Episodes From An Uneventful Life

Only For Die Hard Rajini Fans.......

2006-07-26T11:44:00.001+08:00

Rajinikanth was bragging to Jayalalitha one day, "You know, I know everyone there is to know. Just name someone, anyone, and I know them." Tired of his boasting, Jayalalitha called his bluff, "OK, Rajini how about Tom Cruise?" "Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it" Rajini said. So Rajini and Jayalalitha fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise's door, and sure enough, Tom Cruise shouts "Thalaiva! Great to see you!". Although impressed, Jayalalitha is still skeptical.

After they leave Cruise's house, she thinks Rajini knowing Cruise was just lucky. "No, no, just name anyone else" Rajini says. "President Bush", Jayalalitha quickly retorts. "Yes", Rajini says, And off they go. At the White House, Bush spots Rajini on the tour and motions him, saying, "Rajini, what a surprise, I was just on my way to a meeting". Well, Jayalalitha is very shaken by now, but still not totally convinced!

After they leave the White House grounds, she expresses his doubts to Rajini who again implores her to name anyone else. "The Pope", Jayalalitha replies. "Sure!" says Rajini. So off they fly to Rome. Rajini and Jayalalitha are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Rajini says, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go upstairs and I'll come out on the balcony with the Pope." And he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican. Sure enough, half an hour later Rajini emerges with the Pope on the balcony. But by the time Rajini returns, he finds that Jayalalitha had a Heart Attack and is surrounded by paramedics.

Working his way to Jayalalitha's side, Rajini asks her, "What happened?"Jayalalitha looks up and says, "I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the man next to me said, Who's that on the balcony with Rajini?"

Paris..Paris...Paris

2006-07-05T09:32:00.000+08:00

Paris is one place I loved immensely. Here are some pictures from my trip...

Mission Accomplished

2006-06-21T13:32:00.000+08:00

Yessssssssssss! I (finally) DID IT. Yeah, I got my driving license on 16 June 2006. No words in my limited vocabulary could clearly tell you how I feel. The efforts yielded the fruit only after several months of practise and two failed attempts. During which, I was wondering, with a sense of self doubt, if I was cut out for driving. Abrupt lane changes, improper braking, yellow boxes, dragging on low gears, use of unappropriate gear, sharp turn, wide turn, not signalling intention, failing to turn off signal, failing to overtake when needed, improper positioning of car in a junction, letting the car roll back (less than a meter) when on a slope. You name it, and I have done it. I was perhaps my instructor's nightmare.

All this after having some driving experience in India. :(

Anyway, its all over and I am a qualified driver now. :) I look at the "L" boards and can't help but smile and think "been there-done that". I simply can't wait for my baby Vios to come my way.

Most and Least Courteous Cities

2006-06-21T09:44:00.000+08:00

The Reader's Digest has conducted a survey in 36 cities around the world to determine the most and least courteous cities. Here are the findings.

I haven't been to most cities listed out there, but there were a few surprises among the places I have been to and how I thought they might fare in this survey (No surprises when it comes to Mumbai). I personally thought Bangkok would find a place in one of the most courteous cities (at least on par with Paris) and also that KL would be ranked above Singapore.

What is more disturbing is that no Asian city managed to cross the 50% mark. Do we really lack courtesy? Or is that we don't fit into the definition of courtesy tailored for the western nations?

The Place To Be...

2006-05-30T13:22:00.000+08:00

Looks like it is not just me who is haunted by questions from the kids. ;)

A Question That Haunts Me...

2006-05-19T10:53:00.000+08:00

After a day of meetings, which never went as scheduled and planned, I reached home exhausted. As usual, I resorted to my three year old daughter to cheer me up. During the conversation she asked me a question, which left me dumbfounded. I had expected her to come up with this question, but never expected that she would throw this question at this tender age.

"Mom and Dad, why is that I am dark, while all my friends (in her play group) are fair?" She asked. I was shocked and still wondering what I should answer. We just diverted her attention, which is perhaps a wrong parenting method, but the question created an uncomfortable feeling. Is she starting to feel inferior to other kids? Would this affect her personality?

Any idea, how should I deal with this issue? Remember, she is only three years old.

And The Mighty Fall .....

2006-05-16T16:48:00.000+08:00

During the recent elections in TN, Lok Parithran caused quite a buzz (atleast) among the bloggers. The elites from LP were hailed as "God Sent Messiahs" to uproot the Dravidian movement in TN. However, there were a handful who believed that the LP folks are not taking politics seriously. Your's Truly happens to be one among them (read the comments section). I strongly believed that the LP folks were looking for "divine intervention" and were not bent towards creating history by sheer hard work and commitment.

