• Welcome to Tamil Brahmins forums.



Think or sink!

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
Optical Illusions

1. To make a small room appear larger…decorate it in light colors.

2. To make a large room appear smaller…decorate with warm colors.

3. To make a wall appear closer… paint it with a darker shade of the same color as the other walls.

4. To make a wall appear farther away …paint it with a light shade of a cool color.

5. To make the floor look smaller…use a dark floor covering/ tile/carpet/ linoleum.

6. To make the floor larger… use a light floor covering.

7. To make the high ceiling appear lower…paint it with a slightly darker shade than the walls.

8. To raise the ceiling higher… paint it in a lighter shade than the walls.

9. To lower the ceiling of a very large room…paint the top section of the walls in the same darker shade as the ceiling.

10. To widen a narrow corridor..use light colors on the walls, floor and the ceiling.

11. To shorten a long corridor or a long room, paint the end walls with a dark or warm color.

12. To change the proportions of a corridor, use darker shade on the ceiling and floor and lighter shade on the walls.The space will now appear wider and lower.

13. To make a cool room cozy and warm; use peach, coral and apricot combination.

14. To make a warm room cool, use blue, grays and cool neutral colors.

15. To make room brighter, use a white glossy painting on the ceiling. The ceiling must be made be made perfectly smooth or the defects will be magnified!


Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
Polish Proverb:
He who cannot dance blames the band for being under-rehearsed.

Chinese Proverb:

Italian Proverb:
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back to the same box.

South American Proverb:
Do not insult Queen crocodile, until you have crossed the river.

African Proverb:
He who is carried on another's back does not appreciate how far the town is.

Japanese Proverb:
He who travels for love finds a thousand miles no farther than one.

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
Chinese Proverbs:

A smile will earn you ten more years of life.

When you have only two coins left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one and a lily with the other.

There is no economy in going to bed early to save candles, if the result is twins.

African Proverbs:

If a naked man runs through your village at the middle of the night, be sure to get dressed before you chase him.

When you are in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.

Abyssinian Proverb:


Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
Spanish Proverb:
"How beautiful it is to do nothing and then take rest afterwards."

Chinese Proverb:
"The palest ink is stronger than the clearest memory."

Japanese Proverb:
"One lovely smile can warm three winter months"

Cornish Proverb:
"Laughter and a generous giving make a heaven of a crowded room."

Danish Proverb:
"Bad is never good until worse happens!"

African Proverb:
"An army of sheep led by a lion would vanquish an army of lion led by a sheep."

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member

Danish Proverb:"The road to a friend's house is never too long."

Russian Proverb:
"If you can't catch a Bird of Paradise, be content with an old wet hen."

Balkan Proverb:
"A good rest is half the work done."

Nigerian Proverb:
"Hold a true friend with both your hands."

Hebrew Proverb:
"If one person tells you that you have the ears of an ass pay no attention. If two people tell you this, go get yourself a saddle."

Turkish Proverb:
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!"

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
I remember we were requested to get 'vEppilaik katti' (spice-balls as my grandkids call them) for a thatha who was 90+ and yet could not forgo the tasty spice balls.

I knew a family which used to carry one K.G. of Indian coffee powder for every month of their stay in the USA. So six months' long viit meant six K.G. of "besh-besh-coffee" powder spreading fragrance all around.

My husband used to carry a suitcase full of pearl onions and 'koorkan kizhangu' for a family of close relatives living in Hyderabad. The smell of the onions and the soil coming from the koorkan kizhangu rendered the bag useless for any other purpose! :(

My dad had the best policy. He believed that one should " Do in Rome as Roman do ". In addition to doing this, one should also eat what is available in the place one visits.

Had I listened to these words of wisdom I would have never had my luggage searched by the TSA so meticulously for any papads, dhal powders and pickles! :(

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
It is very sad to watch very fluent non-stop-talkers suddenly develop

slow and slurred speech and confused thinking due to a mild / severe stroke!

Should we feel happy that they are still able to talk or feel sorry that they lost their fluency?

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubts."

It's been my long experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

"To hear another's heartache is to forget one's own."

(Abraham Lincoln).


"I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early!"

(Charles Lamb)

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
"He who truly knows, has no occasion to shout." (Leonardo Da Vinci)

"I have never failed. I've found 10,000 ways that won't work."

"Opportunity is missed by most people because
it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
(Thomas Alva Edison)

"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."
(Albert Einstein)


"Earth laughs in flowers."

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
It is a popular saying which goes thus:

"If you catch a cold you can get rid of it in just one week by taking medicines
and after seven long days by not taking any medicines".

In those days 'common cold' was quite common. It would leave the person only after seven days - whether or not he took medication.

But now the new common cold has become uncommon. It does NOT go away in seven days!
It stays on for full three weeks or even more!

Will common cold become one of the greatest malaies of human race in the future?

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
The white furred and black tailed Cat Cherry has grown huge in the past eight months!
A white Garfield in the offing??? Maybe or maybe not!!!

She is denied access into more and more rooms now.

She is not allowed into the office cum swami room and a nursery for the growing seedlings
She is not allowed in any of the bedrooms. She starts licking our faces whenever she fancies it.

She always manages to scare thatha when he drinks his hot coffee.

He might spill a few drops of it while doing the siting-high-jump.
She loves to lick the sweet strong liquid with a strong aroma.

