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Thursday, November 25

A few privileged gentlemen... and ladies

The earth rotates at over 1600 km/hr, and jeez thats fast! Supersonic. It's quite amazing how fast horoscopes change and caricatures collapse within that small capsule of time. The pejorative called democracy, especially in India is a great pedagogue, for us citizens, because it constantly evolve, epiphanize and epitomize in the way it do things.


In the 2 months of forced-hibernation from this small web-space, mother Earth continued its loop around the sun at 1,07,000 km/hr, Commonwealth Games began (!) and ended (!!!!) without major embarrassments to the host as feared, and then its main organizer-cum-benificiary-cum-perpetrator's head rolled, befittingly, the US President came, danced a bit, buttered a lot, secured work-placements for his countrymen (including for Ms. Pam An) and left, the lady-of-small-things twisted her tongue aimed at usual publicity stunt via misguided anti-nationalism, one CM leads the way in the most infamous of India's BIMARU states, on way teaching a prolific young 'G' that exuberance alone won't always work, 2 Chief ministers got the boot; one for skulduggery and another in default politricks, yet another one getting his butt kicked for land-grab, 2 prolific 'newsmakers' made it into the news for wrong reasons and are in the red-hot seats themselves, and LIC, of all companies, making it into the one-scam-a-day list, all this while the lady-boss and the apprentice play the inert puppet-show roles to perfection.

Yes, the Earth is oblique spheroid; that means what goes around comes around...

First things first, a pack of lions if led by a mule will be as ineffective and sterile as the leader itself. Compounding the conundrum, this mule is destined to steer a bunch of hyenas instead of lions. That makes things worse, doesn't it?

One thing is sure. Our leaders and netas know very well how to step it up. Else, when our stock markets rise and fall as any ordinary nation's, our poverty levels are reduced only by a few percentage every decade, our percapita incomes are painstakingly increasing in single digits whereas the scams involving our babus & netas tend to multiply in geometric proportions.

Not kidding, the latest scam involving some 'G's fused my brain with regard to the no: of zeros involved in it.
17,63,90,00,00,000 to be precise, or 1.76 lakh crore to make it easy. Yes, 1.76 lakh crore! As filmi Thampuran Jagannathan famously said, we can buy the whole Kerala state for 250 crores. But for some people the world is not enough.

Least of all bothers, come, in our own malluland, the vivacious party leader who takes pride in using the law to hunt down extremely dangerous cyber-criminals, to be exact netizens who are satiric with their humour sense. This portraits the real face of the "people's" party, as it is in Cuba, China or Korea, which apocryphally subjects to inject elements of its malignant autocratic character into our democracy; as if that's the only attribute our system lacks!

I present the objectionable, incriminating criminal evidence.


Image courtesy: Janakeeya Aikyavedi

Extremely important Disclaimer: The author of this blog does not endorse the viewpoints presented in the above snap-shot of the 'evidence' and I swear I haven't e-mailed, faxed, laughed, giggled, smiled or talked to my mother, brother, friends, wife, neighbours or to my pet dog about it. I present this evidence just for better understanding of the 'case' and I protest against the unlawful use of the sense-of-humour and hereby request the think-tanks to draft out something on the lines of the legendary 'vetti-nirathal samaram' be advocated against bourgeois neo-media outlets like blogs, twitter, facebook and such anit-social'ist' sites.

Oh, the original version of the "crime", if you havent already seen it. From this I understand that the smear-campaign began way back in 1991! Kudos to Cyber-cell for cracking an age-old case.



This, even after the people of Kerala have pulled down those red knickers to exhibit the nobleness of the people's party. We're moving onto become the original Police State, where, "if you can't beat them, then beat them up" is the motto.

The difference is that the law takes a hypocritical passive stance when it comes to cyber-space. Try the iron fist on any of our traditional media folks and you'll be butchered. Webspace, for our misery, isn't organized or protected by a PTI, and the www doesn't have a union to lock-down the streets, cry their hearts out on the tv and paper and bring the state to a standstill until the politicos come out, apologize, and echo the 'free press' 'free press' mantra after them.

