*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 74

Jannal Oram 366

Chennai City Police Commissioner Vishwanathan quickly walked towards the conference hall that was just down the corridor from his office and was greeted by the many Deputy commissioners and Joint commissioners and after chatting with them for a few moments, told them that he would meet them all in his cabin in a short while and entered the conference hall.

A hush fell over the large hall with the entry of the senior police officer when just a moment ago, loud irritated and frustrated voices had filled the air.

Commissioner Vishwanathan looked at all of them ' Good morning to all of you and thank you very much for making it to this rather abrupt press meet. I am extremely sorry for the delay in my arrival for I was held up with some important matters.'

All the members of the press who were gathered there could see that the commissioner's face was marked with tension and fatigue and realizing the grave circumstances that the city was in remained calm and listened to him with rapt attention.

' I am going to talk for a few minutes and then I will answer whatever questions that you have for me and in good faith and as long as it does not concern any on-going cases and security issues.'

The senior reporter from " The Hindu " immediately stood up and protested ' sir, we are here about on-going cases and not about old and cold cases.'

' Touche, Mr.Krishanan. But, we are not here to discuss semantics sir and when I say ongoing cases, it means that, and only that, and you and everyone know the drill.'

Looking at the reporter ' hence the use of good faith sir.'

Krishnan from The Hindi conceded the point gracefully although he could have parried the commissioner's reply and countered with a killing thrust himself. But, he knew the game and had played it for a long time and so was well aware that it was no fun antagonizing a senior police officer and that too the commissioner himself and waited for a better moment.

Commissioner Vishwanathan was a veteran and an old dog that knew all the tricks of the trade and seeing the expression of the senior reporter smiled and said' Thank you Mr.Krishnan for letting me off so easily.'

Ruffled feathers of the reporter along with that of the other reporters were smoothed down by the commissioner's polite words, and all of them decided to play nice and settled down in their chairs but with bated breath and bursting with a million questions ready to be fired.

' Yesterday afternoon, Home Minister Mr.Vaidyanathan was killed by an unidentified person, a woman, who herself was killed in the attack. Since the case is a very grave one and that goes right to the heart of security issues, more details cannot be divulged as of this moment.

Later, in the evening, a bomb exploded killing seven people immediately although the official count has gone up to 11 now for four people who had been critically injured in the blast, passed away in the night and in the early hours of today morning.

We have no idea as to who is behind this dastardly attack on innocent people and that too in a hospital. No person or group has come forward claiming responsibility for this heinous act.

We are gathering all the information available from CCTV'S in and around the hospital and have identified an individual who we think is responsible for this attack and will soon be releasing his photo to the press and public.'

He looked at all the journalists and reporters from both the print and broadcast media and said ' This is all I can say as of now and will take your questions and stress once more that I will do my best to answer them in good faith and as long as there are no security concerns regarding them.'

He pointed to Krishnan, the senior reporter from The Hindu and said politely' sir, please start' and took a sip from the bottle that was placed for him.

' Commissioner sir, My first question to you is, who killed this woman who assassinated Minister Vaidyanathan?'

Chennai City Police Commissioner Vishwanathan choked on the water that he was sipping from the bottle and hurriedly looked at the senior newspaper reporter and replied ' Sorry, but I cannot divulge that information as of now for it might pose a serious security risk to the individuals involved.'

Krishnan whose full name was K.Radhakrishnan had been reporting news for more than 35 years and was a veteran in the print media and was well known all over the state and country, thanks to his constant appearances in all the popular tv channels as an expert consultant and he was not a man that could be easily evaded or pushed aside with a simple and technical reply.

' I am sorry Commissioner sir, but what is the point in calling all of us to this press meet and what is the point in taking questions when you cannot answer the simplest of them?'

Commissioner Vishwanathan knew that the press meet was going out live and that he was in the glare of the lights and in the eye of the public and so calmly replied ' sorry but my reply is the same and it is about security issues.'

The Hindu's senior reporter smiled ' sir, is it true that there were two unknown civilians, a man, and woman that were seated at the same table with the late Minister.'

' I am sorry but we are still in the process of gathering and ascertaining who all were present at the time of the attacks and since the investigation started yesterday, it is too early to talk about it.'

