It has been a long time since I ve written  a blog and the “recent” entry is not exactly recent. I have been involved in a series of things which kept me from having my insane thoughts and now that I am finding idle time, I thought I should get  back to my old insane self.

So here I am pondering about a religion which is arguably the oldest among all religions. That is not the only argument associated with this religion. One of the many arguments include the categorization of Hinduism as a religion. Though many consider it to be a religion, there are many more who consider it to be a faith or simply a way of life. Most of their argument is pretty much justified. I am not exactly an expert in Hinduism, in fact I am absolutely ignorant about it. But there are certain things that do baffle me.

For instance, why do we need to have a God for each and every living organism? Wouldn’t it be easier if everything was departmentalized? We could have a Biology Section, Geology and Metallurgy Section, etc., instead of having a God for every thing on Earth. Well, of course we do have the 3 deans in  Hinduism taking care of the entire God operations, there is still doubt about which God got bored first and tried His hand at creativity. We all know that there is peace, harmony and a thousand babes to one man ratio up there ( Up there is a location yet to be confirmed, the million rockets that was sent up to find up all came down with nothing but Moon and Martian rocks), but why is it that this amazing environment is absent here? While voicing this thought, I got a simple answer from a very spiritual friend who said, “ If that were the case down here, then there would be a difference between heaven and earth”. Not willing to bow down to his logic, I then asked, “ I am amazed at the kind of ratio they ve got up there, but what would the Straight girls who die do up there? Get a makeover and wait for a guy to come up?” We ve got Bramha, the God of Creation who himself has been created by a person who hardly wakes up and yet has travelled down to Earth 9 times, that too in mufti!!! Visit #10 is still a controversy. Some say he would come in Shiny White Horse with a sword in his hand and kill the evil dudes. Sounds pretty low tech right? But we do have a bloke claiming to be #10 and has started conning people into believing it. Well, one thing is for sure – Mr. and Mrs. #10 are definitely not gonna ride horses. Blue cross would crucify them. My brief encounter with the #10 kind made me repent the visit and I wrote a long apology letter “to whomsoever it may concern”. There are still other high-tech dudes who think they are #10 – Bush and Osama for example. Each of these guys thought they were Gods on a mission to destroy each other!!

One other thing that bothers me the most is the anatomy of Gods. Very few Gods have a proper anatomy and by proper I do mean the normal human kind. Consider Bramha for example, he has four heads and 2 hands and the four heads face the four directions. I wonder what would happen when he catches a cold or something. How would he wipe his nose on all the four directions? Well, one counter to this is the fact that He resides in heaven where they say , “Go to hell, viruses!”. However, there are other Gods who do come to Earth and when on Earth, they do as Earthlings do ( Except the getting corrupt part ). So logically, they must be subjected to whatever Humans are subjected to. So what would happen when Kali ( Apparently, she has a 100 heads and only 2 hands ) comes down with a Cold? How could 2 hands compensate for a 100 heads? Considering the fact that the Violent Gods on Hinduism carry some weapon on them, wouldn’t she hurt herself in the process??? Beats me!! The opposite is also a problem. Consider the Gods with multiple hands and legs. When they catch a cold, they would have a hard time deciding which hand to use!! Oh well, they seem to pull it off and maybe that is why they are Gods!!!

All these Anatomical and logical disparities seem to suggest only one thing. Never believe anything at face value. I am a believer. A true believer! Maybe that is why I can’t digest these terrorizing images of the Gods I truly believe in. A God should be a symbol of peace, harmony, justice and power ( In the same order ) and not some monster from a Hollywood movie. Maybe that is the change that should happen next in this vastly evolving way of life called Hinduism.

PS: I know I have offended a few with this post and I am truly sorry. I have written this because I strongly feel Gods are Humans in a Godly form and not a mutated human. Atleast that is my perception. Feel free to say otherwise.

