What can best be described as a strategic and political movie, the ruling party decided to show one of my favourite films on KTV this evening...Kannathil Muthamittal
I have seen this film many times before, but with all that is being reported in the press in recent times, it was as if I was watching the film for the very first time!
A couple of days ago, the front page of all the major dailies showed a photo of tens and thousands of civilans fleeing the No Fire Zone. In the movie too, there's a scene of many people fleeing a town called Mangala. Honest to God, the picture splashed on the dailies could have been a still from this movie..
Throughout the film, I kept annoying my dad asking him several times, "Is it really like this", "Do they really do that", "Does all this happen". Scenes of LTTE training camps, women cadets being taught the nuances of machine guns, cyanide necklaces disturbed me no end!
Switch over to NDTV a couple of hours later and the big fight was all about the war in sri lanka! You had representatives from the congress, dmk, aidmk, senior journalists, pro-ltte activitists etc. The big fight lacked a punch, turning into a yelling contest with each panelist trying to out-do each other without even listening to what the other had to say...debate aside, you also had a very sweaty vikram chandra who could barely control the panel and the audience.
As a tamilian, and a proud one at that, the plight of tamilian civilians in lanka does greatly disturb me. However, setting myself on fire or calling a state wide bandh in another country will hardly achieve anything to help their cause.
its a pity that political parties are using this unfortunate situation as fodder for their election manifesto...while it is easy for me to pass remarks without first hand experiencing the problem, an educated solution would be to .............??!!??!!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
From then to now
Flashback to 1999 / 2000 - 12D, JKG's class on Macro Economics...The whole class had convinced her to postpone the test...But you were adamant on having it...After all you had spent countless hours preparing for it. You being JKG's pet she went ahead and gave the test!
I remember I called you a bitch, loud enough for you to hear! You asked me to hold my tongue! And as a mark of solidarity the rest of the class all stuck their tongues out and did exactly that - Hold it!! :)
I hated you then. The way you were so organised. How you had a 'rough' note book to take down notes in class, and how you would go back home and transfer them in perfect handwriting to a 'fair' copy! How you would do every piece of homework ever given and never ever let anyone copy them! How you would never explain anything to anyone even though they had obviously swallowed their pride and ego and come and asked you for help. How you would never share your notes with anyone so they too could learn!
I'm pretty sure you hated me too! (Warning - This section though all what I've said is true - I may sound a bit pompous and ...well.. singing my own praises a tad too much - its all for effect people :)) How I had a big circle of friends from all the sections. How I was made house leader over your best friend! How most teachers liked me albeit grudgingly! How I goofed around all the time, yet when it came to tests and exams managed to do quite well! How in the 12th Board Exams, even though you were school first, I scored only 5 marks lesser than you in an overall sense!
Then came college - As luck would have it..we ended up in the same college, same department, worse still - same section! We still never acknowledged each other...You had your set of friends..I had mine..
But over the 3 years you gradually changed..You became less anal...You were more friendly...You helped people with their work...We even went out for lunch / movies a couple of times...I came to your place for studies...Though I have to tell you now..You served me some god awful cabbage kootu for lunch that day!! College excursion was a blast - Who knew you could dance so well! :)
Post college, we parted ways once again...Just the occasional non-committal hi/hellos on orkut and facebook! Then I heard u were getting married...That too a 'Love Marriage'. Never in my wildest dreams I would have imagined that one day Ms.PR would have a boy friend and more importantly get married to him! I'm glad things worked out for you the way they did!
I got a surprise mail from PR this morning recounting a hilarious incident involving one of the nuns in college! Thus this flashback! In all honesty, PR doesn't even figure in my top 20 friends list...But she is someone whom I have tremendous respect for, more so for her intelligence and dedication to any given task! We've come a long way from our 'hate-hate' relationship in school to now! I wish her all the success and happiness in life! :)
I remember I called you a bitch, loud enough for you to hear! You asked me to hold my tongue! And as a mark of solidarity the rest of the class all stuck their tongues out and did exactly that - Hold it!! :)
I hated you then. The way you were so organised. How you had a 'rough' note book to take down notes in class, and how you would go back home and transfer them in perfect handwriting to a 'fair' copy! How you would do every piece of homework ever given and never ever let anyone copy them! How you would never explain anything to anyone even though they had obviously swallowed their pride and ego and come and asked you for help. How you would never share your notes with anyone so they too could learn!