The Hindu's senior reporter K.Radhakrishnan's voice went seriously calm ' sir, is it true that it was one of the civilians, a young man who fought bravely and putting his life at risk and took down this killer woman after she had shot three bullets into the minister.'

Chennai City Police Commissioner Vishwanathan knew very well that somebody would talk and also knew that it was, only talk for all the phones had been seized from the few staff members who had been present at Hotel Connemara when the attack had taken place and their data wiped out and all of them had been strongly warned to not talk to anybody, importantly with the press or they would be arrested citing security reasons.

So calmly, he took another sip of water and replied again and repeated the same answer ' Sorry, I cannot confirm that information right now.'

The veteran reporter continued ' one last question sir, is it true that it was this same man who threw himself between several police officers and the bomb and saved all their lives.'

The question felt like a real bomb had exploded inside the conference room and for the first time, beads of sweat popped up like pearls on the commissioner's forehead and everyone could see that this mega bomb of a question had thrown him off balance and had left him flustered and very uncomfortable.

But then, the commissioner was not only a brave man but also a highly intelligent person and with a subtle smile playing on his lips replied ' what will you do if I tell you who this brave man was, and what use, do you or the rest of you, really have for wanting to know who this person was? Answer me honestly and I will tell you who this man was right now.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3glgoPGvLs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3XGynvy_V4

For all those times you stood by me

For all the truth that you made me see

For all the joy you brought to my life

For all the wrong that you made right

For every dream you made come true

For all the love I found in you

I'll be forever thankful baby

You're the one who held me up

Never let me fall

You're the one who saw me through through it all

You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'cause you believed

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me

Ooh, baby

You gave me wings and made me fly

You touched my hand, I could touch the sky

I lost my faith, you gave it back to me

You said no star was out of reach

You stood by me and I stood tall

I had your love, I had it all

I'm grateful for each day you gave me

Maybe I don't know that much

But I know this much is true

I was blessed because I was loved by you

Jannal Oram 367

Just when all the people gathered in front of the commissioner had thought that he had been really cornered by the senior reporter Radhakrishnan from The Hindu, he had answered the question with a question of his own and the ball was now literally in the court of the press.

A hand was raised and Commissioner Vishwanathan turned to the person and saw that it was Mrs.Dharini from the Times of India and he said ' yes' and waited for her question.

' Sir, we are here to report the news and tell the public what is going on and we try to do that with as much discipline and honesty as possible.'

Not getting any reply or facial response other than a stoic look from the commissioner, Dharini continued ' Is there anything wrong in us press people asking for details about the people concerned in the case and which is exactly what Radhakrishnan is doing?'

' Ma'am, I have absolutely no problem with the questions that you are asking and also with the many others that will be asked of me. But, my reply is, that this case began yesterday, and we have just now started gathering information as to who was involved and why they were involved in both these serious crimes. If, you were to ask me the same questions a week later, maybe I will have more news and information to give. Until then, the security issues surrounding these cases supersede your need for more information and details.'

Radhakrishnan, a past master in reporting news came back with another question 'is the young man involved in the case under arrest or has he be been placed in a safe house?'

Little did all the reporters gathered there in the conference hall realize what the bond Commissioner Vishwanathan had with Raman for if they had even an inkling about it they would have then known that their questions were futile in nature and no information would be forthcoming from the police officer.

' Sorry but no comments on that question as it concerns security issues, and importantly, concerns this case.'

The man from Hindu would not back away or give way and pressed on again ' so it is true about this mysterious man who is supposed to have been in places of crime. Then, that means both the cases are connected to each other.'

Commissioner Vishwanathan smiled ' I am sorry to repeat my words but no comments.'

Senior reporter Radhakrishnan cleverly changed tack and attacked from a new angle and with a new question ' Commissioner sir, what if this man whose details you are refusing to divulge is behind both the crimes?'

Commissioner Vishwanathan still and now totally composed replied ' sir, please make up your mind as to what you want this man to be. Hero or villain? For, just seconds ago, you said that you have information about this so-called mysterious man killing the woman who murdered Minister Vaidyanathan and also saved many police officer's lives by placing himself between the bomb blast and them.'

