My latest friend!

G, who manages the parking lot at the railway station here, is my latest friend.

In ten minutes of conversation, he astonished me with his wisdom. I was taking my pal's bike from the station parking stand when I noticed this guy reading an Ajith fans' book. Immediately, the question popped out of my mouth - "Tamizh a?"

G - "Yes. But I was born and grew up here."

Me - "So what do u do now? I noticed you were reading a cinema book. Do you watch movies?"

G - "Yes, some. In Hindi, I watch Big B movies. In Malayalam, Mohanlal and Mammooty. In Tamil, I watch 'ONLY' Rajni, Kamal, Ajith, Vijay, Simbu, Dhanush movies..." and added - "am a die-hard Ajith fan."

He went on praising his 'thalaivar' Ajith - on the movies he's doing. Seems Ajith is doing three movies at the same time now; "look, my thalaivar is acting in three movies at the same time! He's finished half of 'Godfather', and in the same time doing 'Tirupathi' and one more movie."

And then the dreaded question came. He asked me who my thalai was.

I know that speaking to an Ajith fan is really tough... If I say my thalaivar is Ajith, I would be lying. And if I said he wasn't, only God knows what a hard-core fan can do.

I took the easy way out - "Kamal," I said. I know that almost everybody here appreciates Kamal, and G seemed satisfied.

Parted from him after making him promise to call me for first-day first-show thala movie. Hope he does.

Questioning the principles

It's the most easiest of the principles. Yet, the underlying philosophy is really tough to understand.

Vertical principle - God is above you. Love Thy God.

Horizontal principle - Love Thy fellow human beings.

The principles are okay had it been consistent throughout. But, in the end, on Judgement Day, God says - "Hey..you did not give me shelter when I asked you. You did not feed me when I begged you." The human being asks - "God, I never saw you nor did you ask me for food or shelter."

God replies - "That day your neighbour asked u food... I was the neighbour."

Doesn't this contradict the initial principles? My view is that there cannot be two principles if the above conversation holds good.

God is your fellow human being.

(Inspired by a class on Christianity by our prof IG)

We are all children

Who is a child?

You. Me. Our friends. Well, even our parents.

That's the truth. There's a child in every one of us. A child who wants to break free and break all rules, yet the adult in us stops us. A child who wants to sing and dance in the rain, yet the adult in us tells us that it would result in a cold. A child who wants to kick stones as he walks, yet the adult in us tells us to be "decent" citizens and walk straight and erect.

There's a child who would try putting a biscuit packet inside a water bottle.
There's a child who would want to draw chalk marks on the wall.
There's a child who wants to unscrew the remote and put it back again.
There's a child who wants to tear paper and throw the pieces on somebody.
There's a child who secretly wants to smell petrol.

There's a child in every one of us, a child who wants to explore the world in its fullest.

(Triggered after a class on "Understanding Children" by a Sister.)

When the train chugs along...

The railway station here has introduced really good new facilities, specially for the Sabarimala pilgrims. What the authorities have failed(and are helpless) to look at is its effect on the common man.

Almost 100 vans take off from the station here to the temple everyday. The people boarding these vans, along with baggage, have to put up in the station for half-a-day usually. This happens in the 'season', which is from November to mid-Jan.

So there are eight toilets built. Some bathrooms. New benches have been put up. Chairs are being bought. And, the platform is being widened to accommodate the extra crowd.

Yet the parking space outside the station is jammed. No room at all. We're helpless, says the authority, cos we don't have enough space. And, this season will end mid-Jan and then the town will be real quiet.

When I confront the authority with all this, he says - "You tell me what to do.." to which I reply arrogantly - "Well, that's your job. Not mine." Well, the railway station top guy is asking ME for suggestions on improving the station. Uh huh.

A real boring day

Was vetti the whole day and dead bored.

That's when I asked myself this question - What should one do when he's bored?

This is the answer-
"If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all."

How strange frienships form

I was travelling alone, probably for the first time. That too in unreserved class, which is notorious for being very crowded.

As I got into the train at Kottayam(the Trivandrum-Chennai mail), I was a little afraid. What if I don't get a seat and have to stand through the whole night? What if I do get a seat, but the person next to me happens to be a crook. What if he was a biscuit bandit? What if he drugged me and took away my "precious" belongings(which was a set of unwashed clothes, two stale dosas from the refreshment room and a water bottle)?

