Poovar

It has been quite a well since I visited Kerala, but I thought it is worth jotting down the beautiful experience I had when I visited the God’s own country. We had started from Rajahmundry on a train and reached Chennai the next morning. From there, we caught a flight to Trivandrum. We were to spend the next 2 days at Poovar near Trivandrum. The accommodation was at Estuary Island Resort. The trip was organized by keralagreenery.com.

The taxi sent by keralagreenery picked us up at the airport and he took us to Poovar, a village near Trivandrum. He left us at a riverbank (the typical Kerala riverbank with a lushgreen outline formed by coconut trees). A motorboat took us from there to the island. Estuary seems to be an island resort. It is a unique kind of island surrounded by backwaters, lake, river and the sea. Very tough to imagine the scene. Behind the island, backwaters spread out into the interiors of Kerala villages. The entrance to the resort is from the river. What is more amazing is the sand beach that lies half a kilometre from the river bank. You basically row on a boat through the river to reach the beach, which is a strip of sand around 200 metre wide, and the sea is located on the other side of the beach. The view is amazing and you have to be there and witness to understand the beauty.

The first evening, we decided to give some rest to ourselves and slumped onto inviting beds. Next morning, we had a nice Kerala massage done which left us all rejuvenated. A nice leisurely day on the island resort gave us all the relaxation we needed. In the evening, there was a band playing soft music in the restaurant. We sang along with the band when they were singing some hindi songs.

The next day early morning, we set off on a country boat. We had a nice leisurely trip on the wooden boat through the backwaters and got to view some of the greenest villages on the banks of the waters. The boatwala was quite an interesting character. He spoke perfect English. When we were discussing about the batteries in our camera, he mentioned that they contained Lithium Chloride. This struck a chord with us and we started a chat with him. He seemed to be a Chemistry teacher and a well educated person who takes tourists on the country boat just for pocket money. His father named him Bryphen, quite an interesting name.

Our stay at the island resort ended that day and we set off all refreshed on a motor boat where we met some Australians. One of them was a Physio for Sportsmen. I asked him if he ever treated any famous sportsmen. “Not Ricky Ponting”, pat came his reply !

Kodaikkanal

You may want to spend your time at the most romantic spot on earth with your girlfriend or wife, but unfortunately or fortunately, we had gone to Kodaikkanal on an official trip (well not that it was too official a thing).  Sixteen of us set on our trip to the memorable weekend on Vaigai Express. We boarded the train at the Egmore station. Here is a question I had asked my colleague on our way to Egmore – “If you mix egg with buttermilk, what do you get?” When he gave up, pat came my reply, “Egg more” (More in Tamil means buttermilk).

Anyways, we got onto the train amidst the buzz of the crowds. I asked Kannan what Vaigai meant. Looks like that is the name of a river in Tamilnadu. The train was OK and we had a nice trip that took us through the heart of Tamilnadu. I was told that a village named Lalgudi was what RK Narayan had in mind when he wrote his famous book ‘Malgudi Days’. Incidentally I was carrying the same book through my journey. We got down at Dindugul (or Dindukkal) and got onto the 20-seater bus we had booked. The journey was good and gradually people started getting dressed for the cold night ahead (monkey caps and ‘doggy headphones’). We had snacks and ‘Pepsi’ on the bus and reached Kodaikkanal in about 2 and 1/2 hours. The Carlton hotel was very hospitable. When I saw a board displayed at the reception of the hotel that read ‘We welcome the delegates of Royal Sundaram – We make IT Possible’, I felt very proud.

We retired to our respective rooms. Carlton was right adjacent to the Kodaikkanal lake and we all were given lake view rooms. The view was fantastic and very soothing to soul. I had decided to spend some time in the balcony at midnight to enjoy the calmness of the lake in the moonlit night. The silence of centuries could be experienced when one looked at the still waters.

Next morning, we all woke up a little later than we intended to and set off for cycling. The bicycles were not very comfortable, but still the ride was very enjoyable. I realised how bad your body can ache if you are not exercising regularly. The breakfast was sumptuous. We all assembled in the conference hall wearing the specially made T-shirts with Royal Sundaram Logo and caption ‘We make IT happen’ (IT formed the nose of a smiley. I had designed this !!!). Despite the initial fears we had of spoiling our trip with official meeting, the entire group participated with zeal in the 4 hour long meeting. Lot of brainstorming happened and lot of new ideas came up and the spirit of the team to grow and learn showed through the meeting.

