Five Years Today.....
Today is Moksh's death anniversary. Five years since he left this world. No words can express the joy and sunshine that he brought into the life of our gang. Moksh we know you are out there in the sky looking at us and smiling at our antics.
A salute and a silent prayer from the rest of the gang.
With love from Max, Towfik, Arul, and Mark.
MUSINGS
The Prelims are over, I have done well, I will have to wait for three months to know the results.
Have started preparing for the Mains, have chosen Geography as the second optional, need to crosscheck if the subject pair is allowed.
Will be going on a pilgrimage to Kerala on May 31 and will be back in the second week of June.
Shall be putting lots of pictures soon.
MONEY MATTERS
It was 9:05 a.m. Mr. Arvind opened his store and removed the milk packets from his bag and put them in the freezer. Then he cleaned his glass windows with a cloth and arranged the newspapers and magazines in the rack next to the billing counter. Satisfied with his arrangements he lit the lamp in front of an image of Lord Ganesha and offered his prayers. Today was a special day and he needed a lot of luck to fulfill his plans.
At 9:15 a.m., the first customer of the day – Mrs. Geetha – came in. She was an old lady with a smiling face and a friend of Mrs. Arvind. She bought two packets of milk, half a dozen eggs, and a pack of flour. Arvind whistled to himself as the clock moved to 9:25 a.m.
At precisely 9:30 a.m., the guard of the Trust Bank opened the bank doors and within five minutes, the four employees of the small bank entered the building to start their days’ work. Arvind waved at them and they smiled at him.
At 9:50 a.m., Rajeev, the boy who assisted Arvind, entered the store. Arvind asked him to man the store and went out to have his breakfast. This was a daily routine; Arvind would visit the Arya Bhavan restaurant on M.G. Road, have his breakfast, and return at 10:30 a.m.
Today, instead of going to Arya Bhavan, Arvind proceeded to the bank. He had disguised himself by wearing a wig, a false moustache and beard, cheek pads inside his mouth, and dark sunglasses. He entered the bank and noticed that none of the customers had come in. He went to the teller and took out his service revolver. The teller’s, Mr. Krishnamurthy’s, face went pale.
Arvind said, “If you make a move I will blast your head off. Now listen to me: empty the trays into this bag.” He handed a Mickey Mouse bag – the ones that were going free with the 1kg Goldies Cornflakes pack. The teller did as he was told and handed the bag back to Arvind. The whole episode was over in seven minutes. Before leaving he took out a small square box and placed it on the counter, and warned the teller, “If you raise the alarm, this will blow, it is a time-bomb, so my friend, adieu.” Poor Mr. Krishnamurthy was shocked, and after five minutes regained his composure and called to his colleagues. He showed them the empty trays and the black square box. Mr. Prasad the manager stared and slapped his forehead in frustration. Then he said, “Not a moment to lose, call the police.” Krishnamurthy interrupted, “But sir, the bomb….” Then there was a beep and the square box started vibrating. All four gulped and called the security guard; he too started to sweat, then the box started beeping again, all of them stepped back. After ten beeps the sound stopped. Mr. Prasad used his mobile phone to call the police.
Arvind took the bag and left the bank. He took an auto and went to the railway station. On his way to the railway station, he heard the sirens of a police car and smiled to himself. Upon reaching the railway station, he bought an unreserved ticket to Mangalore. The train would arrive in ten minutes. He went to the gents’ restroom and took off his disguise. Then, he took out his grocery bag and transferred the stolen money to it. The elements of the disguise went into the Mickey Mouse bag. He put the bag into a dustbin and walked out of the station. He calmly went to the Arya Bhavan restaurant and had his usual breakfast of four idlies, a vada and a glass of filter coffee.
As he paid his bill, the proprietor of the restaurant, Mani Iyer, said, “Arvind sir, do you know that someone robbed the Trust Bank this morning?” Arvind feigned surprise and said, “Oh, God! I need to go to the store! What if the robber strikes there next?”
When Arvind reached his store at 10:35 a.m., the street was crowded with police officers. Arvind was greeted by an excited Rajeev, “Sir, sir, do you know someone robbed the bank.” Arvind moved to the small room at the back of the store, which he used as an office cum godown. He opened the bag and counted the money, there was four lakh forty thousand rupees all in used bills. He divided the money into four bundles and put each bundle in an empty shoebox. On top of the money, he put packets of noodles and moved out of the office after locking the office door.
When the police officers reached the bank, they found the four employees and the security guard waiting for them at the entrance. They pointed to the black box and waited nervously as one officer used a metal detector to check the box. He shouted, “Sir, all clear this is not a bomb.” Everyone walked into the bank and crowded around the counter. A police officer handled the black box gently. It was a small cardboard box that had been painted black. He opened it and started laughing, “Sir this is an alarm clock.” Mr. Krishnamurthy fainted and Mr. Prasad stared at the officers with a stupid look on his face.