What is it that scares one person from telling another person that he/she does not like to be a friend anymore? I have found it out in more than one occasion that people are very out-going when it comes to making new friends, but become absolute introverts when they wish to tell someone off that they are no longer compatible and would be wise if they went separate ways. I have had few instances where I have really felt that some people are uncomfortable in my presence. I initially thought them to be busy with their work et al, but when it reached a point where I was being ignored deliberately, it started to make me uncomfortable. I try to talk to them about the whole thing and all I get stone walled every time. Now, I know I am not Mr.Perfect, but mistakes can be corrected only when it is pointed out. If their issue is really a mistake on my part, it is only fair that I am told about it. The responsibility in friendship is enormous. One should be very responsible in choosing friends and should be equally responsible in rejecting them. I discuss this topic a lot with a few people and a general sentiment is that some people treat “friends” as commodities or a vehicle to hitch hike. In other terms, a fair weather friend. I wonder how people can stoop to the level of using people in the name of friendship. Maybe my definition of friendship is too Utopian to be real. But I do wish one thing in the name of friendship: The void created by one friend can be filled only by that person. Please have the courtesy to inform that person before you leave him/her.

PS: I did not intend to target any specific individual. Any resemblance is regretter and unintentional. I only wanted to publish what I felt

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?

Pinch myself and wake myself up from this fantasy

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?

Ondra renda kanavugal… ellam sollave oru tag podhuma?

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?

Mine – I always try the impossible B-)

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Ayyappan dollar or Murugan dollar???

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?

IM NOT GAY!!!!

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?

Anything as long as itz love

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you really love?

As long as it takes to find the “one”

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?

I dont have any secrecy when it comes to liking somebody

9. If you like to act with someone, who will it be? your gf/bf or an actress/actor?

got to be an actress…. unfortunately

10. What takes you down the fastest?

I dont know… denial maybe

11. How do you see yourself at this time ten years down the line?

Im not that long sighted

12. What’s your fear?

My mouth

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

Chamathu girl (Phew!!!)

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?

Single and rich.

15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

goto the loo

16. Would you give all in a relationship?

I would I guess

17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?

Hayyo Hayyo…. Enna vechu kaamedi keemadpanlaye????

18. Would you forgive and forget, no matter how horrible a thing someone has done?

I always forgive… I let my mind decide the forget part

19.Do you prefer being single or having a relationship?

Im single and ready to mingle ( Guess that answers the question)

20. List 6 people to tag

I dont know 6 people to tag

Happy Vishu Folks!!!!

Vishu is one of those festivals that I usually look forward to since childhood. Not because of the celestial significance. (Vishu follows the sidereal vernal equinox and generally falls on April 14 of the Gregorian year. This occasion also signifies the Sun’s transit to the zodiac – Mesha Raasi (first zodiac sign) as per Indian astrological calculations). Also not because it is the Harvest festival for kerala. And definitely not because the day is celebrated in Orrisa and Punjab with different names.

Me being the true blue (???) Palghat iyer boy ( Remember Madhavan in Nala Damayanthi and Kameshwaran in MMKR), this day means one thing – Richer than the other boys in neighbourhood for a day

Vishu marks the beginning of the new year of prosperity among keralities. Since yellow is the color of prosperity, it is more conspicuous in the Vishu Kani kept in our pooja room. I still remember the days when I used go hunting for the “konna poo” – a bright yellow flower which blooms in this season. Some of my friends and I used to have an amazing time climbing trees and plucking those flowers. I should mention “Daisy Uncle” who used to give us Milk Bikis for plucking flowers for him ( Daisy is the name of that uncle’s dog. Since we did not know his name, he became Daisy uncle for us ).  Also, it is customary to keep gold and silver coins in the Kani. Those days paati used to give us each a gold coin ( and take them back saying, “You’re too young to have gold”. Ya Right!!) Amma also used to keep rice and paruppu along with a wide variety of fruits in the Kani.

