Impact of covid-19 worldwide.

The outbreak of covid-19 has forced the world to rethink .Not a single nation is well prepared to face the challenges that have come in the form of pandemic.Not a vaccine, not a perfect medicine that truely fight or fight one hundred percent against this infectious virus .An atmosphere of uncertainty and fear prevails everywhere .What to do ? How do we defeat this deadly virus which like monsters engulfing the human beings?
 But, thanks to doctors ,medical teams ,researchers who without losing hopes have been continuously working hard as soldeirs in this battle field.

   The fact is all the nations is passing through tough times and no has complete solution to this pandemic.The lock-down period will extend or not ,is difficult to predict as the data of infected cases has been rising exponentially.

When we all come out of this situation is the major question now.Will it take a few more days or a few weeks or months hardly anyone answer.Will everything be normal  after the pandemic or will take more time for life to come on the track.Several questions like these are in queue for proper reply.

 To me it seems that the pandemic will bring  a major change in the thinking of individuals .Because of lock-down many small businesses may likely to shut. Even, the big business houses may also think of bringing changes in their working system.Since school s are closed the education system may also bring some changes in imparting knowledge.This pandemic will definitely teach a lesson to all nations.
After the pandemic every nations will again think about their future ,and they will work on ,what to be done if such cases may again gets repeated in the future .
I think the demand of artificial intelligence will rise more especially in the treatment of corona like infections so that the  direct  contact with the patient will get reduced.     
Not  only in treatment even in education system also the use of artificial intelligence will be more so that the education of the children not get disturbed.
The pandemic has badly affected the supply chain that can be explained by one example.All over the country the production of  dairy products  and veggies are going on the large scale but because of closure of restaurants, hotels the consumtion get reduced .The farmers are facing problems in selling their products.They are not getting the correct price of their products instead they are selling the items at low prices. Because of lock-down the supply chain gets disturbed and resulted in less consumption of different items..

As factories are shut down the situation of unemployment has come before the contract workers and what after lock --down ,will they again success in getting their jobs back.
Because of lock-down many like truck drivers, taxi's drivers, auto rikshaw drivers have become jobless.They are directly depending on government's help.
Think about the road side sellers ,vendors who have been obeying lock down .Now ,they are jobless.Is the situations relating to their employment will get improve after the lock-down period. The real picture will come after the pandemic.But no doubt, the pandemic has badly affected all the nations.

How is the Ramayana  important during lock down period?

Don't you think that during lock down period that is running now ,the telecast of the Ramayana on a T.V screen is an appreaciable step to create a healthy environment all around ,when everyone has been living in a fear of  covid -19 .
 Ramayana is a real story of Lord Rama . It's  not a fiction that many in  the society think and understand.Breaking of bow of Lord Shiva ,killing of Ravana or the other series of events that occurred during the life of Rama do not make Him Lord Rama but the qualities that He displayed during His entire life made Him a God.Even , during extreme worst conditions He remained stable is the quality that made Him great and superior among all the characters of Ramayana.
 To me Ramayana is a way of living or teaches art of living like how to be an ideal parents, ideal brother,ideal son ideal daughter etc.It imparts knowledge about how to remain calm and stable when you  come in the clutch of worst situations.Lord Rama never loses His temper . He never flew in the flood of emotions . If you minutely see His Life you will find everything in the balanced form.And ,He always chose the paths which were full of difficulties.Generally we humans are in the habit of following easy paths but He did opposite to the Human's nature.He set many examples in His entire life.
Ramayana clearly  explains about the duty of every individual .
The modern people who before lock down did not have time  to enrich their knowledge have got a golden chance to watch ,understand and learn the real meaning of Ramayana through the T.V serial. I hope every individual must take  advantage of this golden opportunity.

    Ram Navami and Lord Rama

Many a time people ask why Lord Rama
occupies the superior position among all the characters of 'The Ramayana'. It's true also.