He raised his right hand in a gesture of questioning ' tell me sir' and then raked all the members of the press with an accusing look ' is this what this press meet is going to be and are these speculations your questions to me?'

The Hindu's senior reporter did not want to admit defeat but he had just been forced to and graciously conceded the point that the commissioner was making and said ' sir, please accept my apologies for I have no intention in offending you by asking petty and speculative nature of questions. But, don't you see and agree that like you, we too are just doing our duties as reporters.'

A filthy reply sprang to Commissioner Vishwanathan's lips, but he resisted it and reaching for the bottle took more sips of water from it and said ' Mr.Radhakrishnan, there was a time when all most all articles were printed only after a thorough investigation and with enough proof in hand. This standard was maintained and its integrity protected by all members of the press. Alas,'

Raman who watching the press live in his hospital room along with everybody else, reached for his phone and typed a message and pressed the send button.

The phone was in silent mode but the screen flashed brightly and notified the commissioner that he had a new message and with hooded eyes, he saw it was from Raman and tapped on it with concern.

The SMS read ' he has something in hand. Somebody has spoken to him and has given him either photos or videos. Don't push him too much. Step back and talk to him personally after the meet is over.'

Raman could see on the screen that the Commissioner had seen his Sms and relaxed visibly.

Bharat asked Raman ' did the commissioner just get a message from you?'

Raman nodded and then looked at Kutty Jeeva who was sitting on Kavita's lap and watching the tv screen ' Your return has put you too in the line of fire.'

At the press meet, A reporter from Indian Express raised his hand ' sir, so many innocent people from the public have died and what is the government going to do to compensate their families?'

Commissioner Vishwanathan stared at him ' that question needs to be put to the chief secretary or the Chief minister for it is under their jurisdiction and not mine.'

The Indian Express reporter smiled and nodded ' Touche sir. But answer this question that surely falls under your jurisdiction and which is, how do you plan to protect the city and its people from any more bomb blasts.'

Commissioner Vishwanathan sighed ' by placing stringent rules into action and enforcing already existing rules without any leniency. Three armed reserve police forces have been put into Patrol duty and they will remain in action until the criminals behind these crimes have been arrested.'

Even as he was talking, he saw both Mrs.Dharini and Radhakrishnan, reporters, huddled in a conversation and knew that they were going to come back at him hard and with precisely aimed questions and knew that the next ten minutes would feel and be like a chicken being grilled inside a hot oven.

As expected, the senior reporter from The Hindu newspaper launched a new attack with a totally bizarre question, that stunned, not only the commissioner but everyone who was gathered there and also everyone who was watching the press meet.

' Commissioner sir, this is a very simple question and concerns a dead person. Sir, is it true that the dead body of the woman who shot and killed Minister Vaidyanathan is missing and that you have no clue as to where it is right now?'

This question was like a nuclear bomb going off and the conference room was filled with voices, noises and yet one question rose above all and that was ' is the Chennai police department so unfit and have they fallen so far down in their duties, that they can't protect a dead body?'

One reporter angrily screamed ' why talk about a dead body when these men cannot provide protection to patients inside a hospital?'

Suddenly the doors to the conference room were thrown open and in came armed, army commandos dressed fully in black and they took positions around the entire room and then finally a lone man walked in looking totally relaxed.

He clapped his hands loudly and growled silence and the room fell silent.

' Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am General V.K.Singh, Additional secretary, office of joint operation, RAW.'

He looked at all of them and said ' Please forgive this rude interruption but I had no choice for it concerns national security. It appears that one of you has been contacted by the criminal mastermind behind the attacks on the late minister and in the hospital.

I value and respect your rights to privacy but you have to agree that national security supersedes all those rights. So, I beg of you, the person who has been contacted and has been given information concerning the cases to step forward and do the right thing which is his duty as not only as a citizen of this country but as a member of the press.'

All the reporters looked at each other, wondering who this person among was and then slowly all fell quiet and watched in pin-drop silence as Radhakrishnan slowly got to his feet with a smile and said ' I am that person who was contacted but I had no idea as to who it was and all I was given were a few photos and some details about both the case that happened yesterday.'

