Tuesday, March 29, 2022

How do I say


 

How do I say

Of the multitude feelings

A tiny little smile of your eyes,

bestows!

 

How do I say

Of the solace and warmth

that my heart perceives

rubbing on your velvety cheeks!

 

Of the addition of Joy

from the deduction of those;

Forgotten count of sleepless nights!

 

Of the Hubris attitude of yours

that only you have the greatest

sister on earth!

 

How do I say it all Saaral?

Of our Brittle hearts

that you break into joy

with just the fluttering and blinking of your eyes!

 

How do I say,

Of the image of your tender smile

ingrained on the tiny bubbles that fly!

 

How do I say

Of the Army of Friends

that you charmed and won

in the shortest of time!

 

And

Of your crawling and scintillating movements

that dances over our Paper hearts!

 

How do I say it all,

Am just tired of playing with this profuse amount of words

and still can’t say it all,

So let me begin by saying my wishes rather!

 

May the Skies be at the throw of your hands!

 

May everything you touch flourish!

 

The Moon that you "Come, Come!" Everyday,

will come down tomorrow,

May thy shoulder be strong to carry it!

May the waited world prosper to each of your footsteps!

 

May your astuteness dissipate any and all - obstacles or challenges!

 

May you live to your Name, "Saaral", the drizzle,

as Drizzle, as breeze and Blessings to all around you!

 

Those tons of more words that rush to my heart,

How do I say it all, all at once?

May you live forever Saaral!

 

-        _       Senthil Ganesh Shenbagamoorthy

எங்ஙனம் சொல்ல..

உன் ஒற்றை விழியிடை
ஆடும் புன்னகை தரும்
கோடி உணர்வுகளை..


உன் பட்டு கன்னத்தின்
ஸ்பரிச உராய்வுகளின்

மிதமான சூட்டில்

இதமான இதயத்தை..

 

எண்ணிக்கை மறந்த

முழு உறக்கப்  பொழுதுகளின் கழித்தலிலும்

கூடிய இன்பத்தை..


உலகத்திலே ஒசந்தது

உன் அக்காதான்

என்ற உன் மிதப்பை..

 

எங்ஙனம் சொல்ல..


கண்ணடித்து கண்ணடித்து

நீ உடைக்கும் எங்கள்

கண்ணாடி இதயத்தை..

 

பறக்கும் சிறு நுரை

குமிழிகளில் படர்ந்திருந்த

உன் புன்னகை பிம்பத்தை..

எங்ஙனம் சொல்ல..


சொற்ப நாட்களில்

நீ கைப்பற்றிய

உன் நட்பு படைகளை

 

தவழ்ந்து தவழ்ந்து

நீ தக திமி ஆடும்

காகித மனதினை..

 

எங்ஙனம் சொல்ல?

வார்த்தைகள் ஒளிந்துகொள்ளும்

இந்த விளையாட்டை ஒதுக்கிவிட்டு

வாழ்த்த தொடங்கினேன் …

 

உன் கைக்கெட்டும் தூரத்தில்
வானம் வசப்பட!


நீ தொட்டுவிட்டதாலே
அத்தனையும் வெற்றிபெற!


வா வா என்று நீ அழைக்கும் நிலவு,
நாளையே வந்துவிட்டால்
தூக்கிச் சுமக்கும் தோள்பெற!


காத்திருந்த பூமி
உந்தன் கால்பட்டு செழிக்க!


தடைகளோ சவால்களோ
உன் கூ ரியஅறிவின் கூர்முனைகளில் உடைய


சாரல் என்கிற  நீ
எல்லோருக்கும் சாரலாய் தென்றலாய் நிழலாய்,
விருட்சமாய் வாழ!
வாழ்த்தி முடிக்கிறோம்..

 
முந்தியடித்துவிழும்  எல்லா வார்த்தைகளையும்

எங்ஙனம் இக்கணமே
  சொல்ல?

