Faceless people

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These are the people, who have lost their faces long before. Losing their houses, own country and people, what do they search for? War has become a part and parcel of their life. They grieve in the cemetry of their loved ones. The pictures above are taken by one of my Sri Lankan friend during the LTTE's Hero's Day. It is a day to remember the martyrs, who have lost their life in the war. She gave me a shocking and surprising information. There is an entire village in Sri Lanka with only widows living. Their problems are colossal but, solutions are less. Are they a cursed generation? It is difficult to understand their pains unless you are one among them.

Three days in Thiruvananthapuram

Another important field trip for us. First day was a little bit boring as there was no place scheduled to visit.

Second day:
We all were ready at 8:00 in the morning in front of the State Legislative Assembly. The architect of the building was excellent when compared to George Fort in Chennai. After frisking, we were allowed to enter inside the building. There was tight security everywhere around the building. The infrastructure was excellent , as once you enter the hall you will be left amazed. Attending an assembly session is the first experience for all. The members were speaking and arguing loudly. We sat in the visitors gallery. One thing that you cannot tolerate in the assembly is, you are neither allowed to move nor speak. If you doze a little, a man behind would come and warn you. After the second warning if you repeat it again you will be thrown out. As the members spoke in Malayalam, it was difficult for the non-Malayalees to interpret it. As a result we were left bored. Unless and otherwise it was a good experience, as not all will be able to see the assembly proceedings.

Centre for Development Studies: (CDS)
One of the reputed Research Institute for Social studies. The entire building was designed by Laurie Baker. Learned a lot about fellowships and research studies. Sanjay, our Prime Minister's PA for media is from this institute.

Meeting with Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan:
Evening was party time. It was Valentine's Day too. Irrigation Minister Radhakrishnan arranged a meeting and dinner with him in a five star hotel. The interview was hilarious as we all shooted questions after questions to him leaving him tongue-tied. "This is an intelligent batch" was the comment from one of the senior reporter of Manorma. We all were in cloud nine. Had excellent dinner in the hotel. Valentine's party was going on in the hotel. Went with one of the classmates and got roses and masks (hurray! I got a Valentine gift).

Day 3:
This can be called a "Royal Day" as we met the two princess and the Raja Marthanda Varma of the Travancore in the Kowdiar Palace. The princesses were so friendly. They spoke a lot about politics and social issues. Quite interesting. Had an opportunity to see the wonderful paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. The Raja was very modest and simple. "No politics please" was the request from him. He spoke a lot about Travancore family and their history. He cleared a lot of myths regarding Mahabali Chakravarthy (He shouldn't have a pot belly as being portrayed in the pictures). The trip was not that tiresome this time.

'US' and us

Nearly 25 people from US visited MASCOM yesterday. A day of relaxing amidst the projects. They belong to an NGO called Indo-American foundation, which has selected some of its students to do a project in India. Some of them were a native of India itself. (Surprising! they were more "Indian" than us). Had a trip with them in the backwaters, had delicious food in the "coconut lagoon" resort. What a welcome for us!! Made good friends. Enjoyed the whole day!!

A 'different' ly abled person!

Sometimes, you meet certain people you can never forget in your life. Had an opportunity to meet a wonderful person. He was 33-year-old. Attacked by cerebral palsy, he uses the wheel-chair for his movements. Yet, the achievements of this man is the one that every man, who desires to succeed in life should learn and inculcate. He is Mr Paresh Palicha. "Sorry, I cannot speak clearly. Hope you don't mind," he spoke in an excellent English. This man a famous movie critic and a successful journalist raised his legs in ecstasy when I asked about him about his acting in the Malayalam movie "Black." Mr Palicha belongs to Gujarat but, has settled in Kochi for many generations. "I thought that everybody thinks me as an animal but, now I have the confidence to face the world," he said. Interested in literature, he spoke a lot about movies and books. Disability is not a hindrance he said. Working for Tata Tetley company, he keeps himself busy by reading, writing articles and surfing the net. "Betti, he even forgets to have his food," said his mother. Felt happy when he said "You are a good friend."

A journey alone!

