Noun
S: (n) Kamalism (A pleasure obtained from ESOS - Extreme Self Obsession Syndrome (physical or psychological))
Sometime back , i felt bad about being opinionated about everything in life(எதுக்கு எடுத்தாலும் ஒரு கமெண்ட் , ஒரு suggestion :-)).I was telling my wife that it was reflecting even in my posts."After all , that is what the blogs are all about", pat came the reply.
Come to think of it , yes , that is right. It is just like a diary and nobody is going to question me on the authenticity or lack of imagination of it, Other than swearing that is( can't help it);-). With that confidence, here i am penning my opinion yet again about one more thing in the world.
I got a chance to watch Dasavatharam in DVD and how glad i am that i did not take the pain to go to the movie hall to watch it.
Self respect is good and must for everyone. Self love is a little bit more of the same. There is a nice phrase in Japanese for this- "Jibun Daisuki". I guess every human being would naturally crave to be the center of attraction for sometime at least. As my friend said once about me too.;-) But when it goes to the extreme, we can name it as Kamalism or Dasavatharam. Simply put, "இழவு வீட்ல நான் பிணம் ; கல்யாண வீட்ல நான் மாப்பிள்ளை " (If it is a funeral, i am the dead; if it is a wedding , i am the groom)is the description of Kamal Haasan's Dasavatharam.
Kamal Haasan had this disease for quite sometime, but i guess that disease has gone beyond the recovery stage.Sadly, the sufferers will be the tamil film audience and the film industry.If anybody wants to do a case study on Extreme self obsession syndrome and name it like Sadism or Masochism , the sample is readily in front of them in the form of Kamalhasan and his work Dasavatharam.Please name the new category as Kamalism.
When my friend was telling me that this was possibly one of the worst movies he had ever seen , i was thinking that he was exaggerating a bit.But , now i could understand the feeling , since he went to the premiere of the movie and i am sure how much expectations he would have had entering the hall.
No, it is not because it was a Kamal film and did not live up to that level of his usual movies and hence it is trashed so badly.It is a self indulging work of a maniac and his boot lickers by any ordinary standards.Calling this film an international work is truly criminal.So many Kamal Hasans wander here and there in the movie for about 2.5 hours and at one point, you feel you yourself are a Kamal Hasan in disguise watching the movie. I remember "The Matrix" movie, where towards the end, every character in the scene becomes the clone of the villain and chases Neo.
Making such movies drive us to believe that Kamal Hasan has lost confidence in good acting and decided that buffoonery masks alone can save him. To me , Dasavatharam is no better than the forgettable Ajit flick Citizen. If one wants to see it badly,then the clippings are already out in the channels . Watch the scenes that have Balram Naidu(Kamal) and Vincent Boovarahan(Kamal again).Both are brilliant in the variation, especially in the accent and the body language. But , let me clarify something , they are not, in any way helping the movie.
When people were praising the Tsunami scenes, i was hoping for a Tamil version of perfect storm.But , in my opinion, it was not up to the mark.The thumb rule for such CG is the proper lighting.If one wants to show the magnanimity of a natural disaster like tsunami, dark and gloomy ligthting would have added lots of effect.One cannot afford to show it in the broad daylight, else it will expose the CG badly like it did it in Dasavatharam.But , the efforts should defnitely be appreciated and so are the first few historical moments of the movie.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Ad(Non)Sense
Sometimes i wonder whether the TV commercials really do their job of reaching the people at all.
Most of the times , the commercials are shot in either English or Hindi.Here, I am talking about the Indian commercials alone.When these commercials get translated to other regional language versions, it is vital for the makers to make sure every aspect of the commercial has been tuned in such a way that it can be related to the local flavor.I observed some of the ads and felt it was utterly stupid and the localization was completely pathetic.
The Motorokr ad featuring AB jr is one such case of localization gone terribly wrong.The funkier alter ego of AB jr jumps out of his shirt and demands to play music.When the phone starts playing the peppy Appdi podu podu Tamil song, the funky fellow says "Come on AB , Shake a li'l" to the serious dude.It was a nice one.But , when i saw the Tamil version , the catchy line has been messed up as "Come on AB! குலுக்கு கொஞ்சம் !".Is it due to the arrogance to have ignored the regional touch or result of pathetic linguistic skills?I feel such lines do not need translations at all.Not that the regional audiences are so unaware of English.