The first thing to see on the eve of Vishu is the Kani. Paati used to wake us up at 4:00AM on Vishu morning, close our eyes and walk us to the pooja room. On the way to the pooja room, paati would take the baton of drill master and instruct us on the rules of game – Viewing the Kani. First the various photos of God,then the Mirror, then the fruits, food and then the money. Invariably, we used to eye the food or the money first . Once this task is complete, we were allowed to sleep for another 3 hours. Then comes the exciting part of the Kai Neetam. Those days there were quite a few relatives of mine staying in coimbatore and we used to goto every single person’s house for kai neetam. Kai Neetam usually varies from Rs 10 to Rs 100 depending on the mood of the individual. Sometimes when we have visitors from other cities coming in to visit us, they would be extra generous and treat us with Rs 500. Ideally the day’s collection would range anywhere between 500 and 1000.  Amma and I have a standing agreement that she would give me her entire kai neetam if I give her all the money for safe keeping.  Me being the innocent boy then, used to agree to this and used give her all the money. Now she says, it is my vishu money that transformed into college fees funny girl!!!

PS: I have officially started accepting Vishukaineetam and will accept cash and A/C deposits taking into account the sender’s comfort!!

I officially became uncle (mama) when I was in my 8^th standard. Then I did not know what it was to be an uncle to a small kid. Yes, I loved the kid a lot and I still do. Then, I did not know how to buy a dress for a small child. I went on to be uncle to 4 more kids in the family. Everyone was happy that Gen-next has been formed. I was happy too, only because I was still very young and my cousins had become old.

It was when I heard the baby voice of the latest addition to the family that I realized I was now a big boy with responsibilities as uncle. When I heard the little voice over the phone, I had the sudden urge to cover the baby with gifts. Not just him, but for all those other kids I had failed to buy. I somehow feel it is my responsibility to buy gifts for those little ones.

This has led me to think about my career because only when my career is bright I can bring joy into their lives. I only wish I earn enough to buy gifts for the little ones in the family. That little voice over the phone has made me rethink my perspective of life and where my commitments reside. I wish I could do a lot for those kids, for whom I am now non-existent. The funny part is that all those beautiful kids are at a place where I always yearn to go but still have not had the opportunity to go. The cancerian in me has till now stopped me from displaying affection publicly. All that would change when I get a decent job and a pay that would make me fulfill this dream.

Here is something that I read on the internet on economic meltdown

“

Linda is the proprietor of a bar in Cork. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers – most of whom are unemployed alcoholics – to drink now but pay later.

She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Linda’s bar.
Taking advantage of her customers’ freedom from immediate payment constraints, Linda increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Linda’s borrowing limit.
He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.
At the bank’s corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide.

No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due to his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Linda’s bar. However they cannot pay back the debts.

Linda cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.
DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80%.

The suppliers of Linda’s bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties (and vested interests).
The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.

“

Interesting aint it?????

I always used to wonder why my mom never lets me go vegetable shopping alone. Yesterday I found out why.

It so happened that I got back from office earlier than usual only to find that the house was locked. I dutifully called up my aunt to inform her that I am waiting. She was at the Thiruvanmiyur Market shopping for vegetables. Being the “chamathu” boy, I volunteered to help her with her shopping and walked all the way to the market. After navigating myself through the mob, I found her bargaining with one of the vendors. It took her another 45 minutes to get all the stuff that she wanted (I did not know the names for half the vegetables that she bought). Me being the “Extra Chamathu” boy volunteered to carry all the vegetables and she being the sweet aunt gave me 1kg onion and 1kg tomato for me to carry. After the hunt, as we were walking home, I got a phone call from an ex-colleague and we started yapping “andha kaalathu kadhaigal” and aunt and uncle started talking something about some long-lost-yet-around person about whom I had no clue.  We reached home 10 minutes later and to my horror I found out that I only had the bag and not the vegetables. Upon inspection, it was found that my swing arm walk had caused the bottom of the bag to tear and the veggies escaped containment one by one and I did not notice it.

