Category: Holidays/Festivals

On Bells and Chimes

Bells and Chimes are used in cultures throughout the world in ceremonies and religious places. There is many reasons for this. But, the one that I like the most is the following –

The sound produced by a bell is designed to strike a cordial balance between our right and left brain. The striking of the bell is believed to instantly halt all thought movement, creating a natural state of awareness. This also works to soothe the mind. The ringing of the bell produces a sharp sound which reverberates for approximately 7 seconds as an echo, long enough to touch on the seven healing centers or chakras in our body.

A well designed bell can produce resounding strains of the sound of “OM”.

With that background, let me recount for you what happened today morning.

It was a windy day here in Austin. I walked into the Sri Venkateswara Temple of Austin (which had the Maha kumbhabhishekam last weekend). As I walked into the temple courtyard, I was pleasantly surprised by the sound of the bells. I just stood there for several minutes focusing on the sound and taking it all in.

Here is a short recording.

I hope the sound of the wind and the sound of the bell brings you as much joy as it did to me today morning.

Source – The Science Behind Bells in Hindu Temples

Valentine’s Day Gift

I have told the boys that I don’t need any gifts for birthday or Christmas or Valentines Day.

So, they usually take me out to lunch or dinner or cook a meal…..to spend time together.

This Valentine’s Day, Adi surprised me by giving a Jawbone….it is some wearable gadget to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Its lean and mean….kind of like me.

Maybe, just maybe…. I’ll change the Kumar’s household policy on gifts.

Nah.

I much rather have the present (as in moment) rather than any present.

That said, I am going to let Adi see how much I am enjoying this by putting it to power use.

Live Near a Place of Worship

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark. – Rabindranath Tagore

When I was a young girl, Thatha and Appa told me – “Kovil illa oril kudi irruka vendam”.

It means “Don’t live in a city or town that doesn’t have a place of worship.”

Thankfully, I have always lived near a temple during my lifetime.

That said, I have only seen one Kumabishekam thus far.

Kudos to Craig and Jill Edwards for making it possible for me to see the second Kumabishekam in my lifetime the weekend of March 3-5.

I can’t wait.

A Wild Trip to Mexico

It all started a few weeks ago.

I gave Kumar one of my awesomely brilliant bright ideas.

“Dey Kumaru, boys have had a busy and rough year. So much has happened this year and we haven’t traveled much. Why don’t we take the boys somewhere…someplace quiet…..just to relax”.

The rest, as they say, is a danger-vacation story to be told and retold for several decades to come.

Dec 22 evening:

Within an hour and half of landing in Mexico, my hand bag with cash, credit card, passports, car key etc was stolen.

It has been a nightmare.

The boys are possibly beginning to find out how bad humanity can be….with what they saw on the security camera and how slowly everbody is moving on this case.

It is dark learning and this isn’t the kind of learning I intended for them in #Mexico.

We are trying to contact the Usembassy.gov to sort out paperwork.

Send us your positive vibes. Thank you.

Update on Dec 23 morning:
Thank you Friends for sending us prayers and positive vibes and reaching out in every possible way to help us. It has been a maddening nightmare in the last 18 hours. Boys and I are safe. We are at the embassy trying to sort out the mess and get emergency passports.

Update on Dec 23 evening:
We had a crazy day roving Cancun to take passport pictures, file for emergency passport and also fill out police report.

The 3 boys proved to me again they were men of mettle with how they handled all the curve balls with calm and resolve.

Thanks much to all of you for the flood of messages sending wishes and queries for how to help.

I am also thankful for those of y’all who tried to put a smile of my face by asking the following question in many different forms – “Given your penchant for drama and grandeur, did you stage the whole thing to teach the kids about safety when traveling !?”

Special thanks to my buddy Rohit for sending the boys birth certificate to Embassy to expedite emegency passport issual. I owe him a lifetime worth of chai.

We are safe. I count my blessings for that. I also count my blessings for a husband who never told me in the last 24 hours – “You should have kept the purse more safely”.

Update on Dec 24 afternoon:

Still lots of mess to clear up.

But, figured it is about time to bring the boys to the ocean and coconut trees.

Despite the lost passports/purse and all the ensuing mishaps, I am beginning to fall in love with this beautiful country and the effervescent smiling “hola” saying Senors and Senoritas.

For the record, Kumar is getting way too many “holas” from the beautiful chicas who are possibly mistaking him as one of their very own Hombreros.

Thank you for the outpour of good wishes, prayers, encouraging words and wise cracks that really did crack me up.

Love and light.

Anyways, one thing has led to another and before you know it, I find myself on this airport bench waiting to catch the flight back home.

After we get back home, I have to get new passports, new drivers license, new car keys, new house keys, replace credit card…as if that wasn’t enough, have to do loads of laundry and much more.

Hope y’all are having a great holiday and getting ready to call it a year.

Update on Dec 29 evening:

#ingratitude #homesweethome

We are back home! Yipee!

Thank you for sending prayers, white light and best wishes for us to return home safely. We appreciate it more than words can describe.

My bandana is in honor of the friendly folks at US consular office who moved so swiftly to get us the emergency passports.