An egg a day..kills!

Aichu's stories @ 5yrs:

Atop a coconut tree there was a nest and crow had laid its eggs..the crow typically wakes up and flies by around 10 to find food for the day. She generally returns by afternoon. One such day, when she returned she saw an egg missing. She was very very sad..she was looking forward for that kid to come out..after a day of mourning..she was hungry and again flew out..when she came back, again an egg was missing ..she understood that someone is closely watching her and then taking her eggs when she leaves..next day at 10, she again flew out but this time she went and hid in the branches of a nearby mango tree..she waited, waited n nothing happened..she took some bites of a ripened mango n came back..she was happy that she didn’t loose any egg that day..next day she gain flew to the same mango tree..n after 15mins, she saw someone coming towards the nest..A Cobra..almost 10ft long..he came in very close to the nest..n the crow dashed towards the nest and gave a nasty bite to the cobra..he never expected crow to be back. Alarmed and with full of aggression he was now ready for a fight..He swirled across the trunk n frantically chased the wings of the crow..the crow too used deceptive flight patterns to be away from each hit..finally crow did a barrel roll attack maneuver and got a bite rite in its hood. That was a hard hit n the cobra came slipping down the the coco tree..it slowly treaded to its hole and the crow was in no mood to let the fight go..she chased n did couple more bites n flew back to the nest. Crow was happy n relieved but knew that it isn’t safe anymore..she wanted the kids to be safe..next day she ventured out for a different purpose..she flew high n wide n got what she wanted..A small American tourister..she took it and brought it to the nest..packed the eggs in it and then flew to her husband..who’s in a L1 visa at US.

She loved her family too..

Aichu's Stories @ 5years:

Once upon a time there was a nice tile roofed home in a forest. Mom, dad and their son lived there. Alongwith them in their house there was a small pond with 3 turtles. Mom, dad and the Daughter turtle. 

Bringing food to the table was the biggest chore on Dad n mom’s everyday life. Son most days remained at home watching TV, doing legos or playing with the drer turtle. For a series of days the Mom n dad couldnt find enough food for the family. They were starving. Finally the only way to survive was to kill the turtles n have it as their food. Without much thought n with minimal pain they killed the big 2 turtles and boiled them for a soup. 

Mom, Dad and Son were sad but they had to do it. Son requested his parents that the Dter turtle should never be killed and they agreed. Turtle soup was good for couple of weeks, the dter turtle looked sad and spent most times at a corner chewing whatever dry grass she was provided.

Past a month..the family had to go out for food again..They went far n wide in the wood and finally stoned down a rabbit. That’s their meal for couple of weeks. They were happy and came running back to home. It was almost and the home was pitch black. Mom lighted a wick and searched for their son..he wasnt there. Mom & Dad were tensed n started searching around - in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the living room..their son was nowhere. Dter turtle was unusually active and the waves it made broke the eerie silence..Dad stared at the turtle n then slowly turned his sight to the chair near the pond..That’s unusual..

A skeleton was sitting on the chair..

It wasnt big nor was it small..it was strangely familiar. he stepped closer..and gently touched one of the broken teeth..the skeleton trembled, pointed its finger towards the pond n gently whispered to the dad "I was eaten by the dter turtle n before i closed my eyes for the last time..it said that she loved her family too" 😳

Mera Paas Maa Hain!!

th year was 88 n it was past midnight..v wre @Vadakara, India..Kathu was inside Amma and was abt 7months old! i had been ill tat day and by nite i was running a +100degs fever n on sleep went completely Unconscious.. Dad understood that things are slipping out of control n took me in his arms and started to the Hospital..th small town used to sleep by 8 n the fly doc was 3 kms away!! Except for a few Stray dogs, tre wud be absolootely no life on the Roads! we didnt had a Telephone n had bought a Solidaire TV only an year Back! as my dad lifted an almost lifeless me from the Bed and started making a move...just then, he felt Mom's Hand on his shoulder...Dad Turned and Mom said..I will also come!! That was Really Brave..She was 7 months pregnant and nowhere close to her athletic best..but still on that Midnight, she wanted to be with me..n  v 4 hit the road..th Doc was still 3 kms away! dad had me on his arms and Mom had kathu on her tummy and they walked for close to a km when they finally saw a  Vehicle approaching..A Pandi Lorry.. ma mom virtually stood on th Middle n waved th truck..th Driver, a gentleman, without a sec thought, agreed to get us to the Doc!!..My mom climbed on to the Drivers Chamber..which wud have been atleast  4ft ht with a step smwhere along the ht..she still doesn’t know wre the Energy came for that mighty Leap!! me and my father followed..the truck driver ensured the Smoothest ride Possible and got us to the Doc’s clinic!! the Medical team have a medical Emergency in their hands!!..Mom n Dad stayed on the Verandah Bench the whole nite..Next day Morning, Doc said m out of Danger n mentioned it wud have been a very different story if i had been brought an hr or so late!! My Mom stayed at the place as long as she could and left only when i smiled @ her the morning! :)

my dad still doesn’t know why he didn’t Object my Mom and my Mom doesn’t know what made her set out for such an adventure Past Midnight with a Full blown Tummy! 

