Sreeram Srinivasan

Her li'l girl in her arms, tears in this young mother's eyes, as she bids adieu to her man, on a sojourn of a thousand miles. She holds her baby even tighter, as if it's the only thing she's got, She'd be on her way too, with her man, but for this li'l tiny tot! A child is a blessing and no less a work of art, but at this moment, she was not sure of her burden, was it one or a thing to lament. Years go by, the pains of this event pass, but for flashes of reminiscence. Fades in the joy of watching the li'l one grow from child to pubescence. Another bout of sorrow and pain in store for her as its the li'l one's turn to bid adieu, to go to distant shores, leaving her with agony and heartburn. Ups and downs now the life for this lonely mother, with each passing day, comes news of joy and of struggle, of her little girl, from so far away. As the girl moves up in life, a tiny step each day, hope lights a mother's heart. The day of salvation arriv...

Loyalty is a strong word. However, you will understand the connotationas I go through with this write-up. I call it the PCDA cycle..... (a la Deming's PDCA cycle). Each ofthese cycles of loyalty is roughly 15 years in span and as the acronymindicates has 4 phases. They are P- Loyalty to one's Parents C - Loyalty to one's Consort (spouse) D - Loyalty to one's Duties (Farz in urdu) A - Loyalty to the Almighty The wonderful thing is that these phases of loyalty are not contiguous at least in modern context. Typically, there are small gaps in between that I call "Breaks for Self Gratification" (BfSG). These periods of hiatus cumulate also to about 15 years like PCDA but come in 2 or 3 installments. Let me begin to explain Loyalty to one's Parents This is simple. The first 15 years of one's life is to be spent in being loyal to one's parents, listening to their advice, doing what they bid us to do and being so totally loyal to it with a simple ...