This post by Roza Vasanth vindicates the opinion of Yours Truly and also other bloggers.

Rajini's "Voice" and Elaboration Likelihood Model

2006-05-10T10:21:00.000+08:00

Selvan has this interesting analysis in Nilacharal this week. In it he has tried to analyze, using a Elaboration Likelihood Model, if Rajinikanth’s “voice” would have affected the course of the recent elections in Tamil Nadu. According to him, the model suggests that celebrity endorsements might do wonders to matters which are processed through the “peripheral route” (non-critical matters are processed through peripheral route). On the other hand, celebrity endorsements are not required to make an impact on critical issues processed by the “central route”. That’s why, he tells us, we have celebrity endorsement for soaps, tooth pastes etc (classified as non critical) and none for hospital advertisements/ real estates etc. (critical issues). So far so good.

Now, he went on to extend it to the current election in Tamil Nadu. The election in TN during 1996, 1998 or 2004 were all dictated by popular public sentiment (in favor of or against the ruling party). Thus they were processed through the central route and Rajini’s “voice” might not have had any impact on the voting public. However, according to him, the 2006 assembly election is considered as one without any “waves” and no party seems to have won the undivided support from the voting public. Thus, should Rajini had aired his voice, it might have had an impact on the voter and turn the elections in favor of those whom he might support.

This is the part I don’t accept on two counts.

1) The voter’s turnout has hit a record high in TN. The 70.22% voters turnout in the current election is the highest turnout in the past two decades. So is the assumption that the election remained “non-critical” by the author isn’t valid. With the fundamental premise of the explanation shown to be wrong, the whole theory built on and around it shatters like a house of cards.

2) Secondly, people who are in the later 20’s and above might have got a chance to watch a advertisement by the health ministry concerning the polio vaccination. In Tamil, it was narrated by Rajinikanth (At that point of time, rumors were abound that one of Rajini’s daughters was affected by polio, and hence he decided to do the advt for free to create the awareness). After the release of the advertisement, which was shown on TV and Movie theaters, the children vaccinated for polio increased manifold. This, without any exaggeration, led to the near eradication of polio in TN. Coming back to the elaboration likelihood model, don’t people take the well being of children as a critical issue? And if so, being a central route processed matter, why did the celebrity endorsement prove fruitful in this matter?

Thus, in my opinion, the Elaboration Likelihood Model has its own limitation and cannot be applied to any issue, like any other theory, without due consideration.

A Special Day ?!

2006-04-26T12:50:00.000+08:00

A forwarded email, I just received, suggests that two minutes and three seconds after the clock strikes one am on 4th of May 2006 is gonna be a special day. As the time and date would read as follows: 01:02:03 AM 04/05/06 (BTW, Americans had their moment on the same time on the 5th of April 2006).

I still recall how a Tamil Newspaper had a news on the front page about how significant the date 08/08/88 was. What a crap? To me, every second in our lives is precious as we would never, ever, see the second that just ticked away gleefully.

But still, I can't awe at how people manage to find such "special" moments.

Take home message? Well, enjoy every moment, for they would be gone for ever.

The Labor...

2006-04-20T11:08:00.000+08:00

What is the role of a typical Indian husband when his wife is in labor? Well, from what I gather from the movies, he walks up and down along the corridors of the maternity ward until the nurse/doctor arrives to crack the news about the new born, enquires about his wife and if he could go in to see the mom and the kiddo, rushes in, looks at the weary wife and the newborn, sits by the battered wife's side, gently caresses her messy hair, perhaps plants a kiss on her forehead, and begins to answer questions from his wife on whom the kid resembles (not knowing the fact that it is beginning of a serious argument in the future and that’s another story). Well, that was in the movies. In my opinion, in real life, most husbands assume, more or less, similar roles.

I think its time for Indian men to gather courage and stay put in the maternity ward and sees what troubles his wife goes through to pop the baby. To see your wife struggle with the pain is some heart breaking moment, but it might be an experience, which would last the life time.

The contractions, cervix examination by the mid wives/docs, rupture of water bag, monitoring of the baby's heartbeat through the mother's vagina, epidural procedures, and the wailing baby. After witnessing all this, I think no male would say women are weaker sex. To be honest, watching all these things only left me weak and emotional and on the contrary my wife, taking into account the hardship of the labor, was quite energetic. I was struggling for words, amidst a few drops of tears, when my wife asked me how the baby is, and she assumed there was something wrong with the baby and that is why I was speechless.

