Meiyazhagan

After initial reviews on Social media platforms, I wanted to see Meiyazhagan in all its glory at the theatres but for some reason it got pushed back and had to wait until it arrived on OTT. It was a movie I wanted to watch along with the family based on what little i knew of the plot and story. The movie starts with a bang, the loss of ancestral home and the impact it has on the family and Arul. Naa poren naa poren verum kooda and the subsequent lyrics had so much depth that it resonated with my own personal loss of moving away from Madras in similar circumstances. The loss of one's identity and place in the world can shatter even the strongest minds. 

In the first 10 mins as the movie deals with the family vacating and move out of their ancestral town, I had made up my mind that this deserves a serious watch with full attention. The family could have stayed in Tanjore for rent and but they don't, it had a personal connect, for similar reasons I have not gone back to Chennai.

Cut to 20 yrs later Arul and his family live in Chennai and lead a normal life. On invited for his cousin sister's wedding, he painstakingly makes the journey to Tanjore after such a long gap. The way he is uneasy is evident with the use of headphones to shut out the outside noise and his anxiety. His mind yearns for it but he is not sure if he can handle things from the past. The conversation between Karuna (bus conductor) and Arul reminded me of myself when I used to visit India after 2017, not sure where I fit, always nervous and fidgety. He wants to leave all the time even before he has not attended the wedding or properly even settled in. One is never sure when one has to deal with demons of the past. What to make of it? 

As he gets to the mandapam, he meets his murai ponnu and that interaction is a plot in itself. Someone who has done everything that has been asked of her but life doesn't return the favour or treat her kindly. Worse the ones who expected to her do the things asked of her have turned a blind eye and have moved on. It's a story of many a woman and man who have been conditioned since birth to fit into a well oiled regimented system to play their respective roles and follow the path of milestones. For some it works and for quite a few it doesn't leading to a lifetime of internal conflict and sadness. The movie highlights this aspect but does not try to deal with it. The smile on the murai ponnu face when Arul enquires is a story in itself. (courtesy : jillu) 

He also encounters his maama, the loving Sokkalingam ( my dad's name is Sokkalingam) and the ensuing conversation between Arul's dad and the uncle is another plot point that could be a movie in itself. Two well meaning men in their last embers dealing with their emotions and respecting each other's view and boundaries. 

Though we are not shown a lot of detail about the relationship between Bhuvana and Arul, we can see the depth and bonding in the reception scene. She makes the entire entourage of guests wait until her brother gets to unpack and help her put on the gifts he has got. I assume they havent met in the interim 20 yrs but have managed to stay in touch and that filial bonding had stayed intact. I have always yearned for a sister and it made me emotional. It is a ultra-slow scene which immerses the viewer with that closeness, respect and parting of 20 yrs. 

Enter the magical character or the genie in the box - karthi and the movie shifts to another plane. He is full of kindness and showers anbu and akkarai when he bumps into Arul. Arul has no clue about who the guy is and struggles with the ensuing journey.

This is a magical arc, elif shafak would have turned it into a befitting sufi story. The confused Arul who wants to get away from Karthi at every possible instance ends up having to stay at his house overnight. He doesn't know Karthi has his own plans and why he is so endearing. At first he is uncomfortable, irritated even and ends up giving a wrong number. But he slowly relaxes and lets his guard down while they ride on the kinetic honda to Karthi's home. He grips his muscular arms around Karthi's shoulders, an affectionate gesture indicating that the distance is diminishing. 

Arul is even more bemused when Karthi's wife also treats him with kindness and great respect. A man used to the hustle and bustle of Chennai gets a bit confused and gets flustered. The men start to loosen up further as the drinking session starts, Karthi narrates the story of the house they currently live in and why it is so special. Arul started to engage and the initial irritation has all but disappeared, he is in the mood to indulge even. The movie shifts to another plane when Karthi narrates the significance of the cycle and how much it means to him. Arul is moved that someone has gone to extreme pains to maintain it so well. What is trivial to one has so much significance and meaning to another, we don't even have a clue in life sometimes. It meant freedom to move around, growing up faster in the world of men, the cycle had been part of his life's journey. The discussion reaches a climax when Karthi reveals the would be name of the child he his expecting. Arul reconnects with some of his childhood memories and he is overwhelmed by the affection he is receiving. 