Another one is some kitchen cleaning liquid MNC brand.A lady struggles hard to remove the greasy stains from the stove and cries out desperately for some help.That time , a super hero (Obviously with the product name as his own) appears and in no time he makes the stove as good as a new one.At the end , the super hero hears some other lady's shout for help, and flies away , saying "Gotta Go now!". Again , in Tamil , he says "எனக்கு போகணும் ". Duh.. We say this only when we need to go to the loo.So much ignorance of the local flavour , huh?
Garnier products is another one where the punch gone wrong in localization.Garnier has a tag line as "Take care", which i guess, is chosen due to the phonetic similarity and aptness with their product goal. When this is translated to Indian languages , it should have remained the same or at least they should have chosen something in the local language which is as catchy as the original. Neither was done in this case.The gals say "பத்திரமா பாத்துக்கங்க " in Tamil and "अपना ख़याल रखना " in Hindi.What are you selling? A Paracetamol Tablet or a beauty product?
When one focuses in the line by line translation of the text, the real essence , and eventually the objective is lost.Even in that case, one needs to have both the linguistic skills and also the awareness of the target consumers to a greater extent.As an advertising firm , the focus should have been on making sure the product is being promoted with the right essence uniformly across various platforms. In the above cases, i guess the guys were busy chasing the smaller fish , failing to notice the bigger fish that swam by.
Most of the times , the commercials are shot in either English or Hindi.Here, I am talking about the Indian commercials alone.When these commercials get translated to other regional language versions, it is vital for the makers to make sure every aspect of the commercial has been tuned in such a way that it can be related to the local flavor.I observed some of the ads and felt it was utterly stupid and the localization was completely pathetic.
The Motorokr ad featuring AB jr is one such case of localization gone terribly wrong.The funkier alter ego of AB jr jumps out of his shirt and demands to play music.When the phone starts playing the peppy Appdi podu podu Tamil song, the funky fellow says "Come on AB , Shake a li'l" to the serious dude.It was a nice one.But , when i saw the Tamil version , the catchy line has been messed up as "Come on AB! குலுக்கு கொஞ்சம் !".Is it due to the arrogance to have ignored the regional touch or result of pathetic linguistic skills?I feel such lines do not need translations at all.Not that the regional audiences are so unaware of English.
Another one is some kitchen cleaning liquid MNC brand.A lady struggles hard to remove the greasy stains from the stove and cries out desperately for some help.That time , a super hero (Obviously with the product name as his own) appears and in no time he makes the stove as good as a new one.At the end , the super hero hears some other lady's shout for help, and flies away , saying "Gotta Go now!". Again , in Tamil , he says "எனக்கு போகணும் ". Duh.. We say this only when we need to go to the loo.So much ignorance of the local flavour , huh?
Garnier products is another one where the punch gone wrong in localization.Garnier has a tag line as "Take care", which i guess, is chosen due to the phonetic similarity and aptness with their product goal. When this is translated to Indian languages , it should have remained the same or at least they should have chosen something in the local language which is as catchy as the original. Neither was done in this case.The gals say "பத்திரமா பாத்துக்கங்க " in Tamil and "अपना ख़याल रखना " in Hindi.What are you selling? A Paracetamol Tablet or a beauty product?
When one focuses in the line by line translation of the text, the real essence , and eventually the objective is lost.Even in that case, one needs to have both the linguistic skills and also the awareness of the target consumers to a greater extent.As an advertising firm , the focus should have been on making sure the product is being promoted with the right essence uniformly across various platforms. In the above cases, i guess the guys were busy chasing the smaller fish , failing to notice the bigger fish that swam by.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
SPIDEY!
I always hated it when she called MY dad as "Appa".
I firmly believe that the relation of Appa and Amma is so religious that it should only be used with one's own parents, not with anyone else, irrespective of how close they are to oneself.It irks me even today if a friend or two of mine call my dad as Appa.It is a very important relation for me and i guard it with so much jealous.Some people can argue that when he/she calls my parents as Appa amma , they consider them as valuable relation as his/her parent.No, i disagree on that.Every relationship has a unique value and it is important to protect it.
That was why i hated it when the new girl/lady from the family that became friends with ours called so.Being a teacher in profession, my dad always encourages when he sees a bright young boy or a girl.He firmly believes that women be educated well to have an organic growth of the society.So, when he saw this bright young lady talking about literature to cinema and devotional literature to poetry with equal elan, he was impressed and started giving her lessons of life and invited her to home for debates on various topics.
My brother was in college that time and whenever he was at home , he and this girl used to discuss about movies.Somehow , i never felt comfortable when she was around , though she was very friendly with all of us.I was wondering whether i only felt this way.But, later i found that my mom also did not like her presence and hated when she called dad as "Appa".
