Some News...Some Views...2

27.09.2011

Look at today's newspaper. 4 children died as the school van in which they were travelling fell into a canal. Police says the van was driven by the cleaner at the time of accident. Driver or cleaner, now, the present trend in India is such that the authorities who give driving licence to public and the school authorities who appoint drivers for their vans ensure that the drivers are mentally unstable! Count on our stars. In the present and the future, only the celestial positions can save us

* * * * *

A labourer from Bengal fell off a train at Cherthala in Keralam. It was midnight when the incident took place. He begged for help but no one came forward to help him. He went to the nearby temple and hung himself in the temple bell. As he was hanging, many curious onlookers were watching it. They might have recorded the incident on their mobile camera! Selnselessness reached its peak. Citizen journalism is a new career option in the 21st century.

* * * * *

I am pained to read another incident happened in Keralam. A labour camp that constituted people from outside the state has been attacked by the locals. The reason for the attack was cited as a theft of a mobile phone. The larger and more convincing reason is that Malayali heart is not expanding in proportionate with the education and the exposure they get to the outer world. They build Malayali samajams whereever they go. They enjoy all rights as any other person in other states. Still, Malayalis can't accommodate a few thousand "out siders". So shameful....

* * * *

Spectrum will not die down so early. The government is not willing to come out clean. The centralgovernment is only interested in stonewalling all kinds of finger pointing instead of allowing the entire truth to come out. The PM who takes instruction from the high command knowingly or unknowingly is also a party to this scam. He, like Ceaser's wife, ought to be not only honest but also look honest

* * * *

Death,distruction and then corruption dominate the pages of the newspapers and the elctronic media. They vye with each other everyday to find first place in the media. A truck driver was beaten to death for not giving bribe to the transport authorities. A toll booth employee has been shot dead at a toll booth in Gurgoan. The poor young man has been killed for doing his duty. People in our country don't mind killing others even for such silly reasons

* * * *

Rabbani, the Afghan peace negotiator has been killed by a suicide bomber. This ensures that peace will not return to Afghanistan so soon. US and Pak blame each other for the terrorism issue. Pakistan says the dreaded Haqani terror network in Afghanistan is a product of CIA. Though this is the truth, US is now blaming Pak for abetting this terror group.

Incidentally, we must remember that Osama Laden has been killed by US in Pak territory even as Pakisatn was repeatedly claiming that he was not living in their country. Anyway, an independent observer may wonder whether Pakistan is supporting or opposing terrorism. Also it is very difficult to come to a conclusion if US is convinced about Pak role in terrorism. They give aid to Pak to fight terrorism and on the other hand criticise them for supporting terrorism.

* * * *

Another issue that burns the more we try to douse is the Telangana issue. Why can't this be solved? Smaller states is a good idea and we already made so many small states in the recent history. Needless to say that smaller states like Jharkhand and Goa had/have extremely corrupt dispaensations. Let there be a Telangana sans Hyderabad. Hyderabad can be made a Union Territory like Chandigarh with the capitals of both AP and Telangana situated in Hyderabad.

A union territory serves cheap liquior to people of both the states. Let them cut glasses at '8 PM' and smoke peace pipes everyday. Both peoples of AP and Telangana must shed egos and sit around the table and solve the issue at the earliest

* * * *

The richest man in China is selected as a member of the central committee of the Communist party. No comments please. This is just for information.

Some News...some views...

Ten years passed after the gruesome attacks on the twin towers in USA. At the time of the greatest crisis USA faced in their history, the entire nation stood together. They never played politics or tried to find how much mileage each political party could derive out of this tragedy. Perhaps this was the biggest advantage they got. So far they could prevent any untoward incidents after this tragedy. I only wish USA remains stronger as ever.

* * * * * *

In Egypt, Israel's embassy has been attacked by protesters. The envoy has been forced to leave the country. Obviously,this gives a very dangerous message to Egypt. After the revolution a few months back that ousted Mubarak from power, things look to be going wrong there. One need not be faulted with if he/she thinks that some extremist elements have intruded into administration that stokes anti-Israel sentiments and instigate violence. Religious extremism that was under strict control during the Mubarak regime rears its ugly head in an anarchic situation prevailing there. I only wish the land of pyramids should never slip into the hands of bigoted religious extremists and become another Afghanistan

* * * * * *

Strauss Kahn was the boss of IMF. Suddenly he had to resign his post. The reason was an allegation of sexual harassment raised by a lady. Kahn was arrested by police and incarcerated for months together. After the trial in court, now he has been acquitted as the charges leveled by the woman could not be proven. A malicious allegation broke his career. Imagine the agony he would have gone through in this difficult times. Anyway he is all set to contest the presidential elections in France. Let us wait and see if he becomes the president.

