Mugilan and Venmathi

 

They met when they were 10 and 11

Two magnets circling around - bumping in and drifting off
Like and unlike poles - Pulsating ever on the bad side

Rights and wrongs - Brewing up a storm 
They didn't claim each other
The world claimed them
Then they disappeared
Lost 

in a maze owned by charlatans and clowns
Cast aside

with constructs burnt off, convictions melted away
They learned 

Broken but not bent 

When it's time, they met 

Their egos peeled off to reveal the spirit

He the social warrior, she the factory owner

Government school teacher met the institution he fought against
The Universe took them back
The Universe tricked the clock
They met in a space out of time
And, with a look they claimed each other

The story has but started now
An adventure awaits them
Now they stand together, hands clasped tight
Together, the sound of a storm dissolves into an ancient beat
Music for a cosmic dance that transcends time
Together, the blank chapters await to be written
Ready for their story tracing eternity and beyond...

Mid day interview

 

Mid day - New year conversation with Sajithra

What made you participate in the beauty pageant?

A national pageant is a powerful platform. Platforms like this offer a better view and access. I considered this my moment to step into the light. There was a pull from the fashion industry before but I had other priorities then. I felt that it was finally time.

Are you planning to get into movies or modelling?

One script discussion is going on. It’s a strong subject and I wish I could tell you more but that’s at a very nascent stage. I have done theatre and was quite active writing and directing plays during my school and college days. So, it does play to my strengths. I am also discussing with one brand to plan an Ad shoot. However, I am not in a hurry. I am writing a book for Manushyaputhiran's Uyirmai publications. There's a lot to do in 2022 and I need to prioritise well.   

You are coming from a strong academic background. So why beauty contest?

I don’t believe in absolutes. We can contribute better if we align and adapt. This platform offers access. That access is agnostic of the opportunities it can crack open. Arts and science have the same intent – make sense of the world, nurture a new view, and communicate that. From STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering. Mathematics) we are moving towards a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) model. The fashion industry is also part of this shift. Leonardo Da Vinci, the best role model for interdisciplinary learning said “To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.”

 

What is your message to young women?

Believe in yourself. Examine everything, including what I am saying now. We don’t really know if what we share with you is based on our experience and wisdom or merely a product of our bias. There's no rigid path. What matters is knowing your purpose of life and having the courage to make the right choices that align with that, no matter the short term costs. As long as you try to be a decent human being who treats others the way you would like to be treated, those choices will not harm anyone else. Be kind to yourself and the world around you. Tolerate your mistakes and keep moving forward. All the best!

Sajithra K has 15 years of cross functional experience leading IT Innovation (HP, Bell Labs, her start- up Buzzmerize, Alcatel-Lucent (Now Nokia), Altisource, Unilever etc.). She has published two books, one an anthology of her poems ‘Trees from dirty seeds’ and the other on Innovation for Mid-level Technical Professionals ‘The Innovation Imperative’ co-authored with Ranga Shetty. Sajithra has a Master's degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering. Her papers on Social media are referenced by Authors worldwide in papers, PhD thesis, and books. 

Mrs. India 2021 Stylish Diva

 

Greatness

You are meant for greatness 

Your trails create myths and stories

Don't slow down
Don't off-road

When the terrain gets slippery

Your shoe spikes will grow with it

When slithering leeches get too close

You will know them by their stains

When your falls push you down the valleys

Remember 

Your leaps take over the mountains

Average Is Not Safe By Jesse Elder

I urge you to be gently 

and respectfully

dangerous 

to the status quo

for they will benefit mightily

from being confronted 

by the adventure 

of your refusal to conform.

If you think average means safe, 

you’re not paying very much attention.

I’ve found that I’m happiest 

when I fit in with the weird ones.

Those different, 

sweet and savage souls 

who have chosen to be 

unique notes in the song of life

who follow some 

silent and invisible signal

known only to them

not the same constrained 

monotony of

mangled chords 

which the suppression of spirit

strangles out quietly 

in a sea of manipulative 

meetings and 

loosened neckties 

denoting faux freedom

these are costumes 

meant to hold up customs 

and

long dead antiquities 

such as retirement

centralized control 

and treating people 

as fodder in the decaying 

machine of manufactured needs; 

customers consumed 

in the dying gasps 

of a crumbling patriarchy

Freedom isn’t free 

but it is simple, 

requiring only 

the constant choice to move 

against the enormous 

social gravity of a society 

filled with the buzzing 

momentum of drones 

and a few weakly held 

positions that are soon to expire.

Follow the song of your soul,

that soundless hum that whispers 

inside your heart and gut.

It knows your reason 

for being here and it will 

show you the way if you let it.

If I may humbly 

make a suggestion…

Stop chasing, 

for you ARE the prize.

Stop controlling, 

for surrender contains 

more freedom 

than you can right now 

imagine.

Start listening. 

To yourself, and to others, 

and to what this planet 

can tell you.

Start moving, 

for movement is life.

And be responsibly dangerous.

Because

In a world 

of dulled conformity

it’s the only way 

to advance.

The Heart and the Crown

 Let go of those stones in your heart

It’s beautiful, it’s shiny, and yes, it catches the light just so

 Let go

Sorrow likes company

A moment of hurt hurls up everything else to the surface

Forgotten memories

Hidden answers

The unforgivable plucked from your blindside

Don’t barter your sleep

Let go before all you are left with is a heap of stones

Let go before it weighs you down

Let go before your stream is muddled beyond hope

Let go till it respects you enough to shift to the crown

Burn the box

Untethered, wild, mad

My thoughts drown in the dark or are drawn to the stars

Ocean floor or the skies above

I look for little cracks to pull it all apart

I don't color inside the lines

It's smudges and torn pages

I don't fit inside a box

It's dissent and sand storms

Don't waste a boundary line around me

I carve doors on the edges 

Don't build a box for safety

I want to burn it all