The chief minister of Tamil Nadu fathered Stalin. Nope. I am not talking about the Russian who sent millions of his countrymen to the gulags but not quite unlike his namesake Stalin knows how to make his presence felt. There must be around a million cutouts, hoardings, posters of him in Chennai. We have Stalin grinning, smiling, and frowning in his spotless white shirt and dhothi at every major and non major junction. He vies for advertising space with the likes of Abhishek, Sharukh, Asin, Trisha and Rajnikant and beats them hands down. Education must be very dear to him as there are many hoardings of Stalin receiving a degree. And from the looks of it a multiple degree holder as he is receiving a degree from different people.
Now that his dad is about to complete 50 years as a legislator there are now another million cutouts of Karunanithi.Both father and son are now getting more eyeball hits per hour than any other filmy/political figure in Tamil Nadu.
What I have observed is that whatever be the posture these two have the same
expression on their face. Let me name it the leadership expression, LE for short.
LE's are of two types, one is in which the protagonist appears to be looking far away into the future with a troubled expression on his face as if he just peeped into the crystal ball and saw an onslaught of mighty troubles on his people. The other is one in which he is much more relaxed appearing, to enjoy a quiet chuckle with himself as if the crystal ball just told him that happier times are in store for his people.
These LE's make themselves available at any point of time in their daily lives so even if we have a hoarding of Stalin adjusting his dhothi we get to see an LE on his face. These LE's start appearing very early in the career of a politician as is evident with the cutouts of a young, cherubic Karunanithi lit up with a 1000 watt LE.
So it makes me wonder what if I join politics at some point of time and I become a great leader. What if my followers ask me to give them LE snaps of my youth?
The types of snaps I have around with me are of me staring hungrily at a muffin, me washing dishes, me playing gully cricket. Not quite LE material.
The only times that I have LE's are in office where I can’t carry a camera. For example when my manager comes to have a word with me and I am thinking 'You know I am not listening to you so let me entertain myself by examining my reflection in your bald pate' or when I am in the break out area having coffee by myself where I carry a serene expression suggesting that I am thinking about world peace whereas I am thinking about much more earthly issues like ‘Will she slap me if I propose to her’ ‘Should I ask boss for a raise’ ‘What would happen if I added some tea to my cofee’.So many LE’s gone down the drain.
I just noticed that I have an LE right now while composing this post. Lemme call someone to take a snap before the moment passes away:-)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Yet another marriage in Chennai...
but this time I was not invited :p.Saurabh aka Dallah(pimp,hustler in English)was down to attend the marriage of a college friend(Dallah is from NIT Trichi btw).The boy's folks were against the marriage, hence the couple decided to elope.
To bolster the baarath party all his friends, including Dallah streamed down,at short notice.
Expectedly the first thing Dallah asks for when he lands down on a hot chennai afternoon is not water or lunch but a round of beers at the bar.I would have prefferd something solid but at the moment I was starving and even beer looked heavenly.
While we tottered along on my mobike,some snippets of our conversation:
Dallah:"..the girl was not worth fighting with your parents for.."
Me:"..love is blind dude.."
Dallah:"yea"
Dallah:"Do u know K is getting married to U"
Me:"..Dont tell me!.."
(K marrying U would be a love story right out of the movies.K and U were working in the same project and one night the cab dropping them met with an accident.Both K and U were hospitalised and once released from hospital were romantically involved.)
Dallah"..both parents have given their blessings.."
While at the bar we gup shupped about careers and his life as an MBA student.
After downing a few beers and under a cloud of cigarette smoke:
Dallah:"..u know something.."
Me:"..temme.."
Dallah:" i saw a girl for marriage"(silly giggle)
Me"..dog..#@!$#$..!#$#$#$"
Me " how did it go"
Dallah"shes awesome..we decided to wait for 1 year..will be in touch till then.."
Umm marriage flood gates seem to have opened.But why get married when its so much fun being single.Thats my logic,at least for now :p
To bolster the baarath party all his friends, including Dallah streamed down,at short notice.
Expectedly the first thing Dallah asks for when he lands down on a hot chennai afternoon is not water or lunch but a round of beers at the bar.I would have prefferd something solid but at the moment I was starving and even beer looked heavenly.
While we tottered along on my mobike,some snippets of our conversation:
Dallah:"..the girl was not worth fighting with your parents for.."
Me:"..love is blind dude.."
Dallah:"yea"
Dallah:"Do u know K is getting married to U"
Me:"..Dont tell me!.."
(K marrying U would be a love story right out of the movies.K and U were working in the same project and one night the cab dropping them met with an accident.Both K and U were hospitalised and once released from hospital were romantically involved.)
Dallah"..both parents have given their blessings.."
While at the bar we gup shupped about careers and his life as an MBA student.
After downing a few beers and under a cloud of cigarette smoke:
Dallah:"..u know something.."