The scene that looked so simple but that affected me so much was the act of forgiveness. An anger that has been residing for 20 yrs, that has kept him from living in his ancestral house goes off like smoke in  few seconds. I could relate to it, anger eats away the person no matter the unfairness of the circumstances that led to it. It's an incomplete and miserable life that one leads and keeps latching on to that anger to justify actions.  Arul knows it is only a ghost he is carrying, he no longer recognises the people who caused it, they don't even matter to him. When Karthi suggests forgiveness, he is overwhelmed with this man's demeanour and attitude to life, he just says ok in a flash. It was a beautiful moment, it was not forgiveness of those ppl, it was Arul casting off his demons. The longing, the past, the unfulfilled wishes all disappear. 

But before he can process what's happening to him and stabilise, Karthi comes up with a request. Arul is shaken to the core, he doesn't know how to deal with this situation and he runs away which is probably the pathway in his brain. The running away scene is so powerful when he carries Karthi's slippers in his hands, fidgets around in the bus stand and requests the poo kara akka to do puja. This is a man who's been overwhelmed and has so many conflicting emotions in his head. He feels like a worm but at the same time has so much respect and love for Karthi. Who is this guy ? 

Bane becomes a boon; vendum vendum endra urava pirinjen (a momentary call back to my dad who passed away earlier this year, I'm glad I made peace with him) 

He goes away to Chennai and attends to work but it's irking him, he is not sure how to go about this. The universe intervenes and his daughter does the needful. The following conversation is one for the ages, a beautiful conversation between two beautiful souls. He slowly recollects things to realise who the guy is, in some sense it is almost therapeutic. In the end, Arul has banished all the demons, unknown fears of his mind and goes back to his hometown. He no longer feels unsure or insecure of himself; pure love mei anbu has so much transformation power. 

I wish a Karthi had come into my life, but I guess in real life Karthis don't manifest in one person, it could be through a bunch of encounters with strangers and people around us. I believe there are a lot of beautiful ppl around us. It reminded me of my dad's death and my own journey of facing my demons, it didn't happen in a day but slowly but surely. I am not fidgety around my relatives any more, or going back to my dad's company. I am more comfortable in my skin than ever before. 

Questions that kept coming at me or reflections 

Would I have liked this movie so much if I had still lived in Chennai or for that matter in India? Would I have transformed into a different person if i had continued to live in India. What made me connect so much was the sense of loss and the transformation arc of overcoming the loss to face life as is. I think i am at a stage where i want to face life as is than what it should be. 

It also made me miss my hometown, which i anyways do. I have worked hard to craft a new identity and have transcended the pain but the pull of home is incredible. How do I go about it in the coming years, the sense of generational continuity is bound to dimmish or dilute as i continue to live in the western world. 

Am I just nostalgic when i think of my hometown or is there a deeper connection, there is something in our mann and makkal. That question is for another day! 

Keep giving love to everyone not just your family, the world will become a better place with each day. 

Why are CSK and the IPL important to me?

04 April 2021

The IPL is here and the Chennai Super Kings are about to play their first game of the campaign. I have been waiting for the IPL to begin and watch the Kings in action. It is close to my heart and the three hours of cricket bring so much joy to me. But Why? 

Thanks to my parents, I have been a fan of various sports since childhood and like most Indians growing up in the 80's and 90's, Cricket was top of that list. Post-liberalization and the entry of satellite television gave access to European football which breathed new life into my sporting fandom. The opportunity to watch games weekly league was rhythmic compared to the oddly structured cricketing season. The betting scandal in the early 2000s made me distant with cricket and pushed me towards football. 

The football clubs of historic European cities Milan, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, London made it all the more exotic. It was no longer about just about the game, it gave a lens to view foreign culture with a perspective. Arsenal under Arsene Wenger were the perfect combination and I became an ardent fan of the club. Waking up at 1 am to watch Champions League games with little concern for the university lecture or the work day ahead became quite normal. Arsenal matches were of the highest priority and would plan family time, friends and other activities around it. I had never been to London but there was a sense of bonding with Arsenal fans around the world. 

Fast forward to 2016, I landed in the UK to do my MBA at Cranfield University. The first weekend in the UK, I travelled to London and visited the Emirates Stadium. I still remember my heart pounding as I stood outside the arena close to Bergkamp's statue. I even got a chance to see Ozil and Sanchez combine to destroy Chelsea, life couldn't get any better than this. I had gone thrice to the Emirates by the time I graduated in Sep 2017. 

My family moved over to the UK in Jan 2018 which involved actions and chores to support their settling down and feeling at home. Suddenly I was no longer a student with a tourist mentality but a husband and a father making the rest of the family at home. It was in 2018 that CSK made a comeback from their 2 year hiatus. As time passed by the irony of missing home and helping the family be at home needed that release. The Chennai Super Kings provided that tribal affiliation and rekindled my love for the city. 

CSK won the 2018 edition and came close in 2019 but they look like a spent force going forward. Despite that Chennai is Chennai and Whistle Podu is here to stay. 

