Happy New Year.....

Chennai goes into overdrive..
On New Year's eve..
By four in the evening...
The driving gets distinctly rash....
And much later..
The partying and the real drinking begins!!!!

Madras never made such a fuss!!!

Growing up with my grandparents...
New Year was just another day!!!
So too New Year's eve!!!
If Madras partied...
It did so without us!!!!

Our New Year is on April 14th..
Grandmother would keep reminding us!!

And..
Now we have been deprived of even that!!!
It has been shifted to mid-January!!!
Amazing what politicians can do!!!

While they are at it...
Why not shift all festivals from Deepavali to Easter to Ramadan to Ayutha Puja and Krishna Jayanthi et al to just one month...January??
Then Tamilnadu..
Like Europe which shuts down in mid-December...
Can shut down too....
And resurface from hibernation after a month!!
Sleep away the marghazi...
And all other forms of madness!!
Catch a concert or two...
Just chill!!!
Enjoy the nip in the air!!!

Just think...
If this happens...
Other progressive states may follow suit...
And then India itself may shut down...
In January..
A whole month off for the entire country!!!

Maybe our politicians will see the sense in this!!
And buy this idea from Madrasgirl!!!!

One can always hope..

Adios then!!!
And...
Happy New Year to you...
And your loved ones!!!

Let them eat cake!!!

Lately...
I have taken to picking up grains of lentils when they roll off the kitchen counter...
I scrape the last remnants of curd and gravy from the pot..
Ask Cook to reheat leftover rice...
Or make it into a pongal..or a lemon rice...
Don't throw it away....don't waste it...
I constantly tell her...

It is as if I am girding up to take on..
A food shortage....

My father's generation may remember...
The days of rationing...
After the War...

But...
To my own generation...
Words like drought...
Food shortage...
Belong in history books...
We have been spoilt by years of plenty...

So perhaps I carry some racial memory within me...
I prepare by being careful.......
As I wait for the crunch..
That this feeling in my bones tells me..
Is surely coming!!!

Perhaps..
The rather blasé attitude..
Espoused by the Government and its minions...
When they talk about food price inflation!!!
Has added to this feeling in my bones....
It is truly scary!!!...

In a recent interview the FM...
When asked about the food price inflation numbers said:
We knew it would hit this figure ...
Jubilant that the numbers are right!!!
And not a squeak about what was done...
To deal with this situation!!!

Yet... what are the solutions???

We can import...
Various functionaries mumble every now and then...
Hoarding is taking place...says one...
The expectation of a drought is making this happen...says another...
People have excessive disposable income...
This is making prices go through the roof??
And so on and so forth...

So I ask:
Why aren't the hoarders being caught and punished and deterred?
Why have those imported food grains not reached our shores yet?
Why can't the prices of essential food items be controlled?

In the Land of Smiles...
Pork and chicken prices are controlled!!!
Put some food in their bellies is what that government clearly thinks!!!

But here...
The feeling is...
If they cannot have bread..
Then let them eat cake....
a la Marie Antoinette!!!...

As I write...news comes in..
The food price inflation has dropped from 20 something percent..
To 18 something percent...
Yippee!!!
But it is difficult to perceive this on the ground....

Heck!..even our growth rate of 6 odd percent is not perceptible...

Going back to the early 90s..
When Sawadee Land was Asian Tiger Country....
A growth rate of 8 percent...
Translated into a tangible vibrance in the economy...
It created wealth...
Threw up jobs aplenty...
Created opportunities for its people and others...

Not so in Bharath
Something wrong with those figures???.......
Cooked again???
Could it be???

Then again...what will the poor do??
If things get worse??
How are they coping now???
When lentils of any variety cost Rs 108 a kilo!!!
And onions rule at Rs 36!!!
Does anyone know??
Or care??
Apparently not....

On that dismal note...
I bid thee adieu!!!

Handling Happiness......

I expect happiness to be a continuous state of mind....
And being!!

Perhaps because of the story books I read as a child..
They all ended with the line..
And they lived happily ever after....

Yet, in practice...
How long does happiness last?
A few weeks??
A day?
A few hours???
The wink of an eye???...

And like a willow-the-wisp..
Happiness wanders away!!!
It will not be held...
Sometimes, not even savored...

Often..
I recognize happiness only in retrospect....
As something that happened in the past!!!!...

Yet, like all of us..
I want to believe in the myth that it is long lasting...
That at some time in the distant future...
I will have it always!!!
Forever!!!!
Without a pause!!!!

We are all striving..in one way or the other..
To live happily happily ever after....

But truth is...
I live more intensely...
In times of trouble....
I notice my thoughts...my actions...
I plot..and sometimes plan..
And pray a lot!!!

And yes...
Though I may despise such times...
Wait for an end to come.....
To troubles...
Real or imagined or created!!!
And I certainly do not want more of it!!!!
I must admit...
I do feel more alive!!!
I do live more in the moment!!!

When happiness strikes...
I often do not experience it....
Fully...completely...
Maybe I need help..
On how to handle it??

Yet what is this state of being?
Could it be the warm glow that suffuses my being???

Winner tells me that when I am happy...
I smile to myself...
A lot!!!!....

For me..
Singing is the touchstone...
If I can burst into song...
Or hum some tune heard eons ago..
Then I must be happy!!!!!

Happiness is not a continuum....
It punctuates my life...

There are happy moments every day...
But often..
I do not notice......
I live life in a blur!!!
I wish I could learn to live in the moment!!!!
In happy times as well....

And when major happiness strikes...
I am almost wary of it.....
As it marks the end of one phase...
And the beginning of another....
I wait for the next trying challenge to take off!!!
I do not trust happiness!!!
It just will not last!!!

While..
Happiness is part of the stuff of life...
It is....
Only one of many ingredients....
That go to make life's rich broth!!!!

Life happens in so many other ways.....
And it has so much other stuff to offer!!!...

So many other moods and thoughts and experiences...
Await us...
To enrich us....
To draw the best out of us!!!

Happiness is just an incentive...
Like that big bonus that sometimes comes along!!!!
Often when we least expect it!!!
It helps us along....
As we move on.......

At least that's what I think!!
Adios!

Lessons in micro-management!!!

You know you are micro-managed...
If you have...
To inform...
At least four people...
In the organization....
Before you do anything at all!!!
And I mean..
ANYTHING!!!!

And just to be on the safe side.....
Also..
Put it all in writing...
By filling in a form...
And sending it to two other people!!!!

Even if it is a mundane every day matter!!!!

Well...since you must wonder...
In the vast majority of companies...
Going to the loo..
Has not yet figured on this list!!!!
But those among them....
With enthusiastic rule makers...
Often consider the idea...briefly!!!!
And then...
Thankfully!!!
Abandon it!!!
Because of the expense involved!!!!
Nothing else!!!

I am not kidding!!!..
Really!!!
I too could not believe my ears...

But I am now told...
By those in the know...
That there are companies....
In Chennai...
Which do not mind this expense....
Where employees have to use a swipe card...
Before they can enter the facilities...
Ostensibly to ensure that the facilities are indeed free for use...
But actually...
To provide vital information...
On usage statistics!!!
That are used to calculate employee productivity!!!!

You know you are really micro-managed...
When the rules maintain that...
You must make...
Multiple copies of ALL letters...
That leave your computer....
Which you must then faithfully cc to everyone....
At every level of the hierarchy...

