Author Dr S Padmapriya

                    ‘Bharat Ratna’ Thiru. M.G.R.                       Dr.S.Padmapriya, Ph.D.                      Writer and Thinker, Chennai Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran popularly known as M.G.R. went on to become one of the most dominating personalities of Tamilnadu state in India. He served as the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu between 1977 and 1987. He was awarded the highest honour of India, the Bharat Ratna award, posthumously in 1988. All this did not happen by chance.      It happened after a long and illustrious career in Tamil cinema, wherein M.G.R. acted in a variety of roles right from a farmer, to a soldier to a family person...to a saviour and many other roles. It was through tremendous talent and hard work that M.G.R. built himself into one of the enduring great personalities of Tamil cinema and of the Tamil political scene. He was a contemporary of the insuperable actor, Thiru. Sivaji Ganesan and the romantic hero, Gemini Ganesan in Tamil cinema.    The story o

Sharing one of my humorous poems about money..  Where Money Counts  The coins jingle,  The corpse talks,  For it, they jump,  From hill tops.   Friends, relatives,   They bid farewell,   On its return, they ask,   'Are you well?'    When pockets are full,    Shortcomings are forgotten,    When jewels flash,    Despicable souls are forgiven.   Is it the director's baton?   Or the magician's wand?   It matters,   Or we?  Dr.S.Padmapriya

Alligator on my bed   I could not believe that it was happening to me. Here I was, lying on my cot after waking up on a Sunday morning, staring into the eyes of an alligator! I guessed it was an American alligator. I had seen one in the Madras Crocodile Bank. I had also seen a few on National Geographic channel.        My initial thought was that I was just hallucinating. I attributed my ‘hallucination’ to a diabetic condition, which I was suffering from. But I was wrong. The only other ‘alligator’ with whom I had ever shared my bed was my husband but that ‘alligator’ had gone abroad for a week on official business. I just couldn’t believe that all these things were happening to me and I began to shake my head. “This can’t be happening to me. It can’t be true,” I said to myself. But well it was.  Meanwhile, the alligator was continuing to look at me. For a minute, my silly mind told me that it was the alligator, which was scared and not me. But that spurt of madness within me d

Dr.S.PADMAPRIYA   Dr.S.Padmapriya was born in Tamilnadu in India in 1982. She has an illustrious academic track record, which culminated in a Doctorate degree in Economics at the age of 28, from the University of Madras. She has taught Economics at various academic levels for some time but her first love has always been writing. In addition, she possesses some administrative and research experience as well. She was also the Principal-in-Charge of Vedantha Pre-University College in Bangalore for a couple of months. She did her Ph.D. under UGC-JRF National Research Fellowship. Dr.S.Padmapriya is a multifaceted personality, who loves to write, draw and sing. She began writing poems in English at the age of seven, when she was residing in Bangladesh. Her first published poem was ‘The Peepal Tree’ in the international poetry journal ‘Poet’, published from Chennai, India in the year 1997, when she was 15. ‘Poet’ was edited and published by Padma Bhushan Dr.Krishna Srinivas, then Presiden

Diwali A beautiful Indian day, Celebrating with sweets, colours and lights, The return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya, A strenuous yoga, To uphold a father’s commitment, And a mother’s intent! As fireworks light up the night sky, On Narakachaturdashi*, We are reminded of Valmiki, The great writer-rishi*, The divine composer of ‘Ramayana’! Character is destiny, With the greatest character, Lord Ram made history, Sita is the epitome of chastity, Ram is the epitome of integrity, Together, they made the perfect 'jodi'*! Lord Ram reminds us of Valour and humility, Kindness and integrity, The battles between Good and Evil are many, Evil is very mighty, But hold on to the path of virtue, Good shall obliterate evil with certainty! S.Padmapriya #footnotes: *Narakachaturdashi: The day falls on Chaturdashi of the Krishna Paksha in the Vikram Samvat calendar month of Ashvin. *rishi: sage in Samskrit language *jodi: couple or pair {in Hindi language

Two of my poems and a short story have been published in volume 9.2 of WEC.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2566334453642444&id=100007977420936

Mongoose Celebrated in ancient Mesopotamia, Even in old Babylonia, A symbol in the picture of Dzambala, Held in the hand by Lord Kubera, Presented as heroes in prefecture Okhinawa! Small and powerful, Energetic and resourceful, Native of Eurasia and Africa, Found quite a bit in India! Brave and agile, Sensitive and docile, Whatever be the stakes, It will fight with venomous snakes! To save from dreaded kraits, Every Home and Country, Needs a good 'Rikki-Tikki-Tavi', The one with unique traits! Now, don't fume and fret, Think about what has been written, Get your mind clearly set, When you want a new pet! S.Padmapriya