Day 4 naples

A slow start after a good sleep. Naples was a shocker initially , nothing like the Western European advanced city one would presume. Garbage all over, beggars , bad roads, traffic , noisy ....

Good reasons why most tourists avoid ......but Naples is Italy at its seductive best, the warmth of the people , the bustling street life, the noise and the humane feeling is second to none when compared to an European city.


Naples used to be a part of the kingdom of two Sicily and was ruled by German, French, Spanish, Norman rulers through its history and only through cunning was Naples captured by the Italian Risorgimento . One can still feel the distrust Neapolitans have for the northerners and its best exhibited during the football match between Napoli and the old lady juventus. Milanese and the northerners consider Naples to be shabby and less cultured whereas Naples was the biggest city of Italy in the 1860s.

We decided to explore the city in a more casual manner than the usual touristy museum landmark style and touched down on via tribunali one of the three arterial roads of ancient Naples along with vicaria  Vecchia and apostoli. The via tribunali houses the street hawkers, doll makers, cafes, pizza houses - one can say the soul of Neapolitan life. The first stop of the day was in a pizza restaurant and I must admit truly Naples is the home of the best pizzas.

We turned round the corner to visit the famed veiled Christ at museo Capella sansevero, it's a private exhibition holding probably one of the most magnificent artistic pieces of Christian Europe, one could be easily misled to lift the veil covering Christ and i would place it beside pieta at the Vatican. It also holds some more gems and this museum is not to be missed.


After the visual treat of the San severo, we walked on to another of Naples treasure trove , the Naples archeological museum which houses the artifacts and relics from the excavation done at Pompeii and Herculaneum . For someone who had been to Pompeii before I was waiting to see the original excavated items. The mosaics were simply breathtaking considering the effort and the attention to detail and the one of Alexander v darius caught my attention.

After immersing ourselves for a couple of hours in the rich treasures of Farnese gallery and the best of Naples we took a train to Via Toledo, the chic shopping street leading to the Neapolitan riviera.
The shopping street had the usual suspects from Gucci to Armani to Benetton and we skipped them all. We stopped to have a shot of cappuccino and sfogliatella which is a pastry native to the campania region.

Since it was late, we couldn't get into the San Carlo theatre , the oldest and grandest opera house in Europe , would love to get in there and watch a show once. Just beside it is the plebiscite square and the bibliotheca over looking the gorgeous bay of Naples. The walk along the boulevard of the bay of Naples is a serene experience with casual joggers, couples and tourists. Several castles are located along this stretch for obvious reasons during the medivel period.

We closed off the day with a dinner at one of the chic restaurants on the chiaia coast ........

Day 3

day 3 in Rome was a nice affair. Starting with catacombs of San Sebastián. We travelled outside the city walls to the appian way to reach the catacombs. It has been one of the highlights of the trip so far,. The catacombs were burial places just like modern day ones and Rome had several of them and these dates to 1st century ad.

Just like modern urban centres, real estate was expensive back then and people had a tough time finding space to bury their loved ones. In comparison to today's cities which have gone vertically upwards, the Roman towns went beneath to accommodate their sprawling megapolis needs. The Christian idea of burial than burning due to the faith in resurrection after judgement day is one retained by the abrahamical faiths. The catacombs had curators and coffin makers , interminably the coffin maker stamp was existent on all coffins - a precursor to the modern day sales tax.

Next on the list , st clement church which is built on the ancient order of Mithras. As Christianity became more accepted and also later the official religion, the pagan religions were trampled upon and one can see traces of ancient religions bring exterminated. Two levels of ancient churches and Mithrae.

Last stop in Rome before moving to Naples was the beautiful and majestic basilica of Lateran st. Giovanni . It has been the seat of the pope for a considerable period of time in history and also one of the pilgrim churches of Rome.

A beautiful cup of coffee and we are off to Naples, the bustling and sprightly southern city.

Roman holiday day 2

Day 2

After the tiring first day it's trips to Vatican and trastevere , our aching bodies needed some rest and we started the day at 11am.

The lan was to hit Ostia antica and the usual suspects of central storica of Rome including the pantheon and Navona.

The journey to Ostia antica took an hour and 15 minutes and the by the time we reached the small village we were hungry. Downing couple of pizzas took us an hour more than we anticipated. It was a new experience travel with a 11 month inquisitive baby.

Ostia used to be a sea port with the river Tiber flowing through it from Rome so it was used as a storage yard as well. The ruins and excavation is a sight for anyone interested in knowing how people loved 2000 yrs back. The baths are well preserved , hot water for the entire public, wow. Mosaic design for floors are so contemporary that it's awe inspiring . The Roman amphitheater is a engineering marvel with such acoustic accomplishment. The entire complex is supposed to be the biggest excavation site of Roman period. Our lives are merely a continuation of the past and it's absurd to think that time has stood still.

