Neel's Notion

    There is no dearth to the surprises Corona has hurled on to the human race. A huge scale lockdown across most parts of the world, many sectors running out of business and the option to work/study/teach from home for such a long time. This pandemic has not just pressed a pause button to lives but also forced us to resist from experiencing small delights. My hometown has been offering me variety of places to please my taste buds since 25 years. My favorites among those are Pani Puri on a cart close to my home, Nagnath Chuduva near Andhra Bank, Gandhi Ganj and a juice point beside that which offers badam grape mixed juice. No trip comes to my mind when I haven’t visited at least two of these three places. The succulent food available at these places never allowed me to abstain from visiting those. I cannot come back from my hometown without gulping a piece of the food, is what I thought. But Corona forced me to believe in the inverse of that statement.  I cannot stay home even for

There are certain people who I believe or want to be immortal, because I can never imagine hearing about them not being among us. SP Balasubramaniam is one among them. I developed an unknown interest towards his voice at a very early age. That was the time I discovered that we can develop liking towards, which can be called a becoming a FAN, someone you never met. The soothing voice has given life to 50,000 pieces of art by many lyricists in a career spanning over 40 years. The human in him has supported many singers by leading the programs like Padutha Teeyaga and Swarabhishekam. His demise is not a loss to a field or an industry but a stab on the beautiful memories gathered by a generation of music lovers. The voice can melt your heart while describing the pain of a person waiting for his love of life with “Jabilli Kosam Akasamalle” The voice can make you think while questioning the country’s situation with “Arthasathabdapu Agananne Swatantramandama” The voice can enhance the beaut

Image Source: www.thehindu.com   Whether it is personal or professional life, baby boomers are standing tall as a personification of patience. Unimaginable pace of life has eliminated the word walking from the dictionary of life for many people. But a postman relied on the same mode of transport to fulfill his job responsibilities for a period of 35 years. D.Sivan, a post man by profession, walked 15 kilometers every day to deliver letters and pensions to the plantation workers who live in nearby areas. Applause from various corners for his impeccable service has made his contributions recognized by a wider audience on the day of his retirement. It would be very ambitious to expect roads or even a proper pathway in the 15 kilometers stretch that he has to travel every day. Rail tracks, mountains and even a dense forest welcome him every day.  One needs utmost respect for their profession and great tenacity to face those uneven and dangerous terrains day after day. He used to create his

Last year I moved to a gated community, where there is one apartment as soon as you cross the gate, followed by two parallel lanes with independent houses. It felt nice when I was part of the Ganesh Utsav celebrations where everyone in the colony exhibited solidarity by celebrating them together. One thing that surprised me is, no one from the apartment was part of the celebrations. It took me no time to realize that there is some friction between the residents of the apartment and the independent houses in the colony. Recent incidents have bolstered my opinion and the behaviour of the residents from both parts exacerbating the overall relation. Differences are part of life, but those should not creep to an extent of limiting the usage of open spaces and god gifted nature. The residents of the colony have opposed the apartment residents from using the road around the colony to walk. The apartment people don’t allow anyone to pluck flowers from the trees beside the apartment. My

More than anything else Narendra Modi addressing the nation must have received maximum TRPs during the lockdown. The nation patiently searched for any word related to the lockdown in his speech. During one of his speeches, he spoke about the importance of GDP in a country's growth and what the citizens can do in order to contribute to its growth. "Vocal for Local" is the phrase he used to requested the citizens to prefer Indian products over foreign products. But the bigger question is, do we have enough ammunition to facilitate the choice-making? Let us examine the grocery buying scene that we usually encounter in our daily lives. The first aisle, which is of malt based energy drink powders, is completely occupied by Boost, Bournvita, Horlicks and Complan. Boost and Bournvita belong to Cadburys, Horlicks is by SmithKline Beecham and Complan is by Danone. Though the Indian choices Patanjali Powervita and Amul Pro are available in some stores, they are limited t

The Indian newspapers have been following the relaxation norms similar to those of lockdown. No newspapers were printed during the first phase. In the next phase, the subscribers received the newspapers predominantly covered with COVID-19 related news. Now, in the third phase, other stories are finding at least 50% of the space. While reading today's news, one article grabbed my interest. New Zealand has successfully relieved itself from the COVID-19 manacles with a planned strategy led by their prime minister Jacinda Ardern. Businesses in New Zealand have begun to fill up the revenue deficits by receiving customers after a plausibly long hiatus. Like any other citizen, the prime minister of the country wanted to visit a restaurant for a Saturday brunch. She chose to visit the Olive cafe located in Cuba Street, Wellington, along with her husband. When she reached the cafe, she was welcomed with a piece of good news and an unpleasant one. The good news is that the restaur