Well the tension is hitting home with less than 3 weeks now for the exams...neways took a welcome break with this crazy tag thanks to Mind Curry. Still got to crack Pappanabhan which I'll leave for the next time, I need to chillout!!!
1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
Well line 4 here is pretty boring...but Line 1 of this page is funny...infact very relevant for todays times..."The Ass Who Lost Three Kingdoms for a Mass", a comment on King JamesII and Aurangzeb in one of my history books.
2.Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
Aaha...nalla viyarppu vaada!!! Time for the next shower!!!
3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Just flicked thru the channels...my interesting hobby these days more than watching anything is finding out whether IBN or NDTV, or the news-programs on Asianet or Kairali or Indiavision...which channels actually hold my interest for more than a minute.
4.Without looking, guess what time it is?
6:55pm
5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
7:00pm
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Oddly nothing significant...tvm is a real quiet city!
7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
My terrace...stargazing, citygazing, while deep in thought. i have a beautiful view of the pattom st.mary's cathedral on one side, and miles and miles of coconut trees which stretches all the way to akulam lake(which cant be seen unforunately!) on the other side.
8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
Some of my blogpals who had already taken this tag
9. What are you wearing?
Canyon River Blues shirt and a green lungi with white spots!!!
10. Did you dream last night?
I am a big waste of time...sadly can never remember any of my nighttime dreams and so indulge in day-dreaming.
11. When did you last laugh?
Cant remember...havent met any of my friends for more than a week now!!!
12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
On one side, there's a library of my dads sociology books and a diminishing set of my books which he's dumped elsewhere in my absence, then there's a clock on copper-plate shaped like the african continent pops procured during one of his travels, an image of mary, and some other stuff...which i dont know what to call.
13. Seen anything weird lately?
A beggar stuffed with money in both his fists...and outstretching those same hands for more...new logic, fit for Kerala, i guess!!!
14. What do you think of this quiz?
Its ok...i havent dug into myself too deep lately, as is my wont!
15. What is the last film you saw?
Chinthamani Kola Case...(no comments!)
16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
The Kerala Government...if they'd sell...I'd appoint 20 idealistic people like MindCurry, Puthiya Viplavam and a dozen other bloggers coz its their kind of thought that is absent in Kerala today!!!
17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
I cant ride a bike...embarassing, but then i am scared of bikes...so never considered it a big loss.
18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Religion...for children it may still be a must...but why are 21st century adults still wasting theirs and others time, energy, life and humanity in this madness!
19. Do you like to dance?
Yes...have a few beers, close friends, some adipoli 80's-early 90's malayalam songs to go with it...otherwise i'd be as stiff as a scarecrow, i always wonder how just a can of beer can have that loosening effect!!
20. George Bush.
From Above..."The Ass Who Lost Three Kingdoms for a Mass"
21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Oru daughterrr poyittu oru kalyanam polum kazhikkaan enikke ee janmathil yogam kaanunnilla...hehe!!!
22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Dhaande enne veendum vadiyaakaan oru chodyam!
23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Haha...well this question, has come a bit too late...ideally i want to live in india and kerala and trivandrum from now on...its a question of the work i have to do to feed my stomach, that determines where i go from here!
24.What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
At the pearly gates, HE'd tell me..."You can wait there, apologize to all the people you wronged, as they come in and then i may consider letting you in"
25. 5 people who must also do this meme in their journal.
The funny thing abt tags is you feel reluctant while you are tagged, but the moment you take it up, nothing could be more fun. Anyways what was the purpose of this tag in the first place??? Guess its passed around just coz of the amazing solidarity of all our mallu bloggers. Anways most of the blogpals I know have been tagged, but anyone of you who hasnt been, please take it up and we'll all enjoy reading it.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
View from a Hospital Bedside...
When Rajkumar died and Bangalore's anti-socials ran riot i never thought the madness would hit so close to home. My dad got stuck in a Bangalore University guesthouse without food, water and electricity and coz he is diabetic had to eat and was forced into having some real crap food procured from god knows where. Anways he landed home with stomach ache, which "upgraded" to pneumonia! I first took him to the medical college coz he knew the gastro professors there and the great work done by the doctors and the nurses at medical college despite the huge crowds of ppl, the absence of infrastructure and overall shabbiness around them really touched me...the medical college is one place where I regret I was never gifted with enough perseverance to become a doctor!!! But then, when I see young doctors, I somehow manage to get depressed...these young people had to slog their way to get thru the kerala entrance while we engineers breezed in...and finally of the 600 odd MBBS grads(nowadays i think its 1000) coming out of Kerala just 10-20 make it to the PG's every year...such a waste of brilliance which anywhere else in the world would have been encouraged to pursue their studies to their hearts content but then these are some of the contradictions we sort of reconcile with in India.
Anyways like most people nowadays who just dont feel safe at a govt hospital, he asked to be moved to a private super-speciality(i wonder what that means...does super-speciality stand for the huge bills) and there despite the great infrastructure and lesser number of patients, the lack of efficiency and a galling lack of urgency really pissed me off. I can cite so many examples...my dad is pretty touchy on food and within a day he got fed up of kanji and kept demanding and getting spicy, oily food from the hospital itself until the doc-in-charge found out...i wonder where the dietician was!!! The professor at medical college was telling me how by just charging Rs.250 for an ultrasound the gastro=department was abe to finance its operations completely without depending on govt aid besides giving free medical care to deserving 20% of patients while private hospitals charge anywhere between 1000-1500 for the ultrasound. But then I guess people who can afford to pay the money shouldnt complain, i guess...but it strengthens the role and importance of goverment hospitals in health-care more than ever. The prof at medical college on coming to know I was a US-returnee and preparing for the civil services talked to me for over an hour opening my eyes to several changes he was crusading for within the govt and how he had been able to lay down the beginnings of computerization, his experiences at the Global Investor Meet and more...I think I'll leave all that for another post.