Me:"..temme.."
Dallah:" i saw a girl for marriage"(silly giggle)
Me"..dog..#@!$#$..!#$#$#$"
Me " how did it go"
Dallah"shes awesome..we decided to wait for 1 year..will be in touch till then.."
Umm marriage flood gates seem to have opened.But why get married when its so much fun being single.Thats my logic,at least for now :p
Sunday, April 22, 2007
A Marriage in Chennai
Was whisked away by Sumod to attend a marriage of his classmate last Saturday. Not an entirely appetizing thought having covered nearly 60 km’s on the same day, on bike, under the sweltering sun. Wearily I took my seat while waiting for the proceedings to begin. Weariness soon gave away to gloom when I discovered that the service would be in Tamil. Accusatory looks from me were met with dubious pleas of ignorance from Sumod.
Faced with a bleak outlook I began to absorb my surroundings. Of particular interest was the huge golden falcon statue in the middle of the church. Never remember seeing one like it in a church before. Standing on its pedestal, with wings stretched out and a determined gaze riveted on the exit, it seemed to share my predicament.
Right in front of me were a bald old man and his identical looking son sans the polished pate. Both were dressed in blue suits and wore earphones.
I remember attending a marriage when I was a kid and the speaker spoke something which went like “Every member of the congregation thinks of ones own marriage while attending a marriage”. I don’t know whether it was a truth reserved exclusively for married couples but it’s a thought which always manages to sneak its way in. This time with the uninspiring proceedings even the honeymoon package made its way in. My reverie was broken when the master of ceremony interspersed his speech with a few words in English. ”Marriage is a road filled with pitfalls, misunderstandings..blah blah”..” Before her marriage a woman expects a man, during her marriage a woman suspects a man and after her marriage a woman respects a man”. (I almost said Wah Wah :-)).
I presume that the rest of the sermon was not that ominous, else we would have had a runaway bride situation.
Finally the proceedings drew to a close with some confetti throwing. My confetti unfortunately never made it past the bald dude.
Faced with a bleak outlook I began to absorb my surroundings. Of particular interest was the huge golden falcon statue in the middle of the church. Never remember seeing one like it in a church before. Standing on its pedestal, with wings stretched out and a determined gaze riveted on the exit, it seemed to share my predicament.
Right in front of me were a bald old man and his identical looking son sans the polished pate. Both were dressed in blue suits and wore earphones.
I remember attending a marriage when I was a kid and the speaker spoke something which went like “Every member of the congregation thinks of ones own marriage while attending a marriage”. I don’t know whether it was a truth reserved exclusively for married couples but it’s a thought which always manages to sneak its way in. This time with the uninspiring proceedings even the honeymoon package made its way in. My reverie was broken when the master of ceremony interspersed his speech with a few words in English. ”Marriage is a road filled with pitfalls, misunderstandings..blah blah”..” Before her marriage a woman expects a man, during her marriage a woman suspects a man and after her marriage a woman respects a man”. (I almost said Wah Wah :-)).
I presume that the rest of the sermon was not that ominous, else we would have had a runaway bride situation.
Finally the proceedings drew to a close with some confetti throwing. My confetti unfortunately never made it past the bald dude.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Re: [ NITC Global ] [whole story] Fact about SFI dispute....
Popped into my lesser inspected email id's to find my inbox crammed with mails about a recent dispute between the SFI and the NIT junta.Apparently the SFI folks were miffed with the authorities for tossing them out of the campus.Retaliation by SFI was severe with the Administrative Block(AB for most)being stoned and the water supply cut off.
Seldom does a batch pass through NIT Calicut without witnessing a day in which the NIT junta transport themselves to the stone age.Even the Gods fear the day when the mallu rolls up his lungi and the northie stamps out his cigarette for hell hath no fury as a NITCian on the rampage.
It was my third year in college and the day was the festival of colours,Holi.The day began in gentlemanly fashion with hostelites colouring each other,tearing each others clothes,borrowing the gardening hose to spray bystanders and taking a dip in a defunct tank which is dry throughout the year but miraculously fills up on Holi.Curiously with such a wide range of colours being used most revellers end up looking pink.With all those pink beings roaming around and torn garments strewn on freshly paved roads,the unenlightened would be forgiven to conclude an invasion by aliens.
As is customary, male hostelites left for their annual pilgrimage to the Ladies Hostel(LH for most) to spread the message of Holi, which usually culminates in a dancing frenzy accompanied by drum beating on buckets in front of the LH gate.LH being out of bounds for the males is a safe vantage point for the ladies to enjoy the spectacle.Unfortunately one female was rather unlucky to have been caught outside the safe premises of the LH and was molested.
Now it so happened that this female was a mallu,belonged to the final year and was extremely popular in her batch.The combination couldn't have been worse.Final year mallu students were naturally outraged and considered it their duty to dispense justice in whatever manner they sought appropriate.They came to the conclusion that the second year northies were to blame and bashed up a few of them in their hostel.