 

-         செந்தில் கணேஷ் செண்பகமூர்த்தி

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

நா தழுதழுத்தது


நன்றி கீற்று.காம். கீற்று தளத்தில் படிக்க Click Here
தினமும் அரங்கேறும்
நாடகங்களில்
என்ன பாத்திரம்
ஏற்றுத்தொலைப்பது
என்ற குறிப்பில்லா
இவர்களுக்கு
நா தழுதழுத்தது.

நாவுக்கும்
இதயத்திற்கும்
மூளைக்கும்
எந்தவித நரம்புத்தொடர்புகளும்
அருந்துவிட்ட
மகன்களோ
மருமகள்களோ
இருவருமோ
இவர்களுக்கும் இருக்கக்கூடும்.

உண்ண உடுக்க உறங்க என்றாகிவிட்ட
வாழ்க்கையிலும்
முன்னொரு காலத்தில்
விட்டுப்போன
சில கற்பனை வாழ்க்கைத்திட்டங்கள்
ஒட்டியிருக்கும் தானே?
அதுவும் அருந்தொழிவதில்தான்
மனவேதனை.

கூத்தைக் கண்டு
கொதித்துப்போன
கடவுளர்கள் யாவும்
மகன்களின்
பூஜையறையில்
படங்களை நேர்விட்டு
பின்புறம் காட்டித்திரும்பி நின்றார்கள்.

மகன் கட்டிய மாடி வீட்டில்
வழுக்கி விழுந்த காயம் மட்டும்
வாழ்க்கையின் மிச்சமாய்..
எத்தனையோ பார்த்துவிட்ட
முதியோர் இல்ல முகவருக்கு
இது ஒன்றும் புதிதல்ல ...
இவர்களை பற்றிய விவரங்களை
எழுதிக்கொண்டிருந்தார்;
இவர்களுக்கு மட்டும் ஏனோ இன்னும்
நா தழுதழுத்துக்கொண்டிருந்தது.

ஏன் அதட்டிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறாய்?

ஏன் அந்த நாயை
அதட்டிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறாய்?


கேட்கவேண்டியதை
கேட்டுவிடேன்
மௌனங்களையும் விழுங்குவதால்
எதை சாதித்தோம் நாம்?


மிருகங்கள்
கடித்துக்கொண்டும்
பிராண்டிக்கொண்டும்
குலாவிக்கொண்டும்
காட்டிவிடும்
உணர்ச்சிகளை ஏன்
நாம் மட்டும்
மறைத்துக்கொண்டும்
மழுப்பிக்கொண்டும்?


பிடிக்கும்.
பிடிக்காது.
சரி.
தவறு.
ஆம்.
இல்லை.
போன்ற நேரிடையான
வார்த்தைகளில்
மனிதனுக்கு
பிடிபடாத
கணித சூத்திரம் தான் என்ன?


மற்றொருவர்
மனதில் மங்கிப் போகும்
வார்த்தைகளை
நான் படிக்க
கற்றுக்கொள்ளும்
வரையேனும்...


உள்ளதை உள்ளபடி
கொட்டிவிடு
ஏன் அந்த நாயை
அதட்டிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறாய்?
- செந்தில் கணேஷ் செண்பகமூர்த்தி

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

என் மதுவை எவனோ அருந்தியிருக்கிறான்

நன்றி கீற்று.காம். கீற்று தளத்தில் படிக்க Click Here


என் மதுவை எவனோ அருந்தியிருக்கிறான்.

கோப்பையில் குறைந்திருக்கிறது .

என் மதுவை எவனோ அருந்தியிருக்கிறான்.


நான் குனிந்தபோதோ
கோப்பையல்லாத வேறெதின் மீதோ - பார்வை
குவிந்த போதோ

எவனோ எடுத்திருக்க வேண்டுமதை.

என் மதுவை எவனோ அருந்தியிருக்கிறான் .

கோப்பைக்கு ஆயிரமாயிரம் நாக்குகள்
ஆயினும்
உண்மை விளம்பவியலா ஜடப்பொருளது.

கூட்டத்தை நோக்கிய என் பார்வை
சற்றே வித்தியாசமாகிப்போனது

என் கோப்பையை கடந்தவன்
என்ற காரணத்தாலே
கொலை குற்றவாளியானார்கள்
எல்லோரும்.