Love u n a very Happy Mothers day!! U r ULTRA SPECIAL!! J  

OuTPissEd!!;)

Boss was in terrible mood today...soooo bad, that he mouthed a hell lotta ma - pu** words for a highly ordinary mistake of mine..the dialogues were so furious that a tonne of wax melted out of ma ears!! :(

ahhh..cmmon..it was also not the first time am gettin such an earful.. its ok not to be perfect sometimes....

howbeit..

it was heartbreaking tis time..half ma floor was witnessing the ordeal live; that includes the marathi mulgi mandakini godbole..ma sweetheart ..pheww...it was well turning out to be my  9/11!!

i kept (had to!!) a low profile for the rest of the day..completely way off, totally aloof and... highly revengeful !!..

17.30hrs..

the rattle of over a 1000 keyboards finally stopped.. PCs with tonnes of codes and innumerable softwares started shuttin down..n The kompany announced...Its Day End!!

not a sec to loose..

ma boss picked up his things and ran..not to be left behind..i too picked ma things and ran..

4.5673 secs later,

we met... @ the loo..

we quietly sneaked into the available pots...aahh..and that turned out to be the adjacent ones..neighbors now!!

hmmm...post the public rebuke in the morning,it was the first time we wre so close..bitter glances were exchanged..and we both were dead serious!!

after the customary frantic maneuvers (all the handworks).. we stood anxiously, waiting, for it to come out..

except for ma boss's whisper..""common"..."commooon"..commmmooaann"",,,there was pin drop silence..

A contest  brewing up between us??..yeahh most certainly..i felt so!!
10 long secs..nothin happened...

n then..

all of a sudden i pumped..wooahh....

yahoooooo!!

yuppp... i did it!! am first!! yahoooooooo!!
ma payback..ma token of revenge..ma vendattaa!! all in one!!

aahhh...watay feeling..its not just the bosses, who always win!!grrr!!

loaded with a mighty pride and lots of disposable arrogance, i turned and gave ma struggling boss the smartest of all ma smirks..!!!:);)

grrrr!!!!!!!!
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P.S.
btw for the evil minds...tre exists a big laminate bw 2 pots....so no privacy intrusions!!;)
**ma-pu words are the choicest of mallu swear words..

"Kms"

A silent drop of sweat gently flowed down beside amma ears. Few more droplets emerged on her forehead....

Doc checked the AC buttons...All working fine...OHOHO..cmmon sree nothing to worry!! It’s normal for ppl of sirs age...

Amma worries weren’t misplaced... The sugar levels of my dad’s blood has been on a bullish run...The best of efforts to calm it down were not yielding any results...

Doc continued..."why not go in for some tablets!!”

Achan reacted “Ayyoo Nope doc...Tablets tend to be addictive...I don’t want to start a new habit at this age...Suggest me some other healthy ways...”

“Hmmm... There aren’t any new ways...It’s all same”...looking at amma he continued “sree we had discussed before... Go by the same routine...Drink lots of water... Dietary controls... And most importantly loots of exercise...”

“But doc, I do all three quite well...”

Amma too sided dad “Yup doc he drink lots of water...Diet is about 99% strict...and for exercise we walk everyday to pathiyoor temple”

“Ohh cmmon pathiyoor temple is hardly a stones throw from your home!! Not enough!! Here, am speaking about Kms!!”

Spreading his palms and drawing two inverted commas on air...he reiterated “Kms”

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Inside the car too, There was an unusual melancholy...

Dad broke the silence “why u so depressed”...

“Depressed!! Chetta, the lifestyle diseases of a man puts direct light on his Mrs's Ineptitude at home.. today’s doc session reminded me of the PTA meetings I used to attend with kuttu...ohh..dreadful times tat...all credits for his flop shows fell on me, his visible parent!!! since i was just a mortal with normal abilities, i couldnt bring any change then...sigh..
amma takes a deep breath n continued
aahh..tis is purely god's plays..this is ma second big chance...you are just a medium, darlin.. the battle is between me and the sugar levels...Whatever be the way, i will floor the Sugar levels”

dad scratched his head hard and appreciatively responded “Sree,good..you are my perfect soul mate..lotz of passion...and nice to be the reason for the newly drawn battle line!!!..but...pls sree, dont compare me with that irresponsible fellow of ours...oommph..Luckily only I happened to hear your weird comparison...”

“he he he..okay...cmmon... lets be serious again..The emphasis this time should be more on exercises...”

