Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Chicken soup for the soul

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it, if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

This story is from the book 'Chicken soup for the soul'. I got hold of this book along with 'Chicken soup for the teenage soul' in a book fair where they were selling off surplus material. I've read both the books umpteen times, yet they never fail to feel my clasp whenever they fall in my sight.

Some chicken soup for my soul indeed.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Valentine's Day
Is a wonderful way
To make "I love you"
Easy to say.


History of Valentine:


As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice... They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.

According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage.
This was around when the heyday of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.

Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully.
On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.

"From your Valentine"

While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.

Valentine thus become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.

The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

A jolly trip

The last two days were such fun really, all the boys from our class went out on a fun trip to Tirupati and Talakona.
We started at 7:00 am Friday morning on a bus to Tirupati and went on to Talakona- a place known for its scenic beauty and amazing waterfalls. In fact it is in the midst of a jungle where we climb several hundreds of feet up a mountain to get the amazing view of the waterfalls falling from about 200 feet high. The sight of such a fall had its affect on the whole group of us... we lost no time in darting under the falls.... the water was chilling and within just two minutes all our bodies went numb with cold. Then after a great photo session we returned to Tirupati, watched the movie 'Shock'(an RGV production), had our dinner........and immediately started for the climb of our lives...... to the top of the hill (Tirumala) on foot at 10:30 pm. Everyone of my friends preferred to leave their bags in the transport section, but I chose to climb the hill top with my bag weighing around 7 kgs. It was someting over 10km of climb -including 4000 steps and 5 km walk to the top. it took us 4 hours ....well we were a group so none of us felt tired in the middle of the journey, reached the top at 3:30 am and went off to bed. All the morning we spent roaming around the hilltop and started for the temple by afternoon. We had to wait in the lines for nearly 5 hrs before the darshan of Lord Venkateshwara.
Everything went fine and we returned bk to Nellore at around 1:00 am.

Many of us made through the whole trip without a wink on our eyes..........it was such fun.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Never have I fallen

Your lips speak soft sweetness
Your smile a cool caress
I am lost in your magic
My heart beats within your chest

I think of you each morning
And dream of you each night
I think of your arms being around me
And cannot express my delight

Never have I fallen
But I am quickly on my way
You hold a heart in your hands
That has never before been given away

Someone's boring me, I think it's me!

It's like that, the part of the year when nothing goes ur way.
Or is it just that i'm going nothing's way?

It's really difficult to be me....... Why did I get in at all?
I'm no longer my old self.
Yes I crave for it with my heart. but dont at all have the guts to call it upon me.
Just can't even speak my heart out.
Leave alone speaking.... can't even open my mouth.
Mb I'll have to keep waiting for a chance to open my mouth for the rest of the course.
Stumbling for words.......

No! I'll not let this happen.
I disagree to maintain the silence any longer.
Hope I get the power to do so.
Something tells me that I will succeed.
So I will.