An educative drive.

The first half of the day was spent in driving my Cruze with a purpose - for a market survey
of household furniture! It was truly educative and an eye opener for me to realise as to how
ignorant I was on these matters.

Three things that I've realised, over the course of the day, are as follows:-

           (a) There's enormous talent in our own backyard but they do not get the necessary
           encouragement because of our fetish for established brand names.

           (b) Lack of official endorsement and their inability to market their wares in an
           otherwise vigorous environment deflate their enthusiasm within no time, only to
           make them leave the field, without even putting up a decent fight!

           (c) The big fish in the business quickly move in to mop up the failed ones to ensure
           that they never get up to fight again, thereby snuffing out any semblance of a comp-
           etition that could arise.

And I thought that there was enough space for all participants. With that sort of variety to
choose from, the customer would surely have become king and get the best bang for the
buck!

When will we ever improve and begin to realise and encourage our own treasure of expertise
and talent?

Good Friday.

On this day, over two milleniums back, Jesus Christ had shed his blood, willingly gave his
life, forgiving even his tormentors and those who'd crucified him. His death brought to
humanity redemption and a claim to paradise.

Jesus did not die for his own sins but for the sins of mankind. And sin had come into this
world through the disobedient act of Adam and Eve and redemption came by means of the
obedience of Jesus. Cross is the tree that converted the curse into a blessing.

Jesus said, "I'm the resurrection and the life. He who believes in one, though he may die, he
shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die".

And the Hindu philosophy talks of the 'cycle of births and rebirths' and attainment of the
universal soul!



Tailpiece.

The peaceful procession taken out from the local church through the heart of the temple town
of Guruvayoor had the stamp of religious amity and tolerance. A great experience indeed!

'Baghban' at Guruvayoor.

Have been on the move since morning. By mid day, we'd fetched up at Guruvayoor. It's part
of our ongoing efforts to get our house to an acceptable standard!

People have been apportioned responsibilities, targets set with a mental PERT chart drawn and the
the 'critical path' has been established. It shall be a ruthless effort to achieve results from now
on.

Towards the end of the day, in the comfortable environs of our hotel room, we watched the
movie, 'Baghban' for the nth time. It's a movie that has never failed to elicit deep emotions as
I fail to understand that children, carefully nurtured by their parents, can be so cruel and selfish
when their turn comes by to give in return. How can one's parents and their needs can ever
become "they and their's"?


Tailpiece.

I'd recently been at my parents' place to tie up some loose ends for my mom. During that trip
I was required to visit the immediate neighbours who'd lost a dear one - they'd been a great help
during my dad's final days and the subsequent ceremonies. I was told by the patriarch that he'd
no other go but to reduce the last rites to just five days as everyone was clamouring to get back
to their homes and work. "Everyone doesn't love his parents the way you do", he added wist
fully, with a faraway look.

And I thought that I'd just done my duty!
   

Much ado about nothing!

This morning's headlines of the Indian Express suggesting a sinister motive in the move of a small
column of a mechanised infantry towards Delhi, in January this year, is mischief meant to create
confusion and increase distrust between the armed forces and the government, in the present scenario.

Both the government and the Army were quick to rebut the story and thankfully, the entire political
class had handled the matter with dignity and honour in parliament by roundly trashing the report
as unfounded and served it the contempt that it deserved!The initiators of the bizarre story forget the fact that the armed forces is the only bastion where values, courage, honour, integrity, keeping one's word, chivalry etc mean a lot! Where, just the singing of the national anthem brings one to rigid attention with the attendant goose pimples and the hair standing on end.

There's something else that amazes me when I hear and see cases of indiscretion. I'd like to believe that their parents - just like mine - had ingrained into them the need to be honest and do only the right things in life.

If that be so, where did they learn to do otherwise or why did they deviate from the right path when it comes to doing the right thing for one's country?

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Kahani - a poignant movie!

She stands with her bulging pregnancy, outside the Kolkatta airport and flags down a taxi. The taxi driver is puzzled to hear from the passenger her destination...... the  police station at Kalighat!  “For the first time  I am coming across someone arriving by air  and asking to be taken to the police station”, he mumbles to himself.

The young man, standing inside the metro train, swaying and holding onto the support above, is curious about the baby milk bottle left behind by a careless mother on the seat . He bends down to pick it up and throws it into the trash can. 
An explosion ..... white gas......and lots of dead bodies. A terrorist attack, with the nerve gas, Sarin.

Cut....flashback! He is necking Vidya Balan in a flat  in London . The picture of a happy, contended couple. Immediately after, you see her cringing in distress, holding the photo of a serious, young man who was definitely not the one, having a whale of a time with her, just minutes earlier. 

From then on she's on a mission. Armed with this photo, she's on a trip to to trace out  the guy  - a terrorist - whom she professes to the people, that she comes across, to be her husband. The police inspector is smitten by her beauty and goes out of his way to help her trace the man. By doing so, he doesn't realise that he's after a dreaded terrorist .

