I met a bunch of 13 year Malaysian kids of Chinese origin last evening.. What interest me was not their clothes, not their raging hormones either.. but rather their inability to communicate in our National Language.. All they needed to translate was B-13-10.. from their mother tongue to our National Language and they had a good 10 seconds discussion before they translated it correctly..
Hhhhmm that scenario could have been by chance.. could have been because they were engulfed with excitement.. but the question is.. even in the chinese medium school Bahasa Malaysia is taught and students are required to master it.. 7 years or more and still we are struggling... it dawned upon me at that point, why the ATMAH Kids find it difficult as well..
I could be wrong.. but the pathetic state of affairs prevails.. the question remains.. if the Education System is ever going to change.. if vernacular schools are going to continue producing equal or more amounts of drop outs as to 18As in SPM.
What can we do differently.. i ask.. and am still asking..
I am certain all of us have read this in today's STAR..
Whilst many see little successes with the verdict.. my question is genuinely the welfare and social lives of these kids forward.. We might be deluded into thinking that the nightmare just ended.. but has it.. In my view, the nightmare is yet to end.. it has just begun for the children.. from today onwards these kids will have to live through this nightmare at every occassion of their lives.. it will be the topic of discussion.. the psychological impact is another story..
I sit in my little living room wondering, who are we to create such impact on anyone.. any children.. who are we to decide on a child's life.. i am at crossroads.. at one end.. i believe everything happens for a reason.. then on the other hand.. i see something like this and am so itched to do something.. then of course i have another school of thought that thinks it is karma.. whichever the case maybe.. the kids are the ones who are going to face everyday today onwards..
For the mature adult.. you may continue to read this..
About month ago, I turned wiser.. nudged one step closer to over the hill.. it feels weird.. feels only like yesterday when I started going to school.. such is life.. but for me
Realisation hit home when I:-
need to shop for clothes that don’t expose too much
was bursting through the seams of my clothes
noted the silver lining is already a permanent feature on my head
can’t party through the night without waking up with a hangover
witnessed what’s to point forward, now points south
Realisation hit home too when I:
became more reflective than reactive
stop fretting over little things
let other’s take the lead / win
enjoy spending time with I, me and myself,
accept people for who they are
It is not so bad after all, nudging one step closer to over the hill.. infact, I am looking forward for the roller coaster life for sure..
What does indecisive mean.. unable to make up your mind, irresolute, evasive, two minds and the list goes on... We, the sibling sisters came in contact with a close encounter with the ‘indecisive’ kind..
Looking back, my sister was excited meeting an old friend and she made all the arrangements to meet.. mua just followed this time around because of the ‘headless situation’ I have been in at work.. and all I did was suggest where to meet for dinner..
Now when you read the adventure, you may ask.. why did you suggest a place with so many options.. well.. I did because of those options as well.. The theory of Perfect vs Imperfect..
Anyway, it was raining ‘phiphants’ and rhinos just seconds after we got there.. We proceeded to the ground floor and first got our bearings then I recommended Divino.. an Italian restaurant.. cosy, quiet and food okla.. we got there, seated ourselves.. stared at the menu.. and kinda decided what to eat.. our friend suggested we look around first before we decide.. so here my polite sister and I scooted for a looksie-looksie (little did we know what was in store)… So from Divino we went to Brisik (Indonesian), Kinnaree a Thai place but it was full, then we headed to Brussels Beer Café there was pork on the menu, so no go.., Cubes menu not appealing, Frontera Grilled Food - charred food not preferred either.. or by the way did I tell you that it was raining cats and dogs and this place is not so rain friendly…
And then we saw Secret Recipe.., but it was not something we fancied.. then.. we headed to Santini and decided any food that was too difficult to pronounce might not be as edible as well.. and we headed to Simply Fusion, Tappers Café, Two Monkeys.. yes, we went in, sat down and we had 2 waiters for a table of 3.. but they only had 2 types of set dinners available so we decided no go.. and walked out again.. we were back to square one.. Divino and the question that baffled me.. ‘do they serve rice with their grilled salmon’.. DDDUUHHHHH..
Finally our friend decided what he wanted to have for the night.. As our friend headed to the restroom, my quick thinking sister suggested I run over to Kinnaree to check if they have space.. and space they did have.. and the preference was clear.. so for the 2nd time that night we walked out of Divino heading to Kinnaree..
And finally sitting at Kinnaree at 9.15pm.. we had our meals.. fried rice for my friend and me and my sister the adventurous one.. the Pad Thai.. with stunted conversations amongst us.. finally the night ended..
Surprisingly my claws were well in check that night.. Considering the objective lost its course along the way.. The minute we had time on our own.. I growled like a frustrated lioness.. now, the objective was to meet over dinner.. so why did food take the centre stage.. I wonder.. wise or otherwise.. you decide..
A couple of things I learnt from this adventure
Decisions like ‘what to eat’ should be the easier one..
Need to identify the areas where I am indecisive as well
Too many options gets you confused..
Overall, wise or otherwise.. it was quite a close encounter with the ‘indecisive’ kind…
Here I am, all decided to have lunch at mid valley food court on a hot afternoon.. i knew where i could get some grass and all i could hear was my croacking tum tum..
