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Hello Mouthshutters,

Hope you all had a very Happy Valentine's day!. Well, as I was going thro' my
old emails, found this one, the article that I wrote in the year 1999! I thought you
would be interested in reading it. I used to write a lot for the local News paper here.
This article was published in "The Telegram" newspaper. Here it goes.....


Feature Article ------------------------------
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------------- A cat's tale of coping with change 10/13/99
By PRIYA THANGASAMY
She joined our household in 1988, when we were living in Saudi Arabia. We got her from our Canadian friend Mike Girwan, when he had to leave for Hong Kong to take up a new job.
Mike was looking for a good home to entrust his pet and when he learned we were eager cat lovers, he was very happy to leave her with us. She was just a few months old. From that time onwards, she has been with us, and is just like a member in the family. We named her Kitty and no doubt, she is the darling of our house.
Kitty has been through tough times. She saw the Gulf War with us. When we heard the siren warning us of Saddam Hussein's Scud missile attacks, Kitty - along with my husband, our two sons and myself - would rush in to take shelter in our bedroom. We all wore our gas masks and waited anxiously for the all-clear siren. By then, Kitty was secure inside a heavy blanket. Her co-operative behaviour during those fearful days was commendable.
I still remember the day she arrived and how she behaved. She jumped up and down many times, was a bit wild and a little hard to handle! She might have felt rather strange seeing our flat, after having been brought up in a big compound.
Kitty is fully black in colour with a small white patch on her belly, and has sparkling greenish yellow eyes. She captivated us all at first sight. I tell my son that when God created her, he might have run short of black paint at one point, because of the way she looks. In Saudi Arabia, Kitty liked to stay indoors always, and never dared to go out. She has always been a very domestic sort of cat. Whenever we went on vacation, we arranged with our Pakistani friend Basheer to take care of her in our absence.
When we decided to leave Saudi Arabia for good, we made arrangements for Kitty to be flown along with us to Canada. Every effort was taken to ensure that she was comfortable in the pet section.
Out to explore After her arrival in St. John's, her new abode, she slowly came out and enjoyed spending some time in the backyard. She had never before wanted to explore around the neighbourhood, but she began sneaking around.
She was quite thrilled to see the snow for the first time in her life. She admirably changed from a life in a very hot country to life in a very cold country.
On one fine day, we found our Kitty missing. It was 10 o'clock in the morning, and she didn't return following her usual sneak around the neighbourhood. We got alarmed and rang up the SPCA people, who took all the details of Kitty and asked for her photograph. We were all very upset, crying and praying for her safe return. We started searching for her everywhere and told our neighbour Mary about our missing child. It was 10 o'clock in the night then. Mary went back to her house and brought two flashlights to start searching near the bushes. Very sweet of my neighbour! She has always been like that.
As we were talking with Mary, in rushed our Kitty like lightning in the sky. What a relief. That was one of the happiest moments for us, to see our child back safe and sound. I thanked God through the tears in my eyes. Since this incident, we have been a bit careful when she wanders around.
Studies have proved that pets have a mysterious ability to heal emotional and physical ailments. I know this is true from my experience with Kitty. Everything is hers
There is an English proverb which says, "In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." This is very true; in our house, everything is hers. She plays with things she likes, knocks everything down, kicks litter out of the box and pulls doors open. She likes being held and cuddled, especially by my husband.
Kitty is allergic to guests. When she hears the door bell ringing, she finds a place to hide immediately and reappears the next minute after the guests leave. Amazing, isn't it? My son, who is studying in New Brunswick, reminds me in his e-mails to feed her well before the guests arrive. Undoubtedly, she is the bond that glues our family together, with her unconditional love and we are very grateful to God for the gift of such a wonderful pet as Kitty. According to Albert Schweitzer, "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life. They are music and cats." I totally agree with him.

Priya Thangasamy lives in St. John's.

Children, a perfect combination of love and fun,
sure they are, number one in God's creation;
It's hard to imagine a world without you,
because you make us feel so proud of you!

Children, they are the image of God,
to look upon for joy when you are sad;
Beautiful folks who make you feel worthwhile,
when for any reason you feel depressed a while!

I adore you both my darling children,
and thank God for all that you have given;
the love and sweet memories of the past and present,
May Almighty God keep you safe by His presence.

Your loving mother,
Priya T

Well, everyone is aware of the risk we have with this plastic money. I mean, the credit card, debit card etc. We do like to buy things and have the tendency to buy more especially when we have such plastic money.

There is no harm in buying / doing your shopping as long as your budget allows you.
Sometimes, we need to be really careful. I have decided to leave those plastic cards at home when I go for shopping next time, carrying just a little money that I would require, which would save me from the temptation of buying something that I don't really need. I think people who agree with my policy can also try this in the New year. What you need is the will power to do this.

I am going to try this during this weekend during my regular shopping routine.. See you, bye bye, I am off for shopping right away! ........LOL.