But as I said earlier, the Earth is very very very round. Remember Cheytanya Kunte? He must be a happy chap that his adversary has learned it the hard way :-)

How befitting, the holier than thou 4th estate has finally been blown apart by the cheekiest of scams. Talk about the hunter being hunted, the #mediagate scandal has proven a theory we always suspected. But the pawns in the tale turn out to be lead roles and India see first-hand evidence of how the unholy alliance of the politicians- media- businessmen have inflicted devastating cracks at the heart of what we used to call the 4th pillar of democracy.

Not finished, the media kept the matters well in the black, from exposure to public so that self-made statues of remain so. Except for a few media houses, possible because of their own interests, all major channels chose not to run the story. But elementary gold-plating can't prevent the mucky odour from leaking into the public air. If not for Twitter, the #mediagate would've remained a 'not to be made public' tale.

Real story behind the stories we're shown, told and made to believe everyday, how a few privileged ones pull the chords in the South Delhi puppet-play and how tax-payers' hard earned money end up in Mauritius, cricket teams, oil wells, Jaguars and where not?

Because these are the creme de la creme of our nation; the priviledged ones who can, and will get away with blue murder.

PS: Remembering another 26/11 on way. A moment to remember all the lives lost, including the brave soldiers who laid down their lives, so that we and Kasab could live a bit more longer.
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Monday, September 27

bye bye Eire

By the time you read this I'd have already left the verdant shores of Ireland forever.

Its been a fulfilling, satisfying and virtuous 4 years here in this tiny speck of earth in the North Atlantic. Ireland has formed a strong connection with my life ever since I landed here in August 2006.



I married my long-time sweetheart after I reached here

Bought my first apartment after reaching here, and ironically the apartment is all set for handover this very month!

My piece of heart, my little daughter, was born here in Ireland last year.

The last one especially creates a reason why I'll never be able to cut the chord with this Western European  island nation.

I'm leaving Ireland for strictly personal reasons. Oh, I almost missed telling that we are moving to exactly the opposite side of the globe, to Australia. From the cloudy, wet and cold counties outside Dublin to the warm, sunny and bustling shores of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The weather being one of the main reasons we're moving. There is virtually no outdoor life in Ireland for us. Ah, too bad I'm a touch more warm-blooded than my fellow species.

We have some personal and professional reasons as well for the big move...Australia is far supportive to migrants than European laws and is also better for my career prospects.

The Irish has taught me too many precious lessons in life. I'd be lying if I say I'm not a better person after mingling with the local folks. The pubs, the bars, the motorways, the Guinness, the smoking/ drinking women, the city... all unique and interesting.

One thing they may learn from others is how to keep their tradition. Ireland has allowed the local language, Irish, to wither away and die. Though there are efforts to keep the language alive its almost like a dead language. No one really cares about it. Well, that's not the way Germans treat German language, Spaniards treat Spanish or the Italians treat Italian.

Anyway folks, it might be a touch late when I get a look back at this space. New country, new housing, getting phone and broadband connections, settling and acclimatising in... hmmm, may take a while. Meanwhile I'll try keep the blue-bird fed and groomed. You're following my bird aren't you? If not you're just a click away!

See ye in Oz  mates! :-)
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Thursday, September 23

Your moment is waiting

Kerala Tourism unleashed its boldest ever campaign in a slick and sly event in London just the other day.



The 03:00 min essay is refreshingly different from the routine 'backwater, beach and greenery' themes Kerala Tourism has been successfully flaunting all these years. Keeping the same strengths alive, but experimenting with a new artistically translucent line, KT has adopted a bold, unorthodox but clever step which has won accolades but raising a few eyebrows on its way.

Here is how to blow your trumpet, or here, beating your drums in a different way.




The film opens with a silhouette of a fisherman-figure evolving himself out from a very well blended waterscape, surely shot in or around the Thakkady catchment area. The short essay passes through moments of tranquility when the female protagonist (Swedish model Miriam Ilorah) soothes herself in Ayurveda and wakes up in a surrealistically quaint highland background. She trods down a narrow, offbeaten country-passage crossing a mature frame of an unadorned, performing Kathakali artist before the mundane caricature of Kerala backwaters bring familiarity to the proceedings. Not before the tourist indulges in some theatrical soul-searching in a typically Malabar-esque plateau and amongst a platoon of Theyyam forms, winding up at ridiculous ease against the calmingly reassuring mightiness of Kerala's State animal. Director Prakash Varma has poetized it all in a dream-form, breaking into lazy-rolling but robust, vivid frames and seems vaguely inspired by Ashes and snow experience.

