Veenaiyadi Nee Enakku - Bharathi

This article is about one of my favourite poem of Subramanya Bharathi .

I consider this song as very special for its uniqueness. In general, the poetic way of expressing love has been to place the beauty/supremacy of the beloved above the lover altogether or to show the commitment of the lover to protect/preserve the superiority of the beloved. But in this song, Bharathi had painted a totally different picture by portraying the oneness of the beloved and the lover. This is an astonishing portrayal.

For me, even in the relationship of love, it sounds a bit "unacceptable" to surrender the pride - by either of the two. In this beautiful poem, Bharathiyar has portrayed how "two" reaches their best by becoming one. As the days go by, I start to realize that love is absolute and untouchable by materialistic values ( including pride, honest, good, bad etc). I still feel that beauty of the "married life" can be first realized by recognizing the pride of individuals and then appreciating the togetherness.

The transiliteration of the poem followed my attempt of translation in English

paayumoli nee enakku paarkum vizhi nan unakku
thoyum madhu nee enakku thumbiyadi nan unakku
vaayuraikka varuguvathillai vaalinindran meanmai ellam
thuya sudar vaanoliye suraiyamuthe kannamma

( Flooding light you are to me ;  I am to you the eye, Feeling the brightness
  Flowing nectar you are to me; I am to you the Flying bee ;

   Live long your supreme nature; To list it is impossible;
   Thou are Spotless shine, essence of immortal - Kannamma )

veenaiyadi nee enakku mevum viral naanunakku
puunum vadam nee enakku puthu vaiyram nan unakku
kaanumidanthorum nindran kanninoli veesuthadi
maanudaiya perarase vaalvu nilaiye kannamma

( Musical Veena you are to me;  I am to you the Playing hand ;

  Shining Gold you are to me;  I am to you the sparkling Diamond;
  Shine of your eyes is seen everywhere ;
  Speciality is your speciality; you are my liveliness )

vaana mazhai nee enakku vanna mayil nan unakku

baanamadi nee enakku paandamadi nan unakku
nyaana oli veesuthadi nangai nindran jothimugam
uunamaru nallalaghe uuru suvaiye kannamma

( drizzling rain you are to me;  I am to you the dancing peacock ;
  fizzing drink you are to me;   I am to you the holding glass ;
  radiant is your presence
  spotless beauty you are and springing pleasure )
 
vennilavu nee enakku mevu kadal nan unakku
pannusuthi nee enakku paattinimai nan unakku
enni enni paarthidilor ennamillai ninsuvaikke
kannin mani pondravale kattiyamuthe kannamma

( luminous moon you are to me; I am to you the sea waving beneath
  mesmerizing musical you are to me; I am to you the meaningful poetry 
  even after endless thinking, nothing could i find matching your virtue
  light of the eyes you are ; everlasting pleasure you are )

veesukamazh nee enakku viriyumalar nan unakku
pesuporul nee enakku penumozhi nan unakku
nesamulla vaansudare ninnalaghai yethuraippen
aasai madhuve kaniye allu suvaiye kannamma

( fragrant breeze you are To me, I am to you Blossoming flower ;
  Underlying meaning you are to me; I am to you the uttered word ;
  Loving divinity are you;  untellable beauty is yours;
  Lovely nectarful fruit is your sweetness;  Punching sweetness you are )

kaathaladi nee enakku gaanthamadi nan unakku
vethamadi nee enakku vithaiyadi nan unakku
pothamutra pothinile pongivarum theenchuvaiye
naathavadivaanavale nalla uyire kannamma

( Eternal love you are to me ;  I am to you the endearing love;
  Knowledge, you are to me;  I am to you the tactful skill;
  booming joyous, flowing in exalted stage, you are ;
  enchanting music you are;  vibrant life you are )


nallavuyir nee enakku naadiyadi nan unakku
selvamadi nee enakku semanithi nan unakku
ellaiyatra peralaghe enggum nirai potchudare
mullai nigar punnagaiyai moothuminbame kannamma

