A weekend getaway to Pulai Springs Resort!!

Every moment in life is spend in cherishing the past or preparing for future. We need time to stop, reflect our life and enjoy the present.We were looking forward for a holiday. Because of Sajeev's EMBA classes and Achu's school we kept it for a delayed gratification. Now that he is graduated we decided to celebrate his achievement and father's day at a quiet destination far from the madding crowd of Singapore.

His convocation ceremony was a wonderful experience. The graduates were all in high spirits and in the graduation gowns they all looked like grown up kids excited about their attire...The speeches were inspiring and thought provoking, especially the one made by the MD of Nestle Singapore, Mr Suresh Narayanan. The best of the best moments was when all the graduates were asked to stand up, turn around and thank their family and friends...It gives an escalated feeling. One that has to be experienced and known...

Back to vacation from convocation...:-) We didn't look for destinations far far away as Kannan is still a baby and Sajeev always wanted to drive to the location. So we decided to look for places quite nearby and site seeing was not in our agenda. Our search ended in the Pulai Springs Resort, Johor Malaysia, quite nearby Singapore. On 19th morning 7:30 we started from Singapore packing all the necessary items; food, clothes, favourite toys, toiletries...and what not???;-) We had printed the routes in addition to setting route in GPS. I do not really trust electronic devices till date as they can go haywire anytime.We cleared the Singapore immigration quickly as it was early morning and we didn't have to wait in long queue. An advantage when driving to Malaysia is that we need not get down at any of the Immigration, just sliding down the window glass is enough. Its after few years that I am visiting Malaysia and from the causeway near Woodlands, Johor just looked like a metro in Kerala. :-) We were driving towards Kota Tinggi and our GPS lead us to E2, getting a sense of wrong direction we decided to ignore GPS. One great fun is to ignore the female voice and move on, and it continues desperately to show us the way :-) There are lot of sign boards and finding way is not a problem at all. Once we had to ask a durian shop owner the way.I had to force Sajeev to ask direction (men are so reluctant to ask direction;-) no offense guys just a fact!!). Kota Tinggi town is a quiet and sleepy town. When travelling from Singapore we feel a sense of vastness,  like a place isolated by people. Its just that the density of population is much less compared to Singapore.

The waterfall resort car park was almost full. We put on slippers and walked towards the falls and the rainforest surrounding it. Coming from the land of the awesome waterfalls at  'Athirappally' (got to see it's exotic virgin beauty recently in the film 'Ravanan' by Maniratnam) and 'Vazhachal' we were not that excited by the small waterfall, but its not the place that matters. Me and Achu climbed down the rather slippery rocks to feel the water and it felt so nice against the feet...so cooling. Right from the origin the water looked so fresh and pristine. Small fishes were happily swimming around and were fearless by the human presence they experience everyday. Sajeev and papa went up the steps parallel to the waterfalls and Sajeev managed to get few snaps of the waterfall from its accessible origin. Kannan was frustrated about standing in the sunlight for long :-) we had no choice but to return. Achu was not that happy as I didn't let her wear the swimsuit and let her go inside the water. There were so many people(locals and tourists coming in groups) and no proper place to keep things safely and I didn't feel like letting her go in. Sorry Achu. Sometimes, amma is like this da...:-)

Aman had prepared Chappathi and karela fry for us. It was so yummy. We finished it off. Aman was of great help and assisted me in packing all the necessary items...We started to the Pulai Springs Resort.In Singapore Sajeev doesn't get to drive above 90km/hr but in Malaysia its a totally different driving experience.We got to see roads with few cars ...unlike in Singapore where we move in walking pace or even slower if caught in usually massive jams over the high ways... Both the sides of the road were lined by palm trees with thick lush green foliage.The way was picturesque and a visual treat... it brought me nostalgic memories of my home town...

(to be continued...)

         One of the highest accessible part of Kota Tinggi waterfall.There are several such small falls and few deep falls.

At the waterfalls

                                                         The Entrance    

                                The Majestic architecture of Pulai Springs Resort

Art in Wood

                                                            Golf Course

http://www.pulaispringsberhad.com.my/psb/pulai_springs_berhad.htm

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This too shall pass

Human mind is a complex system of thoughts, thoughts and thoughts. And the  moment something goes wrong it has the overwhelming power of whining over it, hovering over it, refusing to defocus its attention. At that moment we feel as if its the end of the world, insomnia creeps in and the big question 'Why Me??'  wakes up like a monster waking out of its slumber. We don't see the end of the tunnel...we feel that its not going to end...That's the time when we have to tell ourselves again and again-'This too shall pass'...for it will definitely pass. Instead of grinding our teeth against the person or situation causing the misery we can very well concentrate on our recovery. We can engage in things making us happy. Making someone else's life miserable just because they did something to you doesn't make your life any better. Time to focus all the attention to yourself, your health, physical and mental and make your life better. I have met people in despair, and have found that a word or two with compassion and empathy can bring them back to normal. It may not be drastic, overnight, but strong belief that 'This too shall pass' can do magic. I remember a verse from Bhagavat gita at this moment.