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
Of late writing various Indian languages in English alphabet has become very popular and fashionable. But if you convert the Thanglish (Thamizh in English) back to Thamizh
you would burst into tears - if you truly love your mother tongue!

Here are some of the samples which wrung my heart inside out on the very first day
I did not dare to enter the group to read more and make my heart bleed!

தங்லீஷ் படுத்தும் பாடு!
கலை வனக்கம்
இன்று நல்ல நல்
இவர்கள் நலை உலகை அலப் போகிரவர்கல்
படதை பெரிது பன்னி பருங்கல்

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
"The secret of humour is surprise."
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.These are trifles to be sure: but scattered along the pathway, the good they do is inconceivable."
(Joseph Addison)

"Nothing is really work, until you would rather be doing something else."
(Sir. James Barrie)

"When a man is willing and eager, the Gods join in."


Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member

"All who would win joy must share it; happiness is born a twin."
(Samuel Butler)

"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given to him by his father but borrowed from his children."
(John James Audubon)

(Lewis Carroll)

"All saints have a past and all sinners have a future"
(Anton Chekhov)

(Ronald Reagan)

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
Man has the ability to survive in extreme conditions. He can live in Sahara desert and also in Alaska.
He can live even in space and moon. But he must prepare for it in the right manner.

It will be foolishness if man expects to survive in the cold without wearing warm clothes or in the desert wearing woollen dress or in the space without wearing the space suit.

We can't increase or decree the Sun's heat available in any place. It will be wise to wear appropriate clothes considering the place where we live and stop blaming Nature and God for the sufferings of oneself, brought on oneself, by oneself.

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
English has got to be the strangest language there is. The lingo is riddled with confusing idioms, words that changes meanings contextually, unique words, and funny words.

Are you sure you know English? Bloviate much?!

Ah see, now you are bumfuzzled.

Shakespeare is credited with discovering a lot of these crazy words, but some have existed prior to the playwright, while others sprang into being during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some of these words are part of daily usage for native English speakers, while other parts of the world live in oblivious bliss.

Let’s take a look, shall we, at some of these chucklesome words.

Cattywampus – A word of American origin, it refers to something that is disorganised or in disarray. It can also mean something that is not arranged or lined up correctly. For example, “the mug is cattywampus from the holder after the two-year old sat on the coffee table.”

Bumfuzzle – Simply refers to being confused or flustered. For example, “he was bumfuzzled on hearing the tricky riddle.”

Taradiddle – Used for something or someone full of lies or pretentious nonsense. It can be used when someone is exaggerating about something they did or have, like buying an expensive fancy car when you know they don’t have the means for it.

Baloney – When someone says a whole lot of nonsense or makes up stuff, you call that baloney.

Collywobbles – This is akin to butterflies in your stomach, but on an intense level. It also refers to queasiness or stomach pain. For instance, “after the party last night, Tom has got the collywobbles and isn’t his usual sunny self.”

Widdershins – When you think something is moving in the wrong direction, you say it is widdershins. For Example, “Riley danced widdershins around Mack.”

Abibliophobia – When you are afraid of running out of things to read, you may be suffering from abibliophobia. Next time you run out of your house looking for the nearest bookstore, remember the word!

Lollygag – A person who is bumbling around wasting time is termed as a lollygag. It can also mean someone who is messing around without doing anything useful. This word would be a good one to stick on someone who’s made a habit of procrastinating.

Flibbertigibbet – You might have that one friend who talks his mouth off. He is a flibbertigibbet. The term refers to a silly person who talks incessantly.

Malarkey – When you hear foolish proposals or insincere talks, be warned, they are a load of malarkey. The word cropped up in the 1920s and is still in use.

Sialoquent – Remember sitting in the front row of a class and the professor, while talking, sprinkled his mouth’s essence on you? That uncomfortable sensation of being drenched in the professor’s spittle is called sialoquent.

Wabbit – Not the Looney Tunes one, no. This is a Scottish term for being worn out. If you are exhausted after a long day at work, say, “I’m pretty wabbit tonight.”

So if you got the collywobbles after reading all those tongue twisters, you may be dangerously close to becoming a wabbit abibliophobiac!

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
Today's link

மகேந்திர காண்டம்

விரிஞ்சன்மால் தேவ ராலும் வெலற்கரும் விறலோன் ஆகிப்

பெருஞ்சுரர் பதமும் வேத ஒழுக்கமும் பிறவும் மாற்றி

அருஞ்சிறை அவர்க்குச்செய்த அவுணர்கோன் ஆவிகொள்வான்

பரஞ்சுடர் உருவாய் வந்த குமரனைப் பணிதல் செய்வாம்.


Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member

"The home is not the tame place in the world of adventure. It is the one wild place in the world of rules and set tasks."

"The best way to catch a train is to miss the one before."

"A good statue can be rolled downhill without causing any damage."


"My theory, briefly, is that the Universe was dictated but not signed."
(Christopher Morley)

Visalakshi Ramani

Well-known member
(Augustus Homer Saint Gaudens)

"A good laugh is sunshine in a house."
(William Makepeace Thackeray)

"Those move easiest, who have learnt to dance."
(Alexander Pope)

"To be agreeable in society you must consent to be taught things you already know."
(Johann Kaspar Lavater)


"If I am to speak for for ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days;
if half an hour two days; if an hour I am ready now."
(Woodrow Wilson)