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Three years!

 As Alter Idem turns three today, I have been thinking about how it came to be......
It started out as one of the by-products of my lonely evenings, and continues to be that!

The name of the blog......
I had come across the term Alter Idem (meaning - 'the same, yet different') some years ago. It must have stayed in some corner of my mind. Because, it was one of the first names that came to me when I was thinking of a suitable name for my blog.

And, the picture on the header....
Travel anywhere in the Malnad between 8. a.m. & 10. a.m., and you will run into the cow/ goatherd with his wards. I have often wondered about the cowherd - have thought about how a profession that used to be represented by someone as multi-faceted as Lord Krishna has come to be represented by someone who's generally classified as 'good-for-nothing' !
Of course, they're a nuisance to other road users. But, then, there's something nice, peaceful and reassuring about the entire group as they go on with life at their own pace...... one of my favourite sights from my surroundings!

And, now, as always, the story.....

Once upon a time, the king of a certain land invites applications for the post of a minister. He narrows down the candidates to two. Undecided between the two, he sends them to his spiritual guru to make the final choice. After some hours, the guru, instead of bluntly saying 'you are chosen' , beats around the bush! He sends one candidate back with a sieve and the other, with a winnow. The baffled king seeks help from his cleverest minister. The minister seeks some time. While racking his brains at home, he notices his wife at work... she's cleaning grains & flour using a winnow and a sieve. It suddenly dawns on him - while using the winnow, the good is retained and the waste is discarded. While using the sieve, the good is filtered and the unwanted stuff is retained. He asks the king to appoint the man with the winnow.

You know, I usually share the first story that comes to my mind as I sit down to write the 'anniversary-post'. Strangely, 3 out of the 4 that I have shared belong to my school days!
 I had read this one as an illustrated story in 'Tinkle'.... a magazine for school kids brought out by the Amar Chitra Katha group when I was in my pre-teens.

 
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Comments

  1. Yamini13 November, 2012

    Happy birthday, Alter Idem!
    Next time I have to narrate a story in one of the boring moral education classes, this is the one I'm going to tell:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Soumya18 November, 2012

    Thanks, Yamini :)
    'Boring moral education classes'?? You know, I think you're lucky to have such 'chillaxing' breaks in between the regular classes!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yamini24 November, 2012

    "Chillaxing breaks"?! You'll know how mistaken you are if you attend one of them!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lakshmish Hegde26 November, 2012

    Congrates for completing 3 years :). And to know about shepherds we need to read 'The Alchemist'. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Soumya27 November, 2012

      Thanks, Lakshmish :)
      'The Alchemist' is more like a fable. Quite recently, I read a book called 'Goat Days' (Eng translation of the Malayalam 'AaDu jeevitham') - it is the real life story of an Indian forced to be a shepherd in the Middle East - an unhappy story told well...

      Delete
  5. https://wordpress.com/home/mukhamani.wordpress.com13 December, 2012

    keep on writing:) Amar Chitra katha brings back many happy memories. My ajja used to buy them for Ravi when he was very small, before he could read, I still remember him looking at the pictures and ajja telling him the stories, we would also listen though we had read them, it was fun to listen to ajja:) All the best.Lakshmi atte

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Soumya14 December, 2012


      Thanks for the wishes :)
      The blogging bug bit me after my first ever post
      http://e-chaavadi.blogspot.in/2009/05/hello.html
      Your encouraging words was the beginning :)

      Delete
  6. Sandhya10 January, 2013

    Congrats, on completing three! Hoping to many more posts :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Prateek Suryaprakash12 April, 2013

    Amar Chitra Katha was my favorite Pictured story book series in elementary classes.. :D And reading the previous comments, I agree with Yamini.. The moral education class is more of a headache than a 'chillaxing' break!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Soumya14 April, 2013

      I'm sure,you'll agree with me when you get older :)

      Delete

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