TWINS ARE A RARE BREED. There are several "types" of twins, but the two most common are fraternal and identical.

During my primary schooling days way back in the Nineteen Sixties, in La Salle Sentul, we had a pair of Monozygotic (Identical) twins named Peter and Paul. They caused a lot of mischief pretending to be the other and it made our lives miserable, not knowing who was the other. I lost in touch with them after finishing our Primary studies and moved to the Secondary School.
I know of another set twins later in life. This pair of dizygotic twins was born to this woman (Kalayani Amma) in her prime. Mohan & Usha, the twins had a tragic beginning. They were born 10 days after their father was involved in a tragic road accident on the 24^th of February 1959, while cycling to buy breakfast for the family. These twins were born into the world having the misfortune of not knowing their father. The family was forced to move out of Guthrie’s Sengkang Estate, where their father once worked. They were lucky that their elder brother by then was employed at the Rubber Research Institute in Sungei Buluh. The mother, twins and 3 other children took shelter with this brother, in the house provided by the Institute. Mohan and Usha looked up to their elder brother, who was 23 years older than them, more as a father figure than an elder brother.

I married one of the twins way back in 1983, you guessed it not this bald one. He is my bro-in-law, Mohan Nair I married his twin sister Usha.

Ours was an arranged marriage. As our marriage discussions in 1982 was progressing then, I had an offer to work with the Guthrie’s Rubber factory in Liberia, West Africa. I called up this girl, who was then employed at the Malaysian Sheet Glass Factory at Sungei Buluh, and informed her that I was interested to take up this offer and that if she was willing to follow me there. As it was written in the Stars, we got married, moved to Liberia, started a family and returned after 7 years with 2 children (Born in 1984, 1986). Another child followed later in 1991.

The other twin boy, Mohan worked with CCM, and currently works for the same company his twin sister worked i.e. Malaysian Sheet Glass at Sungei Buluh. Was that coincidence or fate, I wonder. He too is married and has 3 boys.

SO WHAT ARE TWINS? There are several "types" of twins, but the two most common are fraternal and identical.

FRATERNAL TWINS – medically termed as dizygotic twins – occur when two offspring are born of the same pregnancy and develop from two separate ova that were released from the ovary and fertilized at the same time. Fraternal twins may be of the same or opposite sex and will differ genetically as well as in appearance.

IDENTICAL TWINS – medically termed as monozygotic and they result from the fertilization of one egg by one sperm which splits after fertilization and results in two babies being formed. Each twin develops from the identical half of one fertilized egg.

Identical twins always have the same features since they have the same genetic makeup. Their hair, eye colour, blood type, body scent and dental impressions will be exactly the same. Some identical twins are also called mirror twins because some of their features are related in a mirror-like manner.

Half the fraternal twins in the world are same-sex and the other half is male-female. One factor relating to the incidence of fraternal twins is age. The older a mother is when she conceives the more likely she is to have fraternal twins. This is especially prevalent after the age of 35. My mother-in-law gave birth to her twins when she was 41years old.
New fertility drugs called Pergonal increases the chances multiple births. So those out there if you are keen on twins, triplets or more you need to see your Gyne, quick quick quick.

I WAS FIXED

Customs DG confirms he was the unidentified Dept Head in the RM5 Million controversy.
His replies to the allegation, read on....
1) RM5 Million lavish farewell parties - Usual amount spent on any retiring DG.
2)Son awarded AP's - Son bona-fide car importer.

What a lot of Crap.

ONASADHYA - FEAST FIT FOR KINGS.

Today we had to go collect our medication from Selayang and Sungei Buloh. We also had to fetch home our daughter from the University.

Our eldest sister- in- law(Adathie Amma) to all of us, graciously invited us for Onasadhya at her place. Who in their right mind can refuse her cooking.

Syandya had to attend school so she stayed behind with Vishnu, who had to go to work at 4pm. Vishnu drove Syandya to Adathie Amma's place and after Syandya had her Onasadhya, Vishnu sent her to school.

After collecting all the medication and fetching Geetha we arrived at Sis-in-Laws place around 1.00pm.