I'm pretty sure you hated me too! (Warning - This section though all what I've said is true - I may sound a bit pompous and ...well.. singing my own praises a tad too much - its all for effect people :)) How I had a big circle of friends from all the sections. How I was made house leader over your best friend! How most teachers liked me albeit grudgingly! How I goofed around all the time, yet when it came to tests and exams managed to do quite well! How in the 12th Board Exams, even though you were school first, I scored only 5 marks lesser than you in an overall sense!
Then came college - As luck would have it..we ended up in the same college, same department, worse still - same section! We still never acknowledged each other...You had your set of friends..I had mine..
But over the 3 years you gradually changed..You became less anal...You were more friendly...You helped people with their work...We even went out for lunch / movies a couple of times...I came to your place for studies...Though I have to tell you now..You served me some god awful cabbage kootu for lunch that day!! College excursion was a blast - Who knew you could dance so well! :)
Post college, we parted ways once again...Just the occasional non-committal hi/hellos on orkut and facebook! Then I heard u were getting married...That too a 'Love Marriage'. Never in my wildest dreams I would have imagined that one day Ms.PR would have a boy friend and more importantly get married to him! I'm glad things worked out for you the way they did!
I got a surprise mail from PR this morning recounting a hilarious incident involving one of the nuns in college! Thus this flashback! In all honesty, PR doesn't even figure in my top 20 friends list...But she is someone whom I have tremendous respect for, more so for her intelligence and dedication to any given task! We've come a long way from our 'hate-hate' relationship in school to now! I wish her all the success and happiness in life! :)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Temple Road Trip
2 days, 15 temples covered across Tirunelveli, Sri Villiputtur and Madurai. I hope I have absolved my sins, at least the ones committed in 2009 alone :)
We started off visiting the Nava Tirupathi Sthalams in Tirunelveli where each temple is attributed to one of the nine planets that governs us(Suryan, Chandran, Kuja, Budha, Guru, Shukran, Shani, Rahu and Ketu).
The Nava Tirupati form an important part of the 108 Divyadesam the 12 Azhwars have sung about. All the temples are great storehouses of art, sculpture, architecture, bronze work, etc.
After a speedy 1.5 hour car drive to Srivilliputtur from there we made it just in time for the wedding of Rangamannar and Aandal. Every year during the month of Panguni, they get them married in true blue Iyengar style. All the typical rituals, such as Jaanvaasam, Kaasi Yaatra, Oonjal are carried out by the priests.
The wedding was fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Even though the place was beyond crowded and a mini stampede broke out I felt truly blessed to have attended God's marriage. Minor sidetrack, there was this old maami who sat on my leg and sweat was dripping from her blouse on to my hand! (I gagged some million times).
The following day we covered 4 more temples in Madurai, by which we had amassed some 4 huge bags of poo maalais and countless packets of kungumam and manjal.
Another sidetrack, if ever any of u go to Madurai, please please eat at this lil joint called Sabari near the railway station. Hands down the best ever masalai dosai I have had in my entire life.
Back home to the grind, well not technically. Thanks to Good Friday and the weekend I managed to give myself a 5 day break from office. Sigh! Come tomorrow, and its Saber time again.
God Save me! :)
We started off visiting the Nava Tirupathi Sthalams in Tirunelveli where each temple is attributed to one of the nine planets that governs us(Suryan, Chandran, Kuja, Budha, Guru, Shukran, Shani, Rahu and Ketu).
The Nava Tirupati form an important part of the 108 Divyadesam the 12 Azhwars have sung about. All the temples are great storehouses of art, sculpture, architecture, bronze work, etc.
After a speedy 1.5 hour car drive to Srivilliputtur from there we made it just in time for the wedding of Rangamannar and Aandal. Every year during the month of Panguni, they get them married in true blue Iyengar style. All the typical rituals, such as Jaanvaasam, Kaasi Yaatra, Oonjal are carried out by the priests.
The wedding was fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Even though the place was beyond crowded and a mini stampede broke out I felt truly blessed to have attended God's marriage. Minor sidetrack, there was this old maami who sat on my leg and sweat was dripping from her blouse on to my hand! (I gagged some million times).
The following day we covered 4 more temples in Madurai, by which we had amassed some 4 huge bags of poo maalais and countless packets of kungumam and manjal.
Another sidetrack, if ever any of u go to Madurai, please please eat at this lil joint called Sabari near the railway station. Hands down the best ever masalai dosai I have had in my entire life.
Back home to the grind, well not technically. Thanks to Good Friday and the weekend I managed to give myself a 5 day break from office. Sigh! Come tomorrow, and its Saber time again.
God Save me! :)
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