Off to the NDA for an alumni get together. Will be at Pune till 13 Jun. Hope to meet as many friends as possible. Shall fill in on the details as the serial progresses.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
A couple of happenings.
1. Royal century.
Rama Varma Kochaniyan Thampuran of the Kochi royal family is celebrating his 100th birthday today. The connected ceremonies were conducted with elan. What makes it more meaningful is that his wife is also an active participant in the celebrations. It's an example of them having led a good life as the couple remain active even now, on their turf.
Here's me wishing the centurion many happy returns and all that he wishes for! Further, it's a tribute to the simple and clean lifestyle that he's followed.
My take.
A point that needs to be taken by all of us to ensure that one's faculties are intact till death to avoid the requirement of a nurse or prolonged palliative care!
2. A lifetime treat from Venus.
It was a treat for all the celestial enthusiasts to watch the movement of the planet Venus past the Sun today. It happens once in a lifetime of a human being as the frequency of the celestial happening is once in 105 years. The thought that you'll not be seeing it ever again is intriguing just as what life's all about and reiterates the fact that one's too small in the universe's scheme of things!
It must be understood that it was from this phenomenon that Johann Kepler had calculated the interplanetary distances and the distance between the sun and the earth accurately!
Seeing Venus as a small dot on the Sun reminded me of the 'bindi' on a girl's forehead. For, us Malayalees, the celestial feast, however, was of a short duration thanks to the dense cloud packs of the monsoon.
Rama Varma Kochaniyan Thampuran of the Kochi royal family is celebrating his 100th birthday today. The connected ceremonies were conducted with elan. What makes it more meaningful is that his wife is also an active participant in the celebrations. It's an example of them having led a good life as the couple remain active even now, on their turf.
Here's me wishing the centurion many happy returns and all that he wishes for! Further, it's a tribute to the simple and clean lifestyle that he's followed.
My take.
A point that needs to be taken by all of us to ensure that one's faculties are intact till death to avoid the requirement of a nurse or prolonged palliative care!
2. A lifetime treat from Venus.
It was a treat for all the celestial enthusiasts to watch the movement of the planet Venus past the Sun today. It happens once in a lifetime of a human being as the frequency of the celestial happening is once in 105 years. The thought that you'll not be seeing it ever again is intriguing just as what life's all about and reiterates the fact that one's too small in the universe's scheme of things!
It must be understood that it was from this phenomenon that Johann Kepler had calculated the interplanetary distances and the distance between the sun and the earth accurately!
Seeing Venus as a small dot on the Sun reminded me of the 'bindi' on a girl's forehead. For, us Malayalees, the celestial feast, however, was of a short duration thanks to the dense cloud packs of the monsoon.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
A sad case.
This evening, I was confronted with a difficult and ugly situation on being the president of the residential association. It was a case of wife battering and the lady had come out of her house badly bruised and crying, seeking immediate succour. The husband, on the other hand, was advising me to stay away from the mess, saying that she was mentally not sound.
The things that struck me were the following:-
(a) the lady seemed to be cognitive, coherent and logical. She looked far from being a mental case.
(b) she was badly bruised with blood trickling from the wounds on her elbows and was in deep pain.
(c) she looked quite young compared to her husband.
(d) throughout the incident she spoke a rustic Hindi (was it a marriage of convenience, I mean, a well off
guy marrying a poor girl, I wonder).
(e) his mother also happened to be at the house(was the misdemeanour carried out with her connivance?)
If the answer's affirmative, what's the reason?
I think I'm crazily veering to the script writer in me and frankly, it's none of my business to be snoopy. But I could feel a deep sense of rage sweeping all over me and had to use all the powers, under my command, to control my emotions.
My take.
What's the use of carrying on with a relationship if it has ended or lost its meaning? How can one bring one's partner to submission using brute force? Shouldn't a mother stop her son from doing a wrong thing? The right thing would be to have the relationship annulled legally and release the lady to lead her own dignified life!
Tailpiece.
Couldn't sleep a wink as I was seething with anger and sleep was hard to come by.
PS.