Why people give so much importance to Lord Rama? I asked the same question to a saint to whom I know since long ago.

Keeping a smile on face the saint replied never, think that Lord Rama is  important for breaking the bow of Lord Shiva or killing Ravana. 

His superiority lies in His qualities that he displayed during Ramayana. Amid crisis, tough times, adverse conditions He never lost His temper, remains stable all the time .

 

This particular character makes Him Lord not His humbleness and sacrifices that He made. That is why people worship Him and try to follow His footprints.

 All the characters of The Ramayana is full of qualities and teach lessons to everyone. But, one such character to whom Lora Rama also liked and gave much importance is 'Sabri.'

 The story of Sabri is very unique and teaches a great lesson to the people of  the present world .
Sabri , a young girl belonged to a low caste or a tribal society called Bhil. 

As she reached, her young age her father decided to marry her .For marriage Sabri's father arranged many goats to feed the guests who was about to attend the ceremony .As Sabri came to know about the goats that his father had brought to sacrifice she ran away from  home to a forest called 'Dandkarnay wan. 'She used to sleep on the tree .She would sweep the road that led to the river before sun up for the saints that lived in the same jungle. Daily before sunrise she swept the road .

Anyhow ,a saint named Matang came to know about her auspicious job. The great saint invited her to his own cottage or ashrama and allowed her to live there. 

She even told that she belonged to a low caste still  the saint gave space in his ashram.

 Days rolled by the saint grew older and one day before taking the last breath the saint Matang called her and said Sabri Lord Rama will come to you one day and give you darshanm.

The words of saint Matang occupied space in the heart of Sabri. Everyday she used to go to forest to collect berries for Lord Rama and would taste them so that she could only offer the sweet one to the Lord Rama.With passage of time she turned old, hair turned grey ,teeth broken but there was no change in her patience.

And, the day came. Lord Rama came to her ashram without thinking about her caste because He loves true bakti.

What I mean to say here is the people of present time wants everything  in an instant. They want success instantly without keeping patience .I think Like Sabri, if people also work hard , have faith in their own dedicated efforts and keep patience then he or she will definitely achieve the goal in life.
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      What I see out ,during Covid-19                              pandemic .

The outbreak of Covid-19 has changed everything. Have you ever thought about the labourers who earn on a daily basis? How, they have been living without money in this tough times ? I don't know how many of you know about them. In the blog today ,I want to talk about such brave ones.
Today when I stepped out to buy groceries the real picture came before me.Out ,all the things were looking different. The road which remained busy all the time was empty and had a deserted look ,no movement of private vehicles ,no traffic congestion,no honking .In the name of traffic ,a few police patrolling vehicles were crawling. Except grocery and medicines shops all shutters were down .Even the opened shops had also a small numbers of buyers , queuing up waiting for their turn ,maintaining social distancing.
         After buying essentials , I approached towards a woman veggie seller , sitting roadside with her wares.She welcomed me with a smile on her face .It seemed as though I was her first customer.No mask, no protective equipments on her body.Her facial expressions displaying her helplessness.In the curfew like situation when everyone stay-locked at home, her selling wares in the adverse conditions, along the road side says a different story that cannot be expressed in words but can only be felt.
I thanked God and also to this brave soldier who in the hour of need serving people.

 How Covid-19 affecting people ?

It is known that the pandemic caused by covid-19 has brought the fast moving world to a standstill , factories shut down, flights were grounded, trains stopped, In short, everything has stuck at its place. If we closely look we find that except essential services nothing going it's way. A few days ago everything was normal but now the fact is before our eyes.The deadly virus has forced the innocent masses to live stay locked at home.The time has turned the normal life to troubled ones .And God knows whether the lock down period will end soon or may extend.

