Funny BABY WRAPPING VIDEO- Wrapping the Baby :) Here I am learning how to wrap our Baby...

The newborn is to be wrapped up all cuddly and warm inside a blanket. The Nurses at the Hospital showed us how to do it. My wife picked it up. For me it was really confusing. But I tried and tried. Here is one video where I tried to wrap up Little Danny. I did it as good as I could. But the wrapping was all wrong. My wife, who's an expert now, was laughing on seeing how I was cautiously struggling to wrap him. Yet I was satisfied because as long as he is warm and safe inside the blanket, it didn't matter which way I did it at that time. The Baby is happy, I am happy :)


Here's the BABY WRAPPING VIDEO:

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!... When our family visited us...FAMILY TIME!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!... When our family visited us...FAMILY TIME!

Safe journey from Trivandrum to Abu Dhabi, Dublin by Etihad Airways

By God’s grace my mom n eldest brother reached Ireland safely and on time. They had a safe and comfortable journey in Etihad Airways, from Trivandrum to Abu Dhabi and from Abu Dhabi to Dublin. The last week of December was the start of severe snowfall and that was one concern we had regarding the journey, but everything was sound and calm. Well, it was great to have them over here. My second bro and family could’t make it because of leave restrictions. Our friends in Bray, GDM, drove us from the Airport to their house where we had relaxed and ate some good food which they prepared for us. And they then dropped us at Blessington where our car was parked so we could return back to Baltinglass.

New Year with Mom n Eldest Bro...

So we stepped into the New Year 2010. Praise God! We took snaps standing next to the Christmas Tree and for lunch we had Chicken Biriyani, the popular and special Indian Rice and Chicken dish prepared with spices. We could not go out much because of the heavy snowfall and frost. Also, it would get real dark and even colder by 5pm. I and my bro visited Carlow once and apart from that all we could do was just drive around the town. Yes, the timing was bad but atleast they were happy to be here as we could spend some time together and they also got an opportunity to see how beautiful Ireland looks like even though it was winter time. While my mom will be with us for 2 months, my bro only had a few days leave and is back in Dubai now. Don’t think his employer will give him leave for another 6 months now. Anyway, it was a nice time and we are looking forward to meet up with everyone together once again. A Happy New Year 2010!

“I thank God for Another Blessed Year!!!” :)

“I thank God for another beautiful year!!!” :)

I Praise God for another new year!!! :)

Happy New Year! I thank God for another beautiful year that has passed by and for an even more beautiful year 2010! Yes, I have gone through my sad and bad moments but that doesn’t mean 2009 was all that bad. I also had my moments of joy and victories. But whether it was good or bad, I still thank God for all His Mercies and Blessings that He has showered upon everyone in this world. Jesus Christ as Personal Saviour & Living Redeemer, and Holy Spirit as Wonderful Counsellor are always the strongest of all Companions! I Praise God for another new year!!! :)

My Heavenly Father, My Pillar of Support and Comfort!!! :)

"But I thank God again for helping me to smile even when I didn’t win in anything and smile more gladly even whenever I lost something!!!"

From all the incidents that I went through which were not favourable for me, I once again understood that God has taught me some very very valuable lessons from them all. I lost in many areas, I cried when I was in pain, I didn’t have any earthly or heavenly help at certain times, I depended on people who I thought were appointed for guiding and advising but they never attempted to lend a helping hand or ear, and of course I smiled whenever I won. But I thank God again for helping me to smile even when I didn’t win in anything and smile more gladly even whenever I lost something. I thank God so much for giving me strength to endure during my painful moments and I love Him for being my Pillar of Support and Comfort while in my tears! And I will always cherish my Heavenly Father’s Blessings at all times!

Jesus speaks to you by the Power of the Holy Spirit!!!

"And you’ll surely know when He speaks to you, especially when He uses that small whisper inside you, the voice which you know is warm, still, quiet, peaceful and stands out on it’s own above all those doubtful thoughts inside you!"