Going back to the city , we attempted to hit the beaten track of central historical district of Trevi, pantheon, piazza Navona , gothic church and campo d fiori . Since we started late we could visit only the Trevi and campo d fiori . We had coffee at Saint eustachio's supposedly the best coffee Rome had to offer. The cappuccino and tiramisu were divine to say the least.

Dinner was sumptuous calzone with ham n cheese.

Roman holiday

day 1

Tired after the long flight from chennai to Rome.

We saw the imposing Flavian amphitheatre or the more common name colosseum first up

It was interesting to see why it was built and the origins of the name coliseum

Leaving Constantine arch, we entered the palatine hill and the Roman forum. The once bustling city space of roma is all to see from basilicas , senate house, temples to deified emperors , markets.... It's a glorious sight ....the Roman columns are just colossal in size

We took a long walk along the Roman and imperial forum viewing the Trajan column up to piazza Venezia ... With beautiful view of the Risorgimento and Italian unification monument of vittorio Emmanuel 2 while waiting for the bus to take us to St. Peter square.

Lo behold the holiest place in the western world, St. Peter basilica...... The adornments and embellishments, the holy door and the baroqueness are stunning.

Walking along the chilly w.ind, we reach trastevere , the Roman city side of working class. The Santa Maria church built on 23 Roman columns and the apse featuring a glittering Christ.

Dinner was a sumptuous Roman affair with meat broth, lentil soup and rabbit in vinegar sauce.

Can Arsenal bounce back ?

This was not the classic attacking and free flowing football but definetely the most intense game of the season so far. Highflying Arsenal came up against floundering Manchester United at Old Trafford and the build up to the game was mind blowing.

The theatre of dreams have been a jinxed place for the Gunners with the recent 8-2 drubbing being the most humiliating result for Arsene Wenger during his illustrious career. This time it was different as the Gunners were on top of the table and had just beaten Liverpool and a strong Dortmund side. The gunners boast the best midfield of the league with Ozil, Cazorla, Arteta, Ramsey and Wilshere and must have hoped that much of the game would be played in the way they wanted i.e crisp and fast football.

The red devils started with a high pressing game and the gunners were pressurized into making small errors in passing and positioning which were absent in their previous games and it showed the nervousness of the Arsenal players. Ozil and Ramsey were poor beyond any words and were playing well below their normal levels, Cazorla tried hard to get into the game but could not as well. The red devils had one clear strategy and were executing it well, block Arsenal from playing in their style, Rooney was their most industrious player and he was the one who created the goal. The first half was a tactical battle between Moyes and Wenger and the former Everton man was winning but the second half was different. Arsenal started playing well and enjoyed 65% of the possession but without many clearcut chances. The introduction of Gnabry provided some width and pace and all Arsenal fans must have wondered what would have been if Walcott and Podolski played.

By all means this was a competitive match and the decider came from a set piece and Arsenal fans must not put their heads down. After a long time we have a team which can battle and win matches, but it would be wonderful if Arsene signed a more accomplished striker, Giroud is playing well but just not at the level of rooney or Van persie. Ozil must start making more effort when things are not going his way, he just disappeared from the game on many occasions and was marked by Rooney though towards the second half he started making runs and finding space.

After the break hopefully we will have Walcott to speed up the play and bring some width and keep playing good football.

Arsenal's resurgence

Its funny that on the opening day of the premier league the whole world was out to get Wenger's head and after 3 months and 10 league games normalcy has been restored with "Arsene Knows". Considering the final third of last season and this season until now, the Aston Villa game looks like a clear aberration, Wenger's men have lost 1 in 20 games played in the corresponding period. Arsenal fans were getting impatient and have been without a trophy for 8 long years and the media comments passed by the club's management that any top player could be signed now. These factors culminated in the unanimous call for Wenger's ouster and few would have doubted that it was the right thing to do.

In came Mathieu Flamini and a certain Madridista Mesut Ozil (yeah u heard it right) and the whole dynamic changed, Ozil assisted with almost his first touch for the club and Flamini was bossing the midfield area like no one since another popular french man Patrick Vieira. Suddenly Arsenal were on the back of 5 straight wins and a dominating win over Rafa's Napoli, when Man utd and city were stumbling. As it stands Arsenal are top of the table 5 points clear off Chelsea.

