The time is near. The long awaited vacation. It is the time of the year when you and your family look forward to an exciting adventure. You could select a beach resort, a hiking holiday, a sight-seeing trip, shopping paradise, or winter sports resort. To ensure the vacation is successful from start to finish, detailed planning is the key.

First Step

Once you have decided on the place you would like to visit and the date of travel and holiday duration, it is time to visit your Travel Agent. The agent will guide you through the different options available. If you wish to go by air, all flight details and fares will be downloaded for your selection. If you choose to go by train, you will be advised of the different trains, routes and timings. If you are going by road, it would be wise to check the mileage involved so you can cater to the gas consumption of the vehicle.

Second Step

Selecting the right hotel for your trip is always an exciting exercise. Of course it will depend on the budget you have in hand. Details of the different hotels can be downloaded from the Internet, with pictures and amenities being offered. Once you settle on which hotel you would like to book, the Travel Agent can make a firm booking for you.

Third Step

Since you will be out of town for a month or more, you will have to make arrangements with a friend or relative to oversee your home activities. If you own a pet, whether the relative or friend is agreeable to look after it. This would also apply for fish or birds. If you have potted plants, who will keep them watered. Who will collect your mail during your absence as also your daily newspapers?

Fourth Step

As you near the date of travel, keep your empty suitcases ready for packing. Select clothes that are not too fussy, and not too many. They should reflect the vacation spot you are visiting. A week or so before actual departure date, check and confirm the travel and hotel bookings.

What to be cautious about

When you make your bookings ensure there are no hidden fees, costs etc. Which will see you later coughing up much more than you had planned for. To avoid getting exhausted with hectic pre-preparation for the trip, see that you have one totally relaxed day a day before actual travel. Also on your return, spend a couple of days at home adjusting after the hectic holiday experience. A good night’s sleep before day of travel will help in avoiding jet lag if it is a long flight. Avoid caffeinated beverages and alcohol. If you suffer from migraine attacks, ensure that you carry with you the prescribed medication. Once you have taken care of all the above, your family vacation is sure to be an enjoyable experience in every which way.

Diwali festival begins today with Dhanteras 

Diwali is a three-day festival beginning on Dhanteras two days before the main festival of lights, crackers and Laksmi pooja. This day Dhanteras is important for shopping when people go out to shop all big items particularly planned for Dhanteras day. The list may include from plot for building a house, a constructed house or a vehicle but most people shop for jewelry and utensils as mandatory items for this day if nothing big. 

Diwali festival is primarily celebrated for celebrating ‘win of good over evil’. May God Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi bring us lots of fortunes with our efforts put during entire year and hoping to do better during coming year! But does that mean we are looking forward to accumulate more wealth by seeing things from a particular viewpoint - where money is prime factor of our life, is that so? That is not my idea of celebrating this festival. Money counts of course it does for sure but there are certain other points however, we are not looking at those crucial aspects of life like the traditional relations, peaceful co-existence and helping each other in times of need have lost their way somewhere behind the fake values of festival.

The glitter of gold has perhaps hidden the brighter side of life and relations behind money. What we see today is lights, a sea of lights all around but the darkness deep inside, no one wants to look inside to remove some of it to celebrate the festival with its true values. Today money seems to be prime object; we worship Lakshmi expecting to bring more of it by firing extra crackers on this occasion or lighting a few hundred extra bulbs or lighting more candles. We, while celebrating the festival of Diwali forget the millions who have no electricity to light their houses but we enjoy and look at those selected few thousands who spend billions and consume the better part of the resources available in this poor country. 

Few thousand people can go out and purchase deities studded with diamonds worth millions but what about the millions who are looking from distance inhaling fumes coming from firing crackers! No one is looking at them every one is busy showcasing his Lakshmi so shamelessly. Is this real Diwali, do we get any thing out of this celebration? Do we know how many suffer from lungs related problems every year because we overdid our cracker firing! We have right to show our happiness in our own ways but do the people who have no means to use firecrackers have any rights of their own to save their own lungs and hearts? We shall have to think over it with a new vision and we have not much time left to do that, we are on the brink of breakdown of social and environmental system. We have done enough fake celebrations

we must act now to save our society and values of real Diwali

Diwali is festival of Laksmi pooja, celebrated for the sole purpose of making money in the year to come. We worship Goddess Lakshmi to bless us, to enable us earn more but should we forget the basics of honesty just to earn more money for ourselves and forget about others! Do we consider what people are eating today? That is total contaminated with items not meant for eating not impure or dirty but those are far beyond eating purpose. While we look at the ingredients people are mixing to make edibles for people to eat on festive times that should shock you to the core. They are out to make money by killing you. You eat items in the name of festival, which you will not touch from a ten feet distance. But you are not only eating these items but also gifting them to your family and friends. Goddess save you from evil and keep you alive, this is time to say no to all contaminated items.                   

