*From To Sathish*-Sathish's new movie Info & Pics pg20! - Page 25

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

"It is true that I miss intelligent companionship, but there are so few with whom I can share the things that mean so much to me that I have learned to contain myself. It is enough that I am surrounded with beauty..."

Books and films are some of the most intensely private and escapist moments a person can have or enjoy.one on one or group conversations and debates just dont measure up to what our mind and soul go through when we are watching or reading a book.


A few years back i remember seeing this film called into the wild directed beautifully by actor sean penn.It is about a guy who turns his back on civilization and goes into the forest.sadly he dies in the end for he eats a fruit which turns out to be poisonous and messes up his body.He starves and dies but not before writing his final thoughts.Many a time have i ridden off away from family and foe starting with my skinny two legs,then on my two wheeler and now on four wheeler.I drive away sometimes to thiruvannamalai or kanchipuram and sometimes to this vishnu temple to go see the gods but in the end it is all a pretence and an avenue to escape.


This abstract thing,this fulfillment we seek,this contentment we seek,this loneliness we try to feel and have come to fear,this emptiness we try to fill.Wonder if these were the same things which plague all life but most importantly humans.I see it in most peoples eyes.Some try to come to terms with it like they eventually come to terms with their poverty and mediocrity.But most struggle and latch onto other lives and try to answerr these questions.As for me i discovered some time ago that these are questions i have to ponder myself and work out on my own.And for sure my answers will not answer your questions.Sad though this phase maybe it makes me feel alive and makes me realise that i am in charge of my soul and its destiny.


Anyways watch this film and i guarantee you it will move you and make you wonder and question so many things.

"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you've never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can't wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it's like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn't exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day's work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there's no need for continuous conversation, but you find you're quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there's a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that's so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."
Bob Marley

politics,politicians and current affairs

What is this romance with the nehru family and the present connection with sonia gandhi.Who knows what might happen in the coming elections.Yes,modi has governed well in gujarat but will that suffice and translate into a larger scale.A strange malady has gripped this land and has been tormenting and torturing us from millenium.Is this th spiritual side of hindu dharma that we will live and let live.It is worth exploring this avenue of thought for this alien ruler syndrome has been with us from a long time.first the muslim invaders and then the english and now the local population has mutated and formed into corrupt and virtueless politicians.I did not see this much clamour for brands,the greed for quality living,the greed to be seen or was this so called malady just waiting to be awoken after the congress came in under narasimha rao.


Sadly most of us indians are still connected to our mother goddess culture and hence madam sonia is pulling the strings in delhi.Hey what suprises me is being a woman she is yet to make a televised speech about all the rapes and deaths which have nbeen happening in our country.For this reason alone i am going to cast my vote for bjp and modi.

Sadly we are spoilt for choices between the corrupt congress and the divided bjp which is filled with dead and dying men like advani and vajpayee.The scenes which have unfolded and ended with modi being unanimously elected pm candidate by the bjp tells a mega serial.Advani pouted and fretted like teenage girl before acknowledging modi as the party candidate.there,there is one of the reasong that bjp might not come into power or will struggle with a hung parliament.

So what stand before us in the coming lok sabha elections is a corrupt and stable government or a government which might be better than the congress and yet might not last the five years.

Quotes to ponder,wonder,smirk and yet go on in hinder

"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages."
Friedrich Nietzsche

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."
Oscar Wilde

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
Apple Inc.

"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not."
Andr Gide, Autumn Leaves

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Albert Einstein

"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."
Mark Twain

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
Oscar Wilde,

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Slipper culture


Most of us indians know and have understood the epic ramayana by valmiki.Many came to know about it in detail when it was telecast in doordarshan a few decades ago.It is ironic that many people who run down tv and films fail to see that many came to know about ramayan and mahabharatham through the visual media.