The bold, new style of showcasing the cliched beauty of the state has taken a few aback because of an apparent juxtaposition with the stereotypical image of India. The ad does not physically concentrate on Fort Cochin, Kovalam, Munnar or Kumarakom but on the most potent, untold and enigmatic asset among our rich possessions: culture and diversity.

Kerala Tourism explains itself:

Kerala Tourism's international campaign, Your Moment Is Waiting is a film that goes far beyond the realm of a commercial, to capture the soul of Kerala like no destination hitherto has.

Stark Communications, the brain behind this theme and Kerala Tourism's many older campaigns adds on to the tagline.

 Let's take you to a land, raw and refined, flowing slowly, languorously, sensual and spiritual, stirring memory with desire, the real with the surreal. Don't be surprised if something deep inside tells you that your moment is waiting out here in Kerala, God's own country.

Dr. V. Venu, Secretary, Kerala Tourism is more clear about what they intend to propagate.

We are trying to be different from others by saying pretty pictures don't make a destination, but experiences make a destination.

NatGeo did an interesting study a few years back on 'what lures you to visit a place'. The study fetched up pretty interesting details, the culture and heritage of a place being a major element.

Kovalam, Cochin or Kumarakom is not going to lose any charm just because the new ad ignores the picture-postcard scenarios. It has a message that Kerala has much more to offer than just a beach or a backwater haven or a mountain resort. It urges the visitors of 'feel' the state and experience it rather than merely 'visualizing' it.

'Your moment is waiting'  has been specifically designed for a target population. Those intended to dig a bit more deep than just the tranquility of resorts. The West has a different way in seeing things. The same reason why our Kathakali, Theyyam and other art forms catch their imagination more than ours. The promo aims to attract a new segment of visitors possibly those from the business end of things.

This has always been the idea ever since the think-tanks drafted our Tourism policy. Concentrate on quality of the incoming tourist than the quantity.

Appreciable that KT still believes on the 'quality' adjective. The message is quite clear. Kerala is infinitely different from the run-of-the-mill destinations and depicts itself as something much more than a just a getaway. Now isn't this an angle we always lacked? Though Kathakali and other cultural forms were erratically and weakly featured before, I doubt if it ever succeeded to create an impact before this one. I believe that's the idea behind 'your moment is waiting'.

And it's always good to look at ourselves in a different angle, and I like this one. Respect to whoever made this, knowing very well there'd be a few brickbats around.

Prakash Varma sure has succeeded in catching the attention. It's surreal and packs a punch. The critics remain ambiguous, noteworthy ones that of Tharoor's. Tharoor feels the ad was a bit 'odd' that it fails to  showcase our greenery, waters, people and dances.

From ShashiTharoor's Twitter.



But the intelligent t traveller knows about Kerala, its greenery, its backwaters and all. Google for 'Kerala' and what you get to see what the world see about us. Nobody lands here by accident. A tourist perhaps knows more about us than we could ever imagine. We have more than enough on www capturing our beaches and backwaters, and this advertisement is just another but unique addendum to those luxurious array of magnificent promo materials. And I'd bet this one will take the cake as well.

I don't think a potential traveller will hold back saying "Oh, there is no Chinese nets and the swaying coconut trees in this Kerala video."

Because for the visiting masses the Infosys 'ship' in Trivandrum or the Le Cochin Meredian is not what they eagerly look forward to. This ad may slightly galvanize the 'sadhu' , 'mystic' and 'snake-charmer' Indian  stereotypes but I believe that's what sells where we want to sell it.

Surely Kerala has in it to clinically fumigate the down-trodden Indian images. Creating another Mohiniyattom-Kumarakom- Munnar tea garden- Eve's beach video wouldn't be appealing, magnetic or raise any more curiosity. People forget it as soon as the video ends. And how ingenious to premiere the video during the 'Eat, pray, love' movie which incidentally resonates the spiritual and emotional angles of life.