Well, now I have a பிரசவ வைராக்கியம் too. ;)

PS: Folks, don’t start congratulating me for having a new born in my household. It was just a recollection of my experiences being in the maternity ward along with my wife throughout the labor. I wrote this post after reading posts like those your find here, here and here.

PPS: And to those inquisitive few, who might question if I stood by my wife's side on my own choice, my answer is "hehehehe"

On Mr. Sarath Kumar's Decision...

2006-04-18T16:55:00.000+08:00

Mr. Sarath Kumar, actor, has quit the DMK to join its political rival AIADMK. Sarath blamed family politics as the reason for feeling suffocated in the party and hence the decision to join AIADMK. In addition, he claimed that it was the courage and valor that the Chief Minister had displayed attracted him to the party. The Chief Miniter on her part, had termed the move as the right one at the right time, though it had been a little late.

I don't have any problem with Sarath joining AIADMK, or any party for that matter. But there is something strange that is bothering me. Sarath had sent a letter to Mr. M. Karunanidhi on 9th April that he is quitting the party, and his decision to join AIADMK was announced on 17 April and resigned the Rajya Sabha MP post only on the morning of 17 April. Why didn't he choose to quit the post when he had decided to quit the party on 9 April 2006? What kept him clinging on to the MP post even after resigning from the party which had nominated him for the same? It seems like he had given some room for negotiations and awaited assurances. When that didn't happen, he decided to switch camp.

Well, contradicting himself isn't new to him. In the letter he sent to the DMK chief, he says that his caste people felt neglected when he wasn't given due credit in the party or in the union government. And when signing off, he went on to say that he would strive to create a casteless society.

Well, what else can I say but that I see an amateur politician in Sarath Kumar. I would say that Captain Vijaya Kanth is far better than this person who would be known for his political volte-face in the history of TN politics.

This Day, That Age

2006-04-13T09:04:00.000+08:00

My Dad always had a memory attached to every single object in our house, factory or any matter that araised in our day today lives. Like a price tag that accompanies the stuff we buy, anything and everything had a story behind. "Gold prices touch all time high" the newscast will scream and my Dad will go "I bought one soverign of gold for 64 rupees for your aunt's marriage". His Dad he never saw/remembered, first English teacher, how he was adamant about being photographed together with his newly wed elder sis and drew the ire of his bro-in-law, boarding school experiences, St. Joseph's and Loyola college days, oil fired oven, and a lot lot more. It was like the famous "This day, That Age" column in "The Hindu". To be honest, I wasn't exactly a fan of such memoirs of my Dad. But I got to hear a lot of that stuff as I was , briefly, working for him.

Yesterday, like a bolt from the blue, it struck me that I did inherit that very same gene from him (well, lets not get into that nature/nurture argument). While watching some movie song on the TV, without realizing and much to my horror, I found myself telling my better half the details of how me and a group of friends braved the hostel rules to watch a late night show of the movie. After giving it much thought, I found that any incident in my life could trigger the downpour of memories from the past.

Have I become my Dad? Have I become old??????

The Gospel of Judas Iscariot

2006-04-10T09:48:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I watched the sensational documentary on the Gospel of Judas on the National Geographic channel. It details how an ancient papyrus text was found and researched upon to reveal an explosive and controversial account on why Judas "betrayed" Jesus Christ. According to the newly emerged gospel, Judas betrayed Jesus only as Jesus insisted on it. Jesus found that Judas to be the right person to "sacrifice the soul in the cloth of the body". To put it all in a nut shell, the gospel claims that it isn't appropriate to brand Judas as a traitor. Jesus was a willing partner to the "conspiracy".

Experts say that the document isn't a fake and it does belong to 180 AD. Some researchers suggested that the Judas gospel only points to the fact that early Christianity had several such diverse groups, and many texts (read gospels) were destroyed by other factions in order to have a unified scripture. I was only reminded of the best seller "DaVinci Code".

Leave the contents of the gospel aside. It is indeed a mammoth task to authenticate, conserve and to translate the papyrus document (66 pages, written on both the sides, and many missing fragments) which was almost lost. The two hour documentary was simply one of the best documentaries (bear in mind, my tiny weeny brain) I have watched.

Should you get a chance to watch it, WATCH IT.

I also eagerly await the Vatican's response to this newly emerged gospel. Time alone will tell, if the histories will be rewritten.

