Musings

When did you last…

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Once upon a time, i couldnt live without a floppy. I was intrigued by why it was called a floppy. Was it something that had flopped as a product..? But then, pages and pages of stuff could be transferred in a second ! And man, was i impressed ! I thought, we had achieved great heights in technology transfer ! By the way, when did you last use a floppy ?

Once upon a time, every new cinema song used to come in a glass cage. The rustle of the plastic wrapper, is still fresh, as one strugged to open and PRESS the play button on the National Panasonic. Fresh Ilayaraja, Rehman, Floyd, kannadasan, micheal jackson…! I thought there could be no better bliss ! By the way, when did you last listen to song from a casette player..?

My first camera was a Yashica ( i think)… One had to manually wind it up. And i remember standing in queue to buy the ‘film rolls’. Each time after a travel, i used to have those snaps, with images as clear as my mind captured them…i thought that the film rolls were perhaps the worlds best invention. By the way, when did you last use a film roll…?

Once upon a time, dropping a letter at the post office at Tamukkam in Madurai was a routine chore. They used to have a huge red box for local letters, a green one for outstation letters and so on. When the post man came in to deliver mail, i would rush to pick it up. Who was it from, what was the latest news…? Every time, the chime of the post man’s bell would go, i thought we had achieved great heights in staying connected. By the way, when did you last post a letter…?

Our lives. How they change. How they move on…!

10 years hence, what will the next generation talk / think about..the iphone. or the ipod, or the internet or digital cameras..or…

Or life..

by the way, hope you do live life. Live as in LIVE !?! The rest is immaterial I guess !

No.
I am sure !

Sivaji. The Boss. The Movie. Point # 1. Point # 2

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I watched Sivaji. (The Tamil film. The most expensive film in recent times. The first tamil film to be part of UK top 10. The first tamil film with 600 prints. Yes..the Rajinikant starrer. that one).


Had to write about Sivaji. Looked like this space would have missed an important part of history ! So. A post.

Before you proceed further, here are two important points that would hold throughout this post, that i will frequently comeback to.

Point # 1: This is not a film review about Sivaji. Competent people have filled blogsphere with reviews. ( to be read as “I-will-consciously-stay-away-from- reviewing the film)

Point # 2: I am a fan of Rajini !.

Ok. Here we go. Refer Point #1.

This post is about the everything else. Ok ? Kamal (my brother. before you allude to the other Kamal) wrung in some tickets. Blessed be the soul who got us the tickets. The neighbours & friends were subtly told. “We wont be available Sunday morning” looking forward to the question, “where are you going?”.

If no question came, subtly was thrown to the winds with an added statement was, ” It isn’t everyday that we get to watch Sivaji”. The close circle in all parts of India, US and Europe were informed. The last time, such scale of information went around, was when we bought a home ! Whew !

Ok. Refer Point #1. This post is about the everything else. Ok ?

The posters were in Kannada ! For a moment we didnt know if it was a Kannada print that we were to watch. A merciful clarification came. There was the odd black marketeer. The masses of Rajini fans ( Refer Point # 2). Benagalis. Punjabis. Malayalees. Kannadigas. Man ! This was like national integration.

All coming in to watch a tamil movie. This was AVM’s 100th year. And then of course, the Star was launched on screen amidst catcalls, whistles, hoots ! I can well imagine what the first day must have been ! So we watched and watched and watched. Stop. Refer Point # 1

As i laughed, squirmed, squirmed more, laughed more, relished and more, (in no particular order / intensity), i realised that Rajini’s skills lay in reaching out to a mass and doing things that THEY would like to do. Root out black money. Subjugate villains. Knife in a minister etc ! And oh, by the way, dance with damsels in exotic settings ! Kind of satisfying a deeper need. SOME deeper need. And boy, he oozes style. (Disclaimer. Refer Point # 2)

It was break time. I overheard two non-tamils in the mens room. While keeping other conversation under wraps, respecting the unstated ‘non-disclosure pact’ of the mens room, i am compelled to quote these lines. Profound Lines !

Man 1: “What is vaaji?”
Man 2: What Vaaji ?
Man 1: “Vaaji, Vaaji, Sivaji..as in the song..”
Man 2: “Oh..! that..Sounded like Bhaaji…i guess they must have the expression wah-ji..”
Man 1: “Oh ! Wah-Ji as in Hindi. Maybe they included it to get in audiences in other places”
Cut. Cut. Movie Starts again.

We watched and watched and watched and watched. I squirmed less. Laughed more. And had a good time. (Refer Point #2). What costed the 100 crore bombshell, i thought. All the glass sets. The glasses, the solar panels, the second hand cars etc that were broken ? Rajini’s hairdo. Shankar’s marketing. Money paid to all news channels. The prints. What ?

