Onam's here!

Finally, Onam 2011 is here.

Tomorrow's the famed 'Uthrada paachil' - a euphemism for the mallu's last minute scramble to have all the things associated with the celebrations in place, by making a quick visit to the market for last minute purchases! Tomorrow's the first day of Onam viz. Uthradom - known by the star as per the Malayalam calendar and on Friday is 'Thiruvonam', the highlight and the most important day of the many!

Being in Kerala at this period of time, after a long lapse, I've told myself that I'd be a keen observer of every minute thing that happens in the name of this wonderful festival that's celebrated by every Malayalee, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. However, the prevalent enthusiasm has been so infectious that it has pulled me into its vortex with consummate ease and no, I do not mind being a participant either! It's a fantastic opportunity to meet up with friends and relatives.

So, I'm wishing myself a 'happy Onam'.

Tailpiece.

Having said that, the bomb blast within the premises of the Delhi High Court this morning has brought in bad tidings. One's heart goes out to those people who're in it and the video grabs of dazed looks and badly mutilated parts of human bodies have been horrific and distressing.

Celebrating Onam against that backdrop makes one feel guilty and it goes without saying that the celebrations would be muted. As per earlier arrangements, I'd be visiting the 'Pazhani temple' on pilgrimage with my immediate family and will say my prayers for the unfortunate ones who've been affected.

I bow, in pain, to the memory of the departed souls!

The Master's piece!

In this 'make believe' world of today, many of us forget our own identity or even reshape our identity to be acceptable to a group that we long to be part of. Probably, it's the the basic human inclination to be with the Jones's - or in the language of the Behavioural Scientist, the human being's desperate need of a 'stroke'. Such relationships are doomed to extreme short life periods ending in unimaginable sorrow and a sour after taste to the individual who'd been behind the facade!

The cause is simple and the following factors contribute:-

(a) One cannot kid one's conscience all the time.

(b) Living behind a facade extracts emotional and at times, physical indulgence which are stress producers.

(c) When the realisation dawns that one needs to be happy to spread happiness and consequently, gain acceptability in any group.

And it's here that I'd like to share with you something that I'd recently come across and I'm reproducing it below. I quote,

"In the history of the universe, there has been nobody like and to the infinite of time to come, there will be no one like you. Existence should have loved you so much that it broke the mould after making you, so that another of your kind will never get repeated. You are original. You are rare. You are unique. You are a wonder. You are a masterpiece.............your Master's piece. Celebrate your Uniqueness".

So, there is no necessity for you to strip yourself off your originality to suit someone's whims and if you do, it will be at your own peril!!

On Teacher's Day.

"Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu

Gurudevo Maheshwara

Guru saakshaath Parabrahma

Tasmai shree guruve namah".

On this Teacher's Day, I remember all my teachers and gurus and pay obeisance to each one of them for guiding and making me into what I'm today.

Thank you dear teachers and I regret that I can never repay you, ever.

And for all those of you close to my heart who've chosen the noble profession of teaching, may God be with you in your endeavours and let your hard work and sincere love for the children that pass your hands be the beacon of light for the generations to come. My humble bows to your sustained dedication.

Down memory lane.

I'd the pleasure of attending the wedding of young Leah this morning. I must let in on a small secret of mine that I love to attend the church weddings. The innards of the church have a uniqueness coupled with a sense of time coming to a standstill, albeit for that short period! And more importantly, the priest in attendance sermonises the young couple as to how to live happily as man and wife. He also reiterates the responsibilities of the two families coming together thanks to the sacred union.

Comparatively, the priests who conduct the 'Nair' weddings are literally silent. Is it because the Nair boasts that he's a know all?

Leah's dad was in my House, years back in school. I happened to be his House Captain and hence feel that I too have had a role in his upbringing, a fact that he graciously accepts! I remember him being very emotional since he put his heart and soul into everything he did. In one particular instance, it took all my efforts to pacify an inconsolable Sam for having lost a football match!! And amongst his classmates, he was spirited, active and articulated his thoughts pretty well.

Over two decades back, I'd attended his wedding and as his daughter's wedding got underway I was glad that I could be with him during another momentous occasion in his life. On completion of the Mass, as he came to thank the people he shook hands with most but when it came to my turn, he gave me a bear hug. I felt privileged and I'd like to believe that it was his way of telling me that I was someone special in his life! Thanks Sam, you'd indeed made my day!

