Spirit of Service of SFV Ladies

Last time we had a glimpse of SFV menfolk devoting their time, energy, and finance to give something back to the society. Let’s see if SFV ladies can stake a similar claim.

Take Shanthy Vaidya. She takes offline classes on Devi Khadgamala. On Tuesday mornings one could see ladies rushing to Alder at around 11 am, not just to be on time, but to get a place to sit. Her impeccable English, switching over to vernacular only occasionally to convey the message aptly, is heard with rapt attention. Only the physical exertion back home to complete the domestic chores before the class, gets the better of one or two ladies to dose off just for split seconds. Precisely to augment this, I learn Shanthy used to share the recordings later.

Then Lalitha Sundaram, of Maple 3195. Oh my God, she happens to be my saha dharmini and ethically I am disallowed to write about her. But I guess it is a writer scribbling not about his spouse but about the exponent of a spiritual book, Narayaneeyam, and hence might be excused. She is busy readying the third batch of students (13 in number this time) to chant Narayaneeyam. She explains the meaning of each stanza so that they know what they are chanting and don’t chant it routinely. Occasionally she invites the first two groups to recite together Sampoorna Narayaneeyam or mini Narayaneeyam which they do with aplomb. Time well invested, I hear her murmur often. 

So much for spreading spirituality. Physical wellbeing is no less important. They say you can draw or scribble only if there is a wall. Similarly basic good health is pre-requisite for everything. Kamala Krishnamurthy and Preeti Hari, qualified yoga teachers, conduct regular classes. Covid cut short the sessions, but both are now back in full swing. 

Both spiritual knowledge and physical exercise take their toll in terms of mental and physical exertion. Thus equally important is something light which keeps one pleasantly engaged, and one enjoys doing it. That’s where this team comes – Savita Paneendra, Sowmya Kashyap, Krishna, Sowmya Kumar, Kalpana (Dilip), to name a few. They conduct Satsang, Ganesh Chaturti, Ramanavami, Navaratri…

I deliberately wrote Dilip within bracket, as there are a host of ladies by the name Kalpana, each having her own individual identity – one having served as Treasurer, and brought outstanding-payments list to a near nil, another a leading sportswoman… Yes, similarly we have several ladies by the name Vidya. I once complimented one Vidya for a creditable job that had been reported about her, until she corrected me, “Uncle, I am not the one. It is someone else. There are about 14 Vidyas in our community.”

Then you have Uma of Oak (again, I have my friend’s wife bearing the same name in Cedar), who ably guides the musical sessions; Vidya Vinod choreographs many dance and skits, Suma of Oak spearheads the Cultural front as a member of the MC, Hemangi as Treasurer once or twice; Vijetha Mysoremath, Nandini, Vidya Eashwar et al  who volunteered to teach the children of the under-privileged sections of the society, Shobha Ravi Shankar (Ebony) and Lakshmi Suresh (Oak) who do seva regularly at ISKCON temple…There could be many more who do yeoman service quietly,  but this is what comes to me off the cuff.

WHO defines health as: “A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” It has since identified a fourth dimension of health, i.e. the spiritual health. Against this backdrop, three cheers for SFV ladies for taking care of physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing of the community.  Or, better still, as Mahatma Gandhi said, “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate an entire family.” Either way Jai Ho.

Happy Go Lucky SFV Seniors

 Gentle breeze from Turahalli forest, fresh supply of Vitamin D from the rising sun, generous smile from residents crossing shoulders, good friends to give company, and, temporary though, the delightful sight of kids enjoying their swimming class. That is the morning-walk package that awaits seniors. No wonder they are all-eager to step out of home to join their respective clusters.

Yes, there are several groups. The one I have encountered from day one consists of Dr Sivananda, Dr Chandrashekar, M/s Krishnamoorthy, Srinivasan, Rao, Suresh Moorthy, to name a few. They circumambulate Pine, Maple, and Club House. In a lighter vein, if only they had cymbals (Talagalu, jalra, or kinnaram) in hand, a dolak hung around someone’s neck and replaced chat with a chant, it would have resembled the early morning bhajans that one sees in many South villages in the month of October. 

Three or four rounds, it is time to relax at the playground area for a discussion. Their morning sessions are confined to enriching knowledge, such as on banking, finance, internet. 

Then the group heads to Raghavendra Restaurant for a steaming cup of coffee for sure, and celebrate with idli, vada, or khara-bath if they are satisfied  they have done the required number of steps. 

