்பதும் சிரிப்பதும் நான் உன்னை பார்ப்பதும் அடிக்கடி நமக்குள் நிகழ்ந்தன, ஒரு காலைப்பொழுதில் நீ ரோஜா நிற உடையனிந்து வந்தாய் அந்த தருனத்தில் என்னால் உன்னை என் மனைவியாகவே நினைக்கத்தோன்றியது,உன் பேருந்து வந்ததும் மெல்லமாய் ஓடிப்போய் ஏறினாய் மெதுவாய் நகறும் பேருந்திலிருந்து சற்று திரும்பி எனக்காக சற்று கையசைத்தாய் ஆனால் அந்த இனிய தருனத்தில் என்னால் ஏனோ பதிலுக்கு கையசைக்க முடியவில்லை அதற்க்காக நான் பல முறை அழுத்தெல்லாம் உனக்கு தெறிந்திருக்க வாய்ப்பில்லை, ஒரு டிசம்பர் மாத இருதியில் உனக்கு பிறந்த நாளென்று எல்லோலாறுக்கும் சாக்லெட் கொடுத்தாய் தின்றால் தீர்ந்து விடுமென அப்படியே வைத்திருந்த்தெல்லாம் உனக்கு தெறியாது, ஒரு நாள் நீ மழையில் நனைந்து வந்தாய் நானும் தான் நனைத்தேன் நீ குடையில்லாமல் நனைந்தாய் நான் குடையிருந்தும் நனைந்து வந்தேன் ஆம் உன்னை நனைத்த மழைத்துளிகள் என்னையும் நனைக்க வேண்டுமென,பல முறை நான் என் காதலை வெளிப்படுத்த முயன்றேன் ஆனால்என்ன சொல்வது எப்படி சொல்வது என்ற கலக்கம் என் மனதிற்க்குள் அகலாமல் இருந்தது, அன்று காதல்ர் தினம் வழக்கத்திற்கு மாறாக நாம் ஒரு மனி நேரம் முன்னதாகவே வந்தேன் நீயும் தான் எனக்கு முன்னதாகவே வந்து அமர்ந்திறுந்தாய் இருவரும் அருகருகில் அமர்ந்திருந்தும் வார்த்தைகளை பரிமாறிக் கொள்ளமுடியவில்லை,  உனக்காக நான் தேடி வாங்கிய வாழ்த்து அட்டையும் அந்த ஒற்றை ரோஜாவும் என் கணினி ப்பயில் பத்திரமாய் இருந்த்து, என் மனதை திடமாக்கி உன்னிடம் பேச முயன்றேன் ஆனால் ஏனோ என் நா வறண்டு வார்த்தைகள் வர மறுத்தன, இப்படியே என் காதலை உன்னிடம் பலமுறை சொல்ல முயன்று சொல்லாமல் மறைந்தேன்,இப்படியே மூன்றாண்டுகள் கழிந்தன உன் இறுதி தேர்வும் வந்தது என் வாழ்க்கையை தீர்மானிக்கப்போகும் கடைசி தின்ங்கள் இவைகள் தான், தினமும் உன்னிடம் சொல்ல வேண்டுமென அருகில் வருவேன் ஒருவேளை நான் சொல்லி நி மறுத்தால் அந்த மறுப்பை என்னால் நிச்சயம் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள முடியாது என்னை பாதித்த காதல் உன்னையும் பாதித்திருக்க வேண்டும் அப்படியிருந்தால் நீயே சொல்வாய் என நான் சொல்லாமல் தவிர்த்தேன்,   நீ கடைசி தேர்வெழுதிவிட்டு வந்தாய் நானும் உனக்காக காத்திருந்தேன் எப்பயிருந்தாலும் இன்று சொல்லி விட வேண்டும் என்று நினைத்து, நீயும் வந்தாய் அந்த பேருந்து நிழற்குடையில் இருவரும் அமர்ந்தோம் மவுனமாகவே சில நொடிகள் கரைந்தன,நாளை முதல் இந்த பேருந்து நிருத்தத்தில் உன்னை கானமுடியாது என் தொண்டை வறண்டது உயிர் பிரியும் வலியை முதன் முதலில் உனர்ந்தேன்,  இருதியில் உனக்காக நான் எழுதிய அந்த காதல் கடித்த்தை உனக்கு தர முயலும் தருனத்தில் உன் தந்தை வந்தார் நீ கன் கலங்கி ஓடிப்போய் உன் தந்தையின் இரு சக்கர வாகனத்தில் ஏறினாய் அப்போது உன் ஒற்றை ரோஜா கீழே விழுந்த்து அதை நாம் பத்திரப்படுத்தியதை நீயும் கண்டாய் நீ மறையும் வரை நான் இமைக்காமல் பார்த்துக்கொண்டிறுந்தேன்,   அடுத்தடுத்த தினங்களில் நீ வருவதே இல்லை அது நாள் வரையில் பசுமையாய் இருந்த அந்த பேருந்து நிறுத்தம் பாலைவனமாய் காட்சி தந்தது, நி இல்லாத இந்த நாட்கள் நகர்வது எனக்கு கொடுமையாய் இருந்தது, ஆனால் என்றாவது ஒரு நாள் உன்னை சந்திப்பேன் என்ற நம்பிக்கை என்னுள் இருந்தது, உன் நினைவுகளில் மெதுவாய் என் நாட்களை நகர்த்திக்கொண்டிருந்தேன்,  சில வருடங்கள் கழித்து உன் வகுப்புத்தோழியை சந்தித்தேன் அப்பொது தான் தெறிந்தது தவிர்க்க முடியாத காரனத்தால் நீ உன் உறவுக்காரப்பையனை திருமனம் செய்து கொண்டது, அப்போது தான் முதன் முதலில் வெட்கப்பட்டேன் என் இயலாமையை நினைத்து, காலங்கள் மாறினாலும் என்னால் உன்னை மறக்கவோ அதை மறைக்கவோ முடிய வில்லை,  நீ முதன் முதலாய் எனக்காக சிந்திய அழகான புன்னகை கடைசியாய் சிந்திய அந்த கன்னீர்த்துளியும் ஒற்றை ரோஜாவும் என்னும் என்னுள் பசுமையாய் வாழ்ந்து கொண்டிறுக்கிறது, நீ கிட்த்திருந்தால் மனைவியாகியிருப்பாய் கிடைக்காமல் போய் விட்டாய் அதனால் தான் இன்னும் காதலியாகவே இருக்கிறாய், என்றும் பசுமையான உ(எ)ன் முதல் காதலோடு பயனிக்கும் உன்னவன்.

