Quo Vadis?

(Image courtesy: Google Images) Little kids can be so amusing or annoying, especially the wailing types. The small crowd that was wandering around the church fair observed with some amusement at 6 year old Tina who was loudly asking her mother for some ear rings on display at the counter. After much discussion Tina’s father got her the ear rings despite the apparent exasperation of her mother. The big smile on Tina’s face was so contagious that the other shoppers smiled and went back to their shopping. Tina was walking around with her new ear rings tightly clasped when she saw another girl sobbing profusely. Her parents were trying to console her but failing miserably. By now the other shoppers started showing signs of annoyance wagging their heads at the wailing child and her helpless parents who could not control her. Tina looked at the little girl went up to her and gave her the ear rings, said “Merry Christmas!” and walked away. The crying girl looked at the ear ring...

There is a team in Chennai that does a very commendable project in connecting blood donors and those in need.  Blood is a very precious donation that can be easily done by everyone subject to certain physical and health requirements but the mismatch between requirement and supply can be high and that is why Team Bleed and others like them are great and deserve every bit of support they get. This topic is however not just about blood donation but about how blood must ideally be segregated in our country after donation. Today at present blood is segregated by O+/-, A+/-, B+/- and AB+/- (hope I got them all) but in doing so they are forgetting one important thing; the provenance of the blood. How can the blood not be tagged with the caste of the donor in this caste mad country? How can the sacrilegious act of transfusing the blood of a lower caste person to a pure higher class person be permitted? How can a doctor from a lower caste operate upon someone from a higher caste? ...

(Image Courtesy Google images article ) When the Prime Minister  threw that googly to the billions on unsuspecting people on November 8 th I was as puzzled as many others but since we live in a highly polarized country where the crazed fanatics bully every other point of view other than their own I kept my peace. Today after Chennai was left shaken but not stirred by the cyclone Vardah I think it is time to speak out against the way this demonitization has been done. One of the four metros in the country from a highly developed and progressive state is now on its knees not because of the cyclone but what its after effects combined with this bitter pill called demonitization has done. Since the floods of last year the citizens of Chennai have discovered that they are a better people and they care for each other. They are also resilient to face up to what has been thrown at them. Vardah left behind a trail of destruction that included uprooted trees, fallen cables (pow...

What makes a person obey someone? The recent events in Chennai when we paid our last respects to the Chief Minister are fresh on all our minds.  The fact that the much feared violence and riots did not happen made me wonder if the riots of earlier were not the real expressions of grief no matter how incongruous it may seem to others. It also leads to a sneaky doubt that there was no requirement to give an order for these kind of actions. At this moment I wonder when we vilify a leader we find that many of the actions attributed to him or her are actually done by the followers. For instance Adolf Hitler;  we demonize him and accuse him of killing countless Jews in the Second World War but the persons who actually committed the acts were normal human beings like you and I. The use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima & Nagasaki was not an act of terror because it was done by the victors; even though it may have been sanctioned by the US President there was a long cha...

Went for a movie after some time. I am very selective of the movies I watch. I watch a movie where I can relax, suspend reality, have a good time, laugh a lot & forget the movie in a few days. I would like to watch Micheal Madan Kama Rajan over Nayagan any day so even I sound brain dead it is my personal choice. Despite a title that gives you different ideas Andavan Kattalai is a simple film that would have worked well with any name and maybe it was the Director cocking a snook at conventional naming tradition. There was a worrying disclaimer at the start and the titles itself reminded you of an old 70's/80's movie, after the initial doubts you settle down. I was pleasantly surprised by the rapturous welcome for the hero Vijay Sethupathi who is now a confirmed, bankable star. The surprise increased when the audience hooted in delight for the name of Ritika Singh, apparently her debut movie has left a mark. When you watch this movie you need to be alert unlike othe...

The last time I went into a salon for something beyond a haircut was on the day of my wedding. I was literally bullied by my mum to get a facial done along with hair setting. The disaster that happened in the salon ensured that it would never happen again. Sadly lightning does strike at the same spot more than once. This time I was bullied, cajoled and kind of marched to an unisex salon for my regular haircut and a facial. Now do not get me wrong but I am not a big fan of strange people doing funny things to my face and worse putting unknown concoctions on it. Married men will know that there are certain discussions that will have only one answer and it will be seldom your own. It seemed that I had black heads and they were an extremely bad thing and had to be removed. My query of a simple soap wash resulted in a very dirty look which meant that simple soap would not do for this face. So after a decent haircut where I overheard some words between my wife and the cashier that ...

(Disclaimer: After a long break I have used a style of some random incidents tied by a thin thread in a post again.  If you do not find any thread, then it is an unconnected random post.) Irom Sharmila or the Iron Woman of Manipur is homeless and friendless now that she has decided to give up her fast of 16 years. Apparently the government which was force feeding her through that nasal tube is also no longer interested in looking after her.  For a lady who was deemed as an international icon it is shocking that she is now unwanted. Why did public opinion change so fast? Why can a lady who was selfless not choose to focus on herself? If she has conceded defeat in her fight is this the way losers are treated? This constant focus on winning and disparaging the losers is now becoming the favourite armchair sport of the day especially since the Olympics is into its 5 th day today. After all the expectations when we see India losing people are now trolling, abusing, moc...

