Smrithis or laws for just life

Smrithis  or laws  for just  life

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

(I hope  , after  reading this  , you would agree  with me  that , Smrithi  is  not at all a suitable  name to girls)

After Vedas(Sruthi)  , the next important  Hindu  religious books are Smrithis (That  which  is to be remembered)They deal extensively   about  the law of life  of all  the four Varnas(castes?)   of Hindus. All  Smrithis   are based  on Vedas.They explain and develops  Dharma(Just way  of life).

Unlike the Sruthis   that  do not change  , Smrithis  are  time to time modified according to  the particular  social  Situation,.Smrithis clearly  lay down rules  as to what  is desirable  to be done   and what  is not  desirable.

There are  18 different  Smrithis  and the most  important   are  Manu  Smrithi, Yagnavalkya  Smrithi   and  the Parasara  Smrithi.(The other 15 are Vishnu, Daksha. SAmvartha, Vyasa, Haritha. Satatapa, Vasishta, Yama, Apasthambha, Gauthama, Devala, Sankha  Likhitha, , Usana , Atri and  SAunaka)

Manu  Smrithi (Some people  ascribe  it to  one of the earliest  kings  of Humanity)  is  actually named as  “Manava  Dharma Shastra(The rules  of just living of men) “(The earliest  manuscript discovered  was in 18^th centuary  called  “Calcutta  Manuscript with Kulluka  BHatta commentary”

  There is a belief that Manu Smrithi   was intended for  SAthya Yuga, Yajnavalkya Smrithi   for  TReta  Yuga, Sankha and Likhitha  for Dwapara  yuga and that  of Parasara to Kali yuga

  Taking in to account   that every yuga  is several laks of years, our  quoting  Manu SMrithi  and Bombarding  it is not correct.. It is applicable for the  time  when it was  prescribed..It is not proper  or desirable   for us to follow Manu Smrithi.

  Many leading  lights of our religion believe  that it is time for a saint to write a  new Smrithi, because  the society  when those  Smrithis   were  written have  Changed.

Chilli was not there in India 400 years back

Four hundred years back all  the pungent  dishes  of South India  were  prepared  using pepper only

By

P.R.Ramachander

I am sure you would all be surprised to know   that Chilles   were  first brought by Portuguese  to India (around 1500 AD)    and South iNdia must have   started cultivating it around 16^th century.   There is no doubt at all   that Indian cuisine  is many centuries  older. But as of now almost   all  pungent dishes in South India get their  pungency by the use  of either  red or green chillies and almost  90%  of the north Indian dishes   get  the pungency from use  of pepper. So there is little doubt  that   in South India also pungency was being  added   to the dishes  by adding pepper.  If you need   any  proof for that it can be got   from   the recipes of dishes  being prepared   for annual death ceremonies  in the homes of Brahmins  , where  all   dishes   are  prepared even  today by using  pepper . I want to talk today   about   the main courses in vegetarian houses  using Tamarind.

   Before the invention of Sambar   and rasam of the present day  , possibly   about 400 years back in Tanjore  by the chefs of king  SAmbaji   of Tanjore,   the main tamarind dishes  in South India were

1.Andhra  Pradesh- Pulusu

2.Karnataka  -Huli

3.Tamil  Nadu –either Poricha  Kuzhambhu  or Vathal  kuzhambhu or Milagu  Kozhambu 

And  4. Kerala pulungari

      AS of now  though these  dishes are  being prepared   , they get their pungency from Chillies. About 4 centuries back   they must have got their pungency  from Pepper only.

    IN present day   except for dishes  prepared  for Sradha   in Brahmin homes   all pungent   dishes are prepared  by adding Chillies. The Nambudiri cusine till about 100  years back was based on pepper. Even today Kalan   and Erissery are  prepared  by them using pepper .

    Apart from these  the Poricha Kuzhambu(some thing like pitlai  of Tamil Nadu)  in Palakkad eyer homes is usually  prepared  only using pepper  . (http://palakkadcooking.blogspot.in/2015/02/poricha-kuzhambu.html) Possibly the other traditional main dishes  we  prepare   without chilles are  Milagu Kuzhambhu    , Milagu Rasam, Jeera   rasam etc

The saga of the retired Man

The  saga of  the  retired Man

Translated  from  Hindi by

P.R.Ramachander

(My friend posted it in Whatsapp  .He says he has copied from another  Whatsapp.It obviously deals with a  retired person , living in joint family  Such persons are  rare in South . That  person realized  that he was no more  “head of the family” and not even “A honorable member  of the family.” )

Retired  man   is  considered.

