Anna's blogs

Is there a kind of rejoicing

2011-12-09T14:34:00.002-05:00

The Persistence of Song

Although it is not yet evening,
The secretaries have changed their frocks
As if it were time for dancing,
And locked up in the scholars' books
There is a kind of rejoicing,
There is a kind of singing
That even the dark stone canyon makes
As though all fountains were going
At once, and the color flowed from bricks
In one wild, lit upsurging.

What is the weather doing?
And who arrived on a scallop shell
With the smell of the sea this morning?
-Creating a small upheaval
High above the scaffolding
By saying, "All will be well.
There is a kind of rejoicing."

Is there a kind of rejoicing
In saying, "All will be well?"
High above the scaffolding,
Creating a small upheaval,
The smell of the sea this morning
Arrived on a scallop shell.
What was the weather doing
In one wild, lit upsurging?
At once, the color flowed from bricks
As though all fountains were going,
And even the dark stone canyon makes
Here a kind of singing,
And there a kind of rejoicing,
And locked up in the scholars' books
There is a time for dancing
When the secretaries have changed their frocks,
And though it is not yet evening,

There is the persistence of song.

- Howard Moss (from Good Poems, compiled by Garrison Keillor)

"break into blossom"

2011-11-01T13:20:00.002-04:00

A Blessing

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,

Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.

And the eyes of those two Indian ponies

Darken with kindness.

They have come gladly out of the willows

To welcome my friend and me.

We step over the barbed wire into the pasture

Where they have been grazing all day, alone.

They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness

That we have come.

They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.

There is no loneliness like theirs.

At home once more,

They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.

I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,

For she has walked over to me

And nuzzled my left hand.

She is black and white,

Her mane falls wild on her forehead,

And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear

That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.

Suddenly I realize

That if I stepped out of my body I would break

Into blossom.

- James Wright (from Good Poems, compiled by Garrison Keillor)

"What's in a name?"

2011-10-28T10:19:00.003-04:00

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

- which means fear of long words, is the title of one of the poems by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. I was named after my paternal Grandma. Given that my first name has 11 letters and my last name has 13, hardly anyone calls me by either one. For 24 years, my age was less than the number of letters in my name. got-hand-eh-ram-aan - Sounds familiar! Once a package from a co-worker came to me with my first name on it as 'I'm a pony'. Microsoft Word always tags my name in red. Even it must have the phobia.

At least my passport has my entire name (phew!).

But when my name started appearing with my poems with the incorrect spelling over and over, I decided to use a pen name.

Making connections

2011-10-17T14:02:00.005-04:00

At school, the first grade kids are learning to communicate mental images using pictures, and to make connections. My daughter holds her hands together sometimes and says triumphantly that she has made a connection. These are important for reading and writing poetry as well.

There are so many journals (online and print), poetry blogs, poetry notes on facebook and twitter. I don't skim through the lines in a poem or blink my eyes at one. I like to read one good poem and think about it for a few days or longer.

I discovered an interesting blog today. Its titled read a little poetry. The blogger says its not named after Goethe's quote but it definitely seems to apply the idea.

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I read this and I remembered a poem I read a few days ago on Sam Rasnake's blog. Its titled 'Stone' and is by Charles Simic. Here's the link.

I have made a connection.

el libro, la pluma, mera din, meri kitaab, meri kalam

2011-09-12T11:11:00.003-04:00

One exciting thing I learnt is that in Spanish, things have gender. This changes words around them. This is true of Hindi as well. For instance, My Day translates to mera din (sorry about the script). My pen translates to meri kalam. Din (day) is masculine in Hindi and kalam (pen) is feminine. I wonder what other languages have this special property.

Never a burden

2011-08-31T01:32:00.001-04:00

Palanquin Bearers

Lightly, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

- Sarojini Naidu (from her 1905 collection titled The Golden Threshold published in the UK)

Lost

2011-06-16T02:57:00.002-04:00

The first time I read this, I thought of a whole forest of trees coming to life, like in one of The Lord of the Rings movies. I've read this one many times now. It reminds me of the Pooh philosophy a friend talked to me about. When you're lost, stay still and your path will find you.

Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

- David Wagoner, from a collection titled Good Poems compiled by Garrison Keillor.

The popular yellow bag

2011-05-24T13:37:00.002-04:00

It's always nice to read about something that brings back memories of home. Who can forget the manja pai (the yellow bag)?

Here's the article by Akila Kannadasan that appeared in The Hindu newspaper.

150th birth anniversary of a great poet

2011-05-10T00:21:00.002-04:00

Tagore was an artist, a musician, a novelist, a playwright and a poet. His work Gitanjali won for him, the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He wrote the national anthems of two countries, India and Bangladesh and was the founder of Visva-Bharati University.

"The smile that flickers on baby's lips when he sleeps — does anybody know where it was born? Yes, there is a rumor that a young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born in the dream of a dew-washed morning."

"In this playhouse of infinite forms I have had my play, and here have I caught sight of Him that is formless."

- Tagore, Gitanjali

Two hundred thousand miles

2011-04-29T13:55:00.002-04:00

We made a trip recently to the state planetarium and watched some shows. It is good to get a second reminder...

