A calender at peace.

I don't consider myself to be a writer. Writing demands tremendous amounts of patience and research; qualities which are not on the top of my strengths. But you have to admit not may of the writers do in fact have these qualities in them. I rather consider myself to be a voracious reader capable of devouring the likes of Frederick Forsyth, Tom Clancy, Shakespeare and Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in a single sitting. Few books compel me to return to them again and again. Those that do have a demanding storyline or intricate plots or compelling characters. Most of the books that don't usually end up as a permanent fixture on my bookshelf gathering dust until i return to them on a really really rainy day.

I was pleasantly surprised to be handed a book by a friend; considering that he hates reading; it came as quite a surprise. My first thought of "A Calendar Too Crowded" by Sagarika Chakraborty (aka the-sea-saga to those on twitter) was that it probably one of those books written about India and its ills designed to sell well in the west and hopefully pull in an award or two. But in this case I was wrong .It was different and thoroughly enjoyable. Conveyed the same thoughts to the author and so here i am with the review.

In a world obsessed with celebrating a 24 hour period to some cause; women i discovered seem to have the most days named after them. But this in not a Hallmark card celebration we read through. It portrays the struggle to be a women. Born as the wrong sex, covering up the beatings, handling the emotional baggage, haggling over dowry and the final abandonment for some unfortunate souls. The book is not a shocker per se; we all knew these things happen but didn't move a muscle. The book has a way of celebrating or rather exposing the truth we didn't want to know through a weaving narrative. It connects random days on the calender to events and people seemingly unconnected. Is this just another feminist rant? I began to think after turning through a few pages. It isn't in fact the effect is more sublime as the rest of the book proved. You didn't see anything but the thought stays with you for ever.

I think what stands out is that there is no cliche being exploited. It does not ask the reader to use the death ray on all the evil doers nor does it want tears for the victims. The book asks no questions nor provides any answer. Its just brings out the truth that you knew existed but did not want to acknowledge. 

"What do we do now" asked the small voice from my right cerebral cortex after reading the entire book ? The answer came surprisingly from my left cerebral cortex "The beginning of change" the new voice said now gaining boldness "should be small; in every home; in every family". Perhaps that is what the author wanted. A tiny voice awoken to the world.

This will be a well thumbed well worn edition standing proud along my literary greats and not just gather dust on my bookshelf.I wouldn't dare to name a particular story as my favorite although quite a few do stand out or rather poke my conscience once in a while.

A great read, my lady Sea Saga; if i may address you as such. Awaiting more....

The missing link in evolution

Ha. I bet you thought I was going to give a lengthy discourse on darwin and his theories. Guess again I am talking automobile evolution.

Ever since the first man learned to put a set of wheels together, the aim has been for better and faster. From the humble bicycle to the awesome bugatti veyron we love the thrill on wheels.

In this mechanical evolution there has been the in betweens. Contraptions that still have vestigial remains of a bike and have not yet evolved into a four wheeler. I refer to the missing or rather incomplete link in terms of automobile evolution the humble autorickshaw.

I am sure indians everywhere have this vehicle firmly engraved into their psyche. From a very young age the auto or rick or tuk-tuk as it is known in some countries is an integral part of travel lore for every indian.

Of late however having travelled across some of the southern parts of the subcontinent I like to think of the rick as a creature which cannot accept its two wheeler nature but aspires to be a car. With the advent of diesel and lpg versions available autos have taken on the personalities of their jungle creatures.

The chennai auto (auto aevalum) is adept at stalking its prey from afar. With a sly charm you are unwittingly led into its innards where the driver traps you in his web of fares. Three autos to the same destination have often charged three different rates. You know what they say the prepaid the better. Since lawlessness prevails on the roads these creatures fit perfectly into urban jungle.

Kerala autos have evolved into three sub species. The north auto (auto decentus) the central auto (auto violentus) and the south auto (auto whatthef@kus).

The auto decentus is mainly found roosting in the kozhikode kannur and kasargode districts. Its quite
easy to spot them. Well behaved meter specific fares are its identifying characteristics. Coupled with a spate of exterior protrusions and interior design that would put dc design to shame. Be it night or day rates are what's on the meter nothing more nothing less. Change too is tendered exactly.

Auto violentus is is usually found hanging around the railway and bus stations of cochin and surrounding districts. Woe to the man who asks for meter fare or who dares to argue with such a creature. One will receive a hitchhikers guide to the choicest abuse in malayalam.and then some.

auto whatthef@kus is very prevalent in the capital and surrounding districts. Meters are considered to be appendages which give you a guideline to the fact that the wheels do turn after all. Fare is calculated as the square of the circumference of the distance travelled and adding a factor of ten if the passenger if from out of state.

