Quo Vadis?

You walk into a party and the person next to you smells of Hugo Boss but you like Sauvage, you actually cannot stand Boss, what will you do? Remember you do not know the person well, nor do you have any care for his well-being. It is just that you are sure that your Sauvage is always superior to his Boss. Would you then… -           Probably go and tell him have you tried Sauvage? Or why don’t you try Sauvage because of its merits? -           Probably gift him a bottle of Sauvage for an upcoming event so that he can try it for himself and see the benefits? -       Probably call people together and say everyone smell his Boss and my Sauvage and tell everyone which is better? It better be Sauvage. -           Probably go and tell him, you will not wear Boss because you think that Boss is not good and more importantly Boss offends you? -   ...

If you missed out the trolling of a journalist by fans of actor Vijay simply because she commented that she did not  like a film made over 7 years ago, then take my word, you are better off not watching any more of actor Vijay’s movies. The movie in question Suraa (meaning shark) is abysmal and the general consensus among people I know is that that it is so bad that watching it will give those without a migraine one and those who have migraine the agony of watching it relief from their migraine. What makes a terrible movie? Many things but this movie will be on the heap of other similar movies made by movie makers who wanted simply to milk the star value of the actor. Another movie from back then called Pudhiya Geethai also would give similar migraine effects to those brave enough to watch it, but for now let me say that there are movies and there are bad movies and every actor has his share of bad movies and it is part of their professional life. Suraa had everyth...

The dust has settled after the elections to the state government; history has been made with the threat of incumbency given a trampling by Amma; memes have been made to celebrate, drown sorrows or ridicule; but the big question on the minds of many is “Now What?” The more the numbers of the voting patterns are studied the more the story emerges that beyond the 40% or so who wanted the same government another nearly 40% was willing to go to the deep sea and there remains the balance 20% who want change. There is a small percentage of voters in this 20% who did not want any of the current options, which apart from being a symbolic act matters little to either the results or the poll chances of the candidates. To those who kept saying that NOTA would have made the difference in the polling: pause and understand that he / she did not want to vote for anyone and instead of letting the vote get misused or go unused he / she has said “I am not voting for you” The apathy of Chennai...

A long time ago, I was informed that it is actually just 9 I got drawn into a group called I-Fix, another initiative that was formed on idealism, fuelled by youthful energy with a desire to make a change. There may have been others, in fact I remember voting for Lok Paritran, remember that party of youngsters like Surya in Ayudha Ezhuthu who wanted to clean the muck of politics and contested with the symbol of an axe? I-Fix wanted to make a change by doing little things by the individuals themselves without waiting for institutional or government support. Yes even before the politicians made “Namakku Naame” an election stunt, there were initiatives by the common man who sought to make things right one step at a time. I-Fix was into fixing potholes, those silent killers that we loathe on the roads but seldom find any solution to including not meeting the elected councillors for resolution. I-Fix volunteers used to meet quietly in some predetermined spot and fill the potholes ...

Life throws up some wonderful lessons when you least expect it and it is up to you to make use of these lessons. Today was an eye opener; it was not totally unexpected because this was something that was planned however life as I said will constantly surprise you. The Pope has asked for this year to be celebrated as the year of mercy, so small acts of mercy are encouraged by all as a part of our spiritual life. So an outreach programme was planned for the students between class 9-12 today and the chosen venue was Jeevodaya Cancer Hospice. This is a palliative care centre that takes care of those ravaged by cancer and have exhausted the curative options available in medicine and are counting their last days. The sisters from the congregation running this institution do their best to ease their pain and make their days comfortable. Since I was aware of the situation at the centre and I was part of the team that organized the activity I was prepared for meeting the inmates o...

