Why Kamal, why?

Okay, I’m a big fan of Kamal Haasan. He’s an incredibly talented actor, plus he’s got all that charisma and charm going for himself. Let’s face it – he is THE MAN.

However, let us set aside the dashing masculine charm that he continues to ooze, and get back to the point about talent. Throughout his career, he has proved his worth as an actor over and over, with movies like Thevar Magan, Nayakan, Thenali, Avvai Shanmugi, Pancha Thantram and Hey Ram (to name a few). He’s already tested his limits by playing four parts in a single movie (Micheal Madan Kamarajan). I think its safe to say that THAT movie was a runaway hit.

Now, 17 years after the release of MMKR, Kamal has come out with movie called “Dasavatharam” in which he plays 10 characters. I think he wanted to prove to the world that he really CAN act. (I assure you sir, we were convinced a long time ago. We really didn’t need this.)

To call the various incidents in this movie a “Plot” or “Storyline” would be a stretch. It supposedly carries “messages encompassing such concerns as the environment, science and faith”. To this, i can only say “It really doesn’t, sorry.”

From the beginning of the film, a series of events begin to unfold out of nowhere. All of a sudden 10 different Kamalahaasans living in various parts of the world start chasing each other with guns, cars, helicopters and fists (kung-fu style). One Kamalahaasan IS George Bush (He doesn’t chase anyone, of course. He merely sends out other Kamalahaasans, who are in the FBI, to chase Kamalahaasan). Meanwhile, there are some Kamalahaasans who are included in the movie merely because they were parked on the side of the road while 2 other Kamalahaasans were chasing each other. Then theres 12th Century Kamalahaasan who was chained to an Idol of Vishnu and then plopped into the ocean. This Kamalahasan appears to have nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the “story”. Other Kamalahaasans worth mentioning are the Safari-suited-Telgu-speaking Kamalahaasan, Singing-dancing-Sikh Kamalahaasan and Social Worker Kamalahaasan. The most important props in the movie are a small metal box containing a vial of a deadly biohazard of some sort (none of the 10 Kamalahaasans has explained what EXACTLY the vial contains) and then theres also the idol of Balaji aka Perumal (not the same idol that 12th century Kamalahaasan was strapped to). There’s also the Tsunami (I’m not going to bother explaining that one).

After pointing out all the ridiculous points of the “plot”, i shall tell you the one thing that saves this movie. KAMALAHAASAN. He’s pulled off the acting bit. He’s captured 10 different characters bueatifully, with prefect voices, accents and various other character nuances. Too bad the plot was non-existent though.

Verdict:
-10/10 for Plot (thats NEGATIVE 10, for all mathematically challenged folks)
9/10 for Makeup
8/10 for Animation etc.
10/10 for Acting (note – this is called a pun)

Thanks to media hype, everyone is going to watch this movie. Thats the sad part. Even though the movie is a completely unnessecary showcase of Kamal’s talent and has the world’s most ridiculous non-plot, everyone is going to watch it.

As a fan of the actor, i can only say that i will forgive Kamalahaasan when he comes out with his next movie (in which, hopefully, he will restrict himself to playing fewer than 10 parts).

psychoactive addictive stimulant of choice – filter kaapi

I love coffee. I am addicted to coffee. On a normal day, i drink upwards of 5 steaming cups. But do not misunderstand me. I am not one of those people – who frequents cafes* and believes that if one goes to a cafe often enough and orders every type of coffee on the menu, one will eventually find a favourite.

Remember Joe Fox’s line from You’ve got mail?

The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.

Being born into a tamil brahmin family in Kochi, South India, this “defining” choice was made for me at birth and I probably started drinking south indian filter kaapi at the age of 2 or 3. Thats right folks, i was hooked to a psychoactive stimulant drug at a very, very young age. It probably explain a lot……. anyway……..

I was very surprised recently, when friends in kerala didn’t know what a coffee filter was! For, in my family, making kaapi is a day-to-day ritual**. (Especially with my grandmum who gets really offended if you walk into the house around 4 in the afternoon and dont go straight to the kitchen looking for your kaapi).

It is my personal opinion that if there is a heaven, its probably coffee brown in colour, smells like freshly roasted and ground coffee. And everyone only drinks filter kaapi, of course.

(Singing the beatles tune – Kaapi in the Sky with Murukku).

_________________________________________
* – Yes, I do visit coffee houses and cafes, but never for their coffee. (I’m sorry – not a fan of ridiculously expensive but equally ridiculously insipid coffee). I always go for the company. Never for the coffee. NEVER.

**-Recipe for Perfection:
We buy freshly roasted and ground coffee poweder (with ZERO percent chickory – i HATE chickory) and prepare decoction using a filter. The filter is usually made of stainless steel and looks like this (these are my grandmum’s):

The scientist in me is itching to explain the workings of this apparatus, so here goes:
The coffee powder (around 3 spoons full) is added to the upper perforated cup of the filter apparatus (which rests on the lower cup). The plunger is places on it gently and then boiling water is added over it. The whole setup is allowed to stand while the piping hot water percolates – slowly and solely by the action of gravity – through the coffee powder. The decoction collects in the bottom cup in about 20 minutes. The decoction is mixed with milk and sugar.
Result – Heaven in a Cup.

