Jasmine – Madurai Kattu – Finger Scratching Back

I was just returning from Dabbias tailor shop that I saw this guy tying jasmines the way I had seen only in Madurai. I stood there rooted and enchanted, slowly learning from him. Finally I asked his permission to take a snap. He quickly got up, arranged the stand for the snap. I left to go after taking the snap, but the granny in the nearby flowers stand asked me to buy it. I told her how much can I buy, and then quickly realizing my mistake, I bought it. The guy asked only Rs.10/- for this. It would have cost others Rs. 15/-. I paid the remaining Rs.5/- with my heartfelt thankful smile.

My New Teacher



My Fruits



I cut half the flower strand for myself and offered the remaining half to god. Guess, rather than letting these flowers dry in samy shelf, this day, I would wrap them for Selvi in JMJ Convent. She is a born fighter. Once I read in Readers’s Digest about a girl whose legs were struck by lightning in a rocky forest. She dragged herself using only her hands for miles to reach for help. Even Selvi does the same thing from the day she was born. Her physical legs are as thick as drumsticks. She drags herself to Indian toilets using her hands, she spins baskets when her hands are not infected. She fights back everyday. Am glad, even when her family forsake her, God arranged a caring convent to adopt her.

My lessons – Jai Guru Datta

29. Do Not Feel That *You* Are Helping Others
“The feeling, 'I am helping others and going to help others' is wrong. It is mixed with Ahamkara (the feeling of I.) The feeling to possess must be, 'the Lord who is the entire universe of which I am only a minute particle.' It is like the finger being only a part of the body and it cannot be the body. The Lord, wishing to conduct acts of welfare, uses the medium He chooses best. It is like using the finger to scratch an itchy spot on the back. 'He' decides to choose the individual. The individual will know about the will of the Lord through his Guru and then only the feeling sprouts inside the heart of the individual to assist others. Again, it is like the finger and the back. It is not the power in the finger to get the finger to scratch the back, the finger can never do the function of the body totally."


Rose and blessings - Later this day

I was collecting tamarind that had fallen on ground dressed in my shorts in the backyard after having lunch. Nothing worked as I had planned. I didn’t cross the front door today. In a way it was good, my left leg oedema was still persisting after yesterday’s Omandur trip. I wanted to give the jasmine strand to JMJ convent Selvi. But it is fine, it went to N. Her name means wild rose, her daughter’s name means God’s Blessings. She is living separate after delivery, always carrying her daughter A on her hips. She shares her b’day with Britney Spears. I took them to the jhoola and swayed with A on my lap. It was fun. Need to fix the ropes firmly on the mango tree branch though. It is so slippery. Am praying her Singapore husband should call her back soon. Hoping jasmine’s aphrodisiac properties should bring back the lost love between the couple.

A was up on the tea-poy emptying everything, serving with ladle nonexistent food on my mom’s plate. Throwing away cheese balls, emptying idli podi, playing with cell-phone with hand washing water bowl nearby. In order to distract her from throwing away the medals and small decoration items in disarray, and creating further melee in the quarters, I switched on the TV, watching her actions as I changed the channels in parallel. She stopped still, stopped her destruction, came near TV and started waving her hands only for Sun music songs. Glad, music works, gladder still it was a soothing music being played in the channel right when it was needed.