Fwd: Lions Bhavan

Lions Bhavan – Venue for meetings and functions

 

Lions Bhavan is a four-storied building situated behind LIC & HDFC bank near Paradise Circle, Secunderabad. It is managed by a committee of Lions members with an office in the same premises. The Bhavan has many lecture/meeting halls of various capacities ranging from 70 to 300 persons spread on different floors. Some are Air Conditioned also. All facilities like podium, dais, blackboards, (whiteboards), built-in LCD projector, screen for projection, chairs, etc are available. Not meant as a marriage hall but receptions, birthday functions, association meetings, etc are held.

 

There is an in-house catering/kitchen facility where snacks/food, breakfast etc can be pre-ordered. A full-time caretaker and a manager during office hours are available. The charges are cheaper than commercial outfits, so the halls are always in great demand.

 

The Association of Senior Citizens, Secunderabad has its office on the second floor and conducts its regular meeting twice or thrice a month here. The authorities, appreciating the good social work of the association, have given the accommodation free of any charges.

 

Lions Bhavan is a landmark building easily located in a business center.

Water, electricity, lifts, and toilets are available. If you are looking to host your meetings/functions at an affordable cost, go here.

 

 

 

 

Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278

Review: Ratnadeep Supermarket Vikrampuri

This is perhaps the first shop of the chain of supermarket outlets in Hyderabad. Well stocked, courteous staff, and all products indicating the prices. Located on the main road with space for vehicle parking in front.

 Every item of daily needs can be found. I have been a regular satisfied customer for decades.  

Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278

MTR Masala Upma - Review

 Product: MTR 3 Minute breakfast: Magic Masala Upma. 60 g. Rs 27 Oct 2023

This is one instant food product. Pour the contents into a vessel. Add 90 ml of boiling hot water. Mix well. Cover and keep aside for about 5 minutes. Upma is ready! 

Yes, the product gives upma as stated. But the preservative monosodium glutamate that is a part of contents, spoils the taste. Horrible and unpalatable output! 

I will not recommend it to anyone, even to my enemies! 

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Support Elders: Another Elder Care company

 Support Elders: Another Elder Care company

 

Support Elders is a Calcutta based Elder Care company operating in many cities including Hyderabad. They offer a wide range of personalised services to the elders’ community, especially those living single / alone whose wards are away for some reason or the other. They send ex-army volunteers to offer errand services (buying vegetables, groceries, medicines), accompanying elders to meetings appointments, manage or help in finance managements; their at-home services include reading books, giving company, assist in hygiene / bathing / clothing etc.

 

I was attracted to their “enriching cognitive solutions” promoting positive aging via assistance in online or land-based learning activities. And their emergency handling service is again noteworthy – this will relieve a lot of mental tension for children living far away. A special emergency device with an SOS button is given to members.

 

All their services are fee-based. In Hyderabad, Lt Col G Srinivas Reddy (Retd), Chief Growth Officer may be contacted on his mobile number: 81009 79498 or via email at gsrinvas.reddy@supportelders.com and the office is in Somajiguda. Other contact numbers: 08045958888 / writetous@supportelders.com and the website is www.supportelders.com

 

Counting Steps or progress

 Counting steps or progress

Often you need to count the progress of some activities like meditation, walking, chanting mantras, cooking etc. For instance, I need to chant some mantra 21 times, walk about 3 km on my terrace, wait for 6 to 9 whistles on the cooker and take to similar counting in other activities as well.

 In the case of walking, if I assume that one step is 1.5 feet, I need to count 3250 steps to cover 3 KM distance. It is easy to count the steps in units of say 100 steps.  If I walk in my terrace, the floor has lines marked on the ground in squares of 2‘X2’. I can count how many ups and downs on each vertical or horizontal line, to calculate the total distance I have covered.

 If you have Google Fit or similar App on your mobile phone you can easily measure how much you are walking. Google maps also tells you the distances if you are moving in a vehicle. But these are approximate and not accurate. The results vary from person to person. Try this with your friend walking along with you, using each other’s mobiles – you will be surprised!

 When you want to count say 200 steps, count the first hundred from to 1 to 100 and the next 100 from 100 down to 1. When you are counting in the reverse your memory and concentration increases!

 Do you use counting beads while meditation? Why do you have 108 Rudraksha beads in such a counting device?  Any clues?

 Some random thoughts to generate random ideas. What idea struck you and how did it impact you?