Commissioner Vishwanathan heaved a sigh of relief and then wondered as to how Raman had anticipated this and had messaged him.

V.K.Singh whispered into Commissioner Vishwanathan's ear ' Raman was the one who sent me here, to save your skin and also see if this man can help us in finding out more about this killer we are after.'

This Indian Life

What are Indian family values?

Would individual principles work in a population that is largely contradictory, inconsistent, and boundary-free?

By Shoba Narayan, Hindustan Times, October 16, 2019

To understand what constitutes Indian family values, we need to first define what constitutes the Indian family.

Is it the phrase that grandparents end their prayers with: Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu (let the whole world be happy)?

Or is it the phrase from the Maha Upanishad that is engraved at the entrance hall of the Indian parliament: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is my family)?

Is it the many legal definitions of the family that we have in India (unlike, I would wager, any other nation)? Nuclear family, joint family, undivided family, extended family…the list goes on.

Or is it how we print our wedding cards? Not only do we invite a specific person, couple, or indeed a family to a function, but we always add, “Please come with friends and family to bless the couple.” Who are these friends and family? It doesn’t matter. “All are welcome.”

Family is a nebulous concept in India. It implies community, caste, village and a wide spectrum of what constitutes a relative. Wedding caterers are told to expect “plus or minus 100 people” for the feast. In contrast, Western weddings expect an individual RSVP with military precision about numbers. Everyone gets a seat with a name tag on the plate. Extra guests are not accounted for or accommodated.

This then is the number one Indian value, which anyone who grows up in India intuits: boundaries between self and others are porous. Things are shared between cousins, ranging from saris to safety pins. Kids are hauled out of beds to make room for visiting elders or friends. Bedroom doors are not shut. Privacy and personal space are a Western concept. People pack themselves into autorickshaws, sitting atop each other without care for body odour. They walk in and out of homes without need for appointments or phone calls. Guests are accommodated even if they sometimes are not welcome (particularly in the evening when television serials take hold of even the most hospitable lady).

The number one Indian value: boundaries between self and others are porous

The second Indian value is epitomised by the act that all of us Indians joke and rue about: how we keep our houses clean and dump the garbage on the street or in our neighbour’s house. Call it hypocrisy or call it comfort with contradictions. Indians are two-faced. They can hold two contradictory thoughts, combining deep religious conviction and rational astronomy with insouciance as A P J Abdul Kalam did. We do this every day. We are nice to relatives, going to railway stations in the middle of the night carrying hot tea and tiffin for them. But ask us to read to the blind or volunteer at an old age home and the whole notion of “the world is my family” flies out of the door. Contradiction: thy name is India. Is this a good thing? I think so. Any child growing up in India develops a nimble mind that is flexible and able to process contradictions. We disdain systems and consistency. Then again, consistency, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, is the hobgoblin of little minds.

The third value that distinguishes India is something that A K Ramanujan has written about. We are a context-sensitive society. How we behave is not based on absolute ideas of honesty or ethics. It is entirely explainable by situation and circumstance. The same man who venerates goddesses can treat the women in his life like s*#t and see no inconsistency in this. We don’t understand absolutes, be it with respect to time or place. It all depends on who, what, where, when and why. I know an 80-year-old woman who travels the world in a sari and diamond nose rings, speaking at women’s conferences. She encourages, coaches and empowers her women colleagues. Yet, this same woman comes home and does not allow her husband or son into the kitchen; her behaviour entirely explainable by context. One is home, the other is work.

Okay, so we are inconsistent, full of contradictions, context-sensitive and have a loose sense of boundaries. How now to translate these into the family? Are these the values you want to teach your children as unique to India and something to be proud of? Like it or not, I think these four values are something that every Indian family passes on to the next generation, simply by living in India. You may be in a posh Lutyens bungalow or a high-rise in Mumbai. But any child that lives through Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai or election campaigns in Delhi understands that living in India is like a dream where Gods can morph into floats and priests can openly ask for bribes in order to get close to an equal God.

The question then becomes: can each family have its own set of values on top of these Indian ones? Can you figure out values that family members can adhere to and practice?

