A Distant Dream From Frozen Memory

A thousand thoughts;

Not a single grounded.

A hundred dreams;

Not one anchored.

Floating like a feather yet

heavy as the anvil,

He stops to turn; to turn, to watch those lonely footprints 

in grains of memories wash away, with every gulping wave by the sea.

Amidst the restless waters and washed away traces,

images still in absolute resolute remains.

Passion vibrant and only known to he who sees,

though silent, still calm, triumphant over ruthless waves, slaveless it frees...

Dummies Guide to Win a Nobel Prize

Year 2009: Obama wins the Nobel "Peace" Prize and says he is "humbled" while a few chuckled and called it a "blunder"; yet, the optimists hushed the few cynics and asked them to wait and watch the difference he would make. 

And then...

Total 7: Number of countries attacked by the US during Obama's reign (so far) that includes: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Syria

640 billion US$: Annual military expenditure of the US and that is just a staggering 39% of the total military expense of the world 

"I am really good at killing people" brags none other than Obama during the 2012 presidential campaign on his experiments with drones

Between Year 620 to 560 BC: Greek Fabulist Aesop writes in 'The Milkmaid and Her Pail', "Ah, my child," said the mother, "Do not count your chickens before they are hatched."

2014 (again): A few of US us are (still) laughing at the one's who give away those Nobel Prizes; and "hey Nobel guys, if you are listening, just keep one for Idi Amin, one for me and one for my Dad too if you have plenty of those." 

The Three Wise Men

These are days when we look around in dismay at politics, our politicians who can't be seen separate(d) from it and the political scenario in tote; the only politicians available today, fit snugly into the definition of politics when "poly" means 'many' and "tics" means 'a blood sucking parasite'. We hardly have a chance to make any sensible choice these days in a situation where in the name of majority sensible wishes just get heaped beneath a pile of less chosen minorities. Perhaps Pareto Principle works well here according to Murphy's Law for what must go wrong, to go wrong. Yet, yester-years did see some legends whose dedicated work of selflessness has given us a political foundation strong enough on which today's wobbly structure though shaky and weak still manages to carry on. These Three Men I present are very simple people who led a simple life with high thinking and why, oh why, I wonder don't we have people like this anymore...

Ex-CM of TN, Arignar Annadurai, was known for his literary intelligence and classing it up a bit. There are umpteen stories about instances when he delivered his mettle and this is my favourite: Once a kid when offered a candy, looked at Arignar and told him as a matter of fact, "Did you know Sir, that 'sugar' is the only word in English where 'S' is pronounced as 'Shu'?! Our man turned to the kid and without missing a moment asked, "Are you 'Sure'?! smiled and walked on having made his point...

Incidentally, his funeral entered the Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest number of attendees, a 15 million plus.

A rebel, a Communist and a legend, he holds the record for being the longest serving CM from 1977 to 2000 (23 plus years) until his retirement due to ill health; Mr. Jyoti Basu, one of the most loved politician from West Bengal, like in life, a giver, mentioned that his body even after death should be useful for the nation and pledged his body for medical research.

At a time when hideous masks of people who took one Rupee as salary is revealed as we sink our heads in shame, geniuses like this, leave this world literally giving their all and much, much more and above all a legacy of a good life to talk about with pride for the rest of us for a change... Laal Salaam!

Though a school dropout owing to poverty, he became the first to introduce the 'Mid-day meal scheme' so that lakhs of children attending school may have a decent meal atleast once a day; further, he initiated the distribution of free uniforms in schools so that children may learn without any class discrimination based upon the clothes they wear. Even the IIT in the state was introduced during his reign as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Even after being a CM for 9 years he was known as an extremely simple man full of integrity; after his death in 1975, all that he left behind was 130 rupees, 2 pairs of sandals, 4 shirts, 4 dhotis and a collection of books; yet, he has a a road in Chennai and another in Bangalore, the domestic airport in Chennai and an university in Madurai named after him; he was also awarded the Bharath Ratna in 1976. It is both refreshing and a delight to know that the people of my place (Nagercoil) voted him to power in their constituency during his last tenure; Mr. Kumarasami Kamaraj a.k.a the King-maker, will stand undefeated if he stands an election even today and will always remain victorious in our hearts...

