My Teachers...

From the title, you might have assumed that this post is about my teachers and what I've learned from them... Unfortunately, no... This post is about the numerous thrashings I've received at the hands of my school teachers.. I'll name just the few that I can recall now.. Almost all of them seem to be from my 8std to 10std...

The one that is etched on my mind is my Maths II teacher in 8th or 9th in SBOA, Coimbatore.. She taught me Geometry and her name was Chitrakala . On that day, I dont remember why (I'm sure I deserved it), but Chitrakala Miss was very angry. She came right to my desk and gave a nice knuckle punch ("Kottu") on my head. I was feeling a little wobbly.. That's when she realized that the red stone (or, maybe it was a little ruby) from her ring had fallen off. She asked me to pick it up even as I was still reeling under the blow delivered a few seconds ago.. As I bent down to pick it up, another wise-ass picked it up and gave it to her before I could. She said "Idiot" and then left.. I know I'm making it sound very brutal.. But believe me, everytime I talk about it, I'm laughing like hell!

Another incident happened around the same time.. Our school was still being constructed at that time and so all big events (Valedictory and Inaguration functions) were held in a makeshift auditorium that was created by removing the tarpaulin sheets that separated one class room from another. As we sat waiting for the chief guest to arrive, we were all talking to each other. You can imagine how loud it must have been when everyone is talking. Our P.T master (his name was Sam Sir) was trying to get people to be silent. But, only the small region he was standing in seemed to take notice of him. That's when he summoned me. Readers, you have to understand how the mind of a school boy worked during those times. I thought that I was being called to be handed down a responsibility (maybe to mind a part of the crowd or maybe even welcome the chief guest or something). So I walked over with so much pride and enthusiasm. As soon as I went and stood near him, I heard a thundering sound. I realized that he had slapped me very hard in front of the whole auditorium. Then, there was silence! Sam Sir shouted out saying that the next person to talk would get a tighter slap. And that he was making an example out of me.. Grrr..

And then I remember the cane/scale shots that I've gotten from other teachers.. Nothing really worth mentioning though..

And this one time, I was playing the 'pen game' (the one you play with Reynolds pens on desks, trying to hit the other guys pen out of the desk in one shot) with my friend Arun Prasad. Right after my shot, I saw from the corner of my eye that our Principal (Mr. Chandramouli) was entering our classroom. I ran and sat in my place. Poor Arun Prasad. He was still trying to work that shot from an angle and was facing away from the door. The Principal pulled him out and slapped him right there.. (and maybe he took him to his office as well.. I forget). I'm sure Arun gave me a piece of his mind when he came back .. Hehehe..

I've studied in 7 schools .. Avila Convent (from when it used to be a co-ed), Carmel Garden , SBOA Matric, Stanes (All in Coimbatore), Boston Matriculation, Adarsh Sr. Sec School (both in Chennai) and Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan's Bhavans Gandhi Vidyashram (Kodaikanal). But strangely enough I don't remember getting hit by my teachers in any of the other schools. Hmmm..

Face of terror

It's been a while since I wrote a blog... However, this post is to vent my frustration and anger at the series of terrorist attacks that happened in Mumbai today...

Right now, I'm feeling a combination of emotions.. Although there's sadness and grief over the unfortunate loss of so many innocent lives, I feel a great sense of anger, frustration, disbelief and hurt. How could this keep happening? Is the government of India really doing anything to prevent this? How long is the government going to be in the reactive mode? Maybe they are doing things, what happened today only proves that it is not enough.

Also, the false sense of pride that the people are very resilent and will withstand any terror attack is only adding to the woes. I can see the news channels showing thousands of people continuing to travel on trains and buses to work tomorrow as if nothing has happened. What they dont realize is that those people do not have a choice. Its not that they are not afraid, just that they can not miss a day's work. Life goes on, they will say... How I hate that term now...

What happened today was also significant because of the openness of the attacks.. How emboldened these terrorists must be to come out in the open and attack innocent people?

Something else that comes to my mind is the continued terrorist attacks in places like Kashmir, NorthEastern states, SriLanka and Pakistan (not to mention Iraq, Afghanistan or the many African countries). It's an almost everyday occurance there and these attacks aren't even front page news for the rest of the world/country. It's almost like no body cares what happens in those places.. What will happen now is that all the countries will condemn this violence and then carry on as usual. In a couple of months, all will be forgotten until another attack like this happens! I wish the Indian government will prove me wrong this time and bring the culprits to justice this time.