By Shoba Narayan, Hindustan Times, October 16, 2019

Originally posted by: Raman_jeeva

This Indian Life

What are Indian family values?

That was a truly brilliant article to read!

Thanks for sharing, Satish.

I hate to say this...but after reading the article, I feel I must be the anti-thesis to Indian family values!

In a family setting, I will NOT thrust upon my son to look after me when I get old.

Why should he? He did not ask to be born.

(If he had a choice in family planning, he might have even chosen a different set of parents!!)

Plus what's the point of living with the son's family under the same roof?

In all reality, the daughter-in-law will probably be secretly counting how many more of my birthdays I will live to see!! And she will be praying earnestly at the temple on Fridays to grant her freedom from me so that she gets her own space and power to rule.

Why go through all this just for a so-called "happy family portrait" to frame up on the wall after I die?

Is that the kind of sordid memories I want to leave behind? Do I really want my loved ones to feel relieved that I have "finally" gone?

I would rather be independent in my own home for as long as I can, and then move into a nursing home (with basic facilities and music and books and cable tv). If my son wants, he can surely take care of me and visit me...but there will be NO bad blood if he doesn't. Instead, I would be delighted and proud of him for the man he has become within his own family.

I will respect boundaries. If I cannot, how will I teach my son to respect others' space and his own sense of self-respect?

(Do you want me to teach him to just walk into a bathroom when a woman is bathing? Am I suppose to take pride that I am raising a future criminal for the country?)

Similarly, time is an issue. Not because one is "busy". But because one can often take time for granted. And one can take their loved ones for granted too. Especially if it is "family". I would rather swap quantity (of time and relationships) for quality.

If India is the world's rape capital, we must understand there is something tragically wrong with our strong family values.

Mothers are not raising their boys the right way.

Men are not respecting their wives inside their 4 walls.

Women tolerate crap in the name of "adjusting" in family life.

Children are not spending enough quality time with their parents.

Parents decide to have two kids. They say it is "wise" family planning. It is good to have at least one boy so that the future heir is secured. (Modern 21st century mindset here.) And at least two children so that if the other wanders off, the other one is still around to look after them in old age. How selfish is that?

Then they say they do it so that the other kid does not "feel lonely" and has someone to play with. Okay.

So in reality, this is what happens...

the children play. Then they fight. Then the parents become a referee for the wrestling match between the kids. So then they buy two ipads. Each kid in his own room with his own ipad. Peace restored.

Now the parents can go back to fighting with each other. Or sit in silence, browsing on whatsapp on their iphones. I guess no one is "feeling lonely" here.

OMG...do educated, working class people understand the real meaning of "feeling lonely" in an Indian family (nuclear/ extended) setting?

That saying is so true - If you want to see change in this world, go home and love your family!

But more importantly, learn to love and respect your own space within that family too.

Hi Spain,

So, finally, you make an appearance. You write so well and with such great detail for thought and emotion that it is a sin that you do not write and post more regularly on this side of the forum world that is under my name.

Honestly, your diction and grammar are far superior to that of mine and always leave me quivering in my boots.

Maybe, I should start sending you all my works so that you can edit and present it in a more polished manner.

But, all your words and thoughts are true and are a daily occurrence in most city-dwelling families.

All the best.

Jannal Oram 368

It is not every day that a senior officer from the nation's premier Intelligence agency along with Armed Commandos gatecrashes a press meet being conducted by the police department.

The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. It was established in 1968 following the intelligence failures of the Sino-Indian War, which persuaded the Government of India to create a specialized, independent agency dedicated to foreign intelligence gathering; previously, both domestic and foreign intelligence had been the purview of the Intelligence Bureau.

Almost, all Indian citizens are familiar with the government intelligence agencies such as the CBI and IB and although many have heard about RAW, most people don't tend to think or remember much of it but for catching a mention of its operations outside the nation's boundaries.

Police, Kakhi, and IPS are much-flaunted terms and even the CBI is very familiar to all and although infamous for being the watchdogs of parties in power have been made famous by the portrayal of Malayalam actor Mammootty as an upright and honest CBI officer in all the four CBI films by Director K.Madhu.