 As far as other nations are concerned hardly do we find a place on the globe where people are not living under the scary environment of Covid-19.Even the nations having the tag of developed ones are also finding themselves hopeless and helpless in this turbulent times.Their ,all options and technological progresses have failed in the battle against Covid-19.At the present stage, no one has the answer to this deadly infectious disease and this is the fact.

What to do now? How ,the human race will survive and save themselves from this pandemic is the major question that stands before everyone ? The figures and data of infected persons have been rising at an alaraming rate.The deaths figure coming from all over the world is also shocking.The worst sufferers are the countries like Italy, Iran, U.S are still struggling with this infectious disease.

     Are the guidelines by W.H.O like social distancing, hand washing and staying locked at home are enough to defeat covid- 19.Then, what are the other options left ? No ,we have no better options other than following the guidelines of W.H.O and experts.Let's see the guidelines .
(1) Wash hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol -based hand rub.
(2) Cover nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when we cough or sneeze.
(3)  Avoid close contact ( 1 meter or 3 feet) with people.
(4) Stay home and self -isolate from others in the household if we feel unwell.
(5) Never touch eyes, nose or mouth if hands are not clean.

The guidelines also recommend against  big group gatherings and request older people and anyone with existing health problems to stay at home.
Researchers also suggest that the spread of covid-19 may slow down with humid and higher average temperatures in countries like India.
The other way to slow the spread is less interaction of people with each other.
Drew Harris ,a population health researcher and assistant professor at the Thomas Jefferson university college of public Health says that reducing the opportunities for gathering helps folks social distancing .One more experts say that don't be panic.
Health experts also recommend at least 20 seconds washing with soap and water after using the bathrooms , before eating or after blowing nose or sneeze.

The situation prevailing all over the world is very disappointing.  when we all come out of this is the main question that worrying everyone.It's not that efforts are not being made by the researchers but no satisfactory results have yet come.
If we talk about another way of boosting immunity then to me meditation and yoga seems to be the better option.Some also suggest to have hot drinks as a precaution.It's up to you what precautionary steps you would like to add in your daily routine .But, I think in addition to following the guidelines suggested above if we all  add yoga to our daily routine the result will be different and soon we could defeat the covid-19.

  A Bargaining market , Palika Bazaar, Delhi.

Today almost after a gap of some three months me writing. It's not that I had no time to pen some words for you but the time I would hold the pen my mood would swing to some unimportant topics.

 Anyhow ,I managed the feelings and now I am present with a new subject of importance.

Recently , I got an opportunity to visit Delhi ,I don't know whether it was old or New Delhi so, I mentioned only Delhi.

 In the heart of the city there is a place called Connaught Circus ,a place where you can easily see a crowd consisting of  people from different fields.

 Whoever comes to Delhi keeps an utter desire to visit this place. I don't know for what reasons but is a fact .

In the same place a popular market is there called Palika Bazaar. Basically it is a cloth market but you can also get cosmetics products, leather products and other beauty products.

But the bad part of this market is that you should know the skills of bargaining otherwise  you will easily become fool. 

Here , the shopkeepers speak any price of the products and force you to buy at the same cost .So the power of bargaining is must here.

They give you the products of 2000 rupees at 200 rupees. They play every tricks to allure you with the products and the cost.

 It's not that all are of the same category .A few are very good one  also .You always try to buy the products from the shop where the prices are fixed. So, be careful while shopping at Palika Bazaar.

How some countries came out with the solution of traffic problems ?

It is not a new thing .Many of us have faced the problems of traffic jams and delays? How much painful is this is known to all . Every time we go out ,only one thing first comes to our mind.

God there should be no traffic jams. Isn't that correct ?

  Almost all cities and towns ,no matter the population all have this serious problems.

 Usually ,we all prefer to leave the place in advance to catch train or flights so that could not get stuck in the heavy traffic.

The question that always pinches me inwardly is, Why the traffic has increased multifold in recent years? Have you ever thought of that ? 