They did seem to have been cost conscious! Sample this. The scene opens to a Rs. 25 lac Honda CRV. Rajini plus heroine are inside. Other cars pull up. Lights are dimmed. Battering starts. Rajini is still in the car. Supposed to be same car. And begins to fight back. The car takes a battering. But, Only this time the car is a Rs. 6 lac Mahindra Scorpio!
Ok ok. Stop. Refer Point # 1

Oh yes. Finally, the MMS clippings were put to good use. After all the negative publicity that MMS clippings got, this is a good break. The film must surely affect the fortunes of chewing gum, fair & lovely, mahindra scorpio..!

Movie over. We walk out. There are smiles all around. I notice some combinations. As we queue up to the exit, holding the steering wheel, i look around at the cars queueing up. Young. Old. Men. Women. Children. Oh the tribe ! Software Engineers.

I am told that Cognizant Technology Services has booked shows for all its employees. Must be employee-engagement..( as in You- Come – back – from US and – start – something – you – better – learn – martial -arts) or that type of thing. How cynical of me !

We drove to Kadambam (supposed to be an Iyengar joint) where they serve you pure vegetarian fare. I ordered for the family. Sakkarai Pongal ( Roughly-Translates-To ‘sweet rice’). Puliyodharai (RTT ‘Tamarind Rice’). Laddoos. Polis. Rice. Pooris. Bhajis.

All rich. All in pure ghee. The cashier lumps in the money, and my wife looks at me with a “isnt this a delicious BUT too much, too rich, too fattening, too diverse…” look.

Hey, she was talking food. Nothing to do with movie ! Please Refer point # 1.

Professional Ethics !

Cool !

Of chewing gum & a value system !

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Do you recall seeing / eating this stuff? I got so nostalgic spotting this guy vending his merchandise. It used to be called “Javvu Mittai” ( Gum Toffee ). Perhaps this was the forerunner to the chewing gum !

I recall, every vendor of Javvu Mittai used to have a special kind of bell. As a kid, the very ringing of the bell used to make me salivate. Much later i read about Pavlovian experiment of ringing a bell and making a dog salivate. So, i was no different in the altar of science !!

Some days back, i spotted this guy outside office, memories rushed back to my mind. Of javvu mittai. Of full day cricket. Of shorts and T-shirts. Of petty quarrels that would seem to last forever. And forever wouldnt be more than a minute. Endless TV. Lessons. And more than anything else an age of innocence !

Compare it with the present day. A far cry i guess ! Life was much simpler back then. As a kid, the only worry was if dad / mom would allow me to play ! A care free wind used to blow through my hair. An era where smiles and laughter was a way of life.

That desire for play, has just not abated ! The wind continues to blow. It isnt care free, and it does blow through quick. There is less hair and more wear you see !!

The Javvu Mittai brought out memories that were buried away. As various scenes of my life played by in my mind, i walked a slow walk. Times. They had indeed changed.
I quickly thought of my day to day struggles as well. I realised that i wasnt compromising on elements that mattered. This strange sighting of the Javvu Mittai vendor made me walk some inches taller. As realisation dawned that the values that dad / mom / grandma drove in me had still endured !

As much as the times & the scope have changed, the good words had stuck. Just as the salivation. At the sight of the javvu mittai !

Of Fathers Day & snakes !

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Snakes have formed an quintessential part of Indian & Chinese culture.While the Chinese use it in the kitchen, we find them in every other room! The room that a now celebrity snake chose some days back was the bedroom. Whose bedroom ? Well, stop thinking of names like Khusboo and such other film stars. Thats for the movies. They are now tired of them i guess.

This time it was that of Deve Gowda, former prime minister of India. These are excerpts from a news item on the front page of the Times of India 15th June ’07. It was almost like bit by bit account in a Bond movie. A hilarious one at that ! And by God, please read the consequences !

Deve Gowda’s hissing guest causes flutter.

A nearly six foot long rat snake pushed the political establishment into a tizzy by not only entering the former PMs residence in Padmanabha Nagar but also staying in his bedroom for two days ! The first hint came on Wednesday when Gowda, during a telephonic conversation with PM, got a jolt when some books & a few articles fell off the table in his bedroom.

As the incident happened on the eve of amavasya (newmoon day), Gowda was nervous. But he slept unaware of the snake in his bedroom. It was only around 6 PM on Friday that Gowda sighted the snake…Alarm bells rang loud, the family members were evacuated. While Gowda was wondering whether sighting the snake was a good or bad omen, his personal staff and police started a hunt.

The snake tried to slink off……People for animals volunteer Sharath caught the snake cowering behind Gowda’s portrait on the table. While Gowda and his family were relieved, fear took over fellow politicians. With Gowda’s family known to believe in superstitions, the questions that started doing the rounds in political circles were, “what does snake on a newmoon day signify ?” “Will he ensure power is transferred to BJP?” While some ministers called astrologers to find answers….