We are getting richer and our lists of billionaires are getting longer, so are the lists of scams. Can we pray to Lakshmi to save us from these scammers! That should help us celebrate the festival in better way. If these scammers would leave some thing for us out of the budgets allocated perhaps, we shall get our quota of facilities in a better way. That would be our true festival, when the light would reach to us the poor people of this country. Please do not count the richness of this country with the list of Forbes but look at the people who have begging bowl in their hands, their list is getting longer. This is time to wakeup before this is too late. 

The basic message of Diwali ‘victory over evil’ has changed to ‘victory of money’ every one wants to show off as much as he can. Let us not forget the values of our great country where people preach ‘Asta Siddhi -Nav Nidhi’ meaning newly acquired wealth of different kinds with best of our efforts. Have a look at the list, which does not consist of diamonds, gold and other precious stones only. The list also does not consist of new buildings and vehicles but the hard-earned knowledge that enables us to differentiate between right and wrong values of life. The knowledge of right and wrong that is happenings in the society and the most important knowledge of choosing the best ways for our trouble free future life.  Let us celebrate this Diwali with no show business, no contaminated sweets and other fruit items, the real light that removes the darkness from society and provides happiness to family, friends and neighbors, the true spirit to live in complete harmony. We should celebrate this Diwali keeping the worldly profit and loss away and bringing the true gains by doing best of our efforts that brings Goddess in true sense to our house with all her willingness. I wish you all a very prosperous Diwali that bring you true happiness and wealth- Happy Diwali. May Goddess come to your doors with every joy of life. 

God’s own country – now Kerala is called by this pet name world-wide. But this was not the case a century back or before 1930’s. When Swamy Vivekananda came to Kerala years back, seeing the caste system prevailed in Kerala, with a pain heart he called Kerala ‘Bhraanthalayam’. Why did he name this beautiful state ‘an asylum’?

Kerala was ruled by untouchability, superstitious customs, strange beliefs and classification of people into different classes based on castes. Social life and condition of Kerala were so pathetic that he called it ‘an Asylum’.

Savarnar and Avarnar – Upper and lower classes

People were grouped into two categories - Savarnar and Avarnar. High class people of Brahmins, ruling people and Nairs belong to Savarnar group while low caste and poor people were placed under Avarnar. Rules were different for different caste groups and lower caste people can’t touch or come in front of high caste people. It was considered ‘asudhi’ by upper caste people and they often bath or do some rituals to get out of ‘asudhi’.

Rights were denied to low caste people to enter main roads, public places and Hindu temples. Also, some strange customs existed during that period. Let me give one example. Kids of land lords and kings did employ a child of low caste and this boy used to assist the rich boy at schools. If teacher punishes the rich boy for some mistake, all those punishments were received by that poor boy. So, seeing such strange customs, if Swamy Vivekananda has compared Kerala to an asylum, it’s not at all surprising.

In 1936 November 12, when Temple Entry Proclamation was made by the then ruler of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Maharaja, it was a milestone in the achievement of equalization of all classes in the state and many struggles done to attain the rights of low caste people.

First struggle for equality

C.Raman Thampi, the judge of Travancore was the first person who put forward the suggestion to allow low caste people to temples. He submitted his appeal in prajasabha in the year 1917. Seeing this, Divan Bahadur Krishnan Nair collected signatures of high class Hindus and submitted as memorial. It was to prove that high class Hindus didn’t have such objections. Same demand was put forward during the reign of Divan Bahadur Raghavayya. But giving excuses one after the other, top officials denied it.

Through Gandhiji’s intervention

When Gandhiji came to Kerala for Vaikkom Sathyagraha, he appealed to Travancore people to fight for justice. He gave them good support as well. First barrier was to open main roads and public places leading to temples. When this permission was granted, Vaikkom Satyagraha came to an end. But it began a new movement to open all temples to Avarna Hindus.

Temple Entry Committee

Temple Entry Committee was formed in the year 1933, November 25. It was represented by 9 members with V.S.Subramanya Iyyer as president. In 1934, April 21st committee report was published. The study report gave importance to the entry of all Hindus including low caste people to temples. Though it couldn’t reach the goal to open temples for ‘avarnar’, it was successful in opening all public roads, schools, ponds and wells which were constructed and maintained by public fund. The law was passed in the year 1936 May.