பட்டு போன்ற மேனி பெற?

எண்ணெய் பசை சருமம் : எண்ணெய்ப் பசை சருமம் ஒருவரது அழகையே பாழாக்கிவிடும். எப்போது பார்த்தாலும் முகத்தில் எண்ணெய்ப் பசை வழிந்து கொண்டே இருக்கும். இதை துடைத்து அப்புறப்படுத்துவதற்கு என்றே ஒரு துணி வைத்திருக்க வேண்டும். இந்த எண்ணெய்ப் பசை சருமத்தால் பொடுகு, பருக்கள் வர அதிக வாய்ப்புகள் உண்டு. அதனால், இந்த சருமம் உள்ளவர்கள் தலையினை சுத்தமாக வைக்க வேண்டும். இவர்கள் வாரம் ஒருமுறை முகத்துக்கு ஆவி பிடிப்பதும் நன்மை தரும். இதனால் முகத்தில் உள்ள அழுக்குகள் வெளியாகும். அத்துடன் இவர்கள் தங்கள் உணவில் பச்சைக் காய்கறிகளையும் பழங்களையும் அதிகம் சேர்த்துக்கொள்வது சிறந்தது. இவற்றைத்தவிர கொழுப்பு நீக்கிய பால், தயிர், மோர் ஆகியவையும் நன்மை தரும். உணவில் அடிக்கடி முளைக் கட்டிய பயிறு வகைகளை சேர்த்துக்கொள்வது இன்னும் நன்மையளிக்கும். உலர்ந்த சருமம் : இவர்களின் சருமம் எப்போதும் ட்றைல்' ஆகவே இருக்கும். இவர்களுக்கு சீக்கிரமே முகச்சுருக்கம் வர வாய்ப்புகள் உண்டு. எனவே இவர்கள் விற்றமின்கள் நிறைந்த உணவுகளையும், தாது உப்புக்கள் நிறைந்த உணவுகளையும் அதிகம் எடுத்துக்கொள்வது நல்லது. அத்துடன் மலச்சிக்கல் ஏற்படாமல் பார்த்துக்கொள்வதும் அவசியம். சாதாரண சருமம் : இவர்களுக்கு சருமம் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட பிரச்சினைகள் மற்றவர்களுடன் ஒப்பிடும்போது மிகவும் குறைவே. இவர்கள் எந்த வகை உணவையும் எடுத்துக்கொள்ளலாம். இருந்தாலும், அளவுக்கு மிஞ்ச வேண்டாம். அதிகமாக மோர், தண்ணீர் குடிப்பதும் எண்ணெய் உணவுகள் மற்றும் அசைவ உணவுகளை குறைந்த அளவில் எடுத்துக்கொள்வதும் இவர்களது சருமத்தை பட்டுப்போன்ற அழகுடன் வைத்திருக்கும். நட்புடன், பாரதி சதிஷ்குமார்..

Sri Lanka

Geography

An island in the Indian Ocean off the southeast tip of India, Sri Lanka is about half the size of Alabama. Most of the land is flat and rolling; mountains in the south-central region rise to over 8,000 ft (2,438 m).

Government

Republic.

History

Indo-Aryan emigration from India in the 5th century B.C. came to form the largest ethnic group on Sri Lanka today, the Sinhalese. Tamils, the second-largest ethnic group on the island, were originally from the Tamil region of India and emigrated between the 3rd century B.C. and A.D. 1200. Until colonial powers controlled Ceylon (the country's name until 1972), Sinhalese and Tamil rulers fought for dominance over the island. The Tamils, primarily Hindus, claimed the northern section of the island and the Sinhalese, who are predominantly Buddhist, controlled the south. In 1505 the Portuguese took possession of Ceylon until the Dutch India Company usurped control (1658–1796). The British took over in 1796, and Ceylon became an English Crown colony in 1802. The British developed coffee, tea, and rubber plantations. On Feb. 4, 1948, after pressure from Ceylonese nationalist leaders (which briefly unified the Tamil and Sinhalese), Ceylon became a self-governing dominion of the Commonwealth of Nations.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike became prime minister in 1956 and championed Sinhalese nationalism, making Sinhala the country's only official language and including state support of Buddhism, further marginalizing the Tamil minority. He was assassinated in 1959 by a Buddhist monk. His widow, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, became the world's first female prime minister in 1960. The name Ceylonwas changed to Sri Lanka (“resplendent island”) on May 22, 1972.

The Tamil minority's mounting resentment toward the Sinhalese majority's monopoly on political and economic power, exacerbated by cultural and religious differences, erupted in bloody violence in 1983. Tamil rebel groups, the strongest of which were the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers, began a civil war to fight for separate nation.

President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated at a May Day political rally in 1993, when a Tamil rebel detonated explosives strapped to himself. Tamil extremists have frequently resorted to terrorist attacks against civilians. The next president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, vowed to restore peace to the country. In Dec. 1999, she was herself wounded in a terrorist attack. By early 2000, 18 years of war had claimed the lives of more than 64,000, mostly civilians

PLACES TO VISIT IN SRI LANKA

FABULOUS ANCIENT CITY OF
ANURADHAPURA

205 km from Colombo is Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka's first capital founded about the 4th century BC. According to the Mahavansa, the Sinhala Buddhist chronicle, the city was a model of planning. Precincts were set aside for huntsmen and scavengers and even heretics and foreigners. There were hostels and hospitals, separate cemeteries for high and low castes. A water supply was assured by the construction of reservoirs.
Anuradhapura was to continue for six hundred years as the national capital. But internecine struggles for the royal succession grew, and it became more and more vulnerable to the pressures of South Indian political expansion. The city was finally abandoned and the capital withdrawn to more secluded areas.
But the monuments of Anuradhapura's heyday survive, surrounded by the solemn umbrage of trees, scions of an ancient parkland. 