Hard copies of these missives are then neatly filed away...
In files...
Which after a while...
Are relegated to the lofts
In the dining hall...
And the basement....
(Those treasured haunts of rats and roaches!!!!)
And can never be found!!!!
When required!!

But then...
Copies of these same letters are backed-up...
In some remote recess....
Of the office!!!
And stored on a CD...
One copy of which is sent to the Head Office..
And one kept at the local office!!!
Just to be on the safe side!!!

So these can be found when you need them..
Right???

No..
Wrong!!!!
The CDs can never be traced!!!
When needed!!!!
Especially if the need is urgent!!!!

You are micro-managed without a doubt...
If you have to:
File daily, weekly and monthly reports...
Which are scrutinized!!!!
And fortunately filed...
Using the same afore-mentioned filing and storing system!!!

No!!!....
They haven't discovered hourly reporting yet!!!
But that too is possible...
Believe me!!!

You are surely micro-managed...
If after all this..
You have to listen..
Listen to tattle...perforce!!!
About how ineffective the system is...
That many matters are still slithering out...
Through the cracks and crevices in the system!!!!
How we must somehow...
Put all heads together.....
And make it more fool-proof!!!
More employee-ingenuity safe!!!
Sigh!!!

You know you are micro-managed a tad too much..
When you feel you are...
Tied hand and foot..
By the silken threads...
Of red tape....

Made worse by...
Institutional insecurity..
And...
An inability to judge...
Or trust employees!!!!

You know you are micro-managed...
When ..
At the end of the day....
You still.. somehow... feel guilty!!!!

You know you are micro-managed till it is eating your very innards...
When you think...
You have to post this on you blog!!!!

Rats!!!!!
I must be really far gone to do this!!!!

Ciao anyway!!!!

Up goes the meter!!!!

In India...
We have two indices...
To judge inflation....
The consumer price index...
And
The wholesale price index....

Usually they move in tandem...
But recently..
They have been gyrating in opposite directions....
Causing a lot of confusion!!!!

How can inflation be low???
When we are paying Rs 100 for a kg of tuvar dal???
Are these numbers false????
Or have the indices turned thick-skinned all of a sudden???!!!!

Perhaps it is time to discard...
Both indices..
For that most sensitive index of inflation in the country!!!
The Chennai Auto rickshaw Drivers Meter Index....
Or CADMI for short!!!

It is the first to go up!!!
Even before the first whiff...
Of a hike in diesel prices...
Fills the air!!!
And it never comes down!!!
No matter what!!!

A true indicator...
Of the times we live in now!!!!

Come to think of it...
If Chennai were a Goddess...
Her vahana would be...
No prizes for guessing...
Yes!!!!
It would be....
The ubiquitous auto rickshaw!!!!

These Lords of the Road...
Certainly hold...
Chennai vaasis to ransom!!!
And as for tales about them....
Their numbers are legion!!!!

Coming back to our index....
CADMI is sensitive..
And not to inflation alone!!!
It is a multi-faceted index...
So it registers every move that impacts the common man's life!!!!
And..
Like the Dow, the Nasdaq , the FTSE, the Bombay Sensex or any other major stock market index...
It reacts swiftly to economic and political events!!!!

For example...
CADMI reacts strongly to news of disaster....
A bundh called for by the ruling party???
Procession by a political party coming down Anna Salai????
Heavy rains in the evening???
You can be sure you will be charged three times..
The usual fare....
Or more!!!!..
Just to get home!!!

But unlike other markets..
Where the bulls and the bears...
Take their turn...
CADMI is dominated by the bulls alone!!!

They roar and romp...
And sometimes close down operations!!!!
Especially...
When attempts...
Albeit feeble...
Are made by the powers-that-be to reign them in...

Charge by the meter???
Preposterous!!!
Not to mention....
Unthinkable!!!!

Often...
Like many major stock markets....
CADMI is buffeted by speculative forces!!!
Of the Let's see if we can pull this off variety!!!!

So..
Regulars will sometimes turn to you and say:
Pay ten rupees more Amma...
Madrasgirl (MG): Why???
Auto Driver (AD): No...I thought you can give extra!!!
MG: But I won't!!!
AD: OK..OK...
But.....
I do not have change today ...
You can adjust the ten rupees change that I now owe you another time!!!

End of argument!!!!
And I didn't really win that round now..
Did I???

Given that the winds of recession are still blowing the world over...
Madrasgirl is surprised...
That some intrepid trader...
Maybe the same one who devised...
Those sub prime mortgages!!!!...
Has not started trading in CADMI futures!!!

Especially because...
There are no downsides to this market...
CADMI can...
And does..
Move only one way:
UP!!!!!
How much further up..
Is all that has to be deciphered!!!
By investors!!

A lot of money...
Just waiting to be made there!!!
So...
Let the trading begin!!!!!

Let's pitch in...
Shall we????

Of P James, magic and other mysteries......

Denizens of Chennai...
Are familiar with his name!!!
P James is a magician...
And a prolific advertiser..
On the city's walls!!!

His name and telephone numbers...
Jostle for space...
And cheekily...
Try to edge out...
Ads eliciting support for Amma...
Or the Rising Son..
Or sundry others!!!

He has been the inspiration!!!!
For a Madras-related book!!!!!
Looking for P.James...
Has just been released...

It takes off...
From the man...
Behind the magic!!!
Behind the mystery ads!!!!
His story..
Has now been told!!

But fret not!!!!!
The city is still full of tricks!!!
And offers.....
Mysteries aplenty......
Just waiting to be unraveled!!!!

One such mystery...
For which an answer..
There may not be is....
Why does Chennai Corporation...
Always wait until September...
And the first clouds of the Northeast monsoon
To swing into sight......
Before it begins to patch up its roads...
Lay its underground cables???
Drainage lines???
Pipes...
Or whatever???

On my way to Sweatshop...
I find that...
Taylor's Road...
Halls Road in Egmore...
And Montieth Road...
Now...
Suddenly!!!...
Sport deep gashes......
Right in their middle!!!

For most of my life...
I have used only two routes...
To get to the heart of the city...
And now rivers run through them!!!

Rivers of slush that is....
Which is what these roads become...
At the slightest hint of rain....
Causing traffic pile-ups...
Encouraging irate auto drivers..
To bump and bounce over them all the way...

It makes that spot under my skull..
Just above my spine..
Ache so!!!
Cruel!!!

But hey!!!
Who cares???

Not the Corporation...
Surely!!!
They have heard it all before...
And there is no pleasing everyone..
Is there???

And then....
There is that other great mystery...
Also advertising related!!!!
Now at my very door-step!!!

We woke up last morning..
To find two...
No parking in front of this gate signs...
Firmly welded...
One of each side...
Of our front gate....

The welding done...
Overnight...
Without even waking us up!!!!
In mafia-like silence!!!!

Thoughtful???
No...
Not really!!!

For...
Also included...
In these signboards...
Are advertisements.....
One for Kumbhat Holograms...
And the other for Apollo Packers and Movers!!!!!
Some sort of strange quid pro quo at work here...
Methinks!!!!

Without so much as a ..
Can I??
Or a....
May I????
From these guys!!!

Maybe I should be thankful that the ads are not for...
Dr Asana Andiappan Yoga..
Showing a middle-aged man..
In red underwear...
Smirking!!!
His left leg coiled around his neck!!!
Grotesque!!!!
THAT hangs on my neighbor's gate!!!!

