Back Again

It is months since I sat at a PC in order to COMPOSE something original. There were times when daily events would come unbidden to my mind and make me feel… hey!! this can make a good post…!! But lack of time, change in lifestyle and irregular net access on my part ensured that my hibernation lasted so long. But not any longer.

My nearly 7 months in Mumbai, my Janmabhoomi, now Karmabhoomi also have been very eventful. I remember how, when in kerala, my college mates used to never realize I am a keralite and mistake me for a ‘northie’.

But here, however I look or speak, as soon as mention my name ‘SRILAXMI’, I get LOOKS and “Oh you are a South Indian” thrown at me. So much for hoity toity Mumbaikars (who incidentally don’t know whether Hyderabad is in AP or Karnataka!!). When a colleague asked me if I am a ‘Madrasi’, I was quite surprised as I didn’t know that that was a common term for all South Indians, albeit from any of the 4 state. I innocently replied that I was not. Know what… the ideal reply would’ve been “like how all North Indians are not Bhaiyyas, all South Indians are not Madrasis!!!” India is a country of diversities. And it is definitely possible to live in harmony… provided a little broad mind and restraint while speaking are exercised. But still, I love Mumbai, no complaints.


But this post is not about any TOPIC. It is about life. Funny na however much you hate your college, certain staff and the general treatment meted out to you, your heart is heavy on your last day… However much you dislike being in Kerala, you feel a sense of homecoming when you touch down in your state again… My new life is becoming a revelation to me about myself… what I really am… how much I can change… how a person, after seeing so many crests in life suddenly meets with a trough which is really deep and lasts really long…

But I am raring to go now… exams done… trying for a change of job… music and books are back in my life again… and hope is reigning supreme. So much so, I have created time for blogging also…

So here’s to a great new innings… aloha…!!!

Scream 4...

An incident, which created a scare on the day it happened, is now a laughable memory. I have a batchmate whose laptop has a collection of SOUNDS. Well, so do all of us, we do have songs n music u might say. But these sounds are different… these are human sounds, when humans are murdered, raped or tortured!! An assortment of yells, shrieks and screeches, it can make the strongest man’s blood curdle. And it was this collection that created a huge hullabaloo in our hostel.

As is the usual practice in hostels, we hostellers too sleep late (and doze off in classes if you please!!). On one such night where all girls were busy doing their own thing (reading, studying (gosh!! Who?), talking to the boyfriend over the phone) lazily into the night, we were disturbed by… yes you guessed right… a blood curdling SCREAM.

All of us stopped dead in our tracks. And most imaginative minds were working fast to identify the source. We second floor girls ran downstairs to alert the warden. On the way, we spotted a few faint-hearted juniors on the first floor weeping inconsolably!! We reached the ground floor and banged the warden’s door. But the heavy sleeper that she is, I m sure even an earthquake wouldn’t have woken her up.

And then came the second scream. We realized that it was coming from the 3rd floor that is unoccupied. The hair-raising scream literally petrified all of us. Was the terrace unknowingly left open? Had someone managed to come in? Or did some worker get left behind in the hostel (we had some masonry work still going on).

As all of us nimbly walked to the 3rd floor, we saw a strange sight. This girl and 2 of her friends coming down laughing from the 3rd floor. Now we were clueless. Where did those sounds come from?

On being confronted by an angry bunch of batchmates and terrified juniors, those girls let us in on what had happened. Apparently, they were trying out those sounds to prepare for a Panorama Skit!!

All of us were really wild with anger that day. We were really feeling like to give those girls a hiding for the scare they created. But then… nothing was done and the matter was closed after a few warnings to them.

Today I remember the incident with a smile on my lips… a funny memory at hostel!!

Flying Past...

My 3rd semester exams are going on… the last time I will be writing a final exam as a free jolly hosteller…My final sem exams will be sometime in August, when I will be well into a new and very different life.

As the days pass faster than imagined, I am realizing that my college days are coming to an end. I remember Karthik commenting on one of my early posts about how I will miss college after it is over. Maybe I will.

Sometimes while studying for exams when my mind wanders (mind you, my mind wanders ONLY when I am studying ;-) !!) I remember little incidents in my life as a student. Some bitter, some sweet… how treasured those memories will be one day!!