The criticisms are also aimed at the artistically unreal colours featured in the video. It must've been a  painful  creation experience for the cinematographer and director to take out the rich natural colours of the state to focus on the theme they intend to propagate. It's difficult to corelate to the background music as well, especially towards the end, it was more like a Zulu war cry rather than any  folklore music I've heard.



What's more important is that Kerala Tourism has managed to get Internationally famed figures like Didier Drogba, Gary Linekar, photographer Seamus Murphy, actor Dev Patel, Swaraj Paul and co talk and drool over the video and Kerala. Our own Lieutenant Colonel Mohanlal was present on the occasion and the "magical" video urges him to "go back and discover Kerala again". Businessline Link

Kudos to Kodiyeri and gang.. Kudos to Prakash Varma. And Kudos to all behind this piece of art. Yes, not because many, including yours truly, fully didn't grasp the whole idea :-D

But it just shakes you up to see our home in a way we never dared to see. Jolt! An advertisement must be able to sell the product, and this one sure seems poised to sell big!
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Tuesday, September 7

A.R. Rahman, CWG Anthem and some little facts

People dwelling in the mystic affluent seats-of-power in South Delhi possess some unique proficiencies. They have an incandescent knack of displacing their depressing shortcomings and failures to the ones around them. We all know that for a fact, and A.R. Rahman the last person to learn the lesson the hard way.

image courtesy www.moviegallery.in

The brewing issue is around the Anthem created for the imminent practical-joke-of-the-decade Common Wealth Games, composed by the Academy Award winning music-genius, has been panned and ridiculed by some quarters, most of the noise made by ailing politicians and organizers associated with the CWG. The media pronounced their verdict next moment the song was released and the twitter-facebook freaks also released themselves for free.

Some TV Channel even went on to say "After Kalmadi, now A.R. Rahman lets us down with the CWG Anthem". Well, wtf!

Ok agree. 'Jiyo, utho, bado, jeeto' is not the best of the best from Rahman. But it is nevertheless a hugely inspiring and enjoyable song, which would very well symphonize with the audience, participants and the atmosphere at CWG.

CWG Theme Song by arrahman


The knee-jerk reactions from some of the 'fans' have shocked me. I think many have watched the video through one eye and listened to the song with one ear and then jumped into the social networks. Well, everyone has an opinion. The question is how fair is the general review on aggregates?

We badly need a Rotten Tomato for our Indian songs.

Some of the 'noteworthy' criticisms are:

The tune fails to lift up the 'sagging' spirits of Common Wealth Games. V.K. Malhotra, the CWG Organising Committee member & IOA Vice-Resident (Newslink)

Well, a big lol to that! As if its all Rahman's fault that the spirits are sagged. I'm sure the music has enough in  it to create and sustain the air at CWG; I'm not talking about clearing the ppm levels of New Delhi atmosphere. Those still 'sagged' can go around looking at the stadia, Games Village, roads, footpaths, toilets, press venues, athletes failing dope-tests et al to lift up the spirits.

This CWG anthem and the New Delhi International Airport are the ONLY two things which are/ will be ready before the opening ceremony. Isn't that in itself a huge achievement? :D  Sorry, but I think sardonic criticisms deserve similar responses.


Rahman charged Rs. 50million (5 crore) for the music. It took Rahman and Mehboob (the lyricist) 6 moths to create the anthem

A.R. Rahman is a professional. He lives on his music and this is not a free world. He pockets a paycheck of a cool 10 crores for a film work and spends months on a job. Its not a surprise secret only known outside yesterday. The CWG organizers knew all about it when they approached him.

And I'd like to know from the 5-crore-6-month whiners if this is the only hefty bill the taxpayer has been burdened with. Don't get me started on Kalmadi and his poppycock 1000 crore airhouses which will probably be completed just before Planet Nibiru arrives in 2012.

At least Rahman will pay income tax on that 5 crores goddamnit!


Rahman has churned out a rather mediocre score, a far cry from the Bollywood masala stuff he is used to creating.

To be very honest, the song didn't fully catch my imagination when I first heard it last week. But you know this one thing about A.R.Rahman. His songs are not instantly likeable. You hear it, then you listen to it, then you listen to it again and without even you knowing it you start liking it and the next day morning you're humming it already!