If the entrance of the Raw into the press meet was a great shock to all the members of the press gathered there, then the public confession by Senior Hindu reporter Radhakrishnan that he had indeed been contacted by someone, and that someone could indeed be the one who was behind the killing of Minister Vaidyanathan and the bomb blast in the hospital was enough for chairs to be moved back and for everyone to give a wide berth to the man in the center of the storm, Radhakrishnan himself.

General V.K.Singh, Additional secretary, office of joint operation, RAW crossed the ten or so feet that separated him and the senior reporter and stood before him with a smile and then folded his hands across his chest and said ' Hello sir.'

Radhakrishnan was 15 when the emergency was imposed by the then Prime minister Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977 and he remembered most of it for his dad had been working in the Hindu himself at that time.

With that in mind and the horrors that many innocent citizens had suffered in the name of national security, he looked at V.K.Singh ' Why does it feel like the emergency period is being subtly imposed again under this government?'

V.K.Singh raised both his eyebrows and nodded ' funny, you should mention that and it is truly remarkable that only those who are in a muddle of in a spot of bother seem to suddenly recall the emergency period. Guilty conscience maybe sir?'

Both men stared at each other and again Radhakrishnan went on the offensive with another accusation ' All these armed commandos and to arrest me?'

' I hadn't thought of that until now but now that you have so kindly suggested it,maybe I might just do it instead of asking you a few polite questions in the commissioner's office.'

Pointing to all the video cameras that were still beaming live, he said softly ' both of us, are live, and on national television and since you have raised a serious question, I am forced to give you a reason for my presence here and also the reason for the armed commandos.'

He used both his hands to signal and wave to all the reporters present ' please, all of you gather closer to both of us so that you can hear and record all that is being said at this time.'

The reporters slowly shuffled forward nervously and stood around both V.K.Singh and Radhakrishnan and watched what unfolded before them.

Raman clapped his hands and looked at Jeeva and all the others ' that stupid reporter just hung himself and that too on live television and this is going to be remembered forever.'

Bharat looked at Raman ' It was a perfectly normal question that the Hindu reporter asked. So, why are you so excited?'

' I am so excited because the reporter opened the door on the topic of emergency himself and now will find it very difficult to shut it for it is out there and now live in everybody's house and an experienced person like V.K.Singh will not miss the chance to score points for himself, his agency and for his chief, Modi himself.'

Originally posted by: Raman_jeeva

Hi Spain,

So, finally, you make an appearance. You write so well and with such great detail for thought and emotion that it is a sin that you do not write and post more regularly on this side of the forum world that is under my name.

Honestly, your diction and grammar are far superior to that of mine and always leave me quivering in my boots.

Maybe, I should start sending you all my works so that you can edit and present it in a more polished manner.

But, all your words and thoughts are true and are a daily occurrence in most city-dwelling families.

All the best.

Aww....thank you so much for your beautiful words and compliments, Satish!!

I am a BIG fan of your writing! I have been for all these years. There is simplicity and sincerity in many of your posts which I really do admire and respect.

I enjoy writing too. But I do not feel tempted to write or post in public unless I am emotionally over-charged about something!! Otherwise, I prefer to keep dormant and silent in my own space. Maybe next year (with many work commitments out of the way), I will try to be a bit more active on this forum.

Until then, thank you very much for your beautiful stories and for entertaining us with your delightful posts throughout the year!!

I am truly indebted to your daily posts...for they have kept me going and glowing in the midst of everyday challenges.

Thank you. Sincerely.

Wishing you and other members here a very Happy Diwali!!

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful day. All the best.

Everybody has a story to tell. Everybody has many stories to tell. Everybody is a story by themselves. Everybody and every life is a chapter in the story of this beautiful blue planet called Earth.

Me, I have many stories to tell and as you have noticed by now, I do tell them and nothing seems to stop me not even sarcastic and sometimes nasty posers that come my way.

But, as I said, everyone has a story, even the bad ones and the nasty ones and that for another day.

There is a story that belongs to the women in my life and who belong to my family and they are my grandmom, aunts and cousin sisters. The story is about three pregnant women and getting ready to deliver and they were all from three different generations. Grandmom, daughter and Granddaughter all pregnant but not necessarily in that order for my paati had several daughters and she had them all at a very young age.