They might look rather common and insignificant to others, but, those incidents that gave me a laugh of tears at the moment which they occurred, I feel, are really precious to me.

Maybe, posting those on my blog will be a good way to relive those moments one day in the future…

‘Looking back on the tears would always make us laugh, but the moments we laughed together will make us cry one day!!’

Chhee...!!

A perusal of recent Indian news must be definitely evoking some expression of disgust from any sane citizen. The goings on in our country is becoming more bizarre day by day. One can just hope that the deterioration in the moral of fibre of certain citizens doesn’t become a norm and is more an exception (though I wish it could be eliminated altogether!!).

The macabre incidents in Nithari must have definitely induced shock & fury among the citizens. Magazines have given the perpetrator of ghoulish crimes, Pandher, the cover, thereby creating a greater awareness. As the events become clearer as the days pass, one really starts to wonder whom can one trust? Strangers are strangers; now even acquaintances will arouse suspicion in the minds of people.

The topic of trust brings to mind the next utterly condemnable incident: the Ganderbal Killings. If Pandher was probably a perverted mind then what about the law enforcers; the army and the police who have resorted to crime for purely selfish personal gains? Cruel seems too weak a word for them. I wish I could come up with a stronger one.

As a member of the general public, I am letting my mind wander. What was Pandher, a father himself, thinking when he inflicted acts of brutality on little children? Did he stop for a moment and think how would he have felt if the same had happened to his son, who is now trying his level best to portray his father as a ‘loving’ man? (any takers?) It is indeed saddening that a crime of this scale has happened in our country which is on the cusp of great development.

And then, what about our very trustworthy law enforcers? Terrorism has become something which our country is having to live with since years now. But today, I cannot but ask myself: who is the more cruel of the two? The terrorists who kill innocent civilians for (ostensibly) a mission? Or the very people who are supposed to stop the terrorists, the police and army, who kill civilians for (ugh!) PROMOTIONS?

India has always been known as a tolerant country. But India should definitely not tolerate these kinds of acts. Every such act brings India (which is soon becoming part of the elite group of nations) decades back. What use is economic growth if citizens still use their power (be it physical of positional) for cheap personal gains?

India is facing a lot of problems still, terrorism, poverty, and illiteracy being some of them. It will need selfless citizens to unite and solve all these problems.

But with this kind of degradation being seen in the moral fibre of the people, I wonder when our country will qualify to be called DEVELOPED, in the true sense of the word!

Yeh Galat Jawab!!!

Once a lecturer made us cross our fingers in class. Which thumb was above, he asked. I had the right one over the left. Then he asked us to uncross out fingers and re cross them so that (for me) the left thumb comes over the right. And he asked to notice the distinct discomfort we experience. Yeah, I felt uncomfortable. Well, why am I saying this?

The above exercise actually illustrates how we humans are uncomfortable accepting change. Be it in our environment, lifestyle or anything, it takes us time to move. And same is the case when a very famous TV show makes a very drastic change (Ha… I get to the point now!!), that of changing its highly successful compere, the very face of the programme.

I am a huge SRK fan and was waiting desperately for the new KBC with him at the helm. But, for the very reason I quoted above, I was badly disappointed. Here are my observations:

SRK was not looking natural. He is one actor who completely redefined the persona of actors. From an exclusive category, he brought actors to the level of commodities. From endorsements to dancing at weddings, SRK was a master. And the result of all this was that SRK became a normal human for fans like me. There isn’t much unknown about the Star, the ‘Star’ had lost its enigma and come down from a high pedestal to reside with us.

So it was disorienting for me to see SRK looking like he is trying to be the Big B. Well, the Big B cant be duplicated, and, for that matter, neither can the King Khan!! So why this change in voice pitch to become baritone – ish like Amitabh? Why the forced looking phrases? Why the artificial looking jokes? Why not just be the lovable SRK, be it Raj, Rahul or even Vijay (Don)?

On second thoughts, maybe SRK himself is a fan of the Big B… and all these observed mannerisms are a result of some unconscious response from the mind of SRK. Probably, being too harsh on him at this stage is unwarranted, as even he will take time to adjust into the boots of the Big B.

