There is always a Source. There is always a Purpose. And there are humans.And so, mistakes

The BJP's Curse of being the Opposition

2011-12-11T11:21:00.002-06:00

Or better still, the BJP’s Crime of being the BJP.

Ever since the disgrace called UPA-2 came into being, as monumental crisis after monumental crisis emerged, one thing was consistent – while criticism of the sham-doers existed for the duration for which the crisis was in public memory, all the intermittent gaps were filled with tirades against the BJP for being an irresponsible opposition.

The Congress seems to have a special-ops team in place for everything else except Governance – be it tackling the Anna Hazare movement or a special team dedicated to dissing the BJP for all its (i.e. the Congress’) scams or guiding the CBI along its investigations.

This noise more-or-less reached a crescendo during the FDI debate. Two points to keep in mind -

I am not against FDI. For that matter I am not pro-FDI either. But over many readings of articles on this topic, despite a surprisingly socialistic leaning towards this issue, I find the arguments in favour of FDI a tad more sensible and practical.
Neither am I saying that the BJP has got a firm grasp on the issue and its stance is absolutely vindicated and perfectly reasoned out. As a matter of fact, as far as explanations go, the BJP’s reasoning seemed quite inadequate. As expected, Arun Jaitley’s piece comes close, but leaves a lot to be desired.

Motive & Timing

It is no secret that our despicably dishonest Prime Minister desires to go down in History books as a reformer more than anything else. However, try as I might, I can just not see FDI as a “reform”. Especially when there are a zillion other more urgent things at hand. Still, even considering FDI as a reform (comparing with LPG, computers, etc), it is important to note two things -

That it is the Congress that is doing this.
That the Congress is doing it now.

I, for one, have absolutely no confidence in the present government to carry out a policy move as big as FDI.

There are far too many bureaucratic procedures involved and these, in turn, entail too much interference by the government. Plus, most importantly, this single decision will most certainly have a cascading effect on a plethora of other domestic issues finally watering down to the common man as well as the poor landless farmer. At a financially critical time like this, it is extremely ill-advised to go ahead with such a move, WITH SUCH A GOVERNMENT, especially considering the wimp(s) did not even allow for a debate in the Parliament.

There is too much money involved.

Whether this is the common man’s money or not is secondary. Fact remains that there is a humongous amount of money up there and MANMOHAN SINGH CANNOT BE TRUSTED with handling (his ministers, if you believe the hogwash about him still being clean) such cash.

Realpolitik anyone?

So the BJP proposed 26% FDI in its 2004 manifesto and backtracked on the same issue in 2009 (Indian Express says: “The BJP manifesto for 2009, however, had skipped any reference to the issue” while ToI says: “Meanwhile, BJP also changed its position & categorically said in its 2009 manifesto that it wont allow foreign investment in retail“. Take your pick).

Every non-pro-BJP’ian immediately jumped at this in a superbly brilliant manner accusing the BJP of hypocrisy. Their beautiful minds couldnt even grasp the fact that the BJP was merely sticking to its most recent stance.

There are many other things that stand out here -

What irks me most is folks reacting as if the BJP supported FDI in its last known stance and is now opposing it simply because it is in the Opposition (that it might actually be doing it is another issue altogether). If at all anyone came close to criticizing the BJP *correctly* & *sensibly* for its stance on FDI, it was its own Internet supporters themselves (Offstumpedand Ashok Malik to name two) apart from a few genuinely centrist/non-aligned folks here and there.

Forget ruling party/opposition, politics – are you as an individual bound by ALL decisions you took at some point of time in the past and not allowed to change them at all?

Being a responsible opposition does NOT mean you will be a responsible government. So how do people decide the effectiveness of a BJP government simply by saying that they are an irresponsible opposition?

All political/policy discussions today follow a standard path – Congress screws up something -> #whatisbjpviewonthis -> Irresponsible Opposition -> not fit to form the next Government.

Why does the opposition need to behave responsibly when the Government is painstakingly spreading s**t all over the country? Do you have any idea what (if at all, that is) UPA-II is doing to defuse the financial or security situation? Food & shelter – there, your two basic needs – a big question mark hangs over that.

Is it the responsibility of the Opposition to help the Government of the Day *run* the Government? Especially at a time when the ruling party is in absolute tatters and absolutely -cannot- does not want to get its act together? Why in God’s name does the BJP need to push the bus which broke down from outside when the driver himself isn’t interested in driving it?

The Imbecility of the UPA

The present UPA government is absolutely incapable of providing governance, let alone good governance. Again, and again, and again – it has just been re-emphasizing this fact. There have not been any clear-cut movements forward at all. There has not even been any halt in the backward progress.

It is becoming increasingly evident that this Government just does not deserve to survive.

The BJP as an Opposition

After seemingly supporting the BJP’s performance as an Opposition, it might appear contradictory to you when I say that the BJP has failed as an Opposition on many fronts. First of all, I’m not sure what benchmark you have for a “Good” Opposition, doubly so at a critically (politically/governmentally)-paralyzed scenario like this. Does anyone know? The closest I can think of is – Bring down the Government.

If any, the opposition’s responsibility, in such a situation, I guess, would be to bring down the Government. Which, of course, our dear BJP is so spectacularly *not* doing.

However, at the end of the day, the current-day government is in a state of such anarchy that it is impossible to even imagine what an opposition could be doing perfectly.

As for the BJP, I just hope it doesn’t tie itself up in knots, just to get a good name from all those dissing it for being a useless opposition. I only hope it knows what it’s doing and does enough to come to power next time around, whenever that happens…and the sooner it happens, the better.

Meeting the Lion in its Den

2011-11-29T13:09:00.000-06:00

A hurried post after almost an eternity, chiefly to not let go of the excitement.
Amma's friend is a part of popular news-reader of yesteryear, Varadarajan's drama troupe, which had gone to Gujarat for performing there. One (or more) of the members seem(s) to have been a Modi-fan and expressed interest in meeting the man. Somehow, someone seems to have got hold of the Chief Minister's Secretariat's office, just to give it a shot. When the person at the other end said he'd get back in 15 minutes, our folks got skeptical and thought it was as good as gone. When they were consoling each other with "Hey, at least we tried"s, about 10 minutes later, they got a call saying the CM would meet them for half an hour the same day at 12 Noon. This was the day or a day after he had returned from China.

Our folks, whose excitement knew no bounds, immediately bounded off to the CM's home at about 11:30 AM and were escorted to a room. Just as the clock struck 12, in walked Narendra Modi, with a cordial "Namaste" to all. He then proceeded to ask each person individually to introduce himself/herself and asked what their play was about. Then asked them if they had been to the newly renovated Akshardham temple. And casually, rattled out that there were about 5 lakh Tamilians in Surat, while they constituted the largest population (about 1 lakh) in Maninagar, his home constituency, where their Drama was staged. Our folks were quite amazed at how the man (cliché alert) had facts at his fingertips.

Then Modi saab spoke about the Biogas plants that were in operation in Gujarat and mischievously asked them if they needed some, seeing how power-deficient TN was.

The drama guys then enquired about his China visit to which he said it went pretty well. One thing that they said was evident was the amount of pride in his tone whenever he spoke about Gujarat - be it the Akshardham temple or the Biogas plants or the Metro (or BRTS, not sure).

One of them then quipped "How nice it would be if India had 28 Namo's", to which our man simply smiled (who's going to be the first one to comment "28 Namos? Yeah right, and commit mass murders & slaughtering of Muslims all over the country", come on guys).

When one of them told Namo that they had initially tried to get permission to meet him via Cho in Chennai, who had said he wasnt sure when Namo would return from China, Modi said "Aah, Cho saab...woh toh mere Guruji hain."
Inevitably, the question about Prime Minstership came up, and our man genially looked up and pointed both hands upwards. :-)
After 27 minutes, NaMo automatically got up and asked the folks assembled there if they wanted to take a photo, and after the customary photograph, bid them adieu.

Picture Courtesy: Dinamani

Putting the Crazy in "Dream"

2011-11-21T23:41:00.002-06:00

I was in some grand hall in the US, whether or not White House, I dont know, since I havent been there, but it had something to do with a US President. Lots of people assembled there. I have a hunch I was there as a journalist. I dont know what the different events scheduled were, however the main event that I remember - honouring Herbert Hoover's chief cook/maid (an old'ish woman) for her service to the Hoover family. She was wearing an apron and some head-gear and gave a speech in which, among other things, I remember her mentioning about BJP and another distinct thing - "Nehru's aesthetic yet atheistic sense" being the cause for something. Those two words were unmistakably there - "atheistic" & "aesthetic".

PS:
1. After I woke up, I was confused whether it was Herbert Hoover or Harry Truman, but I remembered the initials HH being in the dream, so concluded it was Hoover.
2. No, I have not been reading up on the Hoover dam, though I spoke about it with my parents some 2-3 weeks ago when they were fondly recollecting their visit there.
3. The closest I came to something in the dream is seeing some NDTV-type culinary awards on TV on Sat/Sun in which ITC-Maurya won the best Cook award and a guy in a Chef's get-up came and received the award.
4. Oh yes, I do talk/read about the BJP everyday.

I am not going to ask you guys if there's something wrong with me.

Taking Stock of the Present & Re-evaluating my Options for the Future

2011-06-07T12:56:00.001-05:00

It's been one year now since I returned to India for good and I guess looking back and analyzing how the past year has been would be in order, especially considering the return to India was something of an inflection point.
At a very superficial level, the return's been a rather interesting mixture of more of the same with a lot of differences.

Sothu-pozhappu...
is obviously the most important aspect and while I can safely say that I'm not doing something I *don't* want to be doing, I'm definitely not doing something I *want* to, at least over the long run. This is in keeping with a pompous statement I had made to one of my college teachers when I had met her a few days after returning - "I may not know what I want to do, but I definitely know what I don't want to do."

Parents...
This front has been one of the biggest fails of my return. Once the initial surprise/excitement over my return (though my parents had an idea that I would mostly be returning, I hadn't given them any details about my actual return) subsided, it was immediately replaced by disappointment that their son was no-longer an NRI. My parents aren't these super-wise or intellectual human beings who can get over a disappointment easily. It took me a long time to come to terms with the basic fact that they wanted me to, if not settle down in the US, at least spend a reasonable amount of time there. For quite some time, this attitude disgusted me, but then, I slowly realized that all this came from what they had been subject to in their life. Add to this a plethora of colleagues/acquaintances from a super-typical middle-class TamBrahm background who felt they had attained moksha now that their kids were married and settled in the US. Ok, without elaborating further and presenting the script of a sad documentary, let's just say that I realized that my parents' aspirations for me were perfectly valid, only, they didn't sit well on me, and that's currently the major point of contention at home. I'm pessimistic about a win-win result and though I want to taste success in something I have set sights on, I doubt if I have the cut-throatedness in me to see them settle for an unhappy compromise (at best) or give in to my whims (at worst). Neither do I think I have the killer instinct to finish off what I think I want to do . :P

Relationships...
have been reasonably ok, or in fact, rather good. I've made some unexpected relationships for life and built upon old ones. On another more obvious front, without going into the details, let me just say that I have now realized I am more single than ever. :D
And though those of you who follow me on twitter might cry hoarse at my hypocrisy, I will admit that despite pseudo-regular cribs of being single and all that, I'm really not in a position to get into a relationship at this point of time. Parental pressure, however, is weighing heavily on me, and I'm not sure how much more I can hold up.

Health...
no major vyaadhis so far, but fitness is somewhere on the lower side of all my 26 years of existence. This is another regular talking-point at home - dad shouting at my lack of exercise from time to time. I still can do a lot of things, but am far from "fit". Absolutely no sports but for the occasional soft-ball cricket at work.

Financial Express...
is just about ok. No major savings from the You-Yess-Yeah, but something to call savings yes.

Ummaachi...
Quite contrary to my hopes & expectations, there has been a noticeable drop (at least from within) in my spirituality. Yes, I might still continue to do my daily prayers without fail and attend the occasional spiritual youth camp, but when it comes to the Bhakti Bhaava within, I can definitely say there was more yearning and reverence for God and/or dedication to spiritual pursuits when I lived a bachelor's life in Chicago. I don't know if this is a case of "Distance makes hearts go fonder", but there. I hope this phase is either thanks to a hectic work-schedule & pressure or is just some kind of illusion and whatever be the case, I get back to normal some time soon.

So then, where does that leave me - discontented and disenchanted to a major extent. I don't think I'd be way off the mark if I say my return to India, at least thus far, has been Fail. Then again, what followed my decision to return might have been bad, but I still stick to my decision of returning. At least the conscience is clean. :)
Coming back to life here, I seem to be existing rather than living, something that my parents seem to have noticed, unfortunately. I seem to be going through the motions. Make no mistake, I'm not exactly living a drab life sans friends, entertainment, etc, but that zing is so totally missing.
As I enter my second year here, I look forward to it with hope. It's not that things cant get worse (they can, for sure!), but there are more things that can make things better from now on, than worse. Then again, you can never be sure!

An Ode To Karunanidhi

2011-05-13T13:43:00.002-05:00

As Tamil Nadu rejoices (including me) at the fall of the DMK government (quite possibly the most corrupt ever in TN's history) and as Muthuvel Karunanidhi prepares to warm the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's seat one final time, it is time to pay our respects to arguably one of the greatest political brains of India in the 20th Century. Oh yes, MuKa is definitely not bidding adieu to politics any time soon, nor am I predicting that he will kick the bucket in the next year or so, but it's evident that he has (dis?)graced the CM's chair one final time.
2 things I will *not* be doing in this piece -

Recapping his political history inch by inch.
Bashing him (as the title very well indicates).

Good friend Nikunj Mehta nicely summed up MuKa in this tweet of his.
MuKa, at different points of time during his political career, has been one or more of the following -

Leader of men.
Social reformer.
Efficient administrator.
Literary genius (though this has definitely helped him in his political career, I wouldn't count this too much in the big picture).

Yes, we have had a few on whom the above characteristics would sit nicely, but what made MuKa Muka was one definitive attribute - he was a political strategist extraordinaire.
I will not indulge in (any more? :P) hyperbole here and elevate him to the levels of Chanakya or Machiavelli, but if you do a case study on Indian politicians of this past century whose political strategies belonged to the Chanakya/Machiavelli School to a large extent, MuKa will be right up there (just below Sonia Gandhi, maybe ;-). That he chose Machiavelli over Chanakya is the tragedy that I will remember as MuKa's legacy. (Obviously my memory is not the only legacy that he leaves behind, still, I would like to think a fair few would share my thoughts on this).
Ok I may be a Brahmin and all that, and I will also *not* forget the thousands of economically-lower-class citizens who have benefitted from his pro-poor policies, but you know, when you have a man of such stature, your standards are that much higher. Even for a Machiavelli, your damage should be wide-reaching and long-lasting.

When it comes to people, MuKa seems to have started on a great note (thanks to Anna) with Dravidianism as the plank. Then, somewhere in the middle of the journey, the glint of metal and the smell of currency seem to have realigned the focus of his eye to ensure that all his political strategies ended up being ways to garner wealth and spread influence.

So his Dravidian movement predominantly became an anti-Brahmin tirade without actually causing any significant dent to casteism in Tamil Nadu. With the net result that the only far-reaching and long-lasting effect of his warped brand of Dravidian politics happened to be removing Brahmins from a lot of top positions in the political/educational hierarchy and giving rise to a new generation of self-hating Brahmins. Yes, a significant number of non-FC folks have benefitted immensely from educational reservation, but I doubt if Anna would be happy at where we are today, specifically wrt "social upliftment of the downtrodden" and "getting rid of the evil caste system".

And then ~~family~~ families happened, and that's when all semblance of governance, people, social concern, etc. became ways solely to remain in power so he/his family could benefit. We all know what followed - from the Sarkaria Commission to Raja kaiya vecha.

Still, if you will see, in spite of his shift in focus, Tamil Nadu has moved forward. Significant development has happened to the state during his tenures (to rival Jayalalitha's). Of course, it is another fact that at the end of his tenure, he hands over mostly-empty coffers to the poor lady who has to take some strict measures to bring the state's finances back in order, ending up earning the wrath of the people.
And that's what really saddens me - how much *more* Tamil Nadu could've moved forward if he had been more committed to the state's cause and been only marginally less corrupt.

Not to speak of how much forethought he had in ensuring that his (extended) family ventured into all fields of money making - Cinema, Politics, Land, Television, etc. Truly astute.

Then there's his unique brand of acerbic public remarks, something that used to shock me till very recently - be it his questioning of Lord Rama's engineering qualifications or his abuse of Tamil people as "Sotral aditha pindangal" or his tried-and-tested Aryan Conspiracy Theories, he had sufficiently gauged the pulse of the people to know what would effect them and what would remain in memory. Quite amazing, really.

Sadly, it all had to end this way. Yeah, the technical possibility that he might still come back to power at 92 years of age exists, but hey, who are you kidding? A man who fought his way up from the lower rungs of society to such a position of power and a man who was not overwhelmed by power, ended up misusing it, all for money.

And that is how M Karunanidhi will be remembered.

My Tete-a-tete with a Congress Functionary

2010-11-17T12:15:00.000-06:00

My patriotism has not really been questioned much till now, but I think this post will erase any doubts anyone (including self) ever had about it. Maybe not.
However, only "patriotism" comes closest to explaining why I engaged in a lengthy (often bordering on irritating) conversation with an acquaintance who happens to be a Congress functionary on most Congress-related crap at a cousin's betrothal instead of -
a. The obvious - scouting for prospective candidates so the next such function would be mine.
b. Scouting for prospective candidates whether such functions are possible or not.
c. Scouting for prospective candidates for friend(s).
d. Scouting for prospective friends for my lady-friends and sisters.
e. Catching up with relatives.*

The said functionary actually happens to be a Golti uncle from Vizag who knows me from childhood and who is a General Secretary for the party in charge of Public Relations. Picturize a fairly well-off, smart-alec businessman-type dude in his 40's. That's him. I knew of his entry into the dark side back in 2008 itself, and we had a very brief interaction then. This discussion was not exactly very lengthy, but it's at least worth a blog post - considering it happened at my cousin's betrothal with a Raja playing Baand Baaja in the background.

Now that you have the background, let me also add (needless to say) that there's obviously a fair amount of bias against anything associated with the Congress. Still, I tried to rope in whatever bit of objectivity I could.

Why Congress

To begin with, I abruptly asked him, unable to conceal my scorn, sarcasm, glee, etc, why he joined the Congress party. He started off by saying that Congress was the oldest party around - there was obviously some amount of ridiculousness in this reply which was what made me unprepared for this kind of response. However, moving on, he recalled the "greatness" of the Congress party (with no particular instance or point) and cited that as inspiration for joining. Ya...blah.

Then I slightly got back to the function at hand and allied "responsibilities".

On Raja
After a brief interlude, we banged into each other with my dad being part of the ensemble this time. I played Narada and provoked my dad into asking him some question. (FYI, Dad's not pro-BJP by any weird stretch of imagination and often revels in screwing all political parties L, R & C. It must also be said that he reveres NaMo and has a notable anti-Congresss bias {which may or may not be thanks to me}. Quite needless to say, given the humongous amount of shit we're facing today, his hatred for Congress has reached hitherto unscaled heights) I must confess that I expected my dad to be a tad simplistic and ask something very crude (ala my "why Congress" question). Dad however asked him a quite-obvious-yet-slightly-intellectual "Why has Manmohan not removed Raja even after so much data has been unearthed?", since I'd thought he'd ask something on the lines of "Why is Cong corrupt", etc. Now began the lengthiest, irritating'est & boring'est part of the whole conversation. The uncle probably thought this was a good chance to impress the dad-son duo (Why - I have not the faintest idea) and immediately set about "demonstrating" his knowledge of the issue. He slowly led us away from the hall to the balcony where, quite typically intellectually, he brandished a cigarette (after a few minutes there, he wanted to go downstairs for a more open session when dad excused himself & returned to the hall). I will totally spare you of all that rigmarole covering the Indian constitution and allied legal parameters effectively implying (don't tell me you haven't guessed it by now) that Manmohan Singh could not, in any way, have stripped Raja of his Ministership. Since I didn't want to give him the impression that I absolutely didn't agree with him, I told him this, much to his dismay (since it was put across in a way which, I assume, wouldn't have given him an impression of me as a dumb, presumptuous, retarded, stubborn simpleton) - "I am willing to concede that maybe it wasn't criminal of MMS to have persisted with Raja, but the thing about you saying that MMS could not have removed Raja at all is ugly crap. I am sure, given another Prime Minister, it is every bit likely we would've seen the back of Raja long ago."

[Socializing break]

Escape from Recession
Uncle'gaaru had, by now, probably realized I hadn't bought any of his hard-peddled "imported from phoreyn" goods and resorted to some tried-and-tested-product. Congress & age-old product? Yes, Nehru it was. He started off with asking me about the effect of recession in the US (he knows I'm a US-return). I knew he was preparing himself to land a KO-punch - that India was not affected by the recession because of Jawaharlal Nehru's "policies". Somewhere, I cut him and said something which made him ask me what I thought of Nehru. In being blunt, I tried to be as decent as I could.
Which is when we came to a rather interesting juncture. When he told me that many years ago, he held the same opinion as me, I refused to believe him. And then he brought the name "Babri" when I almost started J-w-J. However, I could not proceed since I had to redress his misconception about his earlier self being similar to my current self.
When I brought in Sardar Patel's name as well, he pointedly asked me - "I can see that your mind is parallelly working when I'm saying something. Why dont you allow me to finish what I'm saying first?" I was definitely at least slightly impressed by his relatively correct judgement of my mind's parallel processing. When he said one more thing against the Sardar, I simply asked him - "Uncle, I appreciate Nehru chacha's contribution and will definitely not write him off as completely useless to the nation, but just asking, do you know who the 3 members (specifically the third and most under-rated, under-acknowledged, under-appreciated member) of India's famed Triumvirate were. Much to my chagrin, he asked me to tell who they were, with the air of someone who knows his facts. Ha! This you-tell-I-tell game went on for about 4 passes after which he deftly changed the topic. I, of course, did not miss the point - though there is a statistical possibility that he did know, in all likelihood, he simply didn't know.

Now then, when it was getting obvious for both of us who was really making sense, though, I sadly had to leave for an obviously more important duty*. And though I tried to engage/humour him for a bit after dinner, it wasn't to be.

Advice for Congress: This uncle, though not-at-all convincing for a slightly-informed-BJP-supporter, would definitely have appeared convincing (to some extent at least) for a neutral, not-so-informed citizen. Plus, he didn't make an ass of himself. Sincerely I tell you, he will do a better job than Manish Tewari.

And then, for the moment of the day: I went to tell him bye and thank him for a definitely engaging discussion. It was his turn to dine then, and he, with a lot of warmth, patted me on my back and said that he'd always known I'd grow up to be a really "big" man and that he had given me 100/100 when I was in my 7th standard itself to which, I, rather (genuinely) humbly, told him that I did not consider myself big enough to grade him.

Laughing heartily, he further added - "You're one of the smartest young chaps around. You must definitely meet Rahul <...induced pause for dramatic effect...> Rahul Gandhi."

I died.

*I did not sacrifice food. Food happens to be one of the standout components of any TamBrahm function (including death ceremonies).

PSBB Teachers 29 - Ravishankar Sir

2010-10-28T08:58:00.002-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 28 here)

Maths - '98-'99

If ever there was a teacher in PSBB who classically epitomized the "Murthi Sirisu, Keerthi Perusu" adage, it has to be Ravishankar sir. I dont know how PSBB managed to get hold of this dynamo, but he was quite possibly one of the best "catches" PSBB ever made, when it comes to getting quality teachers (sadly though, they couldnt hold on to him since he, like Chhaya Mam, is with the American School now). We were fortunate to be the first batch to have a taste of him and initially, there were very few who liked/adored him. A majority of my classmates were highly irritated with him, some even hated him, but nobody could ignore him. That's quite something, especially considering how puny he was. If not for his beard, he could easily pass off as a school-kid. And when it came to the subject, few dared to even think he wasnt awesome. How could anyone, when this M Sc (Physics) bloke taught us 9th graders Mathematics, and that too with such aplomb! I, for one, didnt know for a long time that his major was Physics. He was a student of Prof Ananthan of the Physics Society, to whom he remains devoted to this day.

Some of our most memorable high-school days were, during his classes, for a multitude of reasons. He used to hate it when folks tapped their pens (among the many student-mannerisms he hated :D) on their desks and numerous pens have thus been broken. Sushil, Joel, Naveen and Sanjeev were prominent....umm...."entertainers" during his class. "Stop thattt sttopp thattt" - his already powerful voice used to boom, thanks chiefly to these guys.
Out of the many remarkable things he helped us with, one will definitely be, I think, exposing us to lateral thinking and brain teasers. One such unforgettable incident was when he asked us, during one of the first few days of Class IX, what the angle between the minute and hour hand at 3:15 was. I knew it obviously wasn't zero, but it didn't strike me (as it didnt most of the others) that we could actually derive the answer. Someone first answered zero, then another person said 1° when I joined the chorus. Then someone else said 0.5° to which I then shifted my loyalties. Finally, a new student, Nikhil Neelakantan gave the correct answer - 7.5°.
And how can I not mention his impeccable hand-writing - precise and beautiful.
Sir now teaches at the American School and is also part of the "Trimurthi @ Sathyamurthi".
Someone who left a lasting impression on most of us.
I am no Abbas, but Ravishankar Sir definitely qualifies to be a superstar and so I wont be way off mark if I say "What a man".

The Curious Phenomenon that is Hindu Liberalism

2010-10-16T05:20:00.002-05:00

While choosing a title, I was deciding between Liberal Hinduism & Hindu Liberalism. I'm not trying to indulge in bombastic word-play here, but you must understand both terms because both are in relevance today.
Liberal Hinduism, though fast replacing the more orthodox moorings of the "religion" per se (in heavy contrast to Islam which seems to be getting more radical by the day, the most recent case being that of this Kerala girl) is far from being the malaise, which Hindu Liberalism undoubtedly is.

I am not sure about the origins of this current version of Hindu Liberalism. Agreed, one of the main facets of Hinduism has been its liberal & flexible nature which has, in a way, contributed to its continued evolution and relevance even after (the British-historians-dated) 3000 years, but I have a feeling we have slightly gotten confused between "liberal" and "flexible".

The problem with the contemporary liberal (non Internet-) Hindu's understanding of Liberalism is that, to ensure "Live & Let Live", he ends up following "Let live irrespective of whether you are let" - this dire compulsion to acknowledge, accept, appreciate and most importantly, accommodate alien cultures without the realization that such cultures are potentially detrimental to local culture (for starters) and are eventually destructive for all non-adherents. Not surprisingly, all this seems to have clouded the Hindu Liberal's vision of what exactly is happening at ground-level. And this feeling now seems to have created an invisible phobia towards one's native (Hindu) culture. This is especially visible in urban societies wherein Christians & (more often) Muslims do not seem to have any problems in accepting and admitting their religion while Hindus will take that extra effort to avoid that acknowledgement (let alone proclamation). Any Hindu who makes no qualms about his ~~religion~~ culture is, oftentimes, mistaken for an over-orthodox, possibly partially-backward fundamentalist. You see, stereotypes are always in vogue and the stereotype of the Hindu bigot (ala Saffron terror) is the flavour of the season, promoted chiefly by Hindu liberals. Things have reached such a stage that a reasonably religious Hindu risks projecting a stereotype (mostly negative) of himself while depicting (as opposed to flaunting, projecting and hollering) his religious side - this, not in the United States or Europe in front of non-Hindus, but in India, specifically urban India, in front of fellow-Hindus (but "liberal").

There is another pernicious characteristic that is not necessarily a characteristic of the Hindu Liberal, but one that is widely prevalent among the non-stereotypical-Internet-Hindu populace - which is a marked indifference towards Hindu causes. By "Hindu causes", I refer more to the inherent local culture than Hinduism the religion. Hundreds before me have milked the ~~Babri~~ Ayodhya cow by now and I dont want to do any more damage to her, but I hope you understand where I'm getting at.

I have no statistical backing, but I will go ahead and say this - the ratio of the number of indifferent urban Hindus to the number of urban Hindus is way higher than that for Christians & Muslims.

In a similar statistical-but-not-backed-by-data vein, amongst all communities of the world, Hinduism is probably the community with the highest number of self-proclaimed adherents (no prizes for guessing that these "adherents" are liberal ones) who derive pleasure in making fun of (their-community)-related issues, especially issues of contention, often insensitively. There might be non-Muslims/atheists that make fun of Islam-related issues, but you wont find too many theist Muslims taking (often unfair) digs at their own religion. Similar is the case with Christianity. The Hindu Liberal

, however, is always drawn towards Hinduism when it comes to ridiculing & mocking.

Hindu-turned-atheists are the cream of the lot. I'd probably have to write a separate piece on them, if I ventured to describe their characteristics. But one stunning aspect is how Hindu liberals/Hindu-turned-atheists often lose their sense of objectivity and tend to focus chiefly on Hindu-related issues, when it comes to taking a dig or pulling a leg (for starters).

Anyway, to each his own, and the liberal Hindu inside me, however small, also reminds me that Hindu liberals have every right to not be objective, and mock/criticize/deride Hindu customs/issues alone. Besides, mockery isn't really a big deal....ok so it is, but the bigger deal is the mindless and often poorly-reasoned support for anti-Hindu elements and vehement opposition to Hindu causes.

Classic examples of Hindu Liberals today are: Sagarika Ghose, Ramachandra Guha, Malini Parthasarathy (assuming she is not an atheist). I would've loved to add one Islamic-attire Dutt to the mix of things, but since she makes me wonder if the next step after "Hindu Liberal" is "Islamic radical", I leave her out.
Liberal Hindus, however, are fewer in number (not surprisingly) - Amitabh Bachchan and Anupam Kher, to name two.

Sometimes, in a slightly Inception'esque display of emotion, I feel a strange sense of pity-filled remorse, when I feel pissed & irritated with them. Men before me who have tried to decode them, have come and gone but they, rather depressingly, endure and it only appears as if they're here to stay.