(  life you are to me; I am to you the reflecting beat ;
   prosperity you are to me;  I am to you the richness ;
   boundless beauty you are ;  omnipresent radiant you are;
   budding flower like is your smile; sparkling happiness you are )

taaraiyadi nee enakku thanmathiyam nan unakku
veeramadi nee enakku vetriyadi nan unakku
tharaniyil vaanulaghil saarnthirukkum inbamellam
ooruruvamaai samainthai ullamuthe kannamma

( star you are to me;   pleasing moon i am to you ;
  courage you are to me;  victory i am to you;
  all of the happiness of both the worlds
  descended as the one in my heart - its you )

MAGPAD

We have "ipad 2" released and available in the market.   While it seems to be a mini computer (as it seems that we can do whatever we do in computer in an ipad and vice-versa), the usage dimension makes it a different category.   

A few years back I had thought of an idea to avoid "newsprint" waste.   The idea is to "produce" an electronic book which will have simple capacity of only downloading the content via internet (or whatever means - despite my association with telecom software industry for 13 years, hardly i can differentiate between broadband, wi-fi, GPRS, 3G, 2G etc).   The device should look more like current magazine size (or even a bigger one close to current newspaper ).    The daily news content of the current newspapers should be downloadable onto this device on a daily basis ( you can keep a specific time to simulate the current user experience of morning delivery).   So, on a daily basis, the reader will take this "magpad"  and start reading the content.  The "touch" and "feel" should be almost that of the current physical paper.  For example, if the reader wants to go to next page, he should be able to do it with same kind of hand motion - go to the right bottom of the device and "turn".    This way daily printing will be avoided and the carbon footprint will be reduced.  I have not done any calculation of "carbon cost" of such an electronic device but i think in a cumulative period the saving will surpass the expense.  

What more...  you need only one "magpad" for any number of magazines/newspaper for a reader.   Besdies, with appropriate audio-video capabilities the "magpad" can also show the news with video coverage (something similar to the newspaper that is experienced in Harrypotter story).   Also, with read-out option, visually impaired can benefit (or if the screen can be so intelligent that the brail letters can be felt on the screen). 

Do you like the idea ?

Enthiran - A delayed "view" and "review"

My other post on the label narrates my taste for Rajnikant - a gifted, wonderful actor - not just a commercial King.    Despite my "craze" for him,  I could not find the right window to watch the ultra-hit movie "Enthiran" at the time of its release.    Finally I watched the movie on its 100th Day.

I had been quite impressed with a lot of "TV" shows, interviews about this movie.   Audio Release,  Rajni's interview,  Making of the movie etc.. were quite propagating the greatness, uniqueness, adventurousness - and you can add many more such "ness"....   I was impressed.   My friends told me that I would enjoy the movie for Rajnikant for his performance.  

With all these put behind my mind,  I suspected that I might not like the movie as much as I would expect.   And it was the case.   Though there are a few things which are real good.   The top most is the vision with which Late Sujata had written the script for this movie.  A ROBOT with such as skill is very much a possibility in today's world - however, to imagine that in late 80s could not have been a simple one.

The second aspect is the effort and execution Rajni had demonstrated in this movie.   He is simply superb.   He had perfectly fitted into the role of ROBOT in many characters "humble servant",  "dreadfull villain",  "innocent machine", "graceful dancer".  His efforts are relentless and his approach towards the movie with such a high commitment and dedication is an inspiration for everyone - not just for those in the film industry, but for anyone.

Now, coming to the part - what I did not like so much,  the movie is too much "tech weighed".    Despite that the film is fully aided by "graphics",   there is pure lack of "creativity".  The film starts with arrival of ROBOT and entire first half is how nice "chitti" is.  The scene sequences identified are very ordinary ( not that they are natural ).   The second half has no substance at all.   After Chitti becoming the villain, there is no "sense" prevailed in the story, in my view.

The simplest of the things that I could not understand is that "Chitti is only a robot.  He does not have "emotional sense" - meaning, if someone touches him "light" or "rough" will only make litte difference.  The covet by Robot for Ash is something that I could not understand and the entire movie revolves around it. 

The movie is as "stupid" as "I think".  Except for some major sccale of efforts in "graphics" - that too not of much skillful or artistic but only gigantic,  the film is very very ordinary.  

