Two Deaths...

Kunjunni master (maash), a Malayalam poet - unique.

"Kuttettan" for so many Mathrubhumi weekly readers.
Kuttettan who used to send back so many of their valuable poetries and short stories adorned with scratches and corrections.

I first got to know about him when I heard a cassette "Kunjunni Maashum Kuttikalum" (Kunjunni master and the children).Children - I guess he identified best with them, and I doubt if any child would have loved any other poet more than him.

And on the school annual day, when I was in the Third standard, there stood this short man, with a bristle beard, thick black specks, clothed in a "mundu" that reached till just below his knees and a simple white khadi shirt. He was standing in a corner, just like a lost child. From the cassette cover, I recognized him , and got an autograph. :)

His poems were simple, but conveyed a lot of sense. Simple, down to earth.

AAdiraanjalikal...



Prof. Eachara Warrier.
Who became known for all the wrong reasons.

The images that pop up are Rajan, Emergency, Karunakaran, REC, Kakkayam camp and Jayaram Padikkal.

Rajan murder case was one of the most sensational cases and had forced the then Chief minister, K. Karunakaran to resign.

Rajan, a final year stuident at REC calicut, was arrested and tortured to death in Kakkayam Police camp, for being associated with the Naxal movement in Kerala, and allegedly looting a police station of a gun. Though there was enough evidence to prove that Rajan was not present during the looting, the police, under the orders of the then DIG Jayaram Padikkal, mercilessly tortured the young man to death.

His father, Eachara Warrier, begged every single corridor of power, knocked on every single door, to get some information about his son, who was missing. He did not even get a glance of Rajan's body. It was presumably burnt in some remote forest.

The then Home minister and later the Chief minister, Karunakaran, made very devious attempts to cover up the whole thing and vehemently plotted against the poor father from getting justice. But finally justice prevailed, at least partially, and he had to resign.But the culprits went unpunished. Jayaram Padikkal retired when he was holding the highest post in State police. (he died in 2002, i guess). Karunakaran still plays power games.Eachara Warrier, the humble father, died the day before Vishu.You can find his book, "Memories of a father", here : http://www.ahrchk.net/pub/mainfile.php/mof/

This incident happened during emergency.Whatever be said of it, trains ran on time, govt. departments were punctual and efficient - it remains a stark reality that it was a dark time; of utter human violation. the opposition hunted down like animals.

And how much ever you admire Mrs.Gandhi for her "iron fisted rule", it remains a reality that she committed some of the most heineous crimes under the cloak of emergency.
And how much ever Karunakaran goes to Guruvayoorappan and prays, there are some stains that you cannot remove. Even with remorse.

Eachara Warrier will be remembered for persuing justice undaunted by power.

Chaos...and hope!!

A lot of things to say..

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First of all, the nasty reaction to Dr. Rajkumar's death yesterday. He was a cultural icon, a great actor, a singer, a Padma Bhusha, A Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner, a winner of 10 Film Fare awards, a survivor from Veerappan's kidnapping, and above all a clean and gentle man. I pay my humle homage.

But all said, he was just a man, and he died of natural causes. Being from outside this state, i underestimated the public reaction that'd follow this. When my company urged people to leave early, little did I understand the seriousness of the situation. But when I reached my place (and in record time too, because there were very few vehicles on the road), all the shops were shuttered down. No food, no water, nothing. With some luck we did manage to get some food, but for someone who's not accustomed to this, the incident is very exasperating. Why would anyone resort to violence on the roads, burn trucks, and throw stones at vehicles and buildings if an actor died? Nad that too of natural causes? How will my manager explain to the client that half of the IT companies in Bangalore are not working because an actor died? And there's even a cable black-out. I agree that it is only a small section of people who might be causing this, but that small section is enough to bring shame to the so-called IT hub of India.

I guess I should be proud to say that I belong to Kerala, where we might strike every other day, either to protest against cutting of trees in amazon or to protect the poor of Nigeria from World Bank intervention, but we never ever wreak havoc over the death of a matinee idol and a cultural icon.

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"May you be tough as a Rock." - Rig Veda (LXXV-XII)

No, not the VHP (Viswa Hindu Parishad) this time. This is the motto of "Paritrana" (the complete relief implying the end of the very cause of distress, in Sanskrit), a new political party launched by a group of IIT-ians.

Now, why would these guys launch a political party rather than help launch rockets in NASA?

Well, much before the RDB boys dreamt of killing the Defence minister and changing the world, these guys had come up with a much more feasible and non-violent solution. To launch a political party that'd have the best of the people in it.

You might want to visit them http://www.lokparitran.org ; Might want to vote them or even join the party.

Let's dream a better tomorrow.

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Airtel ad.

The "Express yourself" theme, shows a glimpse of Quit Inida movement, Martin Luther King, The Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Churchill, David Sheaphard (the cricket umpire), the Berlin wall.
Awesome ad.

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J Krishnamurti on knowledge and thinking -

"If you are alert, aware of your own process of thinking, you will see that whatever you tink has already shaped your mind; and a mind that is shaped by thought has ceased to be free, and therefore it is not a mind that is individual.

So self-knowledge is not a process of continuity of thinking, but the diminishing, the ending of thinking."

That thing you do...

You have seen this a hundred times.

You are travelling in a bus, or a train, or you are just walking along. And there is this very pretty young thing sitting across you or you see coming along. If you just about tilt your head as if looking out of the window you can see her.

She has a nice sweet smell about her and wears a short sleeved t-shirt and jeans. She has her hair tied in a neat little pony-tail. And she KNOWS that she has attracted your attention.

Just about when you are about to look away, she lifts her hands, and unties the small hairband, letting loose her pony-tail. And then she wraps the hairband around her wrist, and in a very typical manner twists her hair, and then ties it with the hairband once more. And you just gawk at her.

Believe me, this is one of the most mesmerizing sights, and one of the most appealing things a girl can do. It gives you a glimpse of that nook on the neck, her longish arms and a bit of a peek depending on the t-shirt, her hands doing trick on the hair, and she gives you a small elusive look and a smile.

I think they really do it on purpose. Else, why would anyone with a perfectly tied pony-tail in place re-tie it?

So near, and yet...

I was watching the Australian Grant Prix yesterday. Finally, other than in athletics, really got to know the meaning of so close, yet so far.

Fisichella was following Jenson Button closely, and Button, the pole position winner was not going to give up. Lap after lap, for about 10 laps, this went on. Accelerating, braking, taking perfect corners. Even we could feel the pressure of having a car just about half a second behind you.

Button handled it very well, driving perfectly.And finally, when he entered that final lap, we were all too relieved. He'd make it. Fisichella cannot overtake him now.

And then , just before the final corner, smoke bellowed out of Button's car, it flared, and the engine coughed. He could see the Checquered flag beckoning him. If he had a choice, he would have got out of the car and pushed it to victory. It was just a matter of about 20 yards. After you have driven a bit more than 300 kilometres in just about an hour and a half, and the car stops just a few yards short of the flag, you know that it's so near, yet so far...