Ohh...Exercise!! (dads veiled laziness slowly starts to stem out) You know very well that I can’t run on a treadmill or do aerobics...they aren’t suitable for a man of my age and physique... highly boring... probably i can walk more...okay lets visit the temple twice..Anyway kathoos exams r nearing... (a George Banks of the Father of the Bride moment)

“but chetta..Forgot Kms (aping docs gestures)”

Achan retorted losing almost all his  calm “be specific then?? How much more should I walk”

“hmm”..After some mental calculation, Amma passed the verdict
“every day from home to office and office to home”... A cool 4 to 5 Kms

Dad braked hard...the best of aerodynamics couldn't save maruthi from a wheel to roof shake..a true out of blue Allan Donald bouncer...

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Dad protested and suggested alternatives...but for amma nothing was as good as a everyday 4 km walk!!

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Next day mom woke an hour early..Pulled all her normal morning schedules an hr earlier...when clock struck 9.00 mom was at the door waiting with the Tiffin and suitcase...dad steadied his spects and reluctantly moved towards mom...Both walked till the gates and mom handed over his office gear..As a passing note, murmured "try walking fast and all the best..."

Dad didn’t reply and hesitantly crossed the gates...he took a deep view of the road ahead and set off...
Mom too rushed off to her office on her Activa and tataed her pedestrian hubby ...

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An hr later...Mom from her office phoned dad...

(Excitedly) how was it??

Good!!Very good...

I knew it!!.. Feeling fresh??!! Or r u tired??!!

Real fresh...a la liril fresh!!

Ohh...nice to hear tat...When did u reach office

Hmm, 9;05!!

Wow... Wait..... but how so fast??

Met Sasi on road...

So?!

He was on his bike...

So?!

He offered me a lift...

So?!

Since i never say a No to anyone, I Accepted his genuine offer!!
Bye!! bye!! Dump!!

Hellooo hello

That nite...Amma gave idea star singer and Devi mahathmyam a miss.. Calls from me, kathu n ammomma were unanswered...kitchen lights didn’t blink!! And dad and brownie went to bed with half a litre water and lots of air in their tummies!!!

mOthER's reCIpe

For me, It was one of the places where i thought i would never see a calendar..

Okay...its rite that the heads of my home are bankers, an that we have a huge roll of bank calendars at our store room throughout the year.But these still doesn’t measure up being a good reason to hang @ the work area near the back door entry.

Confoosed me yelled: "Ammo why the calendar here??"

"See it closely and try to find if theres something more in it.."

Phew..these bank calenders..they r dullest date indicators u will ever see...Its true tat a 100yr old PSU cant be a Pirelli..but still a bit of bright colours may not harm anyone...aaahh its tuf to change traditions..so better live with it..

i started lookin closer over the boring blue calendar..voila.. some bright red badly drawn round reynold circles..the month was December and there were 2 spots on the page..

"ammo..gotcha dots on some dates.."

"Eda Midukkaaa.." that was quite satisfying; mom atlast thought that there was something more than just vaccum inside ma cranium!! See the prev months too..

Loaded with the encouragement meted on my first discovery, i moved on to the previous pages..this time more dots..dot tally went this way: aug-6 sept-3 oct-2 nov-3 dec-2 till 30^th..

Amma wats the correlation..is it the days the milk didn’t come??

Allada.. Its my recipe of bringing discipline in kitchen??

Ehh??

"Da.. our shyamala was not the way she now is... (Mrs. Shyamala is ammas most trusted and beloved homemaid)..tre was a time (pre august) when she was regularly irregular @ our kitchen!! AWOL!! Tre was one month..hmmaugust or july..i dont clearly remember, she was on AWOL for a complete 12 days..another month of the pre aug era recorded AWOL of 8 days!!"

Why didn’t you change her then??

"da, she is highly capable and is real good. She had been of gr8 help when ammomma was ailing..so may seem unprincipled to push her out..Maybe she too knew tat and was taking full advantage of my softer side..i had communicated ma displeasure many a times..but she gives me the broadest of smile and gives her own set of perfect heart wrenching excuses.."

Salary cuts??

"Da another impossibility!! she earns so little that it would be the greatest crime to extract from her minimums.."

Then??

"One day, after deep thoughts, i decided to wrest control of this deepening crisis...i plainly said shyamala that her attendance is a big concern and i would start monitoring it  for a period of 3 months...If you return red (a count of ≥12 AWOLs a quarter) after the period, the fourth month u are free to find ur alternatives..
And without much halla bol introduced the calendar system...the calendar was hung just at her entry point...@ the kitchen work area...Whenever she doesn’t turn up, I mark a red circle for the day and refrains saying a word about it..After finding two red dots on two of her AWOLs she realised whats the funda of a nue calendar @ the kitchen..."

and then??

