Remembering Father: Requiem for a great man 🙏

Sad to inform that my father passed away early morning on March 3, 2025. He passed away peacefully at home with mother and me by his side after a brief stay in the hospital. He had been unwell for couple of months. He was 90. After a restless sleep overnight, his breathing was labored. To soothe him I offered a prayer of his favorite Hindu God, Lord Hanuman. By the time I had finished the prayer his life had either ebbed out of him or was very close to ebbing out. His eyes were open and had a glazed, distant look. When breath became air, his face looked calm and he was in a better place, free of pain, and ready to meet His Maker after living a long, happy and good life 🙏

An unassuming and helpful man, dad departed the earthly life just as he had lived: in a quiet, dignified manner. To me how much power a person has is not as important as using the power in a positive way. Dad used his power in many ways to effect a positive outcome. Whether helping out pensioners with their queries or help clear obstacles to help them get their money, using his power as a school committee member to make learning a better experience for students, helping deserving students get admission, helping qualified teachers get an opportunity to teach, or using the power vested in him, as a gazette officer recognized by the Government, numerous were the ways he helped out others quietly, without expecting any gain in return👍 A devoted family man, he made sure he always had time for us. Towards the end of his long and fruitful career he even removed himself from consideration for promotion as that would have meant staying away from the family. I can’t dream of doing even a fraction of the good deeds that dad has done. He was very active till about couple of months ago, leading a very simple and disciplined life. His routine involved visiting couple of temples early morning in the community where he lived, followed by prayers at home, for the welfare of family and peace and prosperity for all. As news of his passing away reached members of the community, relatives, family friends and even acquaintances the first reaction was one of disbelief. Many were saying the sight of him return from temples’ visit in the morning, greeting them warmly with a smile, while they were on their way to work was such a familiar sight it was taken a sign all is well and normal in the world.😊 Many were unanimous in praising dad for his humility, knowledge and wisdom, love for reading and writing, knowledge and love of South Indian classical music, his keenness to share and help, and support and encouraging words for all. It was wonderful to see the love, affection and respect so many people had for dad expressed so sincerely. Left me wondering if I ever thanked him enough for all the kindness he showered on me, if I ever said sorry enough times when I might have sounded unintentionally harsh (of course he was always magnanimous and forgiving as he understood the intent), if I ever said I loved him enough times for all the unconditional love I received. Those regrets will remain with me. 😭 I posted on FB and my blog knowing about his love for reading and writing and his eyes always brightened with delight seeing my posts as he read my posts and commented with words of praise and encouragement 😊I will miss that too 😭

In the present tense while I am struggling to recover from the shock of dad not being around physically, it’s been a flood of emotions and memories that I am still processing through. The toughest thing has been to mention or even think about dad in the past tense. For a long time, I had not shed tears and the past few days I have been finding my eyes getting moist/watery with emotion frequently and I have even burst into tears a few times. I realize I must stay strong for my mom. Dad and mom were married in 1962 and stayed happily married for 62+ years till the time it was literally “till death do us part”. In addition to being blessed with the protective hand of both parents over my head until now, I was blessed to be near dad past few weeks and help out mom and dad just a wee bit. Both mom and dad were so grateful just for my presence. Even as his health was in decline dad was more worried about him being a burden, just for needing a bit of help. This despite my reminding him it was nothing compared to all he had done for me and our family and actually feeling blessed to be near him. Can’t help wondering if passing away was his last selfless act, in a life full of them, to avoid being a burden on anybody 😭
Dad – You may be gone physically, yet you will always remain in our hearts and continue blessing us from above 🙏

2024: A look back

The first weekend of 2025 has rolled in. What better time to look at the year that just went by: 2024! How does one define a year filled with moments that made one go “Really? Why?” only to arrive at “Yes. Of course.” as the conclusion/realization? IMHO the year 2024 can be summarized in just three words: Strange, yet familiar 🙏

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! 🎄

In keeping with the spirit of the season many cities and towns celebrate by putting up lights show for public viewing. 👍 Last week visited one locally in Madison, WI. As I drove around, little did I know that I was in for Capitol gains! 👏 Look at the picture and you will see what I mean! 👌

Was able to Capitalize on the opportunity by lining up the Capitol in lights with the actual Capitol building, the serene waters of Lake Monona acting as a great setting for the picture! Two trees, on either side of the Capitols, provided perfect frame for the picture! 👏 Couldn’t have asked for more! Hope your face lights up into a smile on seeing the picture. It sure did for me! 😊

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! 🎄

A century of journey! 🙏

Life is a journey. My journey began more than a century ago! Read on, if interested!