“But you were frequenting SLV. Changed allegiance?” I asked Krishnamoorthy. “No way. Just that we can sit and enjoy coffee in Raghavendra whereas in SLV we have to stand and sip.  Nonetheless we go to SLV in the evenings,” he clarified. Evening discussions are lively what with Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, BJP versus Congress in Karnataka, if JDS will turn a king maker…

This one is a floating population group. No specific members.  But some from the SFV Vedic group do manage to assemble – Kaleeswaran, Hari, Krishnan, and me. Several others join us for a couple of rounds and leave – Sreenevasan of Oak, Prabhakaran Nair of Cedar and Prasad of Oak… Here also, after their morning quota of walk, some go for vegetable shopping to Halli Thotta at 100 ft Road, or the one near Krishna Dwaraka restaurant. Depending on where they go, they will have coffee from SLV or Krishna Dwaraka.

They discuss mundane things – the monkey menace, the midnight background score by the canine population near Gate 5, how to tie a dhoti doesn’t disown and embarrass you, the type of mangoes one should pick for pickle…

The third group, the South Canara group as some hail, is very active. Mr Naik, a senior member of the team, in his mid 80s has never taken medicine in his life, as one learns. He is very active and plays shuttle regularly. Then Vijay Kumar, a Cedar resident, but preferring to stay in his farm nearby, joins the group unfailingly – when he is in town, which is not often the case. He is a globe trotter. Then we have Gururaj, whose is happy back home after more than 25 years of stay in Delhi. When asked if his group is known as the South Canara group, he clarified, “Confused Group” would be more appropriate.  There are a few more members in the group. The group ends the morning session with coffee in SLV, and drive to Krishna Dwaraka every Saturday for breakfast. Occasionally they plan an outing for lunch. They also go on short trips for two or three days. The most recent one was a three-day trip to Mandya and its surrounding historical and religious places, ending it with a two-night homestay in Sakleshpura.

Someone defined Vedantha as the attainment of limitless happiness, knowledge and immortality. The SFV seniors would seem to have addressed the happiness part in full.

MY GATED COMMUNITY ABOUNDS IN HELPING HANDS

 “Moved in recently, sir?  I asked the gentleman as he entered the Maple-3 lift going down. “No. Have been here for four years. I am Prabhakar,” he replied.  “Haven’t met you earlier – my bad luck,” I said. “Mine too,” he quipped.

The conversation continued even as we stepped out, and we found ourselves doing a couple of rounds together for the morning walk. And there we were, as though we had known each other for years.

Prabhakar, Maple 3055, is an engineer by qualification and a humanitarian by deed. They belonged to Davanagere, where his father was the Chairman and Managing Director of Davanagere Cotton Mills. They are a rich family - but no less benevolent. They donated half of their assets for the good of society. Consequently, Davanagere, now a Smart City, can boast of housing medical/dental colleges, engineering college, and what have you. To cite just one, the family donated 22 acres of land to open a post-graduate institution six miles away from Davanagare.

My friend Satya Prasad of Oak 2094 (Aruna’s husband, to many) joined us. “Should I have to give a copy of my Aadhaar Card also?” asked Prabhakar on seeing Prasad. I guessed it was continuation of an unfinished earlier conversation. Yes, it was. Prabhakar is one of the regular donors to the orphanage based in the foothills of Tirupati which Prasad has been overseeing. That takes me to Prasad.

Satya Prasad, until recently was a busy senior executive seldom spotted by SFVians; and now seldom missed by any.  He was with the Murugappa group in Chennai. He would leave SFV early mornings of Monday and return on late evenings of Friday. Already on extension a couple of times, he politely declined further extensions - to give something back to the society. He does that eminently, initially as shram daan, and now dhan daan as well.  

There are two Ashrams, run under the auspices of one family – one for women (54 inmates) and the other for men (47) in the age group of 11 to 70 years. About 70% of them are either mentally ill or retarded, and the other 30% orphans. Prasad visits both the Ashrams twice a month to oversee the functions.  Aside this I know of how painstakingly he converted his Pune friend’s near haunted house in Vijaya Bank Layout to a mansion and is now looking for a tenant or a buyer. 