But who are these freeloaders anyway???!!!
Do I want to endorse them at all???
And endorse them free of charge at that????
They did not care to stop and ask!!!

So..
I ask you!!!
Where did politeness go????
Did it disappear altogether....
At that point..
When Madras became Chennai???!!!

Maybe we should delve into such matters....
As part of Madras Day celebrations...
Next year!!!

But wait!!
Maybe this is raw material...
For a book!!!!
Of the Looking for P James variety!!!!
And maybe it will yield a good story...

Should Madrasgirl set off....
On a quest????!!!!
In search of the truth????
Tear down that veil...
Of silence...
Or
Omerta if you will!!!
Behind all such strange goings-on in the city??!!

What think you???

One already!!!

Just doesn't seem like a year...
Since I set out...
Writing about..
This Journey of Life....
Yet it is!!
Amazing!!!!

I have enjoyed putting my thoughts down...
The fun ones..
The sad ones..
And those attempts at seriousness...
In which I always seem to fall flat on my face!!

Funny...
People always take me for...
The Serious One!!
Looks like that just ain't my calling....

I have to thank my faithful audience..
Who now number three and a half...

The first...
My best friend....
From my college days....
Who now spends her time ruminating in the woods...
Near her home in Zurich!!!

Then there is Champagne...
Bubbly....and chirpy....

And hmmmm.....
My niece..
Who dips in..
Whenever she can tear herself away from her research!!!
That's three!!!

Half...
Lives in Berkeley..
And visits me infrequently....

Thank you...Thank you...Thank you
All ye....
Your comments encourage me....
And keep me going....
As...
I write only for thee....

Rest in my next....
Or as Quickgun Murugan would put it....
Mind it!!!!!
Until then!!!!!

Style matters

The incident…
In which Abdul Kalam…
Former President of India…
Was frisked…..
At Delhi airport…
By Continental Airlines….
Has died away…

Makes me wish we could return the favor..
And frisk a Bill Clinton…
(Who may not object if the attendant were a Monica Lewinsky type clone!!!!!)
Or a George Bush Jr….

Only THEY never fly Air-India…
Or Jet…
Or even Kingfisher…
Sigh!!!!

Besides…
In the US of A....
Once a President…
Always a President….
Which sets them above the pack….
Forever and ever..
Amen….

Not so in India…
Where the tumbling down…
Is quite steep….
What would we lose by calling them President...
For the rest of their lives??????


It would make friskers like the Continental Airlines bimbo…
(Who may have thought twice…
If he had been more stylish…
Or looked like a nasty, snooty, sonuvvabitch…)
Realize that the friskee she or he is dealing with….
Is Political Royalty…
Even if only of the Indian kind…..
Even if he may have looked like a pushover….

Besides in my mind…
Kalam is President …
For life….
He deserves to be…

For….
If ever…
One wanted an example..
Of a Mahaan….
In terms of honesty….
Sincerity…..
Integrity…..
He would fit the bill!!!!
He is truly..
A role model for all Indians!!

To me..
The incident is a sad reflection…
Of how appearances matter so much…..
Often…
TOO much…
In our world…..

We are judged….
By the brands we espouse…
By the perfume we wear…
By the localities we live in…
By the car we drive in…
By homes which could double for high maintenance museums …
And various other sundry dreadful details!!!!

Those old values….
Honesty….
Courage..
Character…
Loyalty…
Goodness…..
No one looks for them….
Or has the time to delve…

In the end..
All that matters…
Is whether one…
Has a Page three type personality …...
Or makes for good sound bites…

President Kalam….
Cocked a snook…
At all these superficialities …
And their worshippers thereof!!!

He remained untouched…
Lived by his own rules…
In his own sphere of existence…
Secure in his own person…
Never changing…..
Even a hair of his head…
To please the herd…..
Or..
To conform….
To their rules….

In that sense…..
He stood up…
For all those….
The small minority….
Who cannot…
And will never…
Understand the fuss….
That is made ALL the time…
Over appearances!!!!!!

Sad therefore…
That Style…
Won over Substance…
Yet again!!!!
Style continues to matter!!!
Wish it didn't...


Ciao!!!

A victory and what it means...

Random thoughts...
As the gay community in India...
Celebrates a legal victory...

Time was..
When gay meant happy...
And just that!!!
In school we made sentences which went...
At the picnic, we were happy and gay!!!!
Which then meant the same thing!!!

Until a decade or so later...

When..
Winner used to read the headlines to me...
One day.....
The Bangkok Post ran this headline:
Gay monk arrested...

Winner: Amma what is a gay monk???
Me: Just a Thai holy man...
Winner: But Amma what does gay mean??
Me: I have no idea...I think it means happy..now go out and play...

Very soon thereafter....
Project Reading Headlines....
Was abandoned!!

Of course...
Even today...
Not everyone is aware of the shift in meaning...
Gay Travels still exists!!!!
On Nungambakkam High Road...
Quaint!!!

In theory...
Sexual orientation should not matter...
But when it concerns....
One's kith or kin...
Often parents...
Family...
Have a hard time...
Coming to terms with it....

The movement has certainly come a long way...
With its right to personal choice slogan....

However...
Contrary to popular opinion at Sweatshop....
These choices were always available...
And people made them...
Regardless of the consequences!!!

One of the most delightful persons I have known...
Was Surrogate Mother's classmate in college....

In the late 1930s....
The boys in her class nicknamed her .....
Bachelor...
As if that were a title...
And sniggered...

A brilliant lawyer...
Blessed with a wonderful sense of humour..
She was in her 40s!!
When she married!!
A man!!!!
And was a happily married woman...
Till she passed on...

After a point...
The person...
And your relationship with that person...
Are all that matter....
And often...
It transcends such preferences....

However....
The shifts in meaning...
Caused.....
As a result of the movement...
Have certainly made me self conscious...

No longer do I sign off...
With gay (I mean happy here! Or rather...carefree!!!) abandon...
Letters to women I know...
With
Love, Madrasgirl...

Love???
Will I be misunderstood???

Often...
I settle for the more lukewarm..
But less misunderstandable...
Regards...
And sometimes ...
Warm regards...

Love...
Mine at least...
Is reserved for a select few!!!!

Cheerio then!!!

And thus is empathy born....

Words take on new meaning...
In illness...

Words like..
Headache...
Nausia...
Weakness....
Become real...
Take new form..
And acquire..
An added depth...
Of feeling...

How can the rest of the world walk about???
Or listen to the beat of that music...
Tolerate..
Those thumping noises from afar..
That mimic the throbbing in my head...
And heighten the pain???

Now I understand...
What Surrogate Mother means...
When she says....
I feel so drained...
I now feel that feeling....
I feel empathy....

If a touch of food poisoning can bring this about...
Imagine what those others who are seriously ill must feel...
No!!!...
Don't even want to let my mind go there!!!

Good Health...
It really is worth sweating for....
And a touch of the runs..
Or a fever....
Only helps increase its value in our eyes...

The shadow of wretchedness...
Falls on me...and..
Fills me with empathy..
For the sick.....

Bon Sante!!!!
To us all!!!

As the Board results roll in....

Two stories...