With all these thoughts still on my head, I got a seat thankfully. The guy sitting next to me was engrossed in a Tamil magazine, into which I frequently peeped. In one of these peeps started the conversation. Where are you from dude? What do u do? Where are u going? Where did u study and what... and the conversation went into the night.

Unfortunately for the new-found friendship(but fortunately for my tired eyes), I got a full berth at 12. And as he was gonna get down around 2, I went up to sleep. Knowing the struggle I face to get up, I bid him bye after exchanging email addresses and phone numbers.

That was the end of a three-hour super cool friendship - three fun-filled hours of discussing why Simbu and Dhanush should patch up on the 'Aishwarya' issue, why Ajith should act in more sensible movies. And on why journalism is really tough in miserable towns, how hardware engineers(he was one) go through hell and lots of other issues.

Got an email from my 'three-hour' friend today. Felt good, for no real reason at all.

Meeting the Malayalam megastar

MOHANLAL AND ME: Me and my classmates chatting with Malayalam megastar Mohanlal.


I gave my hand. And, he gave his with a smile.

Freeze.

Today was truly memorable cos it was a day when I met and shook hands with Malayalam megastar Mohanlal at the MM newspaper office. He had come there for a felicitation function.

Had an interesting conversation about the megastar with a pal here this morning. I asked him - "What do u guys call Mohanlal.. Superstar?" He replied, "Sometimes yes. And, sometimes we use it for Mammooty too. Once, there was a time when a row of Suresh Gopi movies were superhits. In those times, he was the Superstar."

I quietly laughed.

Cos in our soil, there's only one person. Flops or hits, he's the one. Release or no release, he's our star. One moon. One sun. One Superstar. That's Rajnikanth.

The difference between 'them' and 'us'

What's the basic difference between people in India and other Western countries?

There may be lots of differences; cultural, political, et all. But there's one striking point in which we score over them and yet another striking point in which they score over us.

First, our praise. We score over them in individual morality. Just think of this: even the most corrupt politician in India is a good husband. He doesn't mind putting national goals at stake, but he'll try and put his son in a respectable position. Even the average railway clerk takes money as bribe, only for improving the financial status of his family. The national morality is gone; yet when it comes to individual morality, we score.

Second, their praise. They score over us in national morality. Just think of this: Bill Clinton was a great administrator, possessed excellent leadership and great organisational skills. He served his country with distinction. But as an individual, he failed. Got involved in lots of other stuff, the best of the them being the Money-akka Lewinsky affair.

We gotto learn national morality from them. And, they gotto learn individual morality from us. If it happens, there will be no more "we" and "they" - it'll be "us".

The Classroom

This is our classroom. The temple of a MASCOM student. Here, a guest lecturer is taking class for us. The best, smartest guy in class sits in the second row and wears a navy-blue tshirt with a red collar...;)..

Sleeping special!

SLEEPING BEAUTY: A pic that was taken some three months ago. I was sleeping on a boat; on my way to Kochi from Mattancherry(Jew Town).

Actually, basically, Spiritually

Imagine a cow tied to a tree by a rope. The cow can move anywhere in that diameter which the rope offers it. It cannot move beyond that.

Similarly, we humans are tied to a tree with the help of a rope. We can talk and debate about anything that is in the diameter in which we can move. Anything here includes cinema, cricket, politics, commerce, journalism, science and lots of other things. Not God.

Because, God may exist in one form in that area beyond the area in which we humans operate. As we have not travelled beyond that area, we cannot argue on the existence of anything there.

If you disbelieve in something you don't know, it's as foolish as believing in it. So let's leave at this - there are some things beyond our reach and knowledge.

And, the other form in which God exists is within the diameter we humans operate. For that, we first gotto define where we operate. We go to school, to college, to work and meet so many people in this journey of ours. As all these people are within the area of access to us, all of them may also be called God. If this thought truly occurs to a person, then he is like the cow without a rope and tree. The line of operation gets cut, and it's total freedom then.

Assuming God exists, can we say Love is God? Yes and No.

Yes because we shower love and affection to all our fellow humans, and they fall within the diameter in which we operate. No because the love we shower on everyone is conditional, while Love for God should be unconditional.

(Was inspired to write all this after a Swami lectured our class on spiritual stuff)

Me reading paper!

A photo of mine that was taken some months ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning.

95 not out, and still painting!

"I know I'm old; but I can see properly and my hands don't shake ... so where's the problem," asks Mr George.

Mr George is 95. And, probably the oldest painter here.