குறைந்திருந்த மதுவின் அளவால்
உலகை அளக்க எத்தனிக்கிறேன்.

எச்சிலால் பரவும் வியாதிகளின்
அட்டவணை மனதுக்குள்ளே .

மதுவின்,
கோப்பைகளின்,
கூட்டங்களின்,
குதூகலம் குறைந்து கொண்டே போனதெனக்கு..

என் மதுவை எவனோ அருந்தியிருக்கிறான்.

- செந்தில் கணேஷ் செண்பகமூர்த்தி



பொறாமை பிடிக்கிறது எனக்கு


மனநலம் குன்றியவனை
பார்த்தால் மட்டும் உடனே
பொறாமை பிடிக்கிறது எனக்கு.

அவனுக்கென்று ஒரு உலகம்
யாரும் நுழையமுடிவதில்லை அதற்குள்

அவனே ராஜா அவனே மந்திரி
எவனுக்காகவும் இவன் இயல்பை இழப்பதாகவோ
எவளாலும் இவன் வருந்தி அழுவதாகவோ இல்லை

சாக்கடை
சகதி
நரம்
புழுதி
எச்சில்..
எதுவும் செய்யாது இவனை
அவனுக்கென்று ஒரு உலகம்
யாரும் நுழையமுடிவதில்லை அதற்குள்

வேசிகள் அலையும் வீதி
அள்ளி சிதறிக்கிடக்கும் பொய்
கொச்சை அரசியல்
குத்து கொலை

பாசம் பாசாங்கு
பகட்டுப் புன்னகைகள்
பொரணி
மனிதமில்லா சமுதாயம்
மானபங்கம்
நம்பிக்கை துரோகம்
எதுவும் சிதைக்கமுடியாத ..
அவனுக்கென்று ஒரு உலகம் உள்ளது
யாரும் நுழையமுடிவதில்லை அதற்குள.


மனநலம் குன்றியவனை
பார்த்தால் மட்டும் உடனே
பொறாமை பிடிக்கிறது எனக்கு.

- செந்தில் கணேஷ் செண்பகமூர்த்தி

Sunday, May 1, 2011

அவளால் இழந்தவை.

இயல்பை விட்டு விலகியதாய்
இந்த நாட்கள்

அகண்ட வெளியில்
அள்ளித்தெளித்த துளிகளை
தேடுவதினும்
கடினாமாகிப் போனது
என் இயல்பை மீட்கப் போராடும்
இந்த நாட்கள்

கனவில்
தூக்கங்களை ரசிக்கும்
புதிய உத்தியில்
கைதேர்ந்தனவாய்
மாறியிருக்கின்றன
கண்கள்

ஆவல்கள் தானே உவந்து
அரிக்கத் தொடங்கியிருக்கின்றன
ஆவல்களை

எந்நேரமும் இயங்கும்
எடைமேடை இதயம்
பாரங்களின் மாறுதல்களை
பழகிக்கொண்ட வண்ணம்

அவள் என்ற புதிரில்
தொலைந்தும் தொலையாமல்
இயல்பை விட்டு விலகியதாய்
இந்த நாட்கள்.

- செந்தில் கணேஷ் செண்பகமூர்த்தி ( cliffnabird@gmail.com)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

என் மஜ்ஜைகளின் சுவை

கீற்று.காம் இல் பிரசுரிக்கப்பட்டது. கீற்றுவில் படிக்க இங்கே க்ளிக் செய்யவும்


நன்றி கீற்று.காம்


ஒவ்வொன்றாய்..
ஒவ்வொன்றாய்
வந்தன அந்த விலங்குகள்..

இவைகள் எங்கிருந்து
எவன் எழுதிய விதிப்படி
என்னை என்ன செய்யவிருக்கின்றன
என்று தெளிவதற்குள் ..
கூர் நகங்களால் கொத்தி
புழுதியில் புரட்டி
என் தசைகளின் நார்களைப் பிளந்து
தின்க ஆரம்பித்திருந்தன..

