Nochur!

Nochur Bhagavathy procession to the Theru

19/Jan/24: As we turn onto a sub-road at Kuzhalmannam on the speeding NH544 from Thrissur to Palakkad, the surroundings suddenly seem to settle down, relax and breathe easy. After another 10 km drive, covering the modest village of Koduvayur and its angady, a narrow road takes us to the humble surroundings of Nochur, which houses a relatively small agraharam of the Tamil Brahmin community who had migrated to Kerala centuries ago.

We, as an ad hoc plan, are here for the annual chariot festival (Ratholsavam/Theru) at Nochur Bhagavathy (Shanthi Durga Parameswari) temple, which falls on the first Friday of the Tamil Thai month (Jan/Feb). It is along this Bhagavathy temple and an adjacent Krishna temple that the Nochur agraharam is lined up.

It is only on these festive days that this otherwise silent gramam springs up with its effervescent energy. Being present on this auspicious day attending the rituals followed by the annadanam, which serves the divine payasam (commonly known as chathu-shatham), turned into a blissful experience for all of us. 

However, it would have been incomplete without a walk through the agraharam. That wish of ours also got fulfilled by visiting the ancestral agraharam home of our friend Sobha. A walk around the house which has rooms older than two centuries, an old kitchen which once served the entire gramam, the thick wooden doors with unique locks all took us back to a completely different world which thrived once upon a time! 

Of all, the short time we got listening to the anecdotes from Sobha’s in-laws turned out to be precious. 

“Nochur had more than 75 traditional agraharam homes a few decades back which has now depleted to around 30, and even among them, a very few families stay here. The rest come down only during the festive season.” 

We noticed this at Sobha’s home. Relatives who came from Palakkad, Mumbai, and even the US, just for this festival, all taking their festive nap in various rooms!

As we stepped out and walked around the Nochur gramam, we saw the scars of pain this once-pristine village is facing in the form of crumbled structures and deserted homes. A heritage tag like that of Kalpathy would have probably saved some of these, but now this agraharam needs more hands (than brain or money) to pull it up and preserve its identity.

A 'Rope' of Hope!

“Nochur, with the divine blessings of Vedanta Sampradaya Acharya Pujya Sri Ramanacharana Tirtha Swamiji, has got its spirituality tag. And then there is the divine ‘rope’ of hope always there, ready to be picked up. We wish the Nochur diaspora, who always keep their agraharam and its culture close to their hearts, realise it and come back again to pick and pull it ahead. That is the way, in fact, that is the only way this authentic culture and traditions of Nochur could be preserved for posterity!”

Stories in Black & White – Kollengode!

“Let us go to Kollengode!” – this is what is trending in social media nowadays and this is what got triggered, out-of-blue, among the friends as we were attending a marriage function near Palakