Friday, November 5, 2010

காதல் குருடர்கள்!

கண்ணுக்குள் உன்னை வைத்தே 
கண்ணிமை மூடி வைத்தேன்!

கல், கண்ணாடி கால்களைத் தீண்டியும் 
குருடனாயிருந்தேன் - கண் திறக்காமல்!

திறந்தால்... தூசு தீண்டுமே!
உன் பிம்பத்தை! 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

உயிர்

இலையின்றி கிளையின்றி
உயிரின்றி நின்றது!

'பட்டமரம்' என்றார்கள்!
பாவம் மூடர்கள்!

அது உன்
பார்வை 'படாத மரம்'
என்பதை நான் மட்டும் அறிவேன்!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

ஏன்?

காலையில் ஜாதிகள் இல்லை என்று பாடம் கறபிப்பவரே
மாலையில் மாறுவதன் பெயர் இயல்பு?

எழுத்தில் மட்டும் - திருமணம்!
மனமெல்லாம் பணம்! :-(

Friday, August 13, 2010

Money has no memory. Experience has...

Money has no memory. Experience has. You will never know what the total cost of your education was, but for a lifetime you will recall and relive the memories of schools and colleges. Few years from now, you will forget the amount you paid to settle the hospitalization bill, but will ever cherish having saved your mother's life or the life you get to live with the just born. You won't remember the cost of your honeymoon, but to the last breath remember the experiences of the bliss of togetherness.


The first time you balanced yourself on your cycle without support… The first time she said 'yes' and it was two years since you proposed… The first cry… the first steps… the first word… the first kiss… all of your child… The first gift you bought for your parents and the first gift your daughter gave you… The first award… the first public appreciation… the first stage performance… And the list is endless… Experiences, with timeless memory…

No denying that anything that's material cost money, but the fact remains the cost of the experience will be forgotten, but the experience never.



That is an excerpt from an article that I recently had the opportunity to skim through. How true! I hope that strikes a chord in you. 


Now that might answer some people's question of why I dont mind spending on anything that I see as a need/want. Saving is a good habit, yes! But not at the cost of losing the NOW, because tomorrow I'll forget how much I spent for this and that, but the fun I had yesterday, that will remain to cherish! 


I shall save even lakhs for later but can I play a PS3 or Xbox when I am on an armchair at 60? Even if I can, what's the fun in not playing now! :-)


Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Honor killing!

In the name of the father, son and the holy spirit! - Amen

In the name of the father, son and the whole family - All women are killed!

nuff said!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

You, me and us!

Existence has purposefully created man and woman a little incomplete so that they could embrace each other and make it complete. However, centuries of conditioning has given the terms husband and wife a very narrow connotation. It has shrunk the scope of this relationship. Drop those words from your vocabulary and resolve to be 'friends for a lifetime'. Then, both the man and the woman will sometimes play the mother, sometimes the father, sometimes a kid, then the mentor, the teacher, the mirror and of course sometimes the husband and the wife too. Expand the definition of this relationship and keep it open.

Dignity in a marital relationship is found when one relates to his/her spouse as a complete individual, and not just the body. Observing each other's way of thinking, discussing personal values, standpoints and convictions; getting sensitized to each other's feelings, develop emotional compatibility and taking time to sit together in quietude, develops a spiritual connectivity. Respect the entity of the person and relate to the whole person, not just the peripheral aspect of the other - the body.

Don't try to do in one year what can be done in ten years and don't do in one month what can be done in on year. Most married couples fall all over each other, overdo everything within the first few months and then there is no life left in that relationship. They coexist in a dead relationship bound to be together only for the sake of the rules of the society. What can be tree, dies a plant. Take it slow and make it long.

In life, as well as in a good relationship, the past is irrelevant. The present forms the building blocks. The future is very significant. The present forms the building blocks. The future is very significant, for that is where the two travel together. Discussing day-to-day trifles is nothing less than chatter. Talk future, talk dreams, talk ambitions, and play a part in each other's growth in a nonintrusive manner. That's the way to grow in love.

There's this universal concept that after the wedding, both lives superimpose and there is only one life to live from then on. As a result, women are often forced to live as a shadow of their man in the name of marriage. They tag on, but as frustrated, self-pitying, sacrificial individuals who feel exploited (most still fail to see that too!) The fact is much after YOUR life and MY life has become OUR life, there is still my life and your life. 'Our' life is that intersecting space called marriage. Happiness in marriage depends on how both relate in 'our' space and how this space keeps growing with every passing day. However, he will continue to have his life and she should continue to have her life, In fact, she is at her best in 'our' space when she goes to her space and then comes to 'our' space; the same is true with him. This will ensure one respects each other's space, each other's individual likes, dislikes and priorities, and most importantly, this alone will ensure that one doesn't suffocate the other in the name of love.

Marriage, in its true sense, should improve the quality of life of both involved. Marriage can and should be a continuity of life, magnifying possibilities for both.

A good marriage has to be nurtured and developed. Building a great marriage is an art! Get artistic!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Love marriages!

Love marriages around the world are simple:


Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy.
They get married.



In India, there are a few more steps:


Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy.
Girl’s family has to love boy. Boy’s family has to love girl.
Girl’s Family has to love Boy’s Family. Boy’s family has to love girl’s family.
Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.



- An excerpt from Chetan Bhagat's writing.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Dictionary of disparity!

Couple of days ago, the news read: Tamil Nadu govt. bans beggars! Come June 6, the rule comes to existence.

I wasn't relieved till I hear them say, "The govt is building rehab centres in the city to help this people. Effective or not, is another debate. But at the minimum at least that is guaranteed.

I thought the government was doing some thing good for those people until one beggar, with rage, asked the interviewer a question - "Why lock us against our will? We want the freedom that other citizens share. Are we terrorists? Even they roam free!"

         Another day, I pass by a Grand restaurant to see a dwindling guy who mustn't have had his bread for at least a couple of days, fiddling with his only property - a pair of worn-out footwear.

The same night, hot headlines: "Man with at least a ton of Gold and 1000s of crores of INR right in his house, apprehended! Imagine the money he must have invested elsewhere - white & black!

I wonder when we might understand what money is! What its purpose is! When we might not be indexed as the Dictionary of disparity!

கவியானேன்!

காப்பியம் எழுதிய கம்பனும்
கவியாம் கண்ணதாசனும்
கண்டனர் தோல்வியை -
கண்ணே உன் பெயரை
கரியால் நான் கிறுக்கிய போது!


Monday, May 31, 2010

Letters for the loved

Couple of days ago, I received a forwarded mail. A must share... Here it goes.



Hi,

It's a story of a Brahmin gal who loved a non-Brahmin and due to father's compulsion married a Brahmin guy and leading a perfect life with little happiness!!  This may be a story, but the content, characters and the sentences of the story were "Heart Throbbing" and "Breath Taking"..  Do read it completely..  Its worth reading this story..

     Dearest Appa,
     27th Jan'1965

     Hope this letter finds you, Amma, Raji and Seenu in good health.  The weather here in New York City is icy cold.  But Avar sollraar- I have missed this winter's biting cold. I still wish I had seen the snow... But then, I still wish I had not left Trichy at all. I do miss Trichy, Appa. You, Amma, Raji, Seenu, pakkatthaathu Rama, Vikatan,Ucchi Pillaiyaar Koil, filter coffee, Holy Cross College, the Maths Department and of course Sakthi. I know you wish I hadn't brought his name in this letter.But not to worry Appa, I understand that you got me married to Visu because you thought it was best for your daughter.