I often sit alone, totally amused and bemused at the same time, wondering what the scene would have been as all the three women in the ages between 45 or 48 to 15 or 16 were brought in and the doctor had to do her thing. I wonder how the three women looked at each other and what the two younger ones would have thought of the older one.

Conservative and constipated minds would have thought ' yendi kizhavi, peran petti vandaachu. Then, why and what are you doing here?'

Poor grandma must have replied ' what can I do if your grandpa does not leave me alone and what is wrong in me being here when I am only in my 40's?'

I wish I had the opportunity to meet K.Balachandar for then I would have told him this story and he would have probably made a hilarious comedy out of it or would have probably done a u-turn and gone in the seriously socially uplifting way and would have asked important questions such as ' should people in their 40's stop having sex? should parents stop having sex after their children are born and are all grown up? and so on and so forth.

I wonder what the title would have been if he had accepted my story and had directed it.

Hospital vijayam. No, he made that as Bama vijayam. Anubavi raja anubavi. No, for this is a story about three ranis, not rajas.

maybe avargal.vendaam for that title is apt for that film between sujatha and kamal.

Arangetram maybe, although they are here because of that.

Yes, I know what I can name the story of the women in my life. " Thappu Thalangal" ille " Pudhu pudhu arthangal."

Revealed! What makes young Indians ANGRY?

Rediff.com, October 19, 2019

The 'Age of Rage' survey by Tata Salt Lite revealed some startling facts about the causes of stress and anxiety among urban Indians.

Tata Salt Lite recently conducted a survey to test major causes of anger, stress and anxiety among urban Indian population.

The 'Age of Rage' survey was conducted among participants aged 18 to 35 across 10 metro cities in the country, namely Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.

The findings revealed that the pressure of fear of missing out (FOMO) and not able to remain connected online is one of the major causes for stress and anxiety among urban Indians.

Here are some startling findings of the report.

68% of the population in metro cities admit to getting angry/irritated if Wi-Fi connection or Internet abruptly stops working.

More than half of the respondents (56%) admitted they would be likely to succumb to demonstrations of ‘Road Rage’ when delayed to work because of traffic.

More than one-in-six respondents (16%) even claimed that they would be likely to lose their tempers at service providers such as drivers and traffic police for no apparent reason.

61% of respondents claimed that urgent work from manager on holiday would make them angry enough to argue with manager and make some intentional errors

60% of the respondents claimed that they are most likely to lose their temper at their close friends and family.

Sharing some more details about how stress, anger and anxiety affects overall health, Sagar Boke - Head of Marketing, consumer products of Tata Chemicals, shared some more alarming facts.

'Our nation is inundated with extreme levels of stress. In fact, about 89% of the population in India states that they are suffering from stress compared to the global average of 86%.'

'17.6% of the respondents cited traffic as one of the top three causes for their anger 'most often'. Although, nearly three quarters (74%) agree that food, exercise, and lifestyle directly impact their temper and stress levels less than a quarter (24%) claim to exercise daily,'

Boke also pointed how people’s patience and tolerance levels have reached an all-time low.

'The causes for such behaviour are numerous -- population growth, perceptions of inequality, social media, work-life balance pressures, etc, but a lifestyle choice and, importantly, diets, represent a key aspect of managing the same. According to research by National Center for Biotechnology Information, each 1-point increase in anger was associated with a 12% increase in the risk of hypertension,' Boke added.

Jannal Oram 369

V.k.singh turned his full attention towards The Hindu's senior reporter Radhakrishnan his calm demeanor belying the anger that appeared to rage inside him and instead repeated the words ' Emergency being subtly imposed' and he turned towards all the reporters that had their cameras and microphones aimed at both of them and unknown to them had the entire nation now glued to this standoff between the press and the government.

' Mr. Radhakrishnan just stated his mind and the statement was that Emergency was being subtly imposed under this government. First of all, I would like to make him and all of you aware of the fact that I have been transferred several times in my career by all the governments that have come and gone out of power and so I have no personal equation or swear no allegiances to any politician in particular.