At 11:15 a.m., the police officers came and asked questions; they were satisfied with the replies. One of the officers said, “Mr. Arvind, better be careful. The robber might strike your store.”
At 5:45 p.m., Mr. Arvind locked his shop and took an auto to his house. In his hand he carried a bag which had the money that he had previously hidden in the shoeboxes.
His wife Meena greeted him at the door, “Honey, is it true? Did someone rob the bank?” Arvind smiled and nodded his head. He went to the study and locked the door. He took out the ten-volume set of “The History of the World” which his father had gifted him and hid the money carefully in the pages of the books.
Then he took 10-hundred rupee notes and went to the kitchen. His wife and son Mrinal were waiting for him at the dinner table. Mrinal was excited as he held out his report card. “Daddy, I got the first rank in the class, centum in Maths and Science.”
Arvind smiled at his son and gave him 5-hundred rupee notes. The boy was gushing with joy and showed the money to his mother. “Mummy, Dad gave me a prize.” Arvind gave the remaining Rs. 500/- to his wife and said-“Meenu, this is for you. You said you wanted the pink saree that we saw at Ashika Silks, you deserve it.”
Meena hugged her husband and served dinner. Arvind looked at his plate, “Pulav and stuffed capsicums; super - a lovely meal and a happy family.”
That is how Mr. Arvind robbed the Trust Bank. The police said they suspected a bearded man from Mangalore had robbed the bank and they were currently seeking the help of the Mangalore police to arrest the man who had robbed the bank.
© Mahesh Ramani 2008
IPL
Chennai lost one easy match to Bangalore, a team which was defeated by all the other teams. Yesterday Rajasthan prevailed under Warne's dynamism and Chennai lost by 10 runs. With Delhi defeating Mumbai yesterday. Chennai are in a do-or-die situation and will have to defeat Hyderabad in their last match. I hope Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma do not spoil the party and force Dhoni & Co. to make an unceremonious exit.
The tension is mounting a few more days to go. Sunday shall tell how well or how bad I have prepared for the prelims. Let us hope for the best.
Lot of work after May 18. Some decisions that will shape the course of my future will have to be taken by the end of this month. Too many things are running through my mind to put them to paper or onto my blog. All that I hope and pray for is "May the Lord give me strength to fulfill my dreams."
Time is moving quick and fast, sixteen days to D-Day, the prelims for the Civil Services are scheduled to be held on May 18. The exam is divided into two sections, the first half is from 9:30 to 11:30 then a three hour break and the second half from 2:30 to 4:30. I just want the exam to get over, so that I can start reading all the novels that are piling up thick and fast and the various DVDs that I bought over the last two months.
Akka and Adu are coming to Chennai on May 20. May 31, we are leaving to Kerala for a host of rituals. God willing leave should be sanctioned and I should be able to visit some more temples. I will be back by June 9, and then perhaps the other plans should materialise and I will lots more time in hand.
By the way IPL is interesting and Chennai Superkings lost their first match at Chepauk to the Delhi Daredevils.
Bye folks have a great weekend.
I love cricket both as a player and a spectator. T:20 as a concept and a highly successful experiment that is reaping rich rewards for the ICC, BCCI, Subash Chandra's Zee Group and the players and their respective boards. My question is something to do with the so called supplementary attractions-half-naked cheer-girls dancing to loud music, stunts by bikers and actors, music shows etc..
Cricket is a game that can sustain interest in the viewer on its own. If I wanted to see ridiculously costumed women dance I would as well watch a porn movie or go to a strip bar. Why do we need such unnecessary aping of the American concept of cheer leading, that has its roots in basketball and baseball tournaments.
The Hindustan Times has published an interview with some of the cheerleaders performing in the IPL, all of them feel insecure and are afraid that someone might harm them. They say everyone from a seventy year old grandpa to a 15 year old teenager makes lewd passes and comments at them.
The following is taken from the same article and are thoughts echoed by noted cricket historian Ramchandra Guha-"India’s leading socio-historian and writer, Ramchandra Guha, dubbed the phenomenon of cheerleaders despicable and degrading for the game of cricket.
“All the organisers are doing by making scantily-clad white women dance in front of huge crowds is to stoke the base, voyeuristic and sexual insecurities of the Indian male. It is revolting, appalling and shows the game in very poor light,” a disturbed Guha told HT.
“Why we always have to borrow the worst of the western world is beyond me. I have nothing against the cheerleaders, they are only doing their jobs, but I'm against the very concept,” he added. “It's revolting and crude. I hope people are watching cricket rather than the cheerleaders.”