Clad in a "hole-full" baniyan and mundu(veshti), he exudes super enthusiasm while talking about his brushes. It all started when he was a child, slowly grew up to be a part-time painter of signboards (and part-time as a dentist's assistant). Has painted more than 250 portraits itself.

The other day when I went to his place, he spoke in Malayalam and I in Tamil but we understood each other perfectly. But as today was "official" and for my story, we had his daughter-in-law translating from English to Malayalam and vice versa.

The DIL spoke great English, was a cool translator and a sweet woman. Specially because she gave me Rasna at the end of the interview. :D

From seed to wood

Question: When a seed grows up to become a big tree, from where does the huge mass of wood come from?

Options: A. Nutrients from soil
B. Magic
C. From the atmosphere

In all probability you would have said 'A'. But you're wrong; the answer is 'C'.

Yeah, the tiny seed goes on to become this huge wood tree-trunk due to the carbon content in the atmosphere. It's a difficult concept to believe yes, but it's the truth.

And, there's one more astonishing fact. The CO2 content in the atmosphere has been steadily increasing from the early 1990s. There was this dude called Charles who has kept an instrument in an isolated part of the world and measured it.

(Got all this information and lots more from an ecologist, who lectured us today)

A boring day...and 'Baba'

Everyone sleeps on Sunday. Everything remains still on Sunday.

These statements are hundred per cent true in this little town. Come Sunday, come 'bore-day'. Walk onto the streets in the afternoon, and you'll find it dead. The same place that was abuzz Saturday afternoon would be miserably sleepy on Sunday.

But yet, miracles continue to happen... even on Sundays! A miracle called 'cleaning the room' happened in a tiny room in Rajan's hostel this morning.

Miracles continued to happen on TV in the evening. Which movie? Superstar's squib; one movie that should have never happened. Yes, "Baba" - that's what they say, indeed.

Yet it's a Superstar movie nevertheless, and it's a special movie for me cos I saw it in a special screening a day before it was released in Chennai. The atmosphere rocked. And, that's precisely the reason why every living person - the one who says commercial movies are crap and the one who says commercial movies are cool - should watch Superstar movies. And, sing and dance with the crowd. And be happy.

The Search & The Big Fight

As soon as the sun, the oh-so gloriously hot sun set down a bit, our hero S sets out of his college with his friend U. For what? They are searching for stories. They desperately wanna find stories to tell their newspaper readers. Stories that would inform the reader. Stories that would interest the reader.

And where do they go, in this miserable lousy town where nothing really happens. The answer: they go to no particular place. Just walk around town, and you'll get stories. S even remembered his sir telling the class that "if they walk the whole length of a road, they should be able to spot 95 stories."

As they walk towards one of the innumerable lakes, they spot a group of women in some kinda meeting. Ah, here's a story, thinks S. Equipped with almost nil knowledge of the local language(Malayalam), S begins to converse with the women. Why are they here? What do they do? Smells a story, not a very great one though.

Leaves the place after playing 'box-box' with a kid.

S and U walk to the railway tracks, and talk to the bored-to-death guard there. Then, they walk along the tracks for almost two kms. Two kms of tracks, some greenery, two tunnels and lots of shit.

They reach the railway station and turn right there, instead of choosing the normal course of left. Only to go into a quiet lane full of houses and offices. In between two offices with weird names stood a small house.

And, an old man was in it.

Starting a conversation by asking what his neighbour two offices were upto, S and U slowly poke their nose into other things. What work do you do, they ask the old man. To which he replies, with the enthusiasm of a child, that he is a painter and loves painting. And they pester, what's your age, what kinda paintings do you paint...

He is 95 years old.

What a beautiful story. Ever heard of a 95-year-old man painting pictures that look exactly like photographs?

The Grand Search was over.

Night: Tonight ended with a really Big Fight. Between my friend U and his Bengali-counterpart S. The guards intervened, and based on a complaint from S, complained to KTO and M.

KTO himself called me twice to ask what the problem was. After a big showdown in front of our insti, the Big Fight is now finally over(it's continuing here near our workstations).

It's gonna become a big problem, for sure.

Familiarity does not breed contempt!

The man at the entrance smiled at me.
The smart boy clad in that red uniform said 'Hi'.
The long-haired fellow, who meddles with the sound systems, greeted me too.

And, in a minute came THE man. Five minutes before, he was floating in the air. Now, he was off-stage and said 'Hi' to me.