Room Conditioner
- A.R. Ammons

After rain I
walk and looking
down glimpse
the moon: I
back up to see
and the puddle splices
onto two hundred
thousand miles of
height two
hundred thousand
miles of depth

(C) A.R. Ammons (Appeared in the collection titled Worldly Hopes)

Woodbridge Public Library's 'A blind date with a book'

2011-04-02T01:52:00.002-04:00

I stare at the window curtains, next to my bed, with shades of dark and light blue and a pattern of stripes. In spite of the stripes, they look beautiful. The regularity makes them beautiful I guess. I wonder (and wish) if the same would (could) apply to our lives. Everything is regular in Jacob’s life until the sudden demise of his parents. His mind seeks escape and his life seems to trip, with that first trip on a circus train. Here is where Gruen gently and very easily introduces Jacob and rube-readers like me to circus language and complexities that lie inside a circus’ big top and tents. Everything is regular in Marlena’s life until she learns of the suitor her parents find and she runs away with August, and the circus looking for refuge and freedom. But freedom is what is taken away from her as clashes rise between her personality and August’s psychological condition. Intricacies develop after Marlena and sweet innocent Jacob fall in love. As the circus troupe travel and perform, many atrocities of some of the Benzini Brothers circus group come into the light. Jacob and Marlena decide to fight them, they fight for Love’s win and they triumph with some help from the magnificent Polish-speaking Rosie. The pace of the story is consistent as it flows with the flashbacks that old Jacob has. The surprise ending is quite a treat for thought. I’m glad I decided to go on a blind date with this book, Water for Elephants. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read and definitely the best date I’ve ever had.

A February poem

2011-03-25T13:58:00.004-04:00

For my little one.

Love-paced

One thing that
is faster than
any clock
is my heart. It,
perhaps, is
so, hoping to
love you just a little more.

- Written using the form Whitney. Appeared in the first 2011 issue of Poetidings newsletter.

(c) Anna G. Raman

Things Lost - is the theme

2011-03-05T22:46:00.003-05:00

The themed edition of the River Poets Journal is out. It is available online here. There is also a link to order a printed copy on the same page. My poem titled 'A Lost Home' has been published in this issue.

"The only sanity is a cup of tea." - Brooks

2011-02-15T23:55:00.002-05:00

I'm reading In the Mecca by Gwendolyn Brooks and her poem titled Boy Breaking Glass is really moving. It has so much strength and depth. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

Stacking days

2011-01-12T23:25:00.002-05:00

Days

Each one is a gift, no doubt,
mysteriously placed in your waking hand
or set upon your forehead
moments before you open your eyes.

Today begins cold and bright,
the ground heavy with snow
and the thick masonry of ice,
the sun glinting off the turrets of clouds.

Through the calm eye of the window
everything is in its place
but so precariously
this day might be resting somehow

on the one before it,
all the days of the past stacked high
like the impossible tower of dishes
entertainers used to build on stage.

No wonder you find yourself
perched on the top of a tall ladder
hoping to add one more.
Just another Wednesday,

you whisper,
then holding your breath,
place this cup on yesterday's saucer
without the slightest clink.

- Billy Collins (From The Art of Drowning published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995)

Poems published online

2010-12-03T23:00:00.002-05:00

My poem 'Face like the triangle of the iron' has been published in
a late Autumn issue of the River Poets journal. The journal
is available in PDF format. Click here to access it.

The December issue of Sparkbright is out and is available
here for download. My poem titled 'I cannot return' has appeared
in it.

Water colors

2010-11-23T00:15:00.002-05:00

Painted shells strewn on the shore,
Dreary, weary, waiting...
The red, once mightier than the Sun,
The yellow, crispier than Autumn,
And the blue, bubblier than surf
- the surf
That washes over and wipes
The colors from these shells,
And buries them beneath the sand

Only to resurface, repaint, revive...

(c) Anna G. Raman

The As in Music

2010-10-29T22:54:00.002-04:00

Like Alan Menken's music for the Disney world, Arnie Roth has been composing memorable songs for the Barbie movies in the recent years. If you love to sing, you will surely cherish songs from Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, Barbie in The Diamond Castle or Barbie as the Island Princess movies. For songs, its melody first and always melody first (quoting Roger from The Hundred and One Dalmatians) and melodies by Arnie Roth are wonderful to listen to and sing.

Haiku Harvest

2010-09-15T00:34:00.002-04:00

This is a collection of translations of some very old Japanese Haiku by Peter Beilenson and Harry Behn published in the 1960s. Most of this poetry is on nature and seasons but there are a few that occupied my thoughts for a while.

So cold are the waves
The rocking gull
Can scarcely
Fold itself to sleep. - Basho

When the autumn wind
Scatters peonies,
A few
Petals fall in pairs. - Buson

As she washes rice,
Her smiling face
Is briefly
Lit by a firefly. - Anon.

2010 anthology by the NJPS

2010-08-27T00:14:00.002-04:00

Its titled Poems on Ivy Leaves and includes one of my poems titled They make a kaleidohome.