What happened next was a bit too blurry for me to recollect. I had to face aunt’s total wrath. Me being the charmer pacified aunt in minutes and told myself “Epdi ellam pesi samalika vendi iruku”(vadivelu style!!)

Yes, I am back in Chennai after a “long” 2.5 months. A lot has changed in these few months, both in the personal front and the professional front.

For starters, I had to get back to a garbage dump after a cozy stay in Coimbatore. It was unanimously decided by me to stay at my Aunt’s place owing to the high hygiene at her abode. I have also become a sort of cleanliness freak these days and I am now wrinkling my long nose at the sight of anything unclean. (Note: I take bath twice and brush my teeth after every meal… NO JOKE!!!!) I also hit the sack before the day technically ends and get up by 7:00AM, something that I haven’t done in ages. The best part is that I am having breakfast these days!!!! One other thing is that I am back in communication(sometimes I feel it is one way) with someone with whom all contact suddenly broke last year.

Though the personal front is falling into some kind of order, my professional life has become all the more exasperating. I am back to work after 2.5 months and I am greeted with a 15% pay cut across the board(something that I really doubt). 3 nice kids have been chased out because of one man’s whim. 2 others had voluntarily quit with no other offers in hand. They had succumbed to extreme boredom and joblessness. Sometimes I feel I am not good enough in being jobless and I know I am not used to boredom. But I know the present team will only get stronger to combat boredom and joblessness. We are currently working a plan to counter this menace and hope to float it soon. A good friend of mine wants me to join her organisation in a functional level. Maybe, I will… Maybe, I wont!!!!

On a final note, It really is nice to be back in the blogosphere after the break(literally!!!!)!!!!

Disclaimer: I have “not” seen the tamil version of Ghajini and my views are based only on the Hindi version and no comparison has been made with Memento. But, I have been watching quite a lot of “Good” movies these days and it might have influenced my review.

Yes, I finally got to see the Aamir Khan version of Ghajini. There is one funny dialog in Asterix comics and it goes like,” I came, I saw, and I couldnt believe my eyes”. Sounds classic???? Yes, ripped from Shakespeare. But this was exactly my emotion when I saw the movie.

Maybe I should be nice by pointing the “good” things about the movie. For starters, Aamir khan!!!! I should say he has done a splendid job as the 15 minute rebooting machine. Amazing physique too. After seriously considering other aspects of the movie, the only thing that is strikingly good is the cameras. And that is about it!!!!

Now for the “not-so-nice” things about the movie. I ll again start with Aamir Khan. As I said before, he definitely looked like the Short term memory loss lunatic, but as the young and charming Sanjay he fails miserably. I think all the Khans of Bollywood should understand that they have become old and playing a love-struck romeo is an eye sore!!! The villain’s name – Ghajini. I wonder how many biharis are actually named Ghajini, but ok, I ll accept probability. But then, I still felt the name should have gone to the hero for his resilience. The other jarring flaw was the rerecording. There were many instances in the movie where the bgm overshadowed the dialog. There was also a point in the movie where the flashback overtook the sequence. Don’t ask me where, if you missed it, then you weren’t attentive enough!!! Considering the fact the songs came from A.R.Rahman’s factory, they were not even upto the mark. Barring one though. I am sure he is gonna shut his eyes and assume he had not composed it. As for Asin and the other female lead, Id rather not comment!!!!

Well, I can go on and on and on about the logic behind the whole story and it would never end. IBNLive was canvassing very heavily for the movie, keeping it in news everyday and I found out why. Had it not been for the hype created by the channel, this movie would have been yet another mediocre movie from the Bollywood organ. Sometimes I wonder if Rajdeep had funded the movie behind the screens.

