Bits And Pieces

1st - This is not about ketchup or jam, or anything related to Kissan products. 2nd - Kissan means farmer in Hindi. 3rd - This post is quite a biggie. About a year back, i had to write an environmental science exam. It was only while studying for it that it struck me, that this subject is probably the most important among anything i've ever learnt till now. A pity then, that the whole exam is just a formality to most, where one must "mug up stuff" the previous day, "vomit it" today, and "forget all about it" tomorrow. But it got me thinking, and i have a few questions. I suppose all of us have read some article or the other related to farmers' suicides. Obviously, the reason behind it is money, or rather, the lack of it. As a layperson, i have absolutely no idea about the inner workings of the system. How does food reach the common man from the farmer? Who buys the produce from them?Are there any middle men? Who pockets the profits? What are the st...

"Enakku rendu gaaji because vinee is in my team. Ava uppukuchappa, avalukku valayaada theriyaadhu". For non tamils - "I get 2 turns because Vinee is in my team and she is a terrible player". I have lived and loved those days of cricket, carrom, paandi and all the other lovely things that brothers, sisters and cousins play when they meet up. I dedicate this post to my brother and all my cousins with whom i've had such amazingly crazy times! Sometimes it is cricket (with our own crazy rules), or CARDS (when the elders usually join in for a game of ace spades aka ASS!), or carrom (where there's always some confusion or the other related to thumbing, arrow, half red or burning the board), >=8 corners (an extended version of 4 corners) or the good old paandi. Sozhi, paramapadam (snake &ladders) and pallaanguzhi were played to please our grandmother so that she could join in. TV videogames were another source of amusement. We could never quite have enough...

I'm a chronic procrastinator. For those who don't know, it means that i always defer things till the last minute. The all knowing Wikipedia says that it may not be such a good thing after all. Let me give you Wiki's diagnosis : 1) I may have some psychological or physiological disorder 2) I may be suffering from issues related to anxiety, a low sense of self-worth, and a self-defeating mentality 3) I probably have a lower-than-normal level of conscientiousness 4) I could be having an underlying mental health problem such as depression or ADHD 5) I am prone to internet addiction (the first thing that i can truly vouch for ) Quite a list! But the most important thing to note here is that I'M NOT LAZY! I'm just task-aversive. Guess what! There's a pretty good probability that you are like me too. Ever felt this way - "ok let's finish this thing...hmmm let me go get my pen...what's this they're watching on TV?" 2 hours later - "what a veth...

Let me key you in on the background when this post was written - Yesterday, i watched 2 movies. I forgot the first one's name (a nice guy died in it), and the other was Sweet November(the girl has cancer). I'm usually only jobless enough to catch one movie, but yesterday was an exception. And today, i borrowed a book ( "The Gift" by Danielle Steel) from a good friend and had a nice time reading it. I think you can get what i'm driving at - Yep! Major emotional overload! I'm a sucker for feel good emotional stories, and if there's a death of some loveable character, which there usually is, my eyes get all leaky. The first time that i can remember myself reel crying is for Lion King, when Mufasa dies. And then it continued with films like baazigar, Forrest Gump, Kal ho na ho, and so many others. If you ask me, i'd say that Shahrukh has perfected the art of dying! Same with books. I mourned pretty badly when Beth died in Little Women, and DANIELLE STEE...

I think old people look very beautiful. Not in some smouldering or hot sort of way of course, but, you know......in a cute and crinkly way. And i like spending time around them, listening to what they have to say, most of which are memories of the good old days. The stories that my paati (mom's mother) has told me - seriously good :) and all real life stories. There's this one that's titled "Saleththu amma shaani aducha kadhai". I'm very sorry dear non Tamil readers (if there are any of you), the best translation i can give is "The Salem mother dung throwing story" :) My paati's family hails from Kumbakonam, and this story is about her grandmother (my ellu paati) whom everyone referred to as salethamma. In those days the common practice was to clean up the dining floor with varati (dried cow dung). My ellu paati did that, and casually, she strolled to the thinnai (the front portion of the house), and flung the used varati. And WHAM! It hit a poo...

Ok, i'm already tired of being the only person who can view my blog. And it's getting to be very boring. So, irrespective of whether the blog is good or bad, i've decided to go public. Any constructive criticism is most welcome :) And if you have something interesting to say, please be my guest. What's life without sharing our experiences, especially if it can lighten others' minds..... WELCOME TO BITS AND PIECES Nice to have you here :)

Paatiiiiiiiii........seththa inga varelaaa........nammaathla palli irukku, adha verattungolaen pleeeese. This is perfectly normal at home, but elsewhere, there would have been a LOT of sniggering :) Welcome to the iyengar household, where saathumdhu(rasam) rules, Dhudhyonam(curd rice) is a way of life, and after a hard day's work (or gossip), we all go back to our aathu(home). For a looong time now, the tamil brahmins have been teased for their baashai. Take a flashback to the hindi film 'Padosan'. Remember the 'yekku chatura naaru' song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HwrMGpFaik Yup, that's precisely what i'm talking about. Funnily enough, most of the people i've seen can pronounce 'ek chatur naar' as it should be. I guess it's just that we've got cult status like the sardarjis :) It's really funny, you know, how the brahmin community has been caricatured. If the cinema people need some iyer or iyengar mama, just throw in a person w...

All of us have superstitions. Atleast most of us do. Want to know what mine is? I've got a fixation with the number 8. If i can't get 8 i'll settle for 4, and if that's not possible, i'll go for a multiple of 8, or atleast an even number (i pick up the phone after an even number of rings). Weird la? I know it's silly, and i also know that even if i pick some other number, my life's not really going to spiral downwards. But there's a feeling in 8 and it sort of makes me feel complete. Let's take the example of music - In carnatic music, 8 lays a foundation. I'm sure a lot of people know about Adi taalam. Take most of the rythms and beats you listen to, and you'll find the underlying current of 8's in them. And what about the exercise drill that we used to have in school? The counting goes all the way upto 8 before coming back to 1. Once you start looking for it, you can actually see 8 everywhere. Funny though it may sound, i actually drink...

I read a book a few days back and since then i just can't stop thinking about what it says. A NEW EARTH - Awakening to your life's purpose by Eckhart Tolle I borrowed the book from my chithappa and i think that must have been one of my life defining moments (ye all, hear the clap of thunder that adds significance to an otherwise dull moment). It is a spiritual book, but not boring, and it is not religion specific. Although written by a German, with loads of inputs from the bible, it did not affect my belief in the Hindu faith. Following is an extract from the book - "THE DUCK WITH A HUMAN MIND After two ducks get into a fight, which never lasts long, they will separate and float off in opposite directions. Then each duck will flap its wings vigorously a few times; thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened. If the duck had a human mind, it would keep the fight aliv...

After several false starts, i've finally done it. My very own blog, that only i can view (as of now atleast) :) I've always heard about blogs, and i've read a few as well. What is it about this online ranting that appeals to so many? Must be the publicity. What appeals to me? No idea whatsoever. I just wanted to type away i guess, and here i am :) On to some resolutions - I solemnly swear that i will update the blog atleast once a year, but i hope to achieve a better performance than that (don't wan't to feel guilty about not being able to achieve any lofty targets). I will maketh ze blog az interezting az izz pazible. And i will not start any hate campaigns. And...........well that's it.