Copies are available for 11.95$ (an additional 2$ for shipping). Contact the president Edith Kaltovich at luciakalt@aol.com.

Madhubani paintings

2010-08-19T00:43:00.002-04:00

After her recent trip to India, my sister told me about Madhubani paintings. They are beautiful paintings from Bihar, India, typically done on cloth, hand-made paper, and canvas using colors made from plants. This style of painting is believed to have originated more than a thousand years BC.

Check out some wonderful paintings of various artists on

http://www.mithilapaintings.com/buy-a-sale-mithila-paintings.html

Things remembered, online and in print

2010-04-09T10:58:00.002-04:00

My poem Hand-held fans has appeared online in the Creative Scribblers gallery managed and edited by poet and friend Erika Sage Kelley. Here's the link to the gallery.

The 2009 issue of the DuPage Valley Review is out, has been out... My poem 'A walk inside the memory of a mirror' has appeared in it. More details can be found on the blog of poet and friend Jason Sturner.

Car-ried away

2010-03-20T23:13:00.003-04:00

These were written in early 2009, poems revolving around identity, for a pinata party.

Redefined automatically

Happiness: Joy
Of seeing rainbows
In a drive thro' car-wash.

Comfort: Convenience
Of drying damp hair
In the ventilator.

Break: An interval of idleness
Of the engine and the driver.

_______________________________________

I'm gray

In this village, I cannot wander about,
I must stay with, and listen to the mahout.

When you four climb on me for a ride,
I jolt as I walk, you sway side to side.

I spray myself, the mahout returns from his hut,
Treats me with my favorite, juicy coconuts.

With polished ivory, I feel like a king,
In the sanctum, I stand, offering tender blessings

(c) Anna G. Raman

River poems anthology

2010-03-03T11:05:00.002-05:00

A collection of over 50 poems, this anthology edited by Judith Lawrence is at the printers and orders are being accepted here:

http://www.riverpoetsjournal.com/SpecialEditions-Anthologies.html

My poem 'A confluence of characters' will appear as part of this collection.

White roses

2010-02-11T22:41:00.002-05:00

Some things never change. Some things won't stop. So many lives end and lives go on...they must. Doesn't mean we are selfish. May be helpless or are we Darwin's fittest: a forced ignorance can be bliss and believing becomes/is living...

Five Roses in the Morning
by Stephen Dunn

March 16, 2003

On TV the showbiz of war,
so I turn it off
wishing I could turn it off,
and glance at the five white roses
in front of the mirror on the mantel,
looking like ten.
That they were purchased out of love
and are not bloody red
won't change a goddamned thing—
goddamned things, it seems, multiplying
every day. Last night
the roses numbered six, but she chose
to wear one in her hair,
and she was more beautiful
because she believed she was.
It changed the night a little.
For us, I mean.

(Appeared in The Best American Poetry 2005 and The Iowa Review)

Observing change

2009-12-19T22:06:00.002-05:00

A view from a window. Nature. Change. Change being natural and sometimes changes in nature seeming unnatural...

Moon Cornering

How the corners of the moon
replace themselves.
It is difficult to see
or if I see to say
that this is what I have
seen. Many chances in the lattice
of the winter branches.
Well I've said it and
perhaps there were no corners
after all.

(c) Theodore Enslin (Appeared in Chicago Review and The Best American Poetry 2002)

Trompe l’oeil in Hershey

2009-11-21T23:31:00.003-05:00

An amazing mural by William Cochran of Maryland inside the Hershey museum.

From The Book Of Who Are Was

2009-10-30T16:07:00.002-04:00

One half will tell it
two times over to the mouth of the river.
One half will tell it
two times over and overhear it
a third at the foot of the mountain.
Their fingers will paint it
in the heart of the forest,
as a heart and a forest,
then those too will disappear with their fingers.

- Benjamin Hollander from "Translations"

A Musette to Niagara

2009-10-22T22:58:00.004-04:00

My husband took this picture during a recent trip to Niagara.

Niagara Falls

Rainbows
so close, mist sprays,
soars, goes

and meets
the clouds. Loudly
she greets

she calls,
there, endlessly
she falls.

(c) 2009 Anna G. Raman

The poem is written in the form Musette and appeared in the fall issue of Poetidings.

The fall issue of Sangam is online

2009-10-07T00:21:00.003-04:00

I believe this is Sangam's second issue. They consider new and established writers.

My short story titled 'The Big Picture' has been included in this issue.

there is so much life in his art

2009-09-18T11:31:00.002-04:00

Emanuel Schary - Carousel

Some of his work is displayed outside Shruti's pre-school.

Ganesha in Hard Rock Cafe, Niagara

2009-09-16T10:38:00.002-04:00

Lord Ganesha on glass

Lynne Hull and Eco-art

2009-09-11T10:44:00.002-04:00

While waiting at my daughter's pre-school on her first day, I read an article on Eco-art.

Lynne Hull is an eco-artist and she believes that creativity can be applied for solving real world problems, environmental and social.

Kisses of maggots

2009-08-31T23:56:00.004-04:00

I don't see what is controversial about this realistic piece. She did not invent Radha-Krishna's love.