The matter has been reported to his seniors in the organisation and I've offered the couple the services of my cousin, an advocate, for counselling.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Another academic year has begun.
The schools have reopened after the long summer vacation. Little boys and girls, in their uniforms, were seen at the various pick up points of their respective conveyances. One such point is just below my window. Playing around with makeshift items of support helped many among them to beat the boredom of waiting and their excitement was evident as some of them narrated the details of what they did during the hols. The parents' benevolent presence added to the exuberance of the 'riotous' crowd.
There was another bunch of very young children, in bright clothes, with brighter accessories like the schoolbags and umbrellas. Their's was going to be the first foray into the world of learning. Behavioural scientists would term it as their first social interaction which would go a long way in the moulding of their persona.
The schools were also ready to accept their students and almost all of them had taken great pains to make the occasion celebratory. The accompaniment of the traditional orchestra added to the flavour. This year, the south west monsoon is late by a couple of days but the sky is overcast, announcing its imminent arrival.
School going has begun yet again.
Tailpiece.
The parents' active participation in the school going activities are a welcome sight. In retrospect, when I go back to my school going days, I distinctly remember that my parents were actively involved in all that I and my sisters did, but had always made it a point to watch us from afar - without making a fuss - ready to step in when help was needed!
There was another bunch of very young children, in bright clothes, with brighter accessories like the schoolbags and umbrellas. Their's was going to be the first foray into the world of learning. Behavioural scientists would term it as their first social interaction which would go a long way in the moulding of their persona.
The schools were also ready to accept their students and almost all of them had taken great pains to make the occasion celebratory. The accompaniment of the traditional orchestra added to the flavour. This year, the south west monsoon is late by a couple of days but the sky is overcast, announcing its imminent arrival.
School going has begun yet again.
Tailpiece.
The parents' active participation in the school going activities are a welcome sight. In retrospect, when I go back to my school going days, I distinctly remember that my parents were actively involved in all that I and my sisters did, but had always made it a point to watch us from afar - without making a fuss - ready to step in when help was needed!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Bashir - our saarthi.
Our 'saarthi' for the trip to Gavi was young Bashir who is an expert driver. It was an experience to see him weave the bulky Tempo Traveller through heavy traffic on the highway with ease and subsequently, the way he'd negotiated the numerous curves and the hairpins up the hills showed that he's perfected the art of driving in a remarkable manner.
Married, at a comparatively young age, he dotes on his wife, Noorjehan and his four year old son, Altaf, who incidentally is getting to school tomorrow for the first time. He was insistent that we meet them enroute and boy, wasn't he thrilled when the meeting took place! He's already had a stint in Saudi Arabia for four long years as a store keeper and to quote him, 'while being at it absorbed the nuances of life'. Always smiling, he has a pleasant countenance and was eager to show us the important landmarks that came on our passage. And what made the sights all the more interesting was that he'd quite a few anecdotes related to the places/landmarks that came our view.
The thing, however, that worries me is his fiery temper. He'd taken on the group of people who'd blocked everyone's passage at the exit point of the forest area, saying that they'd no right to block our way. And I'd to literally hold him back, on a short leash, before the incident got out of hand as I sensed that everyone's ire was turning on to him.
As he finally bade us good bye, on completion of the journey, did I see a hint of tears in his eyes or was it just my imagination? He's been the 'saarthi' to so many people before us on long journeys, by his own admission. So, why should he show any special inclination towards us? But, as I'd begun punching in these thoughts of mine much later in the evening, he'd called up to say that he would be ready to take us on any trip that we plan in the future. I've assured him on the affirmative.
Attaboy, it gives me a nice feeling!
Married, at a comparatively young age, he dotes on his wife, Noorjehan and his four year old son, Altaf, who incidentally is getting to school tomorrow for the first time. He was insistent that we meet them enroute and boy, wasn't he thrilled when the meeting took place! He's already had a stint in Saudi Arabia for four long years as a store keeper and to quote him, 'while being at it absorbed the nuances of life'. Always smiling, he has a pleasant countenance and was eager to show us the important landmarks that came on our passage. And what made the sights all the more interesting was that he'd quite a few anecdotes related to the places/landmarks that came our view.
