Writing Compaigns

The daily life of Bagan 1000-1300

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

Bagan is an ancient city, filled with archeological sites, located on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Mandalay, Myanmar. During 9AD and 13BC it served as the capital of Pagan Kingdom. During this time, astonishingly, over 10,000 temples pagodas and monasteries were constructed. Today, an estimated 2,200 of these still remain. This Ancient city was home to various forms of schools such as Theravada/Mahayana/Tantric Buddhism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

Pagan (c) Wikipedia

In 2017, Kannan and I attended a lecture at Asian Civilization Museum by Associate Prof Koh Geok Yian about the daily life of Pagan between 1000-1300. During this talk she discussed the excavation project being carried out at Pagan and showed us artifacts, of course in slides, that had been discovered.

The rise of Pagan

Every Archeological site has a rising or flourishing period. Later they move to saturation before a gradual or sudden decline. Bagan is not an exception too. Buddhism and ancient trade tied these regions closely to India.

Pagan empire (c) Wikipedia

I was searching based on Prof Goh’s talk that night. I came to know something very interesting.

  • Monks from India, Sri Lanka and the Khmer Empire went to Pagan.
  • It may have the style inherited from Buddhist stupas of Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda in current day Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Sri Lanka.
  • The ancient name of Pagan was Ari-madana-pura.

It seems there were some similarities between the temples of Pagan with temples of Pala empire of Bengal. There was trade and cultural exchanges between India and Bagan.

The canopy paintings at Pagan were interesting. Before that let’s see the list of places we may need to visit.

Bagan’s Flourishing period.

Kyansittha Palace – Excavation

Kyansittha was the king of Bagan Empire in the tenth century. Following his father Anawrahta, he continued social, economic and cultural exchanges. Excavation pictures from today’s tourist attraction from Bagan Palace were interesting.

Excavations show Pagal’s influence from China. A lot of Chinese vases, Southeast Asian artifacts, pottery, and fragmentary Buddha head sculptures have been found.

A lot of circular structures have been found. It can be seen in the pictures.

Who doesn’t marvel at Buddhist canopy paintings? I have already written about Ajanta briefly in this post. Similar beautiful canopy paintings exist in Bagan temples too. Tap on Google Images.

Being a riverside city, water journeys are depicted in their paintings.

Sites to visit in Bagan

Lozong Ananada Temple
Dhammayangyi Temple (Old Bagan)
Thatbyinnyu Temple (Nyaung U & Wetkyi-In)-Tallest Temple

What will be the daily life of a Bagan? I guess it could be like a peaceful life with blooming worship in monasteries, recitation of mantras and agriculture.

Fall of Pagan

Bagan has reached its peak in 11th and 12th century, starting from 10th century. Culture and economy flourished during Anawrahta’s reign. Bagan used to be known as a city of money. The influx of money brought its own problems. Lured by wealth, the sevak-s and the military destroyed the Bagan constitution.

Like the Ghazni Mahmud’s repeated invasion of India, the Mongolians invaded Pagan multiple times and plundered. The city has also been corrupted by Burmese ethnic groups such as the Rakhine-s, the Mon-s, and the Shan-s (seems they are the descendants of Assamese), a Southeast Asian ethnic group.

Pagan looks like a hamlet today, reminds me of Kodumbalur.

Thanks to the following sites for their images and text –

http://bagan.travelmyanmar.net/bagan-royal-palace.htm
http://travelinfo.happyfootprints.com/8-must-see-temples-in-bagan-myanmar/

—

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

Own Book or Library Book?

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

Have we been confused about whether to get our own books or library books for decades? The new entrant to the debate is the E-Book/Audio Book. I will list down some of the points for owned books versus library books and my approach towards it.

Having a habit of buying our own books helps not only you, but it also becomes a motivation for the entire family. We buy coffee, tea, pizza, and burgers – a Margherita Regular costs around ₹100, which will make your tummy happy for a single meal. Mahabharata published by Amar Chitra Katha costs only ₹57, which will make you, your family, and your next generation happy!

First of all, buying a book is not only for you. It is for your next generation too. Setting up a home library is a virtue, and it is an inspiration for us and our visitors.

Secondly, you are supporting the publication house and your favorite authors. In that way, you can make others happy. Jeyamohan’s Venmurasu is a series of 26 novels totaling 25000 pages available to read for free on the internet. Yet, many of his readers, including me, purchased the novels of pillow size, not only to support the initiative, but also to leave it for the next generation.

Thirdly, it is about personalization. You get a rare opportunity to meet your favorite authors. When you meet them, you get his/her signature in blue or black ink on the first page, to keep memories of your meeting, don’t you? Muthar-kanal by Jeyamohan, Khan Sahib by Nanjil Naadan, Nimitham by S Ramakrishnan, Here are the Young Men by Rob Doyle, Launch Pad by Shelly Bryant were signed by authors. Of course, you can underline, highlight, and annotate in books. Having your own books offer you unlimited freedom.