Am I getting emotional, melodramatic or simply, filmy?

1.Guru Dutt - the phenomenon.

This evening's 'Total recall' on Times Now covered Guru Dutt, one of my favourites. Boy, that man was talent unlimited and his movies are worth a watch even now - especially, to understand his effective use of light in the days of the 'black & white cinema' to highlight emotions!
What strikes me is that haunting melody, 'Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam.....' of the movie 'Kaagaz ke phool' which was picturised on his love, Waheeda Rehman and sung by his talented wife Gita Dutt! I suppose this is the twist that life encompasses!!

2. India has got talent.

One of the competitors on this reality show on 'Colors' was 'Priyush' who'd choreographed his moves on that superb number 'Tujhe sab hai pata, meri ma......' from the movie 'Taare Zameen Par'. He'd run away from his home in the North East to Bombay to eke out a living through his passion for dance! And the day's episode was used to unite him with his mother - after a lapse of 4 years - with all the attendant tears and smiles!!
I'm fond of this number as these wordings or wordings similar to them in content, were put forth to my mother by me when my parents had packed me off to a boarding school when I was in class VII. The gist of the number encompasses my troubled thoughts of those days. So homesick was I that I used to cry into my pillows after 'lights out' and made sure that no one saw me in my moments of weakness!

3. The latest from the Wikileaks.

Once again goes to prove the double standards that we Indians are famed for following. However, this time the brunt of the effect seems to be on the Communist Party. What the party should do now is to set its archaic dogmas aside and work on realistic issues that are important and relevant to the present day world. In Kerala, the leaks have further intensified the feud between the Achuthanandan and the Pinarayi factions.

And Karat simply seems to be inadequate, in stature, to guide his party out of the storm!

Strictly official!

I was at Thiruvananthapuram on official work. This time the journey was done by train and to my horror, I realised that while the 'Vanchinad express' took only three hours to reach Kollam, the remaining 70 kms' of distance was covered over 21/2 hrs as the train was stopped in the outer limits of the Thiruvananthapuram railway station, for want of a vacant platform! Louis L'Amour's 'Kilrone' was my companion for the journey and I was reading it for the umpteenth time - my favourite amongst his collections and I understand, his best!

My meeting with the DRM, Thiruvananthapuram was fruitful and it was the official engagement for which I'd reached the city. I'd kept the trip a secret from my aunts and relations to avoid mandatory call ons for which, frankly, I had no time. The only exception was to drop in at the office of the PN Panicker Foundation - to interact with the staff - which is situated in the neighbourhood of the DRM's office!

Lunch was the popular biriyani from the Azad hotel, courtesy my counterpart at Thiruvananthapuram soon after which I'd embarked upon my return journey to Kochi by the Janashatabdi. The journey was beset with problems like a faulty traction, bad weather in the form of a tree having fallen on the wayside slowing traffic and by the time the destination was reached, the train was more than two hours late! This time, I'd napped through most of the distance until the last couple of hours when a young lady and a management graduate got to be my co - passenger. She was quite busy on her cellphone sending messages every now and then, and boy she could do that with an amazing speed! Karthika is keen on joining the defence forces but is doubtful about her parents' consent to this wish of her's.

Kochi was afloat, thanks to the incessant rains and the traffic that had snarled for hours earlier in the evening, had untangled by the time Sebastian was driving me to my home at 9. It was 11 and quiet (Lekha is away to attend a marriage in the family) by the time I'd hit the sack. To my dismay, I found that I was pooped doing nothing the whole day!

Everything comes full circle.

As video grabs bring in details of Muammar Gaddafi's opulent underground bunker in Tripoli and his numerous palatial shelters, one thing that becomes certain is man's greed for riches. We're witness to the same old story when Romania came tumbling out of Caeucescu's clutches or when Saddam fell out of power in Iraq.

The commonality in all these cases is the most striking aspect of life's vagaries. The people who rode to power or siezed power under the garb of fighting corruption and sleaze, finally got blown away for following the same methods that they once abhorred!

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely!

Tailpiece.

I still can't fathom as to why people have faucets and other fixtures in their bathrooms - er, rest rooms - made of gold. Do they help in, anyways, to relieve their woes from constipation or loose bowels?