Even in the US, private medicare and health insurance is a big scam, so there's no point grumbling about it. There was this tragi-comic incident of my usc mallu-junior who fainted when he had fever and his roomies getting scared rushing him to hospital and after 3 days there, which among other tests included almost a 10 inch long injection for testing for meningitis(in his words..."aliya, aa sooji kandappazhe pedichu njan...kuniche nirthi ente spinal fluid ootti eduthade...i cried for help....i shouted out to the nurse that i was admitted with just a fever and she mas making a mistake...i went dizzy after that for 5-6 hours"...on getting back home he was thrusted with a bill for $26000 of which 90% was covered by insurance and he had to put in $2600...angry at his roomies who took him to hospital he said..."dey, ineem njan chaakaan kedannalum $1000 koduthe enikke indiayilekke oru two-way flight ticket eduthe thannaal mathi"!!!! We used to laugh so much about that but secretly dreaded paying a visit to a hospital ever since. Anways, the incidents of the last week forced me to leave the comforts of the home and into the heat and humidity, with my mom away I had to take things into my hands and I was doing a good job balacing my study and the hospital until the viral flu mowed me down a few days back. I have said earlier how much my friends keep motivating me...anways all this reminded me of an email one of my friends, motta sent in, some time back to pep 5-6 of our schoolmates who were almost done with their house surgency at tvm medical college and were beginning to prepare for the PG Medical Entrance and were unsure if the effort was going to be worth it. Moving over to the email which I have just copied and pasted...didnt feel like taking even a word out...
"hi guys,
its been a real long time since i have sent in a mail to the group and this time i am doing it to thank a few guys of our batch whom i now consider the most important to all of us...THE DOCTORS IN OUR FAMILY!! A few months back one of my friends met with an accident.this is one among my other set of friends in town.we took him to medical college casualty.you know how crowded the place is,we knew no one there.then i thought about chucks,i gave him a ring,he was on his way back home after 20 or 30 hours of work,a very tired guy.but....he came back,helped us,took care of a lot of things that would not have been possible had he not come,all these for a guy whom he not knew not till then,but just because he was my friend.
then on the 13th of this month,all of us class mates had met,including chakks, raman, paili, chairman and the others.i had to go home early so i bid goodnight and was on my way back home when another of my friends called me up and told me his father was being taken to medical college,he was crying over the phone,there was no one with him,i rushed to the hospital,his father was in a very weak condition,his eye sight had reduced ,he couldnt stand up nor speak,his mother was also ther,i was wondering what i could do.then i thought of the doctors in our family .i rang up chucks and spoke to pili.he told me he knew one of the guys sitting in the casualty,he told me he will ring him up and let me know .5 mins later he rang me up and asked to meet a guy called sunish,paili had already spoken to him.i went met sunish,a gem of a guy,he helped us out(he had been in hospital for almost 24 hrs continuously working,u can imagine what sort ofg a position he was in then)thnax to his efforts we were able to shift his father to a ward that night itself.i know you guys know how hard it is to get it done so soon. i left hospital by 11.30 that night.i knew paili had night duty on that day.at about 12 i got a call from paili,he told me he had met my friend's father and gave me a small briefing on what must be the reason for his disease.i was so stunned. eda paili had gone and seen him just because i had told him he was my friends father,i was so happy,i conveyed the message to my friend who was so releived. two days later paili called me up and gave me another feedback on his fathers situation.today i had gone to see uncle and i came across sunish(the doctot i mentioned earlier)he came with me,went through uncles scan reports and all and told us not to worry and that everything was fine.he also promised to come and monitor uncle's progress whenever he had time.
GUYS,i just realised how important these doctors were to all of us.just because i told them these guys or people were someone i knew they put in all their effort to do what was best.i know they are doing the same to all the people coming there and that too in circumstances most unfavourable.i conside their conditions unfavourable cos no ac rooms,no rest,no holidays, hours and hours of work, their working conditions, all unfavourable compared to our working enviorns...i just dont know how to thank you guys,CHAKKA, PAILI, RAMAN, PASHU, ASHISH, wherever you guys are i know you guys are doing the best job among the whole lot of us and your work is the most admired not just by our batch but the whole lot of people around you. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST AND REST OF US ARE REAL PROUD TO HAVE U GUYS AS DOCTORS IN OUR FAMILY.THANX GUYS...THANX A LOT"
Anyways like most people nowadays who just dont feel safe at a govt hospital, he asked to be moved to a private super-speciality(i wonder what that means...does super-speciality stand for the huge bills) and there despite the great infrastructure and lesser number of patients, the lack of efficiency and a galling lack of urgency really pissed me off. I can cite so many examples...my dad is pretty touchy on food and within a day he got fed up of kanji and kept demanding and getting spicy, oily food from the hospital itself until the doc-in-charge found out...i wonder where the dietician was!!! The professor at medical college was telling me how by just charging Rs.250 for an ultrasound the gastro=department was abe to finance its operations completely without depending on govt aid besides giving free medical care to deserving 20% of patients while private hospitals charge anywhere between 1000-1500 for the ultrasound. But then I guess people who can afford to pay the money shouldnt complain, i guess...but it strengthens the role and importance of goverment hospitals in health-care more than ever. The prof at medical college on coming to know I was a US-returnee and preparing for the civil services talked to me for over an hour opening my eyes to several changes he was crusading for within the govt and how he had been able to lay down the beginnings of computerization, his experiences at the Global Investor Meet and more...I think I'll leave all that for another post.