I have to admit that she had this natural flair for communication and anybody who talked to her, appreciated her.She used to do spiritual debates and discourses in temples, which added a lot of value to her relationship with people, including my dad.
Whenever my mom argued with my dad about her frequenting our house and calling him Appa, my dad pacified her saying she was a bright child and was like a daughter to him.We even visited her house which was few kilometers away from our place.When we went there , we saw that all the male members in the family were dumb and were almost like drifters. She took us to a silk weavers' place and managed to get us a good silk saree at a steal price with her PR skills.
During one of her visits to our place, she requested my dad to introduce her to some of my dad's colleagues in the school.He did that too, taking her to the school and introduced her to the other colleagues as a bright young girl with vast knowledge.As usual , she was able to impress everyone with her friendliness and flaring communication, which was not very common with the girls in our rural areas.She was even made to do some speeches in the temples during festivals.
After a month or so, she came down to my dad's school and spoke to the teachers there about her new business plan. She spoke about starting a finance company and financing the silk weavers that she knew well.She said she had managed 90% of funds and sought the help of the teachers to kick start her business.She promised that within a year's time , she would return all the money she borrowed from all and promised that she would visit our place once a month to update on her business status.
Some cautious teachers doubted her skill as a financier and wondered if she could manage it well.But, as a whole, many people were ready to help her and as a result, she collected quite a good sum of money. She gave us all a tearful "Thank you very much".
Those were the last words we ever heard from her!
I firmly believe that the relation of Appa and Amma is so religious that it should only be used with one's own parents, not with anyone else, irrespective of how close they are to oneself.It irks me even today if a friend or two of mine call my dad as Appa.It is a very important relation for me and i guard it with so much jealous.Some people can argue that when he/she calls my parents as Appa amma , they consider them as valuable relation as his/her parent.No, i disagree on that.Every relationship has a unique value and it is important to protect it.
That was why i hated it when the new girl/lady from the family that became friends with ours called so.Being a teacher in profession, my dad always encourages when he sees a bright young boy or a girl.He firmly believes that women be educated well to have an organic growth of the society.So, when he saw this bright young lady talking about literature to cinema and devotional literature to poetry with equal elan, he was impressed and started giving her lessons of life and invited her to home for debates on various topics.
My brother was in college that time and whenever he was at home , he and this girl used to discuss about movies.Somehow , i never felt comfortable when she was around , though she was very friendly with all of us.I was wondering whether i only felt this way.But, later i found that my mom also did not like her presence and hated when she called dad as "Appa".
I have to admit that she had this natural flair for communication and anybody who talked to her, appreciated her.She used to do spiritual debates and discourses in temples, which added a lot of value to her relationship with people, including my dad.
Whenever my mom argued with my dad about her frequenting our house and calling him Appa, my dad pacified her saying she was a bright child and was like a daughter to him.We even visited her house which was few kilometers away from our place.When we went there , we saw that all the male members in the family were dumb and were almost like drifters. She took us to a silk weavers' place and managed to get us a good silk saree at a steal price with her PR skills.
During one of her visits to our place, she requested my dad to introduce her to some of my dad's colleagues in the school.He did that too, taking her to the school and introduced her to the other colleagues as a bright young girl with vast knowledge.As usual , she was able to impress everyone with her friendliness and flaring communication, which was not very common with the girls in our rural areas.She was even made to do some speeches in the temples during festivals.
After a month or so, she came down to my dad's school and spoke to the teachers there about her new business plan. She spoke about starting a finance company and financing the silk weavers that she knew well.She said she had managed 90% of funds and sought the help of the teachers to kick start her business.She promised that within a year's time , she would return all the money she borrowed from all and promised that she would visit our place once a month to update on her business status.
Some cautious teachers doubted her skill as a financier and wondered if she could manage it well.But, as a whole, many people were ready to help her and as a result, she collected quite a good sum of money. She gave us all a tearful "Thank you very much".
Those were the last words we ever heard from her!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
PELTING STONES
It was a fine evening which was slowly getting draped by the dusk. We were back from our school and was settling down for our evening routine of homework.My parents were watching TV. It was during that time , we heard it.
"THUD"
We stopped our routines and looked at each other.We were convinced that it might be one of those coconuts from the tree that fell on our terrace.It was not unusual, since ours was a coastal village where the strong winds frequent us.
A few minutes passed by.