Looking Beyond the Obvious

I joined the software industry to know how it works.  That was 13 years ago.  Now, I think, I know how it works.   The tech savy interests are more or less gone - not that they are already fulfilled.   After certain stage, I realized that at least my mind is not open enough to accomodate the "new".   Not the Object Orientation,  Java/EJB - leave alone the new stuffs in the industry and altogether related verticles of modern world like visual graphics, that is redefining the cinema industry in India  or  the items like "enterprise software architecture"  that encompasses through both hardware and deployment softwares for load balancing, routing, firewall and what not....

Well, the above is not the point relating to the subject.   Given that I am more dealing with more and more the so called "managerial" aspects in my profession,   there are always many jargons I come across.    One of them surely is "looking beyond the obvious" - Most of the times the problems are always symptoms, the root causes are elsewhere.  

But an incident with my wife was a different eye-opener.   She went with our son to a shop to buy him some dress.  My son was thirsty and asked for water.   Like any other "contemporary IT" mother,  my wife thought that he was wanting some ice-cream or a juice which is coming as this "thirsty" request.   She promised him a juice once they finish the work at the shop.  

After done the shopping, my wife looked for a juice shop.   The next door was a Restaurant cum BAR (which is not unusual in the city we live).   She asked for juice in the shop - unfortunately they did not have at that time.   She was about to come out and my son stopped her...   He told "amma,  what is the problem if they do not have the juice,  they have water ".......   

Many a times, we make our life problems compounded.  The above instance is a simple example.   Now here comes the next management jargon... "keep it simple"!!!!  I will keep an eye on my son.   He will give me another case to write on this subject.

வித்யா-சி

மனைவி யல்லள்

மனையின் தலைவியவள்

மனையின் இதயமவள்

நலம்தரும் விதியாய் – இளமை

வளமையின் விதையாய் 

சதியெனும் உறவாய் – அன்புச்

சுவைமிகு கனியாய்

மெல்லிய மனமாய் – சாதி

மல்லியின் மணமாய்  

இதயத்தின் துடிப்பாய் – வாழ்க்கைப்

பயணத்தின் துணையாய்

விலையில்லாக் கலையாய் – இல்லத் 

தலைவியெனும் தகையாய்

திருவினைப் பயனாய் – நிறை

திருமதியென வந்தாள்

துன்பம் இல்லை எந்நாளும்

இன்பநிறை இல்லே எந்நாளும் 

வெறும் மணத்தினால் 

வந்தவளில்லை

விரும்பும் மனத்தினால் 

வந்தவள்

கண்ணென்று உனக்கு

நானில்லை

கருத்தாக எனக்கு

நீ உண்டு

உன்னை வாழ்த்தினால்- அது

எனக்கும் வாழ்த்து

தன்னைத்தான் வாழ்த்துவார் யார்

வணக்கம் அந்த

இறைவனுக்கு -உன்னை

வரமாய்த் தந்த

தலைவனுக்கு

என்னோடு  நீ இரு

காம்போடு இலையாக

கடலோடு அலையாக

பிள்ளைத் தமிழ்

உயிர் தந்தாய் , உடல் தந்தாய் !

உள்ளம் தந்தாய், உயர்பண்பு தந்தாய் !

உன்னத நெறிகள் தந்தாய் !

உவமையில்லாப் பாசம் தந்தாய் !

வரம்பில்லா உரிமை தந்தாய் !

விரும்பியதெல்லாம் தந்தாய் !

எங்கள் தாய், தந்தாய்

இவ்வுலகில்

நீங்கள் மட்டும் பெற்றோரில்லை !!

நாங்களும் தான் பெற்றோர்....

உங்கள் பிள்ளைகளாகும்

பெரும்பேறு பெற்றோர் !!



எத்தனை முறை பிறந்தால் என்ன ?

எத்தனை முறை இறந்தால் என்ன ?

எத்தனை முறை வாழ்க்கைச்சுழலில்

உருண்டுவலம் வந்தாலென்ன ?