என் சாவை
என் கண்களால்
பார்க்கமுடிந்திருந்தது..
என் தசைகளை
என் நரம்புகளை
என் எலும்பின் நுனிகளில்
அப்பியிருந்த ஜவ்வுகளை
எலும்பினுள்ளிருந்த மாவையென
அவைகள் ஒன்றுவிடாமல்
சுவைத்துத் தின்றபோது..

சற்றே தலைக்கிறக்கம் ஆரம்பித்திருந்தது

இன்னும் தின்றன
இன்னும் தின்றன
காற்று மண்டலத்தில்
கவுச்சி ஏற ஏற
இன்னும் சுவைத்து
இன்னும் சுவைத்து

அவைகள் தின்னுவதை நிறுத்திவிட்டாலும்
நான் உயிர் பிழைக்கப்போவதில்லை
என்றுணர்ந்த வேளையில்..

அவைகளுடன் சேர்ந்து
நானும் ருசிக்க ஆரம்பித்திருந்தேன்
என் மஜ்ஜைகளின் சுவையை!


- செந்தில் கணேஷ் செண்பகமூர்த்தி

Thursday, May 27, 2010

எரிந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்

கீற்று.காம் இல் பிரசுரிக்கப்பட்டது. கீற்றுவில் படிக்க இங்கே கிளிக் செய்யவும்:

http://www.keetru.com/index.php?option=com_aisection&id=8264&Itemid=139


அருகில் வராதீர்கள்
எரியத் தொடங்கியிருக்கிறேன்

இளைப்பாற
எடுத்துக் கொண்ட

இடங்களை

உறங்கும்
பொழுதுகளை

தயக்கங்களின்
பயங்களின்

வேர்களை

நான் என்பதை.

மறுக்கும்
உலகங்களை

சளைக்கச் செய்யும்
சூழ்ச்சிகளை

முடியாதவைகளாய்
குறிப்பெழுதியவைகளை.

சாம்பலாகும் முன்
எரித்து விடுவேன்
...
அனைத்தையும்...

அருகில் வராதீர்கள்
எரிந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்.

- செந்தில் கணேஷ் செண்பகமூர்த்தி

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

My Diary on Egypt trip- Senthil Ganesh Shenbagamoorthy

















Dear All,




I thought it would be nice if I share my DIARY with you about my Egypt trip, here is my “sorry” that I have taken long, Reasons were, I had to start preparing for my MBA exams since 3 papers sounded Latin to me and I had no idea what was it all about, had to enroll myself for some classes to hope a PASS mark! (finally, did well, though), Seemed like I had grown no immunity to Viral Fever, as it rightly hit me down as soon my exams were over L.




Here it comes…


Landing in Cairo, looked as if I was about to land in a huge chess board, though I had learnt a bit of the Cairo-city plans over different civilizations, it was not these scenes that I could imagine of, as far as I could see, I could see only rectangles and square roads; no curves whatsoever; with those sodium bulbs that marked the boundaries for those broad roads, it looked awesome. For a person from a small city like Kigali, it may feel like it takes decades landing, as it appeared to me when it took as much as 30 mins to land in Cairo International terminal despite No Air traffic.


Have you guys ever heard announcements like “For the kind attention of passengers, this is pilot XYZ speaking, due to reasons known only to them, they need me move the aircraft 10 Cms, so may I kindly request you all get back to your seats and be seated?”




“Due to some technical problems may I request you kindly get back to your boarding halls, while our engineers bring a spare from another aircraft and fix up our aircraft?”


God bless Kenya Airways and their in-flight announcements!! If they find problems only after the aircrafts ran upto the Take-Off mark, on what guarantee do we fly with them? I was wondering if they would ever ask their leaving pilots to give a report on the conditions of the aircraft before they hand over?!


Now on Egypt Immigration,


Here are the questions asked:


Q: Purpose of Visit


A: pleasure,


Q: How long is your stay?


