Jaws of death: Being in a dangerous situation (Poem)

 Jaws of death: Being in a dangerous situation

                      (Poem: Nov 2022)

 

Saw an insect about to be devoured by a lizard.

I tapped the wall with a spoon to scare him away.

The insect escaped from the jaws of death;

the lizard went away hunting for an alternate prey.

 

Just one insect I could save today,

the lizard will go hungry for some more time.

In HIS scheme for this cosmos, these co-exist;

Right or wrong is just in my mind.

Gloating over some small good deed

or guilting over an apparent bad action

are both unnecessary and meaningless.

You can not decode His ways or actions.

 

Also learnt that death can come at any time

be it an insect, lizard or just me- a human being.

Invisible fate will have its way, whether

You like it or not, expect it or not, be there or not.

 

                                   *******

Hitting below the belt

Hitting below the belt

'To hit below the belt' is a common idiom in the English language. It
denotes talking unfair advantage over a person. In boxing or
kickboxing, this is not allowed. Figuratively it means, talking about
the weak points of a person to insult or humiliate him. It is not a
gentlemanly affair. Only mean, incompetent persons indulge in this
act.

Schools are good training grounds to perfect this art. Boys get into
duels, sometimes wordy, sometimes real physical fighting, rolling over
everywhere. Observers, supporters, friends, teachers who turn the
other way add strength for the game to flourish. The habit gets into
children's psyche. Adults can not give up the bad habit easily, even
upon realising it.

In TV serials I watch villains (every character turns a villain at
times!) using the technique smartly. They have a lashing tongue and a
fleecing wicked mind. The victim knows that he is being targeted but
can do very little to retort or fight it out openly. Threat is hidden
in words and almost amounts to blackmailing.

In political debates, opposition parties engage in this game with
ease. Always on the lookout to get even, they keep track of events /
statements of their enemies and take advantage in the verbal war
especially in the public forums. Hitting below the belt calls for
assessing the weakness of the opponents and seizing the opportunity to
encash upon it.

When someone hits another below the belt using the verbal mode, it is
fun for those watching but not for the victims. You can stop this
habit only when you realize that you are choosing to fight on unequal
terms, you are having an upper hand. It is a mean occurrence and one
should feel ashamed of it. Then we might change.

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Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278

On the Art of Folding Clothes

https://youtu.be/IAWT2GdTdvI

On the Art of Folding Clothes

If drying clothes after washing using clotheslines is a technique to

be learnt & practiced, so also is the art of folding the clothes after

drying. Even taking out clothes from the clothesline needs care and

patience. If you pull out (frisk) a cloth, say Dhoti rashly, you may

have it torn due to sharp edges of wire at the wire joints. The cloth

may fall on a nearby dirty wall surface and spoil dried clothes. You

must take them out gently and not allow creases that may crumple them.

You need a clean and flat surface (table top / settee) to spread,

remove creases and fold. Folding styles depend on your skills and time

available. You may try a professional launderer's style of folding

shirts / pants. Or adopt a style of your own. For instance, I prefer

to fold shirts starting at the armpit level from the back. Others may

prefer front side, lengthwise triple fold first. Folding sarees and

bedsheets may require you to stand. Very small pieces like briefs,

undies, BRAs may be lumped into a plastic bag without folding.

Folding them to the same size helps you stack them properly. Stacked

clothes need to fit into shelves using optimum space. They should also

be easy to retrieve. Picking out one should not let all other folded

pieces fall apart. Slippery clothes require extra care. So do large

lehengas.  I have seen westerners rolling clothes into cylindrical

bundles and stacking them one over the other, towards the edges /

walls of the shelf. That is a puzzle to me.

Talking of the final size of the folded piece, I want to share an

observation. Once I bought some kerchiefs, a plastic pack containing

six pieces.  I bought it, looking at the size and apparent quality of

the product. Coming home, after opening the pack, I found he had

tricked me – folding the kerchief to appear bigger than it really was!

If you are short of time and want to finish the task as a chore, there

are a couple of videos to help you fold clothes very fast. They are

not for me. I enjoy folding clothes, to kill time, entertain and

learn; ruminate silently over events passing by.

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Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278