We had a nice lunch and set off for a journey through the hills and valleys. The guide took us to some exclusive places which included a suicide spot which did not have a fence. It needed a lot of courage and taunting from the fairer sex among the group to keep some of us moving through the scary path. I had reached almost to the suicide spot, but decided to hang to a tree and watch some of them who decided to take the bold step forward and view the breathtaking valleys from the suicide spot. We had even visited a pine forest where lot of movies were shot. Our imagination reached heights when we saw the beautiful woods curving along the hills (I had imagined a motor cycle race where the hero cuts off a tree and blocks the bad guys chasing him and the bad ones collapse one after the other). The photographers of the group wasted no time and took some nice snaps of the picturesque valleys.

The guide then took us to a place and said we will have a ten minute walk through the rough terrains where he would show us what very few guides show the tourists. What was promised to be a ten minute walk turned out to be a one hour trekking through the mountains and jungles of Kodai. He took us to a spot called ‘Shanthi Valley’ which seems to have carved its niche in the history of mysterious-deaths-by-gentle-push-through-the-bushes. The rear view of the pillar rock could be seen from there. Seems like the movie ‘Guna’ was shot in a cave between the outermost and the middle pillar rocks. Any sculptor would exchange his flesh for the nice amazing view of the pillar rock. The guide gave us a ‘true’ Eucalyptus stem and asked us to squeeze the leaves and smell the fresh and pure Eucalyptus oil which is available only in that part of the world (that’s what he claimed). He also showed us where the lemon grass (good for digestion, stomach problems etc) grew. I could not have a good look at it as a step further would have landed me or someone standing beside me in Shanthi Valley (I believe in team work). The misty clouds hid the tribal village located 75000 feet beneath our feet from our view, but I did imagine their dressing and dancing with spears in their hands.

We were made to trek through the woods and finally reached a road where the bus was waiting for us. The bus brought us to a shop where lot of selling happened and a bulk bargain was made by the group. After reaching the hotel rooms, we just had enough time to refresh ourselves as we were asked to join the bon fire party. ‘Pepsi’ was served with snacks and old Tamil music. Few of us stepped forward to the dance floor around the fire with our brand of tribal dance – ‘oo whaa.. waa.. uwa uwa…’ – techniques were discovered – how to hold the waist of the next person and raise your left leg to one beat and bend your head down to the next beat. God only knows how we managed not to step in the fire. After a couple of rounds (of music), the star dancer Kannan started his moon walking, running and gentle sophisticated steps to the clapping of the audience. Thanks to the effect of ‘Pepsi’, the dancers managed to escape the tomatoes and eggs that might have been thrown by the onlookers (I did hear a whizz or two brushing past my nose). The star of the troupe Balaji stepped on his gas and reminded the rest of us of the great social service done by the Jayamalinis and Silk Smithas of the world. Dance with the nuances of expression seemed to be his motto as he explored the subtlest of expressions possible by the twitching of facial and waist muscles touching the grounds with one hand and waving to the skies with the remaining. The spirits of the crowd were set ablaze by the heroics of Balaji and soon the rest of the party including the girls (with some nudging) joined the dance floor and enjoyed the bon fire to the fullest.

The day ended on a ‘high’ note and we all slumped onto our inviting mattresses only to wake up to sunrise. After breakfast, we did some boating through the lakewaters. The duo of Sam and Shyam beat everyone else with their gentle paddling through the stretch of the lake. A bit of shopping and distribution of gift packs by MS Sreedhar ended our trip and we set on our way back from the hotel. The journey downhill reminded me of Great collapses of Indian cricket team where one wicket would trigger a collapse of the entire pack within a couple of overs. 6 to 7 of us threw up and a lot of managing through polythene covers needed to be done.

We all managed to bear a hearty smile as we reached homes the next morning and a refreshed lot turned up at the office to take up the day’s responsibilities and also to narrate to the rest of the team the heroics explored on the dance floor accompanied by snaps and videos and also the regurgITating experiences on the way back. It was a great trip.

All is not well

However much ‘critics’ praise the movie ‘3 Idiots’, I fail to appreciate the movie. Having read the book and watched a play done fantastically well by the ‘Evam’ group, I find it really tough to accept the taste thrown by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan & Co. Although the movie makers proudly claim the movie is different from ‘Five Point Someone’, what they have done is – taken the script of the book and changed the characters to suit the taste of filmi junta. The confusion ‘what to do in life’ is central to each of the characters in Chetan Bhagat’s book; and the book gives a firsthand account of what goes on in an IITian’s mind. However much you try to digress from the book, you cannot fail to notice that Aamir Khan has turned the entire script around his character and even snatched the heroine from the hands of the narrator. The movie would have been good if Aamir himself had narrated. The real life characters of professors and the campus atmosphere created by Chetan Bhagat (of course it was a real life story), has been changed to stereo-typed characters from the world of cinema. The effort Aamir Khan has put to look young shows and that is what is bad about the effort – ‘it shows’. Madhavan has acted gracefully and the movie is definitely entertaining, but the intellectual / philosophical element that has been ripped off the book is what makes it a bit disgusting and difficult to digest.