Absurdity of English?

2006-04-07T10:37:00.000+08:00

Okay folks, enuff of Captain bashing. I seriously think I ought to relax now and gear up should there be any more posts supporting him. hehehehehe kidding. Anyway, here is something that I got through a forwarded email. I am sure it has been around for a while and yet I loved it.

After the weekend, we shall meet.
Shall meet.
Meet.

(I hope every one knows the origin of this punch dialogue)

Enjoy folks. And if possible come up with something like that for Tamil. I will do my part too.

Absurdity of English

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
yet hat in the plural would never be hose,and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
but though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.

We take English for granted.
But if we explore its paradoxes, we find thatquicksand can work slowly,
boxing rings are square,
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
grocers don't groce
and hammers don't ham?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but oneof them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking Englishshould be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.

We have noses that run and feet that smell.

And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a languagein which your house can burn up as it burns down,
in which you fill in a form by filling it out,and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

So if Father is Pop, how come Mother isn't Mop And if Mum is Mummy, then Daddy must be Dummy!!

Why Should I Vote For Vijayakanth?

2006-04-05T14:42:00.000+08:00

TBR Joseph has posted a message from Vaa. Manikandan on why we should vote for Vijayakath (VK). I decided to take a look at what warrants a vote for him. Here is some stuff, which my tiny weeny brain throws up:

Firstly, I dont agree with voting for change. "Vote based on merit" is the right slogan. Vote for the right candidate irrespective of his party affiliations. That is how we become a responsible society.

On the other hand, how can you expect any change from a person who is merely following footsteps of the DMK and AIADMK? We would rather vote for the original instead of the duplicate. Here are some actions of his, which clearly shows he isn't any different from the other politicians we have around us.

a) He talks so much about வாரிசு அரசியல் and yet he has got the cheek to field in his own brother-in-law in the elections. VK might have been actively involved in politics in his yesteryears, but that doesn't make his brother-in-law eligible to run for elections. Or, does it??

b) Why the hell he needs MGR's vehicle for campaigning? What value does it add to him or his policies? If he really believes TN people deserve a change, for heavens sake, let him save us all from such gimmick.

c) Looks like his think tanks (read dialogue writers) have run out of imagination. Recently VK questioned Union Minister Maran's announcement that all calls within India would be charged Re. 1. He went on to ask why didnt the minister bother to make calls within TN cheaper (like 25 paise) . Well, VK, its time you ask those chaps to wake up to reality and write some meaningful speech.

d) It is not without a reason that they say "Tell me your friends, I will tell who you are". One needs some individuals who can think as trusted lieuntilents, be it politics or business. Does VK have any one? Panruti Ramachandran has been clearly sidelined and VK never allows the limelight to fall on this old man, who might be an able administrator. It is exactly for that reason, I would say MK is better than JJ.

So, men and women, think before you vote. Life isn't like a movie, where in a single song bit you can bring a hell lot of change. Its high time VK and his fans realize it.

Celebrities and their ways...

2006-03-29T15:12:00.000+08:00

Singer Lata Mangeshkar threatens to leave Mumbai if the Maharastra government goes ahead with their plans to build a fly over on Peddar Road. The government claims that the fly over is the only solution to ease the traffic jams in the area. Well, I am not too sure if the Governments claim is valid as Mumbai and Rocket Science are synonymous to me. It also seems that the Public Works Minister plans to meet her personally and explain why the government would go ahead with this project. And to top it all, the proposal was shelved in 2001 by the instence of Lata and Asha. I can't stop from asking my self the following questions:

Arent all citizens in India to be treated equally? Are these people, the celebrities, above the law of the land?

What would have happenned had the affected people were common folks instead of Lata and Asha?

Do such people deserve Bharth Ratna?

Fan Furor- A Blessing in Disguise for Rajini

2006-03-27T14:39:00.000+08:00

Superstar Rajinikanth distancing him from TN politics and this has evoked unwanted reactions among his fans. Poor him. He seldom expected that his carrot stick trick would back fire and he would stand there, exposed. At least a section of his fans, if not all, did have/had political aspirations. They dreamt big. One can’t blame them. TN politics seemed to revolve around Rajini in the 90’s and they enjoyed the limelight and moments of fame. As they always say, it all didn’t last for long. They felt that they were overtaken by Vijaykanth. Some still held hope that he would plunge into politics. But Gods seemed to have no mercy for this frustrated lot. Rajini’s no-no for politics came as a bolt from the blue. There are some reports, from sections of press, that he might reconsider his decision and align himself with AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa. If true, this is certainly an attempt to appease those fans, who are up in their arms. But, I believe, the damage has been done. Reports also suggest that he is worried about how these upraise shall affect his movie “Sivaji” and hence he is planning some truce.