There is, however, an unexpected, positive fallout of the fact that their voices are getting increasingly shriller. It means that more people can hear their nonsense. And despite the fact that we Indians, though endowed with reasonably exceptional brains, exhibit a serious dearth of logical thinking, especially on emotional issues, the Hindu liberal's logic-lessness is so resounding, it is sometimes what's exactly required to wake up the sleeping rationalist in you.

Umashankar, IAS Officer's Letter to the SC/ST Commission

2010-09-04T03:50:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: This is an Email Forward I got just now. I have no proof that this is true, but since it appears to be, I thought it is essential for us, the general public to know.
The State Government of TN might have reinstated him, but I doubt we've heard the last of this man. Don't be surprised if a couple of months down the line, his family perishes in a "road-accident on their way to a relative's marriage in Tuticorin".

Before the National Commission for SC/ST, New Delhi

From
C.Umashankar IAS., (1990 batch)
No.33 Balakrishnan Road,
D1, Ashok Swasthi Apts., 3rd Floor,
Valmiki Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur,
Chennai 41. Tel: 044-42020423 Mob: 94443-00123

To
Chairman,
National Commission for Scheduled Castes,
Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market,
New Delhi - 110003
Fax: 91-11-24632298 Email: chairman-ncsc@nic.in

Complaint filed by C.Umashankar IAS., against the State of Tamil Nadu

I was selected for appointment as an IAS Officer by the Union Public Service Commission against SC quota and allotted to Tamil Nadu cadre during 1990. I joined the Service on 20th August 1990.

I state that during 1995 I was working as Additional Collector, (Development) and Project officer, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Madurai. There was misuse of funds allotted for construction of Cremation Sheds for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes under Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY). I refused to obey the illegal order of the then District Collector, Madurai Mr.P.R.Sampath IAS., to award the contract to a private contractor. A pubic interest litigation came to be filed in the Madras High Court. I filed an affidavit in the said writ petition narrating the true facts. (Annexure A[i]).

A Division Bench of Madras High Court, accepting the affidavit filed by me ordered a CBI enquiry in WP No.15929/1995. (Annexure B[ii]). The real accused in the scam are yet to be punished.

During 1996, the DMK was voted to power. The Government appointed me as Joint Vigilance Commissioner to peruse the files pertaining to high level corruption. I submitted several reports including 1) South India Shipping Corporation Share disinvestment scam (loss of Rs.200 crores) 2) Granite quarry lease scam (loss of about Rs.1000 crores) 3) Allotment of plots and houses of Tamil Nadu housing Board to fictitious persons (loss not estimated) 4) Purchase of 45000 TV antennas and boosters without following tender procedure and without ascertaining the actual need 5) Leasing of 20 acres of Coimbatore Medical College lands to Star hotel, club etc., in the name of women and child development at throwaway lease rent 6) Fraudulent grant of Patta for 7106 acres forest land in Megamalai forest village, Madurai/Theni district to one family etc.

I indicted several senior IAS officers including the ex Chief Secretary Mr.N.Narayanan IAS., Thiru.C.Ramachandran IAS., Dr.S.Narayan IAS., Thiru.Debandranath Sarangi IAS., former Chief Minister, Ministers and others.

To my dismay I found that no worth while action was taken against highly influential officials who were deeply involved in the corruption. I therefore requested the Government to relieve me from the post of Joint Vigilance Commissioner.

During February 1999 I was appointed as District Collector, Tiruvarur. I introduced e-governance in the district administration. This was the first of its kind in the whole of India. Tiruvarur was rated 20 years ahead of rest of India by leading News Paper – Times of India (Annexure C[iii]). The English weekly, THE WEEK, in its millennium edition chose me as the Bureaucrat from all over India who can make the life of Indians better in the new millennium (Annexure D [iv])

I submit that in the next general election, the DMK was defeated and the AIADMK came to power. I was sidelined and appointed as Commissioner for Disciplinary proceedings, an ex-cadre post.

The DMK was voted to power again in May, 2006. I was appointed as Managing Director of ELCOT, a state owned company. I introduced total transparency in the matter of award of contracts by introducing e-tender and also by introduction of a new method of tender evaluation by the bidding contractors themselves. I also introduced the use of large scale free and open source software in Government offices during this period.

While I was working in ELCOT, twice I was called by Tmt.Rajathi Ammal, wife of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to her office at Alwarpet. I should have refused to meet her. However, by way of courtesy I met her in her office. She attempted to influence me to award contract to her men in the matter of purchase of 45000 fishermen wireless sets. I told her that only through e-tender contracts are finalised and I should not be disturbed.

I state that ELCOT along with another private limited company by name New Era Technologies Limited, controlled by one Thiagaraja Chettiar floated a joint venture company named ELNET Technologies Limited. The share of ELCOT in the new company is 26%. The share of New Era Technologies Limited is 24% and the remainder shares were subscribed by the public. This Joint venture company ELNET floated a 100% subsidiary company named ETL Infrastructure Private Limited with intention of floating an Information Technology Park cum Special Economic Zone at Pallikaranai, Chennai. The company owns 26 acres of land which had been given IT Special Economic Zone status by the Government of India. The company built 1.8 million square feet IT building in this IT- Park cum SEZ. The total value of the asset is more than Rs.700 crores. The said company mysteriously disappeared from the control of ELNET and ELCOT obviously with the connivance of former Chairman
of ELCOT and political heavy weights. In my capacity as Managing Director, I was also the Chairman of ELNET. I wanted to probe the circumstances in which the ELCOT and ELNET lost control of ETL Infrastructure Limited. I circulated a special resolution to be moved in the Annual General Body meeting of the share holders of ELNET for removal of Unnamali Thiagarajan W/o Thigagraja Chettiar from the office of Managing Director of ELNET (Annexure-E[v]). The Annual General Body meeting of the shareholders of ELNET was to be held on 30th July 2008.

I also sent special reports to the Government regarding the scam namely the mysterious disappearance of ETL Infrastructure Limited worth more than Rs.700 crores (Annexure-F[vi]). I wanted a probe in the role of Mr.Vivek Harinarayanan IAS., and Dr.C.Chandramouli IAS.,

I state while I was physically verifying and searching the records pertaining to the mysterious disappearance of ETL Infrastructure Limited in ELNET's office on 28th July 2008, I received an order of transfer removing me from the post of MD, ELCOT and posting me as Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Limited (TIIC) (Annexure G[vii]). I have reason to believe that it was a fraudulent transfer. The order of transfer was passed adverse to public interest and to help the said Thiagaraja Chettiar. It is perceived that Mr.M.K.Alagiri, Union Minister was responsible for my abrupt transfer from ELCOT.

While I was working in the TIIC, there was a feud between Maran brothers who own the Sun TV group of Television network and the family of Dr.Kalaignar Karunanidhi, the Hon'ble Chief Minster of Tamil Nadu. The feud between Maran brothers who have become very powerful and one of the richest in the country and M.K.Alagiri, the elder son of the Chief Minster was well known. The burning of Dinakaran News Paper office at Madurai and hurling of petrol bomb and death of 3 innocent persons in the murderous attack is also well known.

I state that the Hon'ble Chief Minister called me and ordered me to take assignment as Managing Director of Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited. I told the Hon'ble Chief Minister that I would not be able to work under Dr.Chandramouli IAS., against whom I had submitted a report on the mysterious disappearance of ETL Infrastructure limited and also pledging of ELCOT's Joint Venture company – ELNET to secure Rs.81 crore loan for the mysteriously disappeared company namely ETL Infrastructure Limited. Dr.Chandramouli IAS., was transferred from the post of Information Technology Secretary cum Chairman of Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited and in his place Mr.P.W.C.Davidar IAS., was appointed. My appointment as MD, Arasu Cable TV corporation was notified simultaneously on 30th October 2008. (Annexure-H[viii])

I assumed office as MD, Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited, a Government owned company on 3rd November 2008.

I found that Sumangali Cable TV, controlled by Maran brothers was indulging in large scale destruction of Optic fibre cable infrastructure of Arasu Cable TV Corporation. Sumangali Cable Vision was determined to ensure that their monopoly was maintained by all means. I brought to the notice of the Government the criminal acts committed by the Sumangali Cable Vision Limited and the involvement of Pongalur Palanichamy, a Minister in the State Cabinet in helping Sumangali Cable TV who destroyed the property of the Government company. I sent several reports including the proposals for arrest of Maran brothers under the preventive detention laws and for action under the penal laws. (Annexure I [ix] – 21 pages)

I state that there was a settlement of the dispute between the Maran brothers and the family of Dr.Kalignar Karunanidhi. As an officer of the All India Service I pursued my job in right earnest and wanted the Maran brothers to be punished and Sumangali Cable TV to be nationalised (Annexure J[x])

I state that I was shunted out of Arasu Cable TV Corporation and posted as Commissioner of Small Savings, an ex cadre post. The Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited is now almost dead.

I state that the Hon'ble Chief Minister and the Maran brothers became vengeful against me and wanted to disturb me.

While I was working in TIIC I sent an intimation to the State Government under Rule 4 (2)(b) of the All India Service (Conduct) Rules 1968 stating that my wife Suryakala M.Com., BL., was employed in Tessolve Inc. Chennai branch as HR Executive. She was working in that company from 1-4-2008 to 31-12-2008. Her gross salary was Rs.25,000 per month.

I state that the State Government which was determined to throttle me at the behest of the Maran brothers issued a charge memo apropos my wife joining service in Tessolve Inc. The Charge Memo was issued to prevent empanelment of my name in the cadre of Joint Secretary to Government of India. Because of this, I have been denied Joint Secretary empanelment during this year. I have been denied even a car loan and allotment of housing plot by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

I filed OA No.79 of 2010 on the file of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chennai and obtained stay against the Charge Memo on 16th January 2010 (Annexure- K[xi]).

I received a communication from the Chief Secretary to Government (Annexure- L[xii]) regarding my movable and immovable assets. I sent a reply dated 28-10-2009 (Annexure-M[xiii] ).

On 6-5-2010 a Deputy Superintendent of Police called me over phone and sought an appointment for conducting enquiries regarding my alleged assets disproportionate to my known sources of income. When I asked him under what authority he was asking me to answer his queries, he said he was so authorised by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption. This led to my filing WP No.12274 of 2010 on the file of the High Court. (Annexure-N[xiv] ). The Hon'ble High Court was pleased to admit the writ petition and grant stay.

I also filed WP No.15946 of 2010 (Annexure-O[xv]) questioning the Manual of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption under which the officers of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption, namely police officers conduct enquiries against All India Service officers de-hors the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure. It is my case that the State Government is free to institute any disciplinary proceedings against me in accordance with the provisions of the All India Service Act, Public Servants Enquiries Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure and the State Government is not competent to conduct any enquiry against me without registering a case against me by the due process of law. The writ petition is pending adjudication.

I state that the Government of Tamil Nadu have passed G.O Ms No. 670, Public (Special. A) department, dated 21-7-2010, suspending me from the service pending enquiry to scrutinise the genuineness of the Scheduled Caste community certificate produced by me. (Annexure-P [xvi])

I state that the Government have also issued a press note on 23-7-2010 intimating to the press the cause of my suspension. I state that the law relating to caste certificates is settled. It is only the Committee which can go into the question of caste certificate.

I submit that I submitted the community certificate to the Union Public Service Commission. When the results of the All India Services examination was published by the UPSC, my name was withheld and placed in the provisional category pending verification of the community certificate. The certificate was duly verified and thereafter the result was published.

I submit that the Government have not taken any action against the corrupt bureaucrats. The state Government is targeting me because I have been honest and sincere.

The State Government have caused a publication in the New Indian Express dated 25-7-2010 titled “Umashaknar Did produce false community certificate”, stating that I have produced a false certificate. The news paper report is engineered by the State Government, the Maran brothers and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption of Tamil Nadu (Annexure-Q[xvii]).

I state that in WP No.15946 of 2010 I have alleged that one Mr.Ram Mohan Rao IAS was found in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the extent of several crores of rupees. The amount is said to be about Rs.81 crores. The Government is protecting him. The Government is protecting all corrupt officials and making use of them. The Government does not want officers like me to serve the public.

I state that I am not claiming any special right. I can be charge sheeted under the All India Services Act, Public Servants Enquiries Act , the Prevention of Corruption Act or under the penal laws if the Government have credible information and materials against me. The Government, through the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption have started a smearing campaign against me by planting false stories as if I have produced a false certificate. I have come to know that the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is insisting that an FIR should be filed against me. The State Government headed by the present Chief Minister is intolerant and vindictive against me because I recommended penal action against Maran brothers and made public the scam in ETL Infrastructure where the hands of Mr.M.K.Alagiri, a Central Minster of the DMK party is involved. Thus the State power is being misused against me.

I therefore request the Commission to protect me from illegal harassment by the Tamil Nadu Government, the Chief Minister's family and the powerful Maran brothers who are closely related to the Chief Minister.

Please ensure that enquiry, if any, regarding my caste certificate is conducted by the Central Vigilance Commission or CBI or any other Central agency not under the control of the State Government.

Appropriate action may be initiated to allow me to work under the Central Government or any of the agency of the Central Government not under the control of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

I also request you to ensure proper security to me and my family through Central Security forces.

Dated the 26th July 2010 at Chennai.

C.Umashankar IAS., (RR 1990)
Chennai
e-mail: umashankarc@gmail.com

[i] ) Annexure A – Affidavit filed before the Madras High Court in what is known as “Cremation Sheds Scam”
[ii] Annexure B - Judgement in Cremation Sheds Scam in WP No. 15929/95 dated 27th February 1996.
[iii] Annexure C – Web report on Tiruvarur e-governance
[iv] Annexure D - THE WEEK, in its millennium edition 2000, declaring me the
man of the next millennium from among the bureaucrats of India.
[v] Annexure E – Draft Special Resolution for removal of Tmt.Unnamalai Thiagarajan from the post of Managing Director of ELNET.
[vi] Annexure F – Report to Government and the Board of ELCOT regarding the ETL Infrastructure scam.
[vii] Annexure G - Transfer orders to Mr.C.Umashankar IAS from ELCOT to TIIC.
[viii] Annexure-H G.O Rt. No. 4394 Public (Special A) Department, dated 30-10-2008, notifying transfers and postings of Mr.PWC Davidar IAS., Dr.Chandramouli IAS., C.Umashakar IAS., etc.
[ix] Annexure I (21 pages) – Letters and reports sent to Government on illegal OFC cable cutting and other related reports.
[x] Annexure J – Proposal submitted to Government for nationalisation of Sumangali Cable Vision Limited dated 7th January 2010.
[xi] Annexure K – OA No.79 of 2010 filed before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Madras bench.
[xii] Annexure L – Letter from the Chief Secretary to Government seeking my asset details. .
[xiii] Annexure-M – Letter to Chief Secretary dated 30th October 2009 in response to the letter from Government seeking my asset details.
[xiv] Annexure-N Writ application in WP No. 12274 of 2010.
[xv] Annexure- O Writ application in WP No.15946 of 2010
[xvi] Annexure- P G.O Ms No. 670, Public (Special. A) department, dated 21-7-2010, suspending me from the service pending enquiry
[xvii] Annexure-Q News clipping titled “Umashankar did produce false community certificate” in the New Indian Express dated 25th July 2010

When Shit doesn't happen and Paper goes waste

2010-08-01T00:00:00.004-05:00

(Writtten in 2007-08 when I was a grad-student living with roomies)

Note: This is a rant Not intended to hurt or insult my roomie, but just to express my hopelessness and environmental dejection.

I unfortunately happen to be one of those oldie/unfashionable environmentally conscious guys. I regularly feel helpless when I see shit happening and I am unable to change it. But this actually rocked, no, stinked...better, stinks.

What can you do when you have a roomie with whom you share a family plan phone and who refuses to make the monthly telephone bills paperless despite your repeated attempts via begging/pleading/threatening/scorning? I see it every month - we can see our bills online and settle it online, but this guy insists on getting the paper statement (the damn paper statement, in case you didn't know, includes a list of ALL the calls both of you have made over the past month, often coming to around 20-25 pages) and the environmental part of my soul bleeds when he sees the statement for a minute and trashes it.

Now the shit got stinkier when he wanted to be clean. (leave alone his humongous appetite for tissue-usage, sample this - he once single-handedly finishing three-quarters of one full roll of toilet paper in one s(h)itting, and with obviously no intention to mock at him, I mean, I obviously haven't seen how he shits, but I've seen him use paper in the kitchen for cleaning/wiping his hands, and I seriously bleed tears seeing that, so I think I can safely assume how he would use toilet paper. {I, incidentally, don't use toilet paper at all, there is a mug in our kakkoos and it suffices quite satisfyingly}). Still, when somebody flushes the toilet 15 times (I counted it, 15 times, yes FIFTEEN) in succession just so that shit is wiped out from the face of the ... not earth, just the cistern, it bothered me. I mean, I know we need to be hygienic and all that, still, 15 continuous flushes for about 7-10 minutes of shit really beat (the shit out of) me. Frankly, I have thought long and hard and even asked him once or twice if he had some kind of health problem or something which might cause or require this indiscriminate flushing (I don't have any idea if there is any such thing which does), but he replied saying he wanted the toilet to be clean.

I've experienced severe water problems – I've been through times when I had to wake up at 5 in the morning and rush out with my mom & dad brandishing buckets and having to face about 30 sleepy, irritated (obviously!) souls all jostling for the same water. But even if this experience did not cause me to turn emotional and feel bad, just seeing the amount of water being wasted for no purpose (the worst shit in the world can be wiped out in a maximum of 3 flushes, don't ask me how) really REALLY gets on to my nerves. (It's another matter that the flush in our house makes a hell of a noise and this maniacal flushing is sometimes done at midnight or early morning). Seriously, I don't mind that, but I DO mind the wastage.

And when the guy doing this shit happens to be doing his PhD(Environmental Engg.) you just can't help but explode somewhere.

PSBB Teachers 28 - Pushpa Mam

2010-07-31T23:39:00.001-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 27 here)

Hindi - '98-'00

Mrs.Pushpa Joshi - Pushpa Mam taught us Hindi during Classes IX and X. An extremely fair, slightly plumpish appearance who had a sense of wit & humorous which wasn't obvious, she had an extremely meticulous and neat way of teaching Hindi. One crib I had with her was how she always used to say "Shri Gurubhyo Namuh..." instead of "Shri Gurubhyo Namaha".

(Part 29 here)

Life Aaj Kal

2010-07-04T00:38:00.000-05:00

6:30 - 7:00 AM - Become conscious to sounds of Shlokas & smell of Oodhubathi. Stir a bit and (possibly, occasionally) chant some of them in a semi-conscious state and slip back into sleep, oftentimes from the floor onto the bed, now that amma-appa aren't on it.

8:00 - 9:00 AM - Wake up finally. Go to kitchen, play with mom a bit, brush and settle down with filter coffee & 2 Britannia Milk Bikis & *shudder* ToI (occasionally The Hindu). Alasify global/national/local politics. Cinemasala. Sports. Chennai Times/Metro Plus. Who put head, who ran away with whom, who got raped in Delhi, who met with accident in Chennai-Trichy highway, how many CRPF got killed, etc.

9:00 - 11:30 AM - Take out lappie. Tweet. Net. Tweet. Check mail. Tweet. Occasional mango milk-shake. Tweet. Phone mokkai. Tweet.

9:35 - 10:15 AM - Drop amma and appa in Pazhavanthangal station.

10:30 - 11:30 AM - Take bath during this interval. Occasional extension to 1 - 2 PM. *ashamed*

12:00 - 2:00 PM - Proper Iyer-aathu saappadu watching K/Star/Sun/Animal Planet channels immediately followed by a probably siesta or more internet. Tweet.

4:15 - 5:00 PM - Appa returns. Scavenge for some snacks. Or TV. Or phone.

5:30 PM - Go to Pazhavanthangal station to pick up amma. Over the last few days, some "interesting" developments (which have a high probability of not going anywhere :P) on the way back (that's the time many of the college buses drop off students, you see).

6:00 - 6:30 PM - More coffee time plus Grand Sweets Manoharam and some khaaram.

6:30 - 7:00 PM - Get ready to freak out, either to downtown Chennai (T.Nagar) or some place else. Back for dinner (usually). And some time explaining to parents the reason for returning late. As much as I don't tire coming back home late, my parents simply don't tire of getting exasperated with me and demanding an explanation.

10:00 PM onwards - Football keeps running on TV while I don't really follow it. If it's Wimbledon, a little more attention. Someone or the other to mokka-pottufy over the phone. Back in the US, it used to be one of 3 close friends, so though the conversations used to cover a wide variety of issues (local Vambu to geo-politics), there used to be a sense of monotony since the people used to be the same, not to forget, all 3 being male B-). But here, it's been the other way around (I refuse to elaborate ;-D).

12 AM - 2 AM - Tweet. Sleep.

And schedule regularly interspersed with Marina/Besi outings, night-outs at friends' place, movies, outstation temple trips (the only outstation trips so far), visits to parents' friends & friends' parents and also a few sojourns to some interesting social-empowerment activities.

I am someone who cannot remain quiet or sit around doing nothing for long. Technically, I've had no "job" this past month, but my hands have been so full (well, pseudo-full maybe :P) with stuff to do and time to enjoy idling away (contradictory, I know, but that's how it has been), I've really had very little to complain apart from rusting professionally & not being financially productive (which is apparently *important*).
Sigh, but all good things have to end. And the good things that have come to an end will hopefully pave the way for something better. :-)

Sama Veda Sandhyavandanam

2010-07-01T14:42:00.004-05:00

Over the years, I realized that being a Sama Vedi Iyer was one of the most challenging things from the point of view of online resources for rituals. Ok, Sandhyavandanam is something a guy is supposed to have learnt from his Aacharyaal since the day the Upanayanam was performed, but somehow things didn't work out for me.
Googling "Sama Veda Sandhyavandanam" didn't really help much and I really had to dig deep for a proper link that contained exactly what I was looking for. I'm basically reproducing the content from Shri P.R.Ramachander's page here, since this page isn't available among the first few results, and I'm hoping my blog-post is easier to locate.

PS: This post strictly details the procedure for Sama Vedi Iyers. Non-{Sama Vedi Iyers} have ample resources elsewhere, so do kindly excuse. Also, I'm not keen on this turning out to be a discussion-point for casteism/Brahminism, so if you want to oppose/criticise such rituals, etc, sorry, this is not the place.

Part-I - Argya Pradhanam

1. Aachamanam:
Take small quantities of water (just sufficient to soak one grain of black gram) three times in the right hand and take it with the following manthra:
Om Achyuthaya Namah, Om Ananthaya Namah, Om Govindaya Namah

Then
Touch with thumb both cheeks saying Kesava - Narayana
Touch with ring finger both eyes saying Madhava - Govinda
Touch with the first finger both sides of nose saying Vishno - Madhusoodana
Touch with little finger both ears saying Trivikrama - Vamana
Touch with the middle finger both shoulders saying Sreedhara - Hrishikesa
Touch with all fingers the belly button saying Padmanabha
Touch with all fingers the head saying Damodara.

2. Ganapathi Dhyanam:
Recite the following manthra slowly hitting the forehead with both fists together:
Shuklambaradharam Vishnum Sasi Varnam ChathurBhujam,
Prasanna Vadanam Dyayeth Sarva Vigna Upa Santhaye.

3. Pranayamam:
Hold both Nostrils with Thumb and the little and third finger of the hands and recite the following Manthra:
Om Bhoo
Om Bhuva
Ogum Suva
Om Maha
Om Jana
Om Thapa
Ogum Sathyam
Om Tat savithur varenyam Bargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yona prachodayath
Om Apa
Jyothj rasa
Amrutham brahma
Bhoorbuvasuvarom
Touch the ears three times saying
Om, Om, Om
The inhaling is called Puraka, the retaining Kumbhaka and the exhaling Rechaka. The proportion of time of these three viz. Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka should be in the ratio 1: 3: 2.
Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka together, make one Pranayama. From Om Bhuh upto Dhiyo yo nab prachodayat would be Puraka. From Omapo Jyoti-rasomritam Brahma Bhurbhuvassuvarom upto Om Bhuh, Om Bhuvah will be one Kumbhaka.The third turn from Om Bhuh upto the end will be Rechaka.

4. Sankalpam:
Keep the right palm inside the left palm and keep the palms on the right thigh and recite the following manthra:
Mamo partha samastha duritha kshaya dwara, Sri Parameshwara preethyartham,
Pratah Sandhya - pratha sandhyam upasishye
Madhyannikam - madhyaynikam karishye
Sayam Sandhya - sayam sandhyam upasishye

5. Marjanam:
Sri Kesavaya Namah (write OM in water with the ring finger)
Recite the following ten mantras. While reciting the first seven sprinkle water on the head, while reciting the eighth touch the feet, nine again sprinkle on the head and complete by reciting the tenth by taking a little water on your right palm and throwing it around your head in clockwise direction like pradakshinam:
(1) Aapo hishta mayo bhuva
(2) thana oorje dadha thana
(3) Mahe ranaaya chakshase
(4) Yova shiva thamo rasa
(5) Thasya bhajaya thehana
(6) usatheeriva mathara
(7) Thasma aranga mamava
(8) Yasya kshayaya jinwadha
(9) Aapo janayadha jana
(10) Om bhorbuvassuva

6. Praasanam:
Take in the hand small quantity of water in the palm (just sufficient to immerse one grain) recites the following manthra and drink it while telling "swaha".
Pratah Sandhya: Ahascha maa adithyascha punathu swaha
Madhyahnikam: Aapa punanthu prithweem, prithwee pootha punathu maam
                           Punanthu brahmanaspathir brahma pootha punathu maam
                           Yad uchishta mabhojyam yadhwa ducharitham mama
                           Sarvam punanthu mamopa asatham cha prathigraham swaha
Sayam Sandhya: Rathrischa ma varunascha punathu swaha.

7. Achamanam:
Use the same manthras and action as given in "1" above

8. Punar Marjanam:
Recite the following 14 mantras. While reciting the first eleven-sprinkle water on the head, while reciting the twelfth touch the feet, thirteen again sprinkle on the head and complete by reciting the fourteenth taking a little water on your right palm and throwing around your head in the clockwise direction like pradakshinam:
(1) Dadhi kravinno akarisham
(2) Jishno raswasya vajina
(3) surabhino mukha karaath
(4) Prana ayugumshi tharishath
(5) Aapo hishta mayo bhuva
(6) Thana oorje dadha Thana
(7) Mahe ranaaya chakshase
(8) Yova shiva thamo rasa
(9) Thasya bhajaya thehana
(10) usatheeriva mathara
(11) Thasma aranga mamava
(12) Yasya kshayaya jinwadha
(13) Aapo janayadha jana
(14) Om bhorbuvassuva

9. Argya Pradhanam:
Join both hands together and take hand full of water taking care not to join both thumbs with other fingers. Repeat the following mantra and pour water through your hands.
Om Bhorbuvassuva. Tatsa vithur varenyam bhargo devasya deemahi. Dhiyo yona prachodayath
Pratha Sandhya: Face east and repeat thrice.
Madyannikam: Face North and repeat twice.
Sayam Sandhya: Face West and repeat twice.

10. Prayaschitha Argyam:
Do Pranayama (refer S. No. 3 above)
Then offer one more Argyam in a similar fashion as above. This is a Prayaschitha (atonement) for doing the argya pradhanam late. Take small quantity of water in the right hand and rotate it above ones own head saying (this is called Athma parishechanam)

Pratha Sandhya: Om yadathya gacha vruthrahan. Udayaa abhisoorya sarvaan dathindra they vache
Madyannikam : Om uthkedthbhi sruthamagam vrushabham naryabasim Astharameshi soorya
Sayam Sandhya : Om na thasya maya yachana Ripureeseetha marthya yo agnaye dathacha havyadathaye

11. Ikyaanusandhanam:
With both hands touch the middle of the chest. close the eyes, meditate and chant
Asaavadhityo brahma. Brahamaivahamasmi
Then do Achamanam.

12. Deva Tharpanam:
Pratha Sandhya: Squat facing east.
Madhyannikam: Squat facing east/north.
Sayam Sandhya: Squat facing north.
Take water in the hand and pour it out through the finger-tips after each manthra.

Aadithyam tharpayami
Somam tharpayami
Angarakam tharpayami
Budham tharpayami
Brahaspathim tharpayami
Shukram tharpayami
Sanaiswaram tharpayami
Rahum tharpayami
Kethum tharpayami
Kesavam tharpayami
Narayanam tharpayami
Madhavam tharpayami
Govindam tharpayami
Vishnum tharpayami
Madhusoodhanam tharpayami
Trivikramam tharpayami
Vamanam tharpayami
Sreedharam tharpayami
Hrishikesam tharpayami
Padmanabham tharpayami
Damodharam tharpayami

Then do aachamanam.

Part-II - Japam

13. Japa Sankalpam:
Recite the following manthra slowly hitting the forehead with both fists together:
Shuklambaradharam Vishunum Sasi Varnam ChathurBhujam,
Prasanna Vadanam Dyayeth Sarva Vigna Upa Santhaye.

Do Pranayamam.

Keep the right palm inside the left palm and keep the palms on the right thigh and recite the following manthra:
Mamo partha samastha duritha kshaya dwara, Sri Parameshwara preethyartham,
Pratha Sandhya: pratha sandhya gayathri maha manthra japam karishye
Madhyannikam: madhyaynika gayathri maha manthra japam karishye
Sayam Sandhya: sayam sandhya gayathri maha manthra japam karishye

14. Pranava Japam:
Pranavasya Rishi Brahma (touch the forehead with fingers),
Devi gayathri Chanda (touch below the nose),
Paramathma devatha (touch the middle of the chest)
Bhooradhi saptha vyahrudeenam athri - brugu - kuthsa - vasishta - gowthama - kasyapa - aangeerasa rishaya (touch forhead)
Gayathree - ushnig - anushtup - brahathi - pankthi- trushtup- jagathi - chandamsi (touch below the nose)
Agni - vayu - arka - vageesa - varuna - indra - viswe deva - devatha (touch the middle of the chest.)