Then we have Uday of Ebony 7062. He too is associated with two institutions. Not far from SFV is an orphanage that a lady runs single-handedly supporting 65 children (1-1/2 to 24 years). The SFV support group provides milk and grocery every month – milk through the milk man since it is daily. The group buys grocery once a month from D-Mart and takes it to the orphanage personally – purely from the point of staying connected. In addition, the support given includes 50% of children’s school fee, periodic collection drive for clothes, shoes, etc.

The other is an old-age home where the abandoned elderly (now 14), who literally lived on the road are given refuge. This is run by two biological sisters. Uday & Co’s help includes supplying grocery and identifying organizations to donate blankets, bed sheets, fridge, household furniture, and medicine, 

 For Uday, charity begins at home. His parents live in their native place Managalore. He drives once a month and stays with them for a week. I am sure, his parents will eagerly look forward to that each time.

For my Samaritans it is One Good Deed a Day. For me it is One Good Story a Day – and this is the one for today.

A Repeat Blast by SFV Vedic Chant Group

For the sixth time in the recent past - and third since the dawn of 2023 - the SFV Vedic Chant group seniors and their spouses (66 to 83 age group) went for a blast. 

Just to recap the last two.  First, a grand buffet lunch in February for 22 persons at Cable Car restaurant in JP Nagar. The excuse? Five of the members had bought new cars. It was so nice of the restaurant chaps that they prepared some dishes without onion and garlic for a select few of four, and gave us a discount too when we played the senior citizen card.

Second, a one-day Tempo-Traveller trip by 14 members in March to Janapada Loka, Kengal Anjaneya temple, Aprameya Swamy temple, and, to use the Mumbai expression, a khalee peeli visit to the Mysore Silk retail outlet; not to speak of a planned boat-ride that did not happen – on arrival we were told they had postponed it for monsoon.  We had Thatte Idli at Bidadi, lunch at Shivalli restaurant, concluding coffee at Hotel Dwaraka, near home - and fun all the way. 

With the weather getting a little warm, this time the group decided, instead, to have a potluck. Many raised their hands simultaneously to host it. Ultimately, we accepted Alder Krishnan’s invitation – for the ample space his apartment provides. 

Now the date. Believe me, it is the oldies who are the busiest. One couple was slated to leave for Mumbai to be with their daughter. Another, to Rameshwaram to conclude the rituals of their recent visits to Kashi, Triveni and Gaya. Yet another was set to leave for USA to augur the arrival of their first grandchild. Another couple routinely visits Chennai to be with their son as though on an annual contract with the Railways, not to speak of yet another who has a near-permanent arrangement with a travel agency for car for their pilgrimage or historical trips. Amidst these, it was decided to hold the get-together on Saturday, 8 April, though Murali and Uma were leaving in the afternoon for Mumbai. 

The proposal, the date and venue fixed by the menfolk, the main part of the event, preparing food and making other arrangements, rested with the ladies. Mrs Vijaya Krishnan, the hostess, was appointed Coordinator, invited all ladies and they arrived at who would prepare what.

The menu consisted of soup-like Rasam, crispy Dal Vada and Manchurian as starters; Bisibela Bath and the raitha that goes with it; plain rice to relish the Vatha Kozambu, and Paruppu Tohayal (Toor dal being the basic ingredient); special Idli, steaming it with jack-fruit leaf as wrapper, and two types of chutneys; and curd rice. For dessert, there were jackfruit payasam (a speciality of Kerala), fruit-filled Custard, Kesari, and plum cake.

It was a sight to watch the ladies attired in their best, and menfolk carrying the allotted food items, transferring them occasionally to be fair to both hands, heading from the four corners to Alder. 

To say the least, each dish was prepared to perfection and it was difficult to identify which item stole the show.  In my opinion, it was the show of strength by the ladies that they are up to any challenge. For a while, everyone set aside his medical issues and did full justice to all the items. 

Lunch was followed by Anthakshari where songs from all languages and Sanskrit slokas were allowed.  It was ladies versus gents. The session got warmed up so quickly that now I know who is good at Carnatic music, film music, Sanskrit slokas and Telugu songs although Kannada is his mother tongue. The winner? On four occasions the menfolk were on the verge of collapse when the 1 to 10 warning-bell was sounded. It reached 7 and once up to 9.  The ladies got into that situation only twice. Nonetheless, on paper it is no winners, or both winners. 

Time to pack. Regardless of liberal servings, there were still a lot left. The Group met again, for dinner. Even then some items had to be packed for homes. 

As someone said, Age is just a number. Would you agree?