As per my understanding a Bollywood hip-shaker for Shah Rukh, Deepika and co is not what something like a Commonwealth Anthem needs. The song's main catchy-phrase foot-tapper jiyo-uto is good enough to elevate the adrenaline and create a feel of the competitions.

I'm reminded of the clueless Rajnikanth fans who attacked Rahman's house when 'Padayappa' songs were released, accusing him of creating sub-standard tunes unfitting the 'superhero'. It made headlines all over India. 'Padayappa' went on to break all chart records.


Rahman has plagiarized his own song 'Ramta Jogi' from Taal for the CWG Song. The lines as well as the composition are stolen from another context.   - Sadanad Menon on Outlook India

Mr. Menon finds the lyrics too 'bollywood-ish' and 'fake', which could be an argument for another day. But about the 'Ramta jogi' citation, did he? I watched the classic hit-score again. Am I the only one who can't find any obvious similarities?



Rahman is not the kind of person who'd take the country for a ride by not putting 100% into the song. Surely someone who created 'Maa tujhe salaam', 'yeh jo desh hai tera' and 'vande maataram' needn't prove himself over and over again. And to accuse him of overcharging and letting down the nation by just lifting his own score is not a minor accusation.


The song is not upto mark compared with Shakira's "waka-waka" for FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Some people even brought in the Final Countdown -Europe for 'analysis'!

Well wtf fellas. Seriously, Shakira's song became more popular than any other official theme song is another thing but when did we start comparing music at different levels? I've never heard anyone comparing a Mohammad Rafi song to an Elvis Presley number or an R.D Burman score to an MJ rap. Comparing music of different genres is just utter comic.

Isn't it insulting for a globally recognized composer to be suggested that he kill his creativity and morph out something from what a Western performer dished out a few months back? Where is the national identity and pride we boast about?

And hold it there. Just go on and see how much flak Shakira has gathered for 'waka waka' in the beginning. Go. 'waka waka' wasn't a 10/10 from Minute #1 but you developed a liking for it over time. Jiyo, utho isn't a tenner either (in my opinion) but pretty much close to it.



And those who wanted 'waka-waka' in its exact form and style may please wait a few months. I'm sure Pritam will bring it to Bollywood, with credits due forgotten.

[Post Edit] That 'waka waka' itself is an old Cameroon band may be a minor detail for Rahman bashers. Shakira has made it global, credits to her! Click to hear the original 'waka waka'. (Thanks to Deepak for bringing it to our attention)

Out of pure curiosity, how much would the critics give the 'Slumdog Millionaire' songs which brought 2 Oscars and Grammy to India and brought the whole world singing behind Rahman? Nobody in their right senses would ever rate it above Iruvar, Rangeela, Roja, Swades, Vande Maataram et al. Same way, we may not be too impressed by the score but this is for the good part of 63 nations to listen to.

We're all entitled to our opinions but here the politicians and press have just blown the trivial downside of the song, right out of proportion. Some clever propaganda has succeeded in shifting the focus from the real losers of CWG to A.R. Rahman.
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Wednesday, September 1

100*

Just a filler in observation that the previous post was the 100th on No Man's Land? :-)



100 posts in nearly 3 years on Blogger isn't anything spectacular, I know... Small landmarks on this even smaller space on the world-wide-web. But no, I'm not opening champagne.

Thanks to all friends and foes of this blog who've been a constant source of inspiration to keep the space oiled and running. I hope I haven't let you folks down, I've been putting my honest efforts into each and every of those 100 posts. And let me tell you, the opinions are honest...

On way, let me list down the posts which have generated the most hits since 2007. Stats from Google Site Analytics.

The Quintessential Mallu, still fetches approximately 30-40 hits a day just on keywords "mallu", "mallusex", "mallu women and sex" and the likes. I'm thinking about adding a few more tags like "Shakkeela", "Maria" etc to disappoint more enthusiasts from messiah Google.

I'm Green Today brings in a good few from the search engines. Surprises me too. Perhaps it's an indication that the world is more and more inclined towards 'going green'. Good.

Shashi Tharoor: A year into the job, courtesy Dr. Tharoor's couple of tweets which boosted my site hits by 5000 in just 2-3 days. Remains to date, the post with most comments here, 60 and counting! 