Do pranayama ten times.

15. Gayathri Avahanam:
(Touching head) Aayaathu Ithi anuvakasya vamadeva rishi,
(Touching below nose) Anushtup chanda,
(Touching the middle of the chest) Gayathri devatha
(Folding hands like Namaste in front of heart)
Aayathu varada devi aksharam brahma samhitham.
Gayathri chandasam mathedam brahma jushaswana.
Oojosi, sahosi,balamasi, brajosi, devaanaam dhama naamaasi. viswamasi,
viswayu sarvamasi, sarvayu abhipoorom, Gayathrim avahayami, Savithrim avahayami, saraswathim avahayami (while reciting the last three manthras, after avahayami, keep both the palms together with little fingers touching and then slowly take the fingers towards oneself, and bring it back to original position after one rotation)

16. Gayathri Nyasam:
Chant each of the mantras while -
(Touching the forehead) Savithrya rishi brahma
(Touching below the nose) nichrud gayathri chanda
(Touching the middle of the chest) savitha devatha

17. Gayathri Japam:
Repeat 108 times the Gayathri facing east in the morning & afternoon, west in the evening :

Om Bhur Vhuvah Svah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat

18. Gayathri Upasthanam:
Do pranayamam and then stand up and chant
Facing the same direction:
Pratha Sandhya: Pratha sandhyam upasthanam karishye
Madhyannikam: Adithyam upasthanam karishye
Sayam Sandhya: Sayam sandhyaupasthanam karishye

Then repeat
Uthame shikare devi, bhoomyam parvatha vardhini,
Brahmanebhyo anugnanam, gacha devi yada sukham.

19. Surya Upasthanam:
Pratha Sandhya:
Yaso aham bhavami brahmananaam yaso ragnam yaso visaam
Yasa sathyasya bhavami
Bhavami yasasaam yasa
Adithya naava maroksham poornamparipadinim
Achithram bharayishnaveem satharithraam swasthye om Namah adithyaya
Udyantham dwa aadithyanu deeyasam

Madhyannikam:
Aadhithya navamaroksham poorna maparipaddhineem
Acchithram bharayishnaveem sadarithraam swasthaye
Om Namah adithyaya, Namah adhithyaya, Namah adhithyaya
Uduthyam jatha vedasam devam vahanthi kethava
Druse viswaya sooryam
Chithram devaanam udaganeekam chakshur mithrasya varunasyagne
Aa pra dyava pruthvi anthareeksha soorya athma jagadas tha dushacha
Thachkshur deva hitham purasthac chukramussarth
Om bhorbuvaswarom
Soorya iva druse bhooyasam agneeriva thejasa, vayuriva pranena, soma iva ganthena, brahaspathher iva budhya, aswina iva roopena, indragni iva balena, brahma bhaga evaham bhooyasam paap mabhaga me dwishantha.

Sayam Sandhya:
Yaso aham bhavami brahmananaam yaso ragnam yaso visaam
Yasa sathyasya bhavami
Bhavami yasasaam yasa
Adithya naava maroksham poornamparipadinim
Achithram bharayishnaveem satharithraam swasthye om Namah adithyaya, Namah adhithyaya, Namah adithyaya
Prathi thishtantham thavar adhithya anu prathi thishtassam.

20. Samashti Abhivadanam:
Starting from the direction facing which the japa was done after each manthra turn 90 degrees to the right. Say the next manthra and so on.
Sandhyayai Namah
Savithryai Namah
Gaythryai Namah
Saraswathyai Namah

Then chant with folded hands facing the same direction
Sarvebhyo devathabhyo namo Namah

Kamo karshed manyura karshed namo Namah.

Then touch with both hands the ears slightly bow and chant
Abhivadaye <your Rishis> <number of Rishis> Risheya
<your Pravara or blank> pravaranvitha
<your Gothra> gothra
<your Suthra> suthra
<your Veda> adhyay
Sri sarmanama aham asmibho

After this touch your feet with both hands and do Namahskaram.

Some examples of Pravara Rishis
Gothra pravara rishaya
Athreya Athreya Archanaanasa, syavaaswa traya risheya
Naidruva kasyapa Kasyapa, Avathsara, Naidruva traya risheya
Gargeya Aangeerasa, Chainya, Gargya traya risheya, Aangeerasa, Barhaspathya, Baradwaja, Chainya-Gargya pancharisheya
Koundinya Vasishta, Maithra varuna, Koundinya traya risheya
Koushika Vaiswamithra, Aagamarshana, Koushika traya risheya
Gowthama Aangirasa-aayasya-gowthama traya risheya
Baradwaja Aangeerasa, Barhaspathya, Bharadwaja traya risheya
Haritha Aangeerasa, Ambareeksha, Younaswa trayarsheya
Sounaka Garthsamadha Ekarsheya
Chandilya Kasyapa, Aavathsara, Naidruva, Reba, Saptha risheya
Raibha, Choundilya, Chandilya

21. Dig Devatha Vandhanam:
With folded hands offer salutations to the different directions facing that direction:
Pracyai dishe Namah (East)
Dakshinayai dishe Namah (South)
Pradeechai dishe Namah (West)
Udichyai dishe Namah (North)

Then again face the direction in which you were doing japa and continue
Oordwaya Namah (above)
Adharaya Namah (below)
Anthareekshaya Namah (straight)
Bhoomyai Namah (earth)
Brahmane Namah
Vishnave Namah
Mrutuyuve Namah

22. Yama Vandanam:
Stand facing South and chant
Yamaya Namah
Yamaya dharma rajaya, mrutyuve cha anthakaya cha
Vaivaswathaya kalaya sarva bhootha kshayaya cha
Oudhumbharaya dhagnaya neelaya parameshtine
Vrukodharaya chithraya chithra gupthaya vai Namah
Chithra gupthaya vai Namah om Namah ithi

23. Harihara Vandhanam:
Stand facing West and chant
Ruthagum sathyam para brahma purusham Krishna pingalam,
Oordhwrethwam viroopaksham Viswa roopaya vai Namah
Viswa roopaya vai Namah om Namah ithi

24. Soorya Narayana Vandhanam:
Stand facing the direction in which Japa was done and chant
Namah savithre jagadeka chakshushe,
Jagat prasoothi sthithi naasa hethave,
Trayin mayaya trigunathma dharine
Virinchi Narayana sankara athmane

Dyeya sada savithru mandala Madhya varthi
Narayana sarasijasana sannivishta
Keyuravan makara kundalavaan
Kiriti haari hiranya vapur drutha sankha chakra

Sanka chakra gatha pane dwaraka nilayachythe
Govinda pundarikaksha raksha maam sarana gatham
Aakasath pathitham thoyam,
Yada gachathi sagaram,
Sarva deva Namahskara
Sri kesavam prathi gachathi,
Sri kesavam prathi gachathi om na ithi

25. Samarpanam:
Take a small quantity of water recite the following manthra and pour it on the ground
Kaye na vacha manase indriyair va
Budhyathma nava prakruthai swabhavat.
Karomi yadyat sakalam parasmai,
Narayana yethi samarpayami

Then do aachamanam

26. Raksha:
Sprinkle some water on the place where japa was [performed reciting the manthra below, then touch the ground with ring finger and place it between the eyelids:
Adhya no deva savitha praja vath saavee soubhagam
Para duswapneeya suva
Viswani deva savitha - durithani paraa suvaa
Yad bhadram thanma asuva

Om.

Acknowledgements: Sincere thanks to all those below for their valuable sites.

http://www.celextel.org/mantrasandrituals/sandhyavandanam.html?page=1
https://omshivam.wordpress.com/trikal-sandhya/sandhya-vandan-mantra-vidhi/
http://satyaveda.wordpress.com/sandhya-vandanam/

For the People who Read

2010-06-29T13:42:00.001-05:00

(Written a few days after the final book released)

Note: For those who have not yet read and are planning to read either the Harry Potter series or “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, my sincere advice would be to discontinue reading this article. Reduction in my readership, though it might be, this statutory warning comes from a sincere HP-fan who earnestly does not wish to deny other fellow fans the pleasure of cherishing the climax of the series.

Ultimately, The Boy Who Lived did live, and live did he? Pulling down the curtains on an epic masterpiece with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, J.K.Rowling does, indeed manage to leave us happy, sad, angry, miserable, confused, satisfied and not-at-all-satisfied…all at the same time. Never for once did I imagine experiencing this heart-wrenching feeling, given that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, et al continue to live, at the end of the series. I am not a particularly good reader, but I think I can state, with sufficient backing available, that Harry Potter is one epic fantasy that would go down in history as a must-read belonging to the beginning of the 21st century. And now, as I write these words after having just completed reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there is a seemingly empty feeling in my stomach, as in millions of others. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the others will continue to live peacefully in the Wizarding world (Godric’s Hollow, hopefully). Just that we Muggles will not get to glimpse what The Chosen One would be choosing to do. It does indeed seem frightening to think there will be no more adventures of Harry Potter, well, possibly an encyclopedia, as Rowling hinted, but there is no more Voldemort to conquer, no horcruxes to destroy, no Ginny’s to be won over, no Ron-Hermione’s to indulge in friendship or patch-up with, no Firebolt to fly on, ……..Such has been the effect of the boy wizard’s adventures that kids have grown up idolizing Harry Potter as their hero, more than any other living person. Indeed, why not? After having been a presumptuous vocal critic of Rowling and the Harry Potter books until early 2003, the movie and my best friend were what prompted me to take to reading the book, add to it some curiosity mixed with the chance to scorn more. How wrong I was! I don’t know if the skepticism I had while reading the book helped me like the book more, but somehow, at the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Chamber of Secrets.

Yes, there are those oh-that’s-fantasy-nonsense sayers about the book, but the way Rowling has so intricately woven fantasy with the deepest and truest of human emotions is what makes the book such a kill. That the Harry Potter books portray as much as or more than (often unimaginable) magic, such human feelings, emotions, virtues – of love, courage, honesty, integrity, betrayal, greed, arrogance and human fallibility, are what endear the book to any reader. No wonder then, that this book, intended to be for children, ended up being read by people of all age-groups, across continents, breaking all sorts of barriers – religious, cultural, linguistic, and what not!

Rowling depicts characters we see everyday, and those that we yearn to see in a lifetime. Another standout aspect of Rowling is the amazing attention she gives to the minutest of details, and she has proved, throughout the entire series, time and again, how essential it is to take in every single word, punctuation and expression that is so sublimely conveyed in the books – be it the casual mention of Hagrid dropping Harry when he was one year old in Sirius’ borrowed bike or Harry’s notion that Snape was able to read his mind or Ron preventing Harry and Hermione from uttering Lord Voldemort’s name when they were camping in the forest. But over and above all, it was the saga of love and friendship that struck me the most, interspersed with actions of sheer daring, bravery, comic timing, not to forget intellectual brilliance (Oh, I love you Hermione!). For me, the most touching love story in the series was the one between Snape and Lily Evans, well, the one-sided love, at least. And the journey through Snape’s memory in the end really moves you to tears. Of course, I never ever professed any love for Snape, but towards the end of book 6, it seemed sort of obvious to me that Snape was on the good side, my hypothesis being bolstered by his murder of Dumbledore. Well, the above statement might seem terrifically nutty in any general context, but having read 6 of her books with avid interest, you would essentially see logic in the above statement, in light of Rowling being the author in question. Of course, it goes unsaid that the Harry-Hermione-Ron camaraderie takes the cake as far as “friendship” is concerned. As for a mentor-protégé relationship, I think there was only one such instance that moved us – that of Albus Dumbledore and Harry. Though the Harry-Ginny relationship was riveting and invigorating at certain moments, for instance, both the impulsive kisses were pretty intense and made you “feel” (not the physical kiss [:P], something more like the love they had), the fact that Ginny had made out with quite a few guys before Harry (Michael Corner and Dean Thomas), and Harry too had had his share of teenage crush on Cho Chang, the essence of the relationship never stuck, unlike the Ron-Hermione one which, despite Ron’s outwardly intense, deliberate and dispassionate fling with Lavender Brown and Hermione’s supposedly so-called affair with Viktor Krum, always had an undercurrent and was persistent, albeit not outwardly, for quite some time; and ended up being really cute and more satisfying than the Harry-Ginny union. Anyways, what everyone had been looking forward to in the Finale (among other things, of course) was the Harry – Voldemort (No You-Know-Who for me ;) showdown, which, some people felt, turned out to be a rather damp squib. I, for one, felt that the final fight and Voldemort’s eventual destruction could not have been better portrayed, because it took place in Hogwarts, their home (as well as Dumbledore’s), and took place in full view of everyone that mattered in the wizarding world. The conversation between Harry and Voldemort was really enthralling, and, as Dumbledore has been saying all this while, Voldemort’s eventual destruction at Harry’s hands would be due to the former’s ignorance and lack of wisdom, as much as the latter’s qualities that made him a Gryffindor – sheer courage, selflessness and concern for his peoples. It would have been absurd to expect a battle of magical prowess and wizarding talent between one of the most supremely magically talented wizards of all time – Voldemort and a seventeen-year-old boy, The Chosen One, though he may be. In view of this, I feel Rowling did indeed pull it off, Harry’s bravery and sense of purpose seeing him through.
Among the various deaths in the book, Dobby’s was most moving in that we went through a heroic rescue act by him terminating in his faithful final words, “Harry ….. Potter.” But of all the characters who died, I think none, not even Sirius or Dumbledore, would be missed as much as Fred Weasley. For some reason, Rowling has always mentioned more of Fred than George; though it is evident both are equally witty and mischievous. But somehow, these two characters are unbeatable, and their wisecracks are an ultimate riot, what with their timing, intonation and moments of light-heartedness during periods of difficulty. Miss you Fred! As for duels and deaths on the Dark Side, nothing was more unexpected, astonishing and satisfying than the one between Bellatrix Lestrange and Molly Weasley. Wow, what a duel! Especially the way Molly entered the fight, swearing at Bellatrix and plunging straight into the fight was awesome! Way to go Molly! Talking about Wizarding duels, one of my friends asked me to rank the wizards in the order of their skill/intelligence/knowledge –

‘Dumbledore > Voldemort > Grindelwald > {Snape, James, Sirius, Kingsley} > Bellatrix’ is what I came up with. Yes, despite all revelations of Dumbledore’s ‘other’ side, Harry Potter though I may not be, I would still remain Dumbledore’s boy. Accepted that Voldemort ventured to do far more things than Dumbledore ever did, but Dumbledore’s knowledge and wisdom outmatches Voldemort’s skills. Somehow, I liked Gellert Grindelwald towards the end, especially the way he spoke to Voldemort when he was approached about the Elder Wand. In the end, this epic saga revolved around the life of one man, his intense faithful love despite knowing its failure, and how he endured a life of lies and hatred, not to mention persistent mortal danger. Severus Snape showed us how to be a man, and Dumbledore’s persistent reiteration of the importance of “love” can be attributed to two people – ‘Professor’ Snape’s love for Lily (Evans-->Potter) and Harry’s love for his friends & fellow beings. These two reasons stood out, above all, among all the eventual causes leading to Voldemort’s downfall. The tale of Harry Potter has an epic touch too. I was pleasantly reminded of the story of Lord Krishna, wherein King Kamsa, His maternal uncle, set out to kill Him ever since he heard the prophecy that his (Kamsa’s) destruction would be at Lord Krishna’s hands. Also, the adventures of Harry, Hermione and, to some extent, Ron, in the forest, reminded me of the Ramayana, and especially the part where Harry is enticed by the doe was so like the deer enticing Goddess Sita in the epic. (Do pardon me if any of these comparisons seemed absurd.)

As I walk back to the Library to return “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” today, I cannot help feeling sad, despite my attempts at being practical. But then, we have an epic saga in the form of 7 unmistakable jewels among us – fantasy, though it might be, the tale of Harry Potter that Joanne Rowling (Kathleen is not part of her actual name) created has unmistakably found a place in the heart of millions all over the world, for a plethora of reasons, not least for the inherent humaneness incorporated in unreal fantasy.
Harry Potter shall continue to live in the minds of its readers for quite some time to come.
Rowling, we bow down to thee.
Thank you, for Harry Potter.

Raavanan Tweets

2010-06-28T02:16:00.000-05:00

I'm not a regular movie critic or anything, but since being opinionated is ingrained in me, there will inevitably be some movies I dissect completely - whether it's being for or against or it's being confused. However strong I may be in having an opinion or voicing it and however controversial the subject might be, I have always been concerned about how offensive/distasteful what I say might sound. Which is why I sometimes feel like an old mama when I shudder at some of the offensive language folks today use, simply to convey an opinion. And irrespective of how it appears, I try my best to have a balanced opinion on issues, with minimal prejudice being instrumental in the opinion-formation process.
Anyway, the point here is, I watched Raavanan yesterday and during the movie and after watching it, I tweeted some opinions, which are, presumably, strong. Yup, I did tweet some PG-13 stuff (but wouldn't be surprised if today's 13's are used to such stuff), but I really don't think they were offensive or distasteful. What surprised me most was when a very good friend told me to stop my Raavanan "rants" else he would stop following me, since my tweets were apparently "distasteful" and showed prejudice. He was obviously not kidding and I was quite intrigued. I am not too worried about a drop in my follower-count (Hey...followers come today go tomorrow yaa... :D), but since I respect this guy's opinions a lot, I wanted to really know if my tweets were that distasteful & biased to warrant such a strong quasi-telling-off from a good friend.

*Warning: May contain a few spoilers*

I know why Aish shows a hint of cleavage throughout. It's to distract us from her pathetic lip-sync & below-avg emoting.
What's particularly unnerving abt watchin a Maoist-sympathetic movie is watchin it when the nation's in a state of near-anarchy.
What's sad is not the fact that Aish exposes, but that Mani seems to have made her "show" simply because of his inability to include his usually-mandatory item number.
And yes. She shouts. A lot. And "shows". Quite somewhat. And acts. Well, at least tries to. A little.
For me, the most exciting parts of Raavanan were all the scenes in which Ranjitha appeared. Skewed sense of excitement, I know, still. :P
Raavanan may not be a very good movie, but in the context of the Singams & the Suras, it definitely is good cinema.
Oh yes, I too choked in that final scene when Raagini says "Buck Buck Buck...". :D
Friend on Facebook after watching Raavan(an): "Aishwarya Rai has transformed from a beautiful woman to a sexy aunty". :P
While Prithviraj's character was not fully sketched, Priya Mani's choice makes me wonder if it was a practical joke on her.
Very curious how Raavan(an) would be rated by folks (incl me) if we ignore that it's a Mani movie or that it released around Suraa/Singam.
And to be fair to myself, I did NOT go to Raavanan trying to compare with the actual Ramayana. Mani thrust it on me. Really did.
Which explains why I didnt realize then but felt Karthik's initial tree-top antics were dumb, but realized later on the liken-to-Hanuman. :(
I think we need to establish two specific standards of measurement of a film's "success" - 1."Feel" during & after the movie and 2.What the director intends to convey/the way he wants his movie to be perceived and how it actually comes out.
Raavan, on 1, is fail. On 2, need to know what exactly Mani Ratnam has/had in mind.

Chicago Nagaram...Oru Kadalai Anubavam

2010-06-19T13:41:00.000-05:00

[Old post...Written before I started blogging, just managed to get many of those out]

An important aspect of me that I, time and again, try to remind people who insist on calling me studious or “padips” is the fact that I am an erstwhile member of the VVK (Varuthapadaadha Valibar Kazhagam) and also served as Ko-Pa (Kozhgai Parappu) Cheyalaalar for a brief period, by virtue of the arrears that I “kept” in 4^th sem AI & 5^th sem DSP. (It is another issue that I managed to clear them in reval, backstabbing almost all of my comrades). However, by no means would I consider myself to have failed in either of them. My first proper experience of “failure” was, rather surprisingly, here, in the US of A. Having been a strong skeptic (for want of a better word) of girls, especially these last few years of my life, it was, as it is, difficult, getting good feminine comradeship here (also considering the admirable/noteworthy nature of my good girl friends back home [Note: No sarcasm or satire intended here]).

My prejudice against girls here living away from relatives/husband didn’t make things easier either. Hence, you might call it boredom/frustration or plain old joblessness (so characteristic of me) that made me attempt to roast some peanuts with this girl who studies at the same university as two of my close DAV friends. I had encountered this girl during my 11^th standard at the IIT classes, and she was also one of the friends’ classmates during BE in Chennai. And as far as the “kadalai” attempt goes, in my opinion, I think you could say it was definitely a first, considering that it was intended “only” for that purpose – kadalai. Well, and to those disagreeing souls, I would just like to clarify that those instances that you would consider as “kadalai” were merely spontaneously innocent (re)actions that were NOT meant to be “kadalai”, just that they ended up appearing like that. Coming back to this particular (singular) attempt, circumstances also presented opportunities (by no means a justification/reason for ‘the attempt’), partly encouraging the kadalai, in that I had to call up this girl once to talk to one of my friends (don’t wish to comment/elaborate on what was/is going on between them).

I did not consider this girl particularly good-looking, but I think a possible premise could be my close friend’s constant accusation of my “supposed” liking for the fairer specimens of the fairer sex. As an integral part of the kadalai, I ended up calling the girl once after I had spoken to my friend. Well, the reason basically was that, the first time I had called the girl asking to talk to my friend, apparently, she had commented that my tone was rude and unfriendly (Naturally!). So it ended up that I called her summa this time and wondered [:P] if I really had been rude or unfriendly. And then the usual patter about her being padips for a few ten seconds. Then, I told her something that would possibly be one of the top contenders for “the worst pick-up line” (Well, I don’t think ‘pick-up’ line is apt in this case, since I was not even trying to route-uttufy her, but well, I guess, something like impress, well, forget it, some crap!), I told her – “Hey sorry, enakku kadalai pottu pazhakkam illai, so edhavadhu thappa sollitta kandukkadhe.” Whoa – coming to think of it now, that was some royal mess-up! But then, it was in accordance to my usual practice of “open-admittance”, which usually impressed people. But I think, usually what happened was, in “most” cases, people ended up being impressed by my frankness, but here, it was screwed because my intention was impressing, and not being frank, and I wanted to achieve the former by the latter, which is what led to the joke!

Apparently, the girl was bewildered, poor thing, unable to understand what I was trying to say, and quite rightly, I believe, unimpressed. I returned a wiser man after the misadventure, learning the modern management lesson – “Know the rules of the game well before beginning any new business venture.” Or, more simply, don’t venture into unknown territory without elders…

PSBB Teachers 27 - Sunitha Mam

2010-06-19T13:15:00.001-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 26 here)

Biology/Class Teacher - '99

Mrs.Sunitha Narsiah - Class IX was when we moved from TP Road to Main School. And we were all understandably slightly scared. And having Sunitha mam as our class teacher only increased it. She was not particularly popular among the students, and my proximity to her (I was Class Leader again) did no help to my reputation/likeability among friends (not that that was the only reason, there were one or two others as well :D). She was pretty authoritarian and unfriendly (though I felt she could be jolly when she wanted to be, but then again, that might be thanks to my supposed proximity to her). She was a pretty good Biology teacher too, though her being our class teacher overshadowed all that. Overall, an interesting experience with some definite positives for me, but would be interested to hear from some of the others as well, assuming it was majorly negative for most of them.

(Part 28 here)

Veetla Puli...Pulli illa, Puli

2010-06-14T07:02:00.001-05:00

Basic matter: Iyengar ex-roomie+bro-like-buddy is engaged to ultra-mod-hip-Brahminism-aversion-having-Iyengar girl (not-entirely-necessary-bgm - the dude is from an extremely orthodox family though he has become quite over-liberal ever since he's been in the US, plus he's extremely good-looking, so flamboyant+semma_kadalai-types).

He'd described me as this semma pazham-type guy who'd not leave home without pattai (1/9th true), etc. to her & described her to me as semma_mod_Braahmna-baashai-hating "babe" (in his words) who hates all things associated with Brahminism & who isnt really bothered much about "culture". So much so that on more than one occasion, she had instructed him to speak with someone else after talking to me, before talking to her, since he apparently has a Brahmin-accent hangover after spending time with me. :D

Though I would normally have been interested in meeting a close friend's fiance (guy or girl ;-D) wasnt really planning on meeting her, simply based on his description of both of us to each other. And he also told she wouldnt "initiate"/be interested in a meet with me either, which kind of slightly pissed me off, since I had stuff for her, given by him and it would be height of oorga'ness if I gave the stuff to her to-be-in-laws.

Nevertheless, there was this curiosity abt how such a meet would go abt. esp since he said there were almost no commonalities except vegetarianism/"intellectuality" (in his opinion, we were both quite Intellectual folks though we didnt share opinions on most issues). Indha warning'kaagave was pretty convinced that either I'd make an ass of myself (going by past record with women, in general and esp with such types) or have a not-so-memory-worthy meeting. Which is why my interest was piqued when she herself called me a few days after I landed & suggested we meet up. So was he, and was as curious as me to know how the meet would go. I gave myself 30 minutes before either she got bored or we had some unpleasantness which would make us mutually try to leave.

Meet did happen, in Amethyst. And 'twas a good 2 hours. :D Plus viewings of Gautham Menon & Namitha. Interesting+fun session with her. She was quite surprised by me (me too, by her, though to lesser extent) and my ex-roomie was most amazed to hear of it. Mildly surprised myself, but I guess a dont-care-attitude + totally-being-myself + confidence of home ground wicket greatly helped.

Aah...the advantage of home ground, I tell you.

PSBB Teachers 26 - Gita Mam

2010-05-25T18:35:00.002-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 25 here)

Creative Writing - '98

Mrs.Gita Padmanabhan - In PSBB, we had this somewhat-controversial concept of "Enrichment Classes" - after-class extra-curricular sessions in Maths, Science & Creative Writing for "gifted" students. Though, retrospectively, I'd consider myself more Mathematically-minded, I was selected only for the Creative Writing classes. Gita mam was one of the teachers who conducted the Creative Writing classes - a witty, energetic lady with a bop-cut and spectacles. A specific incident I remember with her - we had our own version of the Spelling Bee Quiz in school and after the prelims conducted in the classes, the final round was selected in the English lab and she dictated the words we had to spell. One such was "Pneumonia" which I had spelt as "Nummonia" and when we were discussing the answers, accused her of mispronouncing the word, much to the humour of everyone present.

(Part 27 here)

PSBB Teachers 25 - Radhakrishnan Mam

2010-04-23T22:40:00.002-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 24 here)

Maths/Class Teacher - '98

Mrs.Radhakrishnan - Not sure if her name was Radha Krishnan or she went just by her last name, but Radhakrishnan mam was known as that only. She taught Maths for us in 8th standard and was also our class teacher. A very low-profile, disciplinarian who was yet another wonderful Maths teacher (again yet another teacher) with precise, neat hand-writing. That year was also party to what could be called a controversy in high school circles - I was the Class Leader then, and played hand cricket inside class before school-hours began and there was a group that wanted to see me ousted, and they promptly pottu-koduthufied me to her. She, however, after a strict telling-off, did not oust me from class-leadership. For whatever reason, her quiet and serious demeanour made her one of my most respected teachers in PSBB.

(Part 26 here)

On being Unclear if we are Nuclear

2010-04-20T14:16:00.001-05:00

(Originally written on Sept 23, 2009 - during the height of the controversy, but remained in my drafts)
I am almost nobody to comment on whether India should or should not test a nuclear bomb. All I want is for India to be a nation which conclusively, correctly possesses a nuclear bomb so as have minimum credible deterrence. Now, however, I see that with Dr.Santhanam's claim, half the scientific community and most of the country thinks we dont possess an actual proper nuke. Unfortunately, since this has been made public, now other nations (most notably Pakistan and China) know.
Given the conditions of the Civilian Nuke Deal with the US, I understand there is no way we can even think about testing a nuclear bomb now, let alone actually test it. I would not have been really worried if, as Dr.Santhanam claims, our nuke test was indeed a "fizzle", but none of those outside the Indian scientific community/government knew of it. At least, we would, on paper, still have minimum credible deterrence. Now, it is apparent that we don’t, going by even one informed voice of dissent.

It is also sad to see Dr.Kalam's name being unnecessarily dragged into this and tarnished. Unfortunately, I cannot sympathize with him either, given that Dr.Iyengar's & Dr.Santhanam's statements about his incapacity to not comment on the issue because of his not being a nuclear physicist are spot on, irrespective of their words about the actual nuclear test.

All I can do now is sit back and hope/pray that one of the following happens -
1. The dispute is settled after a thorough & intensive investigation and Dr.Santhanam is convincingly proved false and everyone in BARC assures us that we do, indeed, possess a nuclear weapon.
2. If Dr.Santhanam is proved right, we should go ahead and test again until we are sufficiently satisfied about the capacity of the bomb. In this case, I have no idea what will happen to the Indo-US Nuclear deal and the slew of sanctions which will obviously follow.
3. Even if the test was indeed a fizzle, the government should settle for a behind-the-doors agreement with Dr.Santhanam, asking him to come out and state that he was wrong in his claims and that he has now, after seeing NEW information, been sufficiently satisfied with the capability of the bomb. This should obviously not be so naive that he merely retracts his words. Whatever, the international community (mainly China & Pakistan) should be convinced that we are a nuclear power, basically, to attain minimum credible deterrence.

Obviously, most preferable is 2 and least preferable is 3. The worst thing to happen, of course, would be the persistence of the current stalemate, where the government just issues a few rebuttals here and there, the media publishes them, then conveniently goes on to the next controversial tweet by Shashi Tharoor or another gang-rape of a mother in Mumbai or (the media's favourite bunny) the investigation into Modi's role in the Godhra riots. And I will not be surprised if this last thing happens, it isn't beyond India.

Until such time, however, I will just have to sit back and whine like this. I am, after all, an insignificant face in the crowd, just another ordinary Indian citizen.