Familiarity certainly doesn't breed contempt. Atleast in the MM hall here, where famous magician JA is performing.

I went to give him a copy of our paper, in which I had written about him and the magic show. I had already gone to his magic show - to see it once, then to talk to him for my story. This was the third time I was going there; and all the people whom I had to pass through to finally talk to the 'magical man' still remember me!

Magic is a fascinating art that baffles and amazes you. There are no ropes or threads on top of the stage(for sure, I checked it all the three times I went), still he manages to float ten feet from the ground. I specifically asked him a question regarding that specific trick as a "final floater" when I was doing my story. I asked him if he is really floating up there or does it just appear like that to the audience. His reply was - "It's an illusion." And that was it. I persisted, to no avail. Got the same answer again.

Magic baffles you. Magic mesmerises you. Magic leaves you speechless. It sure is an amazing art meant for "innocence entertainment."

I was pleasantly surprised that people involved in the magic show still remembered me. And, I'll remember them - all of them - for a long time to come.

Kochi witnesses dramatic moments

A man (in white) whose hair resembled Dhoni shouted at the referee. The referee shouted back. And, this went on for almost five minutes, till police intervened.

In one of the most dramatic moments to have ever happened on a sporting field(as far as I've seen), the Manipur players got wild after its opponent Goa hit their first goal in the 88th minute. Manipur had hit their first goal (a wonderful free-kick) just a few seconds ago.

Manipur players hadn't finished celebrating their goal when they saw Goa guys jumping and shouting as they had scored a goal. All this three minutes before end of play.

The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi witnessed (and I saw it on TV) furious arguments, and many four-letter words travelled from player to referee. All this happened for almost five minutes, and then some burly policemen had to separate the people from arguing. Where were the organisers?

I wish I'd been at the stadium today, as a football-crazy crowd would have definitely got wild on seeing some players mouthing obscenities. And that reminds me, we're most probably going for the semifinals tomorrow(when Kerala takes on Maharasthra).

Football fever in Kochi

As the floodlights slowly lit up the Jawharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi, the white(Delhi) and brown(Kerala) engage in a fierce tussle of football.

For 43 minutes.

That was when Kerala struck the first goal. The second(a great one off a penalty) and the third one soon came along, and God's Own Country had won 3-0.

Watching football in a football-crazy state is an unique experience. I was able to get the experience yesterday, at the Santosh Trophy held in Kochi.

Right from the start when the 'zeebra' cheergirls danced to the 'Dhoom' number till the very last minute, it was an action-packed game. And, when Kerala plays, and better, wins, you'll know what kinda atmosphere would have prevailed.

Ate at our professor IG's house in Kochi, caught the 10 o clock bus and was here by midnight. Was feeling very tired and so didn't blog yesterday.

It happens only in Kerala

It can happen only in Kerala.

As I sat in the eighth row in MM Hall here, where former president KRN's ashes were kept, a man clad in a white shirt passed by. He had a broad smile on his face, as if he said 'Hi' to everyone he saw. And, he passed me quite close by (barely 30 cms).

It was only when I saw his face and unkempt hair that I realised who he was. He was OC, the CM of Kerala.

A policeman came quite some distance behing, but there was NO pushing, no jostling, nothing. The CM passed a whole row of chairs where we sat this morning, yet there wasn't a single policeman (but of cos there were some policemen up the dias).

A friend, M, later recalled an incident when a new photographer of MM was asked to cover a function at Palakkad, which the CM was to attend. The photographer, being a new-kid-on-the-block went to the place well before time and adjusted and re-adjusted his positioning and lens(he had brought a zoom lens, as he did his internship in Chennai and knew that you couldn't get close to ministers). After finishing his camera-work, he went over and sat in a chair near a guy and asked him, "Sir, I am a MM photographer and was asked to cover this function at 10. It's 10.30, but not even the organisers have come. When will they come? And, I was told that the CM is coming ... when will he be here?" The guy sitting next to him said, "I am the CM.."

He was. He was Mr A K A, the former CM here. Such things can happen only in Kerala (and maybe Pondicherry; I've heard interesting stuff about the Pondicherry CM)

Just imagine the CM strolling past you without any grandeur or pomp. For me, this morning was a 'never-felt-like-that-before' kinda feeling.

India's 'darling' is 19

She turns 19 today.

India's darling; my darling, your darling ... teenage sensation Sania Mirza turns 19 today. Happy birthday, Sania.