The obscene amounts of money that has exchanged hands is many times more than the GDP of many African countries. Think of the situation in India, inflation, rising prices of all essential commodities, suicide of farmers.....I know I am moving off-track, but I am just pouring out my frustration on the system. You keep spending so much money on one game and keep crying that the nation cannot produce a single Olympic gold medallist. Look at the sad state of affairs of Indian hockey. Jothikumaran accepting a bribe, K.P.S. Gill's dictatorial control, India's failure to qualify for the Olympics, when are we going to see proper utilization of money earmarked by the government or banks for the sustainable development of the country. Should not the BCCI donate a share of its revenues for national growth of its own free will. Do not these stars have a role to play in the upliftment of the country, many have struggled to reach the heights of wealth, fame and power that they currently reside in; but can't they work for a better tomorrow for the nation.
The bitter truth is that we are least bothered about what happens to others. As long as I am not affected, my family and friends are fine, my job is there, I still get my pay-check-"Sab thik thak hai."(Everything is fine) Unless this attitude changes nothing is going to change. Politicians will continue to fool us with fall promises, scams will keep happening, the dollar will rise and fall, we will continue to be bossed around by China, the USA and Russia, the list goes on......
Unless the change happens from within we are doomed.
Everywhere the situation is the same I meet my friends, ex-colleagues, college mates, all of them have the same glum look. The reason "Matchaan appraisal la aap vechutanga da." (They screwed me in my appraisal.)
"The falling dollar, recession, inflation, hazaar reasons to hit my pocket."
Everyday the prices of essential commodities are rising. The price of milk, oil, cereals.. everything is hitting the aam aadmi.
Things are not rosy.
What to do?
The government both at the centre and the state will have to change their stance. They might actually lose the forthcoming elections if the current trend continues.
In all this tamasha the obsene amount of money that the players in the Indian Premier League make drives me and the economists nuts.
God save me, God save you, and God save this country.
Musings...
The admit-card for the Civil Services Prelims came by post yesterday. The exam is to be held on May 18. Hardly a month left for D-day. Preparations are going on at a moderate speed. Have to hit on the accelerator and focus on my optional subject-Indian History.
There will be two exams. The optional subject in the morning and the general studies paper in the afternoon.
Strange things are happening at work. Everyday it is like a guessing game and one finds out that one more colleague has resigned. Do not know what is going to happen.
The IPL tamasha started yesterday and after lot of babes, glitter, laser lights, stilt dances and stuff, the actual match ended up as a dampener with Brendon Mc Cullum destroying the inflated ego of Vijay Mallya's Royal Challengers with a pulsating knock of 158 runs of just 73 balls.
The Knightriders won by a margin of 142 runs.
Dravid has to do a lot of thinking. Perhaps if the team switches to Mc Dowells from Kingfisher they might win J
THE RED DRAGON AND THE WHITE LOTUS
The atrocities committed by the Chinese in Tibet and the chain of events that have disrupted the Olympic torch rally across London, Paris and other parts of the world continues to mystify me. China claiming Tibet and accusing the Dalai Lama of being a serial liar, claims of a foiled terror attack on athletes, it is almost like reading a Robert Ludlum novel.
Coming to the point the Beijing Olympics is becoming more and more like the infamous Nazi Berlin Olympics. The world has to open up and realize that Tibet may not have oil or uranium resources for America to launch a war on terror, but Tibet is still a land and has millions of ethnic Tibetans living there while over the years millions have migrated to other parts of the world.
Mere condemnation and holding press meetings do not solve the problem. China's attitude is of grave concern to India. Already the Chinese have made inroads into various parts of Arunachal Pradesh, which the Indian government shamelessly denies. Now they are eyeing parts of Mizoram and Nagaland. There was a news on many channels that the website of the Ministry of External Affairs was hacked by a Chinese, who knows what data was stolen or what virus/malicious program was left.
India has to stop behaving like a soft cushion on which every foreign power can step and rest, we need to take issues of security seriously. Pakistan is not our only threat, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka(LTTE) and China are big threats to the country's security. If the Defence Ministry and the government are yet to wake up from their self-induced slumber, well be prepared for a long and bitter war.
RESERVATION FOR OBCs
The curse continues, in the name of creating a better India, with more qualified students, the reservation of 27% seats for OBCs has once again opened another Pandora's box. Reservation on the basis of caste is not going to help. Let there be only merit to decide the future of a student, not his/her religion or caste.
The Supreme Court has done one good thing by keeping the creamy layer(well off/rich) out of this 27% quota. We need a system in place where the income certificate of the student's parents/guardians and the student's marks in the qualifying exams become the sole criteria for his/her selection and admission to a proper educational course in college.