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Brief Description

This sacred city was established around a cutting from the "tree of enlightenment", Buddha's fig tree, brought there in the 3rd century B.C. by Sanghamitta, the founder of an order of Buddhist nuns. Anuradhapura, a Ceylonese political and religious capital that flourished for 1,300 years, was abandoned after an invasion in 993. Hidden away in thick jungle for a long time, the splendid site, with its palaces, monasteries and monuments, is once again accessible.

The majesty and splendour of Kandy

Kandy - The Hill Capital  of Sri Lanka nestling among the misty hills in the central region of this paradise island  is undoubtedly one of the  most beautiful cities in the world. It was here once   the Sinhala kings  ruled majestically. Next to Colombo, it is also the most visited city in Sri Lanka .  As the shrine holding the sacred tooth relic of the lord Buddha is placed in the heart of the city, it's also the most venerated city in Sri Lanka. Because of the history, pageantry and veneration associated with this exquisite city, Kandy is classed as a World Heritage City by UNESCO. 

Kandy is a reflection of the variety, harmony and diversity of the people and cultures that make Sri Lanka a great nation. It was once the capital of the Kandyan kingdom, the last bastion of resistance to the colonial domination of the nation. This royal city fell to the British in 1815 sealing the fate of Sri Lanka's long cherished independence. 

This last seat of the Sinhalese kings, who ceded power to the Britishin in 1815 after many a battle with the western colonial forces, still retains much of the old charm and tradition of the truly Sri Lankan life style.

Among the most picturesque cities in the island, the importance of Kandy is mainly due to it being the home of the Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Tooth - which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Here visitors can observe the ancient traditions of drumming and sacred chanting in honour of the Tooth Relic, being performed several times each day.

                                                                    

Kandy is also the venue of the Esala Perahera, easily the most colourful pageant of Asia, held in July/August each year, in honour of the tooth Relic. As the pagentry of the Esala Perahera unfolds through ten nights each year, the city takes on the air of a torch-lit dreamland, complete with a hundred or more colourfully caparisoned elephants, drummers, dancers, and chieftains in the rare colourful trappings of the old kingdom.

The city is a monastic centre of Buddhism with the two biggest monasteries - the Malwatte and Asgiriya temples located here. Around the city are several other Buddhist temples with special attractions for the visitor looking for the cultural traditions of Sri Lanka. The rock temple at Degaldoruwa, has beautiful Buddhist frescoes of the 17th century, while the Lankatilleke andGadaladeniya temples are unique examples of the Buddhist construction in brick and stone during the same period. The shrine to a Hindu deity at Embekke is the best extant example of the wood carvings of the Kandyan period. Another temple well known for its frescoes is the one at Ranawana.

The numerous smaller temples that dot the Kandyan landscape are places of unusual calm and peace, where one could still discover the close link between the temple and the village, which was the mainstay of Sinhalese social organization.

The Kandyan areas are where the crafts of the Sinhalese have been kept alive. From the art of mat weaving at Dumbara, to the silver craftsmen of Nattaranpotha, and wood carvers of Embekke, the Kandyan craftsmen produce the exquisite material which makes up the most sought after souvenirs of Sri Lanka.

Your progress through the winding streets of Kandy could often be obstructed by a tame elephant, carrying its load of palm leaves for the daily lunch, or an elephant stopping at the wayside tea kiosk for a lunch of bananas. The Elephant Bath, at the Mahaweli River near Katugastota is where the many domesticated elephants of Kandy come for their daily bath, a must to keep the elephants happy. (One word of caution though, if you wish to have your photograph taken on an elephant's back at this place, make sure to agree on the price first, and better still, have your local guide with you. The elephants are friendly enough, but the mahouts [or elephant handlers] are much more calculating).