Almost everybody in India love you(except those jealous girls out there). Concentrate hard and play well, and you'll reach the top ten in no time. And then, the target is No.1. But for all this, you gotto improve your serve.

The Mirza magic is bound to continue. Keep watching.

Hours of hard-work in hotels!

They are made to work very hard in hotels here. They clean the tables, they wait on you sometimes, and do all sorts of work in dirty kitchens. Such is the state of young workers.

Visited almost ten eat-outs this morning for a story on the young workers. After rounds and rounds of lying about the purpose of my visit, finally got the story. And, taking a pic was more difficult cos of the restrictions and permissions we gotto take. Again, being a non-Harischandra helps you. Epecially when you are in journalism.

Also went to talk to the govt authorities concerned for these "young workers". Overall, it was a 'feel-good' day; something tells me that I've done good today.

Ullam Ketkume: Good

Shaam loves Priya.
But, Pooja loves Shyam.

Eman loves Irene and is even willing to sacrifice his career for her.
But, Irene firmly tells him that career is more important than love.

As all these five meet after a long time in Eman's marriage, their college memories flow. It's a beautiful thing; old college-mates meet each other after many years. Another beautiful thing is that Pooja(played by the bubbly Laila) joins the guy she really loves, Shyam. Such beautiful things make 'Ullam Ketkume'(earlier titled 'Pepsi') worth watching.

Director Jeeva tried a different narrative style in his earlier movie, '12B' and that failed to go well with the audience. With 'Ullam Ketkume', he employs a simple style of narrting the college lives of five teenagers and this is sure to go down well with the audience.

For one, he's chosen his actors well. You could find these two-guys-three-girls gang is almost all colleges, and Jeeva's five actors play their parts well. Shyam impresses a lot when he speaks at the farewell function, Arya looks very much like someone who listen to their hearts rather than their mind and Asin is apt as 'Perumal Koil' Priya. But, the best of the group is the bubbly, vivacious Laila. Inspite of all her pranks, one does like her, as did Shyam towards the end of the movie.

Music director Harris Jayaraj gives us some excellent tracks; 'Ennai Pandhada' stands out. The 'Ullalele' chorus is super, and blends brilliantly with the content of the film.

'Ullam Ketkume' rekindles fond college memories, it reminds you of those days. It's filled with days of fun and frolic, yet it's also filled with days of misery and madness. That's where this movie succeeds.

(This movie was a filler in Anaswara theatre here but I saw it as I hadn't watched it when it released in Chennai.)

A bike ride is absolute bliss

A Royal Enfield Bullet, a Pulsar 150 and a CD-Dawn. Six of us guys set out in these three bikes to Kumarakom this afternoon.

With huge drops of rain falling on us, we made our way through lush-green fields and scenic roads to Kumarakom, some 10 kms from here. Zipping in a bike in Kerala roads is a pleasure; probably this is the only place where a car would go on road, and ferry on a backwater alongside. There are 2 huge stretches of road from Kottayam to Kumarakom - one where a backwater is nearby. You go in bike/car, and there's a boat-man rowing in water alongside you.

And, the other stretch of road is full of green fields. The road is a narrow straight strip of tar in the middle of huge green fields. Looks awesome.

A Friday review

Three informative and interesting things happened today. Dunno which one to write... so will put all of them in brief.

1. Goodbye, TF

One of the three main instructors here, Miss TF, is leaving. She's got this kick-ass of an offer in a Delhi-based company. We had a small farewell party this evening. Speaking on the occasion, our Director joked that if he had known earlier about the money, allowances that this company paid he would have definitely applied for it.

TF is about our age, but had lotsa newspaper experience in the US. She was good help for most of us, coming up with ready synonyms of words. She handled some lectures for us. As one of the girls pointed out in the party, "TF was one person you could go to when you were in trouble cos she was 'more' approachable".

It was thoughtful of TF to pin a 'best-of-luck' note in all our workstations. Best of luck to you too, TF.

2. A 'challenging' man

We had two classes devoted to the problems of "physically challenged" and how the media should handle this touchy subject. Our guest lecture for this was S P, a man who was a broadcast journalist. S P too was a physically challenged man; he was blind. Yet, in all respects, he was like any normal man and had achieved SO much in his life this far. Was very inspiring.