"Thud..Thud "
This time , we were sure that it was not the coconuts.The sound was quite loud to ignore.Coincidentally , the power had gone off that time, which was also common during the windy conditions.So, my dad gathered all his courage, took a battery light and went to the terrace.
To add to our fear , he brought down couple of half bricks from upstairs.
"Somebody is throwing bricks at our house!!!"
We kids were already panicking at the falling objects and then utterly horrified to see what was fallling.As the minutes ticked and the evening getting darker, the falling became frequent and louder. So, my dad again went up the terrace amidst my mother's refusal.This time he shouted omnidirectionally, asking for the chucker to come and fight him like a man!!
Hearing his shouting, the whole street rushed to our house.Just like any other crowd, most of them were curious on-lookers and some volunteered to help.Since the crowd strength became big, a small group went up the terrace with sticks and did the same of transmitting the threats and challenges over the air.By then , our mood changed from panic to excitement.After that , nothing much happened that evening and the crowd dispersed.Interestingly , the stone pelting continued next evening too,this time with more frequent throwing . Now, it drew more crowd to our house since the news had spread already.
Some oldies in the crowd were sharing their knowledge about such stone throwing 'phenomenon'.They said "sometimes , evil forces of nature(Read Kaathu karuppu)try to show their power in such a manner and try to threaten the human beings".Now we are talking! The feeling was a mix of fear and excitement that time.The know-it-all people did not stop with the cause.They gave hints on the confirmation tests too.
The steps were as follows:
1.Take 4 pieces of bricks that were thrown.
2.Apply some lime(Sunnambu) on each brick in a unique way for easy identification.
3.Throw each brick in each direction.
4.If any one of the 4 bricks is thrown back at you , then it is confirmed that it is the mischief of dark forces.
According to them , the solution for this was to take one of the bricks to the Muneeswaran temple that was, and is always located at the end of the village limits.Muneeswaran is a guardian angel for every village.He is believed to be ruthless in punishing those who try to harm the village and the people He guards.The brick needs to be kept under the deity's feet along with some offerings.The single most important method of praying Muneeswaran is to pray to him and walk backwards without turning your back to the deity.The moment we show our back to Muni, He is believed to possess you and punish you for that.Talking of disrespect,huh?
Once the brick was kept under Him, we were told that if it was really a handwork of dark forces, it would stop immediately.But if it was done by some mischief mongers, then whoever did that would face the harshest wrath of Muni in a short time.Once the news of us seeking the help of Muni reached the village, the stone pelting stopped.We were also relieved about it.
One of my dad's tuition students was giving us the hint that some of our neighbours were interested in acquiring our house, which was considered very lucky in the village.We could guess who was it, because the guy next door was so keen on it and we did not share a great relation with him.Ironically, the boy who told about it, himself was a close family friend of our neighbour.
It was one of the age old tricks followed in villages to create fear of ghosts in the residents when they refuse to sell their properties.
After a few weeks, one evening we heard a shocking news that the boy who hinted us, was found dead due to snake bite in our neighbour's garden around the same time of the evening the stone pelting occured.
Couple of years later , we came to know that that boy himself along with our neighbour was throwing stones from our neighbour's terrace and joined the crowd below.
"THUD"
We stopped our routines and looked at each other.We were convinced that it might be one of those coconuts from the tree that fell on our terrace.It was not unusual, since ours was a coastal village where the strong winds frequent us.
A few minutes passed by.
"Thud..Thud "
This time , we were sure that it was not the coconuts.The sound was quite loud to ignore.Coincidentally , the power had gone off that time, which was also common during the windy conditions.So, my dad gathered all his courage, took a battery light and went to the terrace.
To add to our fear , he brought down couple of half bricks from upstairs.
"Somebody is throwing bricks at our house!!!"
We kids were already panicking at the falling objects and then utterly horrified to see what was fallling.As the minutes ticked and the evening getting darker, the falling became frequent and louder. So, my dad again went up the terrace amidst my mother's refusal.This time he shouted omnidirectionally, asking for the chucker to come and fight him like a man!!
Hearing his shouting, the whole street rushed to our house.Just like any other crowd, most of them were curious on-lookers and some volunteered to help.Since the crowd strength became big, a small group went up the terrace with sticks and did the same of transmitting the threats and challenges over the air.By then , our mood changed from panic to excitement.After that , nothing much happened that evening and the crowd dispersed.Interestingly , the stone pelting continued next evening too,this time with more frequent throwing . Now, it drew more crowd to our house since the news had spread already.