A former colleague's brilliant son....
Ended up with 79% in three out of four subjects...
In the CBSE Std XII exams....
He had his sights firmly set on a berth in medical college..
Based on academic merit....
Disappointed..
He is trying to get his papers revalued!!
As we keep our fingers crossed....

A neighbour's daughter
Totted up a grand average of 64%..
In the State Board Standard XII exams...
Her father has his sights firmly set on a berth for her...
In medical college!!!...
He is trying to mortgage his home....
To pay a donation of Rs 40 lakhs in a private medical college!!!!
As we wonder whether this is the sensible thing to do....

Actually there is a third story...

Writer in Residence...
Heard from her daughter in the USA last week...
The girl has just graduated with a Bachelors degree in economics...
She has now changed her mind!!!
Her sights are now suddenly...
But firmly set on becoming a vet!!!!
Somehow...
This seems to be the best situation to be in!!!

A favourite lecturer in college...
Was fond of telling us...
That the word school..
Originated from the Greek skholḗ
It meant leisure!!!!
I wish those halcyon days would return...
When one could study for the love of it!!!

After all...
What do marks reflect???
At best..
That the student is a hard working disciplined learner...
Who has cracked the code...
For success in the exams!!!!

It does not reflect...
His character...
His personality...
His values...
His ability to perform on the job...
Maybe not even his intellgence..
Or aptitude for the job...

Yet..
Success in the dreaded Boards...
Can open those doors to the best institutions...
Or shut you out forever....

No wonder...
Even last week...
I dreamt that I was writing an exam...
And at the end of it all...
Had not...
Could not..
Write more than three lines...
I woke up in cold sweat!!!
In a state of panic!!!

Oh!!
The horror!!!
The horror of it all!!!!
Pity the poor kids!!
Don't you????

And what's with the accent???? Huh?????

It happened the other day...
A coworker...
Off on a marketing quest into the rural hinterland...
Foxed us all...
The travel agent especially..
When she asked whether her tickets to Kolam were booked???

Kolam???
Yes!!!
As in the decorations with rice flour that South Indians like to draw...
At the entrance to their homes???
No!!!!...
As in...
Kollam...
The new name for ye olde Quilon!!!!

Duh??!!!

And to think that this atrocious mangling of a South Indian tongue..
Came...
From one who has spent at least 15 years of her life...
Holed up in a plantation in the Anamallais..
Often with only Tamil-speaking coolies for company!!!!
Strange!!!

Ever so often...
I wince.....

Especially when I hear one from the North of the Vindhyas..
Refer to Madras..
The city of my birth...
Not even as Chennai....
But as Ch-NAAI!!!

Why is it that North Indians can never learn to speak Tamil????....
Sorry...Tha-meeeel....
Or is it Madrassi???
Why can't they learn to pronounce the words properly????...
Or just learn to handle Ch-NAAI-speak???

Even those...
Who have lived in Chennai for four or five generations...
Always...
Deliver their lines with an accent...
Which can only be the stuff of comedy...
In Tamil films!!!!

Is it that they cannot...
Or that they will not...
And if not...
Then why the heck not????

Surely...this is a mystery...
Ripe for investigation!!!!

At the other end of the spectrum...
Are those South Indians...
Born and bred...
Up North.....
Who go all out...
To tell you that it is not..
Pa or ba..but pha and bha...
mit-tha-i not mittai!!

How could you not know???...
Or handle something as basic as that????
This coterie wonders!!!!...
Lapsing at every opportunity into that lingo ..
That bonds them...

This cabal....
Takes pride in getting its Hindi accent just so...
As if being able to do so...
Somehow...
Puts them in some kind of an uber class!!!


Is it that the South Indian languages are hard on the tongue???
But hey!!!
Then what about other languages???
Like Thai??...
The language spoken in Thailand???
With its rising..falling...rising-falling...falling-rising tones???
They should suck at that ...
Right???
But no!!!

I have heard Sardarjis...
Even those who have just stepped off an Indian Airlines flight...
Hold forth in that complicated tongue...
As if it they had learnt it at their mother's knee!!!...
Then why does Tamil..
Get the cold shoulder???

Could it be that the North Indians...
Are only Tamil-challenged???

But South Indians...
On the other hand...
At least..
Those of the born there-bred there variety......
Are not similarly...Hindi-challenged???

I think at least some of the SouthIndian attitudes to Hindi
Have been shaped by a yester-years movie..
Called Padosan...
In which Mehmood...
Plays a South Indian brahmin dance teacher....
The North Indians just loved it!!!!

But it was really...
A cruel portrayal...
A humiliating one....
Vicious...
And very tasteless...
And insensitive to the feelings of those from the South...
It left an indelible impression on the psyche...
Of all South Indians living above the Tropic of Cancer!

And it is my humble opinion...
That ever since then...
South Indians born in those climes...
Want to disassociate themselves....
From the Padosan-south Indian accent...
And stereotype...

So every time they deliver a dialogue...
In flawless Hindi...
They are actually saying..
And reiterating...
Hey...
But I am not THAT guy...
With the funny accent...
Don't ridicule me...
I am perfect...
I could be you...almost!!!

As for the North Indians...
It begins from the days of the Ramayana..
When the area South of the Vindhyas...
THEY say..
Was inhabited by a simian breed...
They seem to believe that the language of those..
With that sort of an ancestry...
Does not deserve respect!!!!

After all..
Why should the fair descendants of fair Aryans...
Learn the language of the darkee race???
It must be inferior...
So let us give it scant respect....
Seems to be the prevailing view!!!!!

As for me...
I always feel proud...
That we resisted the imposition of Hindi...
On us...

Tamilnadu ....not Thaa-mil-naddu...
Is the only state ....
In all of India...
Where school kids have a choice!!!
They do not compulsorily have to learn Hindi...

And given the slovenly treatment of our tongue...
By those who descend on our cities from up North...
I think it is only right!!!

Long live Thamizh!!!
And Thamizh pride!!!

Didn't expect THAT from me now...
Did ya???
Ah HA!!!

Under the shade of the Baobab tree....

We've had a Writer...
Almost in residence...
In our midst..
At Sweatshop..
For some months now!!!

On Thursday..
She talked about a subject close to my heart..
Literature!!!...
Of Africa..
A continent which is still thought of...
As being Dark!!!!

Tracing attitudes to the native population...
She briefly discussed Conrad's Heart of Darkness...

In this journey up the Congo River...
To meet the mysterious Mr Kurtz...
The natives are never seen...
They can only be heard!!!!
The sound of their stamping feet...
Signifies their presence...

They are there...
And yet not there...as ...
Not acknowledged!!!!

Over a period of time...
Through the works of Isak Dinesen ...who wrote Out of Africa...and others..
There is a metamorphosis...
The native can now be seen....
But not heard!!!
At least..not much!!!

He remains in the backdrop...
A silent spectator
Who belongs to another world....

Apparently...
It was only with the coming of Achebe...
And his path breaking book...Things Fall Apart...
That the voice of the African began to acquire form and force!!!

In India too...
The colonizers and the colonized inhabited different worlds!!!
One of the greatest disappointments of my reading life...
Was to discover that the Kipling...
Who so captivated my schoolgirl imagination....
With his stirring song...
Was openly racist!!!!
And as for the likes of Lord MaCaulay...
The less said the better!!!

We too have lived through....
Years of being depicted in popular literature...
As being cunning, devious and even cruel!!!!
Or there is the Peter Sellers version...
Where we are a depicted as stupid jokers!!!
So politically incorrect...and unfunny!!!!