Thereafter shyamala was on a complete makeover...the dots started slowly drying up...

3 months on, the once maddeningly red shyamala turned sublimely green!!"

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Amma was euphoric!! she never xpected such an extraordinary upshot.. The idea worked!!...

The success made amma think hard against killing the scheme...and she thot why not persist 4 another 3 months.. So the system still runs with results much on expected lines!!

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“Ammo grt... quintessential gandhigiri! But Ammo, tell me, wat wud have happened if she was in red @ the end of the quarter??...”

“Don’t know abt that...but I was confident that calendar scheme can change things up...”

How??

“Cos, scare crows’ works most often!!”

All i could muster to say was...ammae saranam!! 

tHe BiRtH oF a FaTHer!!

(straight out of ma sisters writing pad) 

Aniyathi (sis): Brownieee!!! That’s it!! I liked it!!
Appoppan (grandpa): nay!! It sounds christian!! Why can’t it be say hmm...ehh...hmm...pachu, bhasi!!
Aniyathi: cmmon appoppa!! Think broad!! You know dhanya rite, during a family function at her home, she louded at full throat... "kuttappaaa", and catastrophically two heads turned almost simultaneously, one our very own kuttappan, and the other her mothers, father in laws, younger bro "THE KUTTAPPAN". Younger bro was furious being clubbed with that cute little canine and that day nearly saw the end of a loving model family!! So forget about the common popular man’s name and pls don’t attach any religion to it...let it live an atheist!!
Me: diii, but brownie is too unglamorous a name?? Let’s go for something trendier!! I liked pachu more than brownie!!
Aniyathi: da no interference!! See mom first spoke to me about the little German shepherd's home coming!! It’s me who got the news first, so naturally I do have some rights. Furthermore I am ready to be its full time caretaker...bathing, playing an all doggy stuffs!!
If you can do all this, you can call him by your name!! I mean by the name u choose!!
She herself knew I won’t ever reply to such a deal...so brownie was set!! Appoppan was also silenced, he sensed his losing wield of power in the silliest of silly homey things!!
we all sat at varandah waiting for amma and our nue co. I thought how fast life changes for people. It all started with that Saturday morning call from my mom’s office. aniyathi did the talk:
""ye amma...
waaatt!! Yes Pls amma we need him...
Don’t worry about achan, i will make tat rite!!
Bring him fast!!
bro,He’s sleeping!!
appoppan with us.. No more talking bring him fast!!""

Mom was soon at our gate with the carton carrying the symbol of a veterinarian (transferred to some far flung pattikadd) show of gratitude for the unending support my mom’s bank did for him...Amma gave me the carton and stepped in the auto and rushed back to office. I kept it down and slowly opened the lid!! It was one big mayhem after that!! The small pup just rocketed off from the carton. Aniyathi was outdone by this ferocity and with a deep shriek, resisted gravity and was at the top of a sofa in no time. First impressions from whatever little I saw were next to dismal. It looked nothing more than a moving bunch of bones, deprived, malnourished. The only attractive things were its pointed ears, black patches here and there and it’s mighty half a ton tail!! The restless and insane pup bit me a thousand times that day and kathu remained airborne for the rest of the day. In between whenever he crapped and looed, I locked him inside some room and as was decided “brownie’s caretaker” aniyathi did the clean ups. The increased frequencies of cleaning meant kathu roam the rest of the day, with a broom on one hand and dettol on the other!! Anyhow the pup completely shook all our conventional thinking about them, they aren’t the soft, chubby, non aggressive creatures we tag them with...May be brownie is different. Being the son of an aristocratic thorough bred German shepherd and a roadside mongrel, it was only natural that a refined persona was something of an over expectation!!
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3 yrs later...me, aniyathi n brownie all grew. Mom felt that among we three, brownie grew the fastest and was the most disciplined and refined of the lot!!