I still remember Amma wiping her silent tears with her madisaar thalappu and you shouting at me the day I told you about Sakthi.Later, when the initial shock wore off you patiently listed umpteen reasons why I should not marry Sakthi. I agree Appa, that 20 is too young to decide, that Raji and Seenu would have been affected greatly by my 'mistake', the Agrahaaram would have scoffed at you... a meat eater was not a good match for someone who had never even tasted onion and garlic. The reasons were innumerous. I knew you'd still have objected and offered other reasons even if he had become a Dhigambara monk.

Visu on the other hand, wore a poonal, he is the son of Neelakanta Sastri, an Engineer and he researched about computers which is what made you jump for this alliance. Am not complaining Appa, Visu is a nice man. Tell Amma that I could not try her kozhakkattai recipe this Pongal because coconuts were too expensive and Avar nenacchar that it was ridiculous.

Anyway, we went out on Sankaranthi day and dined out. He thought it would be a good idea to invite the Chatterjees also. But I didn't speak Bengali and Mrs.Chatterjee spoke English in an accent that comes with living years in America. Hence I made myself busy with the menu card. They ordered various species of fish,shrimp and a lot more of items I had never seen in my life. I ordered orange juice and a sandwich. The other diners thought it was queer coming to a seafood restaurant and settling for a sandwich. That day, I learnt  that Avar prefer pannradhu beef, pork, bacon and seafood.

Do you know, Appa... Sakthi gave up meat because of me? I didn't ask, he just did. But then, Sakthi is not Neelakanta Sastri's son and that made it imposible for Subramania Iyer's daughter Kalyani to marry him.I will keep you posted on what happens here. I don't think I can make it to Seenu's Upanayanam. Tell Amma not to get me a pattu podavai for the poonal, I don't use them here. I wore it once and felt like a clown here.

                                                        Your loving daughter,
                                                                 Kalyani.



     Dearest Appa,
     20th Oct'1968

     We are fine here. Gautam is speaking his first words and I swear they sounded like 'Dosai'. But Visu claims it's just gibberish. From your previous letter, I gather that pakkathatthu Rama is married and settled in Jamshedpur. Nice to know that. Please find out her address from Saarada maami and write it to me. I want to keep in touch with her. I hope Raji is happy with her husband in Madras. I spoke to her last month, great to know that she has a phone. Do tell Seenu to study well and prepare for his school final exams.
Raji also told me that Sakthi is married now. I wish him good luck, but I could not convey the message to him. Raji refused to be the messenger and I know you have severed ties with Sakthi's father, your long term friend Sankaravel, thanks to me. I hear his wife is his cousin... He must have succumbed to his mother's wishes.
How did Avani Avittam go? Visu's mother gave me a bunch of new poonals for Avani Avittam but Visu was in Boston that day. He wouldn't have used it anyway, I haven't seen him wear one in the last three years. Gautam is now playing with the spool of thread- mere thread it is, what else can I call it? Gautam will not even know what it signifies, I guess.
Visu is making sure Gautam grows up listening to English only. He says it will make his life easier. But I do read out passages from Ponniyin Selvan and Bharathiyaar's poetry when I am alone with him. It's more of reading to myself, I guess. I actually got that poetry book as a present from Sakthi, it still has his scrawling signature in the first page.

     By the way, Visu saw that book and asked me about Sakthi, I told him. Hold your breath Appa, he didn't throw me out of the house. He is a good man, no question. He said it is okay and that he doesn't mind. And then he told me of his American girlfriend whom he was once in love with, when he first reached America- Amy, a fellow Researcher who was in a brief relationship with Visu when she was in New York. They lived together for 3 months and decided against marriage,  somehow. Amy once dropped home when she was in New York. Nice lady, she was.

Ask Amma to send me Sambar Podi for this whole year. My friend Sudha is coming to Madras next week. Ask Seenu to catch the Rockfort Express and give it to her. I will collect it from her here.
                                                        Your loving daughter,
                                                                  Kalyani.