3. A crime we all gotto committ

This is a strange custom that I'm sure nobody would have hear of. Kolkata hosts a book fair in the month of February every year. A Bengali pal here claims that it is the "biggest book fair" in India And, IF you are caught stealing a book from this fair, all you gotto do is to write an essay and then you get the book for free! The logic is that books are "sources of knowledge" and the person who is trying to steal them has only a craving for knowledge and thus shouldn't be punished. I haven't heard anything crazier.

A distressing love story

One of my classmates, N, says lots of 'kadi' jokes and fools around.

All this in the midst of troubles and extreme trauma. Yet, he doesn't show it out one bit. He has a distressing love tale to tell; a tale that moves you.

In his college years at Calicut, he fell in love with his junior, V. She loved him back, and this went on for a year. Then, after he finished his college life, he used to hang around for almost six months, vetti, near her college and near her house.

It was at this juncture that he joined our institute.

And now, the girl's cruel dad(who is like the villain in Tamil movies) has arranged for the girl's engagement. Our hero N tried his best to stop the whole issue by calling the guy X who was coming to see V, and told him the whole story. X promised to help N. But now, the thing has gone off hands as X's parents and V's parents force them to marry. And, V is helplesss in this - she can't even call my friend N!

V's engagement is to be held at her house in Calicut this Saturday, two days from now. She's been given permission to invite my friend N ONLY if she agrees to marry X. Talk about cruelty.

Just think: What can V do? Nothing. Caught in a cruel-dad-forcing-her scenario, she's helpless. All she can do at the moment is one thing: pray.

What can my classmate N do? Nothing. He says that he'll go for the engagement this Saturday but is afraid that he'll cry if he sees his girl getting engaged to some X guy.

Nothing. N and V can do nothing now. They're helpless, just like thousands of wannabe-couples throughout the world are.

Back to normal

At 1.45 exactly(after lunch), we all saw her. Well, to be frank, it was like seeing a dead person alive.

To all our shock-yet-delight, K is back. She's standing, she's smiling, weakly, she's walking ... and well, she's even talking.

All this inside 24 hours after we saw her in a "ghostly" state in the hospital, a state when she didn't recognise any of us, a state when she was crying out loudly.

Right now, she's fine and normal.(just a bit weak, maybe). Some of her relatives are here, they spoke to our director and he's now given her permission to go home for a week. This transformation again reminds me of the line - Yenge sellum intha padhai yaro yaro ariway...

The ultimate reaction to her coming back was from C, a guy who is often teased with her. He stood near the computer lab door, shocked to see her at first. Slowly, and gradually, the "shock" turned into a smile. One could see the inexplicable happiness in his face.

A solemn moment for all of us

It's a solemn moment for all of us here.

Cos one of our classmates, K , had severe mental problems and depression and is now in hospital.

It all happened so quickly and so suddenly. Somebody reported that she was feeling sick throughout last evening and night. This morning, she's crying, she can't recognise faces, and she doesn't respond when people call her. So, she was taken to hospital.

We went to the hospital(some 7 kms from here) in the evening. One look at us guys, and she buried her face under the pillow. We all know that she isn't asleep, but for some strange reason, she keeps her eyes closed.
And suddenly she starts crying.

It's a sad state that she's in. All this for a girl who was as chirpy and bright yesterday. She was her usual self yesterday, asked questions to the cop who came top lecture us. She also spoke to me about the smart way in which the cop had answered questions when we had visited a month ago.

All this for a girl who was wearing a really pretty dress the day before yesterday. We had a small farewell-cum-birthday party that evening for TF, a teacher of ours who is leaving us in a week. K wore a great dress that day and was looking pretty, she helped our maam in distributing the cake and it was she who took all pains in buying a birthday gift and card for her.

All this for a girl who was really sweet to everyone of us. It reminds me of the line - Enge sellum intha padhai yaro yaro ariway...

It's a solemn moment for all of us here.

'Chennai's a separate world'

We're a separate clan, we live in a separate world. That's what Chennai is, according to a top cop here.

While speaking on the role of police and society, he said that the situation in Kerala is a lot different from the situation in Chennai. But Chennai has its advantages too - cops gotto bow and run behind only ONE person, but in Kerala, they have to run behind many!

The cop gave many instances when the media had portrayed the wrong side of an issue. Seems that once, in J&K, almost five batches of ten policemen each were sent into tall grass, where four terrorists were hiding. The cops opened many rounds of fire and killed them(a cop was killed brutally in this encounter). After this exercise, two media people came there and wanted to know why the cops had killed the terrorists and other stuff about human rights, but were least bothered about the injured cop.