அத்தனை முறைகளும் வேண்டும்

அதற்கு மேலும் வேண்டும்

இத்தனை முறைதான் என்று

எண்ணிக்கை ஏதுமின்றி

மீண்டும் மீண்டும் நாங்கள்

உங்கள் மகன்களாகப்

பிறக்க வேண்டும்!!

இறப்பில்லா வாழ்வில் இல்லை!

உங்கள் மகவாகும்

பிறப்பிலன்றோ உள்ளது அமரம் !!



பொன் வேண்டாம் !

பொருள் வேண்டாம் !!

புகழ் வேண்டாம் !

பொய்மை யில்லாப்

பெருங்குணத்தோன் திருவடி

நாட வேண்டாம் !!

நிம்மதி நாங்கள் பெற

உங்கள் மடி போதும் !

நினைக்கும் நேரமெல்லாம்

நெஞ்சம் மகிழ்வுற

உங்கள் பிள்ளை என்ற

பெருமை போதும் !!

FACE OF INDIA

Happy Independence Day.

On this eve of 61st anniversary of our nation’s freedom, I wanted to share A Thought / A Message / A Request / A Resolution with you. When I had been in school, learning history of our freedom struggle, I used to think that had I been born in those days, I would have also participated in the national movement. I also used to think that the nation has attained its glory and what all to be done is only enjoy it. Poverty had not bothered me as much as the corrupt politicians. Illiteracy had not bothered me as much as the philosophical arguments. Above all, our inability to raise and win as a society was not even in vicinity.

Now, two decades after passing from the school, life had exposed me to so many experiences, my perspectives are ever changing. It had become thing of past that I thought of a certain sect of people who are responsible for the everlasting misery of our society. I look at myself on each and every activity how I am contributing to the misery. When I realize that there are strong influential causes from who has the money and power in the society for our social debacle, also are present equally influential – the ridiculous nature of our society. A society can only be as ridicule as its members.

On the walk of everyday life, I see/feel/reckon/realize/visualize how life can be better for each one of us. Starting from looking at the “pan stain” in the lift (as a matter of fact, I live in a well-maintained private city where every day the lifts are cleaned inside-out in each building) to indifferent attitude of people in public places. Who is to be blamed ? Can we put all the chaos of the society on the shoulders on “administration” and “politicians” ? And we can sit cool and say “in my country that is how it is”.

While this country is emerging as a economical power in the global market, while this country is making its presence in supremacy of science and technology, while this country is generating more than sporadic entrepreneurs, management professionals, medicos, artists , writers etc, while this country is suddenly becoming the focus of the world, would things happen to eradicate the regress state of the society ? Partly yes. But a very small part. Not more than a million. Were the current economic growth to remove all the problems of society, it could have very well happened at the early years of independence as well.

I realize that unless the individual will not relate himself/herself to the society, the society can never progress. Society can be led by a few individuals but can never be a reflection of those few leaders. Each and every unit of the society has to go through the transformation to take its next generation forward. As responsible citizens of this nation, many of us realize what India has to do to bring a new face to its society. Seldom we realize that it is us "Who are India".

On this, I initiate the movement “Face of India”. The movement is a self-initiation point by every individual of this country. To participate in this movement, one need to vow to himself an oath. An oath, that may be big or small. But an oath he/she will keep for life. A sample oath is as follows
- “I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will never spit in a public place”.
- “I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will not horn in a school neighborhood (of course I will go slow as well!!).”
- “I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will respect government servant.”
- “I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will keep my house surrounding clean.”
- “I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will cast my vote in all elections.”
- "I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will drive abiding by traffic rules by letter and sprit"
- "I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will wait for my turn honestly wherever required"
- "I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will conduct myself socially responsible in all public places"
- “I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will help to spread literacy.”
- "I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will pay all taxes as they are due."
- "I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will buy things only with bill."
- "I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will not take bribe."
- "I am the FACE OF INDIA. I will not bribe for my favour"

The oath is according to individual’s priority, will and relevance. The sprit behind the oath is not correcting others/system. It is more into what I can do within my control to make the situation better. There are a billion faces. I am sure, even one simple oath is good enough for person to set the right direction for the society he/she is part of.

If you want to express your oath, feel free to do so as a comment to this BLOG.