The Kahn episode reminds us of many things in our country. Allegations run thick and fast. Without even checking if an iota of fact involved in them media shoulders them, start panel discussions and the person who is in the eye of the storm is forced to resign his post. The law of the land takes over the case. The judiciary that moves at a snail's pace decides his/her culpability/innocence after twenty odd years.

* * * * * *

I am a proud Malayali. But many times I do not feel proud about the actions of Malayalees elsewhere in the world. One latest example that made me so unpleasant is the controversy surrounding the singer Shreya Goshal. The young Malayali singers question the move by the music directors to invite her to sing Malayalam songs. They content that there is no dearth of talent in Keralam and hence no need of importing singers

The same Malayali singers go to other states and sing in other languages. Shreya Goshal is a renowned singer in Tamil and many other languages. How can Malayali singers object her entry to Malayalam? It is sad to see that Malayalees who fan across the world always harbour a narrow line of thinking when 'outsiders' come to work in Keralam....

Unnaippol Oruvan

I am in a state of shock. Another blast has just occurred. Body counting is yet not over. Compensations were announced. The helpless PM in his characteristic lifeless style, issued the customary statement. He will deal with terrorism sternly. India will not surrender to terrorism. Blah blah and blah...I could feel a chilled dumbness seeping down my spine slowly but surely. 

TN Assembly passed a resolution to save the lives of the people who killed Rajiv Gandhi and a few others. Closely on the heels of this, CM of J&K tweets for Afzal Guru. Look, the people’s representatives are audacious enough to stand up and say you die on the streets. The perpetrators will be saved by us. 

Interestingly, immediately after the terror struck, the first thing our governments do is to announce compensations to the kins of the deceased and the injured. This runs to a few lacs. I fail to understand the psychology behind such a hurry to announce money to the victims. Ostensibly, the governments have a purpose in it- to cool down tempers.

I wonder how terrorists are allowed to send mercy petitions to the President. What type of mercy do they deserve? Terrorists do not kill people at the nick of a sudden rush of adrenalin into their veins. They plot it. They make meticulous plans. They execute their plan with clinical precision. They always know what they do.

When Rajiv Gandhi has been killed, along with him, a few Tamilans too perished. They were also blown into pieces. They were no way connected to Tamil Elam struggle in Sri Lanka or the decision taken by Rajiv Government to send IPKF to that country. They were faceless common men on the streets. How can the people’s representatives who represent the entire people of TN stand against the ones who died along with Rajiv? 

What prompted the assembly to support the terrorists? The ruling party and DMK never see eye to eye. They even object to the other party’s body language in the assembly. They, as is usual in any other assembly, never come together to pass a resolution in the interest of common man. But, for a few terrorists, the assembly was unanimous.

Thinking of such things make me disappointed. Safety and security of ordinary people must get the foremost priority in a welfare state. No mercy shall be shown to the perverted, bigoted and sick minded terrorists who have only one agenda- kill maximum number of people. In fact, terrorists shall not be permitted to send mercy petitions. Their case must be disposed of without any delay and punishment executed at the earliest. They do not deserve to live in a civilized society. 

Terrorists must be made to realize that due to their inhuman acts thousands have died and more horribly, thousands are living like cabbage. This includes people of all religions and all ideologies. Punishments shall act as deterrent to the prospective terrorists. We shall never show to all those morons that we have feet of clay when we deal with terrorism.

As long as our governments are tied with strings of religious, caste and regional sentiments, common man can only pray to the Almighty to steer us clear of all dangers that await in every nook and corner . But then, people are killing in the name of the same Almighty in whom we entrust our safety. Where will we go? This billion dollar question needs answer. Anyone there to answer my frightened queries?

One more thing we must read along with the news of tragedies pouring in from Indian streets. After 9/11 attack on US, not even a cracker went off on American soil so far without the knowledge of the authorities. The reason is simple. They deal terrorists the way they need to be dealt. Hell with the vote bank.

Onam, O sweet Onam -1

Another Onam has arrived. Onam that always reminds us of a glorious past- a past that everyone of us long to bring to the present. Let us have the ‘spirit’ in us to bring back those good old days of the land ruled by a compassionate and honest King

Remembering Onam always leaves my heart filled with so much of sweetness. Pookkalams, “oonjal’ (the swing), Home made banana chips, Payasams, new dresses , Jayan starrer movie and the local version of the World cup Soccer finals in the neighboring village made our Onam. We enjoyed every moment of it. Our seniors never tormented us with their list of dos and don’ts .

