To the old women of my church

(A satire based on Edward Lear's poem "Father William")

"You are old, Aunty Mary," the young lady said,
"And your hair has been dyed very black;
Yet you watch every serial till it's time for bed-
Do you think at your age it is right?"

"In my youth," Aunty Mary replied to her niece,
"I thought it might help the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again & again."

"You are old," said the niece, "as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you lithely carried 10 bags of clothes from the shops-
Pray, what is the reason for that?"

"In my youth," she said with her perfect-white false teeth,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By beating my husband daily with the broom.
We certainly were an outstanding couple!"

"You are old," said the niece, "and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than soup,
Yet you finished the chicken, with the bones & the beak-
Pray, how did you manage to do it?"

"In my youth," said the aunt, "I took to the law,
And argued each case with my relatives,
And the muscular strenght it gave my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life."

"You are old," said the niece, "I would hardly suppose
That your hand would be as steady as ever.
Yet you line your eyes and powder your nose -
How are you so awfully clever?"

"I have answered three questions and that is enough
Said the aunt, "Only questions & no compliments!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you over the fence."

25 Blessings

My sister-in-law tagged me the other day to write down 25 random thoughts. Going one step ahead I thought I should pen down 25 random blessings because I feel that I have in fact been given a life filled with blessings and it’s time I sat down and thought about it all. So here goes my 25 random list:

1. My enchanting eyes


2. Every new day that gives me a chance to improve on the past


3. Family


4. My gang from M.A., my lifelong friends who taught me the meaning of real friendship


5. Teaching as a career


6. My voice that will help me pass on my knowledge


7. Access to an immense storehouse – the Internet


8. My computer that has been with me through most things


9. My sensitivity


10. Brownie


11. My mom who I turn to for everything


12. Sms that helps me keep in touch with all of my friends


13. Books – my knowledge bank, my comfort, my relaxation – my all


14. My cosy room, my retreat


15. My ‘huggy’ hippo


16. Warm hugs from Jas


17. Encouragement from the students’ responses


18. Coffee at the canteen


19. Jain’s immense talents that remind each day of what I have to do


20. Music- my life


21. The SX4


22. Being surrounded by nature


23. Colours that make life so wonderful


24. Love that has permeated my life in manifest forms


25. God- for being my alpha and omega – without you there’d be no me

In Euphoria

I’m in a state of euphoria. You, my reader, will wonder why and come to the conclusion that I have finally found love. But that is not the case. It is thanks to an article I read in the morning paper that has put me in seventh heaven. Now what is this wonderful article you may ask. Is it about the arrival of my favourite movie hero? Or about some new movie that I have been dying to see? Unfortunately it is none of these but a very simple article on the front page that said MG University is to grant autonomy to its colleges.

Now you will begin to think – what a thing to celebrate! But for me it is indeed a time for celebration. You see, teaching at BCM for the past two years, I have been living with the pain of the knowledge that here indeed would be chance for improvement and change if only autonomy would be granted at the university level. This would allow a college to set and structure its own syllabus and introduce any new course that it deems fit, provided it meets the standards. Just imagine the immense potential such a decision could have. It would actually transform the entire current system of education in the state. We would be on par with the metros. Our colleges might even begin appearing in the top 10 names. And just imagine quaint old BCM actually being considered one of the top 20 colleges in India for Arts and Science. Imagine us becoming a deemed university. Unimaginable heights. Imagine us setting the standard of education from our little hometown down south. Maybe Kottayam might even end up being one of the large-scale cities in India!!! Big dreams I know. Impossible dreams you may say. But there is potential and talent here and that can be used for the greater good. Gandhiji said – be the change you wish to see. This is just the first step in the process of transformation that Kottayam will see in the coming decades. Hooray to MGU for this historic change in Kerala’s education system. Hoping this is only the starting point….