PSBB Teachers 24 - Subhashree Mam

2010-04-11T21:27:00.001-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 23 here)

English - '96-'98

Mrs.Subhashree Chandramouli - Quite possibly, the most "fun" and student-friendly-type teacher during the 6th-8th period in PSBB-TP. A chubby, cute, well-dressed teacher with an awesome sense of humour, she totally knew how to endear herself to us students, and endear herself she did, so much so that she was probably the first teacher we demanded to have as our class teacher in 8th standard, at the end of 7th standard, when she taught us English, for the first time. Sadly (for us), C section got to have her as their class teacher in 8th standard.
(On a side note, her daughter, Divya C was a year senior to us in school.)

(Part 25 here)

My problem with this Overdose of Social Networking...

2010-04-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

A friend quoted 'The Greatest Comedian of All Times' (in her words. I'm guessing Seinfeld, but not sure) - "You've got to give people a chance to miss you a little bit" in the context of Google Buzz. Hilarious though the statement is, it drips with truth all over. Still... though I totally agree with it, this isn't my problem. Or wait, it might be.

Cliched phrases like "The world is getting smaller" and "It's the communication age" often take into account only the technological capability for the world to be more networked & connected. What's more important is whether this increased connectivity leads to more interpersonal communication (which, IMHO, should be the actual meaning of "improved connectivity" wrt humans).

A new social networking site immediately kindles hopes. Hopes of reconnecting with people we've lost touch with. And make no mistake, it's amazing how, with every such new social n/w option, we somehow "reconnect" with a someone we've lost touch with. Logically speaking, if we're in the "Connected" age now, then it automatically implies we should only make "new" social contacts, and not "renew" older ones, right? Sadly, Not the case. And herein lies my complaint.

Now this might be a totally personal issue, but I've steadily noticed this happening ever since my first mega-"separation from friends" happened, when I came to the US for grad studies. First, we had email & chat (ok technically not social networking, but networking nevertheless), which we somehow seemed to use with friends in college. Then orkut happened, and I remained devoted to it even when Facebook came. And then twitter happened. For me, twitter was/is awesome in that I got to meet a lot of new like-minded folks (apart from getting to see some serious humour from the usual suspects). That's another story.

That Expectation kills, is realized in all its true glory with every new social networking site. 2 unrelated cases -

A very dear friend from college who shockingly fell wide outside the radar ever since I came here. Chat happened for a few months after I came here. Then it became email once-a-year or when there was a necessity, which is how it is now. Screw emails, screw chat, screw orkut, screw FB, screw twitter. And now, she's following me in Buzz. Am I to expect some "renewal" now and be disappointed?

Another good friend who followed me in twitter. The more I tweeted, the more I was rudely shocked as to how little she reacted/interacted with me via tweets. And it wasn't the case that we were in spectacular touch over phone/chat. Where twitter gave us an excellent opportunity to interact, broadcast thoughts, I got this feeling of gross neglect. After a point I was so frustrated (paranoid?) I ended up blocking her. Can you believe it? Immaturity/childishness at its glorious best alright, but it wasn't without reason. It's like Eve's reasoning in "Paradise Lost" - I'm better off knowing fully well she doesn't follow me and not expecting any communication than vice versa.

You see, I am egoistic alright, but there is a threshold in friendship beyond which I absolutely shed all ego. All the people above had very much crossed this threshold, and there is no cause for any of my ego with them. You see, a friend NOT RT'ing me in twitter isn't an issue. That someone who is so close to me fails to react to something I have to say (which, in most cases, happens to be "important", "contentious", "reaction-provoking", etc. which is exactly stuff good friends are supposed to talk about, and which we do talk about, day in and day out) really gives me this enormous "conscious" (as naive users of English would say). Neglect? Dumbness? Idiocy?

Doesn't (s)he have anything to say about what I just tweeted?
Did I say something that's so dumb it failed to evoke any reaction from him/her?
If (s)he responds to/RT's someone else's, why didn't (s)he do so for mine, which was very similar.
and so on...

After all, what is good friendship without your "friend" having something to say on whatever (at least most of it) you say, and reacting to/understanding whatever you say the way your statement was meant by you. Sadly, in my case, 95 % of the times, at least one of the two was true (not reacting/misunderstanding what I said).
(Please don't give me weak/dumb suppositions that my friend was busy/didn't see what I said. I have said all this only because the supposition isn't strong enough as a fact or is simply not relevant.)

Another thing I noticed is that newer social networking sites are being used by people to keep in touch with current contacts, and not old ones, which is how it should be.

Social networking today has pretty much been reduced to "rich getting richer & poor getting poorer" - huge egos becoming more bloated & small hearts made smaller.

A simple look at the number of people following more than 250 somewhat-regular-tweeters will prove my point. If you have a job & a life, there is NO WAY in this wide world that you will be able to sincerely follow more than 250 folks. I follow 50 and this pretty much takes a huge chunk of my non-work, non-sleep time. Which means people follow others just so they will re-follow you? How sad!

And that, again manifests itself when there's yet another new social networking enabler. Buzz is great, no questions about it, but it is, no doubt, poised to create a buzz in the minds of the buzzer about whether his buzz is actually creating any buzz.

PSBB Teachers 23 - Lakshmi Mam

2010-04-04T13:41:00.003-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 22 here)

Sanskrit - '95-'98

Mrs.Lakshmi Krishnaratnam - Lakshmi mam was the other Sanskrit teacher we had during the 6th-8th period. She gave the impression of being this typical affluent Tam-Brahm society-lady - impeccable & fresh sarees, and used to drive to school everyday in her light blue Fiat/Premier Padmini (that's always been a confusion for me). While Girija mam was the more middle-classly-relatable & less-flamboyant-talk types, Lakshmi mam's demeanour was endearing in her own unique way. :)

(Part 23 here)

PSBB Teachers 22 - Girija Mam

2010-03-25T01:40:00.001-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 21 here)

Sanskrit - '95-'98

Mrs.Girija Vaidyanathan - Girija mam was this "healthy" bespectacled teacher who taught us Sanskrit during the 6th-8th. She was my first Sanskrit teacher, I think (assuming it was not Lakshmi Krishnaratnam mam) and not sure if it was because of the language or her, but I immediately took to the language. She was also responsible for kindling my interest in learning the Bhagavad Gita and also in participating in my first ever Gita-chanting competition back then (not that I won :D). She was obviously quite well-read and was a genial-yet-serious type teacher.

(Part 23 here)

PSBB Teachers 21 - Nalini Mam

2010-03-16T19:18:00.006-05:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 20 here)

Maths/Class Teacher - '96-'97

Mrs.Nalini Balasubramanian - Nalini mam was a fair, very very slightly plumpish teacher who was my class teacher in 7th std and also taught us Maths that year. I think she initially taught in KK Nagar and got a transfer from there. Her hand-writing was especially neat & looked pretty on the board. Needless to say, her Math was good. Two incidents I remember with her -
1. She once had Madras Eye (though the city was renamed Chennai by then...ok ok, sorry :D) and for a week or so, wore big black glasses. If I'm right, her eyes were also swollen a bit then.
2. During my childhood, I was prone to injuries. On one such occasion that year, I was ottifying Nithya (a classmate who recently got married) and when she came chasing me, I immediately shot off without looking where I was running. And suddenly, I turned to see where I was headed when I ran into the parapet wall and collided - result: a deep gash between the eyebrows and lots of blood. What pissed me off most was not the pain or the blood, but the unsavoury location my veera-thazhumbu (I was by now quite proud of my injuries) would have - the next day, I came to school and Nalini mam asks me - "What man, this new Naamam and all?" much to my classmates' delight. And incidentally, she also had this habit of including "man" while addressing us guys. :D

(Part 22 here)

PSBB Teachers 20 - Mahalakshmi Mam

2010-03-09T21:38:00.003-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 19 here)

English - '95-'96

Mrs Mahalakshmi Kumar - She taught us English either only in 6th or both 6th and 7th. Her son, Krithikesh was my partner during exams and if I remember right, her husband was in the army or something. Again, another of PSBB's impeccable-English teachers, she carried herself extremely well too (not that the other teachers didn't, but she did so quite noticeably :D). She also had this nice demeanour where she was quite strict when it came to studies, at the same time, being quite friendly and casual with us students. I very vaguely remember some incident during one of the school anniversaries I had taken part in, where she was also one of the organizers, but the details totally fail me. :-(
Oh yes, yet another super mam. :-)

(Part 21 here)

Manmohan Singh - Son of Fortune, Destiny's Child, etc.

2010-03-07T12:01:00.005-06:00

Let me, at the outset, make it clear to you that I am "just another stupid common man", no detailed analyst or well-informed commentator of Indian politics. What follows is simply an opinion based on my perception of facts.

I became political at the turn of the millennium, when I was about 16 years of age. Until then, politics, to me, was mainly about Congress at the national level and a Dirty Mudslinging-filled Kennel at the state level (I'm from Tamil Nadu). As far as politicians were concerned, the few names that popped up in my mind were Nehru & 3 Gandhi's - "Mahatma", Indira & Rajiv (the 3rd chiefly due to my mom who, like most women of her generation, fell to the dimpled charms of the bloke) by default, and also Sardar Patel, Rajaji, (more by accident than by design, or simply my ignorance) mostly that's it. When the then-new government came to power, I don't really remember how I felt immediately then. Over the 5 years though, I became more aware of "GOVERNment" in the real sense, and (at the risk of sounding cliched) definitely did feel something (good) roughly on the lines of Cultural Nationalism. By the end of the five years, I probably moved from politically-{ignorant+not-at-all-passionate} to {somewhat-informed+quite-passionate}.

I am a passionate Hindu (a more appropriate term would be Sanatana Dharmi, but I digress), but more than that, I believe in & desire national progress that is uniform & not tilted... plus a fluidity of power (I would like to say the former and latter are related, but I digress once again). Hence, though it did definitely make me happy to see a Hindu-friendly party in power at the center, what captured my imagination more was the administration and simply, a feel-good factor that emanated from Delhi and permeated to all corners of the country. I must, at this point, add that since I was nonexistent physically and/or mentally during any of the prior regimes, it is not really fair for me to comment on the governance or mis-governance that existed pre-1999 (However, a cursory reading of the actual history of India post independence coupled with the state of affairs of the country around 2000 despite the fact that a single party had held power for most part of the 50+ years until then should be a clear-enough indicator of what transpired all those years when that party was in power).
Anyhow, this post is not about any of the parties or any of the government(s) (though they are very much relevant & play quite a significant part).

This article is about Manmohan Singh, India's Prime Minister of today.

(Unable to locate the source, do kindly let me know so I can credit the image's owner)

Manmohan Singh presents an interesting character study.

At level 0 (base), to an utterly uneducated pro-BJP/anti-Cong guy, he is the Chief Sycophant of Madam Maino.
At a parallel level, to the (mostly uneducated, at this level) Congressi-supporter, he probably represents an educated Indian who probably does good (I have no idea abt this perspective, hence the assumptions).

At level 1, to the quasi-educated Indian, he is the pioneer of India's LPG-programme and economic catalyst of the 1990's - a respectable, highly accomplished academic gentleman. This much is common. The pro-BJP guy retains some of the sycophant-feeling from level 0, but is rational enough to respect the man for his degrees & perceived accomplishments. The pro-Cong guy probably reveres Manmohan since he is the pioneer of India's economic reforms, apart from being a solid leader of the country for the past 6 years (ok, I'm beginning to stretch my imagination a bit here, but understand I really have no idea how it is). PV Narasimha Rao was just a very corrupt man who screwed up most things (including Babri yes).

Level 2: Indicates a more keen & informed (but not necessarily more accurate/correct) follower of Indian politics. PV Narasimha Rao comes into the picture a bit more. The 90's boom is not all about Manmohan alone. [http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/15214229/Give-Narasimha-Rao-his-due.html?h=B]
Manmohan Singh may not be as innocent after all [http://surajitdasgupta.blogspot.com/2009/04/manmohan-singh-chronology.html].
And I am now going to say that this point of view belongs to anybody who is beginning to get disillusioned with India today, not pro/anti-BJP/Cong/Left. Still, I'm guessing a hard core BJP-hater won't share this view. But I find it impossible to imagine how a hard-core Congi will view all this in positive light.

I accept we live in an era where Mahatma Gandhi-bashing is fashionable and the generation deems it necessary to question almost every existing/accepted practice/belief/thought. Still, it is not without reason. And something totally true will stand this tirade. Not Manmohan Singh. His character has steadily been chipped away block by block. The sad part is that this chipping away was not done by vested interests, but by perfectly rational incidents. But still, despite this, I will not paint the person black. At least just yet.

Manmohan the Sorry PM

My argument is totally not going to be LK Advani's not-solidy-substantiated, oft-used, weak "weakest Indian PM" tirade.
I see Manmohan Singh as India's primary man and I simply don't feel reassured.
I still believe he is a decent man, but I care much more than simply whether the man on top is decent.

As an Indian citizen, I need to be able to look up to India's top personality and feel my country is in decisive hands.
I need my leader to say the right things at the right time, not blurt out something, only to eat his own words at a later time.
I don't need an "I am sorry" for whatever happens in India - a terrorist attack, a verbal attack, a minster's gaffe, what not? An apology once, I will appreciate your decency. But make it a habit, I will lose respect for you.
Even if my leader is working furiously behind the screens, I need to see something happening. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, but first, I need to know the pudding is being made at all.

Singing the Sorry Song -
Mumbai attacks - http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/pm-offers-apologies-for-not-preventing-mumbai-attacks_100129926.html
Pre-poll Speeches - http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Ive-apologized-to-Advani-over-prepoll-speeches-PM/477733/
Cong MP's statement about Vajpayee - http://www.zopag.com/news/i-am-sorry-for-what-cong-mp-said-about-vajpayee-manmohan-singh/11089.html
Anti-Sikh Riots - http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/4087.asp

His apologetic nature notwithstanding, these past few years have probably been the worst for India since independence - Telengana, Naxals, Farmer-suicides, Price-rise, 2611, nonsensical-MSM-proliferation, Koda, Raja, Quattrochi-release, Pakistan, China, US, Australia
(And no, contrary to expectations, I typed out the above issues without a single Google-search, surprising even myself. If someone as amateur as me can come up with this list off-the-cuff, think for a second how much worse ground reality is actually).

I decided to give it all one final supreme act of imagination - that whatever we're seeing is, just like in movies, just a facade. That whatever's happening "actually" is all nice-and-sweet, good-and-great. That his government is actually doing a brilliant job of the situation and taking care of the nation in the best possible manner. That "inside", almost everyone who matters is working as effectively as anyone ever can. But this logic, even if true, falls flat because of two reasons -
1. I believe it is the duty of the government of the day to assure its people that "All izz Well" AND ensure it maintains that assurance. This pathetic government under MMS is doing exactly the opposite of both (at least in 3 Idiots, the blind chowkidhar used to give people the assurance (if only that) that "All Izz Well". In our case, we're a billion idiots and the apt cry for us would be "All Izz Hell").
2. Can you really imagine how much worse things can go wrong with the nation today? I mean, we're getting problems from issues we never even knew could be so detrimental to national security. Telangana? Really? I challenge anyone to conceive an imagination in which the Telengana issue is handled worse. Hard to imagine, right?

And there might be more reasons, but these two are good enough to outrightly refute the above logic.

Though I am compelled to think like many other Indians citizen who believe that the power rests solely with Madam Maino & that Manmohan Singh is just a puppet, I have, for the sake of belief in a billion fellow Indians (Ok, the few million that voted for Congress), set aside that thought. But you look at Manmohan Singh the PM, his words and his actions - more often than not, you will really begin to wonder where the nerve centre is.
And here's the issue - I wholly know and agree it's a shame to have someone whose Indian'ness is basically restricted to her marriage, her attire and her recently-acquired passport, at the top. But what's worse than this is to have this person actually sitting at the top while giving the rest of us the impression that there's a more "Indian" guy who's the power centre. Fail.

And for all practical purposes (out of sheer desperation, more like), I have, umpteen times, tried to give Sonia Maino Gandhi a chance and tried hard to imagine that she genuinely has the best interests of the Indian nation & its people in her heart (for whatever reason), but every single time, she pulls out something from her hat (Quattrochi, Jagdish Tyler for starters), driving me (and a million others, I should think) into the wall.

Nevertheless, no matter what I try, I see Manmohan Singh growing smaller and smaller in stature.
And make no mistake, he is not the villain. He can and never will be one. For one, he lacks the shrewdness for that. But what is much more petrifying is the thought that this guy is probably the "good face"-mask covering something more evil & sinister.

And that is what well-and-truly scares me, when I think of Mother India today.

A Weekend as Anti-Climactic as Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya

2010-03-03T22:48:00.002-06:00

Update
Eat this, nitwits (self-addressed, if that is the case)!
Disclaimer: Since I believe there are some wisecracks (in the event that I'm not one myself) who are likely to interpret the piece below as either me describing the girl-in-question's actions as quasi-romantic overtures or as me mocking the girl (for whatever reason), let me categorically state that the sole intention of this post is to be a parody of me and me alone. It is my belief that the girl is just a very friendly type whose actions were good-natured and bereft of any hidden ulterior motives.

This weekend was, surely, one of the more fun weekends in all my 3+ years in the US. Road-trips, however small, are always fun, especially if you're the only guy with a driver's license & you've got a fun gang to go with. Tentative plan was this - Rent car on Saturday, visit the temple in Lemont, Devon-shopping, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya night-show, and on Sunday, leave for an early-morning trip to an acquaintance's place in the suburbs for a 108-Vishnu Sahasranamam-chanting session for his son's birthday, and finally return the car. All the while, having played (chiefly) Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya songs over and over again in the car stereo.

Well, at least, this was how I had envisioned the weekend to go. Folks who follow this blog or my twitter will probably also know how much I've been anticipating the movie all these days and I guess the same could be said of the weekend as well.

So then, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, for me, was rather anti-climactic (and I don't say this because of the ending). Not that I complain - I had more than my share of enjoyment in the movie and wouldn't mind a second visit, had I been in Chennai, just for one reason (the First Love-factor). If my feeling of anti-climax in the movie was primarily because of my expectations from the movie (apart from other very relevant reasons), the anti-climax to my weekend car-rental was somewhat of a parody on me.

So everything actually went pretty well - we managed to cover all the places (just) in time. However, since there was no iPod-Car cord, we had to make do with some 2-yr-old Hindi-Tamil-English CD-collection. After the movie however, there was a genuine compulsion to listen to VTV songs while riding in the car. Also since the Sunday-plan was totally solo, though it was about 1:30 AM by the time we returned home (I had to leave at about 7 in the morning), I meticulously got hold of an empty CD and made an audio CD of VTV.

Sunday morning was easily the highlight of the entire plan. I managed to leave at about 7:15 and the (romantic) setting was near-perfect - a mild haze hanging around, but quite bright. The temperature, by Chicago's winter standards - definitely decent. And a solo car-ride. What remained to be seen was if the CD worked and by Jove, it did! So I set off, to the tunes of Omana Penne and by the time I reached the suburbs, I'd lived up the entire feel. That's when I thought I absolutely had to let my 2 other mates feel the joy too, considering the fact that they'd felt so bad at not listening to VTV songs in the car the prev. night. Since I'd to return the car by 3 PM, I decided I'd leave the acquaintance's house (even if the 108-times hadn't been completed) at about 1, come back home by 2'ish, pick up my friends, go for a 1-hr'ish drive and drop the car by 3 so we could have a little fun together as well.
So far so good, yes? Only so far.

We managed to finish by 12:45, but then, there was lunch+cake-cutting, and I had no heart to leave before the boy cut the cake. Apdi-ipdi it was almost 1:40. Ippo dhan mega-twist. Since my host knew I came from downtown, he asked me to drop this Golti (strictly referential usage) girl who'd also come from downtown.

There are times when a combination of contexts make the big picture entirely different from how it would've been had any of the contexts been true separately. This was one such classic example.

In my case, VTV-influenced solo romance (I was already imagining another solo-ride back home with VTV songs), prospective_shared_enjoyment with Koottaaligal and a desperation to get back in time formed the main context. To this mix, the addition of a Golti girl had ominious signs of a personal comedy. This has very little to do with the girl's looks (not good-looking, but definitely not bad-looking). When we left in the car, I remembered the Ennai Konjam Maatri-setting and realized - never in my dreams did I even imagine such a setting could be so comic. And the conversations that ensued certainly added to the comedy element more and more.

And then, out of the blue, I lost my way. And the feeling that I was going to let down my hopes-needlessly-kindled-by-me comrades increased. So to save last-minute hassles, I decided to fill gas now than later. Stopped at the first gas station. Then I realized I didn't know where the button for the gas-latch was. Can you believe it? I SEARCHED FOR THE GAS-TANK-OPENER BUTTON FOR A FULL 5 MINUTES. And this girl sees me blundering around like a fool. Then I saw some button and pressed it. Wrong move - the bonnet opened. Finally, one punyavaan helped me locate it. It was right below the seat. :-(
Then I swiped my credit card to fill gas. For 1 minute, the machine got stuck. Then I re-swiped it. It said remove the nozzle after lifting the lid. I removed the nozzle, but I couldn't freaking find a lid anywhere there. Again this gentleman helped me out. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to ask him directions and he guided me to I-55 N. Feeling like a total idiot, at the same time relieved, I thought may be we could make it, when I saw the time - 2:47. Holy Cow! Can you believe it? Two Forty Seven! Cursing myself, I cut through the 35-mph zone at about 60 and after 10 minutes, got onto I-55 N. My hopes of dropping this girl somewhere & getting my buddies was out of question, the question now was - Would I reach the airport in time? All this while, the girl was chattering away, having no idea of what tension I was in (nadoola she managed to look at my hand-written directions and say that my hand-writing was like a girl's :D). And somewhere, she asked me my Full name. I was like, what?!!! And then told her - Kaushik Thinnaneri Ganesan, since I wasn't in a mood to go into the details. She then said - "Ok, I'll add you in facebook."
I had no idea I could laugh in such a tense situation, but this was hilarious beyond measure. Suppressing my ROTFL, I told her I was an Orkut-loyalist. To this, she replies - "Oh, then I'll add you there. I keep Orkut for my India contacts & FB for US-contacts, but it's ok."
I almost closed my eyes and said - "Aandavaa...epdi epdi?"

So then, the short highway trip was over and I finally reached the airport to return the car at 3:09, escaping the extra-day charge. But wait, the comedy isn't over yet. After figuring out what her options were for getting back home, we were going on the train and I was sitting back & recollecting the entire comedy of errors - thinking how a prospective solo-followed-by-group-romantic adventure became a parody - laughing inside at how weird intros happen, this girl hesitantly asks "Can we exchange phone numbers?" Sethutten, sethutten nejama. :D

When I reached home and recounted this tragi-comedy of errors to my mates, their obvious-initial-irritation gave way slowly to humour until they literally started rolling on the floor laughing. And then, the C'tore guy comes up with this killer line -

"Naamala thedi pona athu nelaikathu....
Athuva Nadakkanum..
Nammala pottu thaakkanum..
Thala keela pottu thiruppanum.."

Not to be outdone, my roomie quipped - "Manasukkulla Golti Golti'ngudha?"

Yeah, some weekend that was. :D

(PS: I repeat, "Golti"-usage is strictly to refer to the girl's identity, there is absolutely no hint of malice intended at the girl anywhere either through this word or through the self-parody. Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Jai Maharashtra. Jai Telengana.)

PSBB Teachers 19 - Radha Mam

2010-03-03T22:31:00.002-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 18 here)

Biology - '95-'98

Mrs. Radha Soundararajan taught us Biology (surely) and also Science some time during 6th-8th. She knew her subject and dealt with us effectively. She used to come to school in a blue Sunny (which was the Scooty of those days). I also remember many of her sentences used to have "maa" in them. :D

(Part 20 here)

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya Rants

2010-03-02T23:21:00.001-06:00

Beautiful translation + Commentary on Mannippaaya - http://g-rulz.blogspot.com/2010/03/mannippaya-translation-commentary.html
During 1st yr, I wore black & was silent all day coz I'd learnt that Trisha's fav food was Chicken Curry & Brown Rice. #confession #EpicFail
I'm a Devadas who found my Paro's bathroom video many years back, but have now found her petitely clad in Chiffon sarees & chudidhars.
Everyone's talking abt the hero's Mech Engg connexn, but no one says abt heroine's Math bg. Kaakha Kaakha Maya also Math major.
Naasama Poga. I cant believe the fleeting thought of asking my employers NOT to file my H1-B (courtesy #VTV/Jessie) just crossed my mind. :O Such a thing would be #EpicFail because "Kadhala thedi nambo poga koodadhu. Adhuva nambala adikkanum." :D #FailedLogicForEpicFailFeelings
Aana onnu da. Jessie maadhiri oru ponnoda enakku loves irundhu b/u aagi 3 yrs later avo enna paathuttu pesaama pona naan avlo dhan. :( #VTV
#VTV tweet of the day: Affected so much that I feel like falling in love, being loved back, then breaking up, and fin. feeling the Pain. :| Correction: Not Breaking Up, but inexplicably being unable to continue the relationship because of my girl's complicated confusion.
Movies like #VTV that employ "novel" proposal strategies should realize they are eroding guys' options with every such depiction. Not saying the shock-and-awe in #VTV is "novel", but once this technique hits the big screen, its usability peaks & fades away.
Sigh. Seems I HAVE to like #VTV now. But happy KB felt best prfrmnces by Simbu & Trish RT @bbthots KB to Gautham Menon http://bit.ly/abVGFD.
Ridiculous/Dumb I know, but I prayed today morning while coming to work (to God) that I should get over #VTV/Jessie. Seri illa.
I cannot believe I am this obsessed with a movie I was/am quite disappointed with, esp with the key element of the movie.
@cowmaaa It would also help to keep in mind Shakti ~= Shalini is truer than Jessie ~= Trisha. But yes, foresight-vindication is sweet.
Dear @cowmaaa, the sooner you realize Trisha != Jessie, the better for you, the justification of 9 years of your craze notwithstanding. #VTV
Whether the girl ditches the guy or the guy ditches the girl, it's the guy who stays single longest. #VTV #inspirationaltuesdays
#VTV is probably the 1st movie I'm very polarized abt (not new), but the polarization being both for AND against [really :-(]. :|
Sigh. I guess I'll have to reconcile to the fact that #VTV does indeed have highly polarized opinions. And that totally totally beats me. :(
One thing I hated abt #VTV - kindling false hopes of seeing girls in Indian IT companies wearing sarees and churidhars. :(
Wonder if the saree-wearing-style in #VTV was to suit Trisha's image or Jessie's. Esp considering KK_Jo, VV_Kamalinee & PKCM (in that order)
And I repeat, Trisha & Simbu will make a great pair in real-life too. Celebrity-wise, you cant think of a better match for either. :-)
At the risk of sounding contradictory, though I felt the "romance" bit left much to be desired, Trish & Simbu share great chemistry.
So in case anyone felt bad about what happens bet. Trish & Simbu in Tamil, watch the Telugu version. :-) #VTV
#VTV Trivia: The guy & girl that act in Karthik's movie are the lead pair in Telugu. Likewise, Trish-Simbu are the "stars" in Telugu.
Totally loved the Central Park scene in #VTV. Brilliant emoting by Trisha & Simbu. So so loved it! :-) How I wish... If only...
Must say special mention needs to be made of the cinematographer - surely has had a part to play in Trisha's resplendence. :-)
But yes, after a log time, I ogled at Trisha unabashedly/guiltlessly. Like Simbu says, First Love is indeed unforgettable+lovely. ;-)
#VTV - Def. disappointing. Great Chem., awesome Trish, pleasantly diff Simbu + Vintage Rahman wasted. Wud've said fail if not for these.

Why Sachin Tendulkar's Ferrari Duty-Waiver is NOT a Tax-burden on the Common Man

2010-02-24T22:53:00.001-06:00

I had long given up my habit of prolonging conversations & issuing rebuttals over contentious issues, but this one literally makes me wring my neck to do it.

On the momentous day Sachin scored 200, a friend of mine sent out an email to about 15 of his friends (including me) celebrating the record.

Let me state, for the record, that I am a great fan of Sachin and think he is one of the greatest batsmen/cricketers/Indians to have walked the face of the earth. Only that. Period. I am NOT this Sachin-maniac who blows the Sachin-trumpet at the drop of a hat. I have, around the time Sachin's form slumped, belonged to the group that wanted to see him out. I get pissed every time someone starts the "Sachin is the greatest EVER" refrain. I hate pitching Sachin against Lara or Dravid (Though I love Sachin Vs Ponting, and will unequivocally shout SACHHINN from rooftops, just because Ponting stinks as a sportsman. Even here, talent-wise, I will say that I still do wonder that if Ponting plays as many matches as Sachin, there's a good chance that he will better him {obviously hoping+praying this does NOT happen}).
Now that it has been established that I am NOT this nonsensical, illogical, reasonless, bigoted Sachin-fanatic, I will proceed.

So amongst all the celebratory messages, comes this email from one friend -

"Yup. just that he doesn't pay taxes for his ferrari car... we pay taxes for his ferrari car.. and theres a separate section of bharat petroleum that makes the fuel for his car... pointless & worthless spending by the stupid govt."

followed up by

"it was the govt that waived the taxes... fyi:120% is imported car taxes... my point is... when govt is willing to waive this.. think of ppl like kutraleeswaran who has talent but govt doesnt give a heed to him.. i wish you dont support govt in this issue.
http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2003/aug/13ten.htm
And it was sachin who asked to waive the duty,,, useless fellow..."

I've heard this refrain many times before in my life and probably even (very very minutely) agreed once. But that was way before. Certainly not when I could apply some (at least partially "informed") thought to this funda about us paying taxes for Sachin's car.
Here's hoping this post settles the issue once and for all.