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I was home after a few months.
Mom came in, hugged an complainingly asked "da, never come home..be at that wretched hostel..Smells disgusting!!"
I simply love her for her nagging. After exchanging the common dose of pleasentries and gossips with mom, I turned my eye over others...
Am I seeing a depleted family?? Yupp!!! where is brownie??
hmmm..aniyathi who was till then "i donno where" came in!!
"da it went missing..i mean it went missing jus in front of my eyes..@ afternoon to be precise.its almost 8 hrs now..Someone had left the gate open and this son of a bitch escaped when his den was accidently opened!!”
I fumed "why didn’t u go for the search??”
Kathu shot back “I did a small scale combing operation but think it’s at least some kms away!! Since you were coming today, I thought let it enjoy the freedom until then.”
Amma quipped "da go get him. I will serve you dinner after that!!"
That was cruel from moms part but okk I need to know that we are all living in an unkind incentive loaded world. So I got ready for the midnight search operation. Got into my moms scooty and dashed off to the bleakly lit street. I honked and revved hard, my own invented ways of attracting the senses of a lost brownie. He knows all the sounds of our home.
I had travelled almost a km by then...the Devi kshethram and the kaavu were now clearly evident. Still there was no sign of brownie. Another 5 or ten minutes...
Suddenly saw some movements under the wired fence along the kaavu .it’s a secluded place; swampy and with thick vegetation. A four legged creature emerged. I immediately turned ma scooty and prepared for the return...But to my dismay it wasn’t brownie but amminni. Our next door freewheeling, country roaming female canine!! I was dejected!!
The hungry me, roared with all hopelessness... brownieeeeeeee!!
As if hearing my desperate call, brownie emerged out from under fence. I without any wait, vroomed my gaadi towards home. The honking was still on. Brownie on his part turns foolish at times. This was another of his tryst with folly!!
Whenever I keeps honking and speed the vehicle, he feels am challenging him for an open race. I never really tried to correct him either. Once the race starts he chases me with all his might and seldom overtakes. I lost many times before, but tonight it was different and I was in no mood to lose!! I raced so hard that, the sleeky scooty transferred shakes of the magnitude of a richter scale 6.2 onto my body...anyways I did my best and got in to the widely opened gates of our home first. Brownie finished may be a couple of secs behind. And as soon as brownie entered, from the edge of his eyes, saw the movement of the gates. aniyathi plays her role of gate trapper to perfection every time this kind of episode reels at our home. brownie realising his folly braked hard and tried to do a u turn. But it was too late. He looked miserable. His eyes were blood red and body was mud soaked beyond recognition. The tail tip was kissing the ground and the face revealed the guilt for his "without your permission" escapade. Dad, the genial do gooder, entered the scene with a meter long vadi... wristy whips and the "i am sorry" howls ensued! After uncomplainingly accepting half a dozen of dads brutal whips, brownie scurried towards his cage...Dad followed and tried a few whips inside the cage too...brownie now was losing all his poise and gave out some very strong verbal cues demanding an end to the whole hit drama..
dad, a bit frightened, bit tired, understood that brownie meant "that’s enough, I now need rest". dad threw the vadi away and roared “the fellow is turning more and more spoilt now. See how he started protesting after a few hits!! No food and water till further say!!”
but dad can’t act rude..after a few minutes he himself fed him food!! brownie cleaned the plate in a jiffy and wagged the tail in a pardon me tone....
the long night ended!!

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after a long time away from home, I was home again..
Full family greeted me at the door!!
Brownie had added lot more flesh now.
aniyathi said "come bro..will show u something And pulled me to our neighbour sharada chechis home. she pointed towards the back of the house..the skeletal black amminni was there with... her little new born pups!!
sharada chechi came out and said both are male. Projected both of them to us...One was black and skeletal and the other...
A brown, black nosed, prominent tailed pup!! I looked at aniyathi and asked is it brownies --???
Kathu retorted, Yupp. I am sure they have brownies Y chromosomes!!
Remember the 8 hr bunk he did the last to last time you visited.
I was excited beyond measure. Brownie jr was all brownie. Was barking at amorphous sounds. He was more of the same brownie that came to our home 4 yrs back. I went in to sharadechi home, Played with the pups saw them drinking milk from their moms stomach. It was all great. When I returned I felt a new high for brownie. He is a man now!! I slowly ran my fingers through his face and torso...I knew that I had started respecting him...

“kathu, did he see his sons”
“No may have heard their sound, there happens a bit of communication across the wall b/w amminni and brownie. But am sure he hadnt seen them.”
“cmmon kathu, Let’s show him his family...We won’t take him there. That may seem intrusive...so let’s take him to the terrace and show him his sons and wifey from there.”
We took him to terrace and rested him along the parapet and made him stand on his two legs. sharadechis home was now visible to all three of us and we showed brownie, his wife amminni and their two sons..Brownie breathed hard. Looked heavenwards and widened his eyes towards his separated fly. Brownie jr, “the Mr incredible”, looked up at us and started his irritable barking. brownie gave a slow peaceful cry in reply. amminni who was till then lying with her back to us, stood up and turned sharply..She then passed a high frequency cry in return...Brownie jr and his bro were a bit confused and the jr again sent out a "who the bloody hell" bark @ brownie..
Brownie looked sullen and immediately amminni gave a sharp reprisal to the jr "hold on u bloody...It is...it is your paa"
Both the pups were silenced and gave respectful bow down to their paa. Brownie too was in the midst of silence...me and aniyathi too were dragged into this emotional vortex...brownie once again looked skyward and slowly started to push himself away from the wall. he slowly uncomplainingly started walking towards the terrace door..
Just then aniyathi called out "brownie...Sorry we are helpless...we can’t unite you with them"
Brownie heard it, gave a small tail wag and entered our home...I was speechless and I did saw a drop of moist in his eyes!!

wHy i diDnT njOi PR-tHe MallU mAgnUm OPus!!