When Jesus speaks to you, it is by the Power of the Holy Spirit that His Word is manifested in your life! And you’ll surely know when He speaks to you, especially when He uses that small whisper inside you, the voice which you know is warm, still, quiet, peaceful and stands out on it’s own above all those doubtful thoughts inside you! I still remember the Word that touched me way back in 2001. I always thank God for blessing me with His Anointed Servant. But it is Jesus, the Word Who is more important than Pastor or any Preacher of the Gospel- The Good News! The Pastor must have preached, but it was the Holy Spirit conveying to me what my Heavenly Father wanted to say to me. Pastor is only a Servant of God whom God anoints and uses to declare His Word to the people of the world either by word or by signs and wonders. It is not Pastor who saves or changes someone. It is the Love of Jesus Christ by His sacrificial blood on the Cross that has opened the way for Salvation to enter in our lives! However, we should also be humble and obedient to God by respecting, loving, helping and praying for all the Servants of God especially those whom God directly uses to touch us in our daily lives!

The Word that I still remember because God spoke to me to my heart!!

“ It is not your circumstances that determine your relationship with God, but it is your heart that determines your relationship with God!!!”
One part of the powerful Word that I still remember is this:

“...you ask your dad to buy you a bike and he says ‘No!’.... will you hate your dad because he refused to buy you a bike? Will you love your father only if he buys you a bike? Whether he buys you a bike or not, he is still your dad and you should always love your dad.....It is the same with your Heavenly Father....will you love God only if he gives you what you pray for? Whether He answers your prayers or not, you should always love God.....Just bcos you asked for something and He doesn’t give it to you, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you...it’s bcos He’s got something better for you....Will you love your Husband only if he gifts you a diamond ring everyday???.....Even if you feel you haven’t received any blessings you should still love God, because He is your God and your love for Him should not be based on blessings, it should come directly from your heart!.... It is not your circumstances that determine your relationship with God, but it is your heart that determines your relationship with God!!!...”

“HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!” :)

"You can also pray quietly in your heart whether you’re alone in your room, or in your office, while among your friends, while having your food and in fact you can pray at all times whether or not you have your eyes closed and hands joined!"

I pray that God blesses you and your family. May He bless your health, career, ministry, and every other area of your lives! Remember to pray before you do anything. To pray doesn’t mean you can only pray if you are in a loud prayer meeting, or alone in a room where you cry out loud, or seated in a church, or kneeling before an image or crying before a lighted candle. You can also pray quietly in your heart whether you’re alone in your room, or in your office, while among your friends, while having your food and in fact you can pray at all times whether or not you have your eyes closed and hands joined. God will hear your prayer in any circumstance as long as it’s from your heart! So be happy, be cheerful in all situations, ask God to bless your plans and to guide you in all your ways. Keep your heart opened for the Lord and He will save you and bless you. It’s His Word! You can trust Him because He alone is Trustworthy...Have a Blessed New Year!! God bless you all!

Here is God’s promise for Your Life this New Year:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths."

(Proverbs 3:5-6; Bible, New King James Version)

English to Malayalam Translator

This game was one of the games played during ‘Happy Hour’. I have already mentioned about ‘Happy Hour’ in my previous blog post. So let me explain to you about this game.



The Cultural Committee had requested me to host this game which I happily agreed to. Of course I did ask them to make sure someone was standing along with me just in case I needed help. So I had a co host with me on one side and a time keeper at the other side. Well, I was happy to host this game at the beginning, but as the game slowly progressed I regretted my decision to host it. Because the game was such a hit and huge fun to play, that had I not been the host, I too would have certainly participated in it whether I would win or lose.

The game was really so fun that apart from the participants, almost everyone in the audience had their say in it. In fact at the end of the game, they all even made me participate but as I was the host I was not eligible for the prize. Yet I played it because it was such an interesting and fun game. Literally everyone present in the cafeteria was laughing their lungs out! In the end we had two winners and they were given instant prizes.



Objective



The objective of the game is to translate or reply, to questions asked in English, back only in Malayalam. For those of you who are aliens, Malayalam is the language of Kerala, a southern state of India whose inhabitants are known as ‘Malayalees’ or ‘Keralites’ or more popularly as ‘Mallus’. Anyway, as per this game, I would ask the participants certain questions starting from their personal background to topics such as sports and pollution. The reply is to be given only in complete Malayalam sentences without even one English word. If they utter a word in English then they are out of the game and the next participant comes in.



The time limit given for each contestant is 2 minutes. Of course this is too little time to actually bring a real competitive game but as this event is taking place during working hours we have to stick to the time limits so that the game is over within the stipulated time and we can get back to our work. Coming back to the game, when a question is put forward, the reply must not have a delay of more than 2 seconds. Also, no replies will be accepted if it is given in one word answers. And that is where the challenge lies. You must reply to every question in full sentences only.



It’s a fact!



