Curly Wurly

My chocolate brownies are getting ready in the oven. Baking is a lot of science and experimentation. I try and understand the science behind it, and try to stay away from the experimentation. 

As a kid, my chocolate experience was all about having a couple of ' Lacto king' and the 'Coffee Bite'. The real world  of  chocolate can be experienced at the World famous Cadbury World in Birmingham. I visited this place a few years back. My memories are still green about this place. At the end of the visit the guests get a pack of Cadbury souvenirs to take home. I got a lot of curly wurlies. I don't like them as they are very sticky toffees, but my son likes them very much. He had save up some money to buy a bar of chocolate for himself. At the store, he chose curly Wurly. He kindly offered me a share, but I declined to accept and told him that they stick to the teeth too much and that I don't like them. He opened his pack of curly Wurly on the way back home. Funnily just as the main door was getting opened, he screamed ' Amma, my tooth has just come out'!!! He pulled his baby tooth out which was covered in the sticky toffee of curly Wurly!! 

I am a collector of his falling teeth. The last tooth he lost was a couple of year ago. All the memories of the Cadbury World, Curly Wurly and the baby tooth synced well with my chocolate brownies. My brownies turned out well. Just how they should be, moist and slightly gooey on the inside, crisp on the outside.

My next brownie is getting the Cadbury Bournville chocolate bar added to it. Dare I experiment!!

Flying Objects

I thought that humans are designed to flee at the sight of any harmful object- object that could harm someone physically . Why is it that some people are doing the opposite? Why would some one want to catch a hard cricket ball knowing that it can harm you? Where is the body's response to fleeing in such a situation? Is this because the design also accepts challenges?

Today, I read the news about the young lad who lost his life playing cricket for Surrey league. He collapsed at the field soon after a ball hit his chest. No amount of words can carry my sympathies for his family. There are similar stories of young children dying in the cricket field  after getting hit by a ball.
It makes me think, what are the safety standards for a sport like cricket? My son plays cricket for  his cricket club across Surrey and there isn't a single day I don't winge about the safety. Batsmen and Wicket keepers normally are protected, but the cricket world is not doing enough. What is protecting their neck and spine? The fielders are at a greater risk for bone fractures, leave alone losing life.

I strongly feel that cricket sporting standards should create awareness about this and do more research in to accessories to provide protection. Young kids like mine do not even know what risks they have and it is vital that these are explained to them before they take up the sport.

If hitting a ball is going to cost someone's life, my son may not be willing to play the sport.

Sometimes my words fall on the deaf ears of my other half and I get fed up if he pulls up the stats saying that cricketers have the same risk of someone hit by a lightening... the argument continues, but I not willing to change my stand.

Risk assessments and limitations should be done for all sports. It is probably safer to drive an F1 car than to play cricket, I think. 

Srirangam to Delhi

Srirangam, is not only my birthplace in India, but also a very important spiritual place of worship to Vaishnavaites (those who follow Vishnu, Hinduism). Lord Ranganathan (form of Vishnu) is the main deity at the Ranganathaswamy temple. Although, I am not a vaishnavaite by birth, Lord Ranganathan has been a part and parcel of my spiritual journey.
I feel that there should be no religious fights amongst people because all are one and the same.
There is no better place than Srirangam that will prove the Love of God to mankind irrespective of the religion.
The best example is the story of 'Thulukka Nachiyar'. Srirangam was ruled by Mughals for sometime in the early 14th Century. Temples and idols became the ill targets of the then emperors. Surathani, was the Muslim Princess and she begged the King, that she will keep the Panchaloga (five metals/alloys) idol of Azhagiyamanavalar Perumal (another form of Vishnu). They all returned to Delhi.  Gradually, she fell in love with the Lord himself . Perumal has also given  her dharshans in various forms every night. The king realising the situation decided to return the idol to Sri  Ramanujar. (preacher and follower of Vaishnavism) . Not withstanding the separation from the Lord, Surathani also returned to Srirangam and vanished in the air mysteriously. Lord Ranganathan appeared in the dreams of the then head priest and pronounced Surathani to be his beloved wife.
The story sent goose bumps all over me as I was reading it from several other sources.-A Hindu God marrying a Muslim Princess!!!

Love of God is common to all. The Bhakti of mankind to the Supreme is the purest form of Love. The Supreme power has taken different avatars, be it  Lord Ranganathan or Allah?  So has the mankind- our avatars in the name of religion-be it Hindu or Muslim. What more proof do one need for the confused minds?

A  spiritual journey of Love from Srirangam to Delhi! Butter rotis are served to 'Thulukka Nachiyar' and she can also be seen as a deity in veil at the feet of the Lord.

I was so impressed with this story, so I entered it in my blog diary today. I have made no attempts to narrate the complete story. For those who are interested more about this, please visit other blogs /books where further informations can be obtained. I myself read the story online and my due credit goes to all the sources/authors of other blogs that I have read.

Today, I originally set myself out to write about the Tudor way of living in modern Britain, but history took a different turn, so I will gladly reserve that for another time.

Although the equality in divinity has become crystal clear, there is still food for thought. Do temples allow and treat people of all religions equally?  Who should answer this? Priests or Trusts or every individual?