Even in the US, private medicare and health insurance is a big scam, so there's no point grumbling about it. There was this tragi-comic incident of my usc mallu-junior who fainted when he had fever and his roomies getting scared rushing him to hospital and after 3 days there, which among other tests included almost a 10 inch long injection for testing for meningitis(in his words..."aliya, aa sooji kandappazhe pedichu njan...kuniche nirthi ente spinal fluid ootti eduthade...i cried for help....i shouted out to the nurse that i was admitted with just a fever and she mas making a mistake...i went dizzy after that for 5-6 hours"...on getting back home he was thrusted with a bill for $26000 of which 90% was covered by insurance and he had to put in $2600...angry at his roomies who took him to hospital he said..."dey, ineem njan chaakaan kedannalum $1000 koduthe enikke indiayilekke oru two-way flight ticket eduthe thannaal mathi"!!!! We used to laugh so much about that but secretly dreaded paying a visit to a hospital ever since. Anways, the incidents of the last week forced me to leave the comforts of the home and into the heat and humidity, with my mom away I had to take things into my hands and I was doing a good job balacing my study and the hospital until the viral flu mowed me down a few days back. I have said earlier how much my friends keep motivating me...anways all this reminded me of an email one of my friends, motta sent in, some time back to pep 5-6 of our schoolmates who were almost done with their house surgency at tvm medical college and were beginning to prepare for the PG Medical Entrance and were unsure if the effort was going to be worth it. Moving over to the email which I have just copied and pasted...didnt feel like taking even a word out...
"hi guys,
its been a real long time since i have sent in a mail to the group and this time i am doing it to thank a few guys of our batch whom i now consider the most important to all of us...THE DOCTORS IN OUR FAMILY!! A few months back one of my friends met with an accident.this is one among my other set of friends in town.we took him to medical college casualty.you know how crowded the place is,we knew no one there.then i thought about chucks,i gave him a ring,he was on his way back home after 20 or 30 hours of work,a very tired guy.but....he came back,helped us,took care of a lot of things that would not have been possible had he not come,all these for a guy whom he not knew not till then,but just because he was my friend.
then on the 13th of this month,all of us class mates had met,including chakks, raman, paili, chairman and the others.i had to go home early so i bid goodnight and was on my way back home when another of my friends called me up and told me his father was being taken to medical college,he was crying over the phone,there was no one with him,i rushed to the hospital,his father was in a very weak condition,his eye sight had reduced ,he couldnt stand up nor speak,his mother was also ther,i was wondering what i could do.then i thought of the doctors in our family .i rang up chucks and spoke to pili.he told me he knew one of the guys sitting in the casualty,he told me he will ring him up and let me know .5 mins later he rang me up and asked to meet a guy called sunish,paili had already spoken to him.i went met sunish,a gem of a guy,he helped us out(he had been in hospital for almost 24 hrs continuously working,u can imagine what sort ofg a position he was in then)thnax to his efforts we were able to shift his father to a ward that night itself.i know you guys know how hard it is to get it done so soon. i left hospital by 11.30 that night.i knew paili had night duty on that day.at about 12 i got a call from paili,he told me he had met my friend's father and gave me a small briefing on what must be the reason for his disease.i was so stunned. eda paili had gone and seen him just because i had told him he was my friends father,i was so happy,i conveyed the message to my friend who was so releived. two days later paili called me up and gave me another feedback on his fathers situation.today i had gone to see uncle and i came across sunish(the doctot i mentioned earlier)he came with me,went through uncles scan reports and all and told us not to worry and that everything was fine.he also promised to come and monitor uncle's progress whenever he had time.
GUYS,i just realised how important these doctors were to all of us.just because i told them these guys or people were someone i knew they put in all their effort to do what was best.i know they are doing the same to all the people coming there and that too in circumstances most unfavourable.i conside their conditions unfavourable cos no ac rooms,no rest,no holidays, hours and hours of work, their working conditions, all unfavourable compared to our working enviorns...i just dont know how to thank you guys,CHAKKA, PAILI, RAMAN, PASHU, ASHISH, wherever you guys are i know you guys are doing the best job among the whole lot of us and your work is the most admired not just by our batch but the whole lot of people around you. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST AND REST OF US ARE REAL PROUD TO HAVE U GUYS AS DOCTORS IN OUR FAMILY.THANX GUYS...THANX A LOT"
Friday, April 14, 2006
Dividing, Young India...
Woe Befall Thee, Arjun Singh!!
He is proof that senile men should be forcefully retired from politics. With Manmohan Singh's break with the Left getting pronounced day by day, is this his latest gimmick to position himself as the next in line for PMship??? The added reservation foisted on Central Universities for OBC's, will ring the deathbells for many a promising youngster, whose only fault has been to be born in the General Category segment. The people of this country have gracefully accepted every reservation up till now including the Mandal Commission but how will they tolerate such injustice perpetrated on their children's education. At a time when Indian talent is taking the world by storm, it seems our government is bent on reining them in. If casteism still stays strong then look no further...the inconsiderate application of reservations still keeps this decadent concept fresh in our young people's mind in an age when rational thought and modern education could easily have swept these anachronisms away.