A: a week,
Q: How much money you have
A: “well around 1200$” (though my central processing unit took a while on how to answer, it was not too late when I replied)
Q: Show me the money
A: here you are (OMG, I had around 5000$ and was afraid to take them off my pocket, here I go… had my jacket cover my pant pockets, took some out, Thank God, it was 1300$)
The officer checked, if they were not fakes! Thank God my HR did not cheat me! J
Go and Wait, we will call you.
Will it not worry you if you have 2 aircraft passengers, landed after yours, cleared immigration, and you still wait for a gigantic figure to come up with your passport? I was restless, had literally flown long enough to become restless! Nearly 3 hrs have gone, asked a guy to lend his cell phone, called my friend who was waiting outside the terminal to receive me, he had no idea either on why it was taking that long, I had no more patience, went inside the Head-Immigration, there were 6 officials, started a bit quietly
“Sir, I have my Visa stamped from, Egyptian Embassy-Kigali, may I know why it takes this long for verification?”
“Wait … Wait … Will Come (with Arabian slang..Roaring voice)
Me: “No sir, Am sorry, am literally tired, unless I know how long the formalities take, I can’t hold anymore, I prefer I travel back, ‘I DO NOT NEED TO VISIT CAIRO”
“I DO NOT NEED TO VISIT CAIRO”- might have struck him hard I guess; He calls another person through his phone, here it comes… my passport stamped hours ago…seemed like it had been put on hold for …….. money” (people said). Another reason that would have delayed their process, in other words, kindled some suspicion, would be the way that I presented myself out there; with 35 kilograms huge baggage, and with an Yamaha musical keyboard! Will a guy to see Egypt for 4 days come with keyboard?! And unless they know my complete itinerary till home?!
The delay made me tired. But when I came out of the airport I was charged up again though; with lots of zeal over egypt.