By every one   as useless ,

And they say

Even for small and small  things ,

He becomes sullen

And

And if you talk to him,

He  boasts of only  about  himself,

“I have done  like this, but  He did like that”

He  keeps  on telling

Wife says,

“All the day  , you break your chair,

And never take your  eyes from mobile ,

Go to the market,

And get    at least some things”

His daughter  in law   says to him,

“Child   is crying,

Please  take him for a walk”

Even for giving  a tea for  him,

She  puts  certain conditions,

“Take   baby for a walk”

Then I will give  you, your  tea.”

Why did you retire  ,she asks,

As if my government has fallen,

Even the wife   who was with me for seven lives,

Has joined   the  Ruling party along  with her.

He says 

When I  watch the TV,

The children snatch the remote from me ,

And watch   the Cartoon  Channel,

Afterwards they  switch on  to “aastha(religious)  “ channel,

Because   I am  only fit for  “ASthaa”,

How do they know it?

How did  they conclude,

That one of my  feet  is in the grave

If I watch  “Ladies  Gymnastics”

Then all people  strare at me,

And  they tell , “You have become old,

But   still you are  roaming your eyes”

“One day my sister in law was asking,

“ Uncle, in today’s news paper,

How many   advertisements have come?”

And then seeing about my ignorance   she told,

“Mother is telling me ,

That you completely survey the paper,

And even this  , you do not know ,

What you have  you learnt from there?’

If I try to do Yoga, they say,

“Why are  you afraid of death?”

Do you think   that no father,

Dies   ever in this world?”

I  tell , “Oh brother  ,

I have now retired,

Allow me yo enjoy my pension”

And then the son says,

“You have   already   enjoyed the capital,

Now please  let me enjoy  the  interest?”

I am thinking ,

“after  retiring,

What is   really happening

Has  the  boss of the office ,

Got  a  post   in our home ?”

His counsels   and advices  ,

Become  quite meaningless,

When he  talks ,The people of the home,

Look at is despicably,

I wish  I could tell,

“I am now  not the head of the home,

Okay , at least    allow me,

To  be a honorable  member.”

He says

If you  do not want to hear  , do not hear  ,

But at least   allow me to talk  ,

I have the   habit of talking,

Slowly and slowly , I would retire from that ,

Slowly and slowly   , I would lose the feeling ,

That  I know   everything”

After some more time  ,

Sitting on the balcony , silently,

I would  be always watching  the road,

I would search for   face, ,

In the crowd  which comes and goes,

Who even  after  seeing me sitting uselessly,

Would not think that I am useless,

For those   who always  chatter ,

Would not think that I am useless,

Bharat

Bharat

BY

Prashoon joshi|SHANKAR EHSAAN LOY

Translated  by

P.R.Ramachander

Hear  the pretty song  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzql-Esm7WU

देश से है प्यार तो
हर-पल यह कहना चाहिए
मैं रहूं या ना रहूं
भारत ये रहना चाहिए

If you have  love to this country,

Every minute  you have to tell,

Whether  I live or not live

Bharath  should live  like this

देश से है प्यार तो
हर-पल यह कहना चाहिए
मैं रहूं या ना रहूं
भारत ये रहना चाहिए

If you have  love to this country,

Every minute  you have to tell,

Whether  I live or not live

Bharath  should live  like this

सिलसिला ये बाद मेरे
यूँ ही चलना चाहिए
मैं रहूं या ना रहूं
भारत ये रहना चाहिए

In continuation , these   words of mine  ,

Should go on like this

Whether  I live or not live

Bharath  should live  like this

सिलसिला ये बाद मेरे
यूँ ही चलना चाहिए
मैं रहूं या ना रहूं
भारत ये रहना चाहिए

In continuation , these   words of mine  ,

Should go on like this

Whether  I live or not live

Bharath  should live  like this

मेरी नश-नश तार कर दो
और बना दो एक सितार
राग भारत मुझपे छेड़ो
झन-झनाओ बार-बार

Make  all my  nerves  in to  a wire

And make  it in to a Sitar  ,

Leave    the tune  of BHarath  to me .