Standing firm

Hi,

Here I am at the crossroads of life trying to argue why I am the best when the world around me is asking me to take blame for something that went wrong. Yeah, you need people of guts and patience to accept blame as some people cannot rest if the blame for the past is not taken by somebody else. They might be blaming themselves until someone else accepts the blame. Fences of defense are built by egoes of the individuals, of the departments, the families, to dodge the blame ball full of dirt. Some people make it their job to throw the blame ball around and that seems to be their day job. There are some who blame it on others when they are bored with life and they feel insecure that they are not working enough. Blame is a very good way of buying time. GOD seems to have floated around blame tickets in air. If you are not able to answer questions, not able to deliver promises, you pick up a blame ticket and buy time, buy understanding from others, superiors. Past is like Earth’s gravity pulling you down while you are trying to stay afloat in present aspiring to fly into the velvety skies of future. You need pillars to bear the burden of gravity of the past and let the rest enjoy the fruits of the present. Here is my tribute to all those who take it on themselves to provide solid support to others by standing firm.

The new Srini

I will leave the crap like – It has been really long since I posted on my blog and blah blah…, and come straight to the point. Well the point is – I really don’t know. Jokes apart, my personality changed a lot over the last few months and I expect that to reflect in my blog posts and hence my old fans (if at all there are any) may find me different. Don’t worry – the Rajnikanth who has so far stolen your hearts will not let you down with a stupid hairstyle or a mellowed down style statement. Life’s twists and turns have properly grinded the old Srini and a new complex human being (social animal) has resulted from these circumstances. While the sensitive, romantic, philanthropic side of Srini’s personality has made some new profound discoveries, the thinking, scheming, strategizing side of him has provided him good justification to support the greedy, obsessive and other nutcase aspects of his personality. grins grins grins… In any case keep watching this space for posts of more variety, depth, heights, blah blah… I am sure I will not disappoint you with the same selfish crap I have written here every time. Although the narcissitic side of me does show up every now and then and being a bearer of the body that hosts the ego, I have to do enough justice to that wild animal that resides in me. OK, enough crap for the day… C ya good nite….

Terrorism – thoughts

Hi,

Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations seem to be not clear about the political games that go on in India. India is not a state dominated by the military like Pakistan. The notion of these outfits that India may attack Pakistan comes from the idea that India operates similar to Pakistan. Whether Pakistan would have attacked another country, if a terrorist outfit of the other country attacked it, is a question tough to answer, but that seems to be the opinion. The Indian news channels successfully analysed the pros and cons of giving a military reply to Pakistan to inculcate a fear among these outfits, but definitely media has no authority in these matters. Indian administration knows the diplomatic situation in the sub-continent better than the media. Whether it be the more diplomatic UPA government or the radical and ideological NDA government, India would ensure all diplomatic channels are used before resorting to a military threat. As MK Narayanan, the NSA, answered to a pointed question by Karan Thapar, India believes in giving a chance to the new Pakistani administration. The time to declare a war on Pakistan has definitely passed. It is upto the Pakistani establishment to ensure confidence among India, USA and UK by following strict law proceedings against the guilty behind the attacks. The cynic in me says that Pakistan would, at most, house arrest the most dangerous human being on earth and declare it is a state that takes its responsibility seriously.

Can a path of negotiation be followed with these terrorist outfits? The optimist in me hopes for such a day when negotiations can resolve the toughest of the problems of the world. But the reality is definitely miles far off from such an ideal solution. The clash of civilizations definitely is a cause of concern for any educated person in today’s world. The fear, threat, phobia of people born and brought up in different kind of surroundings, environments and economies towards each other is definitely a matter that is not so easy to resolve. Laws enforced by the “civilised world” may not be acceptable to people who believe in the religious way of living. Broad-mindedness is definitely a virtue we all would want among the latter. You don’t need to accept the other as superior. Definitely noone is superior, noone is inferior. Tolerance towards different religions, towards people of different cultures is the call of the day.