Generally, even though we belong to Kerala, most of us always speak in Malayalam with at least one word in English. And we are so used to it now that it has become widely accepted among almost every youth in Kerala. What happens is that the more we speak in this manner, the more we tend to actually forget how the word is really spoken in Malayalam. It’s true that nowadays, it is compulsory to speak in English in schools and at workplaces especially in MNC’s as we do most of the business in international standards and with foreigners. So such problems can be marginally highlighted when these kind of fun games are played. It’s not that we don’t like to speak these words in Malayalam, but our lifestyle has now compelled us to stop speaking 100 % fluently in Malayalam while relying on English for some words, a situation which, alarmingly, will slowly be renaming the Malayalam language to ‘Manglish’- a combination of both Malayalam and English.



8 Enthusiastic Participants



Anyway, this game had 8 participants who were very active and enthusiastic to win. The first winner was a highly explosive and ready-to-fire male whose farewell was just given to him as he was leaving from the company. Heh, the phrase I used does not describe him physically (skinny dude who's slightly improving a bit...), it's his communicative English and attitude I was referring to.... :) The second winner was a female who was as polite as she could be and as smart as we couldn’t even imagine. However, there was another contestant who was on the verge of winning and that with such a brilliant performance but in the end she committed one tiny error and that too just 2 seconds before the time limit. Otherwise she it would have really been a convincing win for her.



You deserve it Audience!!!



But most of all, it was the audience who also deserve equal appreciation because the whole time it was the joy and excitement on their faces that really filled the entire atmosphere. An encouraging force! They were so much into the game that the thrill of the entire event was evident on their faces. Many of them also gave their feedback saying that they would love to see such interactive games/sessions being conducted in future. “So Cultural Committee, we are keeping our fingers crossed..... :)”



The Time Keeper



And in the end some of my colleagues persuaded me to take the challenge as well. I agreed. My Co host started shooting questions at me to which I answered in Malayalam. Then all of a sudden questions started coming to me from the audience as well. Again I was replying in Malayalam itself. In the middle I understood that my 2 minutes were up and in fact the game was still continuing on. I asked the time keeper and she said that there was no time limit for me. This means that they would stop only when I lose. Man, how mad I was with her- Bad Time Keeper!! So the game went on and I just wasn’t giving up.



‘Sameyam ayennu’ kutty pareyunnu: ‘Time’s up’ says the girl!



Finally a popular colleague in our office stood up and said that it’s enough and times up as we all had to get back to work. So I translated that sentence too and the game was over and I won. Unfortunately I was not eligible for the prize as I was the host for the game. So the prizes were awarded to the winners and everyone went on their way with big smiles on their faces and many funny moments to cherish.


You can view the video which our special cameraman captured in my mob cam during the event. Enjoy!

Happy Hour- An Employee Recreation Program

We have a monthly employee recreation event called ‘Happy Hour’ which is conducted on Fridays by the Cultural Committee. Though our company provides other employee recreation activities, this particular event is a unique one. ‘Happy Hour’ is an activity where games are conducted and the winners are awarded instant prizes. The event starts at 4:30pm and is held at the cafeteria. Most of the employees come to the cafe by 4pm to have their usual tea/coffee/hot chocolate/milk along with biscuits/fruits. This is all free you know :). But during Happy Hours, apart from the biscuits/fruits, we also get some additional snacks like Pazham Puri (Banana fry) or Uzhanu Vada (a round donut) with chutney. Mmmmm....it’s really tasty and more filling. So you can now see why most of the employees are happy at that moment.

As soon as the snacks are consumed, a Cultural Committee member or a non member selected by the Cultural Committee welcomes everyone through the mic and grabs everyone’s attention. He or She greets the crowd and starts a conversation until everyone is settled down. During this time some may leave the cafe, while those interested to know what game is gonna be played that day, would remain stuck to their seats, giving their best smiles, waiting for any moment they get so they can laugh their heart out and cheer up themselves.

Once everyone is settled, the host is introduced accompanied by one or two Cultural Committee members/helpers. The host then announces the name of the game and its rules. The games played are sometimes popular games and at times innovative. The rules are simple but tricky so that it encourages maximum participation from the employees and at the same time it creates so many thrills and fun that not only the participants, but also the audience get to enjoy it and have a great time watching it.

Few examples of the games that have been played are Musical Chair, Passing the message, Throwing the ball into the box, English to Malayalam translator, and so on. I was a host for the game ‘English to Malayalam translator’. I shall explain about this game in my next blog post. Check it out.