Or we can go for a policy where in the government should assume complete responsibility of a child's education from nursery till college(graduation) and the student should work for at least five years as a government employee to meet the costs of his/her education borne by the government. If this happens there will be one best model of education, private colleges will cease to charge obscene amounts in the name of fees and we will get intellects not mass produced factory-made robots who will only be fit to write exams and will be failures when they come out in the competitive professional battlefield where only the fittest can survive.
The timing of the ruling, the forthcoming elections and one land of citizens who get conned into voting each time expecting a better tomorrow. God knows what is going to happen......
SHOPPING FOR THE NEW YEAR...
April 14, is Vishu or the Malayalam New Year. A day of great importance for all Malayalees, it signifies a new beginning, prosperity and joy.
Shopped for new dresses for ma and pa. Got a couple of sarees for ma and a set of trousers for pa. Got myself a shirt and set of trousers too.
Seem to have lost the flair for writing and am blogging about mundane stuff here.
Hope to be back with some great book and movie reviews soon.
Wish me luck folks.
MUSINGS
Life goes on, one more night at work comes to a close. Another 20 odd days of night shift and then it will be time to go into the morning shift. The exam date is approaching and studies are going on, am awaiting the examination hall ticket. I will be more secure and comfortable once I get it.
Once the exams are over I will have to take decisions regarding the road ahead. Lots of things to do.
Waiting for things to happen....
Hoping to speak and convey my feelings.....
Waiting for the best moment......
Will I lose the moment itself?
Time alone knows the answer.
The first test match between India and South Africa ended in a tame draw. The match was a run feast as the bowlers from both teams were punished mercilessly by the batsmen. Sehwag plundered the Proteas to notch up 319 runs. Dravid labored and frustrated the audience, Graeme Smith, and Sehwag to score 111 and cross the landmark of 10000 runs in test cricket.
Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla and Smith got runs and Harbhajan bowled expensively but got a five wicket haul.
The second test will start in Ahmedabad in a few hours from now. Sachin is not playing, Kumble is likely to miss the game too.
Let us see what happens.
Raghuvaran-An Obituary
The first Raghuvaran movie that I saw was Visu's family drama "Samsaram adhu Minsaram." The eldest son of a middle class joint-family who was forever calculating the family budget was a wonderful role. Then I saw "Shiva" the Nagarjuna starrer where he portrayed the role of Bhavani the dreaded don. Over the years eith the advent of cable television I saw many of his movies like "Puriyadha Pudhir," "Anjali,"Love Today."
A native of Kollenkode in Palakkad, Kerala; he acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Starting his career as a hero in "Ezhuavathu Manithan"(The Seventh Man), he found fame and success by portraying complex psychological characters and villains. Roles like the ones he portrayed in "Poovizhi Vasalilae" and "Puriyadha Pudhir" are etched forever in the collectice psuche of the Tamil film-lover.
His marriage to Rohini ended in divorce, they have a son named Sai. Raghuvaran battled depression, alcoholism and drugs. In recent years he played the role of the father and elder brother with great flair in movies like "Mugavari," "Run," "Kannukul Nilavu." His comic talent was never used with perhaps the exception of "Run," where he played the role of Madhavan's brother in law.
Raghuvaran has inspired Prakashraj a lot, movies like "En swasa katrae" and "Daya" were the two got plum roles have excellent confrontation scenes between the two.
Raghuvaran brought in his style of method acting, tall and striking with his lean mean looks he redefined the archetypal villain with the bulging muscles, bald head, and roaring laughter. In "Puriyadha Pudhir" he harassed Rekha (hi screen wife) with his menacing looks and his dialogue"I know, I know." Manic suspicion and jealousy reached new heights with his portrayal of the emotionally disturbed husband in "Puriyadha Pudhir."
In "Anjali" one of India's most underrated movies he played a loving father and husband who hides the birth of a mentally challenged child to his wife and family. The love, anguish, and sorrow that he portrayed in the movie is so realistic that you forget where reality ends and cinema begins.
Mark Antony in "Baasha" was a super duper role where he got equal screen time and powerful lines with Rajnikant. The usual villain roles in movies like "Kaadhalan" and "Ratchagan" also happened.
His death came as a big shock, the reason cited was complications due to diabetes and coronary problems.
Throughout his life he ended up a loner and a stranger, in interviews he would say how much he still loved his wife and how close he was to his son Sai. Questions remain unanswered and his personal life is no business of mine. I wonder if he and Rohini would have tried to save their marriage and been together perhaps Raghuvaran would not have met such an early death.
Destiny struck its cruel blow and Raghuvaran is no more.
Rest in Peace.
famous Jalagandeeswarar Temple. The temple is pretty old but well maintained and had a number devotees visiting it that day. The consort of the presiding deity is Goddess Akhilandeshwari.