Of all the times in the world, this is NOT the time the Ferrari-tax issue is brought up.
It's like reminding everyone about how Venkatraman Ramakrishnan stole an eraser from a classmate in 3rd standard on the day he got the Nobel prize.
Alternately, if you are a person who thinks this issue must be brought up every time Sachin performs a feat, to "taint" his reputation, then read on.
The very notion of import duty exists to discourage Indian residents from buying goods from outside the country (importing) so local economy is benefited, i.e. the assumption that if the person did not import the car, he would buy it inside the country, thereby boosting the economy (in whatever infra-small measure possible), besides adding to the country's income via taxes is relevant. In Sachin's case, he did NOT buy the car. Though I dont claim to have read Sachin's mind then, I honestly believe he did not have any idea of buying the Ferrari Modena in India (if it was indeed available for sale in our country). Hence, in any case, there was (mostly) no income in the taking for the GoI.
That a company like Ferrari, with almost no affiliation to cricket, recognized Sachin's feat (of equalling Bradman's 29 Test centuries) is, by itself, an award worthy of recognition.
The notion that the Indian citizen pays for the Rs. 1.13 crore that was waived is false. Utterly. This 1.13 crore was additional income for the GoI, NOT a loss that was/had to be compensated by increased taxes. In any case, I find it highly amusing+unlikely that Jaswant Singh, while tabling the 2003 Budget in Lok Sabha, would've said this - "Owing to a loss of Rs. 1.13 Crores on the duty waived for Sachin Tendulkar's car, I have hereby decided to increase the tax by 0.5% for all income brackets."
THIS is when you'd have been paying money from your pocket for Sachin's Ferrari. And this is NOT the case.
If you purposely want to spoil the party as you don't think Sachin's 200 is a big deal (since it came in the batsman's paradise that Gwalior is, apart from the small size of the stadium), here's what - even I am a trifle disappointed with the 200. Ideally for me, the 200 should've come against one of the foll. teams -

England with an attack of Ian Botham, Fred Trueman & Douglas Jardine.
A West Indies attack of Joel Garner, Walsh, Ambrose & Malcolm Marshall.
Australia with Glenn McGrath, ~~Shane Warne~~, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie.

in one of these grounds -

Lord's
WACA, Perth
Sabina Park/Kensington Oval
Kanpur

Unfortunately, since none of this can happen and also seeing that on more batsman-friendly AND smaller grounds than Gwalior, apart from weaker attacks, no one has actually scored 200 in an (Men's) ODI, I think this can be called a record, dear-skeptical-dude.

Legally speaking, the waiver isn't eligible for a "gift", only for an award. Basically, Ferrari ~~gifted~~ awarded Sachin the car because he BROKE A RECORD, and not because -

He got married.
He got a kid.
He bought a new house.

From a very twisted perspective, the award is still a gift, but it qualifies more as an award than a gift. In any case, the government itself introduced a modification to the act and "the amended section Section 25 gave the Government sweeping powers to allow customs duty exemptions on a case-to-case basis".

Ultimately, and I deliberately say this last because I hope the other points were an exercise in Logic & Rational Thinking for you - Ferrari PAID the entire Duty after seeing the sad situation prevailing in the nation (going by both Sachin's Wiki Page and this other article).

I rest my case.

[Footnote: I am extremely happy that there are folks that care to think about national well-being (often, somewhat like those folks that complain about the eternally-poor service in Airlines in India). I could easily have slipped in 'When there are politicians that swindle crores of money from the Government, why can't Sachin deservedly & fairly get a 1.13 crore award from the GoI?' as logic, but refrained since it is, again, another of your eternal complaints. My only plea to you - do not lose this national-welfare streak in you, try to also accommodate some rational thought and genuinely-informed-opinion-formation along with it.]

PSBB Teachers 18 - Charumathi Ma'm

2010-02-22T19:26:00.004-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 17 here)

History - '95-'98

Mrs. Charumathi was a well-read lady who taught us History during 6-7-8. History during 6th-8th, coming to think of it, is an extremely tricky proposition - as much as I can remember, the subject was quite boring and that's the time when the boyishness in kids (back during my time, at least) comes of age and rebellion/naughtiness is no longer restricted to only the pranksters of the class. So it was no surprise that our class used to pester the poor old lady (en masse) to no small extent. She must've been quite old then itself. For most part of PSBB, I was this Powder Subramani-type guy, so I was, as always, very well-behaved in her not-entirely-engrossing class as well, but gradually, though I was never the mischief-maker or part of the mischief-group myself, I started enjoying their antics simply because it was fun. Chief among them were V.Arun (who went on to represent India in International swimming competitions), Alagappan, Joel (now a Navy officer :D) and Sushil (now more-or-less a Doctor :D).

Some time around 2000 or later, I remember reading her obituary in The Hindu. I hope she RIP.

(Part 19 here)

PSBB Teachers 17 - Tara Mam

2010-02-15T20:02:00.003-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 16 here)

Science/Physics - '95-'96 or '93-'94
Mrs. Tara Sridhar - Tara mam was a fair'ish teacher (a bit on the shorter side, though not short) who taught us either Physics or Science either in 4-5 or 6-7 period. Some distinct things I remember about her are her curly hair, bright red lip-stick and her immaculate English speech - her pronounciation, though by no means accented, was close to some of the best English I'd heard back then and to top it, she had this wonderfully deep feminine voice.

(Part 18 here)

Predicting the Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya Song-(Sequence + Context)

2010-02-14T18:03:00.005-06:00

After a long time, I've been quite addicted to the sound-track of a film much before its release, as well as being quite enthu about the film's release. I also realized that all of VTV's songs are romance-based, and each one is as different from the other. Difficult to imagine (at least for me) composing music for 7-8 songs with more-or-less the same theme. So then, I set about trying to predict the sequence in which the songs will appear in the movie. Yes, vettiness aap course. :D My basic premise is of course that Karthik (Simbu) is an aspiring film director while Jessie (Trisha) is a Mallu Christian. I've also obviously taken into account the lyrics of all songs as well.

(PS: There's exactly one spoiler at the end of this article which I just came across. That's the "Update" part.)

Assumptions:

The story is set in/around Chennai.
Trisha is something like an office-goer, going by the sarees she wears, and just the look she has.
Kerala locales obviously come somewhere in the song visuals. Hard to miss Kerala for songs, you know, especially when you have an important Mallu connection. ;-)

I'm not really going to take into account any extraordinary situations or consider any twists in the tale (but definitely do hope Gautham has one or two), and so, it is highly likely my order/prediction is wrong on more than one account, but that's what I'm hoping happens. :-) Even if there isn't really any major surprise package in the movie (wrt either story or twists), I'd still be content with a usual love story if Gautham has handled it anything like Minnale (or Alaipayuthey :D), considering the chemistry that Trisha & Simbu promise.

(Songs in Order of my guess except the last one)

1. Aaromale - I find it very hard to imagine how this song can actually be picturized with or without any dance. It is quite possible this song is one of those bits-and-pieces songs which appear occasionally as something like BGM, but a sincere hope/wish - that Aaromale be the song when Karthik first sees Jessie. Aaromale has this kind of heady feel about it - and the way the songs starts off and grows on you, it instantly conveys the feel of something momentous, yet, painstakingly grows from the beginning. The guitar opening itself is quite heavy, but despite this, the song really picks up pace. Kind of metaphorical, IMHO, with love stories. Opening is quite heavy and despite this, it grows more. Aaromale is that kind of song, for me. As for picturization, I hope this song was set in Kerala. :)

2. Kannukkul Kannai - Contact has been made. Probably not in the sense of talking or knowing each other, but at least enough contact for Jessie to know that Karthik is behind her.

3. Omana Penne/Hosanna - Both songs, going by the visuals, have a high chance of being Karthik-dreaming-of-Jessie songs. However, it's also likely they (at least one) might be a kind of duet - which, Hosanna is more likely to be...say something depicting - she also loves him, but hasn't accepted. Or something like that. Omana Penne, most likely, is the dream/imagination song.

4. Anbil Avan - This is probably the first proper duet between the two. The songs also shows Jessie accepting her love for Karthik (assuming it's Karthik & Jessie in the song :D). Also, the New York City pictures of Simbu & Trisha imply that there's bound to be a song where those pics come up. Of all the songs, this song seems to be best suited to the context and kind of pictures

5. Mannippaaya - Love has happened. Then some kind of pirivu. Song seems to fit the something-like-a-fight_then_reconciliation scenario perfectly. (On second thoughts, though a bit far-fetched, the female part might possibly indicate realization-of-love from Jessie's side, the first time she realizes & agrees to Karthik's love. But yes, this is definitely far-fetched).

X. Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya - This, I'm almost sure, is the bit-song which recurs from time to time, especially when Karthik is pining for Jessie. Konjam sadness it has also. So...

Update: I just came across info that Karthik & Jessie are separated for 3 years after which they meet in Brooklyn Bridge, New York. Perfect situation for Mannippaaya, let's hope it IS the case. So wrt visuals, instead of Anbil Avan, it seems Mannippaaya is the more likely candidate for the NYC locales.

Alaipayuthey

2010-02-09T19:18:00.006-06:00

I watched Alaipayuthey after many many years over the weekend and was simply ~~blown~~ swept away & taken in, well and truly. I don't know why I am so intensely affected by this movie especially now, after so many years, when I, despite liking the movie a lot when it was released & also not missing it every time it was shown on TV, was never crazy about it. But I guess it's got something to do with my falling flat for Minnale a few weeks ago, again another movie I just "liked" before, but was nowhere in awe of it as I am now, after this most recent viewing. It probably also has something to do with Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya's release, a movie I'm looking forward to for many reasons - foremost of them being Trisha's ravishing looks followed by Simbu's remarkably different (& refreshing, if I might add) screen-presence, their exciting chemistry, Gautam Menon (obviously) and to top it, a wonderful sound-track by Rahman. It's also probably a (good?) sign that I'm rediscovering the romantic streak I once had, now at 25, which is rather nice in a sense, since I've been fretting about growing "older" ever since I turned 25 in November. That I can feel pattaam-poochi's parandhufy in my stomach & relate to the romantic overtures of a Chennai youngster like me (though much better-looking obviously :P) without my now-customary romance-associated cynicism & nakkal, is heartening for me. I am actually tempted to add my singularity as another probable reason for going sa-sa ri-ri ga-ga, but I don't think it is as relevant as the others, considering the fact that barring an amazing-yet-immature 5-6 months back in the beginning of last decade, I've been pretty much single all my life.

While my awe of Minnale was probably 75% Maddy, 5% Reema, 10% each Harris & Gautham, Alaipayuthey was more Shalini and simply the relatability of the amazing romance between the two. It also helped that I've grown up around trains all my life (thanks to my mom working in S.Rlys) and the fact that the Chennai electric train is one of the most identifiable & middle-classly-enchanting hang-outs for the Chennai youngster. But the primary factor, I think, was Shalini, who was simply outstanding as Shakti. Before I forget him, let me credit the genius of Mani Ratnam for the way he scripted the roles & brought out the best from everyone for their resp. roles, most notably, of course, Maddy & Shalini. Shalini's role is probably now my favourite female character, just pipping Jo's Maya & Laila's Ramya. And what do I say about her expressions... truly floored only. :D The best thing about her was that she is not this stunning or drop-dead-gorgeous girl, but a decent-looking girl, who, with a touch of simple-yet-elegant middle-class make-up (I simply loved the eye-liner when she speaks to Maddy in her college) and some terrific emotions & dialogues, with the right amount of reticence, interest & impishness, sent my heart into a spin. And that one scene where the girls search for Karthik from inside the train, and finally see him standing in that God-level-stud pose on the opposite platform, leaning on his friend's shoulders, coolers, et al, and the girls shout, and Shalini coyly smiles, and Rahman's "Sakhiyeee..." precisely starts, My God, that one scene is enough for me to live out any "romance" for the rest of my life. Not to mention the half-smile which she gives when Maddy calls her and waves bye after she cutely "admonishes" him in her college. And the way she looks at Maddy while singing Alaipayuthey Kanna song, sheer brilliance (of Shalini, Mani, Sreeram, Rahman). And then the first time Karthik calls her up, she responds "Aduppula Rasam vechirkken, amma vera ippo dhan vandhaanga, semester practicals irukku... irundhalum nee solradha porumaiya kekkaren," hayyo mudiyala ennaala. :) :)

Maddy was good without being great (which Shalini was). The thing with Maddy was - he has oodles of Iyengar khalai on him, and that "punnagai" which pretty much did most of what he was required to perform. Which is exactly where Shalini scores. Watching her act made me feel bad about such a brilliant talent being cut short abruptly, but then, the nice thing's that I will always remember Shalini as "Shakti", and not any other better/nonsensical role, which is bound to have come her way, had she continued acting.

Ok, not that the movie didn't have one or two flaws though - the 2nd half was quite melodramatic, especially the ending, but I wonder how else it could've been. For a second, you wonder if Mani intended to go somewhere else after the 1st half, seeing the drop in brilliance-level towards the end, but it's ok. Also, the September Madham song & Sophiya Haque's gyrations were quite unnecessary - for this "bit" alone, Mani disappointingly comes across as a director who feels the need to have one titillating song in his movie.

No discussion about Alaipayuthey would be complete without a mention of one of the most perfect songs in Tamil cinema. A spontaneous reaction entails falling flat for Maddy & Shalini, but on second thoughts, I guess it's quite possible the genius of AR Rahman+PC Sreeram+Mani Ratnam+Hariharan would've made the song just as stunningly exotic with any couple in it. That Maddy & Shalini are quite good-looking & had some incredible chemistry just enhanced the awesomeness of the song by a couple of notches.
For whatever reasons may qualify/disqualify Alaipayuthey as a classic, the movie surely is a classic for the singular reason of how endearingly (post-1990) urban middle-class romance has been portrayed.
And for this reason, it will always continue to make waves in the heart of any even half-romantic middle-class Chennaite. :-)

PSBB Teachers 16 - Prema Mam

2010-02-08T19:41:00.001-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 15 here)

Maths - '95-'96
Mrs. Prema Ramaswamy - Prema Mam was this small, fair, petite lady who reminded me a lot of my grandmother who brought me up. She was more the age of a perimma for me, I guess, but there was an unmistakable similarity. She was yet another of my Maths teachers who I enjoyed learning from. Her "and" was very distinct - it sounded like aaand (like the "aa" in "aam" or "aadmi") and her speech had this cute drawl to it.
Another wonderful teacher. :)

(Part 17 here)

Kahani Chaar Khan'on Ki

2010-02-04T18:55:00.000-06:00

Aamir Khan: The original chocolate-boy of Bollywood & the best-looking Khan (at least back when all Khans were young & good-looking without make-up). Decent-enough actor, somehow shot into "brilliant" actor status thanks to his knack of choosing cheesy scripts. Now, the consummate marketer, he'd give IIM-MBA's a run for their money.
Note: Sarfarosh & RDB don't automatically imply he is patriotic (he might be the most patriotic of all the Khans but that's not much to go by, is it? ;)

Saif Ali Khan: Easily the least successful of all the Khans, he has exactly one good movie to his credit (where he didn't make an ass of himself, which is why I excluded Dil Chahta Hai). His only other notable Bollywood-success is hooking up with a 100-times more successful Kareena Kapoor.
Most Notable guest appearance: "The Buck Stops Here", starring Shirtless Khan.

Salman Khan: No shi(r)t. Aishwarya Rai. Drunk-driving. Katrina Kaif. Period.

Shah Rukh Khan: Easily the best actor among the Khans, sadly stopped acting in good movies after 2000. Currently trying very hard to emulate Aamir Khan in marketing, but falls flat. Where Aamir slickly markets his movies with/without controversy, this guy just Kkkk...Khan't do it without making noise.

It's a Guy Thing

2010-02-03T18:11:00.000-06:00

How guys treat/interact with/behave with other guys with respect to girls (gyaan accumulated over my 25 years of existence)...

Guys simply love other guys who make asses of themselves in (common) presence of good-looking girls.
If a guy introduces you to a good-looking girl, at least one of them is committed (more likely the girl).
If a guy invites you to a gathering of good-looking girls, he is either a fool or thinks you're one.
If neither is true & he still invites you, then he is your best friend for life and the best man at your wedding.
If there are 2 girls you're teased with, guys amplify the teasing-with-the-lesser-good-looking-girl so the better-looking one's available.

(might be continued...)

PSBB Teachers 15 - Meena [Jain?] Mam & Rama Devi Mam

2010-01-31T13:20:00.002-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 14 here)

Hindi - '95-'98
Meena mam was a slim youngish teacher who looked very South Indian (Tamilian, in fact), but never totally convinced me if she was one, especially because of the Tamil she spoke with the occasional peon - it wasn't Seth'ish, but it hadn't the colloquial "spashtam" that we would associate with native Tamil speakers. A nice lady and a wonderful teacher (for some reason, PSBB seems to have had this great set of esp. Hindi-language teachers). I also remember she took a break for a year when she had just given birth to a baby.
This one year was covered by Rama Devi mam, quite an old woman, who was quite puny. I think Meena mam was more liked by the class than Rama Devi mam, but she was also a fair teacher, nevertheless. I also remember that I got 98 in the Vth cycle test or something, which I remember her paaraattifying me or something, with a smiling face (not sure why I especially remember this "smiling face" thing, not sure if she was a generally serious-faced teacher or anything). :-)

(Part 16 here)

When Pictures are worth a Thousand Laughs

2010-01-28T21:11:00.003-06:00

(Pictures courtesy an email forward)

Oosi Pona Chutney and all that...

2010-01-24T23:26:00.001-06:00

Enough has been said about the "outrageous act of plagiarism" by bloggers bigger, older and a zillion times more famous than me. In any case, though Chutney was well within her rights to do whatever she did (which she did quite rightly too , IMHO), I don't want to add more publicity to an already oversized issue.

Nevertheless, I was particularly perturbed by one specific aspect of the plagiarizer's mindset, which, I believe, is more pressing than the actual act of plagiarism per se.

I am shooting my mouth off here (as is wont of me), but I think it's time we Indians admitted that the average creativity of our population ends waaay lower than the supremely creative beings we've been known to produce. Which obviously implies that a large number of us are quite non-creative souls when it concerns intellectual output, but compensate for this via our creative methods of copying/ripping off stuff - be it Lalit Modi's IPL or Ram Laxman's Mere Rang Mein or Harris Jayaraj's June Pona or Kamal's undoubtedly brilliant Anbe Sivam or yet another term paper which we Indian grad students in the US routinely rip from a zillion sources courtesy Google (is it time to Bing yet?). Well, with regard to what I am trying to say here, the last example might be the most easily-relatable, but with a little creative thinking, you'll realize the others too are.

So then, we must admit we do rip stuff to do usual things. When a desi grad student tries to do a term paper, it's just a term paper. It's not like he's going to send it to IEEE or ACM as part of personal work/research (of course, he'd be screwed mightily enough if he did try to do that, but that's a different issue). So what we understand is that the guy that's doing whatever little/much ripping/plagiarizing is doing so just to get done with some basic requirements. It's not like he seeks some elite glory or recognition for the ripped work. This is also probably an indicator of a bigger problem - the flawed system, but that's beside the point, and besides, a flawed system is, by no means, a valid enough justification for whatever small act of plagiarism a grad student (or anyone else) indulges. But this is....ummm...overlook'able.

Which is where what our dear friend did with Chutney's post is especially condemnable. He picked a winner (that's the creative bit) and plagiarized it (the dumb bit). One read of Chutney's post in question is enough for any half-current_state_of_the_urban_Indian-aware person to realize that the piece is brilliant (though I confess that's definitely not my cup of humour, but this is again irrelevant). The girl is right up there, as far as wit and eloquence of language is concerned and her piece is as original as it is entertaining. The dude who ripped it obviously knew if this was made into a short film, it would definitely make some good noise, and no doubt, enhance his prospects. This is where the Epic Fail bit kicks in. You make use of someone else's work for something to ensure your survival or help you achieve something ordinary - no it isn't acceptable, but it isn't at least condemn-worthy and spit-worthy. But you make use of someone else's creative gift, pass it off as your own AND try to make good mileage of it, even the average desi grad student who used a zillion different journals for his term paper will put his thumbs on his nose at you.
Get Original. Respect Creativity.

PSBB Teachers 14 - Mehta Ma'm

2010-01-24T22:30:00.001-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 13 here)

Geography - '96-'97
In case I didn't mention, 6th std was also the class when our addressing of teachers changed from "Miss" to "Mam". Why I remembered this now is because of the teacher in question - Mehta Ma'm was arguably our first exposure to artistocratic elegance & style. Not to mention her insistence on correct + proper adherence to the Queen's language. All this while being a Geography teacher! Bobbed hair and an almost milky complexion, the lady knew how to carry herself with poise - be it her exquisite range of sarees or her pearl necklaces or her matching sandals, she sure did present an impeccable picture of herself. If I'm right, she did strike a rather intimidating picture of herself at first, but she really got us grooving to her and we (the whole class, literally!) did strike up some amazing conversations ranging from her visit to the Grand Canyon (I still remember all our eyes grow wide in amazement at this and if I'm right, she showed us the photos also) to what not. Not sure, but I think she was related to our batch-mate Rohan Mehta (of Mehta Jewellery). And whenever we heard her speak in Tamil, we were in near splits. Overall, a definite not-to-be-forgotten teacher of TP Road.

(Part 15 here)

Useful Recipes for My Bachelor Kitchen

2010-01-23T01:23:00.000-06:00

Thogayal

Paruppu - http://iyercooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/paruppu-thogayal.html

Molaga Podi

Paayasam

Kadalai Paruppu Paayasam - http://forumhub.com/southfood/7370.04.15.15.html

PSBB Teachers 13 - Dilip Sir

2010-01-17T22:55:00.001-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 12 here)

Sports - up to '98 in TP Road, '98 onwards Main School
Dilip Sir was our Sports sir throughout TP Road. A wiry disciplinarian who was quite fun to be with, I remember two specific incidents for no specific reason -

Some shot put practice was going while I was hanging around simply, near the assembly hall when he had instructed us specifically to stop the shot put ball using the leg when I think it was Joel who tried to stop it with his hands and sir gave him such a beating that I wondered if he would've been better off getting injured with the shot put ball itself.
In 7th standard, we had the customary class leader election in which Sanjeev and I were two of the candidates (not sure who else stood), and Sanjeev won by just a few votes (single digit, if I'm right...and I also remember voting for Sanjeev while another close friend Shiva said he voted for me). So Sanjeev was the class leader and we went for our first Sports period when Dilip sir saw Sanjeev and immediately declared he was too short to be a class leader, thereby paving the way for me to be class leader for a second consecutive year. :D

His son, Samson was a year junior to us, I guess. Dilip sir then joined us in PSBB Main either in 9th or 10th. Dilip Sir replaced Williams Sir, who was our classmate, Joel's dad.

(Part 14 here)

PSBB Teachers 12 - Ambika Mam

2010-01-11T19:50:00.002-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 11 here)

Class Teacher/Moral Science/Geography - '95
Ambika Mam - V'th to VI'th was the second quasi-major transition in a PSBB(TP Road)'ian's life. And aptly, Ambika mam was our class-teacher (apart from handling Moral Science & Geography). If ever there was a teacher who impacted a majority of us students with philosophy, spirituality & morals profoundly up to that point of time in life, for most PSBB'ians around my time, it has to be Ambika Mam. She had a deep, soothing voice and a wonderfully warm personality, at the same time, a stern glare from her could make even the naughtiest of chaps own up to any mistake he did.
Yes, there was also a few students who felt she was too preachy or something on those lines, but it was great to have had a teacher like her, especially at that time of life when we were about to enter our teens.
I must also make a special mention of the fact that my stint at Class-Leadership (ahem!) started thanks to her. For most part up to then, "Class Leader" was synonymous with Harish Anand - one of the most popular PSBB'ians from my batch, a very enterprising bloke and a good friend. I don't know where I'd got the desire to be Class Leader all of a sudden, especially considering he was quite well-made, popular & a good student (must-haves for Class Leaders in PSBB :D) in class while I, while not small by any means, was definitely smaller than him, besides being very quiet & reserved, but I remember confiding in my mom that I wanted to be Class Leader. I was also fresh from two consecutive All-Rounder medals (my only two :P), and this probably played a part in my desire, but I can't be sure. However, I had no idea my mom would actually tell this to Ambika mam, which she did, on the first Cycle Test report card day. And the ever-encouraging Ambika Mam made me Class Leader soon thereafter. And this leadership experience (whatever little it was) rubbed off on me all the way up to college, so I think extra-gratitude to Ambika mam for making a shy, bespectacled, chubby, then-chamathu, Powder-Subramani (I'm guessing this phrase is going to stick, thanks to Chutney :D) like me Class Leader (yes yes, including the coveted badge!) of VI 'A'. :-)
I think she handled Moral Science also for us, for a few years after that. A fair call it would be, I hope, if I said she was one of the most universally liked teachers in TP Road.
Since I was also this extra-chamathu guy who could bear to see no "wrong things" happening [:D], I remember telling her secretly about one specific boy-girl incident in 6th standard along with another friend. This pottu-koduthufying business didn't end then...there was another incident in 9th std in Main school when I pottu-koduthufied about another girl's disrespectful words about a sir to her. No surprises then that I was no favourite among my classmates. :D
Through this orkut community, I heard she moved to Lady Andal and then to Bangalore. Like the community description says, she is one teacher whom most students will most likely never forget all their lives. :-)

(Part 13 here)

My name is NOT Khan

2010-01-05T22:49:00.005-06:00

Every new year's eve in Chicago, city transport is free from 8 PM till 6 AM next day. Having lived most of my life in the US as the archetypal desi grad student, I immediately made plans to make best use of the free rides (technically they are 1 cent per ride, however, most of the drivers waive off that also). I'd been out of agarbathis for a few days, besides having run out of matches as well. Daily velakethifying (lighting the lamp) is one of the chamathu things I manage to do everyday, and since I'd run out of agarbathis as well as matches, just lighting the vilakku (using used matches with fire from the stove) felt so inadequate & incomplete. And the closest place to get these 2 items navigable by public transport in Chicago is the now-infamous Devon St (Headley's accomplice Rana's hideout). Besides, I also had a few personal materialistic interests - namely food, to get from there. The catch was that most shops/restaurants in Devon close by about 9-9:30 and since it takes about 1-1.5 hrs to reach there, I was going to cut it close.

In any case, I was planning to go to Navy Pier for the midnight fireworks, so I took the chance. Rather surprisingly (for me), I left home sharp at 7:58 to head for the train station (in retrospect, I could've left at about 7:50), and after making the necessary switches from bus->train->bus, I reached Devon by about 9:07 PM, which is mighty quick. Alighting from the bus, I immediately dashed to dear ol' Patel Bros, only to find it almost shut and one Amrish Puri-like thatha grumpily guarding the shut door from inside, just to allow the last few customers already inside to get out. I am not a guy who generally identifies a lost cause when he sees one, and since I have firm faith in God [:D], I thought I'd make a push for it, since it was primarily agarbathis I was buying - so I begged the old fellow to get me in, JUST to buy the agarbathis. While I was haggling with him, another local desi, in typical desi fashion, nonchalantly slipped past directly to get some snacks (hmph!). The thatha saw the other guy go and rather reluctantly allowed me too inside. Of course, agarbathis were the main reason for me, but I wasn't going to let slip this opportunity to quickly grab some namkeens too (memories of classic SRK in DDLJ). When I was busily scanning the agarbathi-stack to get the cheapest ones (grad-student-mentality), I was losing precious time. And by the time I'd chosen two decent-enough packets and was able to head to the main snacks-area, the old man bellows from behind asking me to check out, failing which he would chuck me out. Reluctantly, I dragged myself to the billing counter and had to make do just with the agarbathis.

But wait, there's also the match box right? And I didn't tell you about my original plans for, ahem, "procuring" it. Well basically, all the match boxes I've used so far were originally bought in India. Somehow, once, I dropped into this vege-restaurant on Devon St called Uru-Swathi, which had a few ultra-small match-boxes (obviously meant for smokers) and I managed to swipe them once. Since it was emergency now, and I knew nowhere else where I could get them match-boxes, I included Uru-Swati as my other major stop on that (holy) smokey expedition. Here also, you must appreciate my Computer-Science-induced orey-kallula-rendu-maanga mentality. Though match boxes were the motivation for me to visit Uru Swathi, I wasn't going to let go of a good opportunity to treat myself (New Year's Eve or otherwise) to some Paneer rolls I'd been eyeing for a long time now. The Patel Bros-partial-disappointment notwithstanding, I was determined to make Uru Swathi count. Having checked the outside signboard to ensure it was "OPEN", I marched in righteously and placed my bag on the table and was almost seating myself when the head waiter/owner, a frail Gujju gentleman (another Amrish Puri, a kinder one at that) frantically waved me out. With a Vadivelu-esque "Innum evlo peru da adippeenga?" shrug, I prepared to exit when I remembered my primary mission - the Vathikuchis. So, rather decently, I asked the old man permission to piss and rather nonchalantly, walked up to the billing counter (the kakkoozi was just past the billing counter) which was, rather thankfully for me, quite crowded. While I was strategising how to get the match boxes, I overheard a woman asking her husband to taste some laddu (I noticed later it was made of yellu, sesame I think). By Lord Almighty's Grace, it so happened that the match-boxes were right next to the vessel containing the laddus to be sampled. Mustering all my poise, I pretended to take (only) the laddu and parallelly swiped the only two remaining match boxes there. Apparently, the Lord was happy with my devotion that it so happened that the laddu I tried to reach for was stuck to another one. Since I am someone who hates to separate people, for the sake of the two laddus, I took them as one (Understandably, I don't appreciate the Iyer-Iyengar divide as well...Hari'yum Sivan'um Onnu....Ariyaadhavan Vaaila Mannu...Arinjavan Vaaila Laddoo :D). Paah, and what a heavenly taste those Laddus had! Probably Prasadam disguised or just my hunger, but I never expected I would relish Sesame laddus so much!

And thus, (just about) successfully, ended my DDLJ'esque SRK-role-play (no surprises for guessing that there was absolutely no trace of any Kajol) with the realization - My name is NOT Khan.