I have had a private education all my life and it never mattered to me who was nair, ezhava, muslim or christian but what about others who depend on the Government to educate their children? In Delhi, I saw a student community indescribably saddened, frustrated and helpless at how the best education still lay beyond their reach and kept getting tougher...all for votebank politics. Their angst has begun to almost border on hatred and I hope more cultured voices in the Government can talk sense into Arjun. The communal, linguistic and regional divide could not fracture India, but this one I feel threatens the very idea of being an Indian for many youngsters. It takes a Rang De Basanti to remind young students of their duty to the nation, but then it just takes an Arjun Singh to remind them of the grimmer details of Indian life...that the Indian standing next to him/her may have a different caste, religion and better opportunities for material advancement.
Where's The Creamy Layer??? The benefits of reservation, I beleive in a majority still go to the creamy layer of India's reserved segment...the most deserving continue to be oppressed by everyone for their selfish needs. Even in a state like Kerala where unemployment is the bane of every section of the population the govt implemented the Narendran Commission report for certain communities instead of on the basis of the economic status of all deserving applicants(which would have been such a progressive step for a state that prides its social development indices).
So where does this leave us Indians. Its easy to by cynical, indifferent and pathetic. For all the good the UPA did, everything stands reversed with a dying politician's last attempt at recapturing centrestage...what can we do??? Do we go ahead with a belief that private universities will come up that lessens our dependence on the government, do we go ahead beleiving banks will offer us student loans for financing our education in these private univs which will invariably be more expensive, or do we tolerate and accept gracefully this new social welfare measure. A set of pathbreaking economic reforms bailed our country out of a looming social crisis of urban unemployment...I foresee the regressive paths we take today will lead soon to an educational crisis and then a revolution too...in the ultra-competitive country we are becoming now its becoming impossible to keep our youth in chains any longer...I dont think the buoyancy in our economy is just a mirage and fuelled solely by outsourcing...it has been fuelled by vast availability of an educated workforce allowed to unleash their potential.
In the not-too distant future I foresee the setting up of private universities of the calibre of Stanford and Harvard in our country ..the demurring voices of Ratan Tata and Narayana Murthy to the new set of reservations could be indications of how usefully these decent men intend to spent their soon-to-be-retired lives to be remembered for eternity (how abt a Tata University?!). Well what I said above is the rosy future...but today, reservations have gone far beyond all sane limits and is serving gross inequalities to huge numbers of young Indians without offering equal alternatives in place. Ultimately, and in the meantime I feel sorry for one huge section, the poor, general category student...where will he find his place...in reserved government education or expensive private institutions...who will fight for his lost cause???
He is proof that senile men should be forcefully retired from politics. With Manmohan Singh's break with the Left getting pronounced day by day, is this his latest gimmick to position himself as the next in line for PMship??? The added reservation foisted on Central Universities for OBC's, will ring the deathbells for many a promising youngster, whose only fault has been to be born in the General Category segment. The people of this country have gracefully accepted every reservation up till now including the Mandal Commission but how will they tolerate such injustice perpetrated on their children's education. At a time when Indian talent is taking the world by storm, it seems our government is bent on reining them in. If casteism still stays strong then look no further...the inconsiderate application of reservations still keeps this decadent concept fresh in our young people's mind in an age when rational thought and modern education could easily have swept these anachronisms away.
I have had a private education all my life and it never mattered to me who was nair, ezhava, muslim or christian but what about others who depend on the Government to educate their children? In Delhi, I saw a student community indescribably saddened, frustrated and helpless at how the best education still lay beyond their reach and kept getting tougher...all for votebank politics. Their angst has begun to almost border on hatred and I hope more cultured voices in the Government can talk sense into Arjun. The communal, linguistic and regional divide could not fracture India, but this one I feel threatens the very idea of being an Indian for many youngsters. It takes a Rang De Basanti to remind young students of their duty to the nation, but then it just takes an Arjun Singh to remind them of the grimmer details of Indian life...that the Indian standing next to him/her may have a different caste, religion and better opportunities for material advancement.
Where's The Creamy Layer??? The benefits of reservation, I beleive in a majority still go to the creamy layer of India's reserved segment...the most deserving continue to be oppressed by everyone for their selfish needs. Even in a state like Kerala where unemployment is the bane of every section of the population the govt implemented the Narendran Commission report for certain communities instead of on the basis of the economic status of all deserving applicants(which would have been such a progressive step for a state that prides its social development indices).
So where does this leave us Indians. Its easy to by cynical, indifferent and pathetic. For all the good the UPA did, everything stands reversed with a dying politician's last attempt at recapturing centrestage...what can we do??? Do we go ahead with a belief that private universities will come up that lessens our dependence on the government, do we go ahead beleiving banks will offer us student loans for financing our education in these private univs which will invariably be more expensive, or do we tolerate and accept gracefully this new social welfare measure. A set of pathbreaking economic reforms bailed our country out of a looming social crisis of urban unemployment...I foresee the regressive paths we take today will lead soon to an educational crisis and then a revolution too...in the ultra-competitive country we are becoming now its becoming impossible to keep our youth in chains any longer...I dont think the buoyancy in our economy is just a mirage and fuelled solely by outsourcing...it has been fuelled by vast availability of an educated workforce allowed to unleash their potential.