I AM NOT A "PATRIOT"

Somehow, I find that Indians have developed a sense of "pleasure" in portraying oneself as "patriot". I have not chosen the word "portraying" instead of "being" unwittingly.

The advertisements talk about patriotism. Sports persons are talking about patriotism. Professionals are talking about patriotism. Individuals are talking about patriotism. And lastly, politicians are talking about patriotism altogether in a different scale.

As usual, I am trying to get to the bottom of the "patriotism". In one of the debates with my friends, a challenging point was raised. Is "patriotism" defined by geographical boundary ? To elaborate, if I support "India" - what is the definition of India? Is the current political map ? What happens if the political map of the nation changes - regardless if it expands or shrinks ? Do I change my "attitude" towards the "changed" boundary ? For example, let us say that there is a river dispute between Bangladesh and India. Currently it is an international issue. Suppose, Bangladedsh is merged into Indian political map - then it becomes national issue. What are the resolution options that will merge - and how does it impact the definition of "patriotism" ?

I presented the above only as a perspective. Let us put aside the whole argument above as "hypothetical" (not truly, as the situation can happen in a similar way if an Indian would immigrate to a foriegn land - should he be patriotic to "homeland" or "foreignland") because that was not the main point I wanted to share in this writing.

The advertisements - should they not sell their products by demonstrating their quality of the product ? Why should there be an attempt to portray a picture that the patriots use their product ? I am referring to a bike-ad in which a young engineer prefers to stay in India to work abroad, demonstrating his "patriotism". The other ad is to create "healthy" India by using their Soap!!!!

The sports persons/organization - Till date, I have not understood the relationship between the BCCI and India. The rules and regulations of BCCI are not restricted (or obligated to abide by) by Indian Law - the way I understand it. Basically, I could never understand why a team selected by BCCI is "called" national team. Not only that BCCI is not a government body but also that it is not affiliated to Indian Government in anyway - to the best of my limited knowledge on the subject. Quoting the statement of BCCI Counsel in Supreme Court - from a old news article : "If India plays England, it is a match played by the official team of the BCCI and not the official team of India. India as a country was not represented at the International Cricket Council (ICC) and that the Board uses its own flag ". I do not know the subsequent developments on the subject, however, this much I remember that Sachin Tendulkar removed the national flag from his Helmet at certain point of time while playing for "India". Probably, given the "impression" created from the past, the billion people believe that the cricket team they watch is "Indian National Cricket Team" and even worse, supporting their national cricket team is the best and probably the only way of showing patriotism. The next possible organization to the list is "Force India" formula 1 racing team. In my opinion, the title of the team is coined in such a way to hide the private ownership of the team by an individual but to popularize the brand, which is the major objective of the formation of the team.

The professionals - Barring select individual scientists, doctors, teachers, technocrats, management professionals, majority of the professionals take a lot of pride(read money) in working for MNC (does not matter - if in India or Abroad) than working on a mission critical government projects. The tall claim they make on their patriotism is "paying high amount of income-tax" if they work in India and "remitting US dollars to India" if they work abroad. It is pretty apparent that both are not by choice.

The individuals - For a common man, patriotism is to respect national flag, to celebrate Aug-15/Jan-26 - by being either in the viewing gallery of the parade in the stadium or at home through TV, watching "India" Cricket match and supporting/debating an Indian Win, raise/donate funds for army personnel (God only knows the authenticity and accounting of the donation collectors).

The politicians - Less is required to be said. I would be pleasantly surprised if any Indian citizen would consider any of the current leaders as "patriotic". I have not come across anyone feeling about any leader so far in my life yet.

With all above, it is clearly evident that though not serving to the country the ordinary man salutes the national flag with utmost respect, the "intelligent" section evades the responsibility they can own upto, the "glamourous" parasites use patriotism for amassing individul wealth, the "business magnets" use the name of the nation for increasing their revenue streams, the politicians use it as "means" of living (the article being stolen is the means of living for the thief - isn't it ?).

The first question remains to be answered is already done so in the title. By the very essence of the article, I am not a patriot - given that I am a professional working in a MNC!!!