A journey alone after a long time. This time it was to Kochi for my project. So, packed water bottles and snacks in a small bag. Boarded Waynad express at 8:30 in the morning. Thankfully the train was at correct time. Sat comfortably in the ladies compartment. The train was not much crowded as it was a National holiday. Several girls and women were chit-chatting and gossiping. Felt a little bit drowsy. Had a small nap as the train moved on. "Will the train stop at Ernakulam town," I asked a girl nearby. she nodded confidently. A little later as the train reached Ernakulam junction, a few men dumped inside our compartment with loads of luggages. "Is this supposed to be a ladies compartment?" I asked the girl again. "Yes, it is. But, it becomes a general compartment in Ernakulam," said the girl. Didn't get the logic. Yet, gave a big smile to the girl.
The men who sat opposite to us seemed to be mischievous. Giggling and staring they asked "Evadayannu?" in Malayalam. "Why do you want to know it sir?" I asked the man. Thats it. He kept mum. Ignoring them, I wore my ID, getting prepared to get down at the station.
The day was not much hot as it used to be in Kochi. Walked on the road and asked a petty shop owner about the bus to Infopark. Transportation in Kochi is good. You need not wait for hours for a bus. so got a ticket to Infopark, a half-an-hour travel from the town. Hoardings all over the town showed that Kochi is slowly turning to be an IT hub. "There is no direct bus to Infopark madam. You have to catch an auto from the last stop," said the conductor. Thanked him and went near an autorickshaw. "Thirty Rs is too much. Take twenty," I argued with the man, which I do very well in Chennai. Finally he agreed for twenty-five. Infopark is extremely good. Colossal, glassy buildings with different names welcome you. Got permission from the security and met several employees. Finishing the work, my next destination was to meet Mr Paresh Palicha, a wheel-chair user and person affected by cerebral palsy. He assured me of helping in my project. Got a bus directly to Fort Kochi, another 45 minutes travel. Contemplating the newly-formed malls, shops and sea shore, I reached Fort Kochi. Felt a little bit hungry. There is one inconvenience in going alone. You will feel uncomfortable to have food alone. Anyhow, thinking that I have to travel more I went inside a restaurant and had chapati and chilly mushroom amidst the staring of people. Got a bus again to Mr Palicha's residence. Finding his address was not much difficult. Had a good time with him and his parents. Bidding him bye, I came back to the railway station. I enquired the next train to Kottayam at the information centre. "You have Waynad express at 5:00," said a lady. Had enough time to refresh. Boarded the train back to Kottayam.

Mein Hindi seekh rahin hoon!!

Spoken Hindi class is going on and we are all learning ek, do, theen. I being very poor in Hindi dont know not more than twenty (that too after hearing Madhuri's blockbuster song). Mein Hindi pad sakthi hoon, likh sakhthi hoon, samaj sakthi hoon lekhein bol sakthi nehin!! Have a lot of Hindi speaking friends. But, I speak mostly in angrezi with them. Now I m badly in need to learn the language as I gotta work in the North. So mein Hindi pad rahin hoon!!!!!!!!!

The Funeral

Mr George Benjamin passed away. Went to the funeral yesterday. The 94-year-old choir master might be single, but people thronged his funeral function in his ancesteral home, which showed the popularity and respect for the man in the town. There was no wailing, no crying but, melodious hymn flowed in the air by the choir group. Perhaps, it must be his students who wanted to pay respect for the man who devoted his life entirely for music. Returned with a heavy heart.

Love thy Life

"Love" a mesmerising word, which is the basic for existence of human being. Had a discussion with some of the friends after watching a movie. The movie was practical. Can you hate a person whom you have loved? If you love a person and he /she refuses it, then what will be your reaction? Will you start hating that person? You can react in two ways. Either you take revenge against them or else you destroy yourself. There is a third way to handle the situation says the movie, which was quite interesting and practical.

1. If you have genuinly loved the person, you can never hate them even if they refuse to accept your love.
2. Telling someone that you will love them, if only they reciprocate it back is nonsensical. It is a true business.That only mean that your love is not pure. It expects something. Love someone without any expectations. It is not necessary for your love to be reciprocated always. Sometimes the person you love must not have felt the same way as you did. It is quite natural and noone is to blamed for such a situation.
3. Destroying yourself for not getting the love is utter stupidity. You don't respect yourself, your love, and the person around you. Both the extremes are unacceptable. If your love is genuine, stand a little far away. Adore them in your heart. Are they getting married? Go there, give gifts and bless them for their well being. That is the respect you give for your love and the person you loved.