And these movies were released in India!!!!...
And what's worse...
Indians saw them...
And came away entertained!!!!!

While the stereotypical Indian image...
May have changed...
Somewhat...
To that of a computer techie geek!!!!
In some parts of the world...at least...
The stamp...or suspicion...
Of being devious and cunning cheats...
Still sticks!!!

And..
ALL of us are often painted with the same brush....
Thanks to such depiction!!!
A case of the Arts creating a stereotype!!!

There is also the related matter...
Of inhabiting different worlds...
We still do that...
The fortunate and the wretched..
Live in different circles...
Even now...

As a child...
I always thought that the servants in my grandmother's house...
Liked being who they were..
That they really were content....
To gnaw on the neck of the chicken...
To suck on the bones of its rib cage.....
Leaving the succulent parts to me!!!!!...
Preferred fighting among themselves over fish head...
After serving the mid-portion and the tail to me...
Fried..crisp and delicious!!!

Brought up on Tamil movies of the late 50s and 60s...
Which always depicted the rich man and his ally...
The faithful servant...
Ready to shed tears of gratitude...
And stand up for his..
Ayyahhh!!!!
I believed they liked their lot in life!!!!
How wrong I was...I realized only much later!!!

The servants have moved out...
Of sleeping on the verandahs of large rambling homes...
And have swapped the thinnais!!!..
For one room asbestos-roofed hovels....
Their children get an indifferent education...
Which often leaves them unfit for work...
And disgruntled....
But they trudge on....
In a different world!!!
Excluded from ours...
As we doubtless are from other worlds!!!

The truth is...
There are so many worlds....
Which may touch only at the periphery...
But mostly...
Not at all!!

Perhaps all we can do...
Is make the best of the world we live in!!!!
One that Fate's lottery...
Decides to bestow on us!!!

See ya then!!!!

Move over Peter Principle...here comes Madrasgirl!!

I stumbled upon my first management book..
While still in school...
Searching my father's collection...
While looking over my shoulder at the same time!!!!!..
Hunting for those forbidden books...
For Harold Robbins!!!!...
Or other early 70s soft porn gurus!!!..
Instead...
I came across The Peter Principle....
And was riveted by it!!!

The Peter Principle goes like this:
In a hierarchy, every individual rises to his level of incompetence....
Simple!!!!
With case studies and explanations at every step...
So clear, interesting and understandable...
Even to a schoolgirl!!

Now several decades later...
I think I too have hit upon a management principle...
That needs studying...
And delving into...
For want of a better name..
I shall christen it...
The Madrasgirl Principle....

It goes like this:
In an organization, the number of meetings held is directly proportionate to the lack of meaningful employment within it!!

But before we all scream Eureka!!!...
Let me explain in greater detail!!!!
Meetings are an important tool within organizations...
A means ....
Of keeping track of schedules...
Discussing strategies...
Reviewing progress..
Looking at work loads....
A sounding board...to bounce off ideas...
Where team spirit prevails...or should...in an ideal world!!!!

But what if the emphasis is only on reportage??
Only to see if the troops are doing their bit...
If it becomes a control thing alone???
A top-down affair!!!

If there is one big meeting...
Followed by several small meetings throughout the week...
Just to review quantum of work achieved...
And this apart from filing monthly...weekly...and daily reports...
To The Powers that be...
Located in other parts of the organization..
In a different floor perhaps...
At Corporate Office...or maybe...
At Central Office???
It then actually does prevent work from getting done....
Doesn't it???

The meetings then become ends in themselves...
Both for the meet-ors...which term will henceforth refer to those who call the meetings
And the meet-ees....those constrained to attend these get-togethers!!!
At the end of the day...
One can only be meetinged out...
In this futile endeavor!!!

With endless repetition of the same thing...
It is only natural...
That employees learn...
To spin it all out....
Maybe by...
Telling funny stories about their suppliers!!!
Or complaining about their bankers!!!!
Add zip and zing to a dull tale...

In short...much energy is spent on..
Making a day's work seem as difficult as...
Or even as exciting as....
A trip up the Amazon in a catamaran...
With the crocodiles snapping!!!!...
And the piranhas biting!!!!

Which brings me to the Corollary to the Madrasgirl Principle:
Work reports at such meetings are always exaggerated to the point of ludicrousness!!

The idea is...
To make a little seem like a lot...
And a lot seem like a mountain!!!
After all...very few are willing..or want..
To say it like it is...
As a bland unembellished tale will inevitably elicit the response:
Is that all???...
Hmmph....

The Madrasgirl Principle would like to look into deeper aspects of the game...
Such as...
Should meetings have entertainment value????
It depends...
On what the meet-or chairing the meeting wants to bring to the table...
It could be fun and mind invigorating games!!!!...
It could be show and tell!!!....
Or only just all show...with nothing much to tell!!!

But then.....
The Madrasgirl Principle is no simple matter...and...
A blog entry is hardly sufficient to analyze it!!!
Discuss it threadbare...
Or examine it...
In depth!!!


Postscript
Madrasgirl plans to look for funding...
From the Ford Foundation perhaps...
Or the East-West Center...in Hawaii...
Or maybe some professor at MIT will take her under his wing....

So that she may...
Delve deeper...
And decipher the impact The Principle she has stumbled upon has....
On matters corporate...

But while she waits for the funds to roll in.....
She has only one expectation of meetings...
That her turn comes first....
So that she can switch off mentally thereafter!!!....
Sport a vapid smile...
And look on the proceedings...
With a suitably glazed look!!!

Can life really get better than that??
You think????

Golden Chariot...Ascetic God.....

Some journeys...
Like marriages...
Are truly made in heaven!!!

I had a vow to fulfil...
To the Andavar at Palani...
The ascetic God...
Who stands...
Clad in a loin cloth..
Staff in hand...
And so is called....
Thandayuthapani...

Train journeys fill me with foreboding...
Images of mangled corpses...
Twisted...
Charred remains..
Haunt my dreams...

Why don't we go by car???
I ask...
My suggestion is quickly shot down...

But the journey is pleasant!!!!
Comfortable..
We are met at Dindugal...
In the early hours of the morning...
Conveyed to our Hotel in Palani..

A few hours later...
We begin to walk uphill..
By the path that the elephants took...in the old days...
An hour later...
We arrive at the top of the hill!!
Buy the ticket for the Golden Chariot ritual..
Then a quick darshan..

A horde of pilgrims...
Clad in ochre robes..
Beads around their neck...
Shout..
Arohara...
And dance...
Their spirits at a high!!!!
The most enthusiastic..
Leads in front...
Swirling like a dervish ....
All of them...
Transported...
To a different energy level...

We express our devotion
In so many ...different ways...
To reach...the same destination!!!!

Later..
As I sit on the steps...
Outside the sanctum...
Waiting to be allowed in to the ucchi kala pooja...
I close my eyes...
Suddenly...
I hear more boisterous shouts...
Of the same...
Arohara.....

The noise swirls around...
And around the shrine...
Where..
He stands..
The Still Center..of our being....
Watching...
Listening to this cacophony...
That symbolizes the tumult of life and living....
Taking in..our Worship of Him....
Approving...

I enjoy the rituals of the abhishekam...
Feel cleansed...born again...
My faith replenished...
And then we trudge out...