The Maggots (from The Descendants) by Kamala Das

At sunset, on the river ban, Krishna
Loved her for the last time and left...

That night in her husband's arms, Radha felt
So dead that he asked, What is wrong,
Do you mind my kisses, love? And she said,
No, not at all, but thought, What is
It to the corpse if the maggots nip?

Four starred

2009-08-10T14:42:00.001-04:00

Written in form Quintine (five lines with increasing odd number of syllables in each line).

Four Starred

One
man had two
tattoos on each hand,
rode a mighty motor bike,
and played flute for the local rock band.

(c) Anna G. Raman

Appeared in the second issue of Poetidings 2009

Kamala Markandaya

2009-08-03T22:57:00.002-04:00

I discovered this name when I was looking for work by Kamala Das.

I started with Two Virgins and I already like her style. There is good narrative language, yes and the imagery but to me, her book is a sweet reminder of the days spent in a small town called Pollachi - always looking to find interesting things, learning to ride a rental bike for a few minutes each day, trying to catch hail in vessels and so many others...The book flows in spite of the amazing level of detail in the novel.

I cannot help wondering why Kamala Markandaya wasn't (isn't) as widely known as R.K.Narayan was (is). R.K.Narayan won a tremendous level of popularity, not only from his narrative ability but also from the numerous TV serials and the movies that were based on his short stories, and of course R.K. Laxman's cartoons.

I wonder if colleges of arts or literature in India use her books for study...

Silence, its absence

2009-07-12T00:02:00.006-04:00

It was the silence of anger all evening until I burst like a volcano. Deepa Shah's article in the Little India magazine talks about silence. What is silence? It is a cause, it is an effect of emotions, mostly. And so there are different kinds of silence. A silent old couple holding hands, she says, have a different experience than a silent young couple holding hands.

At the end of the day, I found A.E.Stalling's poem online. Its titled Extinction of Silence.

Mouna Vratham (A kind of fast when one abstains from speaking) is practiced by some people, especially for religious reasons.

I remembered it and I think I learnt my lesson of the day.

The void, the wind, the music, a solution

2009-07-04T18:24:00.002-04:00

From 'The Journey' by Maxine Scates (I'm only posting the lines that I keep thinking about)

I am walking
and I think: It's a cold wind
blowing through my soul,
a little blade that turns.

......
......
......

Now everywhere I look there are children.
Men and women carrying children
brush against me, and someone
is playing the saxophone.
The player is sad.
I can hear the sad notes
but the player plays right through the sadness,
the sadness becomes something.
I don't know, maybe I thought I was smart,
or right,
yes, right and the rightness filled me up
with words that were certain as stone
that made me sink
so I didn't feel this wind.

(C) Maxine Scates, Appeared in Ironwood 1988.

Responsibility

2009-06-08T16:55:00.004-04:00

by Tomaz Salamun

Have you ever seen God
running so he'll make it by two-thirty
responsibility responsibility
approaching neither start nor finish
immovable attached
instead of just dangling its legs
responsibility responsibility
world without nature
world without discourse
trees, while still growing, are not responsible
and what is the word supposed to do with it
the sun doesn't need it for setting
nor the sky which is sheer blueness and nothing more
in the beginning there was transparency
a world of things and true language
words were things
things were words
whom did God consult
when he made a butterfly as it is
when he could have made its legs six inches thick
responsibility responsibility
baroque sustenance of the people

- (C) Tomaz Salamun, Translated from the Slovene by Michael Biggins
Appeared in Ironwood, 1988.

Cherry and Spoon sculpture

2009-05-22T11:49:00.003-04:00

Some amazing pictures of this sculpture in the MN sculpture garden:

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/UNI76yF0kq5V6Y5u73WVEw?select=4zjeXf96-kzkFYl1hI4lnQ

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/UNI76yF0kq5V6Y5u73WVEw?select=Y05z5L6xIzCwIFE6Cb3GuQ

News

2009-04-28T14:19:00.004-04:00

News

Of politicians and their endless scandals,
On auction, were their sandals,
Of celebs who carried and those who re-married,
Of plays enacted in the theaters, and stadiums,
Of everything on the web and wireless,
Of chat and IM and how we talked so much less,
Of glaciers melting and the world heating,
Of factories, and people that smoked, and others who choked,
Of how laws were withheld, not upheld
Of the richest person in the world and the poorest nations,

Of those who owned several homes and of the several homeless,
Of armed that fought and unrelated that died,
Of teachers who taught and those students who shot,
Of pupils, with knowledge, infested and those teachers who molested,
Of the many who died because a life, they couldn't afford,
And of how much was spent on digging up the dead.

News - nothing is new.

(c) Anna G. Raman

Dance of Envy, Penance for Love

2009-04-21T14:58:00.002-04:00

Isha Sharvani from the movie 2005 Kisna (Krishna)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OHrYMVixm0

Karishma and Madhuri from the 1997 movie Dil to Pagal Hai (meaning 'The heart is crazy')

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUFVQ8PFra8

Age

2009-04-13T14:09:00.004-04:00

This is written in the Clarity Pyramid form and appeared in the first 2009 issue of Poetidings

AGE

AGE

It adds

Every year

It used to be

smaller than the number

of letters in my full name

"Now it is such a big figure!"