  

A Man from the moon - Trapezoidal Poem

Shivering

 

                                   Shivering

Do I shiver at the mere thought of something, somebody, or some place? Something? Yes, some horrible and discomforting dreams that haunt me often. Somebody? Yes, my primary school teacher, Natesan, who was a terror. Some place? Yes, when I read about a restaurant built in a burial ground.

 Shivering arises out of intense fear. You Inability to gain control over some horrid situation. Something that is thrust upon us without warning. When you are shaken by shock and not taken by surprise. Suddenly connecting you to some past unpleasant experience may shudder you into shameless shivering.

 Shivering may also be due to exposure to extreme cold. Like in December wintery mornings. And you are not adequately protected by proper clothing. Or you are having a malarial fever.  Shivering could be due an affliction of Parkinson’s disease or similar muscular disorder.

 Simple measures to handle shivering include: Wearing warm clothing, waking up and praying if you have had a bad dream, not sleeping in the first place to avoid such dreams, analysing the root cause of such shivering and avoiding it.

 Is there a person immune to shivers? A dead man in a coffin

 I read a blog post that went beating about the bush without saying anything substantial and I wanted to beat it. Have I succeeded?Only you should only tell.

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Keeping your eyes closed

 

Keeping your eyes closed

Some people close their eyes when they are praying. Some other may close the eyes while eating. I close my eyes when some extreme violence is shown on the screen, say TV or movie.

 One might relish the food better if eyes are closed. You can imagine the texture, taste, smell, flavour of the food. Mixed with proper amount of saliva, swishing or tung tumbling, masticating - the experience could be ecstatic.  One may not like to be disturbed by external distractions. So close your eyes.

 When I pray, I bring before my mental eyes, the deity to be bestowing her blessings. Concentration on prayer becomes intense and focussed. You try to feel one with that ONLY One – God. Shutting out light makes you feel the innate darkness – the primordial darkness from which the cosmos began.

 I cannot tolerate violence either real of fake. So, I switch off the TV if perchance some unacceptable scenes are fleeting past the TV screen. Mental stoic improves upon de-linking yourself this way.

 While I am walking, if I see a couple of guys fighting or hitting each other I move away. I do not want to be a witness to violence in more than one sense. Instead of going to the support of the victim or the weaker guy, if you turn away, look at the other way, there again you are closing your eyes in a figurative way.  It is a sort of cowardice, one should admit.

 If there are fumes / dust in the environs and are trying to avoid harming your eyes, closing is perfectly OK. Or when it is lightning. if you have styes and the eye is bandaged. Whether you keep your eyes open or closed does not matter. Keep your heart open to help the poor, and the God to enter.

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Rants on TV Advertisements

 

Rants on TV Advertisements

KAJ Tiles – Tamil – SunTV

Parthiban asks in Hindi a shopkeeper whether 30% discount on KAJ tiles is available. Shopkeeper answers in the affirmation in Tamil. Conversation is over phone with a salesman in next room! He hides into a room and comes out asking why when 30% discount is available on KAG quality tiles, anyone would go for low quality ordinary tiles.  Why this tamasha! I feel like strangling this Parthiban

Puro Turmeric powder

Puro Turmeric powder capsules produced in UK costs 30 UK Pounds for 30 capsules. That is Rs 100 per capsule. Advertised in India. Good brands are available at about Rs 200 per kg, max!

Sunrise Coffee Powder

A small boy searches for small coins in all odd and silly spaces, buys SUNRISE coffee powder sachet and presents it to a security guard. The AD shows fibding coins and counting - Stupidity – why search in all odd places, he could give it out of pocket money or ask his parents!

 

 

Udayakrishna Ghee

Seen this advt in SUNTV in Tamil where a lady is making some sweet with ghee? If anyone pours so much ghee as shown, consumers will certainly vomit! Advertisers should not over do!

 

Derive Fun reading Spam Messages

Derive Fun reading Spam Messages

As anyone active on email, I too get a lot of spam messages.
Fortunately, Gmail detects spam messages efficiently and separates
them as spam. I wonder what algorithms or logic they may be using to
detect spam. Some days you may land up with more spam messages than
'real' ones. And you may have free time as you need to spend less time
on mail. In such cases it may be fun to explore the contents of the
spam folder.

The only intention of spammers appears to be to collect all and
available working email addresses and sell them for further spamming.
Endless Queue of professional spammers are waiting to exploit the
unwary emailers. Even if a small miniscule percentage of victims react
/ respond then their job is done.

For spam mail constitutes a major part of the email system. It is
estimated that 350 billion messages are flowing around daily. About
45% was spam last year!