Some oldies in the crowd were sharing their knowledge about such stone throwing 'phenomenon'.They said "sometimes , evil forces of nature(Read Kaathu karuppu)try to show their power in such a manner and try to threaten the human beings".Now we are talking! The feeling was a mix of fear and excitement that time.The know-it-all people did not stop with the cause.They gave hints on the confirmation tests too.
The steps were as follows:
1.Take 4 pieces of bricks that were thrown.
2.Apply some lime(Sunnambu) on each brick in a unique way for easy identification.
3.Throw each brick in each direction.
4.If any one of the 4 bricks is thrown back at you , then it is confirmed that it is the mischief of dark forces.
According to them , the solution for this was to take one of the bricks to the Muneeswaran temple that was, and is always located at the end of the village limits.Muneeswaran is a guardian angel for every village.He is believed to be ruthless in punishing those who try to harm the village and the people He guards.The brick needs to be kept under the deity's feet along with some offerings.The single most important method of praying Muneeswaran is to pray to him and walk backwards without turning your back to the deity.The moment we show our back to Muni, He is believed to possess you and punish you for that.Talking of disrespect,huh?
Once the brick was kept under Him, we were told that if it was really a handwork of dark forces, it would stop immediately.But if it was done by some mischief mongers, then whoever did that would face the harshest wrath of Muni in a short time.Once the news of us seeking the help of Muni reached the village, the stone pelting stopped.We were also relieved about it.
One of my dad's tuition students was giving us the hint that some of our neighbours were interested in acquiring our house, which was considered very lucky in the village.We could guess who was it, because the guy next door was so keen on it and we did not share a great relation with him.Ironically, the boy who told about it, himself was a close family friend of our neighbour.
It was one of the age old tricks followed in villages to create fear of ghosts in the residents when they refuse to sell their properties.
After a few weeks, one evening we heard a shocking news that the boy who hinted us, was found dead due to snake bite in our neighbour's garden around the same time of the evening the stone pelting occured.
Couple of years later , we came to know that that boy himself along with our neighbour was throwing stones from our neighbour's terrace and joined the crowd below.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Chit CHAT -1
"Hi.. Wanna chat?"
"Sure"
"ASL Plz"
"28 F Malaysia"
"Ur ASL plz"
"28 M IND.Hey gyal, i c u r an indian..rit?"
"yup.n u 2"
"Yup..btw,Wht ya do dear?"
"Me , a bookshop attendant"
"Wow..cool! So, u must readin' a helluva lotta books?"
"Yea.. Dat's d way i find solace."
"Hey! Babe..u sound teribl!! Wots Wrong?"
"nothin..its jus my hubby..!! leavit "
"Hey!!..m sorry 2 know dat.lik 2 tlk abt it?"
"Hmm.....dunno!"
"cumon! trust me ..aint gonna hurt ya!"
"vil c! cya later!"
"Wait wait! Add ya as frnd??"
"Sure.me doin dat.letz talk later"
Shuba Signed off.
The M in ASL, Ramesh, my friend got curious and happy to get a friend through chat.He was actually waiting eagerly to talk to her the next day.After all, we goto an IT company to do that..right?
"Hey..Howdy?"
"Not bad."
"Babe.now that we know each other"(!!)"ur Real Name dear?"
"Me , Shuba..n u?"
"Ramesh.Wanna c me?"
Ramesh shares an album.
"Lukin good.u workout?"
"Yup..Almost daily.Can i c u?"
"hmm..nt sure!.."
"Cummon..me no bad fella.can trust me"
"my hubby may get real mad if he knows abt it"
"jus c ya n wll delete it, i swr"
"ogiee...here i am!"
Shuba shares an album.
"Wow! u r so pretty! unbelievable"
"Thnx.i knw u dun meanit!"
"I swr!"
"Thnx.am sad my hubby aint abl to apprciat dat"
"at lst now u wanna tlk abt it..? u snd rlly sad."
The story all started from there.Shuba and Ramesh spoke extensively over the chat that day for hours together(of course, from his office).The night he came home , he looked real upset and did not have his dinner too.Apparently, the chat continued for days together sharing lot of things with each other and Shuba telling that how she was happy back in India , then getting married to her hubby and moved to Malaysia with lot of dreams of working as a librarian.
She also told him how badly her husband treated her and stopped her from pursuing a course in library management etc and finally she had to settle down as a part time bookshop attendant.
One day , Ramesh came home and broke into tears . We were so scared that something bad happened back home , which a big family with him being the only earning member. But , actually, the reason was something else. He told us how Shuba mentioned about the tortures and cigerette burns she is facing everyday.I got a call in my mobile phone from some lady to Ramesh.I came to know later that it was Shuba.They spoke hours together in private, ending the conversation with Ramesh in tears and my mobile empty.(Those were the days when mobiles are charged for incoming too!).