I am

2009-03-30T14:01:00.004-04:00

Little Song in Indian Summer

by Jean Valentine

I am
is my name and your name, I am is
the name we are finding,
I am is the
name who is finding us, is
(standing still in the high grass, in the hot sun)
the one I always wanted to find, is
the one I always wanted to find,
not mother, not child, oh you
I need
who are glad
I am I
with your green eyes even
with welcome, with letting go.

(C) Jean Valentine (From The Final Issue of Ironwood 1988)

All at once

2009-03-26T14:53:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite songs since the first time I heard it back in college from a tape. A great voice, a great singer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Y5Ln9PzVw

Honestly, let me be there

2009-03-19T14:08:00.002-04:00

Olivia Newton John

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qma8dOi40Ac&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I89lfJsW3bE

Fallen Petal

2009-03-12T14:25:00.003-04:00

Oh, Fallen Petal! Where do you belong?
To the family in pink that lives high,
Or down on the Earth where you now lie

Oh, Fallen Petal! I hold you in my heart,
Did you grieve your fate all night?
For, in the morn, your tears are in sight

Oh, Fallen Petal! You do still belong,
You are the flower, the color, a perfect beauty,
That flourishes, as you attract many a bee

Oh, Fallen Petal! You belong with the rest,
To Mother of all, the Earth, you adorn,
A charming bed, with pink snow sprinkled on

Often you remind that life is not in vain,
When I feel, to nowhere I belong,
Joy, in life, I will impart and fragrance when I pass on

(C) 2008 by Anna G. Raman

Illayaraja's work on guitar

2009-02-27T13:00:00.003-05:00

Guitar - "Panivizhum malarvanam"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFZiW2pE43E

Full song from the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaLdxzGLYr4&feature=related

Guitar - "Illaya Nila" (translated as 'The young moon')

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Ds4ae-KTc&feature=related

Full song from the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rumFpLTIn0E&feature=related

Some of Illayaraja's best compositions. Enjoy!

The Probable Future

2009-02-17T14:40:00.004-05:00

"Granny Hull had once told Liza that, long ago, baking bread was referred to as a "mystery". Mystery it was, much the same as turning straw into gold. Flour and water and yeast became sustenance. One thing became another, transmuted, as Liza Hull now understood she herself had become."

"In the small towns surrounding Boston, the leaden skies and snowy vistas cause a temporary color blindness, a condition that can be cured only by the appearance of the first green shoots of spring."

I might run out of space if I tried to add more of such good lines from the book by Alice Hoffman. Her book "The Probable Future" is a very good read, with a nice imagination and portrayals of the different characters. I want to say she is becoming my favorite writer of fiction (next to R.K. Narayan).

Blue bubbly Merriweather and color coding of gender

2009-02-12T11:21:00.005-05:00

Fairy tales evolve so much over time and I wonder if there was a good fairy by the name Merriweather in the older versions. There is one in Disney's and it turns out her favorite color is blue.

My daughter's favorite color is blue as well. But when I mention this to anyone who asks me, they go, "usually pink is the color for girls". After a few times, it has really gotten on my nerves. I'm not sure why there is a color coding for the sex of babies and toddlers. There is no good reasoning to have one, is there? Plus, I know a few ladies who love blue. And why narrow down the range when there are so many to choose from?

Its becoming more of a rule than a habit. What are your thoughts? What are your favorite colors?

Candy Candido and Soundies

2009-02-08T22:09:00.001-05:00

Candy Candido is the voice of some characters in Disney movies. When I googled him up, I learnt about Soundies, the earlier forms of music videos.

Here's a link to one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiJIDkfNkn4

Shoulder to Shoulder

2009-01-31T17:03:00.003-05:00

I was watching a Pooh movie with my daughter. This song from the movie was written and composed by Carly Simon. The way its set to tune brings out the spirit of true friendship and bonding.

Here's the video of the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRoZvHDlRHg&feature=PlayList&p=0C9D33B49291D7A1&playnext=1&index=32

The spirit of this song reminds me of the 'Accham illai' (No fear) song from Indira movie, composed by A.R. Rahman. The lyrics of this song and an English translation are available here. Below is a link to the song. (I remember singing this with a group in college and we won a prize too! I couldn't find a link to the original video from the movie, which would have been good to show)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re8qlnSTfgo

Quote

2009-01-22T17:45:00.001-05:00

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Rita Gabis

2009-01-21T12:10:00.003-05:00

The final issue of Ironwood has introduced me to another great voice: Rita Gabis. Her poem 'The voice' published in it had such a wonderful flow of words and thought, she seemed to be talking inside me, as if reflecting my own thoughts but with beautiful poetry.

Here is one another poem published in the 'The Wild Field':

Lesson in a Language I Can't Speak Yet

Why was the snow whirling?

2009-01-19T15:06:00.003-05:00

There are probably a number of poems that talk about snow but ever since I read the one by Gluck, I have been wondering about it.

Why was the snow whirling? There's an analysis of this poem at

http://injustspring.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/louise-gluck-snow/

Its snowing here today and as I walked, looking straight ahead, I did feel a little woozy, I did feel the snow whirling.