As he gains valuable leads, he's shocked by the systemic way in which his leads and informers are eliminated.
The IB, too, gets into the bandwagon, driven by the pregnant lady and the lovesick policeman.


Will the lady come across the terrorist? Who has the last laugh? How does the end get depicted? I shall leave it to the potential viewers in movie halls, across the country.






Tailpiece.




(a) The above piece has been adapted from a friend's write up and I thank him for the inputs! 


(b) Authentic portrayal of Bengali culture, music, food and a riveting storyline.  Good performances from all the protagonists. Another national award for Vidya Balan?


(c) You will bathroom sing the energetic background score, ‘Aami shotti bolchi‘ for weeks! 
 And hum along with Amitabh Bachchan , singing Tagore’s immortal song ‘ Ekla cholo re‘.

The romantic piano.

I've always been fascinated by this fantastic musical instrument. And I'd add that it has an aura of romance with  a touch of class! Probably, my opinion has come about from watching a lot of old Hindi movies where the hero always conveyed his feelings through a melody where the 'sacred' instrument was a must as an accompaniment. And my favourite has been 'Aaj ki raat mein ne......' featuring Dilip Kumar and Waheeda Rehman.

Why it has come suddenly in my thoughts is because of the news that the Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi possesses one and she plays it to unwind. So much so, that during her long imprisonment, people would slip past police pickets near her home simply to hear its sound and be reassured that she was alive! And what gives the right touch of intrigue is that the instrument was repaired and preserved by a close-knit group of men from the neighbourhood of Yangon so as to ensure the perseverance of the owner in her eternal struggle for democracy!

 The Burmese people should thank the piano for having preserved the sanity of its loved leader who's a romantic at heart!

My own tryst with the piano goes way back during my convent years, when Sister Anne used to play on the instrument and taught me to move the tabs to bring out my own version of 'Do - Re - Me - So - Fa - La - Ti'. This was carried on to a greater level, thanks to the efforts of Mr. AP Soans, our English teacher in the Sainik School.

But I must hasten to add that I'm still a rookie at it but would give anything to hear a good musical rendition on the instrument - anywhere, anytime!  

The weekend diary.

31 Mar.

Once Rema, my sister, had arrived from Palakkad we set off for my home and mom, a trifle after 12. The drive was smooth and hassle-free with us stopping short of Ambalapuzha to have a quick bite of lunch which Lekha'd prepared meticulously. I've always found that food had outside the usual environment has an exquisite taste and it was no different, this time too!

While Lekha and Rema, had gone to pick up the cake that was ordered, I'd gone to the 'comfort station' at hand to relieve my bladder. I realised much to my horror, after the deed, that I wasn't able to pay the mandatory charge of Rs.2/- for using the facility - which was spotlessly clean and smelt nice of disinfectants - as my wallet was with Lekha. Very sheepishly I mumbled to the caretaker that I'd pay him a while later as I did not have any money on me. His quick gaze at my Cruze, parked nearby, and back at me 'spoke a lot' without uttering a single word and it was yet another occasion that I wished I'd shrunk into my clothes!

The evening cake cutting ceremony as part of the birthday celebrations of my niece, Ammu and my sister Rema was a raucous occasion with an accompanying round of photography, as usual. Mom was jubilant to see all of us together but what amazes me is that she's aged fast over the last couple of months, after dad's passing away. We, then updated ourselves with the happenings, thus far, insofar as mom's personal work was concerned, over candle light and the emergency light as we're following the 'Earth hour'.

While mom and me were discussing matters after dinner, I'd tried to work on my laptop but to my utter horror discovered that my portable telejack was misbehaving, yet again.

The day'd been full of activities - and that too, pleasant ones - and it was quite late when we hit the sack. Dad's presence and his occasional conversational gems were sorely missed. Earlier, on arrival, we'd spent a few quiet moments at the place where he was cremated and of course, the place where mom has arranged his personal effects, in the drawing room, has become our favourite spot for contemplation!


01 Apr.

We'd kicked off back for Kochi soon after breakfast and had picked up Lekha's sister and her two children, to send them off from our place, for their onward journey to Tirur. The journey was comfortable and free of glitches, all through.

In the evening, there again was a necessary social call, on my aunt - who's all of 76 years - who's been restricted to staying in her second floor flat thanks to immobility caused by arthritis. She'd to be gently prodded to shift to the ground floor flat, taken on rent just for her sake. The shift would facilitate her movements with an occasional outing to lighten her and have a change of environment to shake of the boredom. Her daughter had insisted that I do the egging on as the old lady'd never refuse my request!? We've collectively been able to convince her that the shift would do a world of good and she'll be doing so on 12 Apr, just prior to Vishu.

By the time we'd hit the sack, it was past midnight and the end of yet another day when personal tasks had been the mainstay!!