It is easy to forget that unlike City, Utd and chelsea who are all in transition due to new management and arrival of new players, Arsenal had the sagacious Wenger in control and at the back of a stupendous run towards the end of the previous season. This was also the first season in a long time that Arsenal did not sell their best players which was a huge step in itself, look at Spurs who have splashed 100 Mn and are yet to forge a winning combination. Arsenal's young team have such cohesiveness which is hard to match and this has contributed significantly to Arsenal's stellar showing this season. Barring Ozil and Flamini the rest of the bunch have been playing together for quite some time now.

Flamini and Arteta make a fine pairing while Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Rosicky give them creative impetus and my word Giroud has improved leaps and bounds, his holding capacity and build up play has exceeded all expectations. As the top teams slowly settle and gel, we would know whether Arsenal's rise is a fluke or are they genuine title contenders.  Ozil has raised the level of game play to another level while Ramsey has been simply superb. I hope Arsene Wenger is proved right by Arsenal winning the league and building another set of invincibles as I expect City, united and chelsea to come out all guns blazing soon.

Incentives are double edged

Recently I had the dubious distinction of almost stopping Hyundai (car maker) assembly line. The reason was a critical part which is made in my factory turned out to be defective and in the process of tracing it whole lots of material had to be stopped.

During the process I was involved in a conversation with a line supervisor at the customer plant. They have an interesting scheme whereby the internal production team are treated like suppliers I.e the parts are invoiced from each line as if it were a supplier. This mechanism was introduced to create incentives for production management whereby every player in the game has the motivation to maximize production. In this scenario everyone wins the company gets max production and the employees get maximum benefit. This is a profit sharing agreement which has raised out of weakness on part of the company wherein it could not handle the huge workforce. So far so good, it looks beautiful but there is a huge downside to this system.

This initiative failed to bring in the controls required to maintain product quality. To begin with the accounting of rejection parts in itself turned faulty which led to loss of control in the quality aspect. In today's manufacturing world when quality has become a mandatory expectation this initiative would be disastrous and eventually lead to loss of market share. The reason why proper controls were not established is because it acted as a perk to people who wanted to take on this job. The top management of the company wanted to loosen the quality fencing in order to attract people to take up the job and one can be sure of what the consequences of that action would be. 

Pressing need

Some plain vanilla academics, please: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blogs/blog-indirabalaji/some-plain-vanilla-academics-please/article5233440.ece

Promise of india

The year 2006 , the Indian juggernaut was unstoppable riding a wave of optimism and promise. We had just completed one more year growing at 9% yoy, the fastest rate at which the country had grown. IT was the new posterboy of the India shining story but the other sectors were not to be left behind, manufacturing was growing at 15-20% yoy generating a lot of wealth and employment. The usual punching bag factor of the country "population" suddenly started to look like a boon with ever other country poised to get older by 2030. The government was well placed to bring in market,education and labour reforms to back up the stellar performance of the economy.

Fast forward to 2013, the whole scenario is gloomy with the economy growing at 3.5%. What went wrong, where did we miss the bus ? Was this a temporary blip or was the engine humming to a standstill. The government riding on the wave of growth and optimism failed to act on key levers to bring in investment, namely retail. It messed up big time on the infrastructure front with traffic jams the order of the day in all major cities. It did not touch the labour laws for want of electoral vision and filled the economy with welfare schemes. Ease of doing business has gone down the wrong path with major Indian companies investing abroad due to the red tapism.

India needs a comprehensive manufacturing and industry policy, labour laws have to be eased, infrastructure to be made world-class. Finally a lot of the welfare schemes need to be dropped to address the CAD issue.

Rediscovering India

Over the past 3 years after I came back from the United States I have travelled across India on several business trips, from Delhi in the north to Coimbatore in the South. Each town having its own flavour made me ponder whether I understood what is India? Why do we oppose ourselves ever so staunchly and also unite feverishly when the need arises. The question has become even stronger after witnessing the furore over the Telengana issue. Interesting to note that we had only 18 states in 1971 and have 28 today, so the concept of new state formation is not that new but to understand what motivates people to demand a new state is an interesting study by itself.

Being a part of a sourcing group in an automotive industry my travels were fixated at the epicentres of the recent Indian growth centres of Delhi NCR-Mumbai (Pune)-Southern triumvirate of Chennai, Bangalore and Coimbatore. Even for a person who grew up in Chennai, it was like getting subjected to a rapid facelift of these urban centres with Neon lights, Ad Hoardings, Multi storied Malls, Sky rocketing glass buildings. The promised growth had finally come and was staring at everyone’s faces challenging them every moment to stretch their boundaries culturally. On the other hand as I travelled to other cities like Indore, Nasik, and Kolhapur which were also industrial centres the experience was quite different. These cities were lagging in the areas of infra and service in comparison to the darlings of India’s growth story. Their economies were not experiencing the sudden burst of growth and rather were going steady. One common factor which was clear and obvious was the fact that though the 3 regions I mentioned were Industrial powerhouses they also housed a significant industry called IT/ITES, housing the world’s elite enterprises making it a very popular destination for investment and human capital.