Ramayana is filled with many heroes and heroic tales and somehow compared to mahabharata is filled with more virtues such as loyalty,love and faith and all that is required for a prim and proper life.I fell in love with the character of bharata but honestly after i saw shivajis perfomance in sampoorna ramayanam and the same with karna.I started this post with the words most indians and i will repeat that adding politicians.Most indian politicians and the majority are hindus grew up reading,seeing and celebrating rama and ramayan.


I wonder if all those politicians believe in god for i personally dont think they do and surely they dont follow him and his sayings.In ramayana after lord rama is exiled to the forest and all this happens when bharata is not there for i am sure he would have chopped off kaikeyis head and add dasarathas head too.Lord rama leaves with sita and laxmana and are well into the forest when bharat comes back to ayodhya and hearing the news rushes after rama to bring him back but not before giving kaikeyi a earful of skulls and bones.

When bharata meets rama,he cries and falls at his feet and begs forgiveness for his mothers actions and requests his brother to return to the kingdom to rule for it is his right.But rama refuses and in the end bharata takes ramas slippers and says that he will use that as a symbol to look after the kingdom and people until rama comes back.Stop just stop and think about this whole scene.imagine a brother sacrificing a kingdom for the love of his brother and for the sake of doing the right thing.

Okay now flash forward to all those mps and mlas who throw slippers at each other in the parliament and who beat and abuse women and try to rip their clothes off.Now ripping the saree off a woman,does that remind us of a scene in mahabharata where dushashan rips off draupadis saree and goes on ripping for it is a big saree.mad big through the magic of lord krishna.


Anyway see what i am driving at and the point i am making.In a land where a man placed his brothers slippers and ruled the land here we have our politicians throwing slippers at each other and add mikes,chairs and lots of other things which they can place their hands on.Oh now you have politicians watching po*n movies on their cell phones.

And they come out in droves to celebrate ram navami,krishna jayanthi and maha shivarathiri.Our politicians are reaching out and testing how low they can sink in our eyes and morally.well i am all for slipper culture and you bet i have got a lot of old slippers ready and waiting to whack these netas and babus in white and who ride in their ratas of lexus,bmws and benzs.sorry audi is the current favourite.and pray what is this new fascination with that strip of xeonon lights burning bright even in daylight and now i see many imitating that in their maruti 800s and santros.Me thinks they are compensating for that which has not been naturally endowed.no pun intended.

AADHAAR AND HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY



Like a sheep among many sheep and with only the gas subsidy in my mind i mustered courage and joined the long line.The counter where i could get myself this card which scans my eyes and records my fingerprints was in anna school.So monday i decided that it being a working day i would finish at best in about 2 hours and be back home.The counter like all government counters and working places was sheduled to open a t 9.00 a.m and surprisingly they did but maybe just cos they were being managed by private contracters.The only government run wrok place which opens very early is our dear TASMAC OR BOOZE shop which promptly starts servicing our needy and vital souls who get their early fix and then lie under a nearby tree in stupor while their genitals are getting a suntan.


So i thought 9,well come on now that is doable.so i decide to imitate the proverbial early bird and thought i would go go there by 8 and get my card and walk away with a triumphant smile.sadly by the time i could get my documents xeroxed and join the waiting line it was 8.30 a.m.There were about 20 people in the line and so i readjusted my ETA to home by another 2 hours.so late breakfast was bumped back to early lunch and little did i know that my late lunch soon transformed into evening tiffin.well my 8.30 oroverbial bird lost to the late night owls who came for the cards by 6.00 am in the morning.Losers i cursed them and thought to myself dont these people have anything better to do than come so early.well the story would unfold and the nightmare revealed.


With about 20 people ahead of me my naive and gullible mind did not take in the diversity which made up the waiting line.Well there was a mild storm of noise and soon a mighty roar when the counter opened for people literate and illiterate jostled and were caught in the panic.People who has stood patiently now yelled at their top of their voices and i hear on woman from behind me that she had to go to work so get a move on.i smirked and thought to myself well woman you will get to work in time but maybe if you are working the night shift.