Atham, the first day of Onam starts with ‘pookkalam’ on the forecourt of our houses. Everyone of us took extra pain to make pookkalam in our houses. On the first day we used to weave small baskets using coconut leaves. Though everyone in the team could not make those cute little baskets, some guys were really experts.

With the baskets in our hands we roamed around in search of flowers. Many a time, we were chased away by dogs. Some houses used to keep their dogs untied during this season to keep at bay the flower seeking children. We were afraid of dogs, but the mission was so important that we could never afford to run away from a barking dog. We had to brave every adversity to see that in the following morning, there appears a beautiful pookkalam.

At the end of the day, we could always gather good quantity of flowers that included ‘thumbapoo’ as a major item. We had a silent competition among the kids about who could gather more flowers. Thumbapoo is a white coloured tiny flower of a kind of shrub that grows in open lands. We had to patiently sit nearby these shrubs and pluck the flowers. It used to take hours to fill a basket with thumbapoo. But still, no pookkalam was complete without thumbapoo.

The decorated forecourts on all the ten days of Onam gave us tremendous happiness. Black and White coloured rings, then green and red coloured rings...all were done with so much of dedication. It glowed here like a monument of our sincere efforts.Not even a single Onam passed by without pokkalams in any of our houses. Happiness for us did have such simple meanings those days.Never mind if the quarterly exams were always hanging over our heads like the proverbial sword. Most of the times, exams followed Onam festival. Exams came and went. Even now they are coming.

Wise men say learning never ends. So do the examinations. Worrying about examinations and their outcome is foolishness. There are so many other constructive things we could indulge in . For example,take a walk up to Royal theatre, Poochakkal for a Jayan movie.

A few weeks before Onam, the air around us would be thick with rumors of the arrival of a Jayan starrer movie during the festival. We always waited impatiently for our hero’s arrival. Our beloved hero never disappointed us. He could fell a coconut from the coconut tree by simply stamping on it. He then could break the coconut with his bare hands. Be it Jayabharati or Sheela or for that matter any damsel, his physique always cast a magic web around them. So was it around the audience. I need another thousand pages more to narrate his heroics!

The Sree Narayana Ever rolling trophy football tournament coincides with Onam. What is this ever rolling trophy? This question had remained unanswered for a long time. We used to pronounce it as ‘everoling trophy’. The tournament takes place on the premises of the Devi temple in the nearby village.

Onam feast starts by twelve in the noon. Grandma lights an oil filled lamp in front of a plantain leaf. ( these grandmas are a kind of the most wonderful things God has ever created. Whatever they do for their grandchildren, they do it with a lot of affection and dedication) She then serves all the items she made on the leaf. No feast could ever start without serving it to the forefathers and mothers first. Then we were served the sumptuous feast, the highlight of Onam - avial, kichadi, pachadi, inchikkari, sambar, kalan, rasam, thoran, upperi, payasam....the list is long. We were always left virtually immobilised after gulping all these delicacies

After this, we straight away head to the play ground only to continue the games from where we stopped pre-lunch. By around four in the evening, our gang moves to the arena of the Local world cup. The walk itself was so thrilling. All along the paddy fields, we reveled, chatted, cracked umpteen numbers of jokes, laughed loudly, quarreled, pelted stones at dogs…and finally reached the spot.

The ground consisted of loose sand on which local teams from nearby towns fought fire spiting performances. Standing by the side of the barricaded ground, we cheered our favourite teams. When the refree called “oxide” (of late I realized that it is off-side)we yelled at him. We felt, the referee was favouring the opposite team. When the ball fell into the enemy's net, we cheered at our throat's capacity.

Seventy minutes of wholesome entertainment was always guaranteed. By the time we returned home, darkness would have set in. But, walking along the paddy field on a moon lit night was another beautiful experience. If I had a poet’s heart, I could have narrated how scintillating the scene was. The tall and not so tall coconut trees on the fringes of the paddy fields and the moon that gives a silver shine to the leaves of these trees made us feel as if we were walking in a wonder land. I would like to call it as a “moon walk”! One should definitely come to Olavaipu to live this experience per se!

The football tournament comes to an end as the ‘everoling’ trophy was lifted by the team from Malippuram or Palluruthy. Fifteen days of no holds barred enjoyment comes to an end there. Maveli would have returned to His abode a happy king. So did the Jayan’s film.

There was absolutely no reason for His Highness Mahabali to feel unhappy. As one more onam passes by, we etched its history in golden letters in our hearts. O God, I am tempted to ask you a boon. Give me back my childhood. But I have no courage to press the confirm button. I know You may grant it... in the form of Alzheimer's!!