In the evening...
We wait at our post for the ritual of the Golden Chariot to begin...
It begins to drizzle...
We worry..
Will it be canceled after all???
But it isn't...

The Golden Chariot...
Pulled by devotees...
Appears on the horizon...
Quite suddenly...
Resplendent!!!!!....
Glorious!!!!!....

And there He is..
The Ascetic God....
The little utschavar...
Now shimmers in His Garb of Diamonds...
He strikes a pose..
Staff in hand...
He seems to smile....
He looks....
So stylish!!!

We move in to take our turn at pulling the Chariot...
Take the silver yoke...
And push it..
To more shouts of Arohara...
From the waiting crowds!!!!

Even my normally prosaic spouse..
Turns poetic..
The drizzle seemed like someone was drenching the earth...
Before making a kolam...he says
As he keeps going back..
To see Him...
Again and again!!!

We move away..after our turn...
And after another brief look at the Moolavar
We return for the final benediction...
And then leave...
For the journey to the town...

I need this...
To touch base with my Maker...
It rejuvenates me...
Fills me with fresh...
Hope..
And enthusiasm!!!

We return...
To our every day lives
Refreshed!!!

Of Tirupathi miracles and such like....

It happened to me twice within two days...

First an sms..
Informing me of Sai Baba's birthday...
Promising good news by the end of the day...
If I passed it on...
I did...
I got no news....
Maybe that was the good news!!!

Then another...
More dire...an email..
About the Tirupathi Miracle...
Promising disaster if I did not pass it on..
To 20 other hapless souls!!!
I did..
Two of them said they wished I had not passed on such a threatening message...
I wish I hadn't..really.!!!.
The others probably cursed me under their breath...
Which could not have done me much good..I am sure...

All of us are the victims of such forwards..
I say victims...
Because often...
These forwards catch us at a vulnerable moment in our lives...
When a loved one is at a critical phase in his or her life...
Or maybe someone is unwell...
And so on..

I marvel at those who can get rid of these...
With the click of a delete button...
They are the practical ones...
The ones who see through these messages...

But even these practical ones...
Have sent me emails...
Almost always from children suffering from cancer....
Saying they will be paid ...
10 cents per forward...never more or less!!
For every email forwarded into cyberspace!!!

A recent one was from a victim of 9/11...
Who said The Red Cross would pay for each forward...
And now The Red Cross has confirmed...
That it is doing no such thing!!!

How I wish someone could contact the Heavenly Ones...
Find out whether...
Lord Venkateswara at Tirupathi...
or Shirdhi Sai Baba...
Endorse these mails sent in their name...
Supposedly on their behalf!!!!

Such forwards have existed for a long time...
They were called chain mails...
Before the dawn of the personal computer era..
And one broke the link in the chain at ones peril!!!!

Back when I was in school...
My mother repeatedly got in the mail....
A more nasty version of the Tirupathi miracle forward...
It promised death...
In addition to disaster...for breaking the chain...
That freaked her out completely!!!!

She conscripted me and my siblings...
Between us...
We wrote five postcards each....with the miserable message...
Then randomly picked 20 addresses from the Madras Telephone Directory...
Got it all out of the way!!!
And breathed a sigh of relief!!!

With emails..
Random selection...
Or anonymity is not possible...
One is forced to choose from among ones loved ones...close friends...co-workers....
A difficult choice...
As it feels like we are really passing on a parcel of wretched feelings!!!!
And often we may not even have 20 addresses in our address book!!!!

I often wonder...
Who starts these things???
And to what purpose???
Is is some warped vow taken by someone???
Or is the sender having a hearty laugh at having set us on this futile mission???

My friend thinks...
They could be spammers trying to collect addresses to send more spam to us in future...
They could be hackers trying to get your keystrokes..
And you could stand exposed if you are doing internet banking...
Some dire consequences could result!!!

To me..
It reveals once again...
Who I sometimes become...
Especially at vulnerable moments in life...
And life is full of such moments...
At least mine is!!!!

So instead of falling prey...
I need to focus on the Essential Goodness of the Divine!!!
With Him by my side...
Need I fret over forwards???
I guess not!!!

So.....
The delete button it shall be ...
For all such mails..henceforth!!!

So Rejoice all Ye!!!...
Who have thus far been affected by my forwards...
Your moment of Liberation...
Has arrived!!!
At last!!!

Adios!!!

Do companies have a personality????

Do companies have a personality????
I believe they do...

Companies like people...
Have a face...
A public one..
And a private one...

Just look around you!!!
At the millions spent...
On image-building...
In corporate houses...
To present the right face...
Or the most politically correct one!!!

A company's personality..then...
Is an amalgam...
The end result ...
Of the ideas that formed it...
The unspoken code of conduct that it stands for...
Its public posture...
The causes it may take on....
The values it espouses...
The work atmosphere...
The way it treats its employees...
And sundry other little details!!!

That said..
Let's try our hand at guessing the persona of some of these...companies...
Past, passing and present!!!

East India Company???
It brings to my mind...
A European adventurer..and sea farer.....
Out to pillage the world...
Mercantile...yet menacing!!

Satyam??
Couldn't be further from the Truth...which is what its name stands for!!!
Indeed..there is so much to a corporate name...
Coming to think of it!!!

Satyam's persona to me...
Has always been Andhra..with a vengeance!!
A 40 plus Telugu computer geek...

Infosys??
Is bespectacled....
Like its Founder and Chief Mentor…..
He is Infosys....
His personality infuses the organization in the public eye...
Professional...
Intelligent!!!
Ahead of the pack!!!

One could go on and on.....

At India's first business magazine...
Where I cut my teeth as a trainee reporter...
Our publisher encouraged us...
To swear allegiance to the Truth...
As we saw it!!!...
And to sneer at the Ad department...
If they ventured into our territory...
In search of PR!!!

The personality of the magazine.....
Was distinctly youthful.... and yuppie!!!
Like one of those cocky IIM (A) grads...
Who flooded the place back then!!!

Since then...
I have seen other places...
Been with other corporate personalities!!!
And enjoyed them all!!

And now...
It is my karma...
In the autumn of my life....
To be associated with an organization which has the persona of a middle aged woman!!!!

That's right!!!
Sweatshop...
Is a post-menopausal woman!!!!...
Moody..
Its ways are often unfathomable!!!!
And increasingly inclined to yearn for youth...
Nay...it is...
Totally obsessed ...
And so enamored by it!!!

I used to be thin and tall.....a co-worker tells me..
As we wait on the High Road...to go home..
Only my headlights used to stick out like that!!!!..she says..
Headlights???
Oh..she means...
My eyes unwillingly stray to her bosom...
Ample!!!
But I hardly want to think of them as headlights!!!
And anyway...
Does one's youth matter so much???
Apparently it does!!!

Especially since the past is a beautiful dream...
The present..
And future...
Full of yearning....

Perhaps it is...
Time now to bring out the glad rags...
And move into the Kitty party circuit???...

I wonder .....
As I listen politely...
To a senior editor read a short story ...out aloud...
On a quiet March afternoon...
In company time...
To a captive audience!!!!

The place should be a perfect fit!!!..
Given the number of years under my belt!!!
But it isn't!!

Is it because of a lifetime of abhorring ladies meets???
And staying clear of them???
Of believing that man or woman...
We are the human race..
And therefore our basic humanity should bind us together??
Not separate the sexes???
Is it because I still don't have a handle on the games ladies play???
Do I think such games are mentally inferior???..
And somehow beneath me???