The next question - if at all it comes - does not have to be answered in this writing. The question is - "so, what should I do if I have to be patriot and not just portray like a one ?". The answer is not as important as the question because the question will direct the actions that will answer the question.

Jai Ho!!! Oops...I missed a point, probably a few, .....mmm...... probably not!!!!

Jai Hind.

I am a fundamentalist....

"fundamentalism - a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles" Islamic fundamentalism, political fundamentalism [ As quoted from online Meriam-Webster dictionary ].


Is there a problem with "fundamentalism" ? I am sure all of us will immediately say "Yes". Our chorus is as follows: "In a democratic society, there is no place for 'fundamentalism' ". Even more, when attached with "Islamic"; then there is no second thought.

May we revisit the definition of "fundamentalism" again ? - A movement or attitude ( i.e., Democracy ) stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles ( i.e., no place for fundamentalism). OOPS!!!! suddenly democracy itself became a "fundamentalism". How could we accept this paradigm ? Is it only a word game ?

Despite the evolution of mankind, the human tendency is to be quick to the principles one has accepted. We believe in what we believe - no matter what is the reality.


The first trigger of this thought sparked when I was watching a conversation in CNN. I think it was "Larry King Live". The discussion topic was "Islamic Fundamentalism". One of the participant was presenting a kind of opinion that "Biblical religion is based on tolerance. Tolerance to other streams of faith. Whereas, Islam as a religion is not based on such postulate."


My controversial mentality started the thinking. There are a few questions to be checked that was put by the conversant. Are biblical religions (Judaism and Christianity - if I would interpret them) based on tolerance ? Is Islam does not propagate tolerance ? In my own opinion, Judaism - at least the way it is interpreted by its followers - is really intimidating. To say that "a set of people" are chosen by God - does not sound an "inclusive" religion. A religion which is not inclusive cannot be tolerant. Jesus Christ - the non-christian Jew - of course was an inclusive prophet. He had said that "the kingdom of God is welcome everywhere. It is also for Romans/Peagans". Let me not get into deep arguments on this subject. I leave it to readers subjudication.

For argument sake, let us accept that biblical religions are tolerant. The counter argument is that "supposing the biblical religions are not tolerant by their nature, what would be the state of their followers ? meaning, if Bible would say that "Those who are not believing in Christ are unbelievers and killing them is not a sin rather a good thing for society and the killer" - what will be the stand by Christians. Will logic prevail and Christian fundamentalists will not promote killing of non-christians OR will we have another variety of "Jihad" ?


The paradigm of right and wrong, accusation and justification, crime and penalty are have been the fundamentals almost in all societies/religions. We all know that the definition for these are very much subjective and cannot encompass all individuals. From that perspective, everyone is a fundamentalist of his own accepted dogma.

I want to be a fundamentalist of a different kind. Not in the same sense of definition from webster. But as a person who seeks to understand the fundamentals of dogmas.

Arivinal Aguvathundo - Thiruvalluvar

Philanthropy - The word has been interpreted as below in "wikipedia" as on the date of this posting.

"Philanthropy derives from Ancient Greek, meaning "to love people". Philanthropy is the act of donating money, goods, services, time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause, with a defined objective and with no financial or material reward to the donor."

Many a times I have wondered the evolution of humanity. Probably, the industrial revolution, modernization, automation, advancement of science and technology - all seem to be as external as they are perceived. While this can be observed as the evolution of human understanding of science, evolution of the technology, this has as much relevance to evolution of human being itself as age to do with intelligence.

The evolution of human being very much lies in evolution of human society. The very fundamental indicator for a mature human society, in my opinion, is the oneness, the ability of individuals to feel the responsibility for others regardless of the relationships between one another; regardless of the cause; regardless of the social structure and so on so forth. The "ability" of the individual can be derived from education, skill, position and the social structure itself. It is possible that not everyone is blessed with all the armours needed to respond to need of hour. However, higher the commitment and willingness of the individuals, even more in the way of life in a society, stronger is the evolution of humanity.

From this perspective, I believe, the theoretical fundamentals have been philosophized long ago before the "modern society". However, the realization of this philosophy has been hardly achieved and on the way probably lost its due attention from the "world powers". The resultant is continuing chaos created by humanity to humanity.