Mokkai DB

2010-01-05T21:57:00.005-06:00

(A collection of my mokkais from Twitter with most recent ones on top)

Q. If a bad-looking girl was a car, what would her legs be called?
A. Attire
Q. Why did the C'tore Zamindar's son ask his asst to call him only Ayya in Delhi?
A. Everytime his asst called him Chinna Jameen, ppl looked down
Q. Why did the Golti motorbike hesitate to talk to unknown older cars?
A. He felt foolish saying Car'gaaru.
Q. Why do the French remember Napoleon everytime someone pisses in his pants?
A. He was the most famous victim of Waterloo.
Isn't it ironic that we say it's Sunny when the Sun is shining brightly while Sani is actually Saturn?
Which Indian-American is worthy of the Padma Bhushan directly (skipping the one prior)?
Padmashree Warrior.
Q. What did Raghuvaran say when folks asked him about the iPad?
A. iKnow.
On the controversy of Sant Singh Chatwal getting a Padma award, noted word-player Cho characteristically said - "That's Bad ma."
Q. Why is it sweet to hear/read the entire Ramayana?
A. Because it is SamPoorna Ramayanam.
Q. What did the turtle from the ocean tell the frog who refused to come out?
A. All izz not well.
Q. What does a mathematician tell once he's proven a set is empty?
A. All izz Null
Q. What is the diff. b/w the 2008 & 2009 credit crises?
A. One was started by Wall St, the other was started by Chetan Bhagat.
Why is that we always go Ga-Ga over a piece of great music, but not Sa-Sa or Ri-Ri?
Why are Hindi-speaking Aeroplane-travellers generally in a holiday mood?
Because they are in a Hawaii Jahaaz. :)
Gun'a sutta bullet varum...aana Bullet'a sutta Police varum.
How to propose to a girl #430: For others, "Home is where the heart is", for me "Your heart is where my home is"
What is the diff bet Spielberg & Vijay - Spielberg used many Avatars in one movie, Vijay uses the same Avatar in many movies.
If we can have guys named Deve Gowda, why can't we have girls named Reethi Gowla?
Q. Why did the rice cooker fail?
A. Because it had too much prestige and couldn't handle the resulting pressure.
Meanwhile, Thenisai Thendral Deva expressed disappointment that Telengana overshadowed his latest Tamil gaana song.
Not to miss out on the fun, SSS Ravishankar said-"Why are ppl fighting for new states? All they need is a peaceful state of mind."
Astute political observer Cho astutely observed - "The youth of today are so fast that fasting is too slow a satyagraha for them."
Q. What would a Tamil dubbing of Slumdog Millionaire shot in the Rann of Kutch be called?
A. Kutcheri
Rendu kaal'na adhu arai...
Arai kaal'na adhu thodai.
Q.Why is a slap called "Arai"?
A. A slap is only with 1 hand. Man has 2 hands. 1/2 = Half. Half in Tamil is Arai.
What is the Congressi's favourite mind-game?
A. Pseudoku
What would Steve Jobs name a video game with Rahul Gandhi as the main character - iCon.
Q. Which appalam is male? (Hint: It's also made by a male, a young one at that) -
A. Ambi Ka Appalam.
Vaithula paala vaakkalaam, aana vaithula dosai'ya vaakka mudiyuma?
Why do elders advise us against the pursuit of material wealth? - Because it is Assettuthanam.
If Anjali Tendulkar had a brother and he was a Tamilian, what would he be called? - Deiva-machaan
Monday annikku mokkai podalaam, aana mokkai annikku mandaya poda mudiyuma?
Q. Kadavul yen Eve'a pazham saaptadhukku punish panninnaar?
A. Yaenna Eve romba Adam pudichu pazhathai vaangi thinnaal.
Q. What would President Pratibhasingh Patil be if she was a musical instrument?
A. Her initials.
Q. What happens to Logic when it is used by journos like Sagarika & Barkha?
A. It becomes Tragic.
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas'ku enna dhan PERIYA per irundhalum "Superstar" maadhiri "periya" per irukka?
Rajinikanth enna dhan Sivaji'la Boss'a irundhalum avaraala Vaas maadhiri bowling poda mudiyadhu.
Why do they call it Auto-Pilot when it's a plane that's flying? Appo auto enna thanaava odradhu?
A rumour can become a fact, but a fact can never become a rumour.
If blogging is like vaazha-elai-saappadu, twitter is like norukku-theeni.
Why do we gen. say "Besh, Idli apdiye malliga maadhri irukku," but never "Aaha, malliga poo enge vaangine? Apdiye Idli pola irukku?" :-?
Marriage between homosexuals should be legalized, but given a different name. Say, something like "Homage".
How can anyone "bite the dust"? You can either lick dust or swallow it. But, bite? (Unless, of course you have an eatable called "the Dust").
Tharailayum mannu irundhadhu. Enakkum meesai irundhudhu. Still meesaila mannu ottalai. Yen? Yenna naan keezhe vizhave illai.
Meesai irundhum naan keezha vizhundhappo en meesaila mannu ottalai. Yen? Yenna vizhundha edathla manne illai.
Nethi saayangaalam naan keezha vizhundhum en meesaila mannu ottalai. Yen? Yenna mundhanethikku naan meesaiya shave pannitten.
Vara vara makkalukku "Lol" romba jaasthiya aagi pochu.
You know Telugus are Serious abt Software Engg when even a Mech Engr woos his gal using a song on data structures http://tinyurl.com/nrpjzf
Was "That's it" somehow derived from/inspired by "tat sat"?
Only when we are on our deathbed and think abt the problems we had at 1/4th our age is it proper 2 b called Quarter-life Crisis.
Q. What is a Guy who tweets joblessly called?
A. Twettipayal.
Q. What is the ultimate form of pig-headedness?
A. Spreading swine flu without having it.
Manushan Gaanda Irundha Mirugam aaga mudiyum, aana Gaanda Mirugam enna pannaalum Manushan aaga mudiyadhu.
Gaanda mirugam eppovume Gaanda irukkuma?

PSBB Teachers 11 - Williams Sir & Vasanth Peter Sir

2010-01-02T19:28:00.005-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 10 here)

Western Music - the 1990's
Williams Sir - A ~~short, slightly stout~~ tall, balding man with a big paunch and a bigger command of the grand piano in the ground floor room opposite to the Pillaiyaar Koil in TP Road, we really used to dread this man, however enjoying the Western Music classes.

Vasanth Peter Sir - He was Williams Sir's son and understandably, the heir to the Western Music teaching position. He was a somewhat stylish "dude" who could be friendly and strict likewise, depending on how he wanted to be and how we were. I also remember his small finger on one of his hands which had a carefully nurtured long nail. Among other things that I remember was, ahem, one Vaishnavi miss who used to spend considerable time whenever we had Western Music classes. ;-)

Update: My classmate, Sanjeev Vaidyanathan adds that Williams Sir wasn't short or stout, hence the correction. Also, he recollects that Vasanth Sir constantly kept threatening to leave us all and go to Dubai, which, now that he says, I vaguely recollect. Thanks Sanjeev.

(Part 12 here)

PSBB Teachers 10 - Mahalakshmi Miss & Kumudha Miss

2009-12-29T19:06:00.001-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 9 here)

(Note: Since neither of these teachers handled any classes for me, I really don't have much to say about them, which is why I'm clubbing two teachers in a single post.)

PSBB TP Road Library - the 1990's
Mahalakshmi Miss - She was one of the teachers who I remember from the TP Road library. I recently came across an article here and was pleasantly surprised to see her. http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/02/06/stories/2009020651090400.htm

PSBB TP Road Office - the 1990's
Kumudha Miss - A very frail, slightly grumpy kind of woman when busy, she handled the running of the office (which was right below our Principal, Jagam miss' room). I'd met her a few times, when I'd gone to get stuff like chalk, dusters, etc. However, whenever I saw she wasn't very busy or anything, she was quite pleasant. :D

(Part 11 here)

PSBB Teachers 9 - Mahalakshmi Miss

2009-12-21T10:25:00.002-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 8 here)

Crafts - '93-'97
Mahalakshmi miss was our Crafts teacher. I should admit that I'm not a particularly crafty person (whether it is in talking to people or in making designer showcase objects out of wool & ice-cream kuchis), but on rare occasions, my craft-work would turn out pretty nicely, well, at least nice enough to hang in my house for a few months. :D
Mahalakshmi miss was a very skilful teacher, with a slightly croaky voice, who, though constantly heckled by us students, put up with us quite sportingly. I think we had "Crafts" until 4th standard or something.
We, however, used to have fun during the class - though the subject, by itself, wasn't particularly very interesting for the normal 9/10-year-old, the fun part came when we used to mess around with the fevicol & paraphernalia that was a requisite for the class. :D

(Part 10 here)

Vaidyanatha Foundation - Rengasamudram

2009-12-21T09:53:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago, I got an email in an egroup about a young Gandhi who, after graduate education in the US, quit his well-paying American job to return home and do yeoman service to the poor, while leading a totally austere life. Totally praiseworthy, to say the least.
One of the members replied saying there were many many such great service activities going on that pass unnoticed and highlighted one such case. What struck me most about the email was how earnest the appeal seemed, in light of the fact that the sender, Shri Ramanathan (a 75+ senior citizen) requested, not for monetary support, but for ideas.
Another highly praiseworthy aspect of his deeds was the fact that he actually does not have any kind of relationship with the village he has settled down and begun his charitable work in/for. Apparently, he surveyed a few places before deciding to settle down here.
Below is his email -

"thanks for the prompt reply/ack of my message. re gnanadhatha.com somehow since there are not enough access it gets disturbed. please giver me your postal address i will send you details of my activities with press clippings, funding is done from own sources right now. we established this foundation: AA Vaidyanatha Foundation, Visram, Agraharam, Rengasamudram 627 413 near Ambasamudram tirunelvely dt tamilnadu. we have no connection with this village, after exploriung possibilities in Kariappatty near madurai we decided this place suitable. (Phone 04634 293460/293560: cell 9486402330/9489351102. but it is an uphill task to help the illiterate poor. there is no co operation from the few bhramin households. the panchayat is chaired by sc man and others do not co operatre with him. we started with feeding the school children 100 every month, then changed it to every week for select 25 boys, girls from the agraharam st. emphasisx is to help the school drop out girl children and generally on the weaker sex. people eke out a living by rolling beeedies and brick kiln work harmful to their health. we have given instrument boxes, study materials, pens, pencils books to all students, now we have given one cycle each to a girl student in 6th 7th 8th standard, we want continue this. school is unaided and has classes from first to 8th standard, efforts to improve the shcool is meeting the same fate dur to non cooperation. we have sewing machine and compouters but lack of bus connect difficult to get a full time teacher. we have approached the TNSTC to start more bus services, the file is not moving atr TNSTC level, we have written to the DY CM MK stalin and hope things would improve. there is neither auto nor four wheeler in the village. we depend on autos to come from mukkudal 3 km away. since there is no medical facility here we got a TB detection treatment camp from Dy Director of health, GH tenkasi, another medical camp from Tirunelvely, we are pressuring the government to start a PHC, thanks to MK Stalin the files are moving though slow. we got Rs.1.25 Lakhs for renovating the cremation ground which was scuttled by communal interests, we got Rs.85000 sanctioned for a play ground same result. we got Rs.20,00,000 for repair of the village road, the panchayat president says it is all spent, there is none to ask how. we were promised Rs.25 Lakhs for metalling of the main road to ambasamudram and mukkudal but due to no proper representation by the panchayat it did not come to us but went to near by kallidaikurichy. the panchayat was asked by the RDO to pass a resolution to seek PHC but no resolution is passed even after 6 months. in the meanwhile State Bank of India has been approached for establishing a medical center, earlier positive response form Tatas for a medical van/ambulance was lost because tamilnadu government has a free ambulance service 108. now i am following up the state bank matter, while keeping in touch with others like amalgamations group chairman sivasailam. Indian overseas bank has promised to send a team to the village to teach the girls to repair mobiles. the village has many heritage temples around including Tamrabarani river, papanasam river, agastyar falls, mnanuimuthar falls, gajendra varadxa perumal, nellayppar and nava tirupathi templs. there is scope eco religious tourism, if some small groups can come visiting it would boost the village morale and the foundation would also be enthused. please see whether small groups can come visiting especially women, we would be happy, in our first floor we can manage two couples or five or six people on short visits. please reply. RAMANATHAN (SENIOR CITIZEN) my wife and me after five decades more living in Bangalore and kochi settled down here buying and remodelling a house to leisurely live. any suggestions, help, comment advice welcome."

For more information about the foundation, go here - http://gnanadhatha.com/index.html.
In today's e-World, donating a few hundred dollars to Asha Vision at the click of a button is a fairly easy thing to do. But contributing ideas is more difficult.
If not ideas, the least folks could do is take up his invitation and visit the place. Going by what he says, the village definitely does not appear to be a dull, nondescript locality.
And if not visit, as usual, what we software engineers do best - spread the word around. :-)

Carnataca Sangeetham and Me

2009-12-13T23:12:00.003-06:00

I am not from a very musically oriented family or anything. My dad dabbled a little in Mridangam (apparently, he learned from Kumbakkonam Rajappa Iyer, who was Sakkottai Rangu Iyengar's sishyar), as also a little in the guitar. Unfortunately, since he started learning quite late (abt 30 or so), he couldn't really progress very far (his Guru apparently used to say - "Ganesa...unakku nanna varudhu, aana speed pathaadhu. Veral apdiye velayaadanum. Ange paaru-7 vayasu payyan, romba chinna payana irukkaane maami'nu sonna kooda kekka maattengara avan amma - "chumma vandhu okkaarattum mama," apdinu solli kaasu koduthuttu kozhandhaiya vittuttu poidra. Andha kozhandhaiya paaru, mridangatha madila vechukka kooda mudiyala adhaala :D"). 2 cousins from my dad's side (both girls) learnt the violin. Shucks, just as I write this do I realize that one of them is a Music teacher/professor in a college or something in Chennai. :O Revelation.

Anyway, coming back, being from a normal-yet-nothing-special Tambram family, I had my usual push towards Carnatic music, which I stoutly opposed. My PSBB days were more attracted towards physical exploits (despite my not-entirely-conducive-to-physical-activities appearance, back then) - come Summer, it invariably used to be one of the Cricket, Yoga or Gymnastics camps that I used to join. I should especially be credited for my determination because my cousin (the only one in my family who is in my age-group) had started going for Carnatic Vocal classes (pah...indha parents irukkaale!).

So now that it has been fairly established that I had no childhood gift for Carnataca Sangeetham, my parents were quite surprised when they discovered after coming to visit me here, that now, after 24 years of my life, I was able to enjoy some Carnatic songs (for Carnatic reasons also), talk about a few raagas (2, to be specific :P) and appreciate & admire Carnatic musicians (something I had always done, despite my relative non-affiliation with the field) in an informed manner (if very minute). "Enna da, unakkum gnyaanam porandhudutha? Engerndhu idhellam aaramiche?" Sad though, I was, to disappoint them, I reassured them saying I was still the same old gnyaana soonyam wrt Carnatic music, and that there were other reasons that I had consciously started trying to pick up bits-and-pieces of Carnataca Sangeetham.

For me, Carnataca Sangeetham has always been a prime form of expression of love & devotion to the Lord. Being a relatively religious guy, I had always felt deep respect for Carnatic musicians, while also feeling bad that I'd missed out on a great way to worship the Lord. My regard for Carnatic music was also greatly influenced by such divine souls as Smt. MS Subbulakshmi [aah, how her name is one of the first to pop-up, right?], Smt. DK Pattammaal, Shri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Shri. Madurai Somu, Shri. Seergazhi Govindarajan among others. It probably also helped that I am a Sama Vedi. ;-) Over the last few years, however, my admiration took a quantum leap with increased knowledge about a few other factors such as the amount of dedication & effort required to even be half-successful as a Carnatic musician and the amount of Maths present in the art. That's also about the time one of my juniors from college and a close friend started learning the violin from an IIT professor he was doing his Master's under, whom I had introduced him to. Somehow, there were a few exchanges between us, (with him being the primary contributor) and before we knew, we'd started something of a mini-group where we'd discuss & exchange (predominantly) Carnatic compositions. The group consisted mostly of people who were amateurs and had some knowledge either in singing or an instrument, with me obviously being the outsider, with almost no exposure to serious Carnatic stuff. A lot of times, I'd just read through the discussions without really being able to grasp much, but I did make it a point to read though.

It's about a year now since I've been part of the group now, and though I cannot lay claims to being a serious connoisseur of Carnataca Sangeetham, I'm quite enjoying what little I've learnt. Tangibly, I can more-or-less identify two stunners - Thodi & Reethigowla.
Thodi - I can specifically remember from when Thodi got stuck on me - Roopa rendering "Gangai Karai Mannan" in Superstar Global. I was blown away from the first time I saw it. Not that I hadn't listened to the original by Daas Ettaan, but that was waaay back in my Carnatic timeline. Also, this raaga was quite distinct and I understand that it is one of the few raagas which can be identified within the first few notes itself.
Reethigowla - Well, this was since Kangal Irandal, actually. :-) The song initially irritated me, I don't know why - I really liked it, but somehow, I didn't like it. Not sure if the accusations against James Vasanthan of copying were responsible, but I tried to block listening to the song as much as I could, but eventually gave in (much like Harry Potter :D). And then, Chinna Kannan Azhaikkiraan and Thalaiyai Kuniyum Thaamaraiye came by...and Reethigowla was here to stay. And finally, Azhagaana Rakshasiye revealed itself in all its crowning Rahman glory to me. Just as I type this, I realize I had very similar feelings to this song also - there existed genuine appreciation of the song in me, but there also existed some amount of dislike of the song. Coincidence, I wonder? Oh, and a good friend & one of the carnatically senior-most members of our group, Maythini, brilliantly described the raaga in this comment of hers in Gradwolf's post. I couldn't help but nod away in agreement.

The Raja'ness...
Another wonderful thing to have happened as a result of my slightly increased Carnaticisation is my amazement at the greatness of (in the words of Karthik, my raaga-identifier) "one of the greatest composers of music since Thyagaraja & Bach", (though not yet in their league) Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja. I mean, his music has such a heavy dose of Carnatic raagas that it requires a separate study in itself. One of my favourite pastimes these days is identifying songs with same/similar raagas. This is not something I do by exploring songs in youtube, but random songs just come to my mind, and then other similarly-raagaa'd songs pop up out of the blue. Here are a few similarities I found out by this random reminiscence. (Disclaimer: My only verifier for these songs is Karthik, so the accuracy of these similarities is solely attributed to him :D) -

Oora Therinjikitten and Bhagavan Saranam
Alaipaayuthey Kanna and Kalyana Then Nila
Hava Nagila/Misirlou and Engeyum Eppodhum (which I initially thought was Raja sir's, learnt from SK that it is MSV's)
Aboorva Sagotharargal Sad theme, Thenpaandi Cheemayile and Kaadhodu dhaan Naan paaduven (by MSV, sung by LR Easwari)
Poongatru and Valaiyosai
Thalaivar's ulti-romantic Kaadhalin Deepam Ondru and Nilaave Vaa
Akkarai Cheemai Azhaginile and Sangeetha Megam (which, IMHO, has one of the best opening pieces of music for any song)

Ok, that's about it for now, and I know there is a good chance I may have been way off mark in many cases, but even if I was wrong in finding similarities (specifically based on Raagas), I've been able to appreciate all these songs much much more now. Not to mention my realization of Ilaiyaraja's greatness. Obviously, I belong to the Rahman era, and his greatness was easier to realize and relate to. (Talking about Rahman, I felt there might be some link between these two - Maanoottu Mandhaiyile and Kathirikka.) I've to go a long way before this 'sub-conscious identification of similarities-in-raagas' syndrome hits me with Rahman as input.

So there I am, in my Carnatic Chronology so far. It's been intimidating & depressing at times (simply because of the magnitude, among a zillion other things), but thoroughly enjoyable, enlightening & engrossing. I'm not sure how long or how far I'll go in this pursuit, but it's been one fulfilling experience so far. :-)

PSBB Teachers 8 - Shankari Mam

2009-12-13T19:59:00.002-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 7 here)

Drawing - '93-'97
Shankari mam was this awesome Drawing teacher we had, and she could just about whip up any portrait/picture in a matter of minutes. The best thing about her was how unassumingly she used to draw on the board. She'd start drawing the picture quite innocuously enough, and we'd think it was no big deal, and before we knew, we'd have a superb picture on the black board, and that's when we'd start grappling around for our pencils and stuff, often failing miserably enough. :D

(Part 9 here)

PSBB Teachers 7 - Kamala Miss

2009-12-07T22:47:00.001-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 6 here)

V 'A' - '94-'95
Mrs. Kamala Selvaraj - No, she wasn't Gemini Ganesan's older daughter. :D She was a smart, slightly dark, suave teacher who had bobbed hair. I remember her English was especially good, and she used to drive to school in a light blue Fiat/Premier Padmini. If I'm right, her husband worked at the Chennai Port Trust, because she once arranged/helped when we went on a field trip to the Chennai harbour which remains, till date, my only trip there. :P Not sure why, but she wasn't around for much longer after 5th standard.
I also remember that 5th std was when I first started doing "extra" work at school - helping her out with the progress report cards on the once-in-2/3-months-Sat/Sun when parents would come with their wards, meet the teachers & collect the report cards. I also remember one such 'Report Day' when a classmate, Joel Jayaraj (who is frmr PSBB-Main Sports sir Williams' son) kept irritating me long after most parents had collected the report cards (we usually hung around after school even on normal days), I chased him around the empty 2nd floor corridor and beat him up.
:D Sorry Joel, not sure if you remember, but in case I didn't apologise, here it is. Ironically, Joel is now an officer in the Indian Navy. :D

(Part 8 here)

PSBB Teachers 6 - Chhaya Miss

2009-12-02T20:26:00.001-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 5 here)

IV 'A' - '93-'94
Mrs. Chhaya Bhagat - I think it would be fair to say that she was one of the first teachers who had a mass fan-following, at least as far back as memories go. A small'ish, cute, affable teacher, she had a very delicate yet stern-at-times way of handling the students.
I remember one specific incident - she was explaining the curvature of the Earth's surface in Geography once, when I remembered seeing proof of this in the "Baazigar O..Baazigar" song which had just released (still not sure if it's the camera that made the ocean look curved or if it was a wide angle shot) and out of my eagerness to share that piece of info, I kept raising my hand after she ignored me or asked me to keep quiet or something. I immediately started crying. :D And then, she kindly, sympathetically asked me to tell whatever it was I wanted to, and I happily related the info to the class. :D :D :D
On a sad note, I remember her husband passing away a few years after that. She has two sons, the older one being about our age and the younger one, a few years younger - I still remember how cute he used to look back then, when she used to bring him to school, Vidyut, his name was.

Last I saw her in the end of 12th std, when she had come for her son's admission to DAV Gill Nagar and she even remembered me!

(Part 7 here)

PSBB Teachers 5 - Paddu Miss

2009-11-22T22:21:00.002-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 4 here)

III 'C' - '92-'93
Mrs Padmini Sarathy - I don't remember any specific reason, but she was one of my favourite teachers during those days. She was a kind of frail, bespectacled lady, a bit on the older side. Third standard was also quite a memorable class for another reason - that was the first (and only) time we had a camp fire at school. That was like, by far, one of the most exciting days of my childhood days. Stay back on Friday night - stay in school through Sunday and return home Sunday evening, sleeping in our classrooms. Oof, can you imagine the fun? Thirty-odd 6/7-year-olds in one tiny classroom after an evening of great fun by the camp fire and a sumptuous Saravana Bhavan dinner, the amount of ruckus we would've created! By God, I think that experience is surely one to cherish through life. And the next day, the meticulous me was carefully folding my porvai and all compared to the crumpled mess that a few of my other classmates had left their "beds" in, when Paddu mam appreciated my obedience. :D :D
Also, I remember especially enjoying her Maths classes (I was fresh from that Proficiency in Maths from 2nd standard, you see :D).

(Watchman) Seshadri- A fair Iyengar mama, who, (I retrospectively am surprised was a watchman) always sported the Sricharnam prominently on his forehead. His voice had this amazingly "ghaneer" tone and he befriended the parents especially easily.

(Part 6 here)

PSBB Teachers 4 - Jamuna Miss

2009-11-18T19:28:00.002-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 3 here)

II 'C' - '91-'92
Mrs Jamuna Nandagopal - Here's another teacher I remember for her sweet, kind nature. If I'm right, she used to live in Blue Diamond Apartments in Motilal St. In those days, it used to be something of a privilege to know personal details of teachers or if teachers spoke to you in Tamil. So I particularly remember these details. I'm not sure if teachers in classes I, II and III handled all subjects for us, but II std was the first time I got some kind of academic award - I still remember the prize - it was for proficiency in Maths (I got centum in all the 5 cycle tests :D) and it was a sweet little Math book. So, an especially memorable class I remember - II 'C'. :-)

(Aayah) Shanthi - PSBB (TP Road) had this awesome set of aayahs who used to take such good care of us kids. Shanthi aayah was one especially semma aayah - she had buck teeth, if I'm not wrong, and some time toward the latter part of junior school, she shaved her head, so that's how I remember her appearance. :D
Btw, my mom apparently met her outside Kodambakkam station on Habibullah Road a few months back. Rather shockingly, she herself approached my mom, who immediately recognized her as a PSBB aayah, and told her - "Amma, neenga Kaushik'oda amma dhaane, thambi epdi irukku?" My mom was absolutely flabbergasted, and more so, I still am, and refuse to believe my mom, still.

(Part 5 here)

Arbit Stuff

2009-11-12T21:11:00.000-06:00

I want brightness in my life.
I love sunshine.
I like konjam heat konjam cold. Alternatively, I am ok with Chennai too.
I want to constantly see people where(ever) I live. It's ok if they're not my friends or hardly 4 of them know of my existence, but the regular sight of a stranger will do. A lot of them. And I hope I dont know too much about them. If I do, I hope it's nothing bad or unacceptable (to me). If it is, not that I am going to change the world or hate them, but I will feel a little less comfortable.
I believe it isn't really as big a sin to be judgemental as it is made out to be. If there is something wrong in being judgemental, it is either because of a flaw in the reasoning/logic behind the judgement or the judger's (mis)perception of the fact/premise that causes him to err in the judgement.
Order of Degree of Wrongness -
Not being judgemental at all >> Making the wrong judgement > Being Judgemental > Perceiving facts in the wrong manner.
"Sab kuch chalta hai" is the root cause for most of the misery in the world today.
I honestly feel people who are afraid of communicating their opinion in public for fear of retribution are either highly hypocritical or terribly cowardly.
That said, one must avoid needless/reasonless/pointless controversy.
While travelling in buses or trains, I feel way more comfortable sitting/standing in a front-back manner as opposed to a side-side manner.

PSBB Teachers 3 - Bharti Miss

2009-11-08T22:19:00.007-06:00

[Start of Series]

(Part 2 here)

I 'C' - '90-'91
Bharti Miss was a short, slightly plump teacher. Not sure if it's because that is one of the first signs of authority I witnessed in life, but I remember her as a dynamic, authoritative and strict, yet sweet-talking, aggressive-yet-friendly teacher. I also remember her being at the forefront of quite a few extra-curricular activities. She was quite fair and had low-cut hair, if I'm right, and she was also one of the first people I saw wearing glasses with that tag dangling over her neck, which helps to let your glasses hang loose in front of you, without having to place it somewhere.

PS: I also realize I remember a few watchmen and aayahs. So will include them also in this series.

(Watchman) Dhanapal - Dark, burly and affable, I remember him having a very smiling face.

(Part 4 here)

PSBB Teachers 2 - Bina Miss

2009-11-01T18:06:00.005-06:00

(Part 1 here)

Pre KG/LKG/UKG - '87-'90
Bina (Madan) Miss - Of all the teachers I remember, she is the only one whose face I don't remember, however much I try. But I somehow seem to remember that she was one of my kindergarten teachers. Sorry, I don't remember anything more. :-(

I also realized I remembered a few watchmen, so going to list them out here also.
Dinakar - A dark, burly pleasant-mannered watchman. Spoke cheerfully with us. :)

(Part 3 here)

PSBB Teachers 1 - Intro & Shubha Miss

2009-10-25T12:52:00.005-05:00

I think any talk of school-life tends to border around our innocence, enjoyment, childhood naughtiness, a lot of eternally green memories and unbridled fun. Seldom do we think about how much we are moulded as individuals and what shape our character takes. It is, of course, fair to say that we realize & feel becoming grown-ups (or however little/much we grow up :) during college-life, because that is when we consciously formed opinions (at least in the case of people born in 1980-1990, IMHO). However, I think a lot of it is already inside us by then, it merely becomes concrete and sizable enough to be called "opinion". Sort of like the construction material has already arrived, it just becomes a structure during college-life/late-teens.

Like most good movies/novels/lessons, the passage of time strengthens our opinion of the object itself, and Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School is no exception. This is not the "oh...how I miss school-life sooo much, adult life sucks" kind of feeling that we generally have in the immediate aftermath of school/college-life. It is more of learning what and all I have learnt from school and how precious it seems, now, of all times. I must confess this realization has been accummulating for quite a while, due to a multitude of observations.

Anyhow, for some reason I still don't know why, I felt like writing a few words about my PSBB teachers, starting from my kg, from what little I remember of them. After finishing my BE and also when I returned to India after my MS, I visited the school, but wasn't able to meet most of the teachers who taught me during TP Road days, so I'm just satisfying myself by writing a few words about them. Hopefully, this gratitude (assuming it is real and not some fake show for increasing blog readership) will reach them somehow.

I asked myself why I wanted to do this - whether this was some spur-of-the-moment thought or an attention-grabbing idea or genuine gratitude. After all, to most people, their teachers are also special and equally great, right? Yes.