Or could it be that I am really a 30-year old...
Trapped in a 53-year old body???
You think???
Or maybe...
Just maybe...
It is MY post menopausal persona...kicking in!!!

Just be my guest..
And take a wild guess....
See ya then

Jai Ho!!!!

Jai Ho!!!
That pretty much sums up my feelings for the week....

Slumdog Millionaire ...
Which I still haven't seen...
Has done for us...
What India Shining and Incredible India campaigns could not do...
Made us feel that maybe we Indians do have something about us...after all!!!...
Something unique...

Our 'never say die' spirit!!!!......
And our top quality talent...and performers
Who remain hidden...unrecognized...unsung!!!!...
Until the white man comes along...
And shows us how great they really are!!!!

I still don't get what Rehman meant when he said..
All his life.. he could choose between love and hate....
And he chose love....
Do you??
He was fortunate!!!...he could choose!!!...
But what about those who have hate thrust upon them???
I think we need a philosophic/religious discourse to explain that one to us!!!

But then....
Oscar speeches can't be easy to pull off!!!...
And Rehman deserves his two Oscar statuettes...
If not for Jai Ho...which is rather uninspiring...then for all his other wonderful creative efforts...
Vande matharam is my personal favorite...

And I did like it...
When Pookutty dedicated his Oscar to "my country"...
Wonderful India moment there!!!

Wonderful INDIA moment all around..
Inspiring to all Indians..the world over...

All I can say...
With a rather full heart...is...
Way to go India!!!

JAI HO!!!!

How does it work???

I just don't get it!!.....

At Sweatshop...
I tread gingerly..
Lest I disturb a Reiki angel....hard at work!!!!!...
Break a feng shui flower pot!!...
Step on and muddy... a co-worker's carefully worked-up protective shield of coloured light!!!...
Or prick the edge of another's aura...
With the sharp end of my ball point pen...
Or pencil...
And puncture it!!!....
Inadvertently of course!!!!

I...
An ardent believer...
Often feel so unprotected...
And uncared for..
By angels, lights, auras....and the like!!!!!

So...
When my sister in law from Dubai...
Counseled me on the mysteries of these occult sciences...
I listened!!!!....
And with a global downturn about..
Who can blame me???
All over the world now...
Anything free is welcome!!!!....
Free feng shui advice included!!!!

And thus it was...that..
Under her expert guidance...
I shifted paintings..and artifacts...
Changed the colour of curtains...
And most important...
Put up pots of plants...at strategic corners in each room...
And waited.....
For the magic to happen!!!...
And it did!!!!

A few days later...
I got something!!!
????
Yes!!!!..
Believe it or not!!!

I got...
Mosquitoes in my house!!!
Swarms of them....
Breeding in the plants in each room!!!!
In fact up until now...
All I HAVE got...are mosquitoes!!!!....
But time will surely tell....if I get something else too...
NO...not malaria!!....or Chikungunya!!!
And don't you snigger now!!!!

Which brings me to my opening sentence: I just don't get it...
If it can work for THEM...
Why can't it work for ME???
Huh????
Especially since some of them may be hard at work......
Covering me up in black ..
Or purple light...in their minds....
Now THAT is bound to hurt me..I am sure!!!


Just about a hundred years ago...
Most of our vaashu consultants..
Pranic healing shamans...
Along with swamijis who claim to be incarnations of God...
Would have been burnt at the stake...
As heretics...
But now...
Especially in times of distress...
They flourish!!!

And I try to heed their advice...
But still...
No Reiki angel does MY bidding and fetches me my lost keys!!!!...
I have to do ALL that ALL on my own...
I assure you..

Could it be because I am not a witch???...
Or even the B word that rhymes with it!!!!

Matter of fact....
I think many things would work out if I were indeed one or the other of the two!!!!
Or even a little bit of both!!
Maybe then I wouldn't need
Miracles of any kind!!!..
The Universe or its minions would do my bidding...
Or forever face the consequences!!!!!
Think about that!!

Chins up then!!!
And Cheerio!!!

V Day woes....

Valentine's day's here again.....
Time once again..
For soppy cards...
And stuffed toys..
Red roses...
Weddings on the beach..

It's celebration time...
The world over...
Except in India......that is Bharath..

Here..
It heralds....
Face-off time...
Between the country's Moral Brigade..
Self-appointed preservers of our Ancient Culture...
Whose ranks seem to keep swelling...
And the rest of us...women...
And hopefully..
Some men too!!!

This year...
The goon brigade got a head start......
With a few resounding slaps on the face of young things....
At a Mangalore pub...

What next???
Honour killing???
A return to Sati???
Widows in sackcloth and ashes???

What is culture??
Surely..
Respect for the freedom..to choose...a way of life...
Regardless of colour, race or sex...
Is at its core..
Or should be!!

It is not about one sex controlling the other......
It is all about giving and getting space...
In our relationships with the other sex...and
In our interactions with them..
Within the walls of our home..
And outside it..

Its basic article of faith is..
Live and let live...or...
To each her own....
Obviously all our Senas....
Ram Sena or Shiv Sena...or whatever...
Just do not get this!

And naturally...women all over the country are peeved...
Especially since..
Betterment for women has not come easy...

Every woman who has tested the boundary...and
Stretched it a wee bit more....
Has played a part...
In raising the status of women...

In my own family...
I can think of
My Grandmother...
Who insisted that ALL her daughters were educated...as well as her sons...
Her daughter...my aunt...
Who insisted on a career...in medicine...at a time when girls were stopped from attending school when they reached puberty....
My mother...who got her driver's license in the early 1950s...
And zipped around town...
Leaving the men open-mouthed....
And zillions more like them...
Stepped forward....
Made our path a little easier...

We do it too...
When we stand up against dowry demands...
Fight and throw away repressive customs...
Do not tolerate..
Bad behaviour...
Fight at attempts to hem us in...
To curtail our freedom to choose...our own way...

Against..
Wife beating...
Abuse...
Cruelty....
We have taken a stand....
When others did not...
Or could not...

So many unsung heroes...
Have furthered the cause..

I remember my own first best friend....
A Chettiar girl...
An only child....
Her parents married her off at age 14!!!!
And by the time we had graduated...
She had become the mother of several children....
So many doors closed in on her...
I can almost hear them slamming shut...one after the other...
She had no choice...
And did not...
Or maybe could not...
Protest..

We have...
Insisted on the freedom of choice...
And we sure have come a long way baby....as the ad goes...
We cannot...should not...cave in..
To the lumpen masses...of ignorant chauvinists...
That make up these Senas..

So, let's just celebrate....
And raise a toast to our kind...

And as for the Moral Police..
I hope they drown in an Ocean of dirty, pink chaddis!!!!
The dirtier..the better!!!!...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

My chariot rolls on.....

At a Tarot reading recently...
I picked...the Chariot...
Travel on the cards???...
For sure...says the card reader...
Uhmmmm....
I do not tell her that my chariot started to roll even earlier...

For a few brief days....last week..
I managed to escape..
From Madras that is now Chennai...
Into rural Tamilnadu...

Here it is still possible to see..
Palm trees swaying...
Over field upon field...
Of emerald green, straw brown and gold...