It was an interesting and informative two hours.

Happy Birthday, Kamal Haasan

Today is actor-director Kamal Haasan's birthday. I cannot forget this day last year. Even as songs of 'VasoolRaja MBBS' played in full volume, almost 500 people waited to greet him and give flowers and gifts. I was at Kamal's office doing a story(he officially announced the launch of 'Mumbai Express'), and wished him. It seems like it was only yesterday but alas, one year has flown. No wonder they all say: Time flies.

A date with a magician

Am thrilled.

Went at 9 to the auditorium for an interview with magician J A. As I waited patiently for my interview, the man was talking to a few local magicians and told them about some tricks. And, I overheard them!!!!

Before I brag too much, I did hear something but not something that entirely made sense. Cos it seems that even magicians have their "own jargon".

After that, I got in my questions to him and he patiently answered them(we sat on the chairs there...maan, WHAT smell of 'paan' from his mouth). Anyway, I'm a journalist and my job is to get the story despite all difficulties(which, in this case, was a staunch smell of paan), and I did it.

Athu Oru Kana Kalam: Very slow

Srinivasan(Dhanush) runs from one end, Thulasi(Priyamani) runs from the other and they both embrace each other and kiss. A cliched ending to an astonishingly-slow 'Adhu Oru Kanaa Kalam'.

Maybe this is how director Balu Mahendra set about this venture. I have a one-line story, two decent young actors, a cameraman and a gifted musician, so how do I fill scenes so that the one-line is streched for three hours? So, I gotto have the usual erotic song(I have no clue why he chose to put in the the beginning and end up with no songs in the second half), the sober-looking Dhanush, a chase sequence, some 'amma' sentiment, some college 'kalai' ... and that's the end of it.

Rich boy loves poor girl. Families don't approve. Due to some fight, our rich boy hero lands in jail and is, as usual, harassed. Oh, the horrible conditions they have in jail(the director fails to realise that we've been shown such stuff a million times). And then, a kind-hearted policeman re-joins the lovers. People, let's just hope that they are many more inspectors and policemen in our force; then, anybody could committ a crime and rejoin his heart-broken girl.

To make things worse, the movie moves at snail pace. Three long hours taken for what could have been taken in twenty minutes.

Before the release of this movie, it was tipped that it would be career-saving for Dhanush, specially after his 'Dreams' debacle. It certainly isn't. Yes, Dhanush plays his character well but it's hard for such a movie to run to packed houses. I think Dhanush has to bank on his brother Selvaraghavan's 'Puthupettai'.

Priyamani, after wearing hep, modern dresses in 'Kangalal Kaidhi Sei'(remember the 'Aah Aah Thamizhamma..' song?) changes to pavada-davani for this role. And, she looks comfortable in it. She looks very pretty when she raises her right eyebrow. Yet, it's a role that she could have played(sorry, not played, but cried) in a mega serial and not on the mega screen.

'Athu Oru Kanaa Kalam' is a very slow, very insipid movie.

Sivakasi: Typically Vijay

Ini sara vedi.

So says the message in the interval of Ilaya Thalapathy's 'Sivakasi'. And, director Perarasu lives up to his message in the second half - a thrilling game of chess where hero and villain pose 'checks' to each other.

'Sivakasi' is a typical Vijay movie, specially the first half of it. The routine fireworks-kinda fight in the beginning, the I'm-your-pal introduction song(Vijay calls his audience as his 'thozha') and the love at first sight sequence. But, the real essence is 'Sivakasi' starts from the flasback when Vijay reveals that his real name is not Sivakasi and nor is he an orphan. In fact, he has a father, mother, sister and brother in a village. Asin's insistence makes him go to his roots.

And what does he find there? A brother who is cruel, a mother suffering because, and a sister serving tea. Sivakasi doesn't reveal his true self to them, and vows to give them the place they deserve.
In other words, Sivakasi starts to erupt.

An action-packed second half it is, yet it's a different kind of action. Instead of flexing his muscles and performing stunts that defy the laws of gravity, director Perarasu gives Vijay a different 'action' role, something like what Vikram did in Dharani's 'Dhill'. Vijay engages in a game of chess with Prakashraj; a game where every move has an equally intelligent move.