However enticing a spam message might be, you may open and read it but
NEVER click on any link given in a spam message. That is the surest
way to invite further spam!

When you do read spam messages you can derive a lot of fun. Be proud
that you are chosen as the target (victim?) among millions! That
someone is very benevolent and ready to share millions of dollars with
a total stranger like you.

That you are likely to be amongst the dumbest in the world! That you
are so easy on time and have absolutely no work to do except reading
his letters. That governments, NGOs and multinational companies are
vying with each other for the favour of your request for funds /
financial help.

Can you recall the strangest spam message of your lifetime? Surely you
must have read it before discarding it as spam!

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Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278

Keeping oneself busy

                            Keeping oneself busy or becoming conscious 

As a part of my daily routine I read out Devi Stuti. It contains 37 lines of different names and praises of Shri Lingabhairavi Devi in ISHA Yoga centre, Coimbatore. I have a replica of the deity in my Puja Room. As it is a daily routine I must have got it by heart  by now - rote memory - where I do not need to refer to a print out. However, I prefer to read it out and aloud. The reason is that I would be more conscious of Devi in this way rather than saying it from memory, without involving the mind.

Not reciting something as a matter of routine is one way of  a developing a conscious mind. There are a few other tips and techniques also:

• When you go for a walk on the terrace and want to count say a 1000 steps, you can count in the reverse, from 1000 down to 0.
• When you collect milk from the milk vendor at the doorstep daily, you can take different vessels. The quantity of milk being the same everyday, you can observe the level it occupies in different vessels - half, one third, full etc and guess the capacity of various vessels.
• When the servant maid keeps washed (cleaned) vessels in the tub, you may guess the number of pieces and tally it with actual counting. It that more or less than the average and why?
• When you walk to throw garbage into the dustbin, observe if all the plants are sufficiently watered. Note and take corrective action
• If you have two clocks and a couple of watches, are all of them showing the same, correct time? Which are slow or fast and why? 
• From a bundle of blank sheets of papers meant for rough use, separate one side papers from others.
• If you use Mosquito coil, can you assess the average length of coil burnt in an hour or get an idea of rate of burning? Any norms specified?
• Among the footwear you have can you arrange them in the order of approximate purchase date?

 Can you add other crazy ways of keeping oneself engaged? Rather becoming conscious!

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Enhancing the value of URLs and Email IDs

Enhancing the value of URLs and Email IDs

 

URLs of websites / web pages may be self-explaining if the owner takes pains to put in extra efforts. Most often they just contain some odd number, after the main URL, meaningless to the user. When you save them on your laptop (say desktop or a special file or as a bookmark etc) you may want to enhance the usefulness by adding extra info ( a phrase, say) in the URL itself.

 

Saket Pranam is a retirement community near Hyderabad. Its website is

https://www.saketpranamam.com/

 

When you save the URL on your desktop you may add a phrase to explain it further like: https://www.saketpranamam.com/#good_place_to_explore

The way to do it is to type in your comment after the last / followed by #

Observe that no spaces (blanks) are allowed in what stuff you add. Words are connected by underscore characters. As the entire URL is a hyperlink the underscore character is not visible, but it is there.

 

Similarly in the case of Email Ids of persons with the same name, you may want to identify exactly to who you are addressing. I have SS Murthy, NV Murthy, Jayanti Murthy in my contacts. I must make sure I do not send an email to the wrong person. Their email IDs are, let us assume,  murthyss@gmail.com, murthyNV@gmail.com, and murthyj@gmail.com In order to individualise the email Ids I can add some info on the left side of@ symbol after a + character as shown below:

 

murthyss@gmail.com à   murthyss+drdl@gmail.com

murthynv@gmail.com  ->  murthynv+SCF_member@gmail.com

murthyj@gmail.com  ->  murthyj+sister_of_kannan@gmail.com

 

You may save the changes in Contacts so that they become permanent.

If you type Murthy in the To or CC or Bcc field in Gmail, suggestions crop up. You may choose the correct address carefully. I always type the addresses as the last item to fill, before pressing the SEND button.

 

Another simple tip / trick you may want to remember: You may add a dot anywhere in the left side part of an email address before the @ symbol.

For example, when I enter my email address to subscribe for some newsletter online, I may enter my email address as vyasa.moorthy@gmail.com

In this way I can create many addresses, one for each website / platform!

