Venkat's Random Thoughts

 Rivika - My grand daughter and best friend On this very day 11th September ten years back two things happened, 1) The tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the twin towers in the US and  2) The birth of my Grand daughter Rivika, The second child of my son Anand and Mallika. Both the events are unforgettable in my life ,On the day of the 9/11 attack, I was in Bath UK on a visit to my son in UK and heard the news on the TV at a relation's house. On the day of Rivika's birth I was in Mumbai and on hearing the news , i booked my tickets to visit my son's in laws in Ghaziabad, U P to visit the latest arrival. I immediately posted on my Facebook page the following lines.   "Off to Ghaziabad to meet the latest addition in the family!!      My grand daughter" Needless to say I was very excited and was keen to see and hold this bundle of joy in my hands. We did travel and attended the naming ceremony in Ghaziabad. I next met her on her first birthday when I ...

Alzheimers and Dementia The other day I was going through the usual messages received in the Whatsapp groups in which I am part of. We have a Whatsapp group of old people my age (In fact the SSC Batch of students who were together in year 1961 in the Tenth Standard). I came across a post in which some one was talking about Alzheimers disease and Dementia which old persons suffer from and their problems in life. My heart goes out for these Senior Citizens who in their prime have looked after their families, been successful in life but today helpless because of this condition,. Dementia patients are abandoned by their own relatives.   Two of my my closest friends (married couple) Mrs. Loretta Pinto and Mr Gerald Pinto who are in Mangaluru have done a yeomen service to these affected persons by starting a Trust "Susheg Charitable Trust" . They have dedicated their life to the cause by donating land to build a 25 bed hospital for such patients where treatment is "...

Charity begins at home The other day I was going through the usual messages received in the Whatsapp groups in which I am part of. I came across a post in which some one was talking about Autistic Children and their problems in life. My heart goes out for these children who are brought into this world and are made to suffer for no fault of theirs. In India Autistic children are termed "Mad" and are treated as such. Actually they are in fact persons whose mental growth is impaired and though they physically grow up their mental growth is very slow and their behaviour is often childish. I have come across cases where these children if handled by experts can be brilliant and better than many children of their age as brought out by Actor Amir Khan in "Taare Zamin Par". They are also known as "Special Children". My first cousin Mrs V S Bhagyalakshmi  who is in Palghat has done a yeomen service to these children and their parents by starting a Trus...