Missing Pongal at home

Pongal today. Celebrated as harvest festival and an important festival for Tamils. Missing the ghee flavoured Pongal. Mother garnishes it with cashews and cardamom. so, no Pongal this year!!

The Night of the centipede

With numerous legs and hairs it was there moving in my room. It was the centipede!! The look of it scared me a lot. Getting down on a major task, I along with a friend took a broomstick and slipper trying to kill. Hiding inside a pack of polythene bag it was safely escaping from our eyes. "There it goes, beat it," was the repeated dialogue of mine. "I think it must be knowing Tamil. See how it understands what we speak and escapes," told a friend adding oil to the fire. Fully terrified, I picked up the phone and called another friend of mine for help. "oh that one, it was looking so cute and sweet. I saw it in the morning. Please don't kill" she said. Frustrated and filled with fear I jumped over the bed determined not to get down till that goes away from room. The chicky-chicky centipede happily went under the cot. Must be thinking it was the safe haven. Tired after a great effort went to a deep sleep filled with nightmares of centipede.

On line journalism

On line journalism! The word itself sounds fascinating. It is one of the fast fetching mode of media in this IT dominated century. Today it was a class on on -line journalism at our main Manorama office. Mrs A.. daughter-in-law of this great family takes care of the Manorama on line section. (she has done her MBA in Pitsburg ,cool.....), a dynamic and confident lady. She spoke a lot of on line media and their demand in the market. What she considers advantageous in on line is there is no deadline, no spacial constraint, low cost and no geographical boundaries. On line is quick and saves your time. If you live far away from your country and still want to have access to local news, then on line media is a great boon. On line media does not cannabalises print media is what she says. But, on line media is more acceptable among people when it is backed up its own print as it increases your credibility and reliability. (For example, Times Of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu all have their own on line media) It is difficult to be a standalone. My question is what do youngsters prefer now? What do they think is more comfortable? Reading an article in paper or browsing on web pages? comments please.

MASCOM in a colourful mood

Wow! Is this MASCOM? This was the question which came into our minds when nearly 50 students from St. Xavier's, Mumbai came for a trip to MASCOM yesterday. Colourful girls, cool boys ooo........ it was wonderful. We all were busy introducing ourselves and explaining the goodiness(?) of MASCOM. Oh mine! what I noticed was most of the girls and boys were smoking (Inspite of knowing its injurious to health). When others were busy speaking (flirting?) with the students, some of them were noticing the sarcastic smile in KTO's face. U can never predict what he thinks! The student's visit was a little refreshing from the usual lectures and bashings.

Where the rain is born

Read a wonderful book yesterday. Where the rain is born, a collection of short stories by eminent writers such as Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdi, Kamala Das etc. and edited by Anita Nair. The stories are about Kerala. Each story can be called a jewel which runs deep into the emotions of people and clearly depicting the culture of the state. Lively and interesting.

One story which affected me was Ancient memories written by Jayshree Mishra. The story is about a newly married girl and her emotions and fear of entering into a new world. The character named Janu, a Malayalee settled in Delhi was married to a rich and conservative family in the central part of Kerala. Entering into her "second house" the story goes on the girl's fear and emotions of getting acquainted with the new environment, in laws and her new husband. The story is wonderfully written and well presented. This is true in most of the cases in girls. No one cares about the girl and her sensitive feelings. She is forced to forget her family in a day and is expected to become a part of the new family, the moment her husband ties the knot. she becomes a puppet in the hands of her in laws and husband. She loses her individuality, and in the course of time she loses herself. Nice book. Worth presenting for someone.

Forget all !