Cochin Metro: Essential or Extravagance? The project may not have moved an inch further but still a dozen visitors land here everyday searching for Cochin Metro. Glad to see that there are people still interested in infrastructure and similar projects instead of the old sex, masala and stuff.

Kerala Gold rush: many lost market researchers end up here. Another dead end, please refer market watch :-)

Didn't you get the point? Most lads landing here are lost souls looking for something 'sinister' or better. Surely someone who scrambles Google for "How to act in mallu sex film with Kerala girls" and "IPL gate- what is Gate" or those with "mallu sex videos" have reached the wrong place, haven't they? See, Google owns us.

Good day & good luck!

PS: Forgot to tell which blogpost remain closer to my heart. My personal jotting after the birth of my daughter by far remains my favourite: in da club!  I took just half-an-hour to put up that small personal post but it still remains so very special to me. They say when you combine your emotion with an event, you seldom forget that event. Its true. You mustn't leave without reading it if you haven't. Happiness multiplies when you share it, you see. :-)
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Saturday, August 28

Smile please

Do not open a shop if you don't know how to smile.   -Chinese proverb



"Our apartment price starts at 90 lakhs; would you be able to afford that?",asks a scurrilous sales-agent to one of my friends who 'dared' to ask him about the residential project details.

"Make up your mind if you want to buy half-sleeves or full!", asks bluntly a very disinterested, impatient and rude salesman when I asked him to open a few shirt pieces so that I can compare both before buying. This happened in a leading Menswear store in Trivandrum a couple of years back.

"It will be easier for you to pay the EMI. Also the Insurance will cover your repayments even if you default", the answer given to me by my previous Bank Manager on questioning about some radical, uninformed changes to my home loan agreement. I had requested for a loan term of 10 years (which was increased to 15) and had an surprise 1.5 lakh addendum in the name of a policy (which I hadn't asked for or previously discussed with me). 

"Listen, it can only be that much cold, this is not Himalayam", utters a sarcastic fruit juice vendor in Kumarakam when we complained about the Soda being room temperature. We were on a pleasure trip from college and had specifically requested for 'chilled' lemon-soda.

"If you don't know where Lissie Hospital is then don't travel", the response given to a nun by a KSRTC conductor when she asked if the bus had a halt near Lissie Hospital, Cochin. The conductor's initial response was an abrupt "Dont know!!" in the face of the reverent lady, and received the above response when she said she was asking because she didn't know where the hospital was. The incident happened in Trichur.

"We don't have Woodland but have Parkland and Bootland", says a shopkeeper in Trivandrum when asked if he had Woodland shoes in stock.

Agreed, the last one is an outrageous comedy! It happened in mid 2000s when yours truly and pals were on a shoe-hunt. The poor guy wasn't ignorant but surely didn't know what he was saying. The incident attained epic proportions, produced instantly enjoyable variants and still lightens our moments everytime we get together. Sad, that shop wasn't there in Pulimoodu when I checked this summer :(



The above scripted half-a-dozen instances are real-life, all-too-common occurrences if you're a customer. Ok, the KSRTC conductor personifies a typical government employee who infests on the helpless common public. The term 'public servant' is a terrible misnomer; perhaps 'public dictator/tyrant'  would be a good replacement word for Indian babus. Let's not talk about them more.

But seriously, what the heck is wrong with the folks in some of our business establishments? Why is there an overwhelming and persistent unwelcome feeling? Not everywhere, but I bet all of us have been subjected to such acrimonious conducts as customers on a not-so-rare basis. I don't know, perhaps they all hate their bosses or had a tiff with their wives or may be constipated.

The guy in the first story anyway succeeded in his mission. The builder, who apparently sold (or wanted to sell) his apartments from 90 lakhs up has gone bust. My friend, who enquired about it and got laughed at can consider himself  very lucky, I must say. Perhaps his modest looks and unorthodox way of enquiry may have prompted the sales dude to laugh him off but is that the way a sales guy is supposed to talk? No, you needn't be an IIM graduate to learn basic manners and politeness.