If Vijay brought look-alikes of MGR and Rajni to get votes(and Vijay says that "Namma ooru aalukku veliyooru than pudikkum"), Prakashraj counters it with bringing Superstar's 'jodi', Nayanthara. How Vijay finally manages to make a mastermind of a move and checkmate Prakashraj forms the rest of the movie.

Excellent dialogue delivery(specially in the scene when he tells Asin that she's wearing a 'bra and a jetty'), some great dance steps(specially in the last song), along with a dose of punch-dialogues and fights, Vijay is indeed the 'Ilaya Thalapathy'. There's one thing very positive about Vijay. You go to his movie expecting to get entertained, and you get it in plenty. Nothing more, nothing less.And, with mass-movies like 'Sivakasi' and soft movies like his previous 'Sachein', Vijay is managing his career very well and is well on course to occupy the seat of the 'Dhalapathy' - the Superstar.

Asin gets a meaty role too and plays her part well The 'Hari-Giri' combination in one scene in the movie works well, and the other comedians(specially that 'Kaadhal' kid) do their small-yet-significant parts well. The foot-tapping numbers that Srikant Deva has composed are tailor-made for Vijay

A pat on the back for director Perarasu. He's given his audience exactly what they expect. And, he's given his actor, Vijay, great scope to showcase his dialogue-delivery, dance and stunt skills.

'Sivakasi' - a cracker that will erupt, rather than burst, and be heard in every place in this world where Tamil movies are watched.

(Stood in a queue this afternoon(and chatted with two people) for tickets and successfully watched the movie, in Anupama theatre.)

A day of maidans and magic

Tirunakkara maidan is the place I head to this morning. The maidan is being renovated and is going to be like its glorious self in the past, when it was witness to some landmark events. Spoke to the site engineer and the municipality guys. Gotto write a story on it.

And, in the evening, went to the magic show held here. The magician(Jadu.Anand) was brilliant, performed all sorts of tricks. He even asked one of our classmates to come to the stage, hypnotised her and made her fly in the air. Was great. And, there was one more "great trick" promised - that he would vanish an elephant in thin air. Blink your eyes, and an elephant will vanish - said the banner before the auditorium.

For me - expecting something awesome and breathtaking - this trick turned out to be a damp squib. The elephant was real of cos, but the trick wasn't. It was a simple one. He just switched the colours in the grill gate that enclosed the animal.

Spoke to the magician after the show and got some quotes for my story. Thanked the manager(who made us sit in the Rs 500 seat even though we had paid only 50 bucks), the red-tshirt guy who helped us get perm for taking pics.

The page's over

It's overrrrrrrrrrr. Hurray. The page is done.

I've tried lots of new things in my page(the first page). That includes having kutti PTI stories as a separate strip, without headlines. And, I named the column too, as 'This & That..'.

And, there's one very 'Srinivas'ish headline. It was a story on the "bird flu" disease and higlighted people's ignorance of it. My headline - The bird 'flu', but nobody noticed it...

Will get royally screwed for it I guess; yet doesn't matter, am real happy that I came up with something like that.

A very busy day indeed

I was real busy the whole day. Got up at 7 sharp(had slept only at 1.30 last night, thanks to an hour-long game of cricket after I finished the manual editing, crop) and went to Unity Towers, where one of our professors(TF) stays. Showed her all the work I'd done and got it cleared.

Started the computer work at around 11 ... and my God, it ended only at 8 PM. Took just one small tea break(apart from lunch, of course) and yes, some small breaks to watch the Ind-SL match. That reminds me ... what an awesome match it was. And, with this match, India wins the Videocon Cup.

Sachin bared all his teeth, and raised his hands in glorious celebration as Dhoni finished off the match with two scintallating sixes.

That's the essence of all kinda work - learn to enjoy it.

And that's precisely the reason why I enjoy being a sub-ed here at Mascom. Though it's real tough and taxing, you get to learn a lot from it. Learn, learn, and learn ... that's the only way to live.

The routine's started

The routine's started. The four days in Chennai are gone...

And, this week cos I went home for Deepavali, I gotto be a sub-editor. Which means that work starts from today till Friday evening(the saving grace is that we have a holiday tomorrow, for Id ... And they never gave one for Deepavali, something that baffles me.)

Anyway, it was great to be home for Deepavali. Some things never change; the oil bath in the morning, new clothes with manjal on it, the busvanams, the chakkarams, the lakshmi vedi, the list can go on(and the innumerous special programmes on TV). Some things in life have the same charm even as the years toll by, and Deepavali in Chennai is one of them.