     Dearest Appa,
     3rd June'1974

     We have arrived here safely. After two months in India, I find it hard to adjust back to normal life here. Gautam and Ranjana demand vadai,paayasam and vaazhai ilai here. Visu's relieved to be back in America. I left a set of my books there. If it's not in Trichy it must be in Visu's parents' place. If you find them, safeguard them until my next trip. They mean a lot to me since they were gifts from Sakthi.  By the way, Appa, I found out Sakthi's present address in Madras from Rama and Saarada maami. I wrote to him. I am extremely proud to know that Dr.Sakthivel is a cardiologist much in demand there in Madras. He was thrilled to hear from me after so long. You know what he has named his daughters? Kalyani and Raagamaalika. He called me. You know what, he's still a practising vegetarian, Appa. He didn't revert back just because he lost me... He asked me if I still sang and whether Gautam and Ranjana could sing. I could see a proud father in him, when he claimed his daughters could sing upto Rara Venu Gopala. That's when I remembered that I was once a good   singer.  I wonder why I stopped singing, wonder why I never exposed the kids to Music and Dance. But then, I realize that I had buried all that deep inside me when I left Trichy; after bidding farewell to my best Rasika, actually. Sakthi. After the call, I tried singing 'Kurai Onrum Illai'. I could not rquite reach Charanam, because of the lack of practice and more importantly because of the tears that filmed my eyes and the constriction in my throat.  I sang to Visu and the kids one of these days. Though Gautam was impressed, father and daughter could not just wait for me to finish! By the way, next time some friend comes to India, send me a Sruthi Box. I would like to start singing again.

                                                    Your loving daughter,
                                                             Kalyani.


     Dearest Appa,
     14th Aug 1978

     Just back after our tour to California. Find our photos,  picture postcards attached herewith. After you are done with showing all family members,relatives, friends and neighbours, pass them to Visu's parents. It was a welcome break for the four of us. But I missed my paattu class students all along and was happy to resume the classes again last evening. Did I mention in my previous letter, before we left on the tour - I finally got my driving license here. I sent a few photos to Sakthi too. He has sent me quite a few records and  cassettes. I loved it! I'm reminded of AIR, almost! I'm circulating them among my friends too. And of course, playing them for my students too. They are picking up beautifully.  Funny news is, I, a Tamilian, is teaching Telugu and Sanskrit kritis to a cross section of Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada,Telugu, Marathi, Bengali students in an English speaking nation. The music sessions have resulted in a reborn Kalyani, Appa. Thanks to Sakthi, really. I would have never taken it up had it not been for his reminder. I am now thinking of what life would have been like if I had indeed married him. I would have of course lost you and Amma. But right now, with this life in America, Visu and these monthly letters to you, Rama, Raji and Seenu what have i gained?  I don't find an answer, Appa. Neither do I think I ever will. Again, as I have always reiterated, Visu is a good man, no complaints there. He is every bit the son in law you wanted. Researcher, American Post-Graduate Degree holder, a dutiful husband and father,earning a  comfortable income. I know it is too much to ask for anything else. That is a fantasy I left midway in my life... Once upon a time in Trichy with someone else.

                                              Your loving daughter,
                                                       Kalyani.


     Dearest Appa,
     14th Apr'1984
                          Met Dr.Sakthivel after 19 years... He had come to New York for business purposes and paid me a visit. Visu and the kids welcomed him home with great pleasure. And they liked him too. Infact, they did most of the talking initially. And of course, he got me a whole load of books, cassettes, Mysore Paak and lots more.

                                            Your loving daughter,
                                                     Kalyani.


     Dearest Appa,
     20th Jan' 1990

     I just went through all these letters lying in my closet draw for years together. These are letters I started writing to you and then decided not to post. For obvious reasons. I could not mention Sakthi to you even though I was itching to. Not because I was afraid to invite your wrath. I just did not have the heart to hurt you, I know these letters would have hurt you. Because deep inside, I know you were disturbed- you knew Sakthi was a good man, you knew he was a man of substance, yet you didn't want to go further. Society, I know. ..Family... I know...  And all these letters would have only wounded you more.Today, 2 years after your death, and 6 months after Dr.Sakthivel's untimely death in a road accident, I somehow felt like re-reading all these letters. To me, all these unstamped, unposted letters mean a life that could have been.