These turn of events are perhaps a blessing in disguise for him and a one in a life time offer by the Gods he chose to believe. Its high time Rajini realizes that fans alone can’t guarantee the success of his movie. If so, his Baba, Pandiyan, Uzaipali, and (little known) Blood Stone should have fared extremely well at the box office. Perhaps, its time for him to make his aspirations clear and continue experimenting with his acting (I do believe that he has a good actor in him) skills, widen his horizons and prove to his fans (or ex-fans) that he would continue to reign the tinsel town with them/ with out them.

The Wall Theory

2006-03-23T13:03:00.000+08:00

Among several theories that are floated amongst us, I stumbled upon a new one. Wall Theory. It describes the difference between the friendship pattern between Americans and people for other countries. It is an interesting read and thus it ends up here. I havent worked with Americans before, so can you folks shed some light on the validity of this theory?

Here is the text from Cornell Universities Students and Scholars Office Website:

Americans are often very friendly and helpful to people that they do not know well, and they may also be more open in what they talk about than people from many other countries. This can be confusing to someone who comes from a country where people are initially more reserved. An international student may also feel that Americans are superficial or are not good friends when this initial friendliness does not continue as friendship. A model of friendship referred to by Margaret Pusch, president of the National Association of International Educators, may help us understand some of the differences. Sometimes known as the "wall theory," it describes two patterns of friendship: one American and one found in many other countries.

The American pattern (Pattern shown on your left hand side) shows how Americans are initially very friendly and open: as symbolized by the first wall being very low. However, American values stress privacy and independence, and the walls become higher and higher before one reaches the stage of a good friendship (represented by the Xs in the center of the diagram). Thus, many international students are very happy when the American they meet is so friendly and open. However, when the American does not continue to act in a way that the international student expects of a friend, the international student is disappointed and confused. They may sometimes conclude that Americans are superficial and do not really know how to be friends. What the international student may not realize is that they have not yet reached the stage of being good friends with the American: they need to go over some "higher walls" before reaching the center and a good friendship.

Alternatively, Americans living in a country where people are more reserved and not as initially friendly as in the US, may sometimes become discouraged about ever making friends in that country: they may feel that people in their host country are very unfriendly.
When meeting people from other countries, it may be helpful to be aware that ways of getting to know someone may be different in different countries, and to try to avoid making judgments about the people of that country.

Inspirational quotes at the expense of truth?

2006-03-22T15:43:00.000+08:00

Few months back, when I was traveling on a train I read this so-called inspirational quote.

“Never shy away from trying something new. Remember, the Ark (of Noah) was built by amateurs and the Titanic by professionals”

I don’t dispute the first sentence but the second one seems like it is true. But the second, in my opinion, isn’t completely wrong, presents a skewed truth. If one were to gather the statistical data on the performances of amateurs versus professionals in ship building, am sure the facts would be out.

Similarly, we get to read several inspiring, heartwarming and sensational stories circulated through email. An over-enthusiastic and patriotic friend of mine forwards email containing information on why I should be pleased to be an Indian (eg. University bound Indian student disproves Einstein’s theory). I have also read such posts on some blogs. I think, we become laughing stock when someone who knows the truth gets to read such concoction.

This site has a long list of such e-rumors. Check it out and have fun.

Reversal of Roles

2006-03-20T14:46:00.000+08:00

Somehow, I don’t like myself being assessed (Agreed, in scientific lingo, am internally inconsistent. Or else why should I let the readers assess my blabbering at BlogDesam???). Like it or not, assessments and the subsequent judgments have been a way of life for most of us. Am no exception.

In a typical case of reversal of roles, the hunted became the hunter. Recently, out of the blue, I was requested to assess someone’s thesis. And the thesis was authored by one of my lecturers. Do I need to add that am elated?

Answers...

2006-03-01T12:30:00.000+08:00

When I left to work today, I got an answer for a question that has been lingering in my mind for quite sometime. Just like that and in a snap of a second. To my surprise, I haven't been thinking about it for the past few days. Am I pleased? Not really..It only left me thinking how scheming some people where and how I had been exploited. Somehow, I think the answer simply spoiled my day :(

First Step Towards Blogging

2006-02-15T15:46:00.000+08:00

This is my first step towards the blogshpere.