Sleep more !

How strange it is…that the body has to have its entire work function shut down for so many hours every day...said a friend in a casual chat. If only 70% of the human life is active life, then there is a long way to go for us to evolve and increase the activity time...he added.

Yes, time is now undoubtedly the most precious commodity in the age of achievement racing with speed. We claim that our generation is more effective than our previous in every respect. Be it in terms of learning, being creative, achieving more - we are said to be racing ahead of time. At what cost? Depriving sleep? How? I am totally lost in understanding the concept of why people sleep.

Scientific, medicinal and neuro research have confirmed that sleep is necessary to give brain a chance and time to rebuild memories stored all day long and associate these with previously learnt things, form a linked list and keep it ready for traversal. Sleep enhances learning and that is why babies sleep so much (they learn all day; everything they see, they do is a new learning to them).

It’s often heard that the day prior to any important event shouldn’t be sleep-deprived, for, it would influence adversely. Not having sufficient sleep prior to any form of learning would be costly in terms of losing focus, less concentration, not remembering an otherwise well-remembered and liked subject. Deprived Sleep after learning will hamper the consolidation of memories; you know the linked list we just spoke wouldn’t be well linked.

So saying , this gen people are said to think more, learn more, play more, create and recreate more, so must SLEEP more!

Wanna be disciplined even in sleeping? Visit http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm

From a life of simplicity to……….

Where are the days when all I wrote was about Unnikrishnan, collected paper cuttings of Sonu Nigam, a wide-eyed wait for his Zee Sa-Re-Ga-Ma show? No complications, a simple life, small pleasures and it all worked fine then.
Now I have an ample of topics to write on, go on talking about, pictures to post, records to share, and dreams to follow; yet I end up searching for a topic to blog. I get paranoid to write. Do I write about the day of myriad emotions, the day I won many hearts, hurt a few, the terrific images of past peeping in now and then, the boring monotonic present over my shoulder all day, achievements that give me a spirit to walk upright, an all busy-day with no time for coffee, a lazy day looking for topics to blog? I think of it! Not so long ago, I was all pleased spending time with my greeting Cards collection and my Unnikrishnan cassettes.

Time changes everything. Once we looked so young, our gardens were just set, the shoes sized only 4, tests and exams were the only responsibilities we knew!
Did we take any steps to prepare ourselves for the transition with time? Naah!

To quote the hackneyed
Life varies its stories. Time changes everything, yet what is truly valuable-what is worth keeping-is beyond time.

I hope you have treasured you treasure with changing times :)

Thyagaraja Aradhana @ Vasanthapura

If I may steal Thyagaraja's words, it was "Varamaina netrotsavam" - a gifted visual feast @ Vasanthapura yesterday.

A festive atmosphere in Bhavani Shankar temple on the occasion of Thyagaraja aradhane (pushya bahula panchami).Musicians, music students, kalarasikas in and around the area had gathered at the Thyagaraja sannidhi of the temple to pay their tributes to the musical Guru Thyagaraja.
What more motivation does one need to take the day off from work?
The rendition of pancharatna kritis in “one voice” by hundreds of Musicians added to the divine milieu of the temple. What a selfless and earnest service to Music and the Musical Maha Guru by Anoor family and Shsishya parampara. May they be bestowed enough strength, health and wealth to carry on this tradition for years to come!

EndarO mahAnu bhAvulu (meek)andariki vandanamulu!

Revathi Sridharan

Welcome the year with a prayer

Have I lost interest in festivals and celebrations or have they lost interest in me? Festivities of these days have become just days of sweets and mittais. A year has passed by and nothing looks fresh, different, and new. The urge of waiting for it to strike 12,calling up frnds/relatives with a feel-good factor of being the first to wish them on the New Year has all faded up.

Twenty Ten or 2010 or call it with the UN christened name - “International Year of Youth” and “International Year of Biodiversity”. What do we expect out of it?Definitely a year better than the previous, in every respect!
Many main events dominated the year 2009, some good, some bad and many ugly.
The year would be probably remembered best for the death of so many celebrities right from Michael Jackson to DKP, some preceding,many succeeding and some in-between the two. The ugly demon did not spare even the retiring month taking away Vishnuvardhan, Ashwath.
The economic downturn and the financial crisis painted a major canvas of the year.
Probably the year wasn’t as bad to the movie-makers and the actors. There were a couple of movies rated good and lauded.

Jo hua, so hua…Moving ahead, let us welcome the Year 2010 with a hope and prayer for things to silhouette better and in favor of everyone.
May this year of TIGER (as the Chinese call it) fill the homes with exotic treasures and hearts with contentment. May this year give -
More time for friends, More love to family, More soul to live everyday with zest and more strength to live the year thro’!