After the Temple of the Tooth, the most famous landmark of Kandy is its lake, in the centre of the city. The old building at its edge near the Temple of the Tooth was the Queen's Bath. On the other side of the Temple of the Tooth, housed in part of former royal palace, is the Kandy Museum which houses excellent exhibits from the Kandyan period of Sri Lanka's history.

The Kandy Market is a great bazaar full of the sounds of exciting trade and bargaining. The stalls are full to overflowing with fresh vegetables, spices and fruits.

Nearby Kandy, at Peradeniya is the Royal Botanical Gardens, part of which was the pleasure garden of the last Queen of  Kandy. Later, the Botanic Garden was the operational headquarters of Lord Mountbatten, who was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces of the South East Asia Command, during the Second world War.

The Peradeniya Gardesn is easily one of the best ofits kind in the world. The many beautiful avenues will lead one to sections which provide a burst of tropical colour. The great lawns highligth huge tropical trees, while you will be surprised at the variety of bamboo that can be found in one place.

The best known attraction of the Gardens is the Orchid House, which house more than 300 varieties of exquisite orchids from the rare indigenous Foxtail and Vesak orchids, to many natural and hybrid species which have made this one of the best known orchid centres of the world.

A spice garden gives you a first hand introduction to the trees, plants and creepers that produce the special spices of Sri Lanka. The Herbarium grows many of the plants used for the traditional Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia.

Kandy has good accommodation in several hotels and guest houses located in and around the city. There is traditional entertainment in the way of performances of Kandyan Dancing, and traditional drumming. Plenty of gem shops offer good quality gems, while the silver craftmanship is of the highest quality. Your travel agent or hotel could arrange special performances of Kandyan Dancing, as well as, take you to places where you can see the Kandyan craftsmen demonstrate their traditional skills.

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World Heritage Site

Anuradhapura has been classed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The following is an extract from a research project by the Bradford University in England.
 Bradford University's Department of Archaeological Sciences has found itself linked with a number of ongoing and new collaborative research projects in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. One of these projects, working in Sri Lanka, has been working at the ancient city of Anuradhapura, which is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. In the summer of 1994 four members of Bradford University, Dr Robin Coningham, Mr Rob Janaway, Steven Cheshire and Gary Dooney, spent six weeks working at the site with members of the Government Department of Archaeology and the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka..

SIGIRIYA - The Lion Mountain

Sigiriya, in fact, should have been classed as one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, long ago, and there is now a proposal to name it as the Eighth Wonder of the world. Perhaps, it is better late than never!

Sri Lanka's ancient architectural tradition is well portrayed at Sigiriya, the best preserved city centre in Asia from the first millennium, with its combination of buildings and gardens with their trees, pathways, water gardens, the fusion of symmetrical and asymmetrical elements, use of varying levels and of axial and radial planning. Sophisticated city planning was at the heart of Sigiriya, this royal citadel of ancient fame from the days of Sri Lanka's memorable past.

The Complex consists of the central rock, rising 200 meters above the surrounding plain, and the two rectangular precincts on the east (90 hectares) and the west (40 hectares), surrounded by  two moats and three ramparts. The plan of the city is based on a precise square module. The layout extends outwards from co-ordinates at the centre of the palace complex at the summit, with the eastern and western axis directly aligned to it. The water garden, moats and ramparts are based on an ‘echo plan’ duplicating the layout and design on either side. This city still displays its skeletal layout and its significant features. 3 km from east to west and 1 km from north to south it displays the grandeur and complexity of urban-planning in 5thcentury Sri Lanka.