The glorious thing was that the queue consisted ofpeople from upper middle class,lower middle class and even those from below the poverty line.funny i saw a beggar from a nearbye temple standing on two legs waiting patiently for his turn.Wow unless he magically sprouted his left leg this guy had led me on for the better part of twenty years with his sad smile and quiet dignity while begging.what an actor,something i should aspire to and a lesson learnt.

Well i knew most of the people who were standing and thnakfully for the elderly and weak there were benches put out but parallel to those standing.well some had to do it and soon those wise old folk opened their coffee flasks and slurped their filter kaapi with noises which were drowned by the sad and jealous sighs of those who stared at them.I thought good for you guys.The flasks of coffee soon turned to biscuits and some norukku theeni.Just about this time a crowd of thirty to forty peopel walked past us and joined the people who were standing in front of the line.me the coward i am raised my eyes to the heavens and thought ellam avan seiyal.The longest i have stood for anything was to buy tickets for dharma durai first day first show and i lost two buttons of my shirt.but then i was a a young man and wouldnt have minded losing two of those to catch superstars film on the first day.but that was then and this is now.Lot of old people raised their voices and roared and i squeaked but all in vain for it was a muslim family and smarter than most of us for they had sent their strongest and youngest to stand in the line and all their names were on the census slip.So most of us resigned ourselves that the 20 had become 50 and that my early lunch had become late lunch and which would soon turn into evening tiffin


I thought well satish you have come and we shall go home with the aadhaar card and that is all there is to it.F..k everything alse.8.30 A.M turned into 9.30 A.M and soon the snakes,jackals and bandicoots turned up .you know who i am talking about,those sneaks who try to slowly creep and join the head of the line.Painful as it was some did and some sneaked back to the hole they crawled out of.It hurt me to see that there were old men and women of ages above 75 to 90 who stood patiently for their turn and in dignity that brought tears to my eyes not to forget the coffee which brought panga and acid to my tummy and yet yound people of ages 18 to 30 kept trying to sneak inside and get their job done.This is it my people this is it.right there i saw why the nation is being destroyed and yet it still struggles on.If young people could use their muscle,connections and feeble excuses to avoid standing and waiting for their turn then imagine those politicians in power with access to loads of cash and power.why wouldnt they dabble in corruption and hoarding.

I have stood in lines for gods darshan in famous temples like tirupati and thiruvannamalai where we pay more to be in special queues but right there in the line i was standing for my aadhaar card i saw men and women from all walks of life standing shoulder to shoulder.retired ias officers and fisher women and my friends servant in all their glory of sweat and smells.I saw and thought at least here in this line all indians sorry most indians are equal.


well to end this ponderous story i got my card at about 4.00 p.m and hobbled back on aching ankles and a full bladder.And then just like that i hear the news that the aadhaar card is not reuqired to get your gas subsidy and that the voters id or ration card would do.well i nearly passed gas in the fit of anger that coursed through my mind and body.But just like the prices of onions,just like the prices of petrol.just like that paan paraag which somebody spat on my car while i was obeying p.chidambaram i buckled and went about my day.What to do, we are indians ,we are like this only.

The above post is reminding me of the lines:

Two beggars are sitting side by side on a street in Rome Italy. One has a Cross in front of him; the other one is holding the Star of David. Many people go by, look at both beggars, but only put money into the hat of the beggar sitting behind the Cross. A priest comes by. He stops to watch the throngs of people giving money to the beggar who holds the Cross, but none give to the beggar holding the Star of David. Finally, the priest goes over to the beggar behind the Star of David and says, "My poor fellow, don't you understand? This is a Catholic country; this city is the seat of Catholicism. People aren't going to give you money if you sit there with a Star of David in front of you, especially when you're sitting beside a beggar who is holding a Cross. In fact, they would probably give more money to him just out of spite." The beggar behind the 'Star of David' listens to the priest, turns to the beggar with the Cross and says: "Moishe, look who's trying to teach the Goldstein brothers about marketing."