On the way home i have seen this ant – hill. For sometime now. We are used to seeing snakes reside in such hills. Well, in movies that is. I have also seen milk, eggs etc getting poured into such ant hills as a means of worship to the snake God ! This particular ant-hill has started getting attention. It is already sporting some images of the Gods. What next. Temple ? Movies ? Stardom ? Or perhaps, now, Z category security !

Well, i almost missed the whole point. I wanted to write something about Fathers Day. And ended writing about the snake in Deve Gowda’s home.

Coming to fathers day, writing about Deve Gowda can be as close as it can get !

Shaping a child. The Amar Chtira Katha way !

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My moorings lie in the Indian culture and tradition supplemented by a valued ‘value system’. The understanding & shaping came, largely, from two sources.

One: My great grandmother
Two: Amar Chitra Katha

Amar Chitra Katha helped me understand visually many an epic & more importantly life at a different time. Mahabharath. Ramayan. Dr.Kotnis. The Freedom Struggle. Akbar. Aurangzeb. The Independence. Panchatantra. Tenali Raman. The list could go on.


I still remember running to the library at school and “search & savour” or “borrow savour many times over” the latest of additions. Many years later, these were beamed into living rooms as soap operas. Ramayan, Mahabharath although were never missed, they were let downs for me.


Arun Govil, who played Ram in the TV serial, was hardly the Ram that I had imagined, aided by the caricature of Ram, courtesy : Amar Chitra Katha ! So was the bloke who played Lord Krishna. I just couldn’t connect to the on screen Krishna. My imagination of Amar Chitra Katha’s Krishna was too firmly entrenched in my mind.


Years passed. I graduated from wearing half to full trousers to school. And graduated to books like Famous Five, Secret Seven, Nany Drew, Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators etc. And adolescence brought other authors and adult hood brought others !


But, even now, the temptation to pick up a Amar Chitra Katha is just irresistible. I buy the odd book at railway stations and airports. It is part nostalgic. Part interesting. But fully connecting ! Cant say the same of the books that I graduated to!

This was an interesting news that I chanced upon. For a moment I pictured me and school bag. Running to the library.


I picked Hakuna Matata for Sight & Sound. Closest that came to Amar Chitra Katha

Sunday Rant

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Lazy Sunday. I didn’t know they had a day for laughter ! But then, since knowing they had a day for laughter, been trying smile all day. Now, that wasn’t seen as funny by many. How ironic !

The environment is again making the news. With the Times Of India running a series of front page articles on how we must change or the Himalayas will no longer be snow clad and our rivers will run dry. I am not sure how many people read it.

A friend, who now has gotten used to my rants on the environment, as much as the first page articles on the same subject in the TOI, http://premier-pharmacy.com said, “Perhaps they should say things like “if you don’t take care of the environment Pizza Hut will close down or there will be no TV show, no cricket etc !!. We need to sell it differently. Illustrate it in a manner which will reach people” !

Speaking about that, how is this ? I chanced upon it today. An illustration on global warming. Now, hope this is illustratative enough, M ?


Now tomorrow is Monday. That isn’t funny. BTW, The World Laughter Day is on the first Sunday of May. Always.

Never on a Monday. No wonder !

Have a great weak !

Green Card Payments !

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The last day for payment of the credit card bill nears. And as the outstanding amount peers out of the bill and into my eye, i sigh. The thrill of the immediate pleasure of enjoying a comfort or a luxury when the card was swiped is nowhere near for comfort.

As the card statement stared at me from the table, my went back to the post on Earth day ! For some odd and strange reason ! And then a remarkable analogy struck me.

A credit card. It doesn’t pinch you when you buy the worldly pleasures using the card. It feels great to have the neighbours go green with envy. Its lovely to sink in the wallops of comfort that the product provides you. But what really pinches you is when the credit card bill arrives. What pinches you more is when you don’t have money to pay back.

Isn’t that exactly whats been happening to our environment ! We have been swiping our cards through generations. Our credit limits are tipping over ! And its pay back time. You know what, our record with the “Green Card” isn’t doing any good to our credit worthiness !

I was wowed ! That was a powerful analogy. Over here, with credit card interest rates ranging 35 %+, it seemed striking. What we are doing to the environment, is many times worse ! Using up all the credit limits, with no clue as to how we will find the resources to repay !

I think its time that we each one of us at least pay our part towards paying up the “minimum balance due !” Lest the credit card company decide to take punitive action !

Poohs Den has a competition on the environment and what we can do. Some interesting thoughts and ideas are over there ! Do pen your thoughts !

As i close this post, there seems to be one phrase that is still lingering in my mind.
“Punitive action” !