                                         Kalyani Viswanathan.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Can't help? Don't be the hurdle!

"Remember, with more power comes more responsibility" - Uncle Ben, Spiderman.

"Most people shun liberty, scared to bear the responsibility"

For centuries, men have controlled women and probably in India, this concept was virtually invented. In the history of India, I repeat nowhere else but in India, the most horrific ritual we had was of "sati"where after her husband’s death, the wife/wives had to die along with the husband by sitting in his pyre and end her life in a painful (that's an understatement) way. She would be beaten mercilessly if she refused or tried to escape the scorching flames and then be burnt eventually. 


O ye ladies! Yes, you who have debated, blamed me of blasphemy when I asked you not to strip yourself,  after your husband's demise, off all the blossoms, the big smile, (you know the list) that adorn you! Here's something for you!


I have hardly seen any Indian woman who doesn't take pride in wearing Sintoor (குங்குமம்)! So to you all here's a fact!


This sintoor which then contained the harmful lead was introduced in the Hindu culture where mothers rubbed it on their daughter's head so that over repeated use she would develop the dreaded disease (now categorised as cancer) and will die before her husband hence avoid being made a sati. 


(Now that's the kind of souvenir I wouldn't feel proud, carrying around!)


No one's got you in shackles anymore! If you don't use the freedom that you are entitled to and are happy to be the same old Indian woman and still call every man on earth a heartless monster, it's beyond contempt! 


"If you won't help yourself, simply no one can!"

Though women agree or not, every man knows, it's only women who don't let other women rise.

Some doctrines that still prevail:

1. Women are not supposed to have dreams of life.
2. Women are to make the house, a home.
3. If you let go off yourself & follow your heart, you are a sl*t! ( Sorry, can't help it. I wanted to convey the meaning!)
4. You can't dream, let alone pursue them.
5. You were built to bear kids.
6. You can't choose your spouse! (That's ridiculous. Who's gonna live with the man? The chooser? :))
7. (I can't list it anymore... It might sound you-know-what!)

Let's face it. We say women are growing to the heights of being entrepreneurs. Last I saw, in this part of the country at least, even those women are 'wives' at home - Not a human being of equal status.

I have seen mothers 'disciplining' their daughters to become wives. Pitiable though, it's acceptable and agreeable, taking into consideration the era they come from. I am shocked to see the same principles still being followed by the so called new-age ladies - even fellow same age girls, looking at with disgust at others who are brave enough to leap off their feet.  If you can't 'live' (or never comprehend what it is), let others who want to! 

You can be conscious of the society! But not at the cost of your own life!

Then, it is never life! After all, Life is to Live!

(Dedicated to all men who wanted to convey this & all women who want to LIVE their life)

Friday, April 16, 2010

Care to kiss?

A certain TV show, "Neeya naana?" telecast in Vijay TV has been discussing some real good issues of the society, recently - Healthy Relations with the opposite sex to The generation gap between parents and their children. The final conclusion, which most people fail to notice is just the same in whatever be the case!

"COMMUNICATION!"

When you fail to communicate, everything stalls! Be it with any relations - parents, children, siblings, friends, spouse, colleagues - anybody! And the most important thing that needs conveying is LOVE!

Words or actions - by any means, convey your love! Why hesitate to convey such a beautiful thing! Our society, a feudal based society, influenced by so many other societies has ended up with a culture that is not ours at all! 

What is considered dirty today, was beauty then! What better way to convey love than a hug or kiss? Two tabooed words in India today! Pity! (There's an even more tabooed word which would take centuries to change! Love!)

