A toast to Kamalji!

Some are born to celebrate, not just celebrate but keep celebrating ceaselessly. They just look for some excuse or other to launch a massive celebration. If they catch a mouse with the traditional bait of Masal Vada, it is reason enough for them to call a few friends to the club and clink their glasses! I know a chap who celebrated in a big way a news item that an 80 year old man became a father somewhere in China! When this chap’s inquisitive friends pestered him with questions like how that could be a reason for any celebration, he simply said that he was celebrating his newly acquired knowledge that a man could be productive till 80! If you are a club bird like me, you could observe some celebration or other going on in every table across you for very trivial reasons.

If you are of the view that these tendencies to celebrate good tidings are typical of the century we are living in, let me assure you that I too subscribed to such a faulty view till recently. Then I chanced upon a great discovery that our celebrative instinct dated back to the Kritha and Thretha yugas! If you are not too familiar with the Yugas, let me tell you that they were the days of the First Epic Raamaayana! At the suggestion of a well-intentioned friend of mine, I have taken up reading of the Sundara Kandam of Raamaayana every day. This Kanda is all about Lord Hanuman flying to Lanka in search of Sita. He succeeds in his endeavour and after his meeting with Sita, he sets Lanka on fire and kills a number of Ravana’s able generals. He then hastens to Kishkinda to appraise his King Sugriva and Rama of the news about his conversation with Sita. On the way, he descends at the Mahendra Mountain where his peers including Jambavan and Angadha are anxiously waiting for his return. The news of Hanuman’s meeting with Sita and his exploits in Lanka fill every one with joy. This certainly calls for celebration and who authorizes it? None other than Hanuman himself supported by Angadha and Jambavan! These are Hanuman’s words: “Friends! You go on consuming as much Madhu (Honey) as you want without any hesitation. I am here to drive away those who come to restrain you!” And the whole chapter deals with the merriment of Hanuman’s friends. And when the news of the destruction of the Royal Vineyard in this process reaches the King Sugriva, he grins ear to ear and says “I am very much pleased with them! Their conduct after achieving success in their Mission is according to my wish!”

After reading this, I was much intrigued. I then went through Greek and Roman mythologies and found that some of the celebrations dated back thousands of years! It is no wonder that the urge to celebrate is in our genes and only the grouchy ones are the exceptions really. But then the question may arise if the mood elevating intoxicants have to be necessarily an integral part of a celebration. The answer to this would appear to be an emphatic yes judging from the fact that it has been endorsed even by the austere living Hanumanji. Many would argue that if a get together is called for celebrating an occasion, you can not start it with mere soup! They would even add that the success of a party would mainly depend on the inebriation of the male members.

Many of you may not be aware of the fact that many eminent men have supported consumption of intoxicants. "A bar is better than a newspaper for public discussion." said Jim Parker. "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer." was how Abraham Lincoln summed up the power of the people. The inimitable Frank Sinatra sums it up in his own inimitable way- "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." If you think that people who drink may never become introspective you must hear the words of Jack Handy in his book Deep Thought "Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed - Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.'"

The chappie with the greatest tendency to celebrate in our community is of course Kamalji. It is very difficult not to warm up to him when he talks of the celebrations that he is planning! The Kamaljis of the world are the reason that most of us would want to live for a hundred years. Whenever the thought of my exit from this world strikes me I think of the things I’ll miss most! The rain, the flowers, the music of the mountains and the exuberance of friends like Kamalji. To them, here is an old Irish Toast :

"May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead."

Hi Sri,

A good one on celebrating. now somebody i know is going to justify for trying to have a toast...you are quoting too many justifications...too bad for me..

Here is my toast to all my friends here....(ofcourse it is strictly..glass of juice...).may you all live long with the same sense of humour and bonding....

Though toasting a celebration is fine..but i know people just waiting to find reasons for celebrating ..what about that....

Originally Posted by shanvy

Hi Sri,

A good one on celebrating. now somebody i know is going to justify for trying to have a toast...you are quoting too many justifications...too bad for me..

Here is my toast to all my friends here....(ofcourse it is strictly..glass of juice...).may you all live long with the same sense of humour and bonding....

Though toasting a celebration is fine..but i know people just waiting to find reasons for celebrating ..what about that....

Dear Shanthi
It is very nice of you to have toasted for our 'bonding' in IL. It is very dear to my heart too! They are compulsive celebrators! They spend half their time celebrating and the remaining half in finding reasons for further celebrations!
Sri

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

Firstly let me raise a toast to the arrival of this post . Wow been waiting for some time for this.

Your post was excellent and a lovely trip from Trethayug to Kalyug. Awesome. Lovely humour which of course is your strength.

When I find these celebrations in club I find it more among septugenarias and octogenarians ,I guess they have got more reasons to celebrate.

Actually life itself is a celebration, Each moment is a bonus you get so make the most of it.
Sir the quote from Jake Handy in the Deep thought is very amusing to say the least.I can imagine a million people agreeing with him.Maybe I can gift the book to a lot of them but i doubt whether they would be in a condition for deep thought.

Kamalji of course , is definitely the celebrator here.Im sure he loves to celebrate and more so after this post ,he'll have so many celebrations and clinks and cheers that i think he'd soon resemble a fish and a hilsa one at that!! What say Kamalji??You can of course raise a toast to that!!

Sir Lovely post!! Worth the wait!!

Love,
Your Mol

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

Very interesting and enjoyable post!

As you say, it is these upbeat "celebratory" people who sometimes make us wonder what we missed celebrating in our life!