These days the news is full of religious issues and where there is trouble in the world today there seems to be religion in the centre of it all. The refugee crises, the hostage taking of school girls, the burning of homes, large scale murders, rapes and everything else even mundane things like running a film school is affected by religion. It is very disheartening when something personal to an individual is important to another who is often unrelated and inconsequential to the individual. Why fight about religion? It is like small boys saying, “mine is bigger”. Big or small it is usually most useful only to the owner, is it not? When someone from a particular religion feels insecure with another religion and feels that the other religion must be eradicated so that his religion remains it must be a time to introspect. Why do different religions exist? I would believe that they exist to satisfy different needs and a person will choose to move from one to another if his needs ...

You may have seen this badge worn by folks and you may have fallen for the weight loss product that the badge wearer is selling.  Chances are that the product may have worked a little for you; chances are that it may not have but the person who sold it to you has definitely become a little richer off you. I am no expert on these magic formulae that will guarantee that you lose weight but I do know that there is a way to lose weight and if you were to walk up to me ask me how just like the gentleman who has been noticing me for over a few months now and observing the changes in me over the past few months did today, I will be glad to share. (I guess I do look lighter than I did in March and so I guess I don’t need to wear a badge.) Weight loss is not a rocket science. It comes down to a few simple things that everyone knows and yet they tend to look for the magic formula. Weight loss happens by burning fat and by responsible eating. I have shared posts on both but sinc...

So what is easier? -           Blame the trash on the road on the others -           Keep a dustbin and start throwing trash in the bin -           Sweeping the trash and cleaning the road -           Pointing a finger, laughing, making jokes and spreading them about those doing the second or third option A new Parliament has been elected and euphoria has swept the nation, however it is interspersed with jokes on someone who attempted to clean up the trash. The tea seller leads a contingent with a third of tainted candidates, meaning they have at least one criminal case against them. Many other parties have at least one or more of similar tainted candidates and a casual reading of the cases against them will make you shudder for corruption may be the least of the charges against them. You ...

In 1993 the “real thing” made a re-entry into India and soon changed the dining habits of many Indians.  It was not that we had no carbonated sugar water earlier, there was the Indian answer to Coke  “Double 7” and of course the many loved drinks from the Parle stable including the behemoth Thums Up. The difference then was that the drinks were refreshment and usually a time pass, you know what I mean, but Coke became part of meals and there started a revolution. I grew up with the “real pepsi cola” the coloured drinks stored in thin plastic tubes and frozen in the refrigerators. Sold for 50 paisa or so they were a delight and lasted as long as the frozen drink took to melt and be sucked out of the tube. Small pleasures then but that and the other drinks called “colour” in the friendly neighbourhood   Annachi stores were an indulgence and usually an occasional indulgence. The advent of Coke and the many junk food counters into the country ensured that jun...

I am a little puzzled with one video that went viral recently. You may have seen it and you may agree that it makes a good point, do not stare.  And yet the instances did not go along with the message, at least for me. Let us take for the discussion the tattoo. People have many reasons for a tattoo but somewhere down the line there is exhibitionism and where would exhibitionism be without voyeurism? Surely a man / woman would not always be mentally challenged like Sanjay Ramaswamy to remind himself of his wife / husband? Then the tattoo of the name of a loved one conveys the same message to an observer as a wedding band or a thali. Art work on the bodies have many explanations but all of them would be defeated if the tattoo was not visible. So what is the point of getting offended by someone staring at a tattoo? I remember reading somewhere that men are wired to look and stare at a woman and it is something that cannot be wished away. It can however be managed by good u...

Three accidents on the highways involving Volvo buses and the resulting deaths have left me very worried. These buses are great for travel and ensure comfortable journeys especially when tickets on trains are not available but they are also veritable death traps as each of these accidents indicate. At the cost of sounding extremely monotonous I use the lines of master Oogway “there are no accidents”, these incidents are caused by driver error. When we fly on any airline the crew painstakingly go through the safety procedures and the emergency evacuation process while showing the nearest exists to the passengers. Usually many travellers ignore these demonstrations for various reasons which are an indicator of the indifference of our times. These safety measures are not explained in buses and this I would believe was the difference between people surviving and dying a fiery death. Volvo buses are usually air-conditioned and the engine is at the rear. The fuel tank I believe i...