But I guess that these living fossils still carry some practical value. What that is I am still to find out.

Ad Diem and then some

Hey yaaal the more I want to write this blog the more I am drawn away on various pretexts. Moi has been thinking a lot these days on why people are so grumpy. Why shouldn’t they be I hear a lot of people say.  After extensive research or rather a lot of unsaturated thought I think it has to do with a daily habit most of us been doing for eons. It’s the simple news paper.

Who reads the news paper these days u say? Consider this the top three news papers in any region cover 100% of the people. That is a great force. When an average human gets up in the morning he is in a positive frame of mind. Ok 90% of the time you are. Bear with me here I am trying to prove a point. Now that positive frame is completely destroyed by the time he finishes reading his daily paper. Why u ask? Have u seen the latest papers. The front page and in fact most of the paper is only covering crime and violence. They (by they I mean all those media hounds who dare ask the burn victim what his favorite food is) would have you believe that the whole world id full of criminals. Take any day the front page is all blood and gore. Somebody killed somebody else. Somebody was violated, someone was robbed and u pause and think what is the world come to today and with it comes the background tone.”“Hmmm the youth of today in my day blah blah blah”

Why does the media do this why cant all this gore go on the second page or deeper inside and put some feel good stories on the front page. Then maybe the guy reading it (my apologies to the feminist crowd when I mean guy I mean everybody for me chairman means the head of the company and has nothing to do with absence or presence of facial hair so there.) will feel a little better about himself and the world in general. Hey I already get tensed and wrung at work give me some peace at least till I get there huh.

As my friend the crown prince of sarcasm would say “just stop reading then!” Ya easier said than done. They are in your face on TV on the net everywhere. And I have had it with panel discussions. What’s the point in some crazy nuts belonging to various party hues saying that parents can prevent their kids going astray and that the earth is round? Hello! Tell me something I don’t know.

But on the lighter side I follow the Kerala parliament proceedings. Real funny bunch we elected to govern us. It seems that the only reason they agree is to disagree. And what’s worse they are getting paid for it. With my hard earned money. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Ok our money but its more fun in the singular. If these guys were studying in prep they would have got solid thrashings from the head but alas no such luck for us. 

Spare a thought for the Kerala police force; a thankless job I am sure it is. Everybody under the sun is ready to beat them up. (whether in uniform or not according to some voice box)). But hats off to you I have heard from a little bird that the crime solving rate is on of the highest in the world. We salute u…

For those who haven't seen a black hole here it is

Stopping my diatribe here for now….. Starting next week the search for the perfect American Chopsuey your suggestions are welcome.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Whats in a name

Dearios,
Nice change of scenery since the last time i blogged. Worlds a better place i got married the kidz a year old and whats more its gettin hotter by the day. My job well i'm still in the same job i was wheni wrote my last blog, but thankfully i do have a job it being recession time and all.

A penny for my thoughts if that were true i would be richer than the dude from brasil. well here i am and do hope to keep at it regularly.....

I hear u LOUD and CLEAR

Hey hey hey, and the gold medal in the Tomz matrimonial Olympics goes to..... my angel whose doin her masters in technology. real brainy bird this one.

Whaddya know . after all those tea ceremonies I've hit the jackpot. makes u kinda wonder what gives a traditional arranged marriage like this a better success rate than a love marriage.

I don't know; its my 1st experience at love and all that; and boy is it exhilarating. the pulse on fire, the heart a poundin...totally cool man. whoever discovered this deserves a Nobel prize.

Finaaly the wedding bells are ringing loud and clear and come august i will be joining the albeit silent married majority of men. Here's to love and marriage................

Life sucks but so do leeches.

Ha i cant imagine what i have been doin all this while. Blogggin had my fancy but then caught up in this whirlwind of work; guess i kind of forgot about it.

Work; thats a word i could hate . Its not what i wanted to do . I want to travel the world, write a few books and find the true meaning of fettucini. Bah i am just another one of the many in the rat race. I remember a saying that even if u come first u are still a rat. Man what a life.

Been reading a few books lately, a few by Paul Coelho, Robin Sharma, Tom Clancy not to mention my fav Fredrick Forsyth & Jeffrey Archer. I found a new luv he goes by the name of Follet; Ken Follet. This guy unlike my Fredrick does not grip me by the edge of the seat. Its more of a subtle, deeper, meaningful dialogues as if one were talking to a etheral spirit. Makes u kind of wonder .

The last book i read was Pillars of the Earth; and man it was mavellous. Unlike the smooth tapestery of a Archer or a well researched bordering on reality Forsyth or Clancy this was a shower of paint with each color giving a more richer tone to the whole canvas.

Beautiful would be an understatement