Monsoon, Messi, Madani and Me..

Almost every blog of mine has the same 'cliche' opener..'i have been away for long'..while its absolutely true that i weren't around, I am ashamed to use that sentence anymore. Let me be a bit more self dignified than yesterday. After I wrote about Sreesanth and Prithviraj in my last 2 blogs, I got an opportunity to talk to them in person. While Prithviraj doesn't want to give his phone number(well he gives the number with a clause that he will not be available to talk on that number anytime :-) :-). how sweet is that?? ), Sreesanth totally surprised me with his simplicity. After I spoke to him, I can't still believe that he is the same boy who is reaping hatred from all around. while I don't think he is 'the bad boy' in the country, I came across many people who wish to think so. so unfortunate ..and so unfortunate again. I wish to meet Sasi Tharoor (The Mallu rockstar making headlines allaround) and Shyamaprasad (Malayalam movie maker whom I am following since his 'Maranam Durbalam' (offlate he disappoints in a big way) some time soon.



Back to this episode of blogging..(I have this habit of straying away from what I really want to convey..you would have got it by now that I am an empty head and doesn't really know what to convey..So please pardon me on that front.)



Monsoon!!!! 'The Nostalgia of malayalee after 'Lovv' (and may be politics..but offlate, I feel most of the malayalees are moving away from politics to Real Estate. I can't ignore the fact that every other conversation leads to a 'Plot bought/for sale/wish to buy/or made someone rich overnight'. A huge wave of frustration is sweeping through the guys who couldn't get hold of a property so far ( Well, You may read that last statement as a reflective one too :-) ).
Monsoon is beautiful sometime...incessant rains finally bringing back that 'chill' which keralites are almost tending to forget. last 2 years, I felt that 'chill' on a rainy night or morning is not possible without the help of air conditioner..but June mid week proved me wrong (while june may be proving me wrong for the first time, I am pretty used to that :-) ..thanks to my judgement skills and so called 'intutions') ..That 'chill' that made our childhood so special is back.. Serenity rains can offer cannot be matched by anything i guess. while the view from my apartment balconies is no impressive by any standards (Thanks to 'Urbanization'), view from my office is grand!!! I couldn't get home during rains due to some inevitable travel here and there. I managed to go for couple of drives in heavy rain and the charm is still around. Few places I wish to visit during this monsoon are
1. Munnar (I feel it would be amazing to watch rains from the sitout of that ghost guest house which hosted me last december on the edge of cliff surrounded by a sea of tea sprouts!!),
2. a ride in the house boat through the inland canals of aalapuzha,
3. a cliff on ezhimala hills,
4. the boundary walls of bekal fort and
5. the paddy fields of my home town.

while monsoon is a great 'feeling', the 'other' side is an extreme one too. it's very difficult time for people who live in kerala and most importantly use public transport and walking as the medium of commutation. Our governments irrespective of left of right, are very keen to be on common man's side. all the governments in kerala so far were idealogically pro prolitarian. however in their urge to protect the rights of the so called 'common man', they forgot to provide the bare minimum neccessities for them. No a single town in kerala have any concern for common man who walks to places. No Footpaths, No drainage system and No working street lamps in is the story in any town. to add to the woes, open man holes and drainages can give heart aches to parents who are waiting for their kids to return home from school. Let's not even talk about the plight of our drinking water sources and the distribution systems during monsoon. when will our governments wake up and react to these neccesities before giving us lectures on american atrocities in iraq, afganistan and advocating against 'Colonial' forces acting against our 'socialist-equality oriented' societies.

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Messi...

Messi has no idea about his popularity in the northern districts of kerala.forget that. does he even know there is a county named 'India'?? Our youth finds an excellent opportunity in world cup to celebrate and polarize. I was surprised by the flexboards on both sides of the road when I travelled from ernakulam to kannur recently. almost every competing country has fans in our state..that too crazy die hard fans (who tend to hooliganism as well..there are reports of argentine fans locking horns with brazil fans in perintalmanna :-) :-) ). In a country where law and order is just a dream, these incidents aren't adding to our pains any ways.). World cup often brings back childhood memories for me. Spain-Denmark match in 1986 Mexico World cup is the first thing that I ever saw in a television. I used to go to a nearby house to watch the matches along with friends. we used to sit in their drawing room floor and watch the match, while the household continued with their chores. can you imagine knocking a home's door and asking "can we see the match?" and then sitting there for next 2 hours with absolutely no interaction with that family?? ( I had to wait till 1994 to watch Television in my own house.) After Marriage, I took Nidhi to the gate of that house to show her the place where I had my frist experience with television. Television had a special place in my heart always due to the sheer fact that we never had a television at home. I used to listen to my friends at school about various things that could be seen in a TV. My mother wasn't very fond of the idea that I go and watch TV at other houses as she felt its a disturbance for them. I was all filled with pride when I bought the LCD TV (Well, my company paid for it :-) ) for my home.

Back to Messi !!!

Though I have read a lot about this wonder kid in contemporary soccer world, I am seeing Messi playing for the first time. He is amazing by all means. the way he places the ball for his strikers is as though he is placing it in a platter for them (In thrissur, there is a coloquial phrase called 'thalika pass' which effectively means an effortless opportunity presented to score).

Madani -- Yes I am talking about our own Abdul Nassar Madani. Madani is media's darling ever since he was acquitted from the previous charges of framing plots against the nation. All political parties in kerala competed to claim the credit for his acquittal (It prompts thoughts about whether Judiciary could be influenced by political parties). He was even given a grand reception at state capital which even ministers attended. All to cash in the so called 'muslim votes'. He was projected as the apostle of kerala muslims and there were even plans to launch him as a candidate for parliament from a muslim strong hold. however things didn't go well in the elections. But later series of allegations and new reports casted a cloud of suspicion around this iconic figure raising doubts about his claims of being a 'reformed man'. It's very important that government and courts take a clear stand on this topic. Keeping him in that suspected state for a very long time isn't going to benefit our state in anyway. it will only give another unique opportunity for the anti national forces to claim that their claims about anti minority persecution by govt is a reality.Attempts by political parties to reap benefits from muslim unrest over madani is the most dangerous thing that can happen in a democratic setup. it's high time, political parties refrain from this mass community appeasing measures. such activities have already generated enough contempt to ruin this nation's march towards a secure tomorrow. I wish the judicial system in this country will take up such 'sensitive' issues with adequate 'diligence' and bolster common man's faith in judiciary. otherwise common man might get misguided by the judgements passed by media without any background. it already happened many times recently

Me..

I am on a travel to east and is at Seoul, South Korea. My new role in the company is giving me opportunities to travel and i am happy about it. I want to write more often than today but isn't able to get that 'urge' to write. daily routines in kochi aren't any hectic or time consuming. But every transaction back home is highly 'energy consuming' due to bad infrastructure associated challenges. I am left with almost zero energy by the time I get back home. Weekends are more hetic than weekdays with something or the other. In short, though I am not doing anything significant, i am not able to find time to scribble a few lines. I literally 'dive' to my bed once i am home and is asleep in no time. I plan to be more active in this little space of mine sharing my views on things that 'sensitize' me. while I try my best to remain non judgemental, I fail to do so all the time. whatever judgements I pass in this space are purely emotional and personal. Please don't them take them into account anytime.