The Gifted Flower

2009-01-17T16:59:00.003-05:00

My poem by this title was included under Verses on 'The Mindful Parent' website and also referenced in the Jan 2009 newsletter.

Golden Globe award for Best Score

2009-01-14T14:08:00.004-05:00

A.R. Rahman - the second best composer from South India.

One of my favorites, by Rahman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbiYEXNqksw

It was initially composed for the movie Bombay.

Where are we going now?

2009-01-13T12:06:00.001-05:00

Tony Hoagland's Reading Moby-Dick at 30,000 feet.

Some of his poetry has also appeared in the Three Penny Review.

Quote

2009-01-12T12:13:00.001-05:00

"Worry is today's mouse eating tomorrow's cheese".
- Larry Eisenberg

Toni Buzzeo's Dawdle Duckling

2009-01-08T23:06:00.003-05:00

From her book:

but the fourth little duckling
dawdles and dreams,
preens and plays,
splashes and spins,
dunks and dips,
looks...and leaps!

(C) Toni Buzzeo.

Yes, poetry. I love the choice of words in her text.

Her books remind me of the days of Misha (an old Russian magazine for children)

Averno

2009-01-08T00:05:00.003-05:00

This is the title of one of Louise Gluck's poetry collections I'm reading. Some of her poems in there are based on her childhood, relationships with her sister and mother. She didn't seem to think much of a person lying on her belly on the sand, reading a mystery. I love mystery myself and even if Gluck doesn't think much of me, I find her poems scintillating. She is, as she herself says, a thinker. Here are links to online publications of a few of my favorite ones:

1. Crater Lake

2. Landscape - I.

Mindfulness in parenting

2009-01-07T00:05:00.003-05:00

So many of us lead a mechanical life today: Drop kids at day-care, rush to work, pick up kids, cook, eat, sleep. The routine does break on the weekends but not for everyone. We get so busy we forget to 'live' or be 'present' when we spend time with our children. I think 'The Mindful Parent' by Scott Rogers is a beautiful initiative for changing that, helping us to reduce the mundaneness, anxiety, stress, by helping us to 'enjoy' parenting when we do and can. I also love some of the verses posted on the website at www.themindfulparent.org.

For Shruti

2009-01-06T11:47:00.003-05:00

I wrote this for my daughter. This is one of the poems I have written with the rhyme scheme a-b-b.

Mole turned Star

Among others in the sky, was a star
But it was so small,
That no one noticed it at all

So it fell to the earth,
And found itself a special place
On the left cheek of a lovely face

A mole he surely was,
Now a beauty spot on a princess
The first, to add to her fairness.

(C) Anna G. Raman

Calmness during sunrise

2009-01-02T21:08:00.004-05:00

Another from school days...The scanner did change the colors, a little.

Another quote

2008-12-28T23:32:00.003-05:00

From my old collection:

"A simple grateful thought toward heaven is the most complete prayer"
- Gotthold Lessing

Ana Farasha

2008-12-27T22:26:00.002-05:00

A few months ago I read a news article somewhere about a young girl from Yemen who was married off as a child by parents living in poor conditions. She was strong in spite of what she had been through and fought for her divorce. Child marriages are common, even today in many parts of the world (including India).

My grandmother married when she was quite young but she encouraged my aunts to grow professionally and did not force them to be married early.

One woman can support, encourage and inspire other women directly or indirectly, like that bold little girl from Yemen. The following is dedicated to her and others who took a brave butterflight, out of their unfair marriages.

Ana Farasha (I'm a butterfly)

I’m a crippled caterpillar
Betrayed of wings

I’m a crippled caterpillar
A burden on poverty

I’m a crippled caterpillar
Traded in youth

I’m a crippled caterpillar
Tortured by Thulm (injustice) and Takdeer (fate)

Oh, little caterpillar
Grow gigantic in will

Oh, little caterpillar
Be no longer a prey of game

Oh, mighty caterpillar
Shine with an unstrippable splendor

Oh, beautiful butterfly
Take a flight into freedom

(c) 2008 by Anna G. Raman

Body language of a car

2008-12-24T11:52:00.003-05:00

When a friend of a friend mentioned this to me a few years ago, I didn't give it that much thought. But, in driving in New Jersey for more than 4 years, I have realized the importance of this. Its a natural thing but being more aware of it helps safe-driving, especially in this messy winter weather.

Happy Holidays and a Great 09!

"Unfinished"

2008-12-22T12:42:00.003-05:00

Water colors, from school days.

From 6 years ago

2008-12-19T17:26:00.004-05:00

Sunset

The light of my life was gone,
Sadness of silence conquered my song
In my mind, I bid several goodbyes,
I hid my sobs, only let out sighs.

I imagined my light following my way,
It struck me then - the light was still, I was going away…
Out the window, the horizon was in sight,
My mind and the darkness of the night,
The light of my life was gone,
And sadness of silence conquered my song.

I was going away, on its rails, the train went on

(c) 2002 Anna G. Raman

From my old collection of quotes

2008-12-18T12:17:00.001-05:00

To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching.