The thing, however, that worries me is his fiery temper. He'd taken on the group of people who'd blocked everyone's passage at the exit point of the forest area, saying that they'd no right to block our way. And I'd to literally hold him back, on a short leash, before the incident got out of hand as I sensed that everyone's ire was turning on to him.
As he finally bade us good bye, on completion of the journey, did I see a hint of tears in his eyes or was it just my imagination? He's been the 'saarthi' to so many people before us on long journeys, by his own admission. So, why should he show any special inclination towards us? But, as I'd begun punching in these thoughts of mine much later in the evening, he'd called up to say that he would be ready to take us on any trip that we plan in the future. I've assured him on the affirmative.
Attaboy, it gives me a nice feeling!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
The tamasha at the gate!
Prologue.
Many of us have misguided opinions about ourselves and today, was just a day when I'd come across such a bunch of guys who'd held quite a few of us to ransom - for over two hours - thanks to their boorish behaviour!
The day's proceedings.
Gavi, is indeed, the perfect weekend getaway for people staying in the concrete jungles of the cities! The forest has been carefully insulated from man made inflictions like littering with plastic and muck, plucking flowers or removing shrubs for transplanting them at their homes etc. The flora and the fauna are of a wide variety and are a pleasant sight. I must admit that the colourful scenery, all round, was a fantastic experience. Walking through narrow paths up and down the hills, through thick foliage, with amazing sights everywhere was a rare experience. The trek, the boating and a visit to the makeshift museum - a permanent one is in the process of being built - were the activities that were packed into the itinerary.
So, it was with a satisfied feeling that we're returning after tea time, when we got to be at the receiving end of the famous 'mallu arrogance'. There was a group of people, travelling in a set of six vehicles who'd an altercation, at the exit, with the forest officials - over trivia, actually. Gavi has two points of ingress for people approaching it from the south and the rule is that every visitor must enter and exit through the same gate. The recalcitrant group wanted to flout this rule to save some distance on their onward journey! I'd personally intervened and tried to make the people see reason and avoid the logjam.
But alas, no one was willing to budge but what tickled me no end was when the erring group dropped names and insisted that they're pretty close to a particular minister, whom they wanted to contact desperately to resolve the issue - the difficulty was that all the cellphones were rendered useless due to the absence of transmission coverage! The minister happens to be related to me but I kept this information to myself and directed the forest official to fetch the police from the nearest point to untangle the impasse.
That's what was eventually done after a lapse of over two hours!
Tailpiece.
Later that evening, I saw the same group at dinner at the place where we're staying. They'd managed to get their way through and gave us those victorious(?) looks which we chose to ignore. Deep within, I'd the feeling of having been let down by the law enforcers. Sadly, laws don't get applied uniformly in the manner that they should be -without fear or favour!
Many of us have misguided opinions about ourselves and today, was just a day when I'd come across such a bunch of guys who'd held quite a few of us to ransom - for over two hours - thanks to their boorish behaviour!
The day's proceedings.
Gavi, is indeed, the perfect weekend getaway for people staying in the concrete jungles of the cities! The forest has been carefully insulated from man made inflictions like littering with plastic and muck, plucking flowers or removing shrubs for transplanting them at their homes etc. The flora and the fauna are of a wide variety and are a pleasant sight. I must admit that the colourful scenery, all round, was a fantastic experience. Walking through narrow paths up and down the hills, through thick foliage, with amazing sights everywhere was a rare experience. The trek, the boating and a visit to the makeshift museum - a permanent one is in the process of being built - were the activities that were packed into the itinerary.
So, it was with a satisfied feeling that we're returning after tea time, when we got to be at the receiving end of the famous 'mallu arrogance'. There was a group of people, travelling in a set of six vehicles who'd an altercation, at the exit, with the forest officials - over trivia, actually. Gavi has two points of ingress for people approaching it from the south and the rule is that every visitor must enter and exit through the same gate. The recalcitrant group wanted to flout this rule to save some distance on their onward journey! I'd personally intervened and tried to make the people see reason and avoid the logjam.