More  and more  , again and again

मेरी नश-नश तार कर दो
और बना दो एक सितार
राग भारत मुझपे छेड़ो
झन-झनाओ बार-बार

Make  all my  nerves  in to  a wire

And make  it in to a Sitar  ,

Leave    the tune  of BHarath  to me .

More  and more  , again and again

देश से ये प्रेम
आँखों से छलकना चाहिए
देश से ये प्रेम
आँखों से छलकना चाहिए
मैं रहूं या ना रहूं
भारत ये रहना चाहिए

This love  to the country,

Should be   shed by the eyes

This love  to the country,

Should be   shed by the eyes

Whether  I live or not live

Bharath  should live  like this

शत्रु से कह दो ज़रा
सीमा में रहना सीख ले
ये मेरा भारत अमर है
सत्य कहना सीख ले

Just tell our enemy  ,

Learn to stay  in the border

For this my Bharath  which is  death less

Please  learn to tell  the truth

शत्रु से कह दो ज़रा
सीमा में रहना सीख ले
ये मेरा भारत अमर है
सत्य कहना सीख ले

Just tell our enemy  ,

Learn to stay  in the border

For this my Bharath is  death less

Please  learn to tell  the truth

भक्ति की इस शक्ति को
बढ़कर दिखना चाहिए
मैं रहूं या ना रहूं
भारत ये रहना चाहिए

This  power  of our devotion..

Should  be increased and shown to others

Whether  I live or not live

Bharath  should live  like this

The nine avatharas of the husband in modern days

The nine avatharas  of the  husband   in modern days

By

P.R.Ramachander

(Reaction   after   reading  about  nine   avatharas  of devi  in whatsapp:-

The 9 avataars of a devi in our everyday lives....

1. Morning rush hour, office work... Ashtabhuja.   2. Teaching her children.... Saraswati.

3. Saves money from her household expenses... Mahalaxmi.  4. Puts food on a plate for her family.... Annapurna.

5. Stands firmly with her family in the hour of need.... Parvati.

6. Hubby puts a used wet towel on the bed... Durga.😂

7. Hubby doesn't want to discuss about the Holiday Plans... Kali. 😂😂

8. Hubby Doesn't appreciate her Saree... Mahishasurmardhini.😂😂😂

9. Hubby praises qualities in another woman... Bhavani.😂😂😂😂)

Mathsya  Avathara – Slips  like a fish when wife  asks for something

Koorma Avathara-Takes  this avathara  when  wife  wants to go out  in the evening

Varaha Avathara – Normally  takes  this when children  ask for money

Nrusimha Avathara-Takes this when   wife   wants  to purchase  jewellery

Vamana Avathara- Takes  this   when  his mother  shouts  at him

Parasurama  Avathara-Takes this  when wife informs  him about  daughter’s  love affair

Rama  Avathara-Takes  this  when he  wants  something  from wife

Krishna  Avathara –Normally  taken out in colleges , offices  and outside homes

Budha  Avathara-Takes  it out after  retirement , when he  has nothing to do

Three mothers of every man

Three   mothers of  every man

By

P.R.Ramachander

Every  male   has   four  different mothers,

The  mother   who gave   birth to him   and nurtured him,

The sister, whom his  mother gave  who flodded  him with affection,

The daughter  presented  by  his wife  and  who is everything to him.

While  Mother   departs   to other   world earlier,

While the sister  departs    away   to another home ,

It is only  his daughter who loves   him , cherishes him,

Hero worships   him and is with him   till his death.

Raja Thatha (Story man) the story teller

Raja  Thatha  (story man)    the  story  teller 

By

Raja  Thatha

( Dedicated to my daughter  Meera who  brought  my  story   telling  skill  on line)

1.What is that  in life  that motivated you to know more stories and collect them?