Appooppanthaadi -18

Dam square is the heart of Amsterdam. There is a war memorial at the Dam square that was installed to commemorate the victims of World war 2. It is just walking distance from the main railway station of Amsterdam called Centraal Station. There are frequent train services from the Amsterdam airport to Centraal Railway station. As we walk out of the station a visual treat is awaiting. Just walk around. There are a number of tram services available outside the station for traveling to any part of the city. Due to the presence of canals all over, the city does not have a metro rail system.

The Wikipedia tells you, “The Dam derives its name from its original function: a dam on the Amstel River, hence also the name of the city. Built in approximately 1270, the dam formed the first connection between the settlements on the sides of the river.”

“On 7 May 1945, two days after German capitulation, thousands of Dutch people were waiting for the liberators to arrive on the Dam square in Amsterdam. In the Grose Club members of the Kriegsmarine watched as the crowd below their balcony grew and people danced and cheered. The Germans then placed a machinegun on the balcony and started shooting into the crowds. The motives behind the shooting have remained unclear.

"The shooting finally came to an end after a member of the resistance climbed into the tower of the royal palace and started shooting onto the balcony and into the Club. At that moment, a German officer together with a Resistance commander found their way into the Club and convinced the men to surrender. At the brink of peace, 120 people were badly injured and 22 pronounced dead.”. Unquote.

Just in front of the station, canals cruises are available. Just hop on and off the boats and enjoy the enchanting beauty of the city. Then walk towards the Dam square. There the first thing we can do is to queue up to have a look at the wax models of the famous people in the world. It costs 22 Euros to gain entry to Madame Tussads. Right in front of the entrance, there stands Presdent Obama. I had a photo op with him.

Inside the hall we can come across a number lot of celebrities and men and women who created hystory. I expected to meet Holland’s football legends there. Unfortunately all the models of them were shifted to other Tussads Tussads located elsewhere in the world. Still I could pose with Ronaldinho and Beckham.

On the top floor, Mahatma Gandhi stands among tall leaders like Mandela and Dalai Lama. The figure no way matches with the Mahatma we are familiar with. He has been made a dwarf there. It was not convincing at all.

There is an enquiry counter inside the hall where we can ask questions about how these sculptures are made. The man explained to me how they make them. The important thing he told me was that they use fibers to use the models and not wax. Wax is mainly used only to make hair.

From Madame Tussads, if we walk a little further, we come across the flower Bazar. We can see so many shops on the bank of a canal that sell varieties of flowers and their seeds. Tulip seeds are prominently displayed in all the shops. One packet of 10 Tulips costs around 8 Euros. I was doubting if Tulip could grow in our climatic condition. I did not try to buy them. However it is pleasant to walk around in the flower market.

Now, we can take a walk to a coffee shop. In the Netherlands the term coffee shop has come to mean a place where hashish and marijuana are available. There are roughly 300 coffee shops in the city. So, to be in heaven, we must visit Amsterdam. It is not taboo to take a few puffs of marijuana there. But anyway, people must consume it and remain silent there or leave the place without causing any nuisance to the public.

The next destination must be the red street. It is very close to the Dam Square. A walk along the roads in the red light area does not give any indication that something “seriously wrong” is going on inside the buildings there. On both the banks of canals, every building has something to offer. One may offer live porno show while the other offers sex gadgets. Girls in their ligeres (only minimal cover ups) stand inside the glass chambers of the building and invite customers. In the front part of every flesh trading centres I could see girls.

They tap the glass panes and invite the passers by. Everything is quiet. People- men and woment, boys and girls walk around as if they walk on any ordinary street. Those who are in need can walk in to the trade centers without fearing anybody. I could see police mounted on motor bikes patrolling these red-light streets.

In a shop, a few meters away from one red street, I could see a window of the shop decorated with different types of condoms. Girls and boys stand in front of this window, discuss about the things on display and then move on.

There is a sex museum just closer to the Gandhi Restaurant. There too people throng to have a look at the evolution of sex in the human beings. Girls, boys, men and women queue up there too.

Vondel Park is one of the landmarks in Amsterdam. This vast area of beautiful land was once occupied by Hippies. After the Hippies were evicted from the land, now it is maintained as a park. It is like our own famous Lalbaugh in the Garden city of Bangalore.

Have you visited Lalbaugh? If not yet, do it fast. Development in the Garden City is on war footing and is almost knocking at the gates of the magnificient garden. In all likeliness, there may appear a metro rail station or a big township or a mega mall any time as the word go. Then we must be able to tell to our coming generations that here situated a big beautiful garden once upon a time. A garden that gave sanctuary to the love struck, children and people of all age groups.

Please visit Amsterdam with me here-

https://picasaweb.google.com/116557619258339510895/TheAmsterdamISaw?locked=true