What does one do after more than 100 years of existence? Document the story of the journey, of course! 😊 My exact date of birth is not known but The Creator ordained 1915 as the year I appear in my current form. 🙏 It has been an interesting journey ever since. Let’s start from the beginning. The aviation age had just begun at that time, but I had a Rocky start. Nah, rocky not as in a rough patch, my journey began in Denver, at the foothills of the Rockies. I could very well have come into being in any other city or town, let’s say San Francisco or Philadelphia for example, but Denver is the place it was destined to happen. Humanity has witnessed 2 world wars since that time 😢and hopefully another world war doesn’t happen anytime ever. I remember people of that time telling me I was round-faced, bright and shining in my younger days. Maybe they were just being nice and polite, but I preferred to believe them. 😀 Over the years I have travelled coast to coast in the USA and everywhere in between. I have had experiences both good👍and bad 👎. I was too young to remember the First World War, but The Great Depression left a lasting impression. It was so severe I was left to pinching myself in disbelief during that period of time. 😭During the Second World War resources for the likes of me were limited and it took some steel to get through an especially tough year. I have also witnessed many boom times when there were opportunities and growth aplenty.👍 I am what my experiences made me. 🙏Some have treated me as if I were of no value while others have treasured me. 👏Stoic by nature I have gone about my life quietly, whether shunted into a corner or looked at with pride. Folks have found me to be bankable and it delights me to think I provided value. 🙏Non-political I am, nevertheless, I have the great Abe Lincoln’s image carved on me. 👌I would like to meet peers from my younger days but not many are in circulation anymore. I guess some are quite wrapped up in their own world and some may no longer be around. I wonder whether the youth of today will show respect or simply not be interested in our 2 cents if they see me with a peer of mine. Dull and boring I may appear now but I have aged reasonably well. Whether it’s the stress of modern times or a sedentary lifestyle I do not know, it’s sad to see that some of the younger ones of my kind have not aged well. Maybe it’s my constitution or just plain good luck, whatever it is I accept it gratefully.🙏One can’t be in mint condition forever, right? 😂I am now taken well care of by a person who respects my age and values the experiences I have gone through. It’s been a century of journey for me and even now I am readily available for anyone looking for some change! 😉For those interested in knowing who I am, I have been dropping crumbs of bread, made from wheat stalks etched on my being, all along the way to help you guess.😊 If the penny has not already dropped, let me reveal my identity: I am a humble, wheat penny minted in 1915! 🙏

P.S. Above piece is dedicated to numismatists and to all those whose intrinsic worth is more than what some others may think! 👍🙏

I = I + I + I + I – I

The dust is now settled after 2024 election. The results can be viewed, if you indulge me, in the cold light of the day, in the form of a simple equation:
I = I + I + I + I – I
Considering the aftermath following the 2020 election, the outcome of the 2024 election can be described in one word: Incredible
That’s the left side of the equation and the first “I”! (Interestingly the word aftermath contains both “after” and “math”!). Let’s now look at the right side of the equation:

1) Inflation – The second “I”: Reasons can be debated but there is no denying that inflation has risen sharply past few years. Pain of rising prices has been felt by everyone. Gas and Grocery (G&G) price increase can be a combustible combination resulting in voter volatility

2) Immigration – The third “I”: Illegal immigration has been an ongoing issue for a long time. Residents in border States especially have seen and felt the effects of it acutely, whether it is homelessness or rise in crime. Most immigrants are not bad, they come in looking for better future, but if the flow is not regulated it places a strain on the infrastructure and available opportunities. Unfortunately it’s treated as more of a political issue to use during elections than being addressed as a problem that needs a long-term solution with bipartisan support

3) Indictments – The fourth “I”: Multiple indictments appear to have the effect of prosecutions being viewed as persecutions

4) Ineffectiveness – The fifth “I”: The current administration was not able to effectively prosecute its case/s in the court of law and the court of public opinion

5) Introspection – The sixth “I”: Whether in victory or defeat a bit of self-analysis helps in finding what worked out well, what did not and if any course correction is needed. Put simply, Introspection. Sadly, political campaigns on the left or right generally tend to run along predictable lines, not reflecting much introspection

I try not to get euphoric or depressed with the results of any election. The candidate that gets the most votes (based on the rules) is the winner. Simple as that! Having said that the most disappointing thing for me in 2024 election is the fact that the most important case did not even make it to the court of law after what took place on January 6, 2021. To my simple mind, if the events of that day were unprecedented it just doesn’t make sense to look for precedence on how to proceed ahead. Unprecedented events require unprecedented action. The approach should have been top-bottom instead of the bottom-up, for justice, and action should have initiated immediately. Why?
1) In the immediate aftermath, memories remain fresh and the emotions real and raw
2) Going after the low-level participants first is like taking action against the foot soldiers who believed they were just taking orders from above.