uddhared atmanatmanam

natmanam avasadayet

atmaiva hy atmano bandhur

atmaiva ripur atmanah
 

"One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

The power of accepting the situation and moving on is very well illustrated in Mahabharata by the character of Pandavas mother Kunthi devi. This was recited by Swami Utit Chaitanyaji in his recent discourse about Bhagavat Gita in Singapore and I consider myself blessed to listen it from him in person. Mahabharatha by Veda Vyasa is an Indian epic. It depicts the rivalry between Pandu's sons, the Pandavas and Dritharashtra's sons, the Kauravas. Kunthi devi is the mother of Pandavas and Gandhari is the mother of Kauravas. The story leads to the 18 day war called Kurukshethra where Krishna discloses the eternal truth called 'Bhagavat Gita' to Arjuna.The incidents which are of our significance here happens towards the end of the war. Pandavas by the help of Krishna were defeating the opponents one by one and when Gandhari came to know that destiny is not favouring her pedigree she wanted to give a boon to her Son Duryodhana and asked him to come to her and seek blessings. Krishna on knowing this coaxed Duryodhana to go dressed up and while Gandhari was transferring her power acquired over years to her son, it fails to traverse the dress worn by him. Gandhari knows that its done by none other than Krishna. The war proceeds and in the fight between Bhima and Duryodhana, Krishna hints Bhima to hit Duryodhana on his thighs which didnt receive the power from Gandhari even though hitting below the waist is against the law of war with clubs. Bhima does accordingly and kills Duryodhana. On seeing his son's state, standing depressed in the Kurukshethra, unable to accept whatever happend Gandhari curses Krishna with all her might.

On the other hand, Kunthi Devi had to witness her son Arjuna killing her first born Karna, also by the help of Krishna. When Arujuna comes to seek her blessing after the victory, Kunthi devi could neither cry nor smile for one of her son was killed by another son. Herself and Krishna are the ones who knows the truth and when she sees Krishna, she doesn't burst out like Gandhari, instead prayed to Krishna to give more miseries in her life so that she will grow closer and closer to God. In times of rejoice and happiness seldom do we think about God, but when misery strikes, we seek God.

Here Gandhari unable to accept what had happened , burst out and made her life as well other other people's life horrible. The curse did hit the character Krishna badly and resulted in wiping off his entire pedigree from the face of earth. For Kunthi Devi it was her matured and strong mind which accepted the reality and sought the best out of it in the form of blessing...She knew that like waves in the ocean, things come and go in life, but in the end the wastness of ocean remains and when each wave comes, we have to keep reminding ourselves that 'this too shall pass'...for it will definitely pass.

Life goes on and on.... -picture courtesy Sajeev

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Beautiful sun rise at Changi Beach - By Sajeev

Thamasoma Jyothirgamaya !!!

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my meal is not worth your life!!!

When I tell someone that I am a vegetarian the first question I get is, "is it by religion???" My answer is "yes and no, yes because I am a Hindu and Hinduism advocates Vegetarianism, no because I am not a Brahmin and no one insists me to remain a vegetarian." In fact, I am a vegetarian by my choice and conviction. I am a converted vegetarian, who enjoyed all kinds of food till I was 18. My parents were vegetarians and when I started realising that cooking non-vegetarian food for us was not really comfortable for them, the first stir of emotion rippled in me. Kind of hesitation like being given food in separate plate and washing with separate sponge, keeping the cooking vessel and plates separately. Being a teenager, this made me to think of being treated differently. Not parents' fault, just my thinking when blood was young and boiling :-). Later during my degree I happened to be a member of nature club and used to write articles and poems for its magazines and came across 'People for Animals' by Maneka Gandhi. After reading so many articles against the cruelty towards animals and how ill treated their souls and bodies are when taken to the butchery made me to think that their lives are of much worth than my meal. I wrote to Maneka and she replied to continue to work in my region and fight against the cruelty towards animals. I was thrilled and excited but couldn't go into much of the social activities in between balancing the academic work. One fine day when I was not feeling well, I felt having non-veg and told my mom. She prepared in her usual tasty manner and I had it mindful , stomach full and soulful and decided that its the last time I am having it. In one day I could conquer my mind, thoughts, body and quit being a non-vegetarian. I started feeling much better, lot of lethargy disappeared, body started feeling light and I knew I liked it.

When I see documentaries on how people are struggling to rescue animals I really feel like laughing. How many chicken might have lost its life just for those people's meal ?? And how can one life be better than another life??Isn't the pain of losing one's life same for all the beings?? And when losing life, wont the animals have adrenaline rush?? Wont the adrenaline remain in its dead body and reach the people while having the food?? I am not trying to say that one is good and one is bad or one gives human longevity and other one doesn't.

Biologically, all that goes into human as dead becomes a part of living body and excretes out of body as a non living and again goes into nature become part of a living creature and when it is killed/dead become part of another one's diet....and this cycle continues. This is the inevitable cycle of nature. We humans have the choice of selecting what should be the source of new cells in our body.

World, I am not arguing over whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet is good. Please stop pouncing over me with questions and putting forth your reasons that one is better than the other. Its just a humble being's choice and reasons to remain a vegetarian just because she thinks that her meal is not worth another being's life!!!

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I can see you!!....

The growing number of children in Singapore wearing spectacles is bothering me and today I asked Achu:

"Ponni, are u able to see everything clearly?? Please let amma know if you cant see anything."


with an innocent face she told, "amma, I can see you clearly, I can see Kannan also, but I cannot see my face myself!! "

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Master Bedroom!!

In the hustle and bustle of moving house my sweetie heard the name 'master bedroom' several times, so she was curious to know why it is called master bedroom.


One day she came and asked me:
"amma, why is the corner bedroom out there called master bedroom??"


I was trying to figure out a convincing answer for her when she interrupted me and told "I know why amma, its because the master sleeps there!!"

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