Sampath-Musings

  சம்பத்  DESK- கிலிருந்து : TINY TOTS  IMPART LESSONS ( குறு குழந்தைகள் புகட்டும் பாடங்கள்)   பள்ளிப் படிப்பு பருவம் எட்டவில்லை; எனினும் பாடம் புகட்ட கிளம்பிய மழலையர்.   விளை நிலம் கண்டதில்லை; எனினும் வாழ்க்கை விதையை விதைக்க விரும்பும் அரும்புகள்.   தத்தித்தத்தி சிலர்; தாவித்தாவி சிலர்; நீந்திய வண்ணம் சிலர்; குதித்து குதித்து சிலர்; அருமையாக ஆடிய வண்ணம் சிலர்; நிலத்தை சுவைத்தபடி சிலர்; ஜிம்னாஸ்டிக்ஸ் செய்து ஜாம் ஜாம் என்று சிலர்; சருக்கி சருக்கி விளையாடும் சிலர்; நடந்தும், நடனமாடியும் சிலர்; வாழ்க்கை ஜாலி ஜாலி என்று சொல்லாமல் உணர்த்தும் சிலர்;     மகிழ்ச்சிக்கடலில் ஆழ்த்தியதோ மிகப்பலரை!   (ரா.சம்பத்) 31/5/2023

  FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:         COBBLER   A cobbler, also known as a shoemaker or cordwainer, makes, repairs, and restores footwear. It’s one of the world’s oldest professions that peaked long ago but is still going great guns.   Cobblers have been around for about as long as shoes. Today, many cobblers are shoemakers too besides being repairers, though, historically, these two professions were considered separate. Shoemakers are skilled artisans who make shoes by hand out of brand-new leather. Cobblers, on the other hand, mostly repair shoes. In fact, in the olden days, cobblers were often forbidden from working with new leather. Instead, they had to use old leather only to make their repairs - a biased and partisan restriction against them now done away with.   People of yore wandered here and there barefoot. Can you think of doing so in this modern world? Needless to say, footwear is a vital part of our lives today, as they prote...

  FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:   THE LAY OF THE LAND (or) THE LIE OF THE LAND and WET BEHIND THE EARS:     THE LAY OF THE LAND (or) THE LIE OF THE LAND: (often used figuratively)   Meaning:   If you get THE LAY OF THE LAND or THE LIE OF THE LAND, it means you learn or find out the details of a given situation or problem - to get the hump, idea, message, or mindset of someone - to get accustomed to the arrangement of different parts in an area of land like where things are located in place, etc. - the features or characteristics of an area - the current situation or state of affairs – the way a situation is developing     Example sentences:   I’m not sure what’s going to happen. That’s why I’m coming in right now. I want to get THE LAY OF THE LAND.   The pamphlet is about looking at THE LIE OF THE LAND and making your next move.   Anyway, it didn’t appeal to me, so once I got THE LAY OF THE LAND, I got out...

FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:       S. JANAKI     (A multi-lingual Veteran and Versatile Singer with Variations)   SISTLA JANAKI, a veteran and legendary singer, and an occasional music composer, was born on 23.4.1938 in Pallapatta, Guntur, in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India, now in Andhra Pradesh. Having over 48000 songs in 25 languages to her credit including in German, Japanese, English, and Sinhalese, she is affectionately called Janaki Amma, Nightingale of South India, Gaana Kogile, and Isaikkuyil (the latter two terms mean a 'Singing Cuckoo'). She was also hailed as the ‘Queen of Expressions’ during her singing. Her improvisation, vocables, and variations in the course of singing were unmatched.   She had two spells/innings of playback singing viz. pre-1976 and post-1976. Her song in 1957 'Singaravelane Deva' for the Tamil film 'Konjum Salangai' was a great hit.  Even though she had sung many songs for the music compose...

  FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:       HOTELS (ONCE CALLED COFFEE CLUBS) (A SOUTH INDIAN SCENARIO)     In India and Hinduism, ‘Anna Dhaan’ ( அன்ன தானம் ) and  ‘Vidya Dhaan - Education’ ( வித்யா தானம் ) are considered noble and Good Samaritan acts, with the former being vehemently hailed as primary.  For eons, we had charity choultries at vantage locations for people to stay en route to their destination for rest and food free of cost. Earlier, we had water pandals in many places - especially during summer seasons - when and where water and buttermilk used to be available to the general public without any cost. Slowly and steadily, the same has undergone transformation leading to today's commercialization. The result is we have hotels and restaurants today where you have to pay for everything. In the old days, the hotels were called 'clubs' or 'coffee clubs'.  Though many clubs and coffee clubs sprang up, their popularity was only mediocre...