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The Sigiri Rock

The Rock The most significant feature of the Rock would have been the Lion staircase leading to the palace garden on the summit. Based on the ideas described in some of the graffiti, this Lion staircase could be visualised as a gigantic figure towering majestically against the granite cliff, facing north, bright coloured, and awe-inspiring. Through the open mouth of the Lion had led the covered staircase built of bricks and timber and a tiled roof. All that remains now are the two colossal paws and a mass of brick masonry that surround the ancient limestone steps and the cuts and groves on the rock face give an idea of the size and shape of the lion figure. Though traces of plaster and pigments occur all over this area, there are only two pockets of paintings surviving in the depressions of the rock face, about a 100 meters above the ground level. These paintings represent the earliest surviving examples of a Sri Lanka school of classical realism, already fully evolved by the 5th century, when these paintings had been made. Earlier the Sigiri style had been considered as belonging to the Central Indian school of Ajanta, but later considered as specifically different from the Ajanta paintings. The ladies depicted in the paintings have been variously identified as Apsaras (heavenly maidens), as ladies of Kasyapa’s court and as Lightening Princess and Cloud Damsels. There are also remains of paintings in some of the caves at the foot of the rock. Of special significance is the painting on the roof of the Cobra Hood Cave. The cave with its unique shape dates from the pre-christian era. The painting combines geometrical shapes and motifs with a free and complex rendering of characteristic volute or whorl motifs. It is nothing less than a masterpiece of expressionist painting

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The Sigiri Gardens The Sigiri Gardens blend together to make the perfect setting for the Lion Mountain.