- Henri Frederic Amiel

The plight of defense attorneys

2008-12-17T14:22:00.002-05:00

I read 'The witness for the prosecution' by Agatha Christie a few days ago. It is an amazing short story with more than one twist in which the wife/mistress of the man charged comes up with a plot, fools the prosecution, the jury and the defense attorney (who wrongly believes in the man's innocence).

It must be agonizing to work on criminal cases where its hard to tell if the person(s) charged is(are) honest. The attorneys must know something of psychology or go by intuition.

Characters' Quotes

2008-12-15T14:22:00.002-05:00

"Because the faculties become refined when you starve them... ...."
"I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix"

- Holmes in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone by A.C. Doyle, Published by Bantam Books

"The extraordinary sanity of the insane is an interesting subject"

- Sir Alington West (a psychologist) in 'The Red Signal' by Agatha Christie

Playing book tag

2008-12-11T11:52:00.009-05:00

I'm gonna take a stab at this - I'm tagging you because I've read your poetry or blog somewhere before.

A poet I know sent me this. Here are the rules:

RULE ONE, I have to grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

RULE TWO, I have to pick five people who love books and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor.

_______________________________

Is it true?
Is it true?

Do you not know, have you not heard, were you not told
long ago, have you not perceived ever since the world
began that God sits throned on the vaulted roof of
earth, whose inhabitants are like grasshoppers?

- From 'Is it true?', The Awful Rowing Toward God by Anne Sexton (c) 1975 by Loring Conant Jr., Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
_______________________________

Tag: Patrick Rosal, Anthony Buccino, Edward Byrne, Diane Lockward, Maria Mazziotti Gillan

A drizzly December day dedicated

2008-12-10T11:59:00.005-05:00

How much do we remember from classes from school days? Memory of those fade as years pass and (most) parts remain unused. There are things and times, however, that our brains choose to retain. For me, those include all my language teachers.

Most of the schools made it mandatory to learn 3 languages until 9th grade. I learnt English, Hindi and Tamil but I remember more from my English classes - Grammar in Ms. Revathi's classes, reading Poetry and Shakespeare from school texts in Ms. Jayanthi Pateswari's classes, and stuff like how GHOTI spells fish in Ms. Ramadevi's classes.

I also remember Ms. Kasturi who was my English teacher in kindergarten and early years of grade school.

I dedicate this beautiful December day to all my English teachers who have influenced my communication skills in ways more than they know.

On 'Flawless'

2008-12-09T13:22:00.002-05:00

Carefully, he took prints
Of all her ten fingers
Her reaction offered hints.
On the truth and her lip, he lingered,
Parting, at the bottom of steep ladders.

© 2008 by Anna G Raman

Demi Moore was a good fit for the character.

A lot of us - women, still stand at the bottom of ladders made too steep for us...

Short-sightedness

2008-12-08T11:06:00.002-05:00

For the first time, I heard about the myopic Mr. Magoo character yesterday when I watched the movie.

I did get over the popular notion (actually very common in India) that glasses make girls appear less pretty. I see a good optometrist (unlike Mr. Magoo) from time-to-time. But I also tend to forget my glasses, when I step out of the house, from time-to-time!

This morning was one of those times. At least I was driving a known route in daylight and didn't have to read signs and street names.

I found the mitten my daughter had lost on top of a donation box. The label on it read 'Help someone see better by donating your unused glasses'...

Z for...

2008-12-05T12:36:00.002-05:00

When we play the 'alphabet-for-?' game, it always gets tricky after T.

U - is for Umbrella, Urgent? Unimportant?
V - for Violin (nice), Vulture (ooooh), View, Visualize, Verse (ha!)
W - Water, Wet, Whim, Whatever!...Word (can't do without)
X - gotta be X-ray, or X-ray fish or X-ray film
Y - Yoyo, Yogurt? Yummy! (no, Yucky is not a good word)
Z - Zebra, Zebra, Zebra, Zip (almost forgot that!)

There is a nicer word for Z. The first time I heard it as a suggestion for a school-magazine name from a friend. I don't remember what we ended naming our magazine but I got so attached to the word since...It had been the name of all my machines, until they'd one of those naming-conventions.

Its a cool beautiful breezy word.

Z for Zephyr.

Bubbleology?

2008-12-02T12:16:00.004-05:00

Bubbles can make people of all ages happy, and the elder ones philosophical and even poetic!

The bubbles I know are simple round things made from soap and water (and air). But there have been advances - yes Bubbleology, and Bubbleologists (like Steven Spangler) who can make super-duper bubbles, square-bubbles and super-bouncing bubbles!

So much to learn and try, even with bubbles, but we ever-starters, pop and blow bubbles that can only bounce off one another.

Catamarans, Jabberwocky and Ovaloughts

2008-12-01T13:23:00.003-05:00

With the blending of different cultures, more and more words from other languages are making their way into, not just slangy English but also English dictionaries. Many word-avatars.

I watch 'Alice in Wonderland' with my daughter sometimes and the nonsense words amuse me every time. The first stanza of Jabberwocky (by Lewis Carroll) with its unusual words and sounds:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

The first time I used MS paint software for my 3 year old, she made me create colorful ellipses all over the page.