Wherever i went, i saw ppl raining praises on the mallus swantham magnum opus "pazhassi raja"..The film is good, no doubt, but not to a scale many are hyping it into...There are a lot of positives, at least dozen more than the negatives i intend to jot down.. but for me the few minuses are glaringly uncomfortable to be taken lightly and so I bravely take the other view, the view of the quintessential ignoramus, faceless, normal, moronic, front bencher of the movie hall near you...


The list that made me an Anti PR!!


OVVs ghosts kept hovering near me!!
Somewhere at the middle of the film, rushes of "Oru vadakkan veeragatha!!" kept knocking ma mind and sadly PR on aesthetics and content was nowhere near that timeless classic!!


The tale of edachena kunkan!!
Heard (means not sure) that MT had planned a script on Edachena kunkan at first, (the role played by sarathkumar) and went a lot ahead with it...But somewhere in the middle he traced back and finished a script on pazhassi raja instead..Why this turn??? Was it market pressures or the dedicated devotion of a cultural icon to preach the glory days of a generation to the uninformed malayalee masses?
Any which ways from a cinematic POV, edachena kunkan wud have been clear winner..We cud have seen whole lot of legendary MTisms in the framing of such a hitherto unknown bravado!!


A NRK Moovie??!!:
The film never quite looks a malayalam film. Something of a NRK!! May be am sounding highly archaic. I didn’t feel any malayali thanima in the movie.It never seemed rooted to the famed malayalam way of filmmaking. Malayalam way of film making?!.. For me its films lyk OVV, padmarajans masterpieces etc!!


A Bourgeois capitalist film!!
The opulence. The hard earned money of a lakh of investors of sree gokulam chit funds kept flying high at every shot, every scene in the movie...Did the movie needed so much money??? I doubt and the sad part is even with all this extravagant rupee pumping, the film never reached the grandeur of films like a Vaishali or a OVV...For the liberal commie lyk me, it looked nothing more than a a bourgeois capitalist film!!


Music by illayaraja, u must be kiddin!!
Less said the better...Thoroughly lackluster considering the tunes are by the maestro Isaignani illayaraja...The songs don’t go well with the film.. I remember 3 songs in the movie (there are more I believe) and each one doesn’t add any element of value!! The anthem"Aadiushassandhya Poothathivide" sounds similar to a song in Rajeev Anchals "GURU"!! Incidentally both are said to be done in collaboration with the famed Hungarian Symphony Orchestra!!


The big old nayakan!!
Mamooka looks old and downplays the role to an unbearable extent...he looks highly vulnerable and passive at many places...Donno PR was this way!! Certainly didn’t enjoy!!!


Makkom!!
Makkom (kaniKa) in the first half hour lived as if she was some sort of a damsel in Indra Sabha...the shots looked fully dedicated to reveal the infinite no. curves in her body!!! Can ladies of that era been so freewheeling and loose as it’s proclaimed in those scenes?? Or is it that am having evil eyes??


Jagathi+Jagatheesh!!
Very very ordinary!! Still wondering why are they in the moovie in the way they are!!


And to top it all the moovie goin experience!!
I emptied 450rs (150*3) to sit in the 3rd row (of a 20row something screen) with two of my closest bugger friends for the Saturday evening show...The screen was so big and so near that once by the time I travelled from Sarathkumar’s one chest peak to the other, the frame changed...The whole movie going experience was pathetic!!


The highly obvious Plusses!!


Sharathkumar(top of the list; hoooge body)+manok k jayan+devan+lalu alex+padmapriya!!


Resul pookutty+ R shetty+ Tech Team!!


Resolve and intent of the crew to make the Biggest of all Malayalam films till date.


P.S.
Breaking News: PR not in indian panorama @ IFFI!!
wats the surprise here!!

congrats the team of Kanchivaram!!

congrats the team of Kanchivaram!!

certainly a grand film from priyadarshan. with this award winning movie, he certainly authenticated his brilliance as a film maker to the whole world. its great that even when making all those money milling mallu born bollywood films, he sided his mind on making such a superb movie. prakash raj rightfully earns a place with the best in indian cinema. a rajat kamal for the second time..

i consider even priyan wont feel bad missing the coveted best director trophy. kanchivaram in first place is more than just a directors cut. its an aesthetically rich movie with strong creative signatures of crewmen lyk art director sabu cyril, cinematographer thiru and the subtle but strong perfomances of actors. it was more of a complete movie excelling in various details of filmmaking. the award for best film was the suitable testimony of the wholesome value of the movie.

all said,one thing i missed in kanjivaram,priyan's all time best, was mohanlal as Vengadam. certainly had been a pleasure to watch both the buddies work together in such a great movie.