I belong to Kerala   where telling stories used   to play   a great role in life . Ancient arts like Padakam, Chakyar Koothu   and  Ottam thullal    and their modification  Kadha Kalakshepam    all are mainly about   story telling  in a conversational style  . Because of it  at least in olden times , the conversation of  most of the people laced   round stories. Any one wanted to drive home a point  in  a conversation used  to tell a story. This  greatly attracted me  and so I did collect  as a young boy several stories for illustrating my talks .Later  when I grew up , I became a  compulsive reader   and a great book worm. Whenever  I read a new story I remembered it  and later   started modifying them to illustrate   my conversation.

2.What were  the sources for the many stories that you know?

 Initially   the elders of  my native village including my father . When I grew up  , I  read all the Hindu puranas   and Upanishads  and also attended the    story telling arts  whenever I could. I read Brihad Katha Manjari, Pancha Thanthra  , Arabian Nights  , Vikramadithya stories initially and later   all available  English folk tales  like Grimm’s fairy tales, Anderson fairly tales  , Abbots folk tales,  Greek mythology  , Bible  ,Maha Bharatha, Bhagwatha,  Alice in Winderland and  tamil  children magazine called  Ambuli Mama.  Any story I read I converted  them in to my environment  and remembered. Later on I read thousands of fiction books in Malayalam, Tamil  and English.  Age has indeed blunted my memory  and I have   forgotten many of them. But still I like to illustrate my talk with  my altered story collection.

3.Are there  any different form of story telling  that has attracted you , which you feel are  very powerful.

 The Harikatha form of story telling that came   from SAurashtra,  The theru koothu form of story telling  of Tamil Nadu   and the Katha Kalakshepam    form of story telling of Kerala have greatly attracted me . They are very powerful , focused   , simple and  straight forward  method of telling people that people should be good .

4.Grand parents  are no longer   the  story tellers  in our households and story telling has become diversified in many ways, Do you feel  that   story telling is more effective with   emotional bonding?

     Though I did learnt stories from my father  and  have been an effective   story teller   to my grand children , I have great respect   to the   art of story telling by great artists . Those artists did not rely on a emotional bond   but   with great speed created  a bond with audience   and became one of them.  I  have great regard    to those artists.  Story telling art  or the method of story telling might have   changed but essentially  it is still the same  aimed at   entertaining kids and teaching them the   realties of life  . Earlier  our method   was not  fashioned  based on the psychology of the listeners  and possibly the  new method   tries to do it.

5.What  attempts  have you made  to preserve  this art?

    1, I   Have written down many   stories  that  I know   and my daughter converted  it in to a web site  .You  will  find  about  100  stories  written by me 

 http://raja-thatha-corner.bizhat.com/Stories.html

2.I have  tried to illustrate  several  tamil  and Malayalam proverb  I know  by spinning  stories  for them. I am very happy  tell you  that these  are being used  to  teach  our culture  as reflected  by proverbs  in a school  in Coimbatore

a.Tamil proverbs   https://rajathathablog.blogspot.com/2018/04/few-tamil-proverbs-illustrated-by.html

b.Malayalam proverbs  https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/5819682/malyalam-proverbs-raja-thathas-corner/3

3. From early age  I was fascinated  by Vikramadithya  stories ie stories told to Bhoja Raja  by the  32  dolls. The only place   you can read   all of them in English is  my web site https://vikramadhithya.blogspot.com/2016/10/table-of-contents-of-stories-of.html

4.My daughter  wanted  the world not  to loose  my  story   telling style    and  I have  recorded two of them

1.Mookpoi  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht3fczP6Ee4&list=UUaonzWDdGZZswJaJ8U_-4gw&index=3&t=0s

2,THiruvazhuthan  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K-25X7E5es&index=1&list=UUaonzWDdGZZswJaJ8U_-4gw

5.The  first story ever  written IN india  is Ramayana. This story has  always  fascinated me .I have  dedicated  lots and lots  of time  in translating  Ramayana   written by three  master story   tellers  in three  different languages.You can see  them

1,Valmiki  Ramayana  (Sanskrit) http://englishvalmikiramayanam.blogspot.com/

2.Kamba  Ramayanam (Tamil) http://englishkambaramayanam.blogspot.com/

3.Adyathma  Ramayanam(Malayalam)  http://rajathathas.blogspot.com/2012/05/preface-to-adhyatma-ramayanam-of.html

6. I have told  and retold   several  stories  that  affect human culture  in to poems

   You will find hundreds of them in https://rajathathablog.blogspot.com/