So does that mean the IT industry is the only reason behind the growth of these regions or did the IT industry find these regions as the most conducive for Business? It is a classic egg and chicken story, which came first. One thing most people forget is that these regions were important in the British scheme of things so they had comparatively better roads, education system and probably even governance. These regions had their edge over other regions in terms of these essential services in order to capitalize the Globalization bandwagon. Nevertheless one must not and cannot discount the entrepreneurial spirit of the men who brought about this progress.

Progress is very essential in the overall scheme of things and especially when your neighbour becomes wealthier, the old adage ”envy your neighbour” will hold good for a long time to come. Coming back to the Statehood issue of Telengana, I fear that if the growth is not inclusive in the years to come we are likely to see more Telenganas. One might be tempted to think that I am prescribing Communism here but I am not going to. The way to go is improve governance, social systems and create opportunities. The problem here with this issue is we have long been a society which has chastised inequality and hierarchy and hold that tradition close to our hearts. We have definitely made progress but there’s a heavy legacy burden on the young shoulders of this country.

LET’S HOPE WE LIVE UP TO THE PROMISE

expansionists versus restrictionists

Most people would be aware of the Copenhagen Summit which concluded last week and the hype that surrounded it. So why is it difficult for world's leaders to come to an effective agreement to face this critical issue staring at us. Leaving apart a minority who feel that "climate change" is a no-issue, most of the countries accept and understand that there is a task at hand which needs to be dealt with and also that we are running out of time to bring in the cuts required to smother the effect.

As I write this blog, it is almost certain that the summit will end in leaders re-iterating the known facts about global warming rather than agreeing upon a concrete plan and timetable.The problem begins with the differences over the binding cuts that needs to be taken by the developed and the developing countries and the issue of technology and fund transfer required over a phased out period to help the developing countries in adapting to the change. Historical responsibility is the stance taken by the BASIC countries and much of the developing world while the developed world refuses to commit to binding cuts.

If the issue is well known and acknowledged, what prevents the Leaders from chalking out a plan?. Firstly every country's vested interest in a highly biased and tilted world creates a situation where you can't have winners all around the table. There will have to be some who have to give more than what they can get, ultimately the problem is universal and not limited to a single country. Secondly when Leaders like Obama and Kevin Rudd face immense pressure back home and a lack of acknowldgment in their homelands leave alone transfer of tech and funds, it becomes virtually impossible to chalk out an agreement. These leaders promise a lot but fail to deliver due to the reasons cited. Adding to the mix is the bunch of people who have their faith in the fundamentals of growth suggesting that growth irons out all problems and disparities and climate change/global warming is nothing more than a hoax.

Though I understand the practical problems each country faces today in making a deal it is also important to realize that we are running out of time. In an effort to optimize the losses of today we appear to be taking a big gamble on tomorrow and the United Nations has once again been pushed to a mere spectator.

Shopping experience

In an age of breathtaking speed where we are pushed to our limits every single day, we have adopted every possible method of convenience to alleviate pressure. Super markets are one such example, gone are the days where we step in - step out of each shop looking for a particular substance or brand. It has made our lives easier (albeit expensive) by providing plenty of options and making our shopping experience more exciting. But in the process it has also taken away a basic cognitive ability of spotting a good item and a bad one, because the mind has been conditioned in such a manner where it expects only to see items of good quality if not exceptional quality.

I have become a victim of the supermarket shopping habit and I had not realised it for a long long time. Recently I had been to a street vendor selling veggies and fruits on a push cart to buy a couple of things. Little did I expect that my mind would be challenged to pick the better ones of the lot from what was available, my mind froze for a moment!!!!!! It was a shocking revelation that I had forgotten the art of picking a good one from a bunch of available fruits & veggies. It was a painful exercise and when I was done, I was cursing myself for becoming so inept at such a simple task.

Its something we would not normally be worried about but when I think about the conveniences being extended today because of modern technology and service providers, I am worried that we are slowly losing touch with realities of life. How we have started taking things for granted over a period of time and how we fail to appreciate the effort that goes behind each of these tasks is a serious issue to be pondered upon.

Obama's Nobel

The announcement of Barack Obama winning the Nobel Prize last week was, undoubtedly one of the most controversial events in recent memory, received with enthusiasm and disbelief in equal measure. The critics on one side claiming too early, too undeserving, too hyped etc etc and they do certainly have a point.