Can you smell the distant rains?

Do you love the smell of the first rain? Do you like to sit in a local bus with the shutters up and the droplets of rain in your face? Do you find yourself smiling when your jeans are soaked below the knees? Do you enjoy jumping in puddles? Do you hold that everything becomes “clean” with the first of the monsoon rains? Do you find yourself glancing expectantly at the western horizon, by the end of may, looking for signs of rainclouds?
Are you finding yourself emotionally attached to a weather phenomenon??
Well, it’s time for you to rejoice! The monsoon is here again (here being kerala, of course)!!!

There’s no doubt that people all over india love the monsoon – but we in kerala believe we own the monsoon. we get the first and best share. and it is true, after all, that people in other parts of the country wait for the rains and then complaint about the HEAVY DOWNPOURs after 3 days of minor drizzling and tickling winds. Yea, the rest of india doesn’t deserve to have the monsoon at all! They won’t be able to handle 3 to 4 months of REAL torrential rains. Unlike us, we wait for it and relish it. We take it further too. for, by the end of may, people here smell the air expectantly and make predictions like “It’s going to rain from tomorrow, i can smell it in the distance…..” in a tone of profound wisdom and with a sagacious expression on their features.
(my father made this exact statement two days ago, incidentally. in this case, he was right – the monsoons arrived in kochi the next day………

anyway, my point with this post is………that
-I LOVE THE RAINS!
-I LOVE KERALA! and
-THE RAINS ARE HERE IN KERALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-yaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS::: I have found the most WONDERFUL web album featuring photos of the monsoon in kerala. Click here to check it out.

the breeze from my childhood

theres a breeze that blows around here. you can feel it when you stand at the beach in fortkochi, just after the sun has set. its not chilly, its not warm. its not too gentle and not too strong. for me, its just right. it brings with it the sweet smell of the sea and the faint spray of the surf. bearing the smell of salted peanuts, roasted in sand. of old and mighty manila tamarinds.

the same breeze blew here in my childhood. it makes me touch my knee, instinctively. reaching for the place i’d scraped it again. but my knee is free from scars. i dont fall down so much anymore. i get flashing images of hours, long gone, that we spent playing in the sand and surf. making beleive, making fun, making memories. memories that would never go neglected, as long as i can feel this breeze.

the breeze that blew on me this evening was that same breeze from my childhood. as long as this breeze blows, my home this shall be.

the (little) man in my life

This is a post that i’d have happily written without being asked to. But the truth is, i’m writing it on request.

The most important men in a girls life are always members of her family. I have plenty of those. But the man i’m writing about is the one man in my life that i’sn’t technically “family”. Let me tell you about him….

I was on my way back home the other day – tired & hungry. When my phone rang , i thought it might be gaya3 wanting to swap daily woes. or maybe it was new and proud aunt chips, wanting to brag about her niece’s amazing ability to sleep, burp and mewl. but it was someone else and i was already smiling before i picked up.

i’m talking about raghav. whom i’ve known all HIS life. the guy who’d regularly take his favourite people on overnight trips to pluto. okay…… so sometimes he took us to saturn and neptune too. the guy whos tiny hand i once jammed, simultaneously, in TWO car doors. who used to turn PINK when he cried (when he was a BABY, of course)…. and who’s face now turns pink for other reasons.

after attending his call that day, i caught up with him. and he said “why do you write about usless things like RAIN in your blog…….. you should arite about better things………..”
at this point, i asked him “will it make you feel better if i wrote about you?”
and he told me, very earnestly, that he DID want me to write him. and so, here it is.

if i think about it, raghav’s probably the reason i love babies so much. for, at the age of 5, i came to observe baby raghav closely and i learnt that babies are very easy to amuse, very easy to annoy and very very easy to fool.

i could go on and on about that bum, and reveal loads of compromising secrets from his life. but i wont… not for any righteous resons … but because he knows too many of MY compromising secrets

(Obviously) for raghav. with much love

Rama Navami & Vishu

The Tamil Brahmin Community of Mattancherry (in west kochi) celeberates Sree Rama Navami with much fervour every year. When i looked around for information, i learnt that these celeberations have been held in the same location for 85 years now and that Navami is celeberated with such pomp in very few places in Kerala.

Click here for a write up in THE HINDU, from a few years ago, about the celeberations

Thats nine days of unchivrithi, bhajanai and kacheris – a music lover’s treat.
[What i look forward to, however, is the yummy morsel of prasaadam we recieve after the nightly deeparadanai - chundal, chakkara pongal, kesari, avil ...... and so forth. oh, and of course sadhi on navami and the day after - anjeneyolsavam.]

Navami this year falls on 14th April, which is also the day people all over kerala celeberate as Vishu. Both grand celeberations, which you cant exactly miss out on, if you live where i do.