I can have my lion’s share of vegetables for the day.. I order half rice.. with 2 vegetable and 2 mock meat.. (oink oink.. I was a pig that day).. and as I head to the counter.. I got prepared with RM6.. thinking that’s how much it will be.. to my horror.. after some punching in.. the Indonesian cashier told me that the total was RM8.95.. I thought I heard her wrong.. and she probably thought I was stupid and repeated 'lapan sembilan puluh lima'. I was in shock.. RM8.95 for a meal that only crows eat.. hhhhmm.. wise or otherwise…
Moving on.. its funny how we grew up all your lives with Nestle’s Maggie Mee Curry Flavour.. I remember the days my mum used to make them for us..Another horror awaits those vegetarians when you pore through the ingredients you find Traces: Crustacea, Fish, milk, celery and mustard.
Yes yes.. go home and check your pack of Maggie Mee.. be it curry or any other flavour.. When I first read it.. I went on a denial mode.. how can that be.. though eventually the truth did sink in.. but it was too late.. the world came crumbling down already..
Its been my comfort food.. its been something that you eat when you are lazy to go out or prepare something for yourself… Its every single person’s gastronomic meal.. it takes 2 minutes to prepare and it has 3 steps..
Step 1 – Throw everything into a pan with some water (Optional to add eggs or vegetables).
Step 2 – Wait for 2 minutes for the noodles to cook..
Step 3 – Chomp your way..
Now all my hopes dashed what I thought was vegetarian is not anymore.. Deception it creeps in when you least expect it.. I would now be doomed if I don’t look at the ingredients of every item I buy at the supermarket.. Only God knows what else they will be putting inside..
Wise or Otherwise.. I am still wondering now….
in love, light and bliss.. slightly confused as well..
i read in an article today that Tirupathi will not be issuing VIP passes in January.. This is to give the common devotees more time for darshan at the temple.. it rekindled my memory of my trip there and the letter i wrote to them which of course met no reply..
below is an extract of the letter i wrote to them..
RE: TIRUPATHI DEVASTHANAM - SYSTEMS, PROCESSES, RULES AND REGULATIONS
With reference to the above, I would like to officially record my feedback on the recent turn of events during my visit there. My name is Komathi Dhena Doraisamy. I am an Indian from Malaysia, though in Malaysia we are known as Malaysians of Indian origin. I am proud Hindu. I am proud of my heritage and am intrigued by the spirituality India beckons to the rest of the world.
My experience in Thirupathi Devasthanam was anything but that. I have in previous trips visited many other temples in other Indian states but my experiences here was far from being divine altogether.
It all started when I arrived at Tirupathi. My first experience there was with a local ticketing officer. Not only was he obnoxious, but he was chauvinistic as well. He insulted us for not comprehending the complex Indian Transport system but also demeaned me, as a woman who shared her voice in the banter.
Then when we got to the temple grounds, we checked with a couple of authorities, police included and nobody had any clue how we are able to get admission into the temple. Then one kind soul told us to look for the District Officer who lived in the temple compounds as well. Tired from the trip from Madras and dreading the travels the next 3 days, we walked to his house and waited until 7am.
But the entire wait was a waste, as again, we were faced another boorish man, who made us feel that Non-Resident Indians (NRI) were traitors to the motherland. He disregarded our request and at no point offered any solution. He spoke to us for not less than 2 minutes and then scooted off muttering in Telugu that we NRIs do not need to visit India as we absconded from India previously. That was the second blow.
Then we walked back to the supposed ticketing counter that provides tickets for NRIs if we showed our passports as proof. We waited until 10am for the counter to open and battled through locals who were also waiting in the same line and finally, we were on our way to get the blessings of balaji..
Upon arrival at the front door of the devasthanam, I noted that each one person had 3 seconds in front of the deity.. as I walked closer, I said a little prayer.. that if God is all pervading.. and eases the route for success for us then this must be the test of time and patience... But then again, these systems, processes, rules and regulations are put in place to assist us mortal beings to be more efficient but instead the case is otherwise at the devasthanam?
As I was nearing the moolasthanam.. I closed my eyes to pray, only for my prayer to be rudely interuppted by this man who shouted at me and manhandled me like i was a piece of meat.. all because i closed my eye in prayer.. Interesting, after all that i had been through that day, here i am in silent prayer and even then, the treacherous dogmatic processes come into play.. My perception of India changed that day. The place that I hold so dear and close to my heart crumbles right in front of me due to systems and processes put in place by human to supposedly make themselves efficient but by default more inefficient.
It is true what the elder say.. when the systems, processes, rules and regulations were made.. the persons behind it had the best interest in place.. but by the time the entire thing cascades down to execution something else takes shape..
I have a couple of questions for the Management of Tirupathi Devasthanam:
Are NRIs coming to India not additing to your tourist revenue? If yes, why are they not respected and treated well? Is this not the Hindu culture?
If rules and regulations are made for man to be more effective and efficient, why are they not the case at the devasthanam?
Are the civil servants not trained to handle tourists / NRIs? Is the oldest brand (Hinduism) creating a platform for suicide?
I strongly believe, that today India is the second Super Power in the world amongst other things.. but it will not be there if they continue to have grand plans but weak in the implementation or execution front..
I hope that this email of mine will get the right attention and receive a reply from the respective parties and of course I hope that this letter will see the beginning of the exodus of change in the devasthanam's processes and procedures.
never got a reply to this.. WISE or OTHERWISE.. now i wonder...