Mahesh, my good friend, working with Redington-Egypt, was there with his colleague Ahmed with sleepy face, Pity they had to wait from 9.30 PM till 1 AM.
Mahesh lives in an apartment; Cairo is full of flats, dense- apartments, built decently, with all facilities. We had lots to talk about our college days and our old friends, He kept ready chicken fry, Rice and my Favorite RASAM (those who don’t know what this means google/wikipedia it!!). Hardly slept 4 hrs.
We are out for Alexandria, a modern-city, with historical importance, Went straight to the Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria, this is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century A.D.
The Citadel, is situated at the entrance of the eastern harbour on the eastern point of the Pharos Island. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest, then several disasters occurred and the shape of the lighthouse was changed to some extent, but it still continued to function. Restoration began in the period of Ahmed Ibn Tulun (about 880 A.D). During the 11th century an earthquake occurred, causing damage to the octagonal part. The bottom survived, but it could only serve as a watchtower, and a small Mosque was built on the top. In the 14th century there was a very destructive earthquake and the whole building was completely destroyed. I was wondering how the Pyramids escape those destructive earth quakes. Must be the magic of those brilliant architects; pity they all (around 100,000 people) had been killed on completion of the pyramid. Had they had another chance, Earth might have witnessed many other wonders too… Isn’t it? The citadel served as a defense fort for ages, before it lost its military importance.
The Citadel has a small mosque inside with a beautifully carved ceiling! (find attached pic) OMG, with those phase of intellect, Egyptians should dominate today’s world, what happened to them in between- is still a mystery. We took very many pictures in the citadel till the long whistle blown, strong and loud enough to wake the dead, Why do these security people lose cool easily?! J.
By the time we drove back to mid Alexandria, the sun had gone asleep, night views of Alexandria were really great, The main issue that I noticed in Egypt is their lack of traffic rules, though it was not THAT surprising for an INDIAN J, they should have worked a bit on it. You will never know when a wheel will run over your boot! Our taxi driver held our hands tighter and helped us cross the roads with thousands of vehicles passing, to take some snaps; I had mortgaged my soul to god the time I crossed the roads, none seemed to have had brake in their vehicles, anyways we were safe.
Mediterranean [I always spell this wrong, and let MS word Correct for me, Poor speller!!] sea, did not let me leave! We took some nice snaps with those cruise ships. When I talk about cruise ships, I repent that I did not plan and book for a dinner in a cruise that would have also complemented me a BELLY Dance, a must watch for Egypt visitors! Better luck next time! J
Ahmed, our friend and guide wanted us stay back in Alexandria to see other important places the next day. But I insisted to get back to Cairo the same evening since I did not want to lose chances of getting into pyramids. The 150 Ticket Limit made me worry a bit and if I miss I would miss it forever since my itinerary was not that flexible. So we said goodbye to that private taxi that we hired! And decided to take a Public taxi, I was happy that we did so, since I liked the music that they played!!
Reached Cairo around midnight and had little time to sleep. Pyramid started rolling in my mind,
The Pyramids of Giza.
There are three main Pyramids here, which were built in the 4th Dynasty (circa 4550 B.C) 4550 + 2010 years ago. The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt were built as tombs for Kings (and Queens), and I was told that it was the exclusive privilege to have a Pyramid tomb. However, this tradition only applied in the Old and Middle Kingdoms.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu is by far the most famous Pyramid in Egypt, the biggest, tallest, and most intact. After its construction it became one of the “Seven Wonders Of The World” (old), and today, it is the only one of them remaining. For a period of 6400+ years, the Pyramid was also the tallest building on earth, until the French built the Eiffel Tower in 1889 to take that accolade.
On one side there are actually 2 entrances, one is the original, and is 17m (55ft) above ground level, and the other one is a man-made forced entrance located below it. Created in the 9th Century A.D by Khalif El-Mamoun, who was seeking the treasures that he thought might have been kept inside the Pyramid. He sent out stonemasons to open up an entrance, and they cut it midway across the centre of the northern side. Their tunnel goes almost 35m into the Pyramid, and was crudely cut, and at the end it connects with the original inner corridors of the Pyramid. Nothing was found inside, as it was plundered in antiquity. Nowadays visitors, to the site, use Mamoun’s entrance to gain access into the Pyramid, as it is actually considered to be a shortcut.
The entrance is guarded by two security officials, who had asked us if we carried cameras, Cameras are not allowed, we had 2, we should have carried one inside like others did, but thank god they didn’t mind us carry our mobiles and mine had a bit of good clarity(is there anybody to deny?)! And I took video! If someone could guarantee me on legal terms I could load them all in youtube!
Walking inside that tunnel was so suffocating and exciting, since it was a tunnel of about 4 feet we had to BOW /bend (I thought, it was designed as such as to respect the great architects), it was a great feel! The Queen’s chamber was on renovation phase and was closed. We went to King’s chamber, a Dark room with heavy granites, if i am right it was 6, each one weighing approximate 60 tons, I was wanting to know what would happen if an earthquake hits heavily! 1300000 Block of granites would have been rattled and eaten our lives! History!