The Unconquered

This poem, Invictus (The unconquered) from the late nineteenth century by William Earnest Henley, is supposed to be Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's favourite that kept him going while in the prison in Robben Island. This is a Man who spent 27 years of his life in dingy cells and hard labour, (when many of us would have cracked), just because he stood up for what he considered right. And well, he was.and he is...
May his soul R.I.P. 

A letter from a humble(d) Indian

Dear Rest of the World,

Its been a while I have been wanting to write to you. Been a while since I have been noticing how as one huge community in general, we belittle what we feel doesn't belong to us so much so that we take it for granted, like the ecology for instance and preserve and invest on what we think we owe like the economy for instance. Well, I intended to write not about the too-much-spoken already universal obvious yet a specific issue that bothers me from within the territorial borders of restrictions.

As a country, I have always witnessed that we export the the best of what we have; the best food we produce-grains, fruits, vegetables, butter and cream and what not?! Even the best fish we catch along our coasts we have always given you. Even at times when we gape with hapless awe at the size and quality of what is being caught, packed and boxed to be sent fresh, clean and as quick as possible to you, as we gather the left behind stray from rotting warehouses that we are expected to happy with or perhaps what our merchants consider us worthy of, we are happy for you. We take extra care in stitching the clothes, refining the sugar, tanning the leather, polishing those metals, stones you consider precious, sculptures and everything that you need or care with extra shine before we pack and send it across for you to hold and stare. Look around... even people we send from here are some of the best we had; the doctor, the nurse, the engineer, the teacher, the techie, the dancer, the musician, the singer, the clown, the scientist, the economist, the accountant, the writer, the people and every other professional now working for you. We have always been the slaves you wanted us to be; and you, we are made to consider our masters. Even the money made by hook and crook in our land, we have given it up to be stored in your land. We have even sat close and watched numbing pain, our people starve and even die as we loaded containers to fill your barracks; we smile even then and give you only the best... may be it is natural for us to do that cos our elders taught us so-to give the best we have to others even if it means to take the least of what is left for ourselves.

Well, when there is so much we do to take care of you like a pre-conditioned obligation of reminiscent master-worship by a slave, why in return do you always, every time you get a chance to sign a deal with us, extend a lousy hand?! Discarded cars rotting in your garage, poultry stinking in your cold storage, genetically modified seeds and fertilizers that kill our land, nuclear plants, poisonous gas, unreliable weapons for defense and unnecessary offence, even those pretentious food, drinks and people you send we near with dire suspicion. You send the illness and then too late the cure-both at equal costs we bear, you even chose to export your nuclear waste you consider too dangerous for you to be dumped in our coastal land... Why, oh why do you do this to us?! Godless people are you and heartless too; is it that your founding father's didn't teach you well?!

Get well soon I sincerely pray...

 A humble(d) Indian.

For The Lives Lost

Quick fact sheet of Tamil Nadu:

Total population of the state: 7.21 crores

Total number of death per day: 1501.26 per day (@ 7.6 crude death rate)

Additionally, thanks to the welfare state's contribution and continuous supply of alcohol to its people through its welfare initiative called TASMAC that plays a vital hand in keeping the (un)expected cause of death quite high:

Total number of people who die due to accidents per day in TN: 44.3 (Highest in India)

Total number of people who commit suicide per day in TN: 45.48 (Second highest in India)

Total number of people who are murdered per day in the state: 3.94

Thus, total number of people dying anyway per day in TN: 1594.98

Incidentally, TASMAC revenue crosses Rs. 21680.67 crores annually and TN happens to be the state that consumes the most amount of alcohol. What else then can one expect from a drunk population from a welfare state where its government considers it a moral obligation to supply alcohol to its people?!

Kudimaganae... 

Ahahaaa... 