Coming back to the equation “I = I + I + I + I – I”, it works logically. You would be surprised to know it works mathematically too! How can I be equal 3 x I? It’s true when I = 0. Why is it true in this instance? Well, irrespective of whoever wins, it generally makes zero difference directly in the life of a common person. We have to fight our own battles every day, while the politicians battle over definition of marriage and when does life begin. In the midst of those fights, let’s hope whatever actions they take impacts us positively. The 2024 elections were free of controversy, will hope that is a sign of good things to come 🙏

Civic duty fulfilled!

Fulfilled my civic duty today by casting my vote! Smile😊is in anticipation of break from back-to-back depressing campaign ads (after election day till campaign for next election cycle starts) that have been appearing non-stop for many months. This time the bombardment has been especially heavy with multiple political calls, texts and Emails evoking memories of war fought over air, land and water👎
Must temper my expectations though as my joy could be short-lived with election campaigns starting early and seemingly going on forever 😭
Like to end with a thought on a light note: If ads are supposed to be targeted, I shouldn’t be seeing any ads for this election from now on as I am done voting and any appeal for my vote is meaningless, what say? 😂

Raj Farm Memories 2024: Reflection – A personal view! 🙏

Creating “personal view” required playing with reflection, angles and natural light. When I first started, I was clear that the focus should be on the blackberries and the picture to speak for itself! I remembered that I had an old BlackBerry phone and wanted to use it as a label for the fruit. To make optimal use of daylight I placed the bowl of blackberries along with the BlackBerry phone so that sunlight through a glass door could light it bright and natural. However, I had not reckoned with the reflection of the phone, placed in the bowl, while taking a picture. There seemed to be no way of escaping it. I wondered why not use it to my advantage. I played with the reflection of the phone glass, angle, positioning of the bowl and the sunlight and you see the end result! Image of yours truly acting as a silhouette with the main focus still remaining on the blackberries ensuring “Apple not missing the blackberries for The Raj”. Or should it be “Blackberry not missing the blackberries for The Raj” 😊

The C Reaper!

This summer,
In a wonderful place,
Filled with lovely flowers, sweet berries, fresh veggies, flavorful herbs…..
Be prepared for the arrival of The C Reaper! 🪴

More scary that the ghost,
Stinging more than the scorpions,
Developed by legendary hot pepper breeder Ed Currie, 👍
Presented by The Raj Farm, 🙏
It’s hot, it’s intense, it’s a Scoville chartbuster! 👏

Take a bite, feel the burn 🔥
Are you ready for the knock out by the Carolina Reaper? 🌶

Two footlongs please! 🙏

Went for a walk this evening. As I was passing a shop looked at the sign outside. It read “RG’s farm fresh salads and sandwiches! 😋”. Entered the shop.

Shop Person (SP): RG’s farm fresh salads and sandwiches. What would you like to have, sir? 🙏
Me: Two footlongs please! 🙏
SP: What type of bread would you like? White, Wheat or Italian?
Me: Not footlong bread! What is foot long, cool and chill?
SP: Got you! 😊 You mean footlong cucumber salad, right?
Me: Yep, you got that right! 👍
SP: What would you like with the cucumber, in the salad?
Me: Tomato, parsley and basil!
SP: Excellent choice. Anything else in the salad?
Me: Nope, just make sure all the veggies are farm fresh 🙏
SP: Sure, we source our veggies from The Raj Farm. Our customers think their veggies are the best! 👌
Me: Thank you! 🙏
SP: Here’s something that will make you smile while I prepare the salad! 😊
(The shop person quickly arranged the salad veggies to form a smiley face 😊)
Me: That’s cool! 😊

The salad was prepared quickly and handed over. One bite later I was convinced it was the most delicious salad I ever had 👌

Me (in appreciation): Man, the salad is awesome! 👏 Thank you so much! 🙏
SP: You are welcome 🙏, it’s the love that goes into growing the veggies at The Raj Farm and the care and love that goes into making each salad and sandwich at RG’s 🙏