May16 Thots!!

• Indian republic thought the claims of an 82 yr old strong saffron patriach, that a 78 yr old Dr Singh is weak and doesn’t deem to be on the stongest chair of the worlds largest democracy, was nothing but a childish desperation of an old man who ran and ran the whole day without ever touching the coveted finish line.

  
  

• It was Curtains down for all the wannabe king makers of india, I meant the laloos, paswans,ramadosses,jaya et all. For me they were nothing more than a bunch of political eunuchs who were ready to fit in anywhere and with anyone. Their democratic atyachaar will sorely be missed (atleast for a few good yrs).

  
  

• NDA fact finding committee: NAMO and saffronized gandhis on their side, reason for NDAs debacle!! Not surprising and the clairvoyant me quite knew it before.

  
  

• A "shock laga" saffron inclined fellow at my apartment. “Was congress so good? A while later.. Yaar, they werent all that bad rite, looks quite deserving to win”. I cud only pass over a zig zag nod back.

  
  

• Its almost certain I may have an External affairs minister at my neighbourhood. (I mean shashi).

  
  

• Who will win today?? Mumbai Indians n sachin..who else!! hmm…not everyone were interested on the Election outcomes, atleast the boys in my apartment had more amity 2wards IPL.

• Thanks to rahul effect and since "nothing gleams like success”, its now ok and no longer a taboo to be known a congress man in india..that doesn’t mean I like to be called so, I am forever the liberal commie.blood running in me is still thick red!!

• Finally a humble request from a ordinary one in a million faceless red sympathizer. Rearrange comrades!! We cant go this out of our hands. We the commies know Politics is not a one day game and the foundation we have doesn't erode in a days political overturns. But certainly we need some serious introspection!!

• On a personal front I will have something more to remember of the day..this day A small happyness added to my life. A TVS APACHE RTR160. kewl rite!! trully a Epoch making day!!

oNe HuNDrenD peRCEnt De-stReSSed!!

was home and back. the 10 days went quite fast. the 2 days that comes in sepia mode about my visit are the zeroth day when i got down at the platform 3, kayankulam jn, in a black khaki shirt an a levis jeans and the ninth day gettin back on a northbound train in the same khakhi an jeans.they are rememmbered so vividly cos it brings out the most happiest and saddest part of ones home visits.

sayin ma bye to fly at the end is always a saddening experience. it is that time wen you feel "whats gud a lyf if it cant be spent with your loved ones". mom was alredy leaking her eyes, sis gave her gud co. dad stood rock solid behind the ladies of ma home. being a grown up man lyk my dad, i had to be brave and believe acted my part well. only i believe..

its now almost a week i have been back to poona. the longing for the good life at home is still lingering everywhere. am stressed and the stress pains me sometimes. hmm.

was looking the ways to destress myself. chatted with ammachi. but ammachi kept n asking my visit visheshams. plunging me more into sickness..IPL doesnt intrests me unless it is Sachin vs warney or muralidharan or mc grath..that wasnt tre..then the last resort started googling..saw an ad of aamir khan in Tv -> googled him-> the brands endorsed by him-> tata sky->teach india-> titan->be more ad..

then visited the titan webaddress. the site had info abt titans remarkable mktg techniques, their ads, music in ads->mozart symphony 25; and finally linked into the titan tv on the site. ohhh..it is here the co. showcases their ads, rolled out through the yrs. in ado, i youtubed titan ads and saw the entire range that were broadcasted.. it was a grt experience..kinda smelt my yesterdays in those ads..they were endearing, soothing, musical (mozart is a genius), and highly sticky(kept seeing it again and again).

i didnt stop tre an went on to seein some other vintage crafty ads too..the asian paints,cadburys,fevicol.. i couldnt stop smiling watching those vdios. faizoo immersed in IPL (royal challengers vs deccan chargers) (" boring"), thot tre was somethin really happening at ma end..

these videos, inadvertently, brought wat i wanted the most..a truckload of cheer into ma dispirited soul!!! i was for sure a happy man and felt myself one hundrend percent destressed!!

thanks to veryone involved in these ads!! they still retain a charm of their own!!

4 mor:http://www.titanworld.com/titan_tv

e:diARy-2: pARticIPATorY wOeS!!