Perungudi maganae.. aee... 

Naan kodukkattumaa.. adhai unakku 

koduththu edukkattumaa.. konjam enakku...

Love on Facebook

People say all sort of things in the virtual world knowing that they get people to listen even if they don't accomplish that in the real world; they also seem to often forget and get carried away and at times manipulate knowing this fact. 

One day they announce that they are in love with someone, the next day they are head over heals in love with this one and let the world know it so loud that I wonder if they are checking if the world feels the same way about the person they are with ("Baaah! NO! the one you have chosen looks like an electrocuted crow to me if my honest comment does matter to you"); then the next week some more photos of them in tight embrace and when all these happen, I know that soon one can expect, "Oh my God! Never trust humans. They cheat, you know... blah, blah and blah..." (like they will change or probably they want us to think that dating a slimy green alien is their next plan). Then some more photos of them hanging out with more than one person of the opposite sex; doing stuff that perhaps they sacrificed for a while for the heck of the previous relationship-virtues like drinking, smoking, and anything else that end with a '....king'; this is the phase that humans recall as the 'let-me-stir-some-jealousy' in a desperation mode. More frustration and abuse follows about the person (they so far were madly in love with in an eternal relationship) on updates and then some clearance of their old notes and pics and presto! time for a new beginning. And, life goes on...

These patterns are way too obviously predictable and hence boring. Some of these relationships begin and end in Facebook updates and often exist just for these update's sake. 

Get well soon people! or atleast stop manipulating. Not every one watching is a fool. Duh!

On Sex, Women etc.

Three thoughts just crossed my mind...

1. On Sex: There are reports from India that state that religious groups as well as the ministry of health are for deliberating constraint in introducing decent levels of acceptable sex education in school and choosing abstinence over promoting condoms. (As usual), there is supposed unrest amongst some of the elite members of the civil society who are bold enough to reprimand this loud and clear and their jingling ensured to be heard within the limits of spaces they find comfortable and absolutely safe and hardly anywhere beyond the coffee tables where these discussions take place. Either way, there is noise regarding this factor always doing its rounds.
A few celebrities, who take time to speak something sensible and though provoking (once in a great while) on this issue mention that, humans think of sex quite frequently because evolution constantly compels them to be creative. The moment an Indian hops on to this delicious topic, s/he/it can't resist bringing in the concept of the Kamasutra like it was his/her/it's birthright to talk about it even if s/he/it has not seen a single page from it... duh! fyi, the Kamasutra maybe a handy book and is not a hand-book for sex for Indians and we all don't abide or a-bed by it. During one seminar on sex, I remember a person in the panel (who happened to be gay,) when asked by someone from the audience whether they use condoms during the act, reply without haste, "Would you eat the chocolate with the wrapper?!" Golden thoughts like these do emerge once in a while, still amidst these chuckles and often visualization, man and woman, both, ideally fantasize a good amount of their share of this creative world if thats the least they can do when they can't indulge. 
Whether the restrainers want to prevent or the liberals want laissez-faire, either way once again, whether personally one wants to refrain or indulge, humans just don't seem to find it easy to get the thought of sex out of their head (and their beds).

2. On Ugly: Of late I have been reading and viewing some terrifically horrific stories and images of unbelievable and unacceptable violence. This ranges from boko haram slicing heads of people they think are bringing in an aped-culture, bodo militants on the rampage, 10-year-old kids torturing a 3-year old child to death, maids abusing children left to their care of busy-parents who are too occupied to take care of them, gun-crazy kids turning their dad's weapon on children who would return that evening in a coffin to their parents, military abusing and stripping women in the name of searching them, raping them later and labeling anyone who resents or dissents this as 'grave internal threats and/or terrorists', war criminals who have shattered peace and harmony of thousands of families and an entire country being invited and treated with reverence by their more hideous neighbours... and all sorts of violence in the form of speech from religious to political pulpits and the irresponsible action that follows therewith and the one's who walk around without the slightest clue of these things happening around the world or perhaps don't care a damn even if they do. Life is cruel, evil and wicked too...    