Fourthly, it is about reading time. You don’t have the pressure of reading it immediately. You can take your own time and read as many times as you like, and you can refer to any section at any time. Book fairs or your local book story may provide you good opportunity to buy books at discounted price. Chennai Book Fair offers 10% discount, despite its toxic environment with political party cadres disguised as readers and fundamentalists – just avoid those stalls with noise. You will find some useful stalls having rare books. Pakistan Arasiyal Varalaru by Pa Raghavan, India After Gandhi by Ramchandra Guha, Cheena vilakum thirai by Pallavi Aiyar are some of the treasures in my home library purchased in discount! Old/used book shops are the right fit for treasure hunt!

Coming back to library books – My earliest library book reading experience starts from Sivakamiyin Sabatham by Kalki (Author of the story of Ponniyin Selvan movie). My brother took it from his college library. I got motivated by him, my dad and my sister reading it. I too joined the jyothi.

My experience with my district library was not smooth. Yet, my experience with Chennai British Council Library and National Library of Singapore had been the best. Last but not least, Amazon Prime comes with its own kindle reading experience as well. I use it heavily now a days.

Membership of the British Council costs ₹2200/year. Amazon Prime membership comes with some free reading, and NLB membership costs around S$40/year for foreigners and is free for locals. Libraries announce special offers from time to time. Amazon sometimes gives some books at ₹0, and sometimes offers some books for free reading. NLB doubles the book borrowing limit during school holidays.

Library books have their own merits and demerits.

Firstly, it is about variety of options. they contain a treasure trove of books where we can get a quick reading experience before borrowing. Starting from kids books, all the way up to literature and journals, we have plenty of options. We can’t get everything in bookshops.

Secondly, it is super cost-effective. Each kids book with a hard cover costs around S$15 or S$20 easily. I can cover the library membership cost in just two borrowings.

Thirdly, if you don’t like any books, you can just return them without any financial loss.

Fourthly, it is about the ambience you get. If you are in Chennai, you can get it from the British Council Library. I haven’t been to Anna Centenary or Connemara libraries due to my worst experience with District Library at Pudukkottai. I have not been there to American library yet. You will find like-minded people in better libraries. They organize book camps, courses and talks by authors, and you’ll even get pakora-s and samosa-s from the canteen! NLB also offers a mobile app reading experience, which is nice. If you’re waiting for your girlfriend, you can read a short story from the mobile app rather than staring at a stranger girl and getting beaten up by your GF later!

So the verdict is that we should buy a library membership for everyone in the family. We need to help your kids create a home library. A reader like Kindle or Kobo is a necessity for the current generation.

To sum up, we have a vast ocean of books. We have library books, owned books, and e-books/audio books, each with its own merits and demerits. Choose wisely and enjoy reading. Do you think the same? Do you have a different view? Express yourself in comment section.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I put my observations in front of you. You may express yourself in the comment section or hit the like button. It will make me happy. In turn I’ll show you one of my favorite photos, shot by me, as my return gift.

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

Two countries; Same stories – Payment Banks

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

RBI made an initiative of opening payment banks in India in the mid of last decade. Towards the end of the decade, Singapore’s banking regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, announced a similar initiative in the name of digital banks.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I put my observations in front of you. You may express yourself in the comment section or hit the like button. In turn I’ll show you one of my favorite photos, shot by me, as my return gift.

I want to show the below picture for bloggers Tomichan Matheikal, Careena SoulStuff and Janaki janakiweb for their likes and comments during WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023. You made my day! I captured it on a cloudy evening at Orchid Gardens.

IMG_0172//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Let’s move on. Both had the same motives, more or less: financial inclusion by expanding financial services to those in need, and effective services by bringing competition among the banks.

The markets were different in the two countries. India was believed to have many people out of the financial framework. Schemes like MNREGA, crediting subsidies directly to a bank account, helped the Indian government to include them in banking services.

Meanwhile, Singapore, being a small nation with focus and long-term view, already had effective banking services. In a way, it was a saturated market – most people were already using it. Digital banks were observed to be found more helpful for those with low incomes or daily wage schemes. With no minimum balance requirement, it was observed to be good for their customers.

The Business Times published an article saying digital banks may not be the game-changers they promised to be. It is applicable to both countries in my humble opinion. Since their inception, they have faced challenges in both countries.

They require some kind of technical investment from both the customer and the bank side; the cost isn’t cheap and the return on investment is not justifiable.