In the not-too distant future I foresee the setting up of private universities of the calibre of Stanford and Harvard in our country ..the demurring voices of Ratan Tata and Narayana Murthy to the new set of reservations could be indications of how usefully these decent men intend to spent their soon-to-be-retired lives to be remembered for eternity (how abt a Tata University?!). Well what I said above is the rosy future...but today, reservations have gone far beyond all sane limits and is serving gross inequalities to huge numbers of young Indians without offering equal alternatives in place. Ultimately, and in the meantime I feel sorry for one huge section, the poor, general category student...where will he find his place...in reserved government education or expensive private institutions...who will fight for his lost cause???
Monday, April 10, 2006
Of Bungling Lovers, And Their Tales...
Whats funny these days is the amazing candour with which we discuss a subject that was among the most taboo and worst kept secrets in school and college life...love! Back then, it was an affair of private despair clumsily stashed away very from public glare in the deepest recesses of the mind, only to be reopened, mulled at, strategised, procrastinated and once in a while mustering the guts to make a public airing of feelings. Today with the girls who then captivated our hearts married and gone, we look back and laugh at all the embarassingly funny situations that infatuation, love and trying hard to keep the affairs of the heart secret produced. I had the good fortune to study with a huge set of dimwits from school through college who conceived ideas of megalomanical proportions to win over the ladies, and though we knew how bound for failure they were, yet we would prod them on in their heroics for a good laugh later on at the unfortunate victims expense. Today those duffers regret their heroics as even years later because of unforgiving, unforgetting friends using those mistakes to have a jolly, good laugh at reunions and idiots like me blogging those down for eternity.
School was the heyday of infatuations. What made our situation more precarious was that we kept Vishwamitranian ideals and a belief that girls entering the fold would damage our batch's unity. But boys will be boys, and from motta who could find his way to a gals heart so easily that we would stand respectfully at his side trying to get the "mullapoonkodiyettu kedakkum" effect to the forever love-lorn chunni to the tough and hardy hooper, everyday in schoollife had a most hilarious outpouring of somebody's woes, another's gaffes and someone's successes to narrate. As for me, I remember waiting for my crush, all over the place from Nanthencode Junction to Pattom
LIC wondering what mode of transport she used and finally giving up that tactic when she arrived with a policeman for escort...her dad wuz an IPS officer!!! But what took the cake was a love rectangle shaping up in class and Hooper forming a planning board with a few guys to deduce who the gal was interested in, and finally for all his efforts landing up with a nickname chairman which still stands! Well that was not the end of chairman's travails as he used sentiments to appeal to an HAC gal and she broke into tears in the middle of Statue Junction with hundreds of people watching and abba and gundu who accompanied chairman, running away with chair trying his best to console her... that was the last i ever heard of chairmans tryst with the fairer sex. Infact something happened so reminescent of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar that we would tell muthu, "ninakkum oru waste penninum vendi loyolites peruvazhiyil chenne adiyondaakenda gathikedayi"!!! There are so many more tales that merited mention here but due to lack of space you readers could look up this link
College brought on dilemmas of the same nature as school. I again fell into the hands of a dedicated gang of rogues whose first priorities were mischief and adventure and who considered love and gals as waste of time and money. But then human nature has a way of asserting itself...viswan soon began writing love poems, shan began to study hard to catch up, kiran went from gyms to diets to naturopathy to loose weight, anoop trying to be quiet and obedient in class, i would try my hand at sitting studiously in the frontbenches...oh, unforgettable all our experiements at taming our wild ways and finding a path to reform! None of it really worked...we would think to ourselves, "ithinokke oru knack venam enne thonnunnu" and return to what we were best at...movies, cricket, booze and alambufying in class. Still remember the day Kevin hit on a novel way to propose to his lady love...got a t-shirt specially painted with a "Right Here Waiting for You" caption and borrowed a bike and a sunglass, waited for her at the college entrance and the gal walked right by giving just a smile and not making much of the hardly crafted tshirt. We then decided a more direct, "I love you" painted tshirt could do the trick but by then poor kevin had enough!!! Or the day Viswan got his first love letter, thanks to Yours Truely's nascent writing ability, arriving late in class that day with a most bewildered look on him...taking a seat somewhere in the front, and every few mins looking back sharply at us as we struggled to maintain a straight face and then at the unsuspecting girl, trying to glean where
exactly the change in his life's fortunes emanated from! The mutual distrust among our guys was so great...there were surprise visits to each others house, complete ransacking of computers, bnedrooms, almirahs for personal diary's and other incriminating evidences there were times the savages actually dreaded each other...actually we couldnt blame each other...shan's fone bill, viswan going to ponmudi or kovalam without us, i once went to a coffee shop and the next day as I gingerly stepped into class a shout from viswan, "Eda Kalla Kattankappi, nee aalu kollamallo" and the sinking feeling of embarassment with me wondering despite all precautions how they found out, chakkas secret visits to the gyms and so many more incidents always raised our suspicions...and at the other end of the spectrum there was arun hari who in between playing super spy and enfant terrible to us would "silently" scream at us with a "look at me, learn from me" attitude on how to lead life.