Hello Mouthshutters,

Good day to you all! As Javeed has written to me, I was really taking a break due to
this terrible cold snowy weather here. Anyway, it's my pleasure to wish you all a very
happy New Year with my New Year Poem. Hope you like it!

Happy New Year!

Have a year full of fun,
A year of achievements,
Proud to be remembered of ,
Perfect to be followed by all.
Yea, a great year to be cherished!

Nothing is impossible with hard work,
Earmark this year to do some good,
Wake up to fulfill your goal.

Yippee! You are entering another year,
Enlightened as you anticipate things.
Adventurous may the year be,
Rewarding as much as could be.

Priya T

God speaks to us always,
in HIS own mysterious ways;
We don't need to fear,
as HE will lead us for ever.

HE is our eternal guide,
to lead us gently in our life;
HE is our refuge and pride,
so keep walking in HIS stride.

Priya Thangasamy

Well, in my poem above, you can see the trust I have for God that keeps me going in my day today life. Hope everyone realises this and have the same trust that I have for HIM.

God's Power


God hears all your cries
and helps you as time flies!
With Him by your side.
you should have no slide;
He is the perfect guide
to lead you by His light!

Just look up to the skies
to see the beautiful rainbow He's made,
of different colours of shade
to show the many sides in life!
You'll know He is the mightiest alive,
to keep you strong in your earthly strive!

Priya T

Just sharing my views.....

Wherever I go, people who recognize me as an Indian by origin stop by to speak with me. Of course, by their intention to talk to me, I can understand their interest to know about India. I have many Canadian friends who enquire me about Indian culture, about our food, our way of dressing, especially about the sari we wear. We have a grand culture and it is always a pleasure to share it with people here. I do wear sari for work on every Friday to satisfy my friends at the work place. They are simply delighted to see me wearing the sari.

I know many Canadians who are interested in learning Indian cooking. I have helped them with cooking Indian dishes; Indian cuisine has become world famous! I have sent emails of recipes to prepare Indian food whenever time permitted me to do so.

With a friendly woman at Sobeys…..( A Super market in Canada)

Just a week ago, when I was at Sobeys, picking some oranges at the fruit section, a woman came up to me with a very friendly smile. She started telling me how much excited she was about her daughter going to India on a tour with a group of students from the Memorial University. She said they were going to a rural part in India for a Project. That was interesting! She also said she would make it to India some day with her husband. I was so happy for her! I gave her some information on India on the spot and she was very elated indeed.

What a marvelous change!

Now my thoughts go back to Chennai, where I am from. I was in Chennai during last December 2007 and January of this year. The weather was fine, with a comfortable 30 degrees. Exactly seven months have passed after my return from vacation in India. The great time I had still lingers in my memory! Well, during every visit I do notice some positive changes in India. It is not the same place I had seen ten years ago. Previously it was known as Madras and now it has been renamed as Chennai. Chennai is one of the largest Metropolitan cities in India. A hustling and bustling city busy throughout day and night!

The standard of life and living has gone up! People seem to manage the fast growth very well. It was an amazing experience to see Chennai's economy grown and improved to what I saw back in the year 2005. Lots of changes!

Lots of malls have been built and I could also see multiplex buildings for showing movies. They had theatres, shopping centers and food courts. One full day is not enough to check out all the stores at Spencer's Mall. There are Internet browsing centers almost at every nook and corner if you want to check your emails or do some surfing. You just pay for the time you use the Internet. I found it very convenient to check emails on the go!

During my stay, I traveled by train to south to a place called Tenkasi. I was amazed at what I saw on the way. There were lots of windmills that are used in generating wind energy. Is Chennai becoming a mini Holland?

Information Technology is also growing very rapidly in Chennai. The reason being, there is considerable availability of educated manpower, high standard of Educational Institutions, sound infrastructure and operational cost is also very low. Other factors which make Chennai the destination for IT Industry are the presence of International Airport and major sea port. No wonder there are many software companies in Chennai.

At this point, I need to mention there are some village areas in Chennai that are still developing. I am sure to see their development during my next visit. Chennai has been progressing very fast!

Over population, pollution

With the growth in economy following the IT boom, sadly another growth also has occurred. I mean the growth in population of India! My goodness! What a crowd in the streets, market places, malls.....If only the Indian Government can do something about this over-population, I am sure India can become number one country very soon!

Another thing that needs to be checked is the pollution! There is lot of traffic on the road. There are too many cars, buses, auto rickshaws on the road, all causing air pollution due to auto exhaust. There are other kinds of pollutions like Industrial pollution, water pollution that cause health concerns. Thankfully, Chennai has been chosen for Pollution study for a three year study research by a health Institute in Boston. I am sure this will be helpful in checking all the health-related problems in future.

I am blessed with two homes!

Whatever the case maybe, India is still my first home and I am very proud of my home country. I do enjoy life in Canada that is my second home. I appreciate the Newfoundlanders who are such friendly people. No wonder they have made this place a heaven on earth!

Priya