Ode to Kerala Decked up in the fragrance of a million myriad hues of forest flowers....steeped in verdant mysteries of ancient history..... blessed by the oceans and the seas......South Indian beauty beyond compare. First born of God's earthy children. Born from the compassion of The Heavens. Looked after by passion incarnate nature...soaked in the splendorous waterfalls and rivers. Bathed in the warmth of surreptitious sunlight...Kerala, with one foot in the waters and the other on the sands... land of Mahabali, great asura king mentioned in the Matsya Purana....sent to the netherworld on the orders of Vishnu avatara, Vamana. Praised land of backwaters stretching to the length of imagination from the seas into prurient human hearts....muse of poets..... blessed by water in every form and girth... river.. falls..rain...and sea! Have you not over endowed your first born? Have you been partial, my God, And made Kerala more beautiful than the rest? Nature has given this fla

P.Chidambaram - former Home and Finance minister of India has been lodged in Tihar Jail.

The Years The years have brought me, Wisdom, And white hair. The years have taught me, That life is not fair, But we may be fair to it. The years have fought with me, As I fought off, Evil temptations. The years have enchanted me, With stories that I thought,  I would never come across. The years told me, That the waiting years are weary, But worth-while. The years have taught me that all Are imposters, Only memories remain... The years told me, It is easy to become evil and fall, But difficult to be good and rise. But that the latter is possible and more precious. The years have taught me, That one may be made to fall, But rising is in our hands. The years have taught me not to let dreams die, Keep holding on long enough, And watch them come alive. Dr.S.Padmapriya

   Sunlight   The sun beams into my room,   Making its passage,   Through the wide open windows.   The room fills with light,    Illuminating the caverns of darkness,    Of the mind.    Hopes fatten in the warmth,    I want to live more,    And give more.    Spreading myself on the cold floor,    I take out my poetry notebook,    To write more.    I praise Ra,    The Sun God,    And sing aloud.   The sunbeams meander,   Through caverns of delusions,   Streaming light, once more.    Dr. S.Padmapriya, Ph.D.

Today, I am the featured poet at 'Tuesdays with the Bard' at Cafe Urban Solace, Ulsoor,Bengaluru. The programme is at 8 p.m. All are welcome.

Happy Madras Day  August 22nd!

                                                    When Capitalism is a failure                                                               Dr.S.Padmapriya There are two market systems with which we are all familiar. The first is capitalism and the second is communism.     Under capitalism, wherein the means of production, which include buildings, materials and machines are in the hands of private people, the forces of demand and supply determine price. Price fluctuates as per the market forces, which appear to be self- correcting. A higher quantity demanded forces the price to rise. A lower quantity demanded forces the price to fall. Demand appears to be reflective of the spirit of the market and the buying power of the customers. Under communism, wherein the means of production are in the hands of the government, prices and wages are regulated by the government. Minimum and maximum wages are often fixed.       Capitalism is a success in those countries, where wage and pri

My people, be Strong, In a mighty mind, And a mighty body, Lives a mighty soul. Moral force is the greatest, It rids of problems severest. Gone in a jiffy, Life’s  anxieties and tyranny. Chanakya, the great scholar, Wrote, Material well being leads to spiritual well being, When one is wanting and hungry, One cannot think of spirituality. Brain is mightier than brawn, Sometimes brawn is mightier than brain. Both are essential for happiness, For success. My people, be strong, Invest in a mighty mind and body, Harvest a mighty soul of energy, Be indestructible, By being able, Vanquish troubles with valour, Destroy all tyranny, injustice, oppression, falsehood, Come out with flying colour. Dr.S.Padmapriya

The Little One                                                   By Dr.S.Padmapriya           Years ago, there lived an adorable little girl, who had the heart of gold. Being kind-hearted and warmth-exuding, she spread a wee little bit of sunshine wherever she went. Preetha was in Grade One. Her best friend was Sai, who herself did not know that she was Preetha’s best friend. The reason behind this one-sided friendship was that Preetha loved Sai but had never had the courage to tell that to Sai. Preetha was quite ordinary looking and dull in studies. On the other hand, Sai was very good in mathematics, a subject in which she herself was just about average. Preetha pined for Sai often and wanted to announce her friendship with Sai but she was very shy. Preetha’s little mind could never convince her that Sai, the genius in maths could ever be her friend.  Preetha was not particularly good in anything and was certain that her other classmates would consider it audacious if she woul