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Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278

Meaningless Words

Meaningless Words

We come across words and phrases that have no meaning in a specific language. Vanarugalo is one such word. If you look up the word in Google, you will draw a blank. Several decades ago, a friend of mine uttered this word. He told me that it is a chant or a spell. If you repeat it often or chant it as if it is a mantra, there are many advantages. One advantage is that your fear would disappear if you are afraid of some imminent tragedy, danger or mishap about to occur. It has worked for me. It might work for you too. The effect may be placebo or real. Only the user knows. It is experiential – that knowledge cannot be transferred.

 

I understand that in transcendental meditation the Guru gives the practitioner a word that has no meaning to chant. As several millions of people follow this method, the efficacy of the chant must be true.

 

Although meaningless words originate without meaning, they acquire different meanings to different persons over time. They do not get added to any dictionary automatically. Platitudes are a part of meaningless words. They do not have meaning or lose their meaning due to over usage. They are used to end an argument or discussion when one of the parties has exhausted his arsenal.

 

In Tamil such phrases are called Takkai Chorkal. But I could not locate enough info on the topic!

 

Leaving the essay unfinished - to continue again later!

 

 

Penile ant bites in Children

 Penile ant bites in Children

As a librarian, I enjoyed reading “Current Contents” of ISI. Not exactly the TOC of several journals – the main part -- but the first few pages, usually consisting of some interesting abstracts of articles and Eugene Garfield’s lead story. I remember once there was an interesting observation that penile ant bites are more in children than in adults. I used to wonder: these Americans will do research on any damn topic, leaving nothing untuned!

 

Ant bites in softer muscle regions like lips, male organs, foreskin area etc are more common than in hardened sites like palms or feet. But extremities like hands and legs are preferred by ants for no specific reason except that they are easily reachable. Leaving food stuff in beds, work desks or near chairs motivate ants to raid from far off hideouts.

 

A child who has a penile area bite suffers shock, trauma and anxiety at the first attack. Something strange has happened. It is gruesome to look at. Can not show it to others to get help or sympathy. Usually, parents notice the discomfiture and give first aid (perhaps last too) by smearing talcum powder more as a placebo than as anything else. The swelling will subside on its own, so also the pain. But the child needs to be pampered and attended to.

 

It is a totally different issue if a male adult is involved. The inducing factor could be that he has diabetes and ants love any sugary secretion. The sting, stigma and strain could be unmanageable though for just thirty minutes or so. You will not get enough time to refer to Google Doctor for advice.  Only comforting thought about this unpleasant / awkward situation is that women will not suffer from this.

Workshop on Theory of Change

Workshop on Theory of Change

I attended a workshop today organised jointly by Queens University of Belfast and LV Prasad Eye Institute, invited by ARDSI Hyderabad. I was a bit late and missed the explanation on the purpose and procedure of the workshop followed by the self-introduction by the participants. It is a three year project aimed to find out if providing glasses for reading or near vision would prevent cognitive decline in the elderly. A change for the better will occur, it was hypothesised. Some initial work already done, has selected the geographic area for the study.

 

How to get participants for the study, steps involved in screening, randomising and scheduling the activities were discussed.   Administering questionnaires, collecting the data, and using the same to answer questions / assumptions were taken up. How to motivate / enthuse volunteers, how to ensure compliance (wearing the spectacles as needed), getting cooperation of family members etc figured in the interactions. Cognitive Level Enhancement through Vision Exams and Refractions (CLEVER) is the goal.

 

Some fifteen people participated. It was an event for academic researchers and field study professionals. I treaded carefully as the topic was new.  How foolish it is to label myself as a gerontologist, I realised. In other educational events I would be bombarded with a lot of familiar stuff causing sleep or inducing boredom but this one kept me active and alert! I stand to benefit. I found the members from LVPEI were a jovial lot: smiling, joking or laughing, presenting an environment for pleasant learning.

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Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278

To each unto his madness

                              To each unto his madness

If we are active in Email or WhatsApp groups, we will find all sorts of members. Members who only complain, members who only forward mindlessly by force of habit, members who promote  their Swamy / Gurujis, those who promote their  religious / spiritual groups, politicians vying for votes, members who only reply but never post anything worthwhile or original etc . They keep pumping or pushing the same thing over and over again without ever bothering to reflect whether there is any response or just throwing their shots in the air.

 Sometimes I get irritated at this madness to prove / remind others about one’s existence: “Notice- that-I-am-alive” syndrome. Sometimes I laugh at their stupidity. Sometimes I pity them for naïve gullibility. Or admire their adamant “I-will-never-learn” attitude. I haven’t tried writing to them directly telling what they are doing, displaying my displeasure or disagreement.