Lady with the red spider

A couple of days back, I was waiting in the parking lot of my apartment for a friend to pick me up. He was already late by 10 minutes. I called him and he told me that he'll be outside my house in 5 minutes. And so I decided to sit on the stairs facing the parking lot. (For those wondering why I didnt go back up to my apartment or just wait inside, I injured my leg last month and walking up the stairs is still a pain.)

A few minutes passed. A gentleman from the next apartment complex walked up to me. He seemed to be headed in my direction and I was getting ready moving myself to one side of the stairs to allow him to pass through. He greeted me and I reciprocated. Then, we did some small talk about the weather that afternoon. I also told him I had been waiting for almost 15 minutes for my friend to pick me up.

For ease of understanding, here's the rest of our conversation:

Him: So, you've been waiting for 15 minutes? Did you see a girl with a red spider?
(I was a little confused, I didnt know if I heard him correct)
Me: Excuse me?
Him: I'm waiting for my friend. She's supposed to meet me here.
Me: No. I didnt see anyone like that.
Me: Did you say she had a red spider?
Him: Yeah.

(Silence...)

Right then, a car drove towards us. I saw that it wasn't my friend and so, I looked away. But, the guy I was talking to, turned to me and said that his friend was here and waved a bye-bye and went towards the car. That was when I realized... The color of the car was Red and the model was a 'Toyota Spyder'!!

Vote for ... (2)

Disclaimer: The following is my view on the present political scenario in Tamil nadu. It might not be in conformance with actual ground realities. So, beware :)

Will Vaiyapuri's joining Komalavalli change anything this time in Tamil nadu's assembly elections? Wondering who Vaiyapuri and Komalavalli are? Ofcourse I am talking about our dear Vaiko and Jayalalitha. It was a little while ago that I came to know their real names. My view: Nothing might have changed with respect to poll arithmetic, but it has had an effect on the enthusiasm and confidence levels on either side. It is a little hard to digest that Vaiko can join hands with someone who put him behind bars for almost 18 months. But then, this is politics and in the words of a wise man - "Arasiyal-la idhellam sagajamappa" ( Things like this happen in Politics).

I feel that AIADMK alliance started the campaign with a distinct edge over the DMK alliance. With Vaiko's fiery speeches and Jaya's development plank, their campaign seemed to be reaching the people. But being the shrewd and wise man that he is, Karunanidhi came up with the Rs.2 rice and color TV scheme. Impractical as it may sound, people started to take notice. And the AIADMK camp couldn't ignore this fact. This led to a slew of concessions from each side with Jayalalithaa announcing 10 kgs of free rice and Vijayakanth announcing 15 kgs of free rice through the PDS. It didnt stop there. Vijayakanth has announced a free cow to each household and also Rs. 500 every month to every house-wife. At that point, I felt that the AIADMK alliance was loosing out on the advantage that it held. The DMK alliance seemed to be catching up.

But, in the last 2 days, something else has come up. The news about Dayanidhi Maran allegedly pressuring the Tatas to give Sun TV a stake in the DTH venture that they have started in alliance with the Star network. The newspaper reports say that Maran had blackmailed the Tatas to give up a 33% stake or face consequences. This is a serious charge and as expected Jayalalithaa is bound to exploit this situation. Let's see if this could really change anything.

This election is going to be nail-biter and both the alliances are going to fight to the finish. Let's see what happens. Personally, I am in favor of a 3rd term for Jayalalithaa this time. Let' see....

Vote for ... (1)

Its election time back home in Tamil nadu. Its that time of the year when people will get to see someone they will not see for another five years (Hehehe .. Ofcourse, I was referring to the MLAs).

To me elections are as interesting as the World Cup cricket matches. I'm hooked on to the TV news, newspapers, talk shows and any other source of election news. Many years back, the duo of Pranoy Roy and Vinod Dua would host the election special programmes. They would come up with Pie-charts and statistics interspersed with interviews with politicians. I dont know why and how, but I was somehow very fascinated by all this and the fascination continues to date.

I remember my first experience of voting in an election. There were no voter ID cards at that time. I dont even remember if they asked us for identification. I voted for the DMK and they won. Sadly, that was the last time I voted too. I have been out of Coimbatore ever since.