Sis in Law was still busy in the kitchen with the last of the dishes.

What a spread of food. From the Sambar, Avial, Kalan, Olan, Thoran, Erissery, Banana Chips, Parapu/Semea Payasam and Banana, of only we had 2 stomach.

After the meal was over and had to leave, we thanked Adathie Amma for the wonderful meal. We are blessed that we have Adathie Amma, a mother/sister like figure to all of us, who look forward to all her in-laws coming over the weekend, ever smiling and keeping the family together.

THIRUVONAM ASHAMSAKAL TO ALL MY FELLOW MALAYALEES.

God has blessed us with a good year and we pray the coming year will be even better.
Onam is the biggest and the most important festival of the Malayalees from the state of Kerala and those Malayalees living around the globe. It is a harvest festival and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm by people of all communities. According to a popular legend, the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.
Onam is celebrated in the beginning of the month of Chingam, the first month of Malayalam Calendar (Kollavarsham). This corresponds with the month of August-September according to Gregorian Calendar.

The Legend
Story goes that during the reign of mighty asura (demon) king, Mahabali, Kerala witnessed its golden era. Every body in the state was happy and prosperous and king was highly regarded by his subjects. Apart from all his virtues, Mahabali had one shortcoming. He was egoistic. This weakness in Mahabali's character was utilized by Gods to bring an end to his reign as they felt challenged by Mahabali's growing popularity. However, for all the good deed done by Mahabali, God granted him a boon that he could annually visit his people with whom he was so attached.
It is this visit of Mahabali that is celebrated as Onam every year. People make all efforts to celebrate the festival in a grand way and impress upon their dear King that they are happy and wish him well.
Of all these days the first day Atham and the tenth day Thiruvonam are the most significant ones.

10 DAYS OF ONAM

Tomorrow Onam is celebrated by all Malayalees irrespective of religion. Malayalees in Kerala celebrate the Harvest festival for 10 days. Times are hard, so in Malaysia, Onam is celebrated for a day. That too many find it difficult to take leave to be with their loved ones and to have a good Onam saadhya.

What are the 10 days about.

The first day of Onam is called Atham and is of great significance. People start making Pookalam from this day and wait for Maveli to visit their house. A colourful procession Athachamyam is also carried in Kochi to mark the arrival of Onam.

The second day of Onam is called Chithira. There are no major customs for this day. Girls add more flowers to the already existing Pookalam and give it a more colourful design.

Third day of Onam is called Chothi or Chodi. People indulge in shopping on this day and make every effort to see that nothing is left undone for the day of Onam.

Fourth day of Onam is called Vishagam or Visakam. With a few days left for Thiru Onam excitement is palpabale amongst the people. Women get busy in making prior preparations of the grand meal called Onasadya.

Fifth day of Onam is called, Anizham. The major highlight of this day is the grand race called Vallamkali which takes place on the banks of the river Pampa at Aranmulla.

Sixth day of Onam is called Triketta or Thriketa. A large number of cultural programmes are organised in various parts of the state as a general atmosphere of excitement and mirth prevails.

Seventh day of Onam is called Moolam. Markets are abuzz with activity on this day as a large number of people do their last bit of shopping. Pookalam gets an even more interesting design with fresh flowers.

Eighth day of Onam is called Pooradam. On this day people make clay idols in the shape of small pyramids called a called a Ma. As the idol is created on the day of Pooradam, it is also called Poorada Uttigal.

Ninth day of Onam is called Utradam or Uthradam. This is a significant day as it is a penultimate day to Thiruvonam. In some places celebrations begin from the day of Utradam only.

Tenth day of Onam is called Thiruvonam. This is considered to be the most important and auspicious day. People believe that it is on this day that the spirit of King Maveli comes to visit his people in Kerala.