First, I don't want it to be misinterpreted that just because I am attempting something like this, PSBB teachers are the greatest (remember the "PSBB'na gethu, mathadhellam vethu" chants from school? :D). It is gross injustice to compare one teacher/school to another. Yes, there might be the odd one that screwed someone badly, but for most part, schools have gone a long way in moulding a child's character. I am basically doing this because I feel, as children, we seldom even acknowledged the contribution our teachers were making for us.

I recollect, retrospectively, now about how passionate my teachers in PSBB were (as also the other ones from other schools, but I dont know them, so I cannot talk about/thank them), as opposed to the didn't-get-an-IT-job-so-joined-some-Engineering-college kinds that are in abundance today. After all, Engineering colleges also have teachers, rather, are supposed to have "teachers".

Of course, there is also the fact that most of our teachers at PSBB were definitely quite well-off and probably became teachers because they were bored at home or didn't want to do any other job. Still, choosing to become a teacher is itself quite noble, and being a dedicated one at that, too, is praiseworthy, at the least.
So here goes my (hopefully) humble attempt at saying Shree Gurubhyo Namaha. :-)
And I really hope I am not going overboard with emotions or becoming needlessly senti about my childhood for whatever reason. Simply, "an objective grateful recollection of school teachers", is how I hope these posts are interpreted as.

For convenience's sake, I will start from Pre-KG. The memories are more structured then.
*PS: Though primarily a tribute, since I will travel through my childhood, one shouldn't mind if I occasionally recollect a few personal not-necessarily-related-to-any-teacher school-related memories. :)*
Pre KG/LKG/UKG - '87-'90
Shubha miss - It is about 20 years since I was in kindergarten, and you must accept my apologies when I am not able to recollect all the details of all my teachers in Pre KG, LKG and UKG. One of them that I do, is Shubha miss. I think my mom liked her a lot, and the imprint of her in my memory is probably more because of my mom's occasional reminiscences during the 4th-8th period which I remember, but I still can remember her somewhat - a tall gracious lady, probably, dusky complexion, with a slightly husky voice. I hazily remember a mostly-smiling face with a KR Vijaya'esque set of teeth. She was probably a Mallu, but I'm not sure.

(Part 2 here)

A few things I feel the reader must know...

2009-10-20T12:08:00.023-05:00

I was born (in alphabetical order) -

Indian
Iyer
Tamilian
Theist
Vegetarian

Up until a few years ago, I practised/identified myself with all of the above simply because I was born as that. Over the past few years, I have continued to identify myself as the above, though I have been trying to dig deeper and attach meaning to it, hence, practising whatever it is I am, with conviction and a firm sense of belief. However, the journey is, by all means, hard, with no easy answers.
The order of difficulty, from how I understand, is -
I make no bones about what constitutes my identity. I do not want to run away from it, nor do I want to hide it. And I also do not intend to flaunt it.
I am explicitly mentioning all my identities so the reader knows my background while reading my posts (either to avoid being unnecessarily wrongly stereotyped or to ensure that the stereotyper realizes he has rightly stereotyped).
A few of my posts have been controversial and have earned me much scorn from strangers and caused more than a few unpleasant issues with close friends, however, I do not wish to run away from controversy just because it is that. I have a lot of strong opinions on important issues and the purpose of bringing them to the public domain is in the hope that they would either be reaffirmed or proven wrong. Of course, I also understand that a few comments on some post in my blog definitely does not constitute irrefutable proof of whatever it is, but it will definitely add perspective to my thinking, which is one of the main purposes of this blog, incidentally.
Though my posts will have a strong dose of Brahminism/Hinduism/Vegetarianism-influenced view-points (which includes not smoking, not drinking, among other trivialities), I do *NOT*, in this blog, promote/propagate/glorify any of it, simply because I do NOT have conclusive-enough information about the same.
If you feel offended at anything I have written, it is MY responsibility. If you have misinterpreted it, though it is you who misinterpreted it, reading what I've written is what made you do it. Hence, I consider it my duty to make you understand/interpret it properly. If you still don't get it, then it means you are either too dumb (why are people dumb?) or too intelligent for me {not being sarcastic}.
Which reminds me, I generally tend to have a heavy dose of sarcasm in a lot of my posts. It is my attempt at being humorous. Unfortunately though, sometimes, this attempted humour tends to fall flat because I happened to mix it with my beliefs/principles, even though I didn't try to promote it.
I am generally concerned with hypocrisy. I have no idea why. And of late, I've been feeling stupid about it. I have no problems with people like Hawkeye (from whom, incidentally, this section was copied/inspired, though I've always wanted some kind of "about me") who openly accept to being hypocrites. Though (I believe) I am not a hypocrite and try to consciously follow it, I find it easier to relate to people like him. Until quite recently also, I thought sincere/true absence of hypocrisy was a virtue, no longer, though. Nevertheless, I try to continue to be a non-hypocrite, but will dissociate thoughts of virtue from this.
A lot of my more serious posts (even if written [attempted-] humorously), might have a morose, complainatory (adj. - like a complaint) feel about them. That's because though I try to enjoy life and appreciate people, my intrinsic nature somehow ingeniously detects failings in people, issues_to_complain_about, etc. which, hitherto, I mostly expressed then-and-there to/in_front_of the person concerned. Now this resulted in a few issues -
a. My impulsive reactions/feelings are notoriously error-prone. Blogging the issue ensures I've cooled down a bit and have been able to see the issue in calmer light, reflectively.
b. 97.3% of people don't take criticism in the right spirit. Oh yes, they might smile and listen to you empathetically, but don't let that fool you. I have realized, after multiple fractures, that if you're acting in a potentially rift-inducing/offensive manner for a good cause, unless you're sure there is going to be a good effect, you are better off not acting that way.
c. This blog also serves another main purpose of being my emotional dumping ground.
When I blog about something, in general, I am quite passionate about it, or at least, am passionate about what I say about it. Though I feel right about it at the time of posting, I fully understand the likelihood of error (I am super-mortal), so it is possible that an opinion I posted some time back is not necessarily the one I currently subscribe to, though I will stand by it.
I am serious about my blog (even if it's the attempted-yet-mostly-failed-humour posts which are present in abundance).
I also try not to take my blog too/very seriously. Hence, nothing too personal (like a letter expressing my love for my mom on her birthday) or very serious (like my favourite God and why I like that God/an intensely exhaustive discussion on why smoking is bad, etc.) is likely to be covered.
If you're a guy/girl from a somewhat-orthodox Brahmin family, some of my posts might make you wonder if I was the guy your mom wanted you to be like/marry (respectively), based on the superficial talk that is on ample display in this blog. Whether or not I am that (and more) or not, you have every right to judge, but don't judge me by these writings alone. :-)
I do not intend to stand for elections in India any time soon, so I am definitely NOT on an image-building exercise (in the likely case that you feel I am trying to promote my unlikely [misplaced] "good" image).

All this apart, this blog is just another blog - covering anything under the sun which a random guy from Chennai wants to talk about. Feel free to say whatever you feel like (no abusive language please, if you want to offend me, by all means, do it, but in very dignified words; and if you feel I don't deserve that dignity, then it also means I don't deserve your offensive words :D).

New-York-City in a Jiffy

2009-10-18T22:50:00.004-05:00

One of the good things about being an Indian grad student in the US is that you are, generally, good at day-to-day practical combinatorial optimization. Ok, I apologize for my badly-disguised attempt at flaunting my Computer Science credentials, I was just referring to our propensity to detect and analyze the most optimal ways to do stuff ranging from packing stuff into our suitcases to buying goods to planning trips - space, time and economic optimization techniques, if you can call them that. It doubly helps if you study at a university where even PhD students need to consistently worry about paying for their tuition - which means that being a lowly Masters student, you can rest assured that unless you're terribly lucky (know someone who can get your resume across to someone else who feels you're good enough to be a GA) or intimidatingly brainy (read being good enough to be an RA/TA for a prof that has enough money to fund your course-work, while a Masters student), you've got to rely on cash cows (aka parents) or sharks (banks) for tuition and the $7.5/hour on-campus job for your living.

Anyhow, such is the grind that even after having moved on to supposedly higher things in life (like working, being employed, having a job, etc.), old habits die hard, that too, with a vengeance. This vengeance especially helps when you've been hit by the recession at least once and madly enough, bring your parents here on a long vacation now, of all times.

So then, like most international bring-parents-to-the-USA-after-your-studies (no-longer) students, I endeavoured to take my parents on the Holy Grail of Materialism (and the epicenter of the global financial earthquake) - NYC.
Since both my budget and vacation days were tight, I decided to fit in the visit over a weekend. After all, NYC isn't exactly a place known for awe-inspiring natural sights where you can lose yourself admiring the beauty of nature for days on end.

Here's my trip in detail, I think it worked out quite well overall, an opinion reaffirmed by a few of my friends, and I hope it helps anyone wanting to simply visit or take your parents to show them NYC in a quick, cost-effective manner.

Date: Sept 19-20, 2009.

Travel & Stay -
I generally don't believe much in vacation packages like flight+hotel, flight+hotel+car, etc...., least of all on airline websites. Still, I just gave it a shot and browsed package deals on popular travel-sites. By a queer twist of fate, I chanced upon the American Airlines site where I got a more-than-just-decent package - return tickets from Chicago to New York for 3 people + 1-night stay at the Hilton-Penn Station for $950.00
I was initially skeptical since it worked out to about $316.66 per person (yes, we ARE this detailed), but considering the fact that the average ticket rates hovered around the $290 - $340 range when looked for tickets, plus at least 75 bucks for even a half-decent hotel, I think 950 was a fair call.
If you're going to NYC, you need to figure *specifically* where you want to stay. If you're a million-miles-away-from-a-millionaire-background guy like me, staying in any of even the decent hotels in Manhattan is out of question, they cost upwards of $200 per night (ok, literary exaggeration - you don't need to be a millionaire to stay in Manhattan, but I hope you catch the drift). There are a (very) few sub-100 hotels in Manhattan, but they are definitely not places you'd want to take your parents to, that too at night. Which then brings you to New Jersey, mainly Jersey City. There are a lot of somewhat-decent sub-100 hotels (motels, more like) in Jersey City, but the problem is transportation. You'd need to get a bus to the nearest train station (PATH transit) which gets you to NYC, and these buses aren't very safe+reliable+frequent at night. Hence, Hilton-Penn Station was quite a deal - apart from the Hilton brand name (obviously), there's a train station right below the hotel (well, ok not right below, like half a block away, and the station's connected to the hotel by a walkway too). Plus the hotel picks you up from Newark Airport (FREE shuttle, yes, like free food).

The Sights -

Day 1 -
- Reached Newark Airport at 11:15 AM, reached hotel at 12:15 PM. Though the official check-in time is 3 PM, if the room's available, they check you in early, else you can leave your baggage with them free of cost.
- Statue of Liberty - The PATH train from Penn Station goes directly to WTC (Ground Zero) in about 30-40 minutes, from where the ferry station is like a 15-minute walk. You get to see the upcoming Freedom Tower plan, some of Wall Street and the Bull en route, so it's not a bad walk.
  *Alert* - Book your ferry tickets in advance here. Even with tickets, it's good to reach there at least 45 minutes early, the lines tend to get quite long, especially on weekends. I'd booked my ticket for 2 PM, and reached the ferry station at 1:30. :D Wicked, eh!
  So after the usual photo-session on the ferry and next to the Green lady, with the downtown Manhattan backdrop, etc., we returned from Liberty Island at about 5 PM.
- Washington Square Park - We'd had a good breakfast before leaving Chicago, besides, my mom had packed some lunch in case we were cramped for time, so this helped us until 5. After returning from Liberty Island, we headed straight to Washington Square Park using the Subway (Oh, I forgot to tell, you can get the 1-day pass in any of the subway stations. Unfortunately, unlike Chicago, irrespective of when you buy the pass, it expires at 3 AM after its first use the previous day) to check out the famed NY Dosas . Unfortunately for us, the Dosa guy was off that day, so we headed from here to Saravana Bhavan (a very popular Indian vegetarian restaurant). Sadly for me, the meal here was better than any Indian restaurant in Chicago and though I thoroughly enjoyed the food, I was left ruing the lack of any equivalently good (Indian vegetarian) restaurant in Chicago.
  Anyway, the park itself is quite cute, with tons of people milling around - from doing nothing to reading books to practising a weird balance-this-item-on-your-leg game which was quite interesting. There's also a fountain and a lawn plus a place for your pets to have fun too.
- Wall Street + NYSE - Whether or not you're into stocks, finance, etc., I'm sure you know at least that something from there bit you, and quite hard, at that. So you might as well see where it all started. So we then took the Subway to Wall Street. And yes, it did feel quite momentous, getting off at Broadway & Wall Street, and walking through NYSE and Trump Building, all the way to the beginning of Brooklyn Bridge.
- Brooklyn Bridge - It was dark by now, and the city was lit up, and what better place to see the city than from Brooklyn Bridge? It's a long walk, so ensure you've got some energy and time with you if you want to spend some good time atop the bridge. The bridge and the views were beautiful, and if you're a couple, doubly so. ;-)
  After spending a good 45 minutes there, we realized it was close to 9 PM and headed straight to THE place to be on Saturday night.
- Times Square - Again, you have easy Subway access from Brooklyn Bridge to Times Square and no, I'm not going to list out the routes. The weather that night was near-perfect, so it made for a wonderful time spent at Times Square. My parents were, needless to say, quite taken in by the lights and sounds there. There's also a big seating area bang in the middle of the road for you to just sit and soak in the sights of the place.
  
  And so, after a tiring-yet-satisfying half day, we head back to the hotel, again, using the Subway and the PATH transit back to NJ.
Day 2
- Empire State Building - Woke up on Sunday at about 8 and left straight for the Empire State which opens at 9. The crowd wasn't that bad, but the travel agents who kept bugging us outside were. Well, even if we own the tower taller than Empire State, courtesy demands we have a look-out from atop Empire State as well, and trust me, you won't be disappointed. The best pic was of the Statue of Liberty, tiny, but no less attractive.
  After a good time there, we walked a bit to grab some lunch before our final stop for the trip.
- Madam Tussaud's - At 35 bucks per head, it is definitely not cheap, but the place is great fun, especially if you like famous people/history. A decent visit there needs about 2 hours, not more.
  Once outside, we hung around Times Square (in day-time) for some more time and finally, bid farewell to the endearing city at about 3 PM (not before some much-needed drama of course, missing our 5 PM-flight at JFK and then catching the next available flight from La Guardia).

Retrospectively, a fair call, I felt. Here's a jist of the places we covered in about 27 hours -

Statue of Liberty
Ground Zero/WTC
Washington Square Park
Wall Street
New York Stock Exchange
Broadway
Brooklyn Bridge
Times Square
Empire State Building
Madam Tussaud's

I felt these places best exemplify New York City to the average American tourist. Well, of course, there are many more places to see there, but if you're looking for a short, inexpensive, at-the-same-time not very strenuous, yet relatively exhaustive dekho of New York City, I'm sure these places are coverable over a weekend.

Stereotyping the Contemporary Intellectual - 3

2009-09-24T22:46:00.008-05:00

Continued from Part 2 here

Belonging to Vasudaiva Kutumbakam 1 - A direct implication of the example in the Mary/Peter category – Soru. I am not sure how prevalent this habit is, but a lot (a lot, yes, but not all) of these “intellectuals” religiously eat food from everywhere in the world – Ethiopian, Mexican, Chinese, Spanish, etc. I have nothing against any of these cuisines and it is nice to have a wide range of options, but these things irk me –

1. I, who unabashedly, wholly does NOT belong to this group, who is quite content with half-decent Indian food (or absolutely any food which is prepared in a safe [read purely vegetarian, far away from eggs, meat, fish or poultry] location), find myself ridiculously left-out and outvoted when in the company of such folks (on the rare occasions it happens) and
2. Remember again that a lot of these folks (at least most of the ones I’ve observed) are MCSI-Brahmins? Which means they’ve been vegetarians for most part of their life. Whether these "intellectuals" are (newly-turned) atheists (agnostics, integral humanitarians, etcetera) who continue to be vegetarian (even though they discard god, a few “intellectuals” might continue to stick to vegetarianism and being “intellectuals”, they need to have a strong feeling towards anything => if vegetarian, they believe in it strongly) or (minority) the still-believing-in-Brahminism/religion junta, eating in restaurants overflowing with non-vegetarian food simply reeks of hypocrisy. How, oh how on earth they can bear to see dead animal pieces next to the food they consume, I cannot understand (I am, in this sense, an "antillectual", if you might).
3. Among the minority that are still-practising-(pseudo)-Brahmins, but anyhow eat with relish in every such (God-forsaken) international restaurant, and then talk (often in a dreamy-eyed manner and/or ethereal tones which is supposed to convey that they are in a Kadavul-induced-trance or state of divine bliss) about what Maha Periyava says about Brahmins or throw at you the 6th stanza of the Soundarya Lahari, asking you to marvel at its beauty or wax eloquence at Dikshitar's krithi and it's profound philosophical/religious inspiration - to me, it simply doesn't fit. I am probably dumb, athi-moorkaha or whatever, for linking two irrelevant issues, but this whole package doesn't come across as genuine/true.

Note here that I am not an Indian fundamentalist promoting Indian food and advocating that Indians eat only Indian food. I love my filter coffee and feast on Paneer, knowing fully well that neither is indigenous to India. But the point here is eating something just because it is another cuisine, and doing so often enough, just to prove that you are a global citizen. It is almost like people who start smoking because they feel cool doing it. And whether the food is nice or not, trying to enjoy it so that you feel good at having eaten international cuisine.
Which now leads me to another sub-classication of these international-cuisine-folks -

Never cook at home.
Eat that Bruschetta at the Italian/Spanish restaurant, come back home and start making it regularly (if married, often with the spouse) and then start a food blog. Include chweet lines like "The husband made some panini bruschetta sprinkled with toasted almonds today. Yay! Love you, dear!" and other corny equivalents. Seriously.
And no, this is not a whine from a singleton who is calling the grapes sour because he doesn't have a wife to dote foodily on.

Intriguing how most of the "intellectual" couples either love cooking together, often multi-cuisine delicacies or not cooking any cuisine at all (hey, didn't you know how healthy the food is at Chipotle's, Subway, Taco Bell, etc.?).

Philosophical Thanni - Ha, this is one elite group, I tell you. Again, I wouldn't want to hazard a generalization like majority of the "intellectuals" or something (though I won't be surprised if such a generalization is indeed valid), but this much I can be sure - majority in this sub-group is obviously guys (again, it might be my ignorance too, but I can say only as far as I've seen). So then, these "dudes" obviously drink. Fine. No big deal. But the justifications and explanations for their drinking - nothing short of poetry. "Enakku thanni adikka pudichirukku, I derive pleasure from it, though I know it's bad" - apdinu sollittu poinde irundha naan edhukku indha maadhiri oru bullet'a ezhudha poren? Starting with social drinking (which, IMHO, deserves a separate punishment in the Indian Penal Code, by itself), they go on to put all kinds of weird fundae into the heads of ordinary, un"intellectual" folks like me, so much so that after a point of time, we (the un"intellectuals") feel ashamed and philosophically backward for being non-drinkers (or teetotalers, to be more general). Really, I mean it. I've personally gone through this once, the dude in question being the same guy who spoke those priceless words in the Mary/Peter category.
Belonging to Vasudaiva Kutumbakam 2 - Applies to all types of "intellectuals" - whether atheistic, agnostic, totally-believe-in-Brahminism, currently-believing-in-Brahminism, etc. When it's time for Dum Dum Dum, anybody and everybody will do. Though the still-Brahmin kinds will initially stick to believing in same-caste marriage, they will, in due course of time, come around to trashing it, having moved on to "higher" things and realizing the utter insignificance and childishness in such beliefs.
A few memorable quotes these "intellectuals" use to justify their inter-caste marriage (these people specifically belong to the born-Brahmin-believed-in-Brahminism-for-almost-all-their-life-and-even-now-selectively-believe-in-Brahminism-but-are-going-to-marry-inter-caste category) -
a) "i believe its upbringing thats imp and providing the right atmosphere, attitude and opportunities that will promote preserve the culture
i believe i can do that.
i knew that h** family and (?)he have the right mindset and background..wrt education/appreciation of arts and culture..apart from that there will be differences.."
b) "but i realised that brahmin-a eruntha mattum pothaathu... its the personal behaviour which makes u what u are.."
Quiz: Can you identify the gender of the two characters above? [MP, MM, PM, PP]

In future, I see this attribute being upgraded to a version whose traits will include looking down on same-caste couples; upon seeing a person wearing the Veebuthi or Bottu, staring at the mark for an unnecessarily-long time, intentionally starting a related topic and concluding that wearing such marks is anti-philosophical, anti-spiritual, etc., ending up making you feel like Manohar Parrikar when he lost the confidence vote.

And I shall stop right there. I wanted to include these two categories as well -

Do Jalsa and show Jilpa via the blogs they write. ;-) [Remember, the "intellectual" isn't necessarily always an Indian in USA]
Return from USA and direct movies like Hyderabad Blues.

But since I am sure there is a massive group out there that (whether "intellectual" or not) overwhelmingly supports such "intellectuals" and will be after my blood just because I mention them in this list without understanding that my calling them "intellectuals" is more light-hearted satire than derogatory criticism/mockery, I shall digress.

In my observation, I have tried to remain as objective as possible (by me ;), without criticizing or frowning upon the "intellectual" characteristics I observed, something I usually do. I admit there might've been one or two instances where my exasperation got the better of me, but I suppose that is understandable, because of the weight of that issue. I must also admit that I fall under one or more of the categories above, so if you feel I'm pulling your leg, understand that I'm pulling mine too (ok, my knee or foot...leg only for thoroughbred "intellectuals" :D).

Stereotyping the Contemporary Intellectual - 2

2009-09-24T17:20:00.013-05:00

Continued from Part 1 here

Leaning to the Left: This, I think, is somewhat of a minority, but it seems to be growing. Ironically, such notions tend to develop in the US of A. :D
The "OMG, that's 150 Calories! That means 10 more minutes on the treadmill"-kind: Fitness is important, no doubt. Daily exercise is important, definitely. But for them, this borders on obsession. Irrespective of whether they are thin or fat (btw, did I tell you, most "intellectuals" are either incredibly lean or pucca figures [purely geometric usage of the word, not to be confused with the generic usage and start wondering about my orientation just because this usage is being applied to guys also, I’m perfectly straight, thanks], whether they are guys or girls?). It especially gets scary when you inadvertently overhear or become part of the said-group for some occasional dinner or something. One session of ordinary soru, and you end up with a feeling that your eating habits apparently hover around the Bakasura and Ghadothkacha mark.
PS: Guy “intellectuals” can be excused for this one, as it predominantly applies to girl “intellectuals”. Guys, after all, are a trifle less appearance-conscious than girls, so when they see good food, even “intellectual” guys let go. But they would, of course, compensate in the gym, kindly note.
They are classified not as Male/Female but as Mary/Peter - Ok, before you misunderstand, they are not the kinds that will put Peter for the sake of vetti-scene. They have a strong grasp over the language (mainly English) and more specifically, they suffer from a disease where they simply cannot communicate simple emotions in simple words.

Sample this –
"Since my stream of consciousness veered into food, here is one more update. To all, never go to a Spanish restaurant and order a Paella (Paeya) if you don't know what it is."
Meaning - Since I spoke about food, let me advise you not to go to a Spanish restaurant and order........
(Eh, Payya’va? Karthi Sivakumar padam per maadhiri irukku, idha poi Spain’la saapduvaala?)

Another example -
"Suck it up RK, we finally went to Toro and had "Maiz Asado Con Alioli Y Queso Cotija la especialidad de la casa," alright will cut the crap, corn in butter and cheese was freaking awesome."
Meaning - Saavu da RK, we went to Toro and ate a dish (made of corn in butter and cheese) which was semma tasty.
PS: I'm assuming this is the meaning, as, possibly, the speaker and RK were supposed to go to the said restaurant together, but somehow, the speaker beat RK to it; or some similar equivalent situation.

I confess to having used "freaking awesome" once or twice in my life, but the rest of the stuff, I generally have to read once or twice to understand the words fully, sometimes even Google their meaning/usage. And please, I'm not this English-ignorant-for-the-sake-of-GRE-mug-Baron's or Rapidex-Learn-English-in-20-days aasaaami also. Simply by looking at my blog, my English marks in CBSE school [oh, how naive can you get, Kaushik?] and the fact that I was one of my English teacher's fav students (mainly for academic reasons, but the fact that I also admired Madhubala, the original Bollywood beauty, also helped) in high school (albeit Matric). Plus also the fact that in my blog, almost 99% of my writings are grammatically correct, which is no mean feat, considering I've been blogging for almost 2 years now (albeit, with no significant blog-following :D). Basically, what I want to say is - I know some English, sariya? But I don't know too much English, nowhere near even a quasi-pulavan, like what some of my lesser-inclined-to-English friends complain, about being unable to comprehend my blogs. From what I know and hear from them, the subject content of my blog becomes clearer on 2^nd or 3^rd reading (though I doubt if there's anyone with that much patience :P), sometimes conveying a different message each time. I'm also sure my writings convey a different meaning to people who know me (rather, are acquainted with me for a period of time) and another one to first-time readers or people who aren't acquainted much with me. But the important thing here is that none of this is due to the language, this is (only, if I may add...) due to the content and how I've presented it, as also the topic itself. My blogs would hardly have 2-3 GRE words.
.
But these Mary's and Peter's, their vocabulary is predominantly made up of such GRE words, often reaching above the GRE level also. :D And let me also add, I am sure I will definitely fall into one (or more) of the above categories of "intellectuals", but I surely surely don't belong to this one.

Kannaadi/Ara-nikkar, etc. – Ok, this is surely not applicable to all “intellectuals” (though it might, I am not sure) and this will highly coincide with the chilrai-pisth-cases whose sole aim in life is to earn money and show the world that, in different forms. Karuppu Kannadi (‘Shades’, they are called) enge ponaalum pottukkanum. Idhula enna koduma’na, Madras’la (referring to MCSI’s mainly from Chennai and also hot places from South India), US’la irukkardhoda 10-madangu jaasthi veyyil, for most of the year, aana US’ukku vandhu dhan “shades”. Note specifically that these people generally don't flaunt wealth back home in India, like the "other" group, which indulges in extra-show on that once-in-two-years India trip.
Also, going out with friends to the movie or any casual hang-out will invariably have to be in mukka-pant or ara-nikkar (provided the weather is conducive). Really. And this applies to both Mary and Peter. Period.

Update 1:

"Naan kadaisiya paatha English padam 'Sunset Boulevard'" & VS Naipaul kinds - This is a sure-fire way. Confirmed'unga. They swear by Quentin Tarantino. Quentin Tarantino is God. Problem is, only he is god (IMHO, he is also God, one among the trinity, but there are others, and there are Indians). Vishal Bhardwaj is just a cheap imitation. Indian movies suck. Period. Mani Ratnam was a good director. Indian cinema died after Nayagan. Variations include moving on to other international-language movies - French, Polish, Italian, etc. and revisiting all English classics from the '40s and '50s.
As far as readership is concerned, abstract philosophy is the in-thing. Richard Dawkins is widely-read.
The "NeenGa rOmbo nallavanga" types - Oh yes, another easy one. Since they are fitness conscious and are invariably good runners, they usually associate themselves with some charity fund like Asha and run to raise money. Then forward emails asking us to contribute. Incidentally, this led me to post this. :D
Forward-phobia - They are utmost forward-thinkers, but hate to forward and hate forwards. The rare forward that they do send will be screaming with "intellectualism". Easily you will be able to recognize it. And that is to show to us that - "Hey dho paaru, naan summa summa indha maadhiri sirippu mootradhukkum, podhu ariva valakkarthukkum forwards'laam anuppara type illa. Naan anupcha adhu unique'a irukkum (just like me)." You must assume you hear the sender say this when you get that once-in-a-blue-moon "intellectual" forward from someone. And foremost among the rare gems they send will include one from the previous category. If not for them, for their "intellectual" friend (obviously!).

Go to Part 3

Stereotyping the Contemporary Intellectual - 1

2009-09-23T11:53:00.001-05:00

For far too long, we have had stereotypes based only on caste, religion and gender. Though there are substantial reasons (at least) for some of those, we have found more reason to ridicule (rather unfairly) based on the stereotypes, without bothering to verify their accuracy (either way). One exception, though, is the stereotype of pseudo-secularists, which can be completely and wholly justified. So much so that sometimes, the stereotype of pseudo-secularists threatened to be their definitive characteristic, when along came someone to prevent that. Anyhow...

This post is definitely NOT meant to ridicule or offend the "intellectual" of today. Probably a satire, well...more a humorous observation by yours truly of some aspects which have been strikingly obvious...in "intellectuals", to me (of course). So whoever reads this, please take it with a pinch of salt (as with most of my other posts :D) and a generous dose of light-heartedness.

Since I am a middle-class South-Indian (MCSI), my observations predominantly pertain to middle-class South-Indian "intellectuals".However, a lot of these characteristics might as well be applicable to "intellectuals" from North India too.

Note: Henceforth, I will be referring to contemporary intellectuals as "intellectuals". ;-)
All set? Then let's go . . .

No longer middle class - The first thing that should strike you about them is that they are no longer middle class. Having been brought up in an essentially savings-based environment, where we used to think about each and every item before buying, that thought process no longer exists. Yes of course, they do opt for their Honda Civics and Mazda 3's compared to more expensive versions, but their concept of savings gets reduced to big expenses alone (unintentional irony). $1.99 milk ceases to hold relevance once they graduate and get a decent-paying job. Dollars, after all, start speaking, not Rupees. When you go for the $2.99 milk, you are paying just 1 dollar more, but that's a difference of 2 dollars effectively (saving one + losing one). What they lose sight of is the fact that saving the cents might not save much, but losing the savings will count.