This reminds me a simple story parable to me when I was on my 4th standard. The parable is as follows:
God appeared in one man's dream. The man asked God, "if you were so nice, why did you create hell and heaven ?". God replied, "Hell and Heaven are made by men and not by me". God took the man to a place.

It was a big dining room, with all kind of tasteful food served in plenty and unlimited. There were all kinds of people. The hands of the people were tied behind them. Every individual was hungry and everyone tried hard to take the food and eat. As they were not allowed to eat directly by mouth, they tried to throw the food up by hand and to catch the food. The place had soon become messy and hunger remained. God said, "This is Hell".

Then He took the man to another place. This was much similar to the previous one. Same arrangement, all food, people tied their hands behind, same rule. However, this place was very calm and people were content and happy. The reason for the difference was that instead of trying to eat by self, everyone fed other person what they wanted. God said "This is Heaven".
The parable had registered in my mind very strongly, after grown up - don't ask from when, I had always wondered, if this could be a practical resemblance of problems of this world. Many a times, I think yes. Except for natural calamities and challenges, all man made challenges can be tied as a parallel, albeit logistically the complexity of the world is far greater than the dining room in the story.

The thought process also makes the below "Kural" one of my favourites.
௮றிவினால் ஆகுவ துண்டோ பிறிதின்நோய்
தந்நோய்போல் போற்றாக் கடை.
I think the meaning is straightforward. Just in case, if you do not know to read Tamil, the verse says "What does one's wisdom achieve, if it cannot recognize other's pain as pain of the self".

Unnaturally natural....

Normally, my opinions/taste are not in line with majority. Despite of that, I have been an ardinent fan of Rajnikant ( surprise!!!) from my young days. But probably, I could still maintain my distinction from the crowd on the basis of what I like in Rajni. Obviously, the style and mannerism of Rajnikant are unparallel. I have been so attracted by him that while seeing any style/mannerism of heros in other movies, I always used to imagine how it would have come out if Rajni were to do that act.

In my own opinion, I rate Rajnikant as a better actor than he is known for. I was recently watching his movie 6 to 60 ( aarilirnthu arubathu varai ). I wonder if anyone else would have given a better performance!!! Had it been Sivaji or Kamalhasan, who are known for their versatility in acting skills, the film would have more remained as a film. But, the performance of Rajnikant has been so natural, I love to watch that movie for his performance anytime and any number of time. Good screenplay, simple dialogue, supportive set, character roles and simple line of story - the movie in my opinion is a beautiful work by director S.P. Muthuraman.

Rajnikant has acted in this role without any "heroics". His dialogue delivery has been exceptional (something I miss terribly in recent tamil movies - almost none of the current top heroes seem to have this skill ). His facial expressions and body language has been well-suited. The role of "Santhanam" ( acted by Rajnikant) demands expressions of varied feelings under different situations. Love, affection, disappointment, loyalty, friendship, brotherhood, vexed, handling of snoopy colleague, responsibility, inability, self-esteem, humour - what not... The character is all in one - or simply a common man's life. Perfect portrayal of Rajnikant's acting caliber.

One of the credentials for actors is imagination. We have seen this in many renowned performances - Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Gauravam, Thirisoolam and many more by Sivaji Ganesan; Nayakan, Moondram Pirai, Indian - and more by Kamalhasan. However, not very often we get to see a performance (or role) which is more natural in depiction. "6 to 60" has been a such one for Rajnikant. I love it...

Big is "bigger" than small

The title might sound a little "redundant" or for a few a pun. The essence of the title, hopefully, will be understood from the narration.

The trigger for this article was an insurance advertisement. The essence of the advertisement is this: At your young age, as a boy you restricted your desires to be obedient to your parent; at youth you tolerated the nusances at your work place for your family, in middle age you gave up your preferences for your kids, now that you are retired live your life freely, for yourself and not for others. That threw a fundamental quesiton in my mind. As a person, am I not choosing my options ?


In life, we are always left with quesitons of 'importance' , 'priority', 'weightage' - call it by any
name. I believe, if everyone shall have infinite availability of everything - material, time, age, ability, energy - ooph I could complete the list only if I shall have infinte resources - probably then we do not have to prioritize. We might learn to develop some kind of patience to wait for our things done. But naturally it is not the case.