They do not consider seniors, who still find it easier to visit the banks rather than using gadgets. Even if they started using it, facilities like automated chat support, alienated banking support irritates them. The main purpose of financial inclusion got hit over here.

Concerns were raised about some of the payment bank companies. Some of them had already accumulated high debts. Some of them were struggling to make profits already. Any sensible customer would think, how safe is to give money to this bank? One of the telecom companies in India opened accounts without customers’ consent and deposited government subsidies, which created heated arguments.

These banks have some restrictions as well. For example, Indian payment banks cannot have non-resident accounts. They do not have dedicated branches for immediate contact, and some do not have branches at all. They also do not have dedicated ATMs.

It is too early to say whether they succeeded or failed in their objectives. As a summary, these initiatives or proof-of-concepts proved to be even more effective.

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

JJ: Some Jottings | Sundara Ramaswamy [Book Review]

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

The novel starts with a breaking news of the dealth of Malayali writer J.J. The story is narrated by another writer Balu.

I wondered, whether to call it as a novel or a collection of memoirs of Writer J.J. from different personalities. I read Jeyamohan’s vishnupuram novel before I took this. I had feeling of empathy on myself, due to my inability of not getting into its Indian philosophical debate. At that state, I was expecting another typical novel, which gives the sequence of different events which moves towards an end. It was not structured like that.

It starts with a philosophical elaboration. After 30 or 40 pages, it absorbs us into it completely. Writer Balu wants to write about J.J. He make efforts to know about him before doing so. He meet different personalities, he get the opinions from them. JJ sounds like an idealistic, impactical, melancholic…. So, different knots formed in the first part of novelm, when different characters speak about him. they are cleared in the second part of the novel, as JJ himself starts speaking.

The entire novel is written in an circastic tone. Despite the plot is described as Malayalam literary world, Sundara Ramasamy hits the nail at the head of Tamil literary world and its hipocrisy.

JJ mocks hipocrasy at many places – Ottapalam Karunakaran’s surprise of a lady character in cross roads in a french novel; the bogus agony of chittukuruvi’s condolence speech – we can quote many of such incidences.

Our surrounding is hipocratic. We like to others swindling us all the time. We are in a stage where we consider that as the normal. I am from Tamilnadu, where defaming hinduism is disguised as aethism. Despite the political preaching, politicians used to file their nominations on ‘amrit kaal’. Kerala is where you can find Communists living inside Multi storey bungalows. We should not talk about Religion, at the same time, we can not give up my caste.. Wow.. No wonder, JJ grimaces at the glimmer of such shabby smugs.

Apart from the sarcasms, it pushes the reader to think and search for the real character of JJ. The novel ends at a place where the user is convinced that JJ was searching for truth among those these delusive literary whoops.

Reserve in NLB Jē. Jē. : cila kur̲ippukaḷ

Buy in English | Tamil

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

Blended [Movie]

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

Blended is a romantic comedy movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Lauren and Jim are two single parents; Lauren has sons, and Jim has a daughter. They go on a blind date, but unfortunately, it doesn’t go well. Jim’s friend was planning to go on vacation to Africa with his wife, and similarly, Lauren’s friend was getting ready to go on an Africa tour with her husband. As Jim’s friend and Lauren’s friend are unable to go, Jim and Lauren join the tour, unaware of each other’s presence.

The trip becomes hilarious after they meet each other on the tour. As time passes, they get to know each other, and a warm relationship develops between them. As the families merge during the trip, they find each other comfortable and caring unconditionally.

As we all know, the Chinese PLA army came forcefully to the Indian border, and Adani’s wealth raised at a short time. Similarly, circumstances arise forcefully to derail their relationship after the trip. Whether they are able to get into a relationship or not, you may find out in the movie.

Some movie pairs have very good chemistry, such as Danaal Thangavelu and M Saroja, Nagesh and Manorama, Kamalhassan Sridevi, and the Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore pair would come in this series. Such enjoyable actors they are! Their on-screen chemistry makes the movie exquisite. The audience immerses into the narration without much difficulty.

The strength of this movie is that it tries to be genuine in showing their profound feelings of grief, love, and disappointment along with their family surroundings. The narration is pragmatic, showing the initial teething issues that arise when two families try to blend with each other. The dwindling differences and frictions are portrayed in a gratifying manner.

Despite not being an action/horror/philosophical movie, its relentless sequence of light-hearted, positive reels gives us a satisfying movie experience. It’s a good watch!

Watch: Google Play Movies | Apple TV | Netflix

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

Chetty Melaka Community

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

Chettiyar-s are well-known businesspeople from South India. These traders originated from Tamil Nadu and traveled across the Bay of Bengal to expand their trading network in places like Malaysia, Singapore, and Myanmar.