Same goes with the shirt-tale. I felt many times I was doing a great injustice and unfavour to some people by walking into their shops. The first eye contact itself sends me a "why the heck have you come here now" signal. And the salesman in the 'shirt-story' was in so much hurry that he appeared to be on the verge of a climax after a very long, exhaustive masturbatory effort when I interrupted him. No other reason why he wanted to piss me off and go back to firing blanks.

Lack of education? May be. Attitude? hmmm yes. Ignorance? More like it! But what about the Bank Manager who should be more than well-qualified for the high-profile job? She didn't have the courtesy to ask me before adding on an extra heavy component to my loan and committed the serious injustice of extending my loan tenure at her will. All these alterations were done at the last moment just before I put the pen to paper!

Now this is arrogance, or plain ignorance. She is in no way better than the Bus conductor who treated that nun like shite.

Keralites are not well known entrepreneurship, except in certain pockets. May be the political and social climate of the state may have created that psyche but the 'I don't care' attitude is everywhere to be seen. With Kerala relying heavily on tourism, we've acquired the ways to respect and treat our guests with dignity, but we still got a long way to go.


Be it the notoriously slack Air India employees, the head clerk at the village office, the official at the Embassy and Consulates, the imbecilic boy who asks for your credit-card pin at the filling station, or the condescending militant labour unions who rip apart house-owners and business men like predators, it all points out to what the great man once told "Education means change in behaviour; he who doesn't exhibit a change in behaviour isn't educated."

Couldn't we easily estimate the virtues of education in some of the blissfully indifferent friends we see around us?

in the Immigration Officer at the Airport who throws the Passports and documents at your face and treats passengers like criminals...

in the petty rickshaw-walla who gives you the dirty look or act deaf when requesting a ride to a nearby point, or the ones who are out for daylight robbery...

in the receptionist at the hotel who doesn't bother to greet or smile at the guests...

in the supermarket girl who says "I don't know", instead of finding out where the item the customer has requested is placed...

The fact is that these ignorant little fools constitute only a minor fraction of our society but that's more than enough to leave a very sour taste in the mouth.

May you be selling a lemon-soda, a plastic toy, a candy, lettuce, cheese-burger, i-pod, a duplex or your state's natural beauty, before opening our doors to welcome our guests some of us are forgetting perhaps the most important lesson of all.

Smile please :=)
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Sunday, August 15

Catalysts for progress

India celebrates 63 years of freedom today!



Every passing year such reverent public holidays usher in a sense of pride and a feeling of patriotism in being a citizen of democratic secular republic of India, doesn't it? That's the idea behind it. New India now blogs, tweets, checks in on Four Square, wield their smart phones and drive top notch wheelies, also acknowledge the political system, gives out about it (like you and me) and sits on our ass most of the spare time because we don't know how or what to give back to our homeland.

This young India is like compacted tri-nitro-toluene ready to unleash its power, constructive or destructive depending on how you use it.Youth or the hyper-productive age group constitute 42% of our population. They they have the thrust, vision, compassion and dedication to do something meaningful, all they need is support.

I'm happy to take this opportunity to look up at some of the lesser known but meritorious groups functioning in our cities, working selflessly towards the benefit of the society. I've picked four such organizations I know best about, specific to Kerala but obviously an example for every city and citizen in India.



Tidycity is one of the most respected youth movements who does jobs which isn't considered so glamorous. Taking up the social responsibility of keeping our public spaces clean and tidy, Tidycity currently functions within the city limits of Trivandrum.

 Initiated by a fairly well-known cyber-journo and blogger Cris Seetha, Tidycity has nearly 100 members upto date with over a dozen actively working citizens. One of the earlier members and co-blogger Srijith. V is enthusiastic about the humble initiative and finds time for it even in between his hectic work schedules.

Tidycity leads by example by voluntarily tidying up major public spaces in Trivandrum like the Museum, Veli, Kallar etc. They've also joined hands with various Residents Associations for local clean-up operations.The group finds the necessary funds within themselves and has plans to join hands with the local authorities to promote use of bins in public areas.

Tidycity has picked up public awareness and responses via organizing rallies and undertaking School Awareness programmes. With the motto "working towards a clean city", initiatives like Tidycity deserves more than a pat on the back for their efforts.