Lying low is not an option in a college where groupism is rampant.To save face it was important for the northies to strike back.Planning started in full swing.Sports goods like stumps and bats were amassed,word was spread to sympathisers in various hostels and the plan was crystallised.The attack on the final year mallu hostel(F` for most)took place right after dinner.Luckily someone managed to close the gate of the F' hostel in time but a few unlucky souls still got hammered.The northies managed to break up a few glass panes and a compound wall before they finally dispersed.The following morning the entire second year batch was suspended.
Glad to see that the art of war is still a part of the curriculum.Changing the world can be left to lesser mortals.
Seldom does a batch pass through NIT Calicut without witnessing a day in which the NIT junta transport themselves to the stone age.Even the Gods fear the day when the mallu rolls up his lungi and the northie stamps out his cigarette for hell hath no fury as a NITCian on the rampage.
It was my third year in college and the day was the festival of colours,Holi.The day began in gentlemanly fashion with hostelites colouring each other,tearing each others clothes,borrowing the gardening hose to spray bystanders and taking a dip in a defunct tank which is dry throughout the year but miraculously fills up on Holi.Curiously with such a wide range of colours being used most revellers end up looking pink.With all those pink beings roaming around and torn garments strewn on freshly paved roads,the unenlightened would be forgiven to conclude an invasion by aliens.
As is customary, male hostelites left for their annual pilgrimage to the Ladies Hostel(LH for most) to spread the message of Holi, which usually culminates in a dancing frenzy accompanied by drum beating on buckets in front of the LH gate.LH being out of bounds for the males is a safe vantage point for the ladies to enjoy the spectacle.Unfortunately one female was rather unlucky to have been caught outside the safe premises of the LH and was molested.
Now it so happened that this female was a mallu,belonged to the final year and was extremely popular in her batch.The combination couldn't have been worse.Final year mallu students were naturally outraged and considered it their duty to dispense justice in whatever manner they sought appropriate.They came to the conclusion that the second year northies were to blame and bashed up a few of them in their hostel.
Lying low is not an option in a college where groupism is rampant.To save face it was important for the northies to strike back.Planning started in full swing.Sports goods like stumps and bats were amassed,word was spread to sympathisers in various hostels and the plan was crystallised.The attack on the final year mallu hostel(F` for most)took place right after dinner.Luckily someone managed to close the gate of the F' hostel in time but a few unlucky souls still got hammered.The northies managed to break up a few glass panes and a compound wall before they finally dispersed.The following morning the entire second year batch was suspended.
Glad to see that the art of war is still a part of the curriculum.Changing the world can be left to lesser mortals.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Sad but true
| You Are 40% Evil |
 A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil. |
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Learn from thy neighbour
No its not swashbuckling Bangladesh and their cricketing feats that I am talking about.Its tiny Bhutan that has been making waves lately.Bhutan is the first nation in the world where protection of the environment has been enshrined in its constitution.
Affirmative action by governments of the world to protect nature is such heartening news.
With the largest chunk of humanity on the Indian subcontinent and with a really booming economy we are in a position to cause some really serious damage.Its too much to expect our government to do something about it,but there are a lot of things that we could do.Avoiding the unnecessary use of plastic for one.It would hardly be of any inconvenience to carry a bag with us while shopping.Moreover when the shopkeeper deems it necessary to wrap up everything in a plastic packet,we really need to refuse his benevolence.Misuse of office stationery comes next.It would be really great if we thought twice about whether we really needed that printout and if it is needed spare a thought and see if both sides of the paper could be used.
With regard to food habits,cutting down on sea food would give the creatures of the seas a break.Return the sachet of sauce if you don't need it.If your company supplies paper glasses to drink water,try carrying a bottle with you.It would cut down the number of paper glasses used.
There is a lot more that we could do,but its the doing that matters.
Affirmative action by governments of the world to protect nature is such heartening news.
With the largest chunk of humanity on the Indian subcontinent and with a really booming economy we are in a position to cause some really serious damage.Its too much to expect our government to do something about it,but there are a lot of things that we could do.Avoiding the unnecessary use of plastic for one.It would hardly be of any inconvenience to carry a bag with us while shopping.Moreover when the shopkeeper deems it necessary to wrap up everything in a plastic packet,we really need to refuse his benevolence.Misuse of office stationery comes next.It would be really great if we thought twice about whether we really needed that printout and if it is needed spare a thought and see if both sides of the paper could be used.
With regard to food habits,cutting down on sea food would give the creatures of the seas a break.Return the sachet of sauce if you don't need it.If your company supplies paper glasses to drink water,try carrying a bottle with you.It would cut down the number of paper glasses used.
There is a lot more that we could do,but its the doing that matters.
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