All these years the Nobel Prize committee in Sweden has given an impression which makes one think that its an award for men/women who have already reached the point and in a critical way past their prime, in essence a lifetime award for accomplishing phenomenal things. The Nobel Prize is known as the top prize in the world for service in the areas of Science, Arts, Society and there have been many occasions where a deserving winner has missed out (Gandhi being one prime example). I would like to make a point here, such prizes should be given to people at the peak of their careers and professions, the reason being it acts as an incentive and encouragement during active practice of a particular skill.

If you buy this point one can safely say the man who has the platform and will to bring together an ever widening world, spheres of influence would be a certain Barack Obama. It is definitely early but a worthwhile gamble which could make Mr. Obama realise the expectations of the globe and nudge him into being assertive, confident in dealing with a lot of issues.

I agree guys, this prize is not one of merit but of pure hope and a well invested hope I must emphasize.

Lessons from Bapu!!!!

Last week marked the 140th Birth Anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi : The father of our nation. In light of the Mahatmas birthday I would like to add a couple of thoughts which came across in my mind over the past several years.

He had practiced and preached a lot of virtuous principles which remain a dream to a lot of us who continue to hold the Mahatma on a pedestal beyond our reach. I have noticed and continue to notice that, Whenever the example of Gandhi is given for a good practice, the answer comes back immediately "ah, its possible only for Gandhiji and not for mere mortals" immediately alleviating and relieving oneself from the potential responsibility.

The point in hand that I would like to make is Gandhi is Gandhiji today not because he was God or because he was superhuman. He was a normal man like anyone one of us, the ideals he held was possible and is possible for all of us, alas the age of Gandhi has still not dawned upon us. He is what he is today because of the tremendous self discipline and simplicity. He was not a man of great oratorical skills but could stir millions into action with his voice because people connected to him, they could relate to him, they realised here was a man who was doing something not out of self interest but for public unity. All this popularity and reverence did not happen in a day, even Gandhi was not elevated in a day, it took years of patient and rigorous practicing of all the virtues. Today's youngsters caught in a vortex of instant gratification want it in a flash, even the great accomplishments are expected to be completed in the shortest possible time and effort required. This has led to a severe lack of confidence and pride which is required in today's demanding world.

I plead and request all my fellow human folk to believe in themselves that things are possible provided they want to do it. One needs determination and great amounts of self will, the greater the task at hand the greater the effort thats required. There are great tasks which are at hand and which needs to be done at the earliest. This is not a period of self doubt and self-pity.

Progressiveness of society -2

After the first post on the same topic I received some feedback stating that I didn't drive home the point clearly and was roving about aimlessly. So I take my second chance writing about the same header but in a different context or rather a follow up to the first one.

Resistance to change is one of the most debatable points in mainstream society. Recently I saw a tamil program on Tv "Neeya Naana" (You or Me) a debate/talk show which pits one side of the society and the other side against each other on a variety of topics. The topic under discussion was Modernity vs tradionality and a lot of interesting comments were exchanged between both sides. Though not all points were reasonable and mature it gave a clear sense of how fragmented and divisive the society we live under is. The producers of the show did a smart job of picking a diverse group of people cutting across class and gender and also falling on either side of modernity or tradionality. The crux of the episode was that a group albeit small was consistently attempting to break the boundaries/stereotypes drawn by the society while another group firmly believed in sticking to the experiences passed on to them. The host completed the show by stating that changes caused due to peer pressure are better avoided but at the same time one must keep an eye on the growing changes in the world and accept them if required.

Recently I had an opportunity to see a documentary called "Story of India" presented by Michael Woods (We need a westerner to present even our history to be accepted as unbiased, LOL) which did a very good job of taking the viewer along a journey from the early beginnings of Indian Civilization and the progression it has made over centuries to reach the current state.
One theme that was painted very beautifully was that India faces an interesting challenge considering its status as an ancient civilization which is still alive and has started to make the first steps towards a dramatic economic progression filled with pace and steadfastness. How does it grapple with the pride that it holds for the practices and the modernity it strives to enter, the balancing act is going to be one of the most crucial points in determining whether India goes on to become a genuine super power.

The connection between the Talk Show and the documentary is that the underlying message that one section of the country's progress is rapidly leaving the rest of the country high and dry. The massive gap in living standards is stark and is about to get bigger. What we are observing is a clear divide along the monetary lines, the economically progressive start to shed its inhibitions and controls bit by bit while the average depreived Indian watches on solemnly trying hard to associate himself with something to get his life going. Religion,tradition and culture offer the easisest ways for the human mind to obtain that social defence and its nothing new. The traces of which are slowly emerging on the horizon creating bigger differences than ever before.