Granites and Alabasters were brought from places like Luxor, approx 1000 kms away from cairo. I could, by heart, sense the sweat and pain of the labours used!
People looted alabasters since they believed houses built with few alabasters from pyramid would bring LUCK! Thank god Government came heavily, otherwise pyramids would have been scattered as pieces of stones in Egyptian houses.
It was easier to climb and harder getting down! Pyramids are simply great!! Words just can’t express!
For what we have seen in Egyptian museum, I would need to release 10 volumes! Even a tiny stone carried 2 pages of history behind it.
When we were about to enter, there were college girls (by the way, Egyptian girls are very beautiful, boys are smart too), Egyptologists (they study Egypt history for 6 years), wanted to know if we require them to guide through, having seen only few museums, of a Hall-big in our lives, we said “NO” to them.
Entered into the museum, Once seen the huge Halls inside, we decided that we should go with a guide, since we had only 5hrs left for the day and i wanted fly Mumbai the same day, I went to the Security guards and asked if i can go out take a guide and come back, they said OK but an idea struck me in the mean while, There was an European girl just entered in to the museum with a guide, just asked her if we could join her and Share whatever the Guide is gonna charge us. She said OK and there we go.. Egypt National museum,
What is mummification, what does coffins interior say (interiors have lot of formula carved which they thought would cure diseases, Eyes symbol carved in the coffins to show head-side, alabaster jars used to keep the organs like liver, brain, kidney, eyes; They believed that they would only need heart in their after-life, there is a weighing scale to measure the weight of the heart, if your heart weighs less than the FEATHER OF TRUTH, you go into heaven, hell otherwise). Lotus in the statues..., when our guide went on explaining every single thing we were breathless! Really wanted a Gold Collar! She had a nice voice, i should mention. Guides are not allowed inside ROYAL MUMMIES Room, unless we pay for them, which was quite an expensive deal for us, Aurlie, was not willing either, thus went inside without guide, took notes, i shall compile them in my next mail since I had 3 tissue papers fully scribbled with details ( I bet no one could read them except me)!!.
Though reserved rest for next mail, I must share this here itself, the thing i liked the most!! Here it goes..
Hatshepsut, If you have difficulties pronouncing, pronounce it like HOT CHICKEN SOUP, like my guide suggested J
Hatshepsut (1540-1481 BC) was an Egyptian queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Usurping the throne after her husband's death, she held effective power for over 20 years. The daughter of Thutmose I by his queen Ahmose, Hatshepsut was married to her half brother Thutmose II, a son of Thutmose I by a lesser queen named Mutnofre. During Thutmose II's lifetime Hatshepsut was merely a principal queen bearing the titles King's Daughter, King's Sister, God's Wife, and King's Great Wife. On the death of Thutmose II the youthful Thutmose III, a son of Thutmose II by a concubine named Ese (Isis), came to the throne but under the tutelage of Hatshepsut, who for a number of years thereafter succeeded in keeping him in the background. At the beginning she had only queenly status but soon assumed the double crown of Egypt and, after some initial hesitation, had herself depicted in male dress.
Although both she, and later Thutmose III, counted their reigns from the beginning of their partnership, Hatshepsut was the dominant ruler until Year Twenty. Thutmose III was also shown as a king but only as a junior coregent. In an inscription of Year Twenty in Sinai, however, Thutmose III is shown on an equal footing with his aunt.
For obvious reasons warlike activities were barred even to so virile a woman as Hatshepsut, and with the exception of a minor expedition into Nubia, her reign was devoid of military undertakings. But an inscription on the facade of a small rock temple in Middle Egypt, known to the Greeks as Speos Artemidos, records her pride in having restored the sanctuaries in that part of Egypt, which she claimed had been neglected since the time of the alien Hyksos rulers.
Among the many officials on whose support Hatshepsut must have depended at least initially was one Senmut, whom she entrusted with the guardianship of the heir to the throne, the princess Ranefru, her daughter by her marriage to Thutmose II. According to Senmut himself, he was responsible for the many buildings erected by the Queen at Thebes. Among these was her splendid terraced temple at Deir el-Bahri, which was inspired by the earlier structure there of the Eleventh Dynasty king Mentuhotpe I.
Apart from the customary ritual ceremonies, the colored reliefs on the walls of this temple depicted the two main events of Hatshepsut's reign, the transport of two great red granite obelisks from Elephantine to Karnak and the famous expedition of Year Nine to the land of Punt, an unidentified locality which probably lay somewhere on the African Red Sea littoral.
Once having proclaimed herself king, Hatshepsut had a tomb excavated for herself in the Valley of the Kings. How she died is unknown, but after her death her memory was execrated by Thutmose III, who caused her name to be erased from the monuments wherever it could be found.
Talking about tomb-320, Deir-el-bihari (spell?), Many of the egypts most important pharaohs were hidden by 21st dynasty priests, in tomb 320, along with such kings as tutmose-II & Rampses-II was a small wooden box inscribed with the cartouches (if this is the first time you hear “cartouches” google it.. it was new for me too… then my guide explained!!) of Hatshepsut, supposedly contained Queen’s liver. It was concluded as queen’s by DNA test and the perfect fit of the Missing tooth.
I shall end up here since it is getting too long and my fingers are paining already, ( I wonder if my friend, john schilling, has a secretary type for him?)


Senthil Ganesh Shenbagamoorthy