GARDENS IN THE WESTERN PRECINCT The gateway to the western precinct lies across the inner moat. It had an elaborate gate-house made of timber and brick with a tiled roof. The moat is perfectly aligned with a mountain peak in the distance Only the southern side of the garden has been excavated, leaving the identical northern half for the archaeologist of the future. In the entire Sigiri-Bim, over 200 village tanks and rural sites have been investigated. The water gardens of the western precinct are symmetrically planned, while the boulder garden at a higher level is asymmetrically planned. The water garden displays one of the worlds most sophisticated hydraulic technologies, dating from the Early Historic Period. This shows an interconnection of macro- and micro-hydraulics to provide for domestic horticultural and agricultural needs, surface drainage and erosion control, ornamental and recreational water courses and retaining structures and also cooling systems. The Macro system consisted of the Sigiri Maha weva, the manmade lake with a 12 km dam, running south from the base of the rock, a series of moats, two on the west and one on the east fed from the lake. At micro level are, the water control and the water retaining systems at the summit of the rock and at various levels with horizontal and vertical drains cut in to the rock and underground conduits made of cylindrical terracotta pipes. WATER GARDENS The miniature water garden just inside the inner wall of the western precinct, consists of water pavilions, pools, cisterns, courtyards, conduits and water courses. The pebbled or marbled water-surrounds covered by shallow slowly moving water would have served as cooling devices with an aesthetic appeal with visual and sound effects, which could be visualised by a visitor who could spend a little time. The largest water garden has a central island surrounded by water and linked to the main precinct by cardinally-oriented causways. This was created 5 centuries before those at Angkor in Cambodia or Mughal gardens in India. The central island would have been occupied by a large pavilion. The water is in four L-shaped pools, connected by underground water conduits at varying depths, to provide different water levels. The pool on the south-west, is divided into a large bathing pool, with a corbelled tunnel and steps leading down into it. The other pool is smaller with a central boulder on which was a brick-built pavilion. The fountain garden is a narrow precinct on two levels. Western half has two long and deep pools, with shallow serpentine streams draining into the pools. These had been paved with marble slabs. These streams display the fountains, which have been made from circular limestone plates with symmetrical perforations, which are fed by underground water conduits and operate by gravity and pressure. There are two shallow limestone cisterns which would have served as storage and pressure chambers for the fountains. These fountains are still active during the rainy season from November to January. On either side of the fountains are four large moated islands , oriented north-south, cutting across the central axis of the water garden. This too shows the symmetrical repetition. The flattened surfaces of the islands were meant for the Summer Palaces or ‘water pavilions’. Access to the pavilions were across bridges cut into the surface rock. The Octagonal pond is at a point where the water garden and the boulder garden meet, a still higher level from the rest of the water garden. It is at the base of a towering boulder. There is a raised podium and a drip ledge, which would have formed the bathing pavilion . The pond is surrounded by a wide terrace also octagonal. BOULDER GARDEN - The boulder garden at a higher level from the symmetrical water garden is a totally different organic or asymmetrical concept, with winding pathways, natural boulders. Almost every rock and boulder in this garden must have had a building of brick and timber. It also has the Cistern Rock which has a large cistern made of huge slabs of granite. There is also the Audience Hall rock, with a 5 metre long throne carved out of the rock The entrance to the inner citadel (15 hectares) is made of a massive brick and stone wall, which forms a dramatic backdrop to the water garden and to the rock and the palace on the summit towards the east of it. The wall runs from the Octagonal pond to the bastion on the south-east, which is formed of wide brick walls linking a series of boulders surrounding a cave pavilion with a rock-cut throne. TERRACE GARDEN - The Terrace Garden at the base of the rock is fashioned out of the natural hill , made with rubbled retaining walls, each terrace running in a concentric circle around the rock, each rising above the other. The Palace garden on the summit was the domestic garden with its terraces and rock cut pools National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries The jungles of Sri Lanka abound in a variety of wildlife,which is surprising for an island of its size in the tropics.From ancient days the elephants and peacock from the Sri Lankan jungles were prize exports to the Kingdoms of East and West.But apart from these well known examples of the fauna, a visit to the Sri Lankan jungles is to enter a whole new world where nature has largely stayed still.There are four majour national parks.Of these the best known is Ruhunu National Park,at Yala,in the deep South of the island.The other well known national park,at Wilpattu,is at present closed due to the prevailing conditions in the North of the island.There are also two other national parks at Inginiyagala and