Well, I am guilty, if you may say so, of celebrating Friday evenings! I just love them. Friday evenings make me feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my head and hence a big enough cause to celebrate. Though my celebration is limited to eating a good dinner and watching a good movie!

I had of course heard of Sundara Kanda but never really knew the details. Nice to know that Pawansuta Hanuman himself approves of intoxicants as a staple part in a celebration. Now, this "fact" is going to make my husband let out a triumphant sigh!

Over here(in the US), even the rare breed of people who do not "drink" serve drinks when they throw a party. Like you said, drinks are a major attraction in any party.

I could not agree more with you on Kamalji's indefatigable spirit in this regard. I guess if I stay in his vicinity for a few days, I might even begin to start my day with BL rather than a cup of tea! This is how infectious his personality seems to be!

I can hear the popular celebration song " Celebrate good times, come on" playing in my mind. I guess today seems like a day for celebration - celebration for nothing really, perhaps for just being here and having read this nice post! Sounds like a good enough reason to me!

SS

Originally Posted by Devika Menon

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

Firstly let me raise a toast to the arrival of this post . Wow been waiting for some time for this.

Your post was excellent and a lovely trip from Trethayug to Kalyug. Awesome. Lovely humour which of course is your strength.

When I find these celebrations in club I find it more among septugenarias and octogenarians ,I guess they have got more reasons to celebrate.

Actually life itself is a celebration, Each moment is a bonus you get so make the most of it.
Sir the quote from Jake Handy in the Deep thought is very amusing to say the least.I can imagine a million people agreeing with him.Maybe I can gift the book to a lot of them but i doubt whether they would be in a condition for deep thought.

Kamalji of course , is definitely the celebrator here.Im sure he loves to celebrate and more so after this post ,he'll have so many celebrations and clinks and cheers that i think he'd soon resemble a fish and a hilsa one at that!! What say Kamalji??You can of course raise a toast to that!!

Sir Lovely post!! Worth the wait!!

Love,
Your Mol

Dear Mol
Kamalji resembling a hilsa fish? That itself calls for a big celebration! Kamalji is such a transparent guy that we can see his heart from a kilometer away ticking joyfully for his friends!
You are very right about the older one gets the greater will be his zest for celebrations. Each moment is a bonus as you say particularly when one gets older. So is the need to celebrate!
People who drink can at times do get into such depths of thought that it will require the fire service personnel to pull them out to reality!
Thanks for all the nice things you have said about me!
Sri

Originally Posted by soaringspirit

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

Very interesting and enjoyable post!

As you say, it is these upbeat "celebratory" people who sometimes make us wonder what we missed celebrating in our life!

Well, I am guilty, if you may say so, of celebrating Friday evenings! I just love them. Friday evenings make me feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my head and hence a big enough cause to celebrate. Though my celebration is limited to eating a good dinner and watching a good movie!

I had of course heard of Sundara Kanda but never really knew the details. Nice to know that Pawansuta Hanuman himself approves of intoxicants as a staple part in a celebration. Now, this "fact" is going to make my husband let out a triumphant sigh!

Over here(in the US), even the rare breed of people who do not "drink" serve drinks when they throw a party. Like you said, drinks are a major attraction in any party.

I could not agree more with you on Kamalji's indefatigable spirit in this regard. I guess if I stay in his vicinity for a few days, I might even begin to start my day with BL rather than a cup of tea! This is how infectious his personality seems to be!

I can hear the popular celebration song " Celebrate good times, come on" playing in my mind. I guess today seems like a day for celebration - celebration for nothing really, perhaps for just being here and having read this nice post! Sounds like a good enough reason to me!

SS

Dear SS
You have indeed surprised me with a quick FB and what a pleasant one at that!
The upbeat celebratory people are really 'upwardly mobile' people in a literal sense. As the famous actor Dean Martin said these people needed something to hold on to for support even when they were lying flat. They,being upwardly mobile, have this contant fear that they might fly off into space if they had nothing to hold on to!

Your brand of Friday celebrations is typical of the members of a Sat Sangh! And if my revelations about the approval of Hanumanji makes your hubby dear to sigh triumphantly, you may catch it and put it on You Tube as motivation for less enterprising hubbies the world over!

From what you say, it looks imminent that the Tea Board will be up in arms against Kamalji. Thanks to him, more Scotch is consumed in India than being made in Scotland!

With IL, every day is celebration time for some reason or other!
Sri

I too raise a toast to Kamalji. Having met him I can say he is as open and honest as his posts. A man who truly loves his life and his family and his friends.

Heres to you Kamalji !

Ita afternoon so only coffee !

Santosh

Originally Posted by uncannybal

I too raise a toast to Kamalji. Having met him I can say he is as open and honest as his posts. A man who truly loves his life and his family and his friends.

Heres to you Kamalji !

Ita afternoon so only coffee !

Santosh

Amen Santosh but wont it be inconvenient to raise a cup of coffee in toast? And will Kamal approve? He has never mentioned coffee in any of his posts so far. Please reconsider your decision!
Sri

Dear Cheensaar,

See that you are in a celebrating mood yourself??!...Well well, three cheers to that:)

Been waiting for sometime to read your post and this one surely warms the heart:) Nice to see one popular ILite singing praises..or..should it be toasting...another ILite with such gusto!

The strangest thing is who thought I'd learn about Sundarakandam when the bubblies of the world are being acknowledges so warmly?!

Ha ha, can only happen in your blog...cheers to that..
Hmm...looks like my German living has left its mark on me!! Hick hick !!!

Jokes aside, it feels really good to witness such camaraderie between ILites...this surely is a bonding experience.

L, Kamla