I did not know what happened in the subsequent days.But , one fine morning Ramesh told me tht he is going to Malaysia and Shuba is making his travel arrangements.Wow! That was something! With Ramesh being much elder to us , we did not know whether he was doing the right thing.We tried to talk to him and got only deaf ears as response.
He said he could find out some job once he landed there.The next few weeks went mechanically as we were busy with our lives while Ramesh being excited about his meeting with his Damsel in Distress.Though we were not totally convinced about all the happenings, we gave him a rocking farewell.
Couple of years passed by and we , as a group of friends had to take different paths in the great journey called life.I had gone abroad and slowly we forgot about the above incident and thinking all is well in all our friends's lives.
I was returning from my long stint abroad.I had to take a transit stop at Malaysian airport.When i was sitting in the waiting lounge , i heard this strangely familiar voice.I turned towards that direction and there was my dear friend Ramesh, standing in the most unexpected attire that i couldn't imagine even in my nightmares.He was wearing the dirtiest of the clothes cleaning the rest rooms.
"Sure"
"ASL Plz"
"28 F Malaysia"
"Ur ASL plz"
"28 M IND.Hey gyal, i c u r an indian..rit?"
"yup.n u 2"
"Yup..btw,Wht ya do dear?"
"Me , a bookshop attendant"
"Wow..cool! So, u must readin' a helluva lotta books?"
"Yea.. Dat's d way i find solace."
"Hey! Babe..u sound teribl!! Wots Wrong?"
"nothin..its jus my hubby..!! leavit "
"Hey!!..m sorry 2 know dat.lik 2 tlk abt it?"
"Hmm.....dunno!"
"cumon! trust me ..aint gonna hurt ya!"
"vil c! cya later!"
"Wait wait! Add ya as frnd??"
"Sure.me doin dat.letz talk later"
Shuba Signed off.
The M in ASL, Ramesh, my friend got curious and happy to get a friend through chat.He was actually waiting eagerly to talk to her the next day.After all, we goto an IT company to do that..right?
"Hey..Howdy?"
"Not bad."
"Babe.now that we know each other"(!!)"ur Real Name dear?"
"Me , Shuba..n u?"
"Ramesh.Wanna c me?"
Ramesh shares an album.
"Lukin good.u workout?"
"Yup..Almost daily.Can i c u?"
"hmm..nt sure!.."
"Cummon..me no bad fella.can trust me"
"my hubby may get real mad if he knows abt it"
"jus c ya n wll delete it, i swr"
"ogiee...here i am!"
Shuba shares an album.
"Wow! u r so pretty! unbelievable"
"Thnx.i knw u dun meanit!"
"I swr!"
"Thnx.am sad my hubby aint abl to apprciat dat"
"at lst now u wanna tlk abt it..? u snd rlly sad."
The story all started from there.Shuba and Ramesh spoke extensively over the chat that day for hours together(of course, from his office).The night he came home , he looked real upset and did not have his dinner too.Apparently, the chat continued for days together sharing lot of things with each other and Shuba telling that how she was happy back in India , then getting married to her hubby and moved to Malaysia with lot of dreams of working as a librarian.
She also told him how badly her husband treated her and stopped her from pursuing a course in library management etc and finally she had to settle down as a part time bookshop attendant.
One day , Ramesh came home and broke into tears . We were so scared that something bad happened back home , which a big family with him being the only earning member. But , actually, the reason was something else. He told us how Shuba mentioned about the tortures and cigerette burns she is facing everyday.I got a call in my mobile phone from some lady to Ramesh.I came to know later that it was Shuba.They spoke hours together in private, ending the conversation with Ramesh in tears and my mobile empty.(Those were the days when mobiles are charged for incoming too!).
I did not know what happened in the subsequent days.But , one fine morning Ramesh told me tht he is going to Malaysia and Shuba is making his travel arrangements.Wow! That was something! With Ramesh being much elder to us , we did not know whether he was doing the right thing.We tried to talk to him and got only deaf ears as response.
He said he could find out some job once he landed there.The next few weeks went mechanically as we were busy with our lives while Ramesh being excited about his meeting with his Damsel in Distress.Though we were not totally convinced about all the happenings, we gave him a rocking farewell.
Couple of years passed by and we , as a group of friends had to take different paths in the great journey called life.I had gone abroad and slowly we forgot about the above incident and thinking all is well in all our friends's lives.