Let's start with the relation that's considered most divine!

A mom or dad kisses his/her kid daily till the kid is 5, 6 max 7 years old? What if the kid is now a boy or a girl or gentleman or lady? Has the parent's love depreciated? Has your touch lost that love? No!

You call staying away from your kid, decency? Culture? Funny some say, "THIS is culture"! This ain't  funny! This is tragic! :(

I see a family where a dad kisses his daughter (at least 22 years old) with a hug and she in turn only calls him with his name or 'da', the so called respect-less word in tamil dictionary (another impact of feudalism)!

On the other hand, there's another, where the dad hasn't even had an open-conversation with his daughter since the day, she's become a teen!

The latter would still claim he's got his love for his kid! "For whom else am I toiling to earn the bread?" Is that the way you communicate your love to your own kid? Is that the relation we need to have with our parents? How worse can it get?

Isn't this the first reason, most people love their friends even more than their parents? The latter kinda parent doesn't want his/her kid to be close to friends than to being with him/her (at least in their head & heart, they are possessive, though seldom communicated in words!)

Whenever this topic rolls out, my opponents, invariably conclude with a smirk, "This is codswallop! If you want, you start taking your kids in your arms & kiss them!"

Pity, even after being told of this nonsense, hardly anyone understands how we are letting LOVE drift away!

I hate to think of this but facts are always facts!
"LIFE is now built on economy than on moral values & LOVE"!



We hug our pets, not people! :(



We hug even a predator, not a love!
(Maybe the predator hug him more, than his people did!)

That's what failing to communicate can do! A tiger can seem to be better at spending time with than the (seemingly) dear relations!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

What a tragedy?

ஓரமாய் wholesale-ஆய் இருந்ததை
ஊரெல்லாம் retail-லில் வழங்கி வருகிறான்!
- நகராட்சி குப்பை வண்டி!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

அன்றும் இன்றும்!

நள்ளிரவில் அன்று
அடையாளமின்றி அலைந்தான்
அரசன் ஆண்டியாய்,
நாடு வளம் பெற... - நகர்வலம்!

நன்பகலில் இன்று
அப்பாவியின் அடையாளமழித்து
அலைகிறான் அரசியல்வாதி
தான் வளம் பெற... - ஊர்வலம்!

வளம் சேர்க்கவே வலம்!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Disipleen problem!

My dear mate Nep had written a blog on 'Disciple in india' where he discussed about people who might ask how much a kilo of discipline costs.

My dear bro, you have misunderstood it. It's not the actual problem. It's even worse.
You have written about people who think it is called 'disipleen'. There's a  much bigger population that doesn't know it's existence at all! Pity!

You can buy tomato only if you know that tomato exists. In similar lines, how can people who don't understand the concept of discipline, can ever ask for a kilo of it?! And if it were possible, there wouldn't be a queue either and VIP's would be topping it! :(

Everyone who goes abroad, any Indian for that matter, starts appreciating the system that the country has! He says the roads are so clean that he can eat on the road without dining plates, the traffic is so organized, there's queue everywhere, the beaches are blue-green, services at all terminals are great, no corruption, and what not!

The same guy returns back to India and first thing he does is tears the tag off his luggage and drops it right at this foot!
  1. Can't he walk to a trash can?
  2. Can't he stop before the stop line?
  3. Can't he not drive without blowing horn at hospital zones?
  4. Can't he slow down at go-slow zones?
He doesn't want to. These are the justifications given.
  1. There are no trash cans 'near' him.
  2. The person before him is already beyond the line (The traffic constable is not watching)
  3. There's too much traffic and I want to go ahead.
  4. I have an urgent work.
We find so many reasons to cross the line but never a reason to stay within it.

The worst code of behavior on roads is followed by Indian women. And I feel ashamed in bringing out the truth, myself being a feminist. The truth is that women have leverage over men's sympathy for them.
Any mistake committed by women is forgiven and they take it to their advantage. They drive recklessly and never are concerned about rules. Rules are always mocked at!