I finally watched Kabali and left the theatre with mixed feelings and with a few “What if…” questions that can be answered by the sequel that is hinted in the ending of the movie. So did I like the movie? Yes. Was it the best thalaivar movie that I saw? Not sure. Since this is highly subjective and a matter of personal preference, this question is left unanswered. Could the movie have been better? YES!!!! The movie could do with the following changes to be just that little bit better: -         It was at least 20 minutes too long, for a movie that was not in the commercial template, it seemed to meander like a brook instead of a raging river since it is a gangster movie -           It was too violent. If you smirk considering that it is a gangster movie, the big daddy Baasha, was violent but it was only fists turning baddies to pulp and some harmless explosions thrown in the background f...

These days I eat out a lot and my visits to various restaurants have taught me a few valuable lessons which I will share with you all: -           Jack of all, Master of none : The bane of a restaurant today for purely commercial reason is aspiring to satisfy all and therefore offer a mindboggling variety of food items that usually end up getting classified into 4-5 cuisines. While it may satisfy the average person with the aptitude to ask for a Schezwan noodles in a Chettinad restaurant, it will fall short of satiating a true connoisseur  who will want to explore the depths of the Chettinad kitchens -       Mediocrity is accepted : Mediocrity is accepted because it is the new average, when the average is low it slowly becomes acceptable to all. So you will find restaurants which may look different but all taste alike, all feel mediocre -       There is a premium for exclusivity : The second l...

These days I eat out a lot and my visits to various restaurants have taught me a few valuable lessons which I will share with you all: -           Jack of all, Master of none : The bane of a restaurant today for purely commercial reason is aspiring to satisfy all and therefore offer a mindboggling variety of food items that usually end up getting classified into 4-5 cuisines. While it may satisfy the average person with the aptitude to ask for a Schezwan noodles in a Chettinad restaurant, it will fall short of satiating a true connoisseur  who will want to explore the depths of the Chettinad kitchens -       Mediocrity is accepted : Mediocrity is accepted because it is the new average, when the average is low it slowly becomes acceptable to all. So you will find restaurants which may look different but all taste alike, all feel mediocre -       There is a premium for exclusivity : The second l...

Today I started for work 15 minutes earlier and what a difference it made to my day!!! On a Monday the usual commute of 10 odd kilometres takes a little more than 50 minutes if I hit the peak hour traffic after 9 AM.  Today I started just 15 minutes earlier since the newspaper came late and it was quite an interesting experience. The beautiful Chennai weather helped to elevate my mood and I started my commute. Since there was no rush I settled down and started to enjoy the ride. Driving was always therapeutic to me and years ago I used to go for night drives in Chennai to just chill out. The cool breeze on the face with the windows down (no convertibles here!!), good music (if available), empty roads make a wonderful cocktail that is savoured leisurely. Drive where the heart rather than the road leads and come back refreshed. Office commute was however devoid of all these and was a chore that got unbearable at times due to the traffic jams, idiot motorists and silly ja...

This is the epilogue for a story that is in the depths of my mind. If you have missed the prologue, you can read it here . If you want to know what happened in between the two keep watching this space. Epilogue August 22 nd 2015 “Machan! You have not changed! Except for this funny accent Melbourne has not changed you, you are still the man from Mount” said Edwin as he disengaged from the affectionate hug. He gazed at Rajesh with mixed feelings. It was after all a meeting after over 15 years and the first since he heard the news. “Come home man, I am still not sure why you want to meet here?” said Edwin. “Today would have been our 10 th anniversary and I wanted to be here where it all started” said Rajesh.  They both paused as the Beach Tambaram local pulled into the station and people rushed to disembark or board the train. In a few minutes the train pulled out and Rajesh resumed, “Iniya said yes to me here at this soft drink shop when I proposed and I w...

I was moving some things in my cupboard when I came upon some unused batteries still in their packaging and next to it this radio. For a moment I paused and in a flash the memories associated with both these things came back to mind from the deeper recesses of the brain. Some things cannot be forgotten and the Chennai floods will be one such. So much has been said and written about the floods and the destruction that it brought along but there is also another dimension to the floods that is overlooked. The floods brought people closer to one another and we have seen it all in the spirit of Chennai but the floods also brought people closer to themselves. It helped people discover themselves and thereby discover each other in ways that had not happened before. Our home was safe and relatively unscathed in the floods but we did have some of its effects; power shut down for over 3 days, lack of essentials and food items, complete shutdown of telecommunications and so much mo...

“How much is it for a day?” he asked. When he heard the amount he made some mental calculations and then handed over the crisp notes that would feed all the 20 inmates of that home for one day. He collected the receipt from the grateful lady at the desk and started his bike. The next day he met his friends at their usual hangout and over their large pizzas and unlimited colas they were having a great time when he suddenly remembered the receipt. “Hey guys I have the receipt of the Helping Hands food payment with me. Let’s pool in the cash guys, I am running dry as I paid for all” he said. “Hold on, let us finish dinner and then we will discuss it” replied his friend. “Guys I got the bill, its 2890, including taxes, split five ways it is 600 per person including the tip” he said after looking at the bill and making yet another mental calculation. He collected the money from his friends and placed it in the bill fold along with his share and  signaled  the waiter. Tu...

தலைக்கு   மேல   வேலை, when you hear this then the usual understanding is that the person is working very hard. There are times when தலைக்கு   மேல   வேலை for me means sitting and enjoying the labours of someone working on my head once every 40 odd days. The humble saloons have been replaced by glitzy parlours and the barbers are called hair stylists these days. There were days when a visit to the saloon was a thrill because of the large turning chairs that for small kids was something close to an amusing ride. The barbers were patient when small kids after the hair cut merrily used their precious chairs as merry go rounds. The barber also was a veritable source of information usually having a few periodicals for his clients and also having his own share of gossips collected from the visitors. Someone told me that you should give your head to one person only and for many years I had the same person cutting my hair and since he knew what I wanted he never wait...