Some say it is because of rise in income of middle class family or the financial growth of this group. Good , atleast the income of middle class family is rising. But to solve this problem what we have been doing. Nothing, instead finding any solution we are demanding more four lanes and flyovers .

Some countries have taken this matter seriously and really have come out with solutions.

 Some developed western countries are encouraging people to use cycle and also requesting their citizens to walk for short distances. 

Not only that these countries are paying their citizens for using cycle and short walk.

 These countries are The Netherlands, U.K, Belgium, Luxembourg ,France, U.S  etc. Hope we also think over it soon.

Why foreign lands look very tempting? 

  

 In India, travelling abroad is no longer a problem and also not as expensive as it seems to be.

 The fact is even a low income people can also think of flying to foreign lands. This is due to cheaper air fares and also increase in per capita income of Indians.

      Now ,Indians are looking for better options not only in India but also abroad. If we look at the trends that suggest that travel to foreign countries has been growing constantly for past few years.

 The interesting part is that  even people from smaller cities are also taking part in this race. For them touching to foreign shores is just like a dream come true.

 In the year 2017 it is estimated that around 17 million Indians were leaving abroad.

 No doubt overseas, Indians find better opportunities,  handsome salary and quality life.

 They travel as tourists, as vacationers, as job seekers and as students. Several universities there provide top quality higher education and provide opportunity for research. 

The list of cheaper countries where Indians like to go are Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Maldives and so on. The most favourite destinations for Indians are Malaysia,Thailand,U.S and U.K.  

An interesting and inspiring story .

Today I am not writing anything about travel. Not because of reason but simply to add a new flavour to my writings. Hope  all enjoy .

 Actually while reading a book, in the morning a word 'Moksha' , new to me caught my attention. I don't know about its origin whether it has come from Hindi or sanskrit but one thing is very clear and is also a fact that in Hindu religion this term has much significance.

 It is a known fact that Hindus visit pilgrimage sites, sakti pitha, Jyotirlingas and different temples.But why? What's the motive and purpose behind their visit? By doing so what they really achieve, The answer is hidden in the story of a little boy named 'Nachiketa.'

His father at the end of yajna donated weak and old cows who were incapable of bearing calves  . 

To see his father doing so ,Nachiketa interrupted him but to no purpose .His father lost the temper and said him to go to the Lord of Deaths ,Yama . Nachiketa left and stayed at the doorstep of Yama's abode for three days without any food, water and sleep.

 

When Yama returned He greeted him and asked for boons.To that Nachiketa asked him the mystery after death .

 

Yama refused to answer his question but later he unearthed the mystery by saying that after death soul  remains ,it never dies .And at the same time.

 

How to plan Tirupati.

Tirupati, a place of pilgrimage has always been my favorite destination and is also on top of my priority list.Never think that this destination is favorite to me only but is also a point of attractions for many travel enthusiasts.Over 50,000 pilgrims come to this holy site everyday and the figure reaches to lakhs on special occasions .Seventh hill, yes, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is present on the seventh hill.To arrange food and accommodations for such a huge number is not an easy task.There is a board called TTD that looks after the temple and manages everything there. There job is really excellent.
      The board provides accommodations free of cost to the pilgrims who cannot afford to pay .Lockers and halls are there for the pilgrims.Several lodging options like dormitories, rooms, cottages are also available there.Not only the board has provided stay options at the temple area but also at the base of the hill close to  Tirupati railway station. But all these  options require proper identity card like Aadhar card.
  As far as transportation is concerned bus services, private vehicles etc are present in plenty to cater the need of the pilgrims and tourists.
Before you plan to visit this site the most important thing that is needed to be done is to make darshanam pass in advance .TTD online darshanam booking centre is one such option.www.tirumala.org