It is now a fashion in todays debate circles to discuss about the lack of people involvement and participation in nation building, lyk in Elections. The Eday, as many rightly suggested, has turned out to be one of the kind of a long overdue holiday, where you catch up with your family and friends. The public are not to be blamed as it’s the most logical step to do if there is not much to choose from the candidate list. The guilt for the falling voter turnout and lack of participatory role of junta in election lies majorly with the political parties and the candidates they field. As in every selective exercise, there should be an underlying tempt, that may fuel the junta to rocket out of their comfort zones to exercise their franchise. when politicians whose sophistication runs no more than a few glitzy films or a mindset of bygone era or a long roll of criminal records - whats there for people to choose. "nothing". but sadly in our EVMs there is no option for that "nothing". if there was this option, which you can press if you dont have faith in the neighbouring names, it would have been democratically great and a lot of fence sitters and an entire detached, election averse log would have marched in to the election dens. In a democracy, I believe in addition to the right of choosing "one" from the set, there should be an option for "none" from the fielded set. It can be a ready rejoinder for parties and candidates that how bad they are and how they are worhless of ones vote.this option may be the ultimate opium for the junta to vote, to prove they are not just dakkans out there. They can banish the egos of the staged candidates with a blatant “NO”. The political parties would also feel extremely embarrassed by a situation of this sorts and may well come out with decent candidates.

It may sound good to voice our displeasure, but think, apart from a few good ones, people would certainly be having no choices at their front. The most bizzare thing imaginable in such a case would be an assembly where a majority of seats occupied by a “none from above” group.  What happens then? Chaos. both disturbing and dangerous. I admit it might be a cynical's way of viewing things.

what is the other more optimistic alternative for bringing more people in E- business. its for political parties to show grit by staging candidates who can provide good governance to the nation. gear up political parties, get the best on the race, compel people to participate in the election. after all no party is bigger than the people they serve. so listen to peoples call. we need more shashi tharrors and the lot. an amartya sen from kolkatta, a narayanamoorthy from banglore.......the list goes on..

 

e:diARy-1:shAsHI THirontHoRAthIL!!!

its official..come april-09 and shashi tharoors name will charm the electonic voter machines (EVMs) in trivandrum. i had made a word around 6 months back to my politically inclined frnds that if this gentleman contests from trivandrum (as it was heavily rumoured then), i would be at sasthamangalam lp school, thiruvananthapuram, casting my vote on the D day. And if verything runs as planned, i will be sticking to my word.

Its these kinda intelligent, charishmatic, slick, erudite contestants that we need in a national election. It was indeed stately on Sharoors part to contest for a place in the Indian democratic establishment from his self affirmed proud home land. Given his reach among delhi’s intellectual and political pecking order, he could have guaranteed himself a wild card berth (safe seat or a rajya sabha seat) from anywhere in india.  Still he chose kerala to be his spring board to the lok sabha. May be he believed that every great journey must start from ones roots. his relation with kerala as he himself said runs nothing more than the occational holiday visits and his malayalam speaking parents. But still he prided himself as a chauvinist marunaadan malayalee. Even in his acclaimed non fiction "the elephant,the tiger and the cellphones" he keeps ruminating his kerala love affair with a series of fact loaded essays. He adroitly pronounces kerala as truly what it likes itself to be called “a gods own country”. A land, whose life closely parallels the very idea of India, secular, open, culturally and literally rich..concisely he just cries out that malayalees are a breed apart!!

The fact that the global malayalee previous competitive contest was for the chair of UN secretary general makes him almost an invincible larger than life character. The man who addressed the whos who of the global power list now talking to the sankarankuttys, abdullakuttys, georgekuttys, kochammani’s et al in trivandrum sounds quit lyk a modern day fairytale. He proves that he can be a different politico as he had a reputation of sticking to his spoken words and written scripts. If he said he is proud of kerala, he made it prouder by contesting the election from here.  It can well turn out to be citys date with history, an event with positive repercussions for a great future. 

it is well candidates of this size and character who pulls you from the comforts of your home to the polling stations on the E-days.Common man (I mean women too) should be having concrete reasons to feel committed to be a part of the long lines on an E day. It can be a need for change, a hope that goodness is a vote away or it would be the enticing pull of a magnanimous contestant. The Obama wave had all these ingredients in the bipolar American election scene.  Only a very few leaders have managed to create hysteria of that scale and I do believe in substance Sharoor can do the same to trivandrumites. His weblinks provide what he aims to achieve for trivandrum in detail. All looks promising, that doesnot diffrenciate him from others as everyone bring out their own impropable high points, but it is then the integrity and the scale of the sharoor makes his contention taller than others.

All thw bests Mr. shashi tharoor, voting for me wont just be another right, but, a privilege this time along. Thank you.

P.S. kerala politica without reds would just be like a “fart without a sound”***. its big bro attitude and ruffles with allies notwithstanding, they had come with an egalitarian mix of candidates. its always been in reds DNA to give people a strong and capable list of candidates. Another more notable thing is the no. of new young faces on their list this time. its now not just nandan nilakheni and FMCG marketing board rooms, who are aware of the demographic dividend and the targent lots. best of lucks to all comrades. Let the best win!!!