Back then, there were no modern luxuries like four-hour flights. Instead, most Tamil people made the journey by sea, which took about 12 to 13 days from the cities of Chennai or Nagapattinam. It was a long and difficult journey, but they were determined to spread their business and make a living.

Nowadays, people travel to Chennai/Trichy on Friday night and return to work on Monday. A few centuries ago, they may have traveled only once every several years.

These traders are from the Tamil speaking community, following Shaiva Siddantha in Hinduism. They – who came here on business purposes – married local girls – Malay first, followed by Chinese, Indonesians and others – to became a family men.

It is not about a connection between man and woman. It is a mixture of two families from different cultures and ethnic races. These marriages between Indian traders and local women formed the community ‘Chetty Melaka’ or ‘Chitty Melaka’.

These men and women believed they were getting married, but through their marriages, they brought together different cultures and ethnic races. In their linguistic showcase, there is a beautiful rainbow of Tamil, Malay, Chinese, and other languages.

If you visit Singapore, do not forget Indian Heritage Centre to know about those interesting periods.

Related reading:

Peranakan Indians of Singapore and Melaka: Indian Babas and Nonyas – Chitty Melaka by Samuel Dhoraisingam

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

Launch Pad | Shelly Bryant [Book Review]

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

While science fiction isn’t typically my genre of choice. It is not about the choice or interest. It is about the patience to grasp the full potention of the fiction and create a scene in mind. I may not have that expertise and patience.

I purchased this short story collection for Kannan. Upon reading it, I found that some of the stories were too complex for me to fully grasp, while others felt excessively localized. However, there were also several stories that I thoroughly enjoyed.

When authors are required to write stories that are bound to a specific location, they often use localized names for characters and venues. Unfortunately, such stories often fail to make a lasting impact and fade away over time. Some of the stories in this collection, Launch Pad, seemed to fall into this category.

I attended the book release function for this collection and was curious to read the science fiction stories. One of the challenges that science fiction writers face is that science has already advanced so much beyond the fictional boundaries within which they operate. This was something that struck me when I watched James Bond movies and was amazed by the futuristic technology. Though I recall getting excited about the sci-fi comics in Rani Comics during my childhood, we now live in a world where driverless trains and automatic buses are commonplace. (except in Chennai Metro where they still use outdated technology and take pride in it). I could realize that the author tried her best to surpass this difficulty.

There were several stories in this collection that captured my attention. ‘Tan Swee Nee, Barber’ was particularly frightening, while ‘Case Study: Training Programme’ surprised me with its use of Tamil words like ‘Thaai’ and ‘Thanthai’, which are typically replaced by ‘Amma’ and ‘Appa’. Tamil is a complex language with many idiosyncrasies that can be difficult for non-native speakers to navigate.

Launch Pad is a collection of 13 science fiction short stories set in Singapore, written by Shelly Bryant, a poet, writer, and translator. Her mastery of language is evident in all the stories, and this is her first fiction collection.

Buy Epigram | Amazon | Google | Kobo

Borrow NLB

This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

Entry – Devadevan Poetry

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

There is a jar, brimming with liquid
stood a glass, longing with thirst

Tilting the jar, with graceful mind
Filling the glass, with thankful heart

Thirst and yearn, no more with glass
Both flowing into jar, ah oh alas!

I tried my best to destroy Poet Devadevan’s below given Tamil poetry.
I beg my pardon to all the poetry writers and lovers! Definitely that’s not my intention 🙁
This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

புகுதல்

நிறை ஜாடியருகே
ஒரு வெற்றுக் குவளை

ஜாடிக்குள் புகுந்துவிட்டது
ஜாடி சரித்து
குவளையை நிரப்பிய
வெற்றுக்குவளையின் தாகமும் வெறுமையும்

Rain drops – Devadevan Poetry

Pandian Ramaiah Leave a comment

Rain drops, hanging on the leaves,
Thinking of your fate, at much ease.
Gaining some mass, with no tease
to the dried mom earth, become her feast.

What if you can’t, don’t worry
you will become, a strawberry
Glitter and brighter, for sun’s harvest
Don’t think and hang, be some fest.

I tried my best to destroy Poet Devadevan’s below given tamil potery.
I beg my pardon to all the poetry writers and lovers! Definitely that’s not my intention 🙁
This post is part of Blogchatter’s WRITE A PAGE A DAY 2023 campaign.

மழைத் துளிகள்

இலைகளிற் தொங்கியபடி
யோசித்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும் மழைத்துளிகளே!

யோசனைகளாற் பயனென்ன?

கனம் கொண்டீரேல்
மண்ணின் தாகம் தீர்க்கிறீர்
இல்லையெனில்
கதிரவன் கொய்து உண்ணும்
கனிகளாகிறீர்