Kunguma poovum konjum puravum - a melancholy well carved

Movies are of three types, the first where a movie is created for the sake of artistic proportions of different dimensions, the second being where a movie is utilized as a media to transmit a message of social importance and the third being pure no-brainer entertainers. 

When the first and second styles combine to form a gripping tale which can catch the pulse of the mass, the odds are that it cannot be ignored as mere triviality or entertainment. In the recent past we have come across such movies and to name a few Anbe Sivam, Anjathey, Subramaniyapuram, Azhagi. 

Kunguma poovum konjum puravum is a movie that falls under this category, a movie which has a gripping narration and elements of social importance tightly sewn together. At the first viewing it moves the viewer and also asks a series of questions which rock the foundations of our social setup. Its a stark reminder of our times where we have changed a lot on the surface while deep down we hold on to a series of archaic thought processes.

Its a tale of a vibrant and intelligent gal who gets the wrong end of fate time and again challenging her to move on in life. It reminds one of movies  like Chinatown where "hope" never materializes into reality for the protagonist. 

Kudos to the moviemakers for coming up with a gripping narration at a time when commercial movies rake in the moolah. 

Progressiveness of a society - 1

Off late there have been observations from a lot of agencies stating dramatic shifts in our cultural patterns which seemed impossible even 5 yrs ago. But what kind of shifts are they really talking about, are these mere cosmetic drifts in the face of a modern era or emerging fault lines in our culture.  

To be fair we have had one of the richest, ancient and deep rooted cultures that has ever existed on the planet. A civilization which was far ahead of its time in comparision with modern Europe or the Americas and lead the world's progress in the fields of arts, science, mathematics for more than a millenia. It also progressively spawned a tightly knit culture and tradition which still stands tall despite several attempts by foreign invasions and conquests. But as every empire or corporation have their peak and then decline, the Indian civilization also declined steadily over the medival period. Interestingly the practices of the Hindu society had hardly changed course despite the decline ( barring the intelligent retort to Buddhism) and the oppression(invasions) it witnessed until great men like Rajaram Mohan Roy arrived on the scene.  Though some changes occured the system at large continued to function the way it had. The reason why I put across this point is the system that we see today is hardly a reflection of the true(rather original) form of Hinduism that existed during its hey days. Did the elders of the religion reactively knit the religion together with inefficiencies and practices in order to give it an identity in the face of the muslim conquerors and later western invaders.  Frankly the Indian society is a rare polity which has remained truly integral while other societies and civilizations have been washed away with guns, germs and steel (Inca, Mayan,Egyptian just to name a few). 

As few people today realise culture and tradition is never static and always undergoes metamorphosis with time. The sour evidences can be seen on our prime time news coverages and blogs giving a strong cry for sticking to the past in the name of religion and purity. At the same time I dont mean to say every single bit must change (probably it must) but we need to move on with time and needs of today's fast paced world. I find it hard to digest the logic of saving our culture by sticking to archaic practices when the whole premise of a particular practice no longer holds good. Take the recent case of women getting manhandled in a pub in mangalore , lets not get into the argument of whether what the women did were right or not. The growing exposure to western culture has made us assimilate it bit by bit without even being aware of it which is good in a particular way. It needs no Keynes to tell what growth rate India had acheived during the Pre-Berlin wall era and at what rate its growing today after de-regulation, privatisation and globalization. Now its a very hard analogy and comparision to say will de-regulation of a society like ours will result in progressiveness, but logically a culture and society which accepts and welcomes new ideas and accomodates the same will move forward. The key point is whether society sees that engaging itself in meaningful debates can have an impact on its people and through out our history we have had many a men doing that. Using a shroud around its face in the name of culture puts the brakes on progressiveness more than anything else. 

I believe society also behaves in perfect equilibrium where the players of the game should be allowed the freedom to choose the role they want to pick, after a lot of movement the players themselves would find their appropriate places only to be unsettled, unnerved by a new flattener. 

What does Obama's election mean to India

Content Advisory: This article is not about Obama's political rhetoric on outsourcing nor the foreign policy or economic policies which are being closely watched upon by firms and parties alike back in India.

Who is Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, the first time Senator from Illinois who has sprung from obscurity into world limelight in a time frame of mere 20 months. The most charismatic American president after a certain JFK, what has he done thats so revolutionary in the united states and the tone that has been set for the world.

What does it mean to India, what can India learn from this massively and brilliantly co-ordinated campaign which translated into an euphoric victory. ???

watch out for my next போச்ட் !!!!!!