And it's always someone else's mistake - the corrupt government's or the neighbors', never ours.
Or you do it because others do it.

We go to the beach have a plate of our favorite dish and don't bother to trash the plate.
We love to take a picture with the horizon as the backdrop and then we drop the water bottle into the sea.

All we care about is keeping our house clean. We empty our trash at the neighbor's doorstep or the roads and complain the municipality for not picking it up.

The list is never ending.

Most people I have come across say that they feel the same and they want to change but they don't want to be seen as an idiot in front of others.

Toady, I had to help a man who was hitchhiking. He wanted to go the bus stand. I had to stop at the signal which didn't have a free-left green for one particular turn. (Most people don't care about it and they consider it free always and never stop there. It causes jam and they start complaining.) This man on the pillion asked me to drive and when I refused he started giving all kinds of justifications and tried to convince me to leave. And when it never happened, he started complaining and I asked him to take another bike if he didn't want to wait.

Let's face it! You never got caught in a traffic jam! You 'are' the traffic jam! Why cross the yellow line and block the opposite traffic? Why block the free-left turn? If you don't respect the ones waiting in the queue before you how can you question a third person who comes late and joins the queue ahead of you? After all he did just what you did a few minutes ago!


We are proud to be Indians when Sachin hits 200 or the team wins against Pakistan or Australia! Is that all our patriotism? We are proud to call ourself a part of this country then, but we don't belong to this place when on a dirty road uh!? Who made it dirty? 

One piece of paper might not make the place dirty. But what if one piece a day by a 1000 people for 1000 days? We Indians are so narrow sighted. We say our mistakes are so tiny. We don't see the big impacts of the so many tiny mistakes. 

We watch movies like Anniyan, Indian, Unnai pol oruvan and Sivaji and pray when will someone like that rise to save the day! When the truth is told that, that person is us, we say that cinema can't be brought into real life. It's just for entertainment. Aren't we fooling ourselves??? Be true to your heart and answer this question and you will know how stupid we are!

Everyone says I am idiot! I am not for India. I don't belong here and that this place will never change.
I am proud to be an idiot! My granddad was an idiot too! If he wasn't such an idiot, an entire village would be drinking air for water today! That idiot made an oasis out of a desert! That idiot is now an unsung hero! For all those idiots out there - Remember, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

My mom says, "I have seen this place for the past 40 years at least and it has never changed. You have to live with it."

What is 'this' place? Isn't it just us that we make this place? If every single person thinks the other is dirty and will never change, when will anyone think that they are part of the system? If one person doesn't change during an entire life time, how will the entire country change over night? 

Change starts with us. Be the change you wish to see.

We all say, "Tomorrow India will be a great nation - A developed nation!" Why always tomorrow? What's wrong with today? Only today leads to tomorrow! If not today how can there be a tomorrow?

Actually, Tomorrow begins today!

It's high time we pulled up our socks, rolled up our sleeves and got down and dirty to make a beautiful tomorrow, today! 'Do' it today!

[Spend 10 minutes for India - Dr. Kalam's presentation]
[Two Indias - Lead India campaign]

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

என்னவளே!

காதல் சொல்ல நெருங்கினேன்
கயவன் கண்டதாய் விலகினாய்!
பட்ட மரமாய் நின்றேன், உன் வாசலில்
வெட்ட வர மாட்டையோ என் அருகினில்?




© padfOOt (நாங்களும் copyright போடுவோம்!)



Not bad, huh?! A walk around the grounds after a game of badminton is really worth it! :)

BTW, Hope I don't end up needing this when I finally meet the one! Or what if things get outta control? Hence the copyright! :)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

இது நியாயமா?

On request from my dear NAGO! (Sounds wacky without the AN in NAANGO :))
Here comes a few, from my memories. This's all I have EVER written. May be a couple more! There ends that habit!