So, in the time that i’m supposed to be preparing for my final semster exams, i spend my time at the Navami Celeberations or blogging about said celeberations. Oh, well……

HAPPY VISHU, EVERYONE!

talking about poland

malayalam is a language tailor made for sarcasm and satire. storytellers and movie makers have made use of this particular aspect of the language to create some of the most interesting, quirky, heart-wrenching, hilarious and unforgettable narratives.

while people like MT, Padmarajan and an army of others have created a slew of classics, one man stands apart – as the king of malayalam satire, a living legend. his name is sreenivasan. a man who flexes his pen, twists malayalam to his hearts conent – and ultimately exposes the true essence what it is to be a malayali.

allow me to elaborate my point with an example….. it is very easy to understand why shobhana’s “vidamattey?…” and “yaarathu?….” bits from the wonderful Manichithrathazhu are so memorable and so often repeated. but only in malayalam, would you find a line like “Polandine kurichu nee oraksharam mindaruthu, athu enikkishtam alla” (delivered by a very frustrated sreenivasan over his first proper meal in days) receive such undeniable cult status.

[if you haven't heard this line, you haven't seen the
amazing and scathingly satirical gem of a
film called Sandesham. so, SHAME ON YOU!!]

Now, if you ask me exactly what the “essence of being a mallu” is…… i’d find it hard to explain. i guess its a mix of acid sarcasm, good humour, strong political views, unbridled cynicism, gossip and boundless wit. Or as a friend pointed out – all things mallu have one trait in common: they thrive on self-criticism. That is exactly what sreenivasan has learnt to capture, time and again, in his work.

They say that the best way to learn a language is to watch movies made in it.
So, If you want to learn malayalam…. watch the classics.
But, if you want to learn to be a malayali…. watch sreenivasan.

It’s a hard life……

If you’re reading this, theres a 50% chance that you are a software engineer or a management blah-blah.

If you are neither, i love you, i just want you to know that. Also, if you are neither – theres a 100% chance that you know a software engineer or a management blah-blah. This means that you have on more than one occasion sat at a table and nodded along to a conversation invloving the “policies of XYZ Bank”, “Priority Accounts” and of course how they’re aaalll screwing you for your money. All the while you’re wondering what these “policies” and “accounts” are.

It’s terribly sad to watch an IT guy sit with you, his pocket full of cash, and crib about his job. Theres two reasons for that:
1. The IT guy is a nice guy. He deserves to have his pocket full AND be happy with his.
2. He doesn’t deserve to crib about anything. Coz the truth is, he probably wouldn’t survive a single week if he were, say, a scientist.

The thing about being a scientist is, your have no money and therefore no “Priority Account”. You can sleep sound at night knowing that no one is screwing you for your money. The other thing about being a scientist is, under the right circumstances, you can play around with a lot of cutting edge equipment. LITERALLY, play around with it. You learn to laugh, wait patiently and most importantly make the most of what you have.

On a public holiday, when theres no place in a 2 Kilometer radius that serves (affordable) lunch, someone with a “Priority Account” will order a meal from someplace – causing a minor dent in their aforementioned account. A scientist, meanwhile, has already planned for a rainy day such as this. He whips out his bag of rice, cooks it on nothing more than an electric coil on a lab work-bench and orders curry out. What he ends up with is a delicious feast of adi-pidicha choru, sambar, meen-currie, kakka-fry, thairu and achar – all shared over fits of laughter with friends.

Which meal do you prefer?

This one is for scientists and soldiers.

When it rains, it pours……

Temperatures have been rising around here for a while. No surprises……
But boy was I in for one on friday morning. I woke up on the first of Meena maasam (considered the hottest month of the year) to an unbridled downpour. Felt like it was june already.

Anyway, I rushed over to campus, since we were hosting a National Seminar that day. took this snap in a hurry, on my way in.

Didn’t turn out so badly……..

I remember, the place pretty much looked like this the first time I walked into those gates. that was almost two years ago. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was doing with my life back then. I still don’t have a clue, mind you. But at least life’s fun now. And when people ask me “what i’m doing with my life” i’ve learnt to bullshit my way through the conversation and then deftly change the topic.

Half baked entries and vicious cycles

Haven’t posted anything for a while. this is not for the lack of topics or ideas. but the lack of motivation and energy to develop them into interesting blog entries. And so, i have 3 half-done entries lying in my “drafts” folder. hey, theres three of them….. at least they wont be lonely.. (?)…

anyway, what’s on my mind at the moment is this:
WHY IS IT that you suddenly fall in love with things, places and people when you realize that you’ll soon part from them?
It’s such a depressing cycle……… it takes forever for you to warm up to something. and by the time you do, it gets taken away from you. that space gets filled by something else…….. and again, you take forever to warm up to it.
i hate this cycle. HATE IT!

not everyone goes through this cycle, i suppose… maybe its just me?

those other people who are all warmed up from the get-go – how happy they must be…. how lucky they are……i hope they know…

currently listening to Mukesh. (KAHIN DOOR from the movie ANAND)