Safety of Women in India By Dr.S.Padmapriya , Thinker and Writer                                                                          Bangalore, India The people of a country are its most precious jewels. The safety and security of its women, children and men is of paramount importance.                   On the 1 st of January, 2017, India woke up to disturbing news; the news of mass molestation in Bangalore on the eve of New Year in public space and also the news of a 19 year old woman who was assaulted and molested by a gang of unruly men. So, what does all this mean? It means that women are not safe in India.   Where does the problem lie? It is time for introspection.      The main reasons and the respective solutions are as follows. In my opinion, the first main cause is a culture of bad parenting in India, which in turn is a result of the dominance of Traditions over Rationality. The male children are given greater importance as compared to their female counterpa

‘Netaji - The respected leader’ (A tribute to Subhas Chandra Bose, the great Indian Freedom Fighter) Great advocate of India’s unconditional Independence Born in Cuttack in erstwhile Bengal province A man who lived true to his own words  – “Only on the soil of sacrifice And sufferings can we raise our National edifice.” He cleared the Indian Civil Services but Resigned in protest. Illegitimate rule he did Resist. He killed his days of youth so that Indian children could play in the garden of ecstatic Freedom and breathe the engaging air of justice Writer and editor became leader. In the unforgettable Tamil leader,  Muthuramalinga Thevar He found a staunch admirer and because of him, All India Forward Bloc in the south found great favour. His escape to Germany in perilous Times speaks about the glory of a man, who Because of an indomitable vision in his head Lived light years ahead. He travelled from nation to nation, With dreams of his Mother’s emanci

Let there be light, Let there be fury, Let there be truth, Let there be an end to hypocrisy. S. Padmapriya

Time Machine If you can effortlessly traverse, Be in the present, Move to the future, Slide into the past and return, You are a Time Machine! If you can tie yourself to ideas, Rather than to people or things, Be more hopeful than dismal, You are a Time Machine! If you have ideas to change the world, And know the know-how, And successfully go about doing them, You are a Time Machine! If you can pause, Every now and then, De-stress and move on, You are a Time Machine! If you can escape at will, From foolish thoughts plaguing your inner space, And life-dance as per your whims and fancy, You are a Time Machine! If you can get up each day, And celebrate being alive, And plan your next good deed, You are a Time Machine! S.Padmapriya

The Economics of Higher Education in India Dr.S.Padmapriya, Ph.D. (Economics) Writer and thinker, Vasanth Vallabh Nagar, Bangalore        The   World Bank defines Tertiary education (further education plus higher education) as including universities and institutions that teach specific capacities of higher learning such as colleges, technical training institutes, community colleges, nursing schools, research laboratories, centres of excellence and distance learning centres. Tertiary education at non-degree level is known as further education. In India, as is the prevalent custom in many other countries, the term ‘Higher education’ does not include further education. Higher education also known as post-secondary education   include undergraduate   and   postgraduate education , which culminates in the awarding of a degree. Higher education does not include vocational education.        India is a highly populous country of over 1.3 billion people. India with 356 m

A fragrance is wafting, In the early morning sun, Its leaves are swaying, Movements are synchronizing. Little hamlets living in peace, No meandering through noisy streets, In each bud and leaf, There is a tiny monastery. In the company of other flowers, The joys leak to a distant future, Which man foresees, To the bottom of a worthy past. Silvery pale, Moon’s shadow on a pool, Little bulbs, Each depicting an image, Insuperable beauties; Tiny tresses of hair, green leaves, green cuts. In their animated world, There is no hegemony, anarchy, They had been abjured, defied, All that there is, Is simple harmony. In my blissful oblivion, They hear my steps, Bow their heads, As if to hide from me, And from all society. S.Padmapriya

Dr. S. Padmapirya Behold! The creative fort covered by leaves, With the background of the heavenly aura called sky, There lie the agile genuine foresters of soft and fresh colours, Living in harmony with the warps and wefts of the weavers; the spiders, Listening to the thrushing song of the feathered singer, Surrounded by sounds of wringling benignity, With abundance, which always abounds, I watch a glitter of smile on the yellow wood, Which looks like gold. My First collection of poems, which was published in 2003