Truly, there is no poetry without an ovalought.

Wonder whie cutie

2008-11-28T00:58:00.003-05:00

A kissy from the little missy?

Car at the junkie? Very fishy...

Not just mommies and daddies, but lately, even sweeties, little girlies like to add the ie/y suffix. 'Oh, look at the big doggie, kutti kitty, the baby birdie in the nest, the horsey that's not a pony or a donkey, the duckie that looks like all the geese that do pooh-pee on the windshield, the miceys of Cindrella, the low trans-fat chipseys, playing inkie pinkie ponkie with the pink pinkie...

Wonder why? Because they sound like 'happy' or sound 'funny' ? (no, I'm not thinking 'money')

Either way, very cutie cutie!

Christmas already?

2008-11-26T12:04:00.003-05:00

Why do we want Christmas sooner? Christmas songs have been on FM for more than a week! Christmas trees have been selling in the local mall from starting of November.

The first few months of any year show no holidays on the calendar after New Year. So why not wait a bit and stretch the celebration till the end of January (or even later) ?

I stopped by the local Best Buy store and their holiday caption displayed everywhere was 'Happier Holidays'.

Do we appreciate 'Happy' enough? We want more of 'happy' and sooner too - why?

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving!

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-boo

2008-11-25T13:26:00.003-05:00

Magic - how we would all love to have it in our own lives. For instance, I could use Mrs. Weasly's wand for some household chores. What's better than magic? R.K. Narayan in The Dark Room writes in the after-life, wishing or thinking by itself brings realization.

In an ideal (i.e., Rowling's muggle) world, we can hum or whistle 'Just whistle when you work' like Snow White and her little friends or just decide, to procrastinate!

Once we get over such thoughts and other teenage-ish dreams of a life that is a dance with a 'nice' Prince-like, we begin to appreciate the movie, the music, the lyrics...

The best part of the Cinderella movie, is the part of the song which turns any one thing into any other thing via the truly magical rhyming words from the Fairy Godmother. Consider this (from the movie):

Now with an elegant coach like that of course we'll simply have to have, uh.... Mice.
Oh this is really as nice.

Why we'll have a coach and four when we're through.
Just a wave of my stick and to finish the trick,

Gracious, what did I do? I was sure there were four
There should be one more

Serves him right I'd say. Now, um, where were we? Oh goodness yes. You can't go to the ball without a--- a horse.
But tonight for a change
you'll handle the reins
and sit in the driver's seat too.
For instead of a horse
you're the coachman of course.

The words do some subtle magic on our minds, in-spite of all the muggle-ness.

St. Theresa's Prayer

2008-11-20T12:21:00.002-05:00

I received this by email today. The email said something about wishes coming true. I don't believe in that but I do believe in sharing the message. Its Mother Theresa's prayer:

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you....
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of you

Prices and dates

2008-11-18T15:52:00.005-05:00

I was in the local Pathmark store, checking the date on the milk can and a gentleman standing next to me said, 'I don't buy the date on that, Nov 30th? See, it says Nov 24rth in NYC - I think that's the date'...

I bought more than 5 kinds of things and paid less than 20$

Also, I paid less than 35$ for filling up the gas tank in the mini-van.

R.K. Narayan

2008-11-17T14:57:00.002-05:00

Not too many characters, no big mysteries - simple stories about simple minds so nicely told. In every story, there is some thing of every character that I have in myself. The words flow so smoothly and leave a permanent impression on my mind.

I've a small collection of his books and the one I read most recently, titled 'The English Teacher' deepens a void. Krishna's love for his wife is so infinite that he is able to talk to her free soul after her demise and receive immense comfort, confidence and direction which he applies in the care for his child and his own career.

'The Dark Room' is a simple story about a wife who finds that one's duties have to be done, sometimes, with detachment. A dark room in a house is not the refuge for a troubled mind. The body itself becomes a dark room for a soul that craves freedom.

What is my mission?

2008-11-12T15:40:00.005-05:00

I don't see what the board outside a nearby Church says everday. I usually have a lot of things on my mind when I drive out in the evenings and with the time change, it is sometimes after sun-set that I leave. I was driving by the Church this morning and the message was 'You were made for a mission'. It gave me a whole lot of confidence boost and I felt so great the first few minutes. But it didn't take me very long to feel the guilt. I'm not sure if I have a mission, and if I do, I'm not sure what it is...

Agatha Christie's detectives

2008-11-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

From the stories I've read, they are all unmarried which is true of most detective characters! I find that very curious. Miss Marple and Mr. Satthertwite are observers and they are both past middle age and have observed human nature for so long that solving mysteries comes naturally to them (the latter with some aid from Mr. Quin). But of them all, only Mr. Poirot is a professional. He is very analytical as well, but in a different way. Mr. Poirot and his companion remind me of A.C.Doyle's Holmes and Dr. Watson. There are some stories of Mr. Poirot where the villains are big players, mafia, underground etc. But its the other stories that I find more interesting. The variety in the plots and characters and the methodical minds of the detectives make her books some of my top favorites.