A visit to Tirupati temple -2

In the morning I checked in the room allotted to me .The accommodation was provided for a single day at a very low price ,just at rupees 50 for twenty four hours.The room was pleasant and comfortable.The most important thing that attracted me a lot there was  the surroundings all around very natural and positivity everywhere.All those elements of nature really rejuvenated my body and soul and I enjoyed each second there.
After a short stay I left the room and went straight down the temple premises for darshanam.And, in order to see the time slot I turned the pass in that 6pm was printed in bold letters. Still ,the time left for darshanam was more than six hours .So, I decided to use the time by joining the general queue.
       The queue was very long and moving at a very slow pace.But keeping aside all my negative views and thoughts I joined the queue.After hours the line entered a hall where passes for darshanam were being made.One such pass was also issued to me.Gradually the serpentine human chain moved into a waiting hall which was big enough to accommodate more than hundred people at a time.Taking advantage of the space I stretched my legs to relax.Others were also doing the same thing.During that period fresh food was served to us and I enjoyed each morsel of tasty food.When the clock struck 3 (afternoon) a gentleman sitting beside me asked" Sir, May I know your time slot ?" Then, I took out the pass that I had and read the time ,it was 8 pm the next day. To see the time I lost my patience and left the hall in no time.Now the other option that I had left with was the quick darshanam pass  which I had booked in the morning,the same day. I rushed to the quick darshan am queue which was not far away from me.There also the same procedure was followed like making a pass, sitting in a waiting hall etc.The line moving from one hall to another hall , going upstairs and downstairs ,turning curves reached the sanctum sancturm of Lord Venkateswara. Really after having the darshanam of Lord Balaji I forgot about my pains and exhaustion.The darshanam gave me immense pleasure and filled me with joy and divine peace.

      A visit to Tirupati temple -1

How did the idea of visiting 'Tirupati ' temple came, I didn't remember.It might be because of my travelling passion or the tag of the richest temple in the world that it has since ages.No doubt huge donations, countless pilgrims all together have made this lord's place one of the richest pilgrimage sites.Here, every year pilgrims come in millions .Why so many pilgrims ge† attracted to this particular divine place? Why the devotees in large come to this place? The fact is deep faith and belief in Him has  made this  pilgrimage site a popular and  richest one in the world .Pilgrims from different corners of the world come every year to get the blessings of Lord Balaji.
My trip to Balaji was very interesting .Earlier ,only once I had been to  that temple.I had also no much idea about that sacred place .I was also new to that divine place.Late arrival of my train delayed my journey to Tirumala. My short trip began at 11.30 pm after getting down the train.Out, there was a government bus I rushed and talked to driver .The gentleman promised and assured me that he would go to Tirumala but after getting atleast 20 passengers .I agreed to his proposals.Thanks God ,he easily got the required passengers and left for 'Tirupati'.A short drive of less than an hour, uphills and downhills brought me to the site .Even at late night I found many pilgrims standing in a queue for getting a room to stay .I too joined them with a Xerox copy of identification proof mainly Aadhar card. Without proper id card it is very difficult to get a room and also have a darshanam of the Lord Balaji.Now the next challenging job that I had was to arrange a pass for darshanam.Close  the lodge booking counter there was a counter issuing a pass for quick darshanam but to have that Aadhar card was mandatory.And I managed a pass for the darshanam.

How does travelling benefit us?

Hardly do we find one who has no love for nature. Everyone be a rich or poor all has a space and deep love for the same.Many of us have the passion  for travelling. Exploring a new destination, sightseeing, mouth watering food all together attract a tourist to a particular destination. Moving along a beach side or wandering aimlessly in a megacity all have a unique taste .But do we really ever tried to analyse the benefits associated with travelling. True ,travelling has lots of benefits.
     Travelling is directly linked to our physical, mental and emotional health.It improves our ability to handle stress which is said to be the mother of all diseases. It is said that travelling lowers the cortisol level and make us feel more calm and content. It brings happiness and cools down the mind at the time of stress.Touring a new destination does not simply mean moving to a new place or a destination but it teaches us many things about life which many of us don't know. It imparts knowledge about an unknown or a foreign land ,its culture ,tradition etc. It also teaches about ourselves .Also self motivates and reduces the risk of depression.
   Travel and tourism also benefit us financially. If we look at the facts we find that in terms of total contribution to GDP India was ranked seventh among 184 countries in 2017 related to travel and tourism. Not only that by 2025 the travel industry hopes to create 46 million job opportunities.