In life, everyone is subjected to choose his priority. Recently I was reading an interview from Sachin Tendulkar. He had been practising cricket from the age of 4. He had mentioned that there had been times when he wanted to play with neighbourhood children but could not do as he had to go for "net practice". Had he lost his childhood freedom ? Probably currently also his stardom will not allow him to live a normal life. Had he lost his enjoyment of life ? The answers for such questions are probably in affirmative if not totally, at least partially. But what it results is - not only for Sachin, but for many ordinent cricket lovers - is Sachin!!!!

One cannot have the cake and eat it too. In life, one has to set priorities on his own way - and like any other learning, during childhood these prirorities are set by elders - and enjoy the outcome of it. To achieve "big" tomorrow, one has to forego some "small" today. Now, it is upto individuals to decide what is "big" and what is "small".

The one who denies to realize the fact that today is yesterday's tomorrow is a fool for he does not realize that his actions today is the seed for results tomorrow. Thus he might never create "the future".

The one does not recognise the fact that tomorrow will be today tomorrow is also a fool for he has not recognized the results today are due to the actions of yesterday. Thus he might never relish "the present". Probably only in this context, Jesus had said - "Tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble".

Law and Justice

I was just watching a 20-20 cricket match of IPL. The match was between "Chennai Super Kings" and "Kolkatta Knight Riders". Dhoni's CSK had already done enough damage on the batting on Ganguly's KKR. It was the penultimate ball of the last over. Laxmi Shukla - the in form batsman who had scored 42 of 30 balls in that innings - played the ball straight to the fielder. Runner Ishant Sharma had started already. Usual scene of ball on bowler's hand near the runner's stumps and both batsman almost on the other end. Bowler did not take the bail off yet from the runner's wicket. But not being aware of this minute detail, Ishant already started walking towards the pavilion in that course crossed Laxmi Shukla. Dhoni then urged the runners bail be taken off and appealed to the umpire that it should be Laxmi Shukla who should be given out. That is because the batsman had crossed!!!!!. It was given so.

Sometime back, in another ODI between Srilanka and India, Sehwag steered the ball to third man. As one might observe in any match, Sehwag walked the run and on reaching runner end, he took the position like batsman and started to "practice" the shot. However, he did not realize that he had not grounded his bat on runner's crease. Sangakara was keen to observe this and hit the ball at runner's stumps and appealed for out. Sehwag was given out.

I think in both occasions, the spirit of the game has been undermined against the success by the players ( Dhoni and Sangakara in the above example). Moreover, I was just wondering the need of the "relevant" rules and their applicability. In my young days, when we used to play in the village - local form of cricket, with big stones as stump and sometimes ball made of cycle tube - we had a peculiar rule. If for some reason, the bat will slip away from the batsman, he will be declared out. A variant of the above rule is the batsman is out only if a member of the opponent team takes the bat in the above situation.

The rules are in place to make some order to the game and not to "apply tricks". But in both above occasion, the rules have been applied "blindly" ignoring the spirit of the game by the umpires. In the first occasion, Ishant would not have crossed Laxmi Shukla if the pavilion was on the other side. Bottom line, the cross over happened not when the batsman was taking a run, which I suppose is the basic assumption underlying the rule. On the second occasion, the batsman had demonstrated his ability to cover the stipulated distance,which I believe the reason for imposing the rule - batsman should have landed on the crease - and still left with plenty of time. However, in both occasions, umpires have upheld the applicability of the law over the spirit of the game.

In our day-to-day life as well, we step across many times situations where people argue on applicability of law without realizing the "justice" which is to more address the human side of the issue. That reminds me the dialogue from Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus says: " The law is not just to be scultptured on the stone. It has a life. As long as we do not understand it, it will remain only as a stone". Well, that way the ICC rules are well written in books. NEverthless these are not singled out instances in history. One famous example I can think of is the story of "Ambikapathi - Amaravathi". The former was killed because he had counted the "Prayer song" as part of the 100 songs he was supposed to sing before seeing is beloved!!!!!