I do my duty as best as I can and that is it. I also do my best to stay out of the eyes of the press and tv and prefer to carry out my work in peace and ask for no reward and credit. But, when a senior reporter makes such an accusation and casts aspersions on me and my department, then I think it is fair that I respond for if I don't then it will be taken as not only cowardice on my part but worse and which is my refusal to say anything will be taken as a confirmation what the reporter has just accused me of.'

Turning to Radhakrishnan ' sir, we both are the same age and in our late 50's or so and that means both of us were teenagers and perfectly aware of the Emergency period that took place between 1975 to 1977.

Sir, who was in power when the emergency was imposed and what happened after it was imposed? pray refresh your memory and then answer my simple question, sir?'

The reporter from The Hindu remained silent for he knew he had been outwitted and cornered and all he could do now was beat a retreat with grace and wait patiently for the RAW chief to make a blunder which would then give him an opening. For he knew very well that the finish was more important that than the fight itself and that even if he was beaten to a pulp, he could still salvage a win with one killer blow and which is called a knockout.

V.K.singh knew perfectly well the waiting game that the reporter was playing and instead spread both his hands in a manner of questioning and asked ' anybody' and many voices chorused ' congress'.

' So, the emergency period was brought in by Congress and the very party that your newspaper is openly supportive of and in the same vein openly critical of this current government. The reason that I am even debating this statement of yours is that I too am a government worker and so I am right in the crossfire and in the bullseye of your accusation.'

In a loud voice, he asked ' Is there any forced sterilization of men from the Islamic faith being done under this government when the same was done during the emergency period under Indira Gandhi's congress rule? Have all the opposition members been arrested en masse and thrown into jail and tortured like all of today's top leaders were done during this emergency that you are talking about? Have power and water supply been disconnected to all the leading newspapers and tv channels like it was done during the emergency period?'

He looked at The Hindu reporter ' I am here to talk to you and to request your help in finding the man who was behind the killing of Minister Vaidyanathan and also the bomb blast that killed nearly a dozen people in the hospital.

But, more importantly, I have come in trail of this same man who was also behind the killing of both,the former defence minister's niece and also this nations highest-ranked army officer Brigadier Sooryanarayan's only child Poornima and also Mr. Vijay Bhaskar, your states brightest political star and who was loved by all, including you.

Now tell me Mr.Radhakrishnan as to why questioning you in all these cases appears as if the emergency is being subtly imposed by this government when the killer has been in touch with you and has given you proof and details of all these crimes.'

Looking sad and puzzled at the same time, V.K.Singh asked the most important question and delivered the knock out blow that the reporter himself was waiting to deliver.

' Tell me, sir, what will people think when they know that you are in touch with this dreaded killer? How will your own newspaper react when they find out that there was a chance of preventing these crimes from happening?

But more importantly, answer my question sir and which is, is your newspaper job, ratings and reputation more important than national security, public safety and the prevention of crime.'

The Hindu newspapers senior reporter knew when he had been defeated or in this case won over by what was right and said softly ' you are right sir. But, honestly, I have done nothing wrong and this supposed killer got in touch with me only late last night and this proof that you are talking about is a mobile phone that was delivered by a courier today morning to my house.'

He reached into his pant pocket and then smiled and said ' sorry, it is in my laptop bag' and went towards the place that he had been sitting during the press meet and slowly took out the large screen mobile phone and looked at it with irritation for it was the cause of all the commotion in his life and career.

Both, the commissioners and V.k.Singh's mobiles vibrated with notifications and both took it and saw that the message was from Raman and then saw the single word message " BOMB".

Malik was feeling grateful for the live telecast through which he was able to see what was going on at the press meet although he had hacked and set up the mobile phone's camera to send him data along with a thick slice of Semtex, C4 explosive inside it.

He knew the moment had slipped by when he saw both the men reach for their phones and then looked at The reporter with fear and shock and open their mouths in a warning yell.

V.k.Singh did the exact thing which Raman had so bravely and thoughtfully done the previous day and threw himself on Commissioner Vishwanathan and fell to the ground.

Cursing himself for waiting so long, Jamun Aka Dhanraj Malik pressed the speed dial on his mobile and " Boom."