KOLAM - Religious Floor Art.
"Kolam" refers to decorative artwork drawn on the floor in front of houses and in front of deities in puja rooms.
The most common rangoli or kolam designs start with dots which are connected to form lines and other geometrical shapes.
Kolams are drawn on the ground with white powder (usually ground rice or powdered stone). They must be drawn unicursally (in one continuous line), so it is considered a skill to be able to complete one without pause.
The kolam of the Peacock, was that drawn at the entrance of the wedding reception hall we attended on Sunday 11 Sept or should I say on 9/11.

Krisheila Wedding Reception
Attended the wedding reception of Krishila d/o Krishnan and Leelavathi (Leela is the sister of Bedong Balan Nair) at Stadium Juara, Bukit Kiara this evening. Our families had a night out and as usual were one of the last to leave.
This trend is ever present when ever our families meet at functions even when we are not the host, we leave after almost all have left.
Any way it is good that we can gather around and spend quality time with our loved ones.

TOP GUN



On Merdeka day this year, I took these shots of our TOP GUN fighter pilots in action The shot turned out exceptionally well against Putrajaya’s streetlights.
These boys flying at top speed, dog fighting each other, always thrills the crowd. They ensure our skies are protected against foreign invasion.

This reminds me of my 1st nephew from my wife’s side. Major (Ret.) Chandran. He was with the TUDM, (Malaysian Air Force) based at the former Australian Air base at Butterworth until he completed his Service Contract and decided to come out of the forces to pursue greener pastures. He is currently flying for Transmile, and is based in Sabah.
During his time with TUDM, one incident I cannot forget was in 1995, the time Chandran was co-flying with his Major, on a routine group flight doing maneuvers over the skies of Butterworth. During one such fly past, another fighter aircraft’s front nose hit the back end of my nephew aircraft causing the plane to go out of control, into a tail spin. My nephew and the Captain had the presence of mind by to eject out of the tumbling fighter, saved both their lives. Both landed safely on rice fields in the Butterworth region, despite a number of facial wounds from the explosion cockpit, otherwise they escaped unscratched. The Hawk Jetfighter was a total write off.

Tomorrow is

Ganesha Chaturthi, the day Ganesha was born, is celebrated by Hindus all over the World.
Ganesha is the Hindu elephant-headed god, is known (by various names in different parts of India and on different occasions) as the Remover of Obstacles, the god of domestic harmony and of success. He is the most beloved and revered of all the Hindu gods, and is always invoked first in any Hindu ceremony or festival. He is the son of Parvati (the wife of Shiva, the Destroyer, the most powerful of the Hindu trinity of principal gods). There are many stories about how Ganesha got his elephant head, and about his exploits and antics. He was created as an ordinary boy, but was decapitated in battle. Shiva's emissaries were sent into the forest and told to get the head of the first animal they found and to fit that head onto the boy's neck. They found a little elephant, and it worked!

The Ganesha Mantra:

Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha
Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva
Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa

THE UMMPH! IN TEA

It is said that Tea is the most popular drink in the world, next to water. Every year, an astronomical 768,500,000,000 cups of tea are consumed around the globe.
What is Tea? It is obtained by adding hot water over young tea leaves. The origin of tea dates back 5000 years. Tea has the distinction of being the most ancient beverage in the world.

It is well recognized that fine tea, like fine wine, is highly influenced in its character, flavour and bouquet by environmental factors such as climate, soil and altitude. Tea requires plenty of sunshine and ample rain for growth, while the relative coolness of tropical highland areas produces aromatic, flavoursome teas.

The first highland tea plantation in Malaysia was started in 1929 by Boh Plantations in Cameron Highlands, the ideal climate for producing teas of exceptional quality.

I start my day with almost 2 mugs of tea and no other drink can kick start my day. So all you coffee drinkers including my wife, eat your heart out, we tea drinkers are the Ummph people.

RAFIDAH RECONCILE WITH DR MAHATHIR
Peace was made yesterday at the front of the Grand Stand after the Parade and after the King, Prime Minister and his Deputy PM left. Rafidah was seen hugging Dr. M, and giving him what seemed to be a teary explanation about their strained relationship, at the end of the 48th Merdeka celebrations at Putrajaya.
See NEWSFLASH.
We hope this concludes the Rafidah/Dr M issue.