T20 match – India Vs Sri Lanka

Hi,

The way the Pathan’s batted in yesterday’s T20 match against Sri Lanka reminded me of the Natwest final victory of India that was powered by Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif. This time, it was more about brute power and guts. The Pathans had all that is needed to bat for India in T20. Brute power, effective pull shot, ability to build a partnership. Amazingly, T20 seems to be like any other form of cricket where partnerships matter the most. While Yusuf Pathan put the spinners out of contest by hitting Bandara out of the park, Irfan kept his cool and hit the boundaries and sixes at the crucial moments. India can afford to pay the costliest bowling coach in the world to get Irfan back to his bowling best. He is such an asset to the team if he can bowl at his best. He is a match winning batsman. The Sri Lankan captain Dilshan was a bad leader. His body language was negative during his team’s fightback and lost his cool at the most crucial moments. And, after Yusuf hit Bandara out of the park, he could have taken a chance with Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya being an experienced player, could easily have gotten a wicket and sealed the match for Sri Lanka. But destiny had something else in its mind. It wanted the Pathan brothers to script a most enthralling win for India. As Dhoni rightly said, there were lots of chinks in the Indian batting armour that got exposed in yesterday’s match. Dhoni is turning out to be a great leader. Even in a victory, he is ensuring the right amount of introspection goes into the dressing room to ensure better game of cricket. It was a treat to watch the game till the end although I should say both the teams played mediocre cricket till about the 10th over of the Indian chase. This victory should propel India to learn the most important lessons a champion has to learn – to keep going.

Happiness

Maybe I just killed it or never cared to fill it
Happiness has been lost has become a thing of the past
Who is to blame for this ultimate shame
who cut the smiles off my cheerful face
What is joy but an ingenious ploy
Of the stupid mind deaf and blind
Smiles were all false fulfilment was a farce
unable to stand not able to withstand
the wrongs of the world never ever bold
in the face of adversity searching for pity
pity is what I deserve for the wounds I preserve
And the hatred I nurture that tears me like a vulture

Empty am I, as empty as I was ever meant to be
the end is the same but the script could’ve been different
Empty are lives and so are the hearty smiles
that can fill the void an’ make sure you enjoyed
every day every hour an’ every moment of your life
Savour the moment savour your life
savour the beauty of the endless strife

Crush

I gotta crush on the female in the show
on the TV, I wish even I can go
in the box an’ tell her my heart
an’ lock her lips and stretch ‘em apart
she’s gonna kill me, the TV guys will pull me
they’ll put me on a bed an’ beat me to death
but I ain’t gonna lose the sight of my love
I’ll keep starin’ as I’m doin’ it now
when she comes on TV an’ does a dance
I know she ain’t seein’ me but she does give a glance
I wanna lick her body naked and touch her everywhere
if I ain’t gonna make it I’ll strip her body bare
in my imagination, that is my destination
with no rules I’m gonna live my fascination
she’s mine I’m hers, we’re gonna do it all the time
the dream is mine, you can’t stop me from my beautiful rhyme

Cleanin’ out my closet – Literally

Below is a song in the tune of Eminem’s ‘Cleanin’ out my Closet’, inspired by the lyrics of the same song, telling the rat story of me and my roomie – Kalyan Arety (Arety pronounced as R A T)… Read them while listening to the song. The original lyrics are at the link http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eminem/cleaninoutmycloset.html

Have you ever seen a rat that made hell of a kitchen,
I have, I’ve seen it shit all over my den,
wicked smiles of the stupid rats, fill up my dreams,
sick is the mind of the motherfuckin’ mother rat behind,
all this commotion, emotions run deep as ocean’s explodin’,
plastics eaten and beaten, lids blown off an’ shit rollin’ in pieces,
not leavin’ nothin’ I can eat, runnin’ over my bed,
lickin’ my ass in the morning, an’ eatin’ poop in the evening,
leavin’ me with a taste as sour as vinegar in my mouth,
see they make me walk on shit but I will figure them out,
look at me now, I put a cake on the stove,
c’mon momma, i’m gonna make you look so ridiculous now

I’m sorry momma, I never meant to hurt you,
I never meant to make you cry, but tonight i’m cleanin’ out my closet, {one more time},
I said i’m sorry momma, I never meant to hurt you,
I never meant to make you cry, but tonight i’m cleanin’ out my closet…

I got some skeletons in my closet and I don’t know if no one knows it
so before they throw me inside my coffin and close it, i’m gonna expose it
I’ll take you back to November, before I ever dreamt of bein’ a rat killer,
I was a novice, maybe I just killed a couple of bugs,
my ratty roomie must have had a thing with the mother rat,
cause she lived, and gave life to multiple baby rats,
my ratty roomie admits it, he says he might have done it
I look at a rat, and then another tiny rat,
rats are all that I lived with, day in an’ day out,
ratty roomie buys a cake, that can kill the fuckin’ mice
I admit I killed ‘em but i’m only human,
but i’m man enough to face them today,
what I did was stupid, no doubt it was dumb,
but the smartest shit I did was cut the cake into pieces,
cause they killed ‘em, shit I killed each of the rats
but the mother of all, has escaped the bait
i’d like to welcome y’all to another R.A.T. show

I’m sorry momma, I never meant to hurt you,
I never meant to make you cry, but tonight i’m cleanin’ out my closet, {one more time},
I said i’m sorry momma, I never meant to hurt you,
I never meant to make you cry, but tonight i’m cleanin’ out my closet…