Looking out of the car window...we gaze...
At the canopy of trees....overhead..
Little thatched huts..huddled together...
Sheaves of grain on the roadside...run over by passing vehicles...and threshed..
Tractors piled high with just-harvested sugarcane...
Goats...sometimes a cow...crossing the road...
A river meandering down slowly...
A house on its banks...

All whizz by...
And as we move forward in space...
The stresses and the burdens of everyday living......
Get left behind....
And we emerge free...
Unshackled..

At Kumbakonam we head to a hotel..
Raya's...doesn't sound good...
But it is...
Clean room...
Clean sheets...
Spotlessly clean bathrooms...
Priceless!!!!!

In the evening we make our way to Swamimalai...
Clamber up the 60 steps of this man-made hillock...
To see Him.....
This warrior God of the Tamils...
His first consort is also called Deva Sena...by some...which means...
The Army of the Devas..
He is symbolically wed to those Divine Forces....that battle evil...
My own Ishta Devatha....

Then on to Thiruvalanchuzhi.....
The Vellai Pillayar is made from the froth of the oceans...caused by the churning of the Waters...
At Samudra Manthan...
Myth once again calls for a suspension of belief...
The priest tells the story...
And it feels as if it all happened...just a while ago...

Behind this sanctum...
Is the One...
The Greatest of the Devas....Maha Deva...
I feel a strange bond with Him...
This Ancient One...
Of the matted locks...
Who has always existed.....

It is dusk...
The temple is lit only by the oil lamps that flicker....
We see the arathi...as we enter.......
There is an other worldly quality about it....
It is beautiful...says my husband...
I'am so caught up in the atmospherics!!!!!
The valanchuzhi vinayagar is at a corner behind the shrine of the lingam..
Then on to the arathi at the Devi's shrine...

The huge ramparts of this temple...
Are awe inspiring...
It should be teeming with people...
But it is quiet...
Only a few tourists...
A handful of devotees from the village nearby..
And the priests...

We see other temples...
Before we return to the city....
Once again....
Filled with calm...within...
A sense of Peace...
Which is what a pilgimage is all about anyway....

Peace...
May it be with us...always....
And..
I hope my Chariot rolls on.....

Where's that funny bone???

Some time between December last year and January this year...
I lost something valuable...
My funny bone!!!!
It disappeared quite suddenly....

My strength and support...
In happy times and sad...
In times of crises...
Even when the predictions for our global future were quite dire...

And then it suddenly disappeared...
Not the world woes...those remain...
I mean..
My funny bone it is that has gone...
And I have been seeking it desperately....ever since...

Do help me find...if you can..
Pleaaseee.....

Old ties, new ties........

Last evening..
The sound of singing and happy laughter...
Stopped me in my tracks...
I peered out of the window......
It was that group of children...
Who live in the lane behind our house...
Having the time of their little lives...
Singing with gusto...
All of them....
Sitting on a verandah...

I love watching these little ones..
In the evenings..
And all day long on weekends..
The sound of gully cricket filters in...
From this lane gang...
The winners and the losers...
All shouting themselves hoarse..
I wonder if they have their rules????..

In my childhood..
Sometimes winners had to treat the losers....
To something...

If we were lucky...
An older person treated us..
Maybe even to Rita Icecream..
From the Icecream man....
At one anna per stick icecream...
Or 6 paise to the post-1975 born...
That spelt celebration!!!

Yesterday...
The gully cricketers had thrown away their old cricket bats and badminton racquets...
To sing songs....
Didn't sound like the usual filmy ones to me...
More like the ones we learnt in school....
And sang on school excursions...

And then they burst into peals of laughter......
Laughter that was carefree, unpretentious, genuine....
Not the self conscious kind...
Or the hearty but fake titters...
That one has to put up with...in our grown-up world...
So jarring to the soul...

It took me back to the days of old..
Those no-TV days...
The heyday of books...
When AIR and Radio Ceylon ruled!!!!..
And I mean..
Really ruled!!!!...

Then...
Children pretty much had to entertain themselves...and others...
Over long summer evenings....
When verandahs in old houses....now long demolished...served as a stage...
And the elders came to watch their children
And their friends from the neighbourhood...
Put up a show...

A little skit perhaps...
Some songs...
From the Sound of Music..or My Fair Lady...Or Mary Poppins..
Jokes...maybe...
Or a few tricks...

So exhilarating to hear the adults clap...
Almost as much fun as applying cheap red lipstick on the cheeks...
And spreading it out...to resemble a blush!!!

We entertained ourselves..by and large...successfully..
And so did the generations that went before us...

In the 1930s...
When my Father was a child....
He recalls....
There were no electric lights...
The lanterns were lit at dusk...
Then the inmates of the house came out to listen...
To Classical music and stories from the Epics...
Usually from the women...
Or even watched a cousin or sister show off her dancing!!
And every family had its favourite story teller...
Children did not have to troop into a bookstore to hear a good tale!!!!!


I miss....
That olde neighbourhood...
Where visiting each other was a done thing...
And everyone knew everyone else!!!!
Unlike today..

I remember...
My brother would play and hang out with the other boys his age..
Who lived on the street....
The Mandapam Road Gang...
I do not see that happening now...
There are no little groups of boys standing outside homes...
They can only be seen outside the portals of a coaching class or a tuition teacher's house!!!!
Even Winner's friends lived many streets away...

In Hyderabad..
My friends who lived down the road..
Would come and take me off on long walks...
Sometimes we wandered off into unexplored terrain...such places existed then...
Gathered wild flowers..
Bulrushes...or at least that is what we thought those were!!!!
In Banjara Hills...

Sometimes we went up a small hillock...
To a temple on top of it...
And sat on the steps...
And listened to the temple bells tinkle and clang...
Breaking the silence of the hills...

I had an old playmate from those days visit me...
A few weeks ago...
We still have..
No secrets...
No need to pretend or hide...
So refreshing in this day and age...
To let it all hang out...
And not be judged...discussed and branded immediately!!!!
I so enjoyed the visit....
I was beaming all day long!!!!!

The family...
And friends...often in the neighbourhood...
Sustained us and carried us on...

And everyone had time for children...
In my own childhood..
I remember the elders sitting around in the verandah...
Playing carrom...
Or a game of cards....
Letting us play a round or two...

A favourite Uncle would regale us...
Twisting his fingers this way and that ...
To make the shadow of a dog..or a bird..or some other being...on the wall..
Or made aeroplanes and ships...
From paper...
Or an aunt helped us build...
A House of Cards...
Or played word building games...
While my grandmother helped me plan my doll's wedding...
Chitra was her name...
A celluloid one which I treasured...

Now... a colleague tells me...
"I feel sorry for my friend's daughter...
She is so lonely...
Sometimes she calls me......
Her mother works late....
The mother feels she has provided all the basic comforts and that should do!!!!"
Others quickly rush in to tell her..
"You are being unfair to the Mother!!!! It is good for the girl to learn to cope!!!!"

I obviously inhabit a different world!!!!
And have followed a different code...
Have different expectations..
Especially from relationships!!!!!

Coming back to the children of the lane...
I wonder if they realise...
They have something special!!!
When children the world over are cooped up..
Inside apartments and houses...relegated to...
Watching TV, playing video games..
Or bonding with strangers in a virtual world..
These kids have the real thing!!!
They can still take pleasure in innocent pursuits..


If only more children would get this lucky!!!
I wish!!!!
Don't you???