Influencing factors which paved way to Proclamation

Gandhiji’s Satyagraha of 1932, K.Kelappan’s Guruvayur Satyagraha, death of the leader T.K.Madhavan, the influence of Narayana Guru and Chattambi Swamikal in the society and Savarna jaatha lead by K.Kelappan were the main factors that resulted in Temple Entry Proclamation. When Savarna jaatha was held under the leadership of K.Kelappan, high class Hindus from different parts of the state participated in this procession to prove that high class people have no objection with entry of low caste people in temples. This procession proved to be the milestone in the greatest reformation of Kerala cultural society.

Akhila Kerala Khetrapraveshana Sammelanam - for justice and equality

In 1936, May 9 and 10, a meeting was held at Thiruvanathapuram under the leadership of Rameswari Nehru. She was a social reformer, who married Brij Lal Nehru, nephew of Motilal Nehru. It brought all Kerala under one umbrella and was known as ‘Akhila Kerala Khetrapraveshana Sammelanam’. It was not only for Travancore, but for allowing low caste people all over Kerala to enter temples, including Kochi and Malabar. This meeting asked government to give justice to all people and this revolt was enough to create waves all over India, which was still under the grasp of cruel caste systems and strange customs. A meeting was held at Nasik by Dr.B.R.Amdedkar and he asked low caste people (Harijans) to give up their belief in Hinduism. 

Through success paths

In 1936, November 3rd, a memorandum was submitted before the king after accumulating signatures of 50 lakh high caste people from all over Kerala. In 1936, November 12, with the co-operation of Maharani Sethu Parvathy Bhai and Divan Sir.C.P, the then Maharaja of Travancore Sri Chithira Thirunal Maharaja did the temple Entry Proclamation allowing all low caste people to enter temples all over Kerala. When such a proclamation was made, it was a freedom of low class people from the grasp of upper society and strange customs and this day became a historic moment in the history of Kerala. It was done on the 25th Aatta thirunal (birthday) of Chithira Thirunal. This year, on November 12, we are celebrating its 76th anniversary.

To show this honour, very soon his bronze model was placed in East Street Maidan opposite Krishna Vilasam Palace of East fort, Thiruvananthapuram. Still this historic monument stays there, making people remember the old bad ages that existed in Kerala, a Platinum Jubilee year back. Also, even after the king lost his power, people didn’t forget their beloved king and showed respect till he died in 1991. He was the last king who ruled Travancore, dedicating his whole kingdom to Padmanabha.

Kerala we see now

Now things have changed a lot. Now Kerala is known for its cultural heritage and hospitality and it’s unbelievable for many people that such strange customs of untouchability and discrimination based on caste and money did existed in this small state 75 years back. It’s now remembered for its communal harmony and unity that lies between people of different castes and religions. Temple Entry Proclamation done by Chithira Thirunal was just a beginning to this great cultural reformation and through this article, I have taken you people to a strange Kerala that existed decades back, just to make you people aware that, such a Kerala also existed before!  

Frustration is  now all pervasive phenomenon in each and every persons life. The psychological status of mind in which a person becomes so depressed, confused and unable to decide what to do is the main characteristics of this phenomenon. This is affecting the performance of individual on the one hand and the collective productivity of mankind on the other hand. Thus it becomes a considerable and burning topic to be dealt with seriousness by us.

There are various sources of frustration

1. Setting up of higher order goals that are beyond our capacity and resource limit
2. Expecting much more from others
3. Unsatisfied instincts
4. Incomplete social life
5. Unfulfilled needs.

What can be done for this? How can we minimise the frustration and its adverse effects? These are very relevant questions who need some answers. Answers that are practical, and easy to follow. Let me site some principles based on the life of great people. Desire is the ultimate source of frustration. in-genuine desires, unrealistic ambitions and unrealistic expectations from others are the main sources of frustration. Buddha said- Desire is the source of all sufferings. Ambitions that are not backed by eligibility and capability fed with real efforts, is also another cause of failure that causes frustration. Expecting the result before genuine deed is one of causes which are responsible for failure in life and that finally leads to the failure. In Srimad Bhagavad Geeta Lord Krishna says it that the person has only riht to work, not to the results, as he expects the results he gets often attached to the work and destined to failure. Attachment to the work or assignments creates much more deviation from ambition and thus gets deviated from the task and plans. A person trying to achieve something also needs to take care of these things and dedicate his deeds and results to his/her god. This goodwill returns to you only.