I was returning from my long stint abroad.I had to take a transit stop at Malaysian airport.When i was sitting in the waiting lounge , i heard this strangely familiar voice.I turned towards that direction and there was my dear friend Ramesh, standing in the most unexpected attire that i couldn't imagine even in my nightmares.He was wearing the dirtiest of the clothes cleaning the rest rooms.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
கல்லூரி காதல் AND MORE!
"என்னடா மச்சி! பத்து நாளா காலேஜ் பக்கம் ஆளையே காணோம்? செமஸ்டர் எக்ஸாம் வேற வருது.எங்கே போனே ?"
"இல்லடா , நான் உங்கிட்டே சொன்னேன் இல்ல , அந்த ஃபர்ஸ்ட் இயர் படிக்கற பக்கத்து வீட்டு பொண்ணு ? போன வாரம் நானும் அவளும் வீட்ட விட்டு ஓடிட்டோம் மச்சி!"
"டேய் ! என்னடா சொல்றே ? ஆர் யு கிட்டிங்?"
"இல்லடா , ஐ அம் சீரியஸ்"
"அப்புறம் என்ன ஆச்சு?"
"வீட்ல அக்கா கல்யாணத்துக்கு ஒரு 20000 வெச்சிருந்தாங்க.அத எடுத்திட்டு அப்படியே கெளம்பிட்டோம்.சென்னைலேந்து நேரே மதுரைக்கு போனோம்.அங்க ஒரு 3-ஸ்டார்ல ஸ்டே பண்ணினோம். ஒரே ரூம்ல தான் தங்கினோம்.அப்போவே அவளை ட்ரை பண்ணினேன் மச்சி.வொர்க் அவுட் ஆகல.தாலி கட்டினா தான் ஆச்சு அப்டினுட்டா.ஸோ, லைட்டா .... "
"அடப்பாவி ! அப்புறம்? "
"மறுநாள் திருச்செந்தூர் கோயில் போனோம்.போற வழியில சிம்பிளா ஒரு பவுன் தாலி வாங்கினேன். கோயில் பிரகாரத்துல வெச்சு தாலி கட்டினேன்.அங்கியே ஒரு லாட்ஜ் எடுத்து அவளை போட்டேன் மச்சி! "
"மை காட்!"
"அப்புறம் ராமேஸ்வரம் போனோம்.அங்கியும் ஒரு சீப் ஹோட்டல்ல தங்கி அவளை ரெண்டு மூணு தரம் செஞ்சேன்டா.! "
"..த்தா...செமையா என்ஜாய் பண்ணி இருக்கே போல !! "
"ஆமாடா ..ஆனா அந்த பொண்ணு அங்கேந்து ஃபிரெண்டுக்கு ஃபோன் பண்ணி இருப்பா போல .என்னோட அப்பா அம்மா , அவளோட அப்பா அம்மா எல்லாரும் ஸ்ட்ரெய்ட்டா ராமேஸ்வரம் வந்துட்டாங்க !"
"மாட்டிகிட்டியா ?? "
"அவங்க அப்பா அம்மா செமையா டென்ஷன் ஆனாங்க .என்னோட அப்பா அம்மாவும் என்ன திட்டினாங்க.நான் லைட்டா சொல்லி பாத்தேன்.தாலி எல்லாம் கட்டிட்டேன் அப்படின்னு.அந்த பொண்ணும்,அவ அப்பா அம்மாவும் கூட சொல்லி பாத்தாங்க கல்யாணம் பண்ணி வெச்சிருவோம், அப்படின்னு.எனக்கு பேஜார் ஆகி போச்சு என்னடா இது கல்யாணம் அது இதுங்கறான்களேன்னு.நல்ல வேளை,எங்க அப்பாம்மா முடியாதுன்னு சொல்லிட்டாங்க. "
"டேய்! அப்போ நீ கட்டின தாலி??"
"என்னடா நீ ?? புரியாம பேசறே ?? அதெல்லாம் ஒரு இதுக்கு டா !!"
"அப்போ அந்த பொண்ணு ??"
"நான் என்ன பண்றது மச்சி??"
"இல்லடா , நான் உங்கிட்டே சொன்னேன் இல்ல , அந்த ஃபர்ஸ்ட் இயர் படிக்கற பக்கத்து வீட்டு பொண்ணு ? போன வாரம் நானும் அவளும் வீட்ட விட்டு ஓடிட்டோம் மச்சி!"