3. On Women: Listening to the kind of complaints women have especially (during and after and before) pregnancy, is it just me or is there anyone else out there who thinks that they deserve better treatment(?!) Homes are ill-equipped to cater to their "needs"; they sure deserve a reservation to check into the nearest mental health clinic for better treatment to reach them... Some (most), at times, most times, don't deserve to be at home. 

p.s: Just noticed, its my thought about sex that seems to have consumed a lot of space in this post. No wonder they say, "Intelligence is anything that a Man thinks besides sex." No wonder...   

The Open Casket

There has been a lot of catching up to do w.r.t NEWS which after catching up, I'd rather not have bothered catching up in the first place. 

Bangalore has a hint of gloom all the time with the ghosts of the unnecessarily dead hanging around all the time and increasing day by day; some (esp. my wife) think it is not so. Just take these stats: 

1. Over 10 people have committed suicide int he city alone in the past 24hrs. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Techie-hangs-self/articleshow/36569300.cms
2. Elderly abuse doubles and guess which city tops the list?! WooHoo(t)! Bangalore, yet again! Is there a need for a better stats to prove the culture of a place than what they say, is known by the way it treats its elders? Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140616/nation-crime/article/elder-abuse-doubles-1-year 

3. Based on last year's report, the city tops the list in the number of robbery and dacoity cases registered in the country, it also stood second in the number of reported cases of rape, kidnap and murder. Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/bangalore-second-in-crime-rate-in-country/article4816838.ece 

4. Then about the way this so called "civilized and progressive" city treats the vulnerable, the known, accounted and well-covered Meghala's death last year (AD 2013) should be good enough for a hint of the miserable ground reality. Source: http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/aged-6-weighing-12kg-she-dies-a-quiet-death 

5. Adding to this, over 200 garbage trucks return raising the stench in the already stinky city existing on false pride quite significantly. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Mandur-blocks-roads-200-trash-trucks-return/articleshow/36630985.cms 

This can go on and on and on... and I will still have another day's work to account the facts of this miserable place with absolutely no work ethics, values or the slightest trace of decency perhaps, that is why they try to drown these too in the viral pubs in the city with along with other miseries as well. To be honest, living in this place is like slipping into quicksand with leeches stuck to every part of the body as someone with a rehearsed-plastic-smile stands over you screwing a drill right into the centre of your head and well, gets paid to do that job and gets an extra bonus with a tip for holding the smile too. Here anything chaltha hai and I love this place like a prostitute loves the cops and I wish I had come here dead as I know I will never get out of here alive... 

Bangalore hates me and well, the feeling is nevertheless mutual. R.i.P. and so will I... 

An Antidote To Rape

Looking out of the car window while driving past the metropolitan whilst contemplating on the several posts in the internet that calls the country and its people "a bunch of prowling rapists who misbehave with anyone and everyone... a rape country," I looked around and watched people move free with short clothes that flew higher with stronger winds and viola! I had a strong feeling and wondered if the "dress" is what is to be actually blamed for rape being on the rise these days as everyone in the television, on the internet, the sidewalk and upon the tea-stall benches have been seriously concluding. Well yeah, everyone has been saying it and suddenly it hit me too... its all because of the clothes one wears that incidents of rape has been shooting up in my country. Why don't we all just agree?! 

Look at the men, all the bold, old and ugly alike, dangling their freedom in their boxers, some stopping to spray the electric post with the flick of their wrist that pulls their state-of-art pajamas down at their will and those satans of earth strolling around in their pink lungis... this is it! this is precisely the reason for rape as every tom, Dick, prick and harry have been talking about... the dress code that makes it easy for men to rape so conveniently. Perhaps men who see women as mobile targets must be forced to dress in layers and layers of clothing that will restrict their access to their free will(y) till a point where he can hardly get out when aroused nevertheless spray a post at his will. The world will surely be a safer and a much cleaner place to live in. 

Yeah right, its all in the clothes. All one's got to do is turn the tables now... right?!