Its time to wind up this post...but i need to mention this incident from cet of a guy who was hellbent on eloping with his girlfriend, despite both sets of parents agreeing to a marriage that he took along with him goondas to whom he lied that the gal was in house arrest, tied up the gals parents, and strutted out with the gal and when the gals father told the truth of the story to the goondas, it wass the guy's turn to get thrashed by the goondas and spent a few days in hospital. Unbelievable...none of us ever understood his logic...whoever said love is blind could never have forseen such a situation...beats even the most twisted bollywood romance!! And to call it quits this last anecdote, may be the best of our schoolife...the gal who cried above drove into her akarshana valayam another of our classmates who started to excuse himself everytime with a strange excuse..."ente oru thengum purayadathil, thenga pothikkan pokanam" and once after tuition he used this excuse and left while chairman and the other guys proceeded to the above said gal's house and surprised on seeing our new romeo at his flame's place, chairman in anger
and jest tells the gal, "Ivide thenga kedappondo...ivan nannayi pothiche tharum"!!!...Oh My God, incidents like this as i have never been tired of saying made our school one of the most extraordinary experiences of our lifteime. Like its funny side, many of us experienced its sadder side too but with time, the scars heel and what remains is a wealth of humor that love and infatuations contributed. Well, unfortunately there's no way to rewind time, but there's always going to be days when I can unwind and laugh and wonder what an amazing maze of feelings, experiences and embarassments litters a man's path to maturity and adulthood. Back to my books now...hope I dont get lynched for this post!!!
School was the heyday of infatuations. What made our situation more precarious was that we kept Vishwamitranian ideals and a belief that girls entering the fold would damage our batch's unity. But boys will be boys, and from motta who could find his way to a gals heart so easily that we would stand respectfully at his side trying to get the "mullapoonkodiyettu kedakkum" effect to the forever love-lorn chunni to the tough and hardy hooper, everyday in schoollife had a most hilarious outpouring of somebody's woes, another's gaffes and someone's successes to narrate. As for me, I remember waiting for my crush, all over the place from Nanthencode Junction to Pattom
LIC wondering what mode of transport she used and finally giving up that tactic when she arrived with a policeman for escort...her dad wuz an IPS officer!!! But what took the cake was a love rectangle shaping up in class and Hooper forming a planning board with a few guys to deduce who the gal was interested in, and finally for all his efforts landing up with a nickname chairman which still stands! Well that was not the end of chairman's travails as he used sentiments to appeal to an HAC gal and she broke into tears in the middle of Statue Junction with hundreds of people watching and abba and gundu who accompanied chairman, running away with chair trying his best to console her... that was the last i ever heard of chairmans tryst with the fairer sex. Infact something happened so reminescent of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar that we would tell muthu, "ninakkum oru waste penninum vendi loyolites peruvazhiyil chenne adiyondaakenda gathikedayi"!!! There are so many more tales that merited mention here but due to lack of space you readers could look up this link
College brought on dilemmas of the same nature as school. I again fell into the hands of a dedicated gang of rogues whose first priorities were mischief and adventure and who considered love and gals as waste of time and money. But then human nature has a way of asserting itself...viswan soon began writing love poems, shan began to study hard to catch up, kiran went from gyms to diets to naturopathy to loose weight, anoop trying to be quiet and obedient in class, i would try my hand at sitting studiously in the frontbenches...oh, unforgettable all our experiements at taming our wild ways and finding a path to reform! None of it really worked...we would think to ourselves, "ithinokke oru knack venam enne thonnunnu" and return to what we were best at...movies, cricket, booze and alambufying in class. Still remember the day Kevin hit on a novel way to propose to his lady love...got a t-shirt specially painted with a "Right Here Waiting for You" caption and borrowed a bike and a sunglass, waited for her at the college entrance and the gal walked right by giving just a smile and not making much of the hardly crafted tshirt. We then decided a more direct, "I love you" painted tshirt could do the trick but by then poor kevin had enough!!! Or the day Viswan got his first love letter, thanks to Yours Truely's nascent writing ability, arriving late in class that day with a most bewildered look on him...taking a seat somewhere in the front, and every few mins looking back sharply at us as we struggled to maintain a straight face and then at the unsuspecting girl, trying to glean where
exactly the change in his life's fortunes emanated from! The mutual distrust among our guys was so great...there were surprise visits to each others house, complete ransacking of computers, bnedrooms, almirahs for personal diary's and other incriminating evidences there were times the savages actually dreaded each other...actually we couldnt blame each other...shan's fone bill, viswan going to ponmudi or kovalam without us, i once went to a coffee shop and the next day as I gingerly stepped into class a shout from viswan, "Eda Kalla Kattankappi, nee aalu kollamallo" and the sinking feeling of embarassment with me wondering despite all precautions how they found out, chakkas secret visits to the gyms and so many more incidents always raised our suspicions...and at the other end of the spectrum there was arun hari who in between playing super spy and enfant terrible to us would "silently" scream at us with a "look at me, learn from me" attitude on how to lead life.
Its time to wind up this post...but i need to mention this incident from cet of a guy who was hellbent on eloping with his girlfriend, despite both sets of parents agreeing to a marriage that he took along with him goondas to whom he lied that the gal was in house arrest, tied up the gals parents, and strutted out with the gal and when the gals father told the truth of the story to the goondas, it wass the guy's turn to get thrashed by the goondas and spent a few days in hospital. Unbelievable...none of us ever understood his logic...whoever said love is blind could never have forseen such a situation...beats even the most twisted bollywood romance!! And to call it quits this last anecdote, may be the best of our schoolife...the gal who cried above drove into her akarshana valayam another of our classmates who started to excuse himself everytime with a strange excuse..."ente oru thengum purayadathil, thenga pothikkan pokanam" and once after tuition he used this excuse and left while chairman and the other guys proceeded to the above said gal's house and surprised on seeing our new romeo at his flame's place, chairman in anger
and jest tells the gal, "Ivide thenga kedappondo...ivan nannayi pothiche tharum"!!!...Oh My God, incidents like this as i have never been tired of saying made our school one of the most extraordinary experiences of our lifteime. Like its funny side, many of us experienced its sadder side too but with time, the scars heel and what remains is a wealth of humor that love and infatuations contributed. Well, unfortunately there's no way to rewind time, but there's always going to be days when I can unwind and laugh and wonder what an amazing maze of feelings, experiences and embarassments litters a man's path to maturity and adulthood. Back to my books now...hope I dont get lynched for this post!!!