But alas, no one was willing to budge but what tickled me no end was when the erring group dropped names and insisted that they're pretty close to a particular minister, whom they wanted to contact desperately to resolve the issue - the difficulty was that all the cellphones were rendered useless due to the absence of transmission coverage! The minister happens to be related to me but I kept this information to myself and directed the forest official to fetch the police from the nearest point to untangle the impasse.
That's what was eventually done after a lapse of over two hours!
Tailpiece.
Later that evening, I saw the same group at dinner at the place where we're staying. They'd managed to get their way through and gave us those victorious(?) looks which we chose to ignore. Deep within, I'd the feeling of having been let down by the law enforcers. Sadly, laws don't get applied uniformly in the manner that they should be -without fear or favour!
Dateline 01 Jun.
Prologue.
I'm on a trip to Gavi - the new hot destination thanks to the Malayalam movie, 'Ordinary' that was a superhit. Shall fill in on the details as soon as I finish my journey.
The experience.
We'd kicked off at 8 in the morning, from Kochi with Bashir as our 'saarthi', in a tempo traveller and the group consisted of eight of us. The excitement was palpable as the journey was meticulously planned by my cousin after doing a lot of research! A word about the place, 'Gavi'. It's a small hamlet in the forest adjacent to the Periyar Game Reserve and was an unknown factor until recently, when the movie 'Ordinary' covering the story of its people who depended on the state road transport corporation's lone bus service that serviced the area - it stopped at all points to pick up or drop passengers and hence classified 'ordinary' and was the only form of communication with the outside world - had hit the screens.
The movie was a smash hit and had set the cash registers ringing. Overnight, the Malayalees have been making a beeline to see the place and we, too, happened to be one among the curious ones.
We'd halted at Springdale at Vandiperiyar, enroute. The manager of the resort, Sai Gopinath, is an affable gentleman who took great pains to look after the guests and put them at ease. I'm sure it's gonna be popular thanks to his conduct, dedication to the job at hand and genuineness. I would also like to add that he's won his battle against the dreaded cancer which had affected a part of his brain, rendering his speech to slur because of a permanent damage to the connected nerve!
Tailpiece.
I felt like a heel when I'd come to know of Sai's personal story because, at the beginning, I was convinced that he was inebriated, while on duty and did not give much credence to his persona. Just goes to show as to how much I need to grow up in life! Apologies, Sai, for my wrong perception!!
PS.
And tomorrow, we shall spend the whole day at Gavi!
I'm on a trip to Gavi - the new hot destination thanks to the Malayalam movie, 'Ordinary' that was a superhit. Shall fill in on the details as soon as I finish my journey.
The experience.
We'd kicked off at 8 in the morning, from Kochi with Bashir as our 'saarthi', in a tempo traveller and the group consisted of eight of us. The excitement was palpable as the journey was meticulously planned by my cousin after doing a lot of research! A word about the place, 'Gavi'. It's a small hamlet in the forest adjacent to the Periyar Game Reserve and was an unknown factor until recently, when the movie 'Ordinary' covering the story of its people who depended on the state road transport corporation's lone bus service that serviced the area - it stopped at all points to pick up or drop passengers and hence classified 'ordinary' and was the only form of communication with the outside world - had hit the screens.
The movie was a smash hit and had set the cash registers ringing. Overnight, the Malayalees have been making a beeline to see the place and we, too, happened to be one among the curious ones.
We'd halted at Springdale at Vandiperiyar, enroute. The manager of the resort, Sai Gopinath, is an affable gentleman who took great pains to look after the guests and put them at ease. I'm sure it's gonna be popular thanks to his conduct, dedication to the job at hand and genuineness. I would also like to add that he's won his battle against the dreaded cancer which had affected a part of his brain, rendering his speech to slur because of a permanent damage to the connected nerve!
Tailpiece.
I felt like a heel when I'd come to know of Sai's personal story because, at the beginning, I was convinced that he was inebriated, while on duty and did not give much credence to his persona. Just goes to show as to how much I need to grow up in life! Apologies, Sai, for my wrong perception!!
PS.
And tomorrow, we shall spend the whole day at Gavi!
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