"டேய் ! என்னடா சொல்றே ? ஆர் யு கிட்டிங்?"
"இல்லடா , ஐ அம் சீரியஸ்"
"அப்புறம் என்ன ஆச்சு?"
"வீட்ல அக்கா கல்யாணத்துக்கு ஒரு 20000 வெச்சிருந்தாங்க.அத எடுத்திட்டு அப்படியே கெளம்பிட்டோம்.சென்னைலேந்து நேரே மதுரைக்கு போனோம்.அங்க ஒரு 3-ஸ்டார்ல ஸ்டே பண்ணினோம். ஒரே ரூம்ல தான் தங்கினோம்.அப்போவே அவளை ட்ரை பண்ணினேன் மச்சி.வொர்க் அவுட் ஆகல.தாலி கட்டினா தான் ஆச்சு அப்டினுட்டா.ஸோ, லைட்டா .... "
"அடப்பாவி ! அப்புறம்? "
"மறுநாள் திருச்செந்தூர் கோயில் போனோம்.போற வழியில சிம்பிளா ஒரு பவுன் தாலி வாங்கினேன். கோயில் பிரகாரத்துல வெச்சு தாலி கட்டினேன்.அங்கியே ஒரு லாட்ஜ் எடுத்து அவளை போட்டேன் மச்சி! "
"மை காட்!"
"அப்புறம் ராமேஸ்வரம் போனோம்.அங்கியும் ஒரு சீப் ஹோட்டல்ல தங்கி அவளை ரெண்டு மூணு தரம் செஞ்சேன்டா.! "
"..த்தா...செமையா என்ஜாய் பண்ணி இருக்கே போல !! "
"ஆமாடா ..ஆனா அந்த பொண்ணு அங்கேந்து ஃபிரெண்டுக்கு ஃபோன் பண்ணி இருப்பா போல .என்னோட அப்பா அம்மா , அவளோட அப்பா அம்மா எல்லாரும் ஸ்ட்ரெய்ட்டா ராமேஸ்வரம் வந்துட்டாங்க !"
"மாட்டிகிட்டியா ?? "
"அவங்க அப்பா அம்மா செமையா டென்ஷன் ஆனாங்க .என்னோட அப்பா அம்மாவும் என்ன திட்டினாங்க.நான் லைட்டா சொல்லி பாத்தேன்.தாலி எல்லாம் கட்டிட்டேன் அப்படின்னு.அந்த பொண்ணும்,அவ அப்பா அம்மாவும் கூட சொல்லி பாத்தாங்க கல்யாணம் பண்ணி வெச்சிருவோம், அப்படின்னு.எனக்கு பேஜார் ஆகி போச்சு என்னடா இது கல்யாணம் அது இதுங்கறான்களேன்னு.நல்ல வேளை,எங்க அப்பாம்மா முடியாதுன்னு சொல்லிட்டாங்க. "
"டேய்! அப்போ நீ கட்டின தாலி??"
"என்னடா நீ ?? புரியாம பேசறே ?? அதெல்லாம் ஒரு இதுக்கு டா !!"
"அப்போ அந்த பொண்ணு ??"
"நான் என்ன பண்றது மச்சி??"
மேல இருக்கறது ஏதோ சரோஜாதேவி புக்லேந்து எடுத்த மலிவான சமாச்சாரமோ,ஒரு தமிழ் படத்தோட உல்டாவோ இல்லை.நான் காலேஜ்ல செகண்ட் இயர் படிக்கும்போது நடந்த ரியல் இன்சிடென்ட். அந்த கலாப காதலன் தன்னோட சாகசங்களை இன்னொருத்தன் கிட்டே சொல்லும்போது என் காதால் கேட்டது.
அப்போ எனக்கு கொஞ்சம் (நெறையாவே) பொறாமையா இருந்தது.இருந்தாலும் அடி மனசுல ஏதோ தப்புன்னு புரிஞ்சுது.இப்போ இதை எழுதும்போது அருவெருப்பும் , எங்க தப்பு நடக்கிறதுங்கிற பயம் கலந்த கேள்வியே வந்துது.
I wrote this in the wake of seeing a report about India being among the top in the crimes.I am worried whether it is an irrepairable damage that has happened to we the indians?The above incident is not an one-off thing that one can forgive.Whereever you turn , there is a crime in all possible forms.
The sexual crimes committed against women is the most shameful act that every indian should be ashamed to their life .Every country warns their tourists who are visiting India severely about this.Rather than getting angry about it , everyone should do a soul search for themselves.
God save us!
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