Udawalawe. Sri Lanka has a rich and exotic variety of wildlife and a long tradition of conservation rooted in its 2,230 year old Buddhist civilisation. The following are the most important sanctuaries in terms of attractions, accessibility and availability of facilities.Animal Sanctuaries "The scenario is rather bleak," said J. C. Daniel, a member of the steering committee of India's Project Elephant, a new government effort to protect wild elephants. "The main problem facing us today is habitat destruction. There is frequent straying into human settlements, where they raid the crops and people shoot them." The animals to be seen in Sri Lanka's national parks include elephant, leopard, sloth bear, sambhur, deer and monkeys, wild buffalo, wild boar (pig), porcupine, ant-eater, civet cat, jackal, mo The World's only Orphange for Homeless Elephants... Homeless elephants find refuge in Sri Lanka They say an elephant never forgets, but what happens when an elephant is forgotten? In Sri Lanka, abandoned elephants who cannot survive in the wild find refuge at the Elephant Farm at Pinnewela (near Rambukkana). People feed, groom and care for 46 elephants on the farm. The babies drink milk warmed to body temperature from super-size bottles, seven per feeding. "Maybe at first they can't find their own food. So we bring it to them here," said Idris Salley, a caretaker at the elephant farm. Outcasts like Raja, an old blind elephant who was wounded by hunters, live on the farm, as does an elephant rumored to have killed more than a dozen people. The farm supports itself in part through tourists, who come for a rare close-up view of the animals. The orphans arrive from across the country, rescued from remote villages where they have lost their mothers to quarry accidents, shootings or lynch mobs. At the Elephant Orphanage, deep in the tropical hill country of central Sri Lanka, the motherless calves are raised by human foster parents who ply them with bottled milk five times a day and give them an occasional swig of beer in an effort to help preserve Asia's dwindling wild-elephant population. "Without the orphanage, most of them would be left to die or be killed," said Wijepala Ranbanda, curator of the elephant orphanage. In Sri Lanka and throughout Asia, some of the world's larger remaining wild-elephant herds - about 50,000 animals across the continent - face threats to their survival from burgeoning human populations that are bulldozing forests into farmland and severing centuries-old migration routes with highways and urban development. In recent months the competition for space between man and beast has led to unprecedented clashes as the giant pachyderms, squeezed out of their native habitat, have attacked villagers, raided farm crops and, recently, stormed the outskirts of Calcutta. India is home to an estimated 40 per cent of the world's Asianelephant population, which is overwhelmingly wild, with only a few thousand domesticated and used for work or religious purposes. "The scenario is rather bleak," said J. C. Daniel, a member of the steering committee of India's Project Elephant, a new government effort to protect wild elephants. "The main problem facing us today is habitat destruction. There is frequent straying into human settlements, where they raid the crops and people shoot them." A single rogue elephant was blamed for the deaths of 27 villagers during a 10-day rampage in the northeastern Indian state of Assam last fall. Other marauding elephants also attacked farmers, razed crops and guzzled barrels of rice beer stored in village huts. The government dispatched mounted troopers to hunt down the beasts. In January, panic-stricken residents of Calcutta erected giant walls along the city's borders to stop a herd of elephants that had strayed from customary migration paths. "There has been a human explosion in the area," said Ashish Ghosh, director of the Calcutta-based Zoological Survey of India, which has been studying elephant-migration patterns. "There have been more and more disturbances in their normal migration routes. This is the first time in recent memory that these herds have come so close to urban habitat." In Sri Lanka, a small island nation that is home to an estimated 3,000 wild elephants, the problem of diminishing habitat is even more acute. The island has been stripped of 50 per cent of its forest land in the last three decades, dramatically affecting the elephant herds. "They want to roam, and they overlap with the people," said curator Ranbanda of the Elephant Orphanage, which was created in 1975 by government officials worried about habitat encroachment. In the last 19 years, the number of deserted, maimed and impaired elephants that are provided foster care has jumped from about 10 a year to 56 last year. Some of the orphans raised in the sanctuary of palm groves and rolling grassland are now rearing their own babies at the orphanage. The sheer size of the elephants makes them far more susceptible to the problems of human encroachment than tigers, rhinoceroses and other endangered animals that tend to live in small pockets, wildlife officials said. The orphanage's newest arrival weighed 60 kilograms (132 pounds) when she was born nearly two months ago. She will drink about 25 litres of milk a day until she's weaned after 4 1/2 years. "The scenario is rather bleak," said J. C. Daniel, a member of the steering committee of India's Project Elephant, a new government effort to protect wild elephants. "The main problem facing us today is habitat destruction. There is frequent straying into human settlements, where they raid the crops and people shoot them."