           Sabrimala temple.

In India the list of temples is very long.Needless to say ,devotees are also uncountable .Unending queues, large crowd are the part of temples and  could  be seen easily near any popular temple.In some devotees wait for hours to visit the same.

      Every year  pilgrims in millions visit the prominent and famous temple Sabrimala ,a beautiful temple located in Sabari Hills in Kerala which is also a popular site of pilgrimage.
    The temple is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. There are many stories related to the Lord.
It is a belief that Sabrimala is that sacred place where Lord Ayyappa meditated after killing a powerful buffaloe-faced demoness Mahisi who was the sister of Mahishasura.
Another belief is also there.It is said that when Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura, Mahisi tried to take revenge from Goddess Durga but she failed in her efforts and was killed by Lord Ayyappa. It is said that Lord Ayyappa had the powers of both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
The unique thing about this temple is that it is not biased to any particular religion. It allows everyone belonging to any caste or creed. All devotees and pilgrims are welcomed here.
 The two crowd pulling events of this temple are Mandala pooja and Makaravilakku.Here, the pilgrim season begins in the month of November and ends in the month of January.During pilgrimage some rules has to follow by the pilgrims. At the time of Mandala pooja the pilgrims undertake a rigorous 41 day vratam during which they don't eat any non-vegetarian food and they also stay away from carnal pleasures.
   This holy place is also connected to a Muslim saint, called Vavar.There is a mosque in the vicinity of the temple. During visit the devotees move around this mosque ,chanting the names of both Lord Ayyappa and Vavar.
  Lord Ayyappa bless His devotees in the form of divine light also called Makaravilakku or Makar Jyothi that appears on the hillside on a particular day .

How to go to Sabrimala temple?

Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are the nearest airports .Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thiruvalla or Chenganur are the nearest railway stations.The bus stop close to the temple is Pampa.Kochin is around 104 kms far away.Mountainous path is also there to visit the temple.From Erumely it is 61 Kms and it is 12.8 KMS from vandiperyar.
The prasadam at the temple is Aravana payasam and Appam.

               The Sweetest Day

In present ,every individual is in the clutches of stress .May be rich or poor no one is untouched by the wave of stress.If you knock, almost everyone comes out with the tales of problems and difficulties.

Then who is happy? or what makes us happy? Does money really give us a real joy.It may be true for someone but is momentary. Happiness and joy are  not a part of money or wealth  and also has a very short period of life.The concept of joy lies in thinking about others, sharing moments with others .
The idea behind the celebration of the 'The Sweetest Day' is also the same.
     In 1922 Herbert Birch Kingston a philanthropist in Cleveland Ohio also wanted to help the orphans, lonely, isolated and so created the day 'The Sweetest Day'.This day is not popular all over the world but is celebrated in some parts of United states, like the Midwester United States,Northern part of Florida ,Northeastern United states on the third saturday in October. The sweetest Day is slowly spreading throughout the U.S. People share romantic deeds or expressions on this day.Gifts of candy, heart-shaped boxes ,greeting cards containing romantic expressions have been the part of Sweetest Day since its first observance. It is also the day that leaves candy companies salivating as the sales of sweets and candy increase multifold  on this particular day.Many believe that sweetest Day originated to promote the sale of sweets,cards and gifts,so has also been referred as a "a concocted promotion". The biggest sweetest Day celebrators are the cities of Detroit,Cleveland and Buffalo.
No doubt ,whatever may be the reasons but this day atleast brings smile on the face of many.