But above all this is the fact that people do not take well to changes. Why no ‘lock kiya jaye'? Where is that endearing ‘Computer ji'? Why KBC has suddenly become a product placement vehicle for Compaq? Why so many changes in the lifelines?

As my blog says. ‘The only thing constant in this world is CHANGE.’ But another thing that is constant is ‘Resistance to Change’.

And whether the SRK edition of KBC will be able to overcome this is anybody’s guess.

Hai koi jawab???

Celebrity Big BOTHER!!

It has always been said that ‘An actor is as good as his last film’. And it is true that, in India especially, this saying holds good. So what does an actor, 31 yrs of age, with no memorable releases (not speaking of hits here) at all in the near past do to keep herself alive in the minds of the Indian junta? Well, join a very popular celebrity reality show, and if it is a ‘phoren’ one, sone pe suhaga, right?

That could probably be what a certain Ms. Shetty had in mind, the bounty of 3+ cr rupees being another benefit.

Reality shows, most often inspired by foreign shows, are not new in India. And every time, the policy of audience deciding on the future of participants has been a topic of debate. Audience are very easily guided by emotions. This was seen at the time of ‘painter babu’ Ravinder’s unexpected and meteoric rise in Indian Idol I and also recently with the physically challenged Diwakar in sa re ga ma pa.

So what was behind the whole issue of the ‘Racist Abuse’ on Ms. Shetty? It was indeed highly deplorable of a person to speak like how Ms. Woody did. And it is understandable that Ms. Shetty was left in tears. It is also not surprising that Ms. Woody got voted out emphatically.

But what was completely unexpected was probably the reactions that came to the whole episode. The politicians of both Britain and India were up in arms condemning the incident. The public of Britain was exhorted to vote logically to get the wrong doer out of the show so as to reinforce the image of the nation as a tolerant one.

And the reactions in India… everyone from netas to the MEA was giving statements. Isn’t it odd that the same netas never looked so concerned about dalit murders of mercilessly killed children? Or about any other issue of real national importance for that matter?

Why is it that reactions are so quick when the event involved a celebrity? Particularly when the celebrity was not representing the nation at the show?

The best comment on the whole issue, according to me, came from Mr. Salman Rushdie yesterday. Talking about the issue he said: If you feel the heat in the kitchen, it is better you move out. Definitely Ms. Shetty was not expecting a smooth ride in the show. Then why make a personal comment such an issue of macro level consequences, only to finally say nothing great had happened? And why are the repeated yo-yos happening in both her and Ms. Woody’s statements?

As a PR strategy, Celebrity Big Brother has really worked in Ms. Shetty’s favor as she has not just come into limelight, but also has been shown as a so vulnerable person. But the whole issue leaves one really to wonder: is it time for the netas and the junta to do a rethink?

The 'Stink City'

It is not something new which I face. But what is new is that it is happening in a city: supposedly one of the biggest and poshest in God’s Own Country. ‘Stink City’ syndrome is probably new; but believe me, it is really unbearable!!

As a regular commuter in the city of Ernakulam, I have to cross the Edapally signal. It is a crossroad and the traffic signal there has a long waiting time. Well whats new in a busy traffic light one may say. What is new is the syndrome which I introduced: the horrible horrible stench which pervades your nostrils and thereby your senses whenever you have the misfortune to be stuck at that signal for long.

The stench is indecipherable to say the least. Is it a mix of human and animal waste? Or decaying carcass? Or garbage mixed with gutter? Or an unholy mix of all these horrors?? Such is the smell that one really feels faint. As I see the bus driver and conductor close their noses in agony (as do all of us hapless passengers!) I pity them, as they must be traveling through the very route, experiencing the same stench a number of times in a day. It becomes asphyxiating after some time and one cannot but pray to the heavens that the signal turns green ASAP.

Well, why such strong words for just a bit of stench, one might think. Beyond all the passenger troubles is the problem of pollution. I am not aware why that area smells. The left to the signal leads to a posh highway route leading to Kakkanad which is a very upmarket area of the city. Then why this real callousness on the part of the authorities with regard to this area?

Or… is it something which has a solution in the hands of the general public?

Will the ‘Stink City’ always be the same?

Only time will tell!!

P.S. If the stench goes in the coming days, I will definitely post on it!!