'Sonnadhu nee thaanaa...' from Nenjil Oru Aalayam

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Kiwifruit beats supplements

Kiwifruit beats supplements

UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO

Researchers from University of Otago have found that a natural fruit source of vitamin C – kiwifruit – is vastly superior to a purified supplement form. The researchers are studying kiwifruit as a source of dietary vitamin C and found that in mice eating kiwifruit, vitamin C uptake was five times as effective as taking a purified supplement form. The study was recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the highest ranking journal for human nutrition research. Lead researcher Associate Professor Margreet Vissers says people require vitamin C (ascorbate) in all body tissues and organs to be healthy. Our bodies cannot make the vitamin and we should obtain it from our food. It is also available in purified form and is arguably the most commonly consumed vitamin supplement. In the experiment vitamin C-deficient mice were fed the vitamin over a month, either as kiwifruit or as an equivalent amount of pure vitamin C. Mice fed the kiwifruit absorbed vitamin C much more efficiently than those given the purified supplement form, and they also retained it for longer. This suggests that there is something in the fruit that improves absorption and retention. Vissers says: “The findings of the mouse trial have important implications for human nutrition”. To determine whether this situation also applies to people would require a human trial and an equivalent human study is now underway. “The question that has often been asked is whether a supplement is as good a source of vitamin C as whole foods, but few studies have addressed this issue. We are uniquely placed to do that work.’’ The mouse study was funded by Zespri and the University of Otago.