Preparing for X-mas in the advent season - 1

Good morning friends. The whole world is will be celebrating Christmas day. Maybe some were not celebrating it in a very special way. Maybe some are only praying, some celebrated in their most gorgeous way. But the importance is the spirit of it.

Ashankur or Seed of Hope, a women's empowerment centre at Bhokar, a village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra was home for me for the past two months. The experience prepared me to embrace the spirit of Christmas.

I woke up every morning to the pungent yet soothing smell of fresh earth, with a view from my room of shimmering green fields. Mynahs flew in and out of the room. I could see the Seven Sisters, parakeets and kingfishers twittering in the branches of trees, koels calling out to each other in song and wasps grubbing on insects, while squirrels darted from tree to tree. All these sights and sounds of nature were like balm, soothing and healing the wounds of hurt.

Nature at Ashankur was at its beautiful best with lilies, roses, gerberas and other flowers, with Gulmohur trees arching over. Cool breeze accompanied by sudden cloud burst and rain would sometimes cover the village in darkness. Living close to nature, and away from the noise and bustle of the city, i could not but take a second look at my life. The question before me this Christmas was: How to commit myself to the reconstruction and recreation of my own life and that of the earth?

Having come to the village in inner turmoil, i kept hearing a voice within that said: "Be still and know that I am God". The hushed silence at Ashankur helped me come into the presence of God on tip-toe, to experience a deep peace that is a divine gift. I stood free of everything that had enveloped me in personal darkness, and found myself in the presence of an all-pervading light, which could only be a sign from God.

ref: thetimesofindia

Monsoon Makes a Comeback

Good morning friends. Even in other countrys the monsoon keeps on coming back. This has refereced to The Times of India and all of us should be aware of this climate.

The city was caught unawares when the dormant north-east monsoon revived on Monday afternoon.
Within minutes, commuters were drenched and those on foot and two-wheelers had a tough time finding shelter. “Senior citizens and children suffered a lot, especially at the bus shelters where there are hardly any seats,” said K Pattabiraman, a senior citizen. “The formation of a trough of low pressure over south western bay off the coast of Tamil Nadu resulted in the showers. Scattered rainfall over Tamil Nadu and isolated heavy rainfall is likely to occur over south TN in the next 24-hours,” said S R Ramanan, director, regional meteorological centre.

Until 8.30 pm on Monday, Nungambakkam recorded 4.7 mm of rain, while Meenabakkam registered 10.2 mm of rain. According to the met office, the forecast for Tuesday is generally cloudy weather, with one or two spells of thunder showers.

According to T N Balasubramaniam, agronomist and consultant to MSSRF, when the temperature varies between a minimum of 20 degree Celsius and a maximum of 32 degree Celsius, the weather is contiguous for rain. “The timely showers of Monday will be highly beneficial since electricity consumption will be less in the irrigated agricultural belt of Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts.”

The city’s important roads such as Perambur High Rd, Basin Bridge, Royapettah High Rd, stretches of Gandhi Mandapam Rd and Nandanam were flooded.