Rejection of Religion: This, I have especially noticed in MCSI Brahmins. Well, probably educated Indians are moving towards atheism en masse, but nowhere can you observe this trait more prominently than in MCSI Brahmins in the USA. Accepted that there is more exposure to free thinking today, and more of us see more of what the world has and is made of, coming out of our closet. But that should encourage us to think inward, the more outward we go. Alas, our enlightenment is just outward. "Integral humanism" and "agnosticism" are other supplementary adjectives to describe their current mental set-up.

Photography Pultography: Yes, a must-have characteristic. Either they own an SLR camera or they talk about shooting brilliant pictures with varying angles of light, etc. Whether they really do take good pictures is a discussion best left for another time.

Lingo: I think a separate Urban Dictionary can be created for the words used by Intellectuals. Prominent among these words are - Dude, Junta, F***, No kiddin, Preeshiyet it, Honey, More F***, etc.

Kambeni: They generally surround themselves with studs from top schools. Agreed that most of the "intellectuals" are, themselves, from top schools, but in case they don't happen to be from one, they immediately catch hold of some who are and jab all mostly hi-funda stuff which generally falls under any one of the categories mentioned here.

Go to Part 2

A True Match

2009-09-14T14:24:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer: I totally am interested in an atmosphere of peace between India and China and seriously dont want war. So please read the post below knowing this, before you start accusing me of being narrow-minded and fight-mongering.

Nuclear wars are potta-thanam. I mean, seriously! One country will bomb somewhere in the other country'aam. Thousands (millions) will die. Call of war. The worst thing is that the place which was bombed would mostly be inhabited by people who have nothing to do with the war apart from being citizens of that country. What kind of war is this?
I dont know what/when the third world war is going to be, however, seeing how things have been heating up between India and China, nobody would exclaim shock if something like that happens. And given Admiral Suresh Mehta's fair assessment of our military capability vis-a-vis China's, I dont think India would stand a realistic chance in a proper current-day war.
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Which is why I have an alternative suggestion which is more evenly matched. What is the first thing that strikes your mind when you say evenly matched wrt India & China? Why, the population, of course! So here's what we should do - amass everyone you can on the border. It should be a proper Kurukshetra-range war - fight till death. Anybody and everybody should be at the border. The fighting methods should be hand-to-hand, swords, knives, guns and canons. That's it. No more modernity allowed. No air force. And humans should be used as canons. I strongly think we'd have a good chance then. Yes, China is still ahead population-wise, but apparently, we have more productive work-force. Besides, I should think we have more obese people than the Chinese. So use all these obese people as canons (only people, as I said earlier, no canon balls). Sumo wrestlers and all Japanese only, no? :D But yes, given their expertise in martial arts, maybe they retain the advantage again. But then, someone said Indians can mokka-pottufy better than Chinese. Ha! Beat that! Since English is the only language we can easily communicate within ourselves, we use English with them too. Then, bring in Russell Peters on the Indian side to kalaaichufy them.

I think we'll just about win.

Otta(i) Dhaanam

2009-09-10T11:55:00.001-05:00

I've tried to understand this funda, but somehow have never been able to figure it out. Seriously, what's this about charity runs/walks? I am happy to be seeing some form of charity/service to society/the underprivileged, etc. going on but I would be happier to see it with some sane reason, or at least, to be able to understand and appreciate the functioning of the system.
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Q. Running - Why do people run?
A. I started off by asking myself this question. Possible answers are that the person is a fitness freak who wants to keep himself/herself in good shape. Else, the person is an athlete who runs for a living. Then, possibly, people run for fun...just that running gives them a sense of liberation. Ok, this last set is probably quite less compared to the other two but let's just say they also contribute to running.
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Seri appo, when did this running thing get connected to charity? I figure out people somehow started gathering in groups for a charitable cause, to discuss about it or something, then some wise soul says "let's start running" and his/her company agrees to sponsor the group "run" because it gives them some kind of publicity (which, again, results in an indirect benefit for the company anyway :P). So this part is ok - corporates sponsoring runs primarily because they get some good coverage.
Somewhere, some bloke introduced this brilliant idea of individually contributing to someone's run. I also have squeezed my brain and eked out a possible reason - individuals contributing money to someone else's run acts as a motivation for the runner to run more and bring more money (for the charitable cause, obviously). But here's the thing - isn't this a kind of recursive loop which continues because of the last recursion? Nobody knows why the recursion started in the first place (for the Comp.Scientifically challenged - I give X money encouraging him/her to run for the good cause. X runs. Someone else gives money because X ran and is thinking of running again. X runs again. Some other someone else gives money to X. And it goes on...).
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IMHO, if you want to run (for whatever reason), RUN, for God's sake. And if you want to donate money for charity, DONATE. I should think a person who donates money for charity via a contribution to someone's run would anyway donate money to charity. Some XYZ running acts as a means for this person to donate, it isn't the stimulant or motivating factor for a person who was otherwise not going to donate any money, to donate money.
But mixing the two doesn't make sense. I mean it, really. Or at least, I can't figure it out.
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Unakku thala valicha naan mazhaila shoes'kku badhila seruppu pottundu enna prayojanam?
Obama'kku phone adicha naan saappadu saapttuttu sound'a yeppam vidaama irukkardhula enna sambandham?

Reminds me of this hilarious scene from Jillunu Oru Kadhal. :D
Yes, before you say it, I've also thought about Chaos Theory/Butterfly Effect-related reasons. But this explanation will not hold water because the theory holds good only for random events causing random effects...Like -

Unakku thala valiyoda Ranganathan Street'la you walking. Me also walking there for Karumbu Juice kudiching plus Thaayar Dairy Vadaam stocking. Suddenly rain coming. All of us running for shelter into Saravana "2-Rupee Samsa" Stores. Appo I accidentally stamp on your foot. You already in head-ache. Now rain. Plus me stamping on your foot. If shoes, your vali unbearable and you slap me. If slippers, I can just slip away because water everywhere and you didn't notice my kaal-midhithal.
I am holidaying in Hawaii and walking outside Obama's patti's house. Ange after a semma saappadu (Ok, imagination obviously) I loudly burp. Distracted by my burp, a taxi driver suddenly halts car. Crash. Accident. Secret Service agent from inside patti's house comes outside and takes me in for questioning seeing me at the site. Unearths my Chicago connection. I also belong to Shah Rukh Khan-land. I wear Veebudhi most of time => suicide-mission Anthrax-spreader possibility. Emergency. Call White House.

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You see? Ivlo kashta pattu I need to bring a connection to associate Running and Charity. Onnume Puriyaliye...Ada Pongappa.

Download Yaarukku Yaaro Songs!

2009-08-23T21:31:00.005-05:00

Yes, there are times when I've just wanted to listen to the songs on a music player. Really. Sam has got so embedded into my brain that just listening to the song brings his moves to my mind's eye. And while travelling sometimes, I feel I need something to cheer me up. Say when I'm down in the dumps while returning from work occasionally. Or simply when my code is not working at work, and I dont want to go to youtube.
Googling "Yaarukku Yaaro Songs" didn't really help apart from giving youtube links and the whole movie.

So for all ye folks out there, wanting to get Thala Sam onto your i-Pod or Media Player list, here's my humble contribution to our tribe.

After all, belonging to the esteemed first set of Yaarukku Yaaro watchers on the historic Jan 28, 2008 and having contributed (in whatever small measure) to spreading the joy of YY, I deem it a privilege to be able to do this.

Indulge! Enjoy! And ensure that you spread the word. Why deny the happiness to people? :-)

Anbaana Iraivan

Nenjam Magizhum Mayile

Raasaathi

(PS: I've included the last lines spoken by Dheeba and Thala before Thala breaks into a run and stuns us with that slo-mo rise from the bike on his orange shirt and cap :D)

Yaarukku Yaaro

What my Blog Counter tells me...

2009-08-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

My blog counter might mean one (or more) of the following things -

1. The Hindu Gods don't share a common network.
(or)
2. There are multiple Gods.
(or)
3. There are aliens.
(or)
4. God is an alien.
(or)
5. There are both aliens and God.

Any other possibilities?

MS in US Vs M Tech in India - an MS perspective

2009-08-10T09:47:00.000-05:00

A very pressing issue which, apparently, not too many people have ventured to explain. Even if they have, it doesn't hurt to have one more *opinion*, does it? Also, since I see that I haven't really blogged anything useful for others, and since I have been wanting to do this for a loooong time (3 years), and also since Karthik Raghavan inspired me to do it partially and also since I want to beat him to it (Ha!). For those needing guidance on admission to CS Master's in the Indian Institutes of Tech (IIT's in India), his posts are an excellent guide.
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Target Audience: Definitely not the studs from any of the IIT's, NIT's, CeG's and the like. Also, not for the studs from private colleges who've got loads of IEEE/ACM papers on their resume, apart from internships at DRDO, Microsoft, Google, etc. However, a little bit of perspective always helps, so in case you studs have come till here, there's no harm in walking the extra mile. This post is mainly meant for people like me who have wanted good education and are interested in studying & learning, but were unfortunately forced to make do with private colleges (and eventually realize that great careers can be carved out of humble beginnings also :D) for reasons ranging from sheer laziness to reservation to bad luck to "it's just too bad".
First, I will give you a little bit of my background so you can compare yourself with mine and make a more informed decision.
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My Background:
I did my BE(Computer Science & Engineering) from Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College, Anna University, passing out in 2006.
I wrote the CS GATE in 3rd year and got 87 percentile. I again wrote GATE in the final year and flunked badly. Not surprisingly, I did not prepare even a wee bit for either exam. Hence, deservedly, my 3rd year score was a fluke and my final year score was justice.
GRE - 1290/1600 (800 Quant + 490 Verbal) - September 2005. TOEFL was something like 285-290/300 same time. Again, I did not go for any coaching classes for GRE and preparation was very limited. My BE Aggregate was 76% and I had a few local papers. Note that despite my keen interest in Computer Science research, I did not do any proper research on any one field - started off with Neural Networks & Fuzzy Logic, changed to Networks, Chaos Theory and finally settled in Game Theory. So much for not knowing one's interest. :P
My MS applications:
I applied to the following 7 universities for doing MS -

Purdue University, West Lafayette
Washington University at St.Louis
Duke University
University of Cincinnati
University of Rochester
University of Chicago
Illinois Institute of Technology

Needless to say, I was being very over-ambitious (something I didn't realize back then) and ended up getting only 1 admit - at Illinois Institute of Tech. I also had a job offer at Hexaware Technologies and that could possibly have been another reason for my lacklustre performance in the GRE. So I came to IIT-Chicago, did my MS without any research or specialization, graduated and am working now as a Software Engineer in the financial industry. I was quite interested in researching here and doing a thesis, but that would mean I had to extend my graduation. I had seen enough of life here and decided I wanted to graduate asap, find a job, make some money, get some good experience and shoot back home. Hence, I decided to go with the non-thesis option - just did my coursework, did a couple of internships and found myself a decent job here.

Facts at a Glance:

Time - Anywhere from 1.5 years to 3+ years. Usually, it takes about 2 years.

Money - If you are funded, you can start sending money to your parents within a year. If you are not funded, you might need anywhere from 12 lakhs to 30 lakhs. Typically, inclusive of your monthly expenses, your total expenses for the duration will be about 20 lakhs.
Again, this depends mainly on the type of university (private or state) and location.

On Campus Jobs - DONT TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED. While there are lots of universities where you can quite easily get monthly-paid on-campus jobs, but in a lot of universities, even this is very difficult. A lot of Indian students sadly have to resort to working illegally in departmental stores, restaurants, etc.

Jobs after Graduating - Again, very subjective. But this doesn't come easy. If you dont have good contacts and you aren't lucky, you have to work very very hard (in the other case, you just need to work very hard :D).

On your India-centric Love-live, Relationships, Cultural Degradation, etc. - No comments. :D

Why one should opt for MS in US over M Tech in India -

(Surely) International Education - Studying in the US does definitely give you a wider feel. It makes you feel global. You meet tons of new people, from different backgrounds and cultures. Education-wise, there is a wider exposure. You have tremendously more options available. Technology-wise, despite all claims of India being a rising superpower, we will have to admit that even mediocre universities in the US offer you great facilities for studying. That said, you must also realize that as far as brains are concerned, there are equally good (if not better) people (meaning Professors and Research Advisors) available in India. Yes, the options are lesser and the number of such people is also lesser, but there are great professors back in India.
(Possibly) Initial Poverty followed by Bigger Bucks - There could hardly be anyone currently in the US who will say that of all the reasons (s)he came here, money wasn't one.
Yes, the degree of importance will vary. There are two lives here -
1. Fully/Partially Funded - Typically state universities or very good private universities, you will not have to worry about a majority of your educational expenses, just your monthly needs will have to be met by you. Your funding might either be because you are a Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, or simply work on campus for which the univ waives your fees.
2. Slog yourself/Rely on Loan - Mostly the case with applicants to private universities/mediocre state universities. You will mostly work on any one of a zillion jobs "on campus", or in the sadder case, work off-campus (illegally), and scrum for your monthly expenses. If you're lucky enough, you'll save some money for your 3rd semester after working in the summer, otherwise you have to be prepared to shell out the bucks.
(I belonged to the latter kind :D).
Towards the end of your Master's, things become more intense. If you're good enough and/or you have good contacts and/or you are plain lucky, you will land a decent enough job and from then on, things are usually rosy (excuse the current economy :D), well, at least till this. Without a job, however, you are forced to resort to third-grade options depending on how desperate you are. I will refrain from elaborating on such forgettable options now.
(Surely) Travel - If you're lucky enough to have money (either because you're funded, got an internship or are simply rich), there are a million places to see here in the US. And the best way to explore all these places is as a student. You have time, you have the energy, and you're lucky if you have the money.
(Highly likely) Inability to get into any of the top schools in India - I may be wrong, but as far as I know, the places worth doing a Master's, *irrespective of any question* are any of the IIT's, IISc, TIFR, IIIT and a few other lesser-known ones. You can enter these universities without a second thought, basically, for a Master's (unless of course you have personal issues like research, location, etc.), the same cannot be said of the other private institutions. Yes, there will always be brilliant people or exceptions from the second-rung PG-granting institutions, but on a broader scale, they are no match for the facilities offered by US universities.
(Possibly) Settling down in the US - I'm not sure how many such people exist, but I know of a large number with this inclination. Coming to the US as a student is the best way to come here and settle down (provided you are willing to work hard enough and are not jinxed enough). Despite my antagonism, material life in US is not matched in India, at least among the middle class.

My reasons for coming to the US for MS -

I was not good enough to get into any of the IIT's/IISc/TIFR.
I had been living for 21 years with my parents. I wanted to go outside and get a feel of the real world, away from parents' comfort. This, in a way, also helped me test myself and my character. How much I would be prone to change, lose myself, etc. Anyhow, unrelated.
Craze. Much as I hate to admit it, this craze which people have for going to America and studying affected me, even though I did not have much of it.
No viable alternatives - I wanted to study more, and felt my BE was inadequate. My only option then was working in Hexaware, and I felt I had to do MS because I wanted to study.

I know I have spoken a lot about my background than going in detail about life here. This is because I want to analogize our lives (yes... you and me) to a binary tree. We start off from the same root and then branch off into sub-trees and recursively diverge until (one of) our lives end. Instead of trying to cover all possible sub-trees and giving you a very vague picture, I've tried to explain in detail, the sub-tree that my life has been, so far. Since I've clearly mentioned my roots, you will be able to better identify which way your sub-trees might branch out.
Hence, in case you are looking for more information, feel free to contact me, I will definitely try to help you out with more specific queries.

Of Pulli Raja, Arjun's mom, P=NP? and my marriage...

2009-07-29T09:06:00.006-05:00

Please excuse me for overhyping the life of an ordinary guy like me by comparing something in my life with celebrity issues like Pulli Raja, Arjun'oda amma and P=NP, but I couldn't resist it, because it just described the scenario perfectly.
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My former room-mate Amit and I were returning the rental car after a whirlwind 1-day trip to the Niagara Falls when we felt that 1 day is enough to see the main attractions there. That's when I quipped (needlessly, in retrospection :P) that though 1 day would suffice just to see the main attractions there, it would, nevertheless, be enjoyable to spend 2-3 days just ambling around with one's girl (after marriage, obviously). I kind of semi-drifted into a romantic setting, imagining (myself or someone else, not sure) the guy walking with the girl, his hand lightly on her shoulders and both just close enough to feel the scent of the other, the guy feeling the girl's hair's fragrance (this makes me positively think I might be the guy {I have always been fascinated by penngalin koondhal, though I have never really had the opportunity to smell anyone's or had the cinematic experience of a girl's menmaiyaana koondhal brushing past my face}, esp. ever since knowing why Nakkeerar was burnt with the Lord's third Eye).
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Well of course, I'm a 10% Ram Sena-type and would obviously get just about close with my wife in public, whether the place be Nandanam Signal or Niagara Falls, I especially detest the kaiya-pudichu-squeezing, thol-mela-saanjindu-irukki-pudichukkara type, which Surya so classically kalaaichufies in Mounam Pesiyadhe. So when I told all this to Amit, he looked at me, positively startled and asked - "Kya tujhe ye sab karne ki iccha hai kya?" Meaning, "Oh, so you are interested in doing such things is it?" Though I have a fairly good grasp of Hindi, I didn't get what he asked me for an instant, but recovered and replied that of course, I too was a ~~normal~~ Pulsar and would like to do "such things". He smirked and said, "Bhai, if you have such lofty ambitions, it's time you get started with the hunt pretty soon. Going by who you are and how you are, either you should perform a search as incredible as Google*Bing*Yahoo or radically reduce the imaginations of your (pipe) dreams." Ok, not in those same words, but something to that extent. (Incidentally, though we had gone to the Falls with my parents as well, I told him this when they weren't in the car, so that spared me a few blushes. :P)
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That's when I realized how badly I have scared people around me about myself. And going by the way things appear to be going, a peek into the future took me well into the past - for no surprising reason, I think I will, if and when I marry, have the reaction that that bloke from Chinna Thambi has, when he is being taken to marry Prabhu's mom, shouting "Enakku Kalyanam...Enakku Kalyanam." I couldn't help, but laugh at myself. :D

My Comment in Senthil's Blog Post on Conversion

2009-07-27T12:49:00.007-05:00

Here is Senthil's actual post - http://psenthilraja.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/conversion-destroys-religious-harmony-by-swami-dayananda-saraswathi
Realized that my comment was as good as a post, hence posting it here.
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Much as I disagree with Priya Raju's stance on Hinduism/Brahminism, it must be said that she raises *some* valid points.
Also, even though most of her comments/writings seem fiercely (exclusively) anti-Hindu, I would like to think what she is doing is pointing out our recently-evolved-fallacies to those of us who claim the Sainthood and blemishlessness of Hinduism. I think and hope she would do the same to other religions too, irrespective of whether they (I refer primarily to the Abrahamic ones) claim purity/innocence/blemishlessness because it is obvious that of all the major religions, Hinduism (the "religion" that has sadly come to represent the gloriously more meaningful way of life that Sanatana Dharma is) is easily the least anti-other-religions (if it is, at all).
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Anyhow, coming to conversions - all the while, a lot of us here have been looking at the evil that conversion is, from the converter's point of view and have been using the "it is evil to convert another for money...if you help the needy, help them unconditionally, without any prerequisites" refrain. Priya seems to have been looking at the other side - from the converted person's point of view, and I don't really see anyone having addressed that concern effectively. If you are in absolute dire need, with no means for survival, what would you do if someone offered a helping hand with a "minor" catch - changing your religion? (I specifically address this wrt to conversion from Hinduism-->Other religions because I am unaware of cases where poor people originally from other religions have been converted to Hinduism for money {Yes, we Hindus are 'poor' people today :D}). Why I say 'minor' is because of how few of us actually understand Hinduism today. Life is much simpler today, you can lead a perfectly comfortable life without associating any aspect of religion to it (it is a different matter that it is highly unlikely that your quest for inner peace will be satisfied by not following/understanding/knowing about Sanatana Dharma or something like it {if there is something else as insightful...}). And the concept of "inner peace" is something people don't really know about, as well, so few care for it.
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Another issue is this - since we know this is Kali Yuga, we should know that bad actions have a higher probability of being a sure event, compared to good ones. In today's world, money is the end-all for most. And to acquire money, people are ready to do most things unthinkable in earlier times. Also, we need to realize that in today's world, money is mostly given by the rich to the poor to do 'bad' things, compared to for doing 'good' things. How many people today would give money to someone to be truthful or honest? Who would give money to a drunkard to stop drinking? I had, after seeing many Indian movies based on corruption as a child, (in the hypothetical situation that I become one of "those" rich people :D) often thought of giving money to officials to 'not accept' bribes, then realized, much to my chagrin, that my action would, again, in a sense, be bribing (to prevent bribing :P). Effectively, conversion for money is, as someone already said, quite analogous to prostitution. Yes, there is one difference in that conversion for inner-peace is possible, but I'm not sure if there are people indulging in prostitution for inner peace or seeking "higher" meaning in life. Then again, an informed person in the right circumstances would realize that you don't need to convert to follow meaningful practises (whichever religion it may be).
What I humbly feel is - most of today's Hindus dont really feel much about their religion in an informed sense (they are either Hindus just because they were born as one {easier prey for conversion} or the Ram Sene types, who are crazy about it because they just happen to believe in it {without correctly knowing why} and who want to be proud of their religion because there are others who are proud of theirs). The few truly informed Hindus are either blissfully involved in service to mankind (not Hindus alone) or serve as guiding light to a few genuinely interested seekers, often unfortunately having to share the "Guru"/"Swami" status with more dubious characters. The easy prey that are born Hindus are -
1) Spineless & gutless, and since they obviously dont belong to the informed category of Hindus, they have no reason to stick around when offered a better alternative. Again, it's Kali Yuga, and a majority of mankind (and quite a few Hindus) belong to this category - do anything it takes for money. And if they are not spineless or gutless
2) they sadly fall under the category of "poor". Unless the "poor" happens to be an intellectual Mahatma (meaning Great soul, not MK Gandhi) wrt Hinduism, there is no reason why he/she shouldn't take the money and convert, because it is a question of survival - after all, this is Bhuloka and in Kali Yuga, doesn't life take precedence over Dharma? And we really can't blame the poor for converting under distress with the lure of money.
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IMHO, if at all we intend to stop conversion, we need to try doing something like the good work Swami Lakshmanananda did, in uplifting the tribal people in Orissa (I specifically mention good because I don't want to get into any argument with the [pseudo] secular types on any -ve accusations they might have against the Swamiji, like inciting communal violence, etc). Asking the evangelists to stop, I feel, is not going to be of much use because -
a. They are unreasonable people. Period. Their single-minded agenda is conversion, they will not stop at anything else. Asking them to stop is like asking the customers of prostitutes to stop having sexual feelings. It's not going to happen. Or you should have more power/money than them and force them to stop their conversion or convert them. (Joke :P)
b. We won't be addressing the root cause. As true Hindus, it is our duty to uplift the downtrodden and give them a chance in society. Whether the caste system was good or bad, I will not get into that argument now. We know for sure that the system is not going to work now. Besides, there is too much divisiveness & discrimination associated with it (wrongly). The only way to get out is making the "lesser castes" not feel lesser. And if there is financial trouble, help them eke out a living, don't give them money.
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Wrt Brahmins being strong-minded enough not to fall prey to conversion, again, IMHO, I think that's sadly not the case. Yes, the %age of Brahmin converts may be less, but that is more due to their smart-ass'ness (courtesy history) than strong-mindedness. The Brahmin of my generation (I am 24) is no more knowledgeable than the "supposedly" less knowledgeable Shudra of ancient times. Most of today's Brahmins are fit for nothing more than being software engineers who code, guzzle down beer and see what's the best price to buy a flat in Malleshwaram/ECR or whether Bay Area is better than New Jersey to settle down. And among all the atheists/agnostics of all religions in the world, it's the Brahmins (Tam-Brahms, esp.) who question and mock at their own practices most. This is another thing I noticed - while atheists of other religions don't restrict their criticism to their former religion alone, most "Hindu" atheists somehow seem to have their scorn, sarcasm and criticism exclusively reserved for Hinduism alone. Beats me why.
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To answer another question, though I disagree with a lot of ISKCON's teachings & practices, ISKCON conversions are at least more dignified than Evangelism in that they don't take advantage of someone's suffering. Their "conversion" (for want of a better word) addresses the mind rather than the financial status of a person, which is, IMHO, definitely more honourable.
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I have made quite a few generalizations (not sweeping) in what I've written above. There are, as always exceptions, but most of what I've written is from what I've observed around me.
Apologies if I have said anything wrong or offended anyone, absolutely no intentions to do so. Just interested in constructive conversations to correctly understand, preserve and enhance Sanatana Dharma. :)

A Purple Haze

2009-07-23T09:44:00.003-05:00

Haritha first introduced me to this phrase in her comment on one of my posts. Ever since, I've been quite taken in by the word. I didn't know what the word meant when I read her comment, but I could sort of figure out what she meant. Oddly, I did not google (or should we say Bing?) the phrase or ask her for explanation. It seemed self-explanatory. Till date, I really don't know the exact meaning of the same. But the phrase is interesting. Not in the sense that it sounds wacky or is fundoo or that it's got a bright colour associated with it, but just what it conveys. Of late, a lot of things I see around me remind me of this phrase.
A few incidents which reminded me of "Purple Haze" -
>> A dog on a walk with its master meets another dog on its walk with its master and both immediately start bonding/coochie-cooing like they've been friends/'items' for years.
>> A discussion on inter-caste marriage with a friend of mine.
>> My mom saying I was difficult.
>> A look at the plain bluish white sky above.
>> A news item about an African American guy shooting a 10 year-old child.

To me, the word conveys the unimaginable and difficult menagerie that the world has become, today.
In a sense, I am reminded of one particular scene in "Independence Day", when one of Halle Berry's friends goes to the roof of her building and, seeing the giant space ship above, thinks it is something exciting and good (well, not bad at least) and screams and waves, while, in reality, the space ship was an agent of human destruction.
Only, in our case, a purple haze stands for something which, unlike the space ship, can be good, bad, ugly, dangerous, sad, nothing and we are just excited, with or without happiness, sorrow, anger, disappointment or contentment, because of what it appears, and because of what we have all become.
What we see is bright and exciting, but unclear what it may be. It can be anything (it is, eventually, nothing). Everyone sees it and feels something (or nothing).
Whether I have got the purple haze right or not, the phrase has given me an additional perspective to life.
And until I am able to see clearly through the colour into what it actually is, I will remain unclear about the nuclear agreement which Singhji signed.

If I were you...

2009-07-07T12:10:00.004-05:00

Another nagging-for-some-time-now issue at the back of my mind is this usage of "If I were you, I'd do/not do this/that" for a simple suggestion/advice you ask someone. I started noticing this only with some American colleagues but then realized most of us Indians here have adopted that too.
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Why can't people just say do this or do that if we ask them something. I mean, if you are so wary about being blamed for directly telling the asker to do something he/she might later blame you for, you have a perfectly valid reason for saying whatever you said, because it was the asker who asked you what he/she should do, which is why you told him/her whatever you did.
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It is quite possible that I am being this ultra-sensitive, touchy kind of character but, frankly, when someone tells me - "If I were you, I'd buy this", it gives me this slippery kind of feeling - as if the person is trying to be a diplomatic smart-ass and trying to nazhuvify from what they said. Ok, I have no right to complain or grumble when an American speaks to me this way - it's how he (since there is no she) has been speaking all his life. If I were to complain about this, then I would start complaining about his accent, etc. Not happening. Not fair, since I don't know if our way is the correct way to say it. But when fellow Indians, that too, really close friends from home speak to me in the same way, I am forced to resort to blogging. [:D]
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Please don't blame me for being this nitpicky maamiyaarish eternally-kutham-kandupudichufying character. Yes, I do find it irritating when Desis here use "Sounds good" for any (absolutely ANY) kind of plan/idea/agreement, etc. if it's ok or "I'm not sure if that's going to work out" for anything not ok, "Preeshiyate it" for any help done (Who is Preeshi? What did she eat?). Yes, I understand it's a decent polite way of saying yes/no but to me, this decency seems artificial, that too, within friends. But then, I'm not blogging about that, am I? [;)]
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First of all, the statement is logically flawed. Whenever someone says "If I were you..." the remainder of the statement ceases to hold any significance. Why - because you are not me, you just are NOT me. Then why in the world would either you or me be bothered about what you would be doing if you were me?
CBM - A straightforward statement like "Machi, do this da" or "I think this would be a better option for you" sounds so much more reassuring than an "I would if I were you" statement. I agree that the part "If I were you" gives us the impression that the other person was trying to put himself in our shoes, but when we realize next second that the other person is not us, it sounds much less confident. I understand that "If I were you" is synonymous with "If I were in your situation", which is more realistic, nevertheless, it still is not as confidence-building as "This is the better option."
More logical flaw - Ok, you are not me. But, even if we could somehow imagine you being me, how and when can you define that you are actually me? Do circumstances (the oft-quoted sandarbha-soozhnelaigal from Tamil Cinema) define a person or is it his opinions or is it his appearance? Or is it his name?

Consider the following conversation -

Tring Tring Tring Tring...

Obama - Hello Yaar Pesardhu?
Osama - Nee dhaan da pesare.
Obama - Ada...'S'aanavane...Wassup dude?
Osama - (Smirking) I see old habits die hard...oru 'B'ya vechu enna aattam aattare?
Obama - Don't say that. You are trying to suppress and oppress and
depress the view of the American.
Osama - Hayyo Hayyo. Anyways, I've been hiding for some time now.
Bored. Want to come out with a bang. Any idea where I can start?
Obama - Dude, we're already screwed. If I were you, I'd go for China.
Osama - Hey B, good one. There's something brewing in Uighur too. Let
me check that out. Sounds good. Preeshiyet it.
Obama - Chao then. Take care buddy. Catch you later.

You see? Obama isn't Osama and even if he was Osama, he needn't necessarily do what Osama would want to do, nor what is good for Osama.
That's what I'm trying to say. Catch my point?
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PS: Sorry Anand, you started it. [:D]