Tomorrow is a start of yet another beautiful year. During the past year there must have been sorrows, pain, disappointments, humiliation, loss, despair and a lot more. But, this is the time to forget all. Forget the sin, forget the mistakes. Let new relationships blossom, let their be happiness and fullfilment in the minds of all. Let this 2006 bring success, hope, peace and contentmentl. HAPPY NEW YEAR

some comparison

Now at home. Holidays with loads of assignments. A little away from the lousy town of Kottayam to the hurry, bustle Chennai. Chennai has its own distinct features. Unlike Delhi and Mumbai the city is said to be a little conservative. Beach, roadside dosa corners, idli , vada, jasmine,spencer, temples ,central and egmore all makes u have a good time to hang out and have fun. The city is lively and you will never be bored.
" Ennadima nanna irukiya?" asks a 'mami' in a nearby house in her local Brahmin dialect. The man who iron the clothes for the colony people gives me a friendly smile. Children playing in the roads happily comes and asks my arrival, my dog wags its tail continuously showing its love and affection. People here have a sense of warmth, friendliness and hospitality which makes you happy.
A day starts with the early morning "Suprabadam" of MS, filling the air with a devotional fervour. Mother gives a hot coffee with its strong aroma (besh besh romba nannnairuku!), and Suchitra with her hot, mesmerising voice says Good morning Chennai! in the 98.5 radio mirchi. I simply love Chennai!

Finally its over!!

Hurray!! I have finished my paper. Tiresome job for the past one week. Whole lot of responsibilities, tension, fear and all. Now everything is over. Just when I got the A3 printouts in hand, felt satisfied as a mother after her delivery. Sometimes hard work makes you happy. phoo.. now back home for a break.

A guy from The Hindu came yesterday for a lecture. Quite different from the boring guest lectures. Learnt a lot about writing offbeat stories. Was really useful.

Not again!

Yet another boring seminar this time made everybody tired and frustrated. This time it was on "Disability communication" at Kerala Press Academy, Kochi. The topic seemed interesting but the seminar concentrated mostly on medical terms, making it look like something scientific. As usual there was barely 30 people inside. Yawning and gossips were more frequent in the hall when the organisors spoke.
Apart from this the seminar had one interesting feature. It was on how the films and documentaries portrayed the "differently abled" people. A few shots of documentaries and movies such as "Anjali" and "Koshish" were shown which were based on these disabled people.
"There is exaggerative portrayal of people in the media," said a person from Brotherhood, a NGO based in Delhi which creates awareness among people about disabled people through their film documentaries.
The few points which he said,
1.Avoid portraying disabled people as objects. They should not be ridiculed.
2.Avoid sensationalising
3.Avoid showing them as super human
Overall it was an "okay" seminar.

Editor Madam

So, now assigned as the editor of our paper this week. Being an editor holds more resposibility and sincerity. Have to select stories given by the reporters, should assign pages for the sub-editors and make sure that the paper comes out well. Above all I have to run inside KTO's cabin getting bashing and hearing all the "damn", "hell" and "nonsense" from him.

But, this training helps you to handle pressure, teaches you how to work in a newspaper industry and how exactly a editor should behave. Apart from this there is a difficult job of writing your editorial for your paper. This will be a Christmas issue. We all are working extra to bring the paper earlier to enjoy few holidays. Planned to make the issue colourful with x-mas articles. Tiresome job, yet interesting! Let me hope for the best.

Death and loneliness

Loneliness is a worst thing that can happen in a person's life. Everybody need a companioship, another heart to love them and care them. Life without this love and care is null and void. This is what I felt when I met T N George Benjamin, a great person who has lived for decades long in town. This 94-year-old choir master was lying in the bed with a dull look in his eyes. Having lost most of his memory, he cried out of pain at times. "I have no one with me. My father, mother, brothers and sisters, wife and now its my turn. I have lived a long life, now its time for me to depart," he said in a low, feeble voice. Mr Benjamin is known for his excellent voice and his inclination towards music. Came out with a heavy heart and eyes filled with tears.
J.T, a friend of him also lives alone. His wife died few years ago and his children live abroad. "Every person in life should settle everything before his death, as you cannot predict when death would come. Now, I have settled everything and waiting for my another world. What else is left for me here?" he asked. I had no words to tell. Life sometimes is horrible. Living alone is a real crucifixion for any person. Even when you die you would like someone by your side to care and console. I remember a poem of Ed meek

He was so old his bones seemed to swim in his skin.
And when I took his hand to feel his pulse
I felt myself drawn in. It was as faint
as the steps of a child padding across the floor in slippers,
and yet he was smiling.
I could almost hear a river running beneath his breath.
The water clear and cold and deep.
He was ready and willing to wade on in.

The only thing I could do is to pray for Mr Benjamin's soul to rest in peace..