Friday, April 07, 2006
Listen To Me, Kerala???
Landed in Tvm in the midst of the Mahabharata War...or it seems like that atleast...heated discussions everywhere...in homes, streetsides and family functions!!! In the most literate, politically aware state of India after weeks of precarious religion, caste, sex and regional balancing amidst an already tenuous tightrope of coalition politics to walk on, the allknowing Keralite looks all set to throw the Congress out of power for the next 5 years. Though I licked my lips in anticipation of being present in kerala at this time of the year something happened that made me swore not to even bother with politics anymore. It takes years to mould a man into a leader but it just takes a few mins of irresponsible politics and a false case to finish off his career. I am not giving names but when the person in question even sold his flat to raise money to be a representative of the people and then to see the trauma he and his family went through, I am convinced Hell, though debunked by theologians, cant yet close shop...there are politicians waiting outside with deep pockets and darker sins! So where do I start...should it be from Pinarayi blundering by not contesting so that he could keep "THE PARTY" under his amrpits, or from Oommen Chandy's superb strategy to keep the DICK out of the udf only to see it torpedoed by Antony aka The Saint, Veerappa Moily, Chennithala and Kunhalikutty, or Achuthanandan's rantings and ravings from Parassala to Kasargod of saving Kerala from a "development coterie". We'll leave politics at that. Lets see the pressing needs of Kerala over the next 5 years and what I think will be the fate of kerala whoever the next chief minister of kerala is.
What V.S can do...
1. Agricultural Revolution...Despite hundreds of tons of excess rice already being purchased by the govt to save the rice farmers(yeah we still grow rice...our high wages have made farmers take to rubber and other cash crops in large numbers only for achu to arrive on the scene and vettinerathufy) he will force more land to be brought under rice cultivation, that is if any is available.
2. No Foreign Capital - Kerala will have at the most a hundred millionaries(in dollars) and I doubt if even 10 of them will have the acumen for investing in an IT business. With Infy, Wipro, Satyam and TCS heavily committed to other states so where do we look to for trigerring off an already belated IT revolution in our state...like godsend the Dubai Internet City lands here in our lap and almost 2 years of talks, moratoriums and agreements everythings still on paper!!!
3. Leader of the Masses - VS is undoubtedly the leader of Kerala's unskilled labor class. As was evident from a small chayakada owner and acquaintance from my college days praising VS on his statements of ending corruption, blocking Smart City and bringing the rich and powerful of Kerala to book...what the poor guy doesnt realize is that the VS brand of socialism will do more harm to him than good...ppl like me fleeing kerala after college eludes him of business for a lifetime!!!
4. Old Age City - I can safely assume my colony to be a microcosm for Trivandrum at large. Everyone is either abroad, or in bangalore and everyone cribs of being given a fair chance to come back home. Impossible...everyone better save up their money and invest in apts or houses in whatever city you are based... 5 years of VS rule will kill any chances of an IT boom.
What Chandy can do...(Or a Pinarayi Too)
1.The most dynamic chief minister the state has ever had will stop at nothing to etch his name firmly in golden letters as modern kerala's architect . I firmly believe his promise of the IT Corridor in Tvm and the Smart City in Cochin will take shape. Infact if he comes to power I will certainly stay back in kerala and take part in its development either as a capitalist or an employee.
2.I believe if given another term he will lean towards ending the udf coalition and re-establishing single party rule in kerala. With the CPM already moving towards ending the hegemony of the eerkili parties in its fold I doubt whether the Congress can keep bending over its back any longer for groups like Muslim League, Kerala Congress and Dick.
What Kerala Really Needs...
1. Jobs, Jobs and Jobs...Having the highest unemployment rate in India is one distinction kerala can certainly do without.
2. College Education - An entire generation of youngsters like me has been ruined by the mediocre education dished out in our colleges to go with the archaic syllabi and "brainy" question papers set by our universities. My advice to kerala youngsters is...dont wait for graduation to flee kerala...Go Fly at 17!!!
3. More focussed governance - Kerala is just perfect for becoming a developed state in India. If only the govt could focus less of its energies on politics and more on its health, education and public works sector we could redeem our state from the intense stagnation that's setting in here with the onset of competitive private schools and hospitals which though they charge astronomic rates offer better salaries and services.
4. Prices - Despite increased privatisation, Kerala has been saved from inflation in essential services because of a combination of socialist parties, an activist media and people's attitudes. Today the consultation of even the best doctor in tvm is available to people, rich or poor...Lets all fight to keep our innate consumerist tendency at bay and indulge less or else it will be the poor of Kerala who suffer.
5. The People - If only Malayalis lived better in their home state! This is the most cliched yet most truest grouse of every nrk.