Elections are a season of surprises and promises. And this election is no different. We have seen some parties walk across alliances like they had a pedestrian crossing between them. Not much effort is needed for people to jump from one side to another. Then, there's the mud slinging among the politicians. If you've ever been to a road side election meeting, you will know what I am talking about. The speakers (mostly ward or block level leaders or sometimes even 'professional speakers') reserve the choicest of words to describe their opponents. And promises... dont even get me started on that. Parties and candidates will promise you the moon. They do it election after election and always seem to get away with it.

Sadly, many people dont care about elections and simply dont vote because they have lost faith in the entire process. To them, the elections are just a farce and feel that it wouldnt really change anything. For many others, its the payback time. They try to get as much out of a candidate in forms of gifts (which range from Biriyani packets to liquor to utensils and clothes). This is their way of getting something out of the candidates who end up robbing them for the next five years.

To be contd... (Have to run now.. Been invited to dinner somewhere :))

Sleepless in Seattle..

How much I tried not to use this title!! I knew that it would be the most banal and hackneyed expression that one could use when living in Seattle. But, I simply couldn't resist it. So, forgive me for that. (Quick update: In the past 6 non-blogging months of my life, I completed my Masters degree, found myself a job with Microsoft and moved to Seattle.)

So, I'm lying in my bed at 1:53 AM on a Thursday morning (technically) and suddenly it occurs to me to write a blog. And here I am. I know for sure that I should be sleeping now and that I'll regret this decision tomorrow when my alarm goes off at 7:30am. A little voice inside me would say-"Couldnt you have slept a little earlier?? Now, your eyes are red, you are going to be sleepy all day and unproductive at work. So, why dont you just sleep for 5 more minutes and then I'll wake you up myself. Dont worry about resetting the alarm, its only 5 minutes, I will wake you up".

And the foolish me will agree and say "Only 5 minutes, okay? Not a minute more". After a extended 5 minute period that happened to last for almost an hour, I would jump out of the bed, curse myself and rush to the bathroom, skip my morning coffee (these days its back to bournvita) and reach work at little after 9:00AM. As I drive to work, I would promise myself that I will be early to bed and early to rise the next day. Nowadays, even I dont believe that when I say it to myself :))

Lotsa things to blog about. Will be back here again soon..


PS: BTW, is anyone still visiting this page?? Guess I'll find out soon :))

Chennai - What is happening?

Chennai as we know is one of the more conservative metros in our country. Somehow, most of us are proud to know that we have managed to retain our culture against the increasing influence of western culture. But over time, I think our politicians have gone overboard by trying to "enforce culture".

A couple of months back I read about the illogical censoring of a Tamil movie that was released almost a year ago. Apparently, it was re-censored because politicians felt that the movie was immoral and was degrading our culture. They protested by felling 50 year old trees on national highways. Incase you hadnt notice, these trees are the real reason for our degrading moral values !! Anyways, thats a different issue altogther. Now, coming to another important issue.

For the last 2 weeks, Chennai was at the center of media attention unfortunately for all the bad reasons. First off, it was actress Khushboo who had to apologize for airing her views on pre-marital sex. Then, it was a 5 star hotel whose license was revoked and had to close because a few party crashing journalists found couples kissing on the dance floor. And lastly, a engineering college student was 'ragged' by his principal and staff for wearing a dark coloured shirt and talking to girls! Blasphemous!!!

As regards to Khushboo's views, I personally dont agree to it and neither do many other people in Tamilnadu. So what? Does that in anyway change her right to say what she wants? Doesnt she live in a country that gives its citizens freedom of speech? I used to think so. But, I am having serious doubts now. So, Khushboo said something and you dont like it. Go ahead and voice your protest. But, burning her effigies? Legal actions? Isnt that going a little too far. We have to understand that different people have different opinions and learn to tolerate views you dont agree with or support.

About closing Park hotel. People, tell me - WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING? Kissing is now crime? That too on dance floors. I think the police and politicians should realize that they have more important things to take care of. Does the police diary read something like this:

1. Capture/Kill Veerappan - DONE
2. Find couples kissing on 5 star hotel dance floors and revoke licenses - DONE
3. ....
4. ....

The couple happened to be guests at a private party. Whats wrong in them kissing each other. Maybe the party crashing journalists should be arrested for trespassing.

Lastly, a student from MNM Jain Engineering college, Chennai was pulled up by his principal for breaching the dress code by wearing a red shirt to college. If you might remember, all engineering colleges under Anna University are bound by 'The Dress Code' which bans T-shirts and jeans. But, this college has taken it to a whole new level by adding additional regulations banning dark colored shirts. Are we in Chennai darkest days?

Seriously people. Something's wrong.