Finest Post-'April Winner'

Dear all,

First of all, thank you Jey for nominating this splendid piece of original writing for the Finest Posts. It takes quality to recognise quality, and you have rekindled attention and interest in a post valuable to all women.

And Shanti, what more can I say or add except congrats?! The accolades pouring in show how much readership your post has. Above all, I can only imagine the lives it has touched and improved.

My fellow moderator Kamla has said all that there is to be said. Still, since this is the appreciation thread and time-

Thanks a million- all ILItes who nominated posts for this contest. All your nominations are winners. If one taught us the joys of fatherhood in a busy day and intersection, while another taught us the joys of accepting Vedantha in its true spirit, while yet another spoke of the need for a separate pooja room- each and every post had a message that made us better human beings. Thank you for drawing our attention to these posts.

A special mention and thanks to our resident writer Varalotti Rengasamy who set the pace for making this contest all about magnanimity and happiness.By voluntarily and willingly withdrawing his posts from this contest, he has taught us the lesson that it is not winning that matters. Our special thanks to our valuable resource persons Mrs ChitVish and Cheeniya for their similar gestures. We learn from all of you with every post you make.

To Induslady who sparked this contest- thanks. The word is so small when we use it for your wonderful contributions and encouragement.

To all our gracious ILites- we wish/want all of you to nominate ceaselessly for the Finest Posts contest. This is a contest that can survive if and only if you all cull out the gems and present them to us. Sometimes, a sterling post goes unnoticed in the traffic. Please let us not allow that to happen. Nominate and nominate and then nominate again.

I also feel that just because Mrs Chitvish,Varalotti Rengasamy and Cheeniya have graciously withdrawn their posts from active competition- it need not mean that their posts should not be nominated, read and enjoyed again. If you feel that their posts are fine, go ahead and nominate. We will atleast have the pleasure of enjoying and learning from them again.

Reach back, all of us, and pat ourselves on our back!

See you all in May nominations.

regards
Vidya

Congratulations Shanthi for having won the contest! Hope to see more such pieces in the near future.

hello


april mazhathuligal
unthan kaattil
adai mazhayaay kottugirathe..
ninaithathai mai kondu
varainthida..
nalla oru seithiyaay palarum
ninaikka
vazhthukkal kuviya
april mazhaithuli enrume sugam..

vaazthukkal

sathya

Dear Shanthi
Hearty Congratulations !
A very well deserved win.
You have won our hearts with your practical and focussed thoughts.

Best wishes
Honeybee

Hello Shanthi,

CONGRATULATIONS - Your post truly is the best! It deserves all the accolodes the IL'ites have given here.

Kamla & Vidya have mentioned all good about your post. What more can I add? I only want to tell you it has changed and would be changing lives of many women who would be reading it. Every word in your posts out of experience, care and love for the fellow IL'ites here will bring so much meaning and light to the lives of those who read it. Though it is hard to put everything into practise atleast it gives a good guideline to what needs to be done to live our life for ourselves too.

Kuddos to you Shanthi, keep more such posts coming and remember you are going to be blessed by every reader of your post. It makes a difference!

HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS...once again.

Malathy

Dear Shanti
Shake hands :)
i can just say golden rules are being followed by me sincerly .

hi shanthi,
A very hearty congratulations to you for winning the finest post.Looking forward to more such posts from you.

Hi Malathy,
Thank you so much for your wishes. For the past couple of days I have been so lucky to receive wishes and blessings from the 'Jambavans' of IL. I feel so overwhelmed. I am no writer, but the response for this posting has given me a small sample of how much impact writing can have on many lives and the joy that comes with helping someone who is a total stranger to you.

A couple of years ago when I was a young stay at home mom with a baby I was scouring the internet to find a forum for Indian women. I found a lot of forums for american women. But it just wasn't the same. Then I found indusladies.

I found comfort and solace in this forum with my fellow sisters. And I dearly prayed to GOD to bless the person who made all this happen. That is you. So thank you so much. You have made a difference in so many lives, including mine, and I am so glad I got a chance to thank you personally.