 After a lot of analysis of this phenomenon I have come to the conclusion that there is really nothing much for me to do. They are what they are and I am what I am. In Telugu they say “VaaLLavala pichi vaaLLavalaki”. See the title and you will agree what I have explained!

 As this discussion is likely to offend many of my friends, I confine myself to posting this in my blog. Only persons who deliberately seek it will see / read it. Or those few kind hearted friends who have subscribed to my blog long ago when such an option was available. This is similar to writing a note on a piece of paper and throwing it into the sea, secured in a glass bottle! All that I have achieved is clearing some thought bugging me!

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Scorpion

A scorpion stings whenever she thinks 

she will be harmed,

but a wife stings whenever she thinks

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Dr P Vyasamoorthy / 9490804278

HelpAge Conducts Digital Safety Training for Elders

HelpAge Conducts Digital Safety Training for Elders

HelpAge India, Hyderabad conducted a training program in the Association of Senior Citizens, Hyderabad in Lions Bhavan on 24^th March 2023. They have rich experience in this area, having trained more than 700 seniors in AP & Telangana. The project is sponsored by Microsoft. Some thirty people participated.

 

Sri Yatindra, Sri Puli Shyam and two others conducted the event. Printed course material was distributed along with a notepad and very attractive Woody Flair pen. Supported by a well-designed concise ppt, Shyam explained many aspects of safe digital usage including: creating a strong password, safe banking online, protecting the mobile / laptop, scam identification, WhatsApp safety etc.  I noticed that he could reel out item by item or line by line everything we will see via Settings App in Android phone without any paper / mobile to refer!

 

HelpAge also took this opportunity to felicitate / honour Dr P Vyasamoorthy who has pioneered in using Information Technology for uniting the senior citizens community via the first ever Yahoo group (later Google Group) for seniors called SSS Global. He said the SSSG set up 21 years ago has now 207 members where more than half are even now active. This group once had 1400 members, 700 for several years and was number ONE for some years since 2014. Dr Vyasamoorthy thanked HelpAge, AOSC and everyone for the honour & kindness extended, while fondly recollecting the history and growth of SSS G

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Going back to our childhood days

                        Going back to our childhood days

Sri SV Ramana has created a wonderful video covering most of the games, plays, activities, hobbies etc that we passionately took part during our childhood days. Most of us would have played them though the name of the game as we knew could be different. Illustrations are effective translators and removers of language barriers. Enjoy and comment if you care!

If you are a keen observer you will be able to list out games that are missing. Who will give the longest list?

Sri JR Gupta Interviewed by Dr P Vyasamoorthy

         Sri JR Gupta Interviewed by Dr P Vyasamoorthy

Yesterday I conducted a zoom interview with Sri JR Gupta. He is the president of Senior Citizens Council of Delhi, Executive Vice Chairperson of the Indian Society of U3As. He is well known among senior citizens community throughout India for his activities and involvement is entertaining educating and helping the elderly in distress in and around Delhi. For decades he has intervened and sorted out hundreds of cases of Elder Abuse, Negligence, threat violence etc. Local Police and politicians are friendly and supportive. 

The interview brings out the humane, sensitive and committed man in him. Just about 20 minutes. Watch and comment, if you care!

  

Why is an alarm clock a good gift?

                  Why is an alarm clock a good gift?

 Among many things one can think of, to be given as gifts, I prefer to give an Alarm Clock. It would be a timely gift for any occasion. It reminds that time is ticking away, emphasising the impermanence but preciousness of life. In the case of old mechanical spring-based clocks, it stores kinetic energy converted into potential energy and expends is judiciously and consistently reminding that everything in this cosmos is nothing but energy in some form or the other. This is true in the case of electronics-based clocks too but the process is no so easily visible! Every time a receiver looks at it, he may be reminded of you. If it stops working then again, he may think of you.

 I have used a good number of alarm clocks all along. At a time when I had more than one, a close friend of mine took a fancy to one of the best ones I had and simply walked away with it saying he liked very much. After all, why do you need more than one, he winked!

 All alarm clocks are the same at the core level that is at the actual clock machine by itself. Only the casing differs. The circular one is the best and a rectangular one is the worst. Square one, so-so.  I have been a bit unlucky of late: Bought a few clocks one after another, only to be discarded as they went out of order quickly.  

 I am venturing to risk buying a new alarm clock and gift it myself, unless some one thinks he is better as a donor! I am posting this as a blog post. It is like sending some message in a glass bottle, perfectly sealed, and thrown into the sea! My blog enjoys just some sixty followers, most of which are search engine scrollers.

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