Gave two of this for school magazine! (Don't even remember, if it was published. I hate my poor memory...)

படைத்தவனுக்குப் பாலபிஷேகம்
பாரெங்கும் பஞ்சம் போக்க வேண்டி!

கட்-அவுட் ஆனது
வெட்டப்பட்ட மரம்
மர நடு விழாவிற்கு!

மரங்களை வெட்டி யாகம்
மழை வர வேண்டி!

- ஏதோ! என்னால்  முடிந்தது, அந்த பள்ளி பருவ வயதில்!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I love you!




Love - The most twisted word in recent Indian history, I guess.

Hardly anyone understands what it really means. For most people, it is just a trick of Hormones; is that relation between a teenage boy and girl! Is it!?
For the ones that have understood it, it means a great deal more than all these! 

Funny, is the way, the force that is so fundamental for perpetuation of life on the planet,  is misunderstood!

We're now driven by economy than by love - A complete tragedy! 
Money - It's the one entity that everyone wants today!
Those that speak about love are considered fools, saints, nuts, crack-pots, what not!

I pity the state our society is in, let alone the rest of the planet.

Parents - children
Couples
Siblings
Teacher - student
Friends
Relations
Strangers

So many pairs - everyone living every second, thinking what would the society think of me, if I did it? Did what? 
A Murder? No! 
It's saying out loud, 'I love you!'

Take a minute to think of this! Almost anyone or I would say Everyone does't hesitate to say -
 "I hate you!, F**k off".
"This relation ends here! Good bye"
We don't hesitate to hate others but to love them and even worse is to love them but not convey it in the name of decency.

Decency has a different meaning in India!

Dumping garbage on the road,
spitting in public,
getting drunk,
and the list is never-ending… for all this, you don't mind the public watching you!
But to convey your love even in private, the entire world's eyes are on you!  Funny, isn't it?

To kiss your loved ones is indecency but to piss off others is decent, eh?!

To have a brain and not using it to think is as good as not having it all!
Let us use our brains and let-go of the leash on our hearts!

To the teacher at school who lit this spark in me, saying, "I kiss my boy 'Good Night' every night, saying 'I love you!'"!
To you, my dear teacher, "I love you!"


Love every living being - plant or animal! - Avatar.
True! Try it and feel the change! 

All that is needed, is a cultural change!

To everyone, "I love you!"

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Should we save the planet?

"See the world we come from. There's no green there.
They killed their mother. And they're going to do the same here" - Jake sully, Avatar.

An entire movie, 12 years in making, revolutionary technologies, Highest budget movie ever - one message - "Stop raping and start loving the planet"
How many of us notice that?

Here is just a part of the question to which I was not able to find an answer for at least 6 years!
A complex question -
'What is the need of the hour? How do I make people understand that we are in danger?'

Watched the movie, 'The 11th hour' by Leonardo dicaprio, last night. 

A simple but the right answer - 'Love'. 
Cameron too has conveyed just that!

The movie also had too many other answers for me!

So, What is the problem with the people?'
"The problem is fundamentally a cultural problem"

Another extract from the movie -

"People are really doing the best they can, given their level of awareness.
So to me, winning this battle
that we're in. . .
. . .to change people's minds and hearts. . .
is a matter of lifting levels of awareness."

So now, with all the buzz around us about climate change, global warming, blah… blah… what is the fact?

"At the end of the day, when we all talk about saving the environment. . . in a way it's misstated because the environment is going to survive.
We're the ones who may not survive."
The bottom line - Just as so many species have been born, lived and become extinct, we Homo sapiens, wise humans will one day be extinct.
The issue is, we have hastened the process and are taking countless species down with us! And we have done that in just HALF A CENTURY!
The planet WILL be here has it has been here for all the billions of years! It's just a matter of ourselves being here!

If you want to make a change, start by watching the movies, 'HOME' and 'The 11th hour'!