Contact Tidycity
mail@tidycity.org
Sreejith: (0091)  9895891445




When it comes to city-promotion and developmental activities, TDF has no predecessors or competitors. It is a group of professionals who have fierce motivation and dedication towards the single point agenda: economic development of Trivandrum. From fighting for Vizhinjam project, high court bench, promoting the city as an IT/ tourist destination or in luring investments into the city, TDF exemplifies the critical difference between armchair critics & activists from people ready to give their sweat and blood for their homeland, literally.

Founded in 2002, the works of TDF would put the much heralded Members of Parliament from Trivandrum to shame. No strings attached in its work, the organization through field work, blogs, forums, mail groups and meetings push forward for development of the city and has become one of the unneglectable voices of new Trivandrum.

TDF has cut no corners in its motives when it comes to chronicling and projecting the shining profile of the city on major investment meetings and B2B meets. The Intelligent Trivandrum presentation by TDF at the CII India IT summit 2009 is an example of how a non-profit, non-political citizen's movement has taken up the duty and responsibility adhered to out local Government bodies in promoting investment and creating jobs.




TDF has actively functioned in many crucial development projects including Trivandrum's dream project Vizhinjam, Technopark and Technocity, Road development projects and has also presented the strengths of the city to leading software development companies, Infrastructure developers and builders.

The group has over 2 dozen committed members working on the ground and handed out memberships to 150-odd Trivandrumites from all professional sectors.

Website: www.tribiz.in
Ramkumar Rajan (President) ram@tribiz.in
Sreeram Iyer (Secretary)  sreeram@tribiz.in



A relatively new entity for urban development, KUDS is a Cochin based organisation created by local businessmen, NRIs and a few motivated youth interested in the development of Cochin in particular and Kerala in general.

KUDS has already made a name for itself in this short span of time by involving themselves in some crucial development projects. KUDS is managed by a governing council and offer membership in 3 ways. Any Indian Citizen, NRI’s, PIO’s, OCI’s, and other like-minded individuals etc can enroll themselves as a member of KUDS. The heads of the some of the similar minded organizations are given ex officio membership. KUDS keeps its door open for representatives from Corporate world too.

KUDS devises an elaborate and systematic plan of action for infrastructure development with the involvement of Public Private Partnership in Cochin. From city beautification to planning and design, ecotourism to heritage conservation, provision of Wi-max connectivity to integration of GPS technology in social lifestyle, KUDS possesses the expertise to machinate executable proposals for projects in association with various Governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Members of KUDS have been behind the screens for Vytilla Mobility Hub, MG Road walkway project, solar powering of the city and many more initiatives.

KASS (Kochi Arts & Science Space), AYPIC (Association of Yound and Progressive Indian Citizens) etc are associated wings of KUDS formed to engage with targeted sections of development.

http://www.keralaurbandevelopmentsociety.org/
Anup Jaochim. T (Secretary) Ph: (0091) 9544044440
anuptj@gmail.com
kudsindia@gmail.com



Teaching is the most noble profession in the world. And teaching with pure service as the motive will be one of the most selfless jobs you could do. That's exactly what MAD (Make A Difference) does.

Make a difference initiative is an organization working at another level: development through social improvement. Founded in Cochin, MAD functions through volunteers who make use of their free time in providing English and computer education to grad students thereby increasing their effectiveness in attaining skilled labour.

With the motto "to bridge the inequality in society through education", MAD website explains their work philosophy:

We are an Organization of young people working amongst orphans and other underprivileged kids to provide them with quality education so that one day it shall empower them to stand on their own feet and when the times comes fly away. We try not to grill into their heads the tedious school syllabus but instead prepare them face life better by improving their communication skills, computer skills and their overall personality.

Winner of the Ashoka award in 2009, MAD has grown outside the state borders with branches in India's main cities. Currently nearly 2500 kids have benefited from the 800odd selfless MAD heroes.

Join MAD
jithin@makeadiff.in
president.trivandrum@makeadiff.in


In every Tidycity worker, in every MAD volunteer or in every TDF professional could be the one unsung hero our city is looking forward to. Some of these above mentioned organizations could definitely do well with your support because two hands are definitely better than one. So what have you decided to do for your city on this August 15?

WISHING YOU A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
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