Lastly, as an ardent fan of Aamir Khan and A.R.Rahman, I really felt let down.

Note:

I would like to take this opportunity to greet someone on his birthday and wish him all success and joys of life. You have always been a dependable brother, wise adviser and a humorous friend and I would always wish only the best in life for you. I wish I could have spent more time with you when you were here, but it is the separation that has made me respect you more. Happy birthday Arvi!!

As with every other blogger in the blogosphere, it is now my turn to write about the Mumbai Incident. So here goes

The time was around 10:30PM on that fateful day. My friend and I were analyzing the pros and cons of one of the most widely(?) product, whose origins have been lost in the annals of Village movies. All thanks to Bharathiraja & Co. We were on a full swing when my friend suddenly said Mumbai was being bombed away to glory. To plagiarize from ol’ Julius, I came, I saw and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They said taj was burning, and I thought who the eff was taj and why is he burning? Then they said Oberoi has been hit and I imagined the baby faced actor being run over by a BMW (BMW is off late notorious for hit & run).

I shook off my cob webs and listened intently to what was happening in Mumbai and I finally realized that my friend has not been joking after all. He, being the chronic blogger, started blogging about the incident from his desktop, laptop, blackberry and I think he even sent an update tied to the legs of a pigeon. I later came to know that his blog had more than 800 hits in a single day. Suddenly, it was not just Mumbai burning. My stomach felt like Taj, Oberoi and Marriott combined!!! Most people know that I am a regular in Orkut and I faithfully started a thread about this, which to my glee, is now going to touch the 200 post mark. Some achievement, huh???

Ok, that is enough digression for the day. So getting back to the story, I shake my friend awake (At 1 o Clock at night) to tell him Mumbai is being bombed, and he tells me he is hungry. After telling him to bite the bullet, I resumed watching Counterstrike in real life and he started making Noodles.

What was horrific first became inquisitiveness second, anticipation third and finally became restless frustration at last. It was horrific because I saw people die in front of my eyes and I couldn’t do anything. It was inquisitiveness because I wanted to know why they did it, how they executed it and what the frigging politicians had to say about the incident. It was anticipation because I was told that the PM would address the nation and since I had great regard for him as a person. It finally became restless frustration because I was totally let down by such a weak attempt at addressing the nation. The interview with the External affairs minister was a big joke. I knew my frustration was at its peak when Shoba De (of all the people in the world) made some sense in this chaos. It was such an emotionally draining moment when I started empathising her sentiments.

Now that it is all over, and some heads in the political circle has rolled, there are a few questions which still linger

1. What has been achieved from this?

2. What did the youngsters who were sent in to do this dastardly act do for those in higher echelons of the fanatical franchise to brainwash them?

3. How many more brainwashed kids are you guys going to send before we actually shed the mask of Non-violence and stick a rod up each and every a@@@ of the maniacs?

4. When will Pakistan stop making jokes about diplomacy?

5. Dont you guys know that such a calamity would actually bring the people together rather than take them apart?

6. Dont you know that repeated strikes would only discard the rotten apples from the barrel called politics and there is an opportunity for fresh apple to get in?

I have also got some innocent questions for the political geniuses of the nation

1. When are you guys going to keep a statue for the dead men who lost their lives during those fateful days?

2. Do you really think giving money to the family of the dead would bring back the lost joy or would it justify their death?

3. How long are we going to show the other cheek? Our cheeks are already swollen

4. Will you have the guts to face the public again? I would ve shot myself if something of this sort happened when I was in charge?

PS: Opposition parties are not allowed to copy this under any circumstance, they are no different.

5. How are we going to respond to this act?

I am sure these are very few of the questions that we all want to ask, but we all know that this will be forgotten the next time Dhoni hits a Sixer or when Sachin breaks another record.

Maybe guns should be legalised in India, then we wouldn’t need the police, army, navy and the NSG to take care of a bunch of morons. Just a thought…