Love

Originally Posted by induslady

Hello Shanthi,

CONGRATULATIONS - Your post truly is the best! It deserves all the accolodes the IL'ites have given here.

Kamla & Vidya have mentioned all good about your post. What more can I add? I only want to tell you it has changed and would be changing lives of many women who would be reading it. Every word in your posts out of experience, care and love for the fellow IL'ites here will bring so much meaning and light to the lives of those who read it. Though it is hard to put everything into practise atleast it gives a good guideline to what needs to be done to live our life for ourselves too.

Kuddos to you Shanthi, keep more such posts coming and remember you are going to be blessed by every reader of your post. It makes a difference!

HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS...once again.

Malathy

Sathya,
Mikka nandri. Kavithai moolam vazhthu solli ennai perumai paduthi vittergal. Ungal thirmaiku thalaivanangugirean!

Originally Posted by sathya

hello


april mazhathuligal
unthan kaattil
adai mazhayaay kottugirathe..
ninaithathai mai kondu
varainthida..
nalla oru seithiyaay palarum
ninaikka
vazhthukkal kuviya
april mazhaithuli enrume sugam..

vaazthukkal

sathya

Hello Sridhar Sir,
or should I say dear brother! You are one of the most elite of the ILites. And to get wishes from you, a great writer I am so honoured! This post not only gave me a chance to share my ideas with other women, but has also earned me the friendship of Jambavans like you. I consider myself a good reader. Not a writer. But I think I have tasted the feeling of being able to help or affect other people's lives by our letters. I have been appreciated and encouraged by so many people here. I will keep writing and hopefully improve myself. I do not have much creativity, but personal experiences I have loads that I can share. When I talk with my friends we jokingly say that we should put down all that we are talking about in a book and that will be a best seller. Maybe I will one day, thanks to your suggestion, what I once considered a joke has become something more substantial.
This is our first correspondance. But I have read so much of your work.Secretly I was hoping that you will give me a feedback on my post. But I found out that you had just gone on vacation( beginning of April ). So you can imagine how thrilled I am to get your wishes and blessings.
I didn't know that Jey, who nominated me for the first time was a man until recently. I am so surprised to see men in this forum with so much valuable contributions. I guess you are the guys who help us have faith in the opposite sex. And I can come up with 'Golden Rules for men'! You just give us women in IL a chance and we will 'help' guys come up with set of rules.
I read one of your articles about a father feeding his kids in an auto and how it affected you. Everytime I see my husband feeding our taking care of our "pretty independant and stubborn" toddler, patiently, getting down to her level, wearing her crown and stickers and pottu I find tears in my eyes. At that moment he seems more of a man to me than at any other time.
I have some questions regarding men in general and I will get back to you regarding that. Maybe you could help us understand the men in our lives better.
I have a sister but I have always wanted a big brother. Now I have found one.
Thank you for your wishes anna.
Love,
Shanthi.

Originally Posted by varalotti

Dear Shanthi,
My only sister's name is Shanthi and so as I greet you I am overwhelmed with feelings of brotherly love.

There were many firsts with your finest post, Shanthi.

For starters it was the very first nomination of the season.

Second, though you had given golden rules for women, the post was nominated by a man. (In fact I only wish if some men here in this forum were kind enough to post some golden rules for us, men).

But to cap it all there was something unique with your post. May be you were authentic. May be your source of inspiration was wisdom gained by experience. Or may be you hit the nail so exactly on its head that the nail went in all the way to its destination with just a single strike.

Please accept my hearty congratulations. And one more suggestion from your elder brother.

In your post I could see the seed of a book. Start elaborating on the rules and give more of your personal experiences and the real-life incidents. You have a best seller with you.

Writing a book on this subject is not for your personal glory; but as a service to so many women who think they are trapped in their marriages, in their lives.

Best of Luck,

with affectionate regards,
sridhar