I dont know what this post intended to do. The few readers here will not vote...the masses of kerala out there who will sweat in the may sun to have ink smudged on their fingers have a mind of their own...they consider themselves, as knowledgeable as the newspapers they read. For many it doesnt matter who gets elected as long as the candidate will have a religion, caste or some identity similar to his or else he is a party worker waiting to reap the benefits of his hard campaigning by milking his local MLA. Well, if 125 odd years back, if papers like The Hindu, Amrit Bazaar Patrika and Kesari could rise amidst humble beginnings to awaken the nationalist spirit in Indians to challenge the might of the British Empire we bloggers could very well be forerunners of some future technological change that allows us freebooters to reach as many people as our newspapers which have succumbed to compulsions of ideology, populism or compromises. And heck yeah, who wants to be a journalist, when you can write all you wanted, without an editor waiting to cut you out!!!! This article concludes a series of posts I have written over the last one and a half years on why the Congress needs to be given another last chance to rule us and this should probably be the last post I'll ever write on our electoral politics. I am not a Congressman nor a Commie-hater, but even if one leading CPM leader came out with a development agenda, I too would have gone with the incumbency wave and supported them wholeheartedly. Lets wait and watch whats in store for the State...miracles could happen...maybe VS will go the Buddhadeb way...after all, there's nothing impossible in politics!
What V.S can do...
1. Agricultural Revolution...Despite hundreds of tons of excess rice already being purchased by the govt to save the rice farmers(yeah we still grow rice...our high wages have made farmers take to rubber and other cash crops in large numbers only for achu to arrive on the scene and vettinerathufy) he will force more land to be brought under rice cultivation, that is if any is available.
2. No Foreign Capital - Kerala will have at the most a hundred millionaries(in dollars) and I doubt if even 10 of them will have the acumen for investing in an IT business. With Infy, Wipro, Satyam and TCS heavily committed to other states so where do we look to for trigerring off an already belated IT revolution in our state...like godsend the Dubai Internet City lands here in our lap and almost 2 years of talks, moratoriums and agreements everythings still on paper!!!
3. Leader of the Masses - VS is undoubtedly the leader of Kerala's unskilled labor class. As was evident from a small chayakada owner and acquaintance from my college days praising VS on his statements of ending corruption, blocking Smart City and bringing the rich and powerful of Kerala to book...what the poor guy doesnt realize is that the VS brand of socialism will do more harm to him than good...ppl like me fleeing kerala after college eludes him of business for a lifetime!!!
4. Old Age City - I can safely assume my colony to be a microcosm for Trivandrum at large. Everyone is either abroad, or in bangalore and everyone cribs of being given a fair chance to come back home. Impossible...everyone better save up their money and invest in apts or houses in whatever city you are based... 5 years of VS rule will kill any chances of an IT boom.
What Chandy can do...(Or a Pinarayi Too)
1.The most dynamic chief minister the state has ever had will stop at nothing to etch his name firmly in golden letters as modern kerala's architect . I firmly believe his promise of the IT Corridor in Tvm and the Smart City in Cochin will take shape. Infact if he comes to power I will certainly stay back in kerala and take part in its development either as a capitalist or an employee.
2.I believe if given another term he will lean towards ending the udf coalition and re-establishing single party rule in kerala. With the CPM already moving towards ending the hegemony of the eerkili parties in its fold I doubt whether the Congress can keep bending over its back any longer for groups like Muslim League, Kerala Congress and Dick.
What Kerala Really Needs...
1. Jobs, Jobs and Jobs...Having the highest unemployment rate in India is one distinction kerala can certainly do without.
2. College Education - An entire generation of youngsters like me has been ruined by the mediocre education dished out in our colleges to go with the archaic syllabi and "brainy" question papers set by our universities. My advice to kerala youngsters is...dont wait for graduation to flee kerala...Go Fly at 17!!!
3. More focussed governance - Kerala is just perfect for becoming a developed state in India. If only the govt could focus less of its energies on politics and more on its health, education and public works sector we could redeem our state from the intense stagnation that's setting in here with the onset of competitive private schools and hospitals which though they charge astronomic rates offer better salaries and services.
4. Prices - Despite increased privatisation, Kerala has been saved from inflation in essential services because of a combination of socialist parties, an activist media and people's attitudes. Today the consultation of even the best doctor in tvm is available to people, rich or poor...Lets all fight to keep our innate consumerist tendency at bay and indulge less or else it will be the poor of Kerala who suffer.
5. The People - If only Malayalis lived better in their home state! This is the most cliched yet most truest grouse of every nrk.
I dont know what this post intended to do. The few readers here will not vote...the masses of kerala out there who will sweat in the may sun to have ink smudged on their fingers have a mind of their own...they consider themselves, as knowledgeable as the newspapers they read. For many it doesnt matter who gets elected as long as the candidate will have a religion, caste or some identity similar to his or else he is a party worker waiting to reap the benefits of his hard campaigning by milking his local MLA. Well, if 125 odd years back, if papers like The Hindu, Amrit Bazaar Patrika and Kesari could rise amidst humble beginnings to awaken the nationalist spirit in Indians to challenge the might of the British Empire we bloggers could very well be forerunners of some future technological change that allows us freebooters to reach as many people as our newspapers which have succumbed to compulsions of ideology, populism or compromises. And heck yeah, who wants to be a journalist, when you can write all you wanted, without an editor waiting to cut you out!!!! This article concludes a series of posts I have written over the last one and a half years on why the Congress needs to be given another last chance to rule us and this should probably be the last post I'll ever write on our electoral politics. I am not a Congressman nor a Commie-hater, but even if one leading CPM leader came out with a development agenda, I too would have gone with the incumbency wave and supported them wholeheartedly. Lets wait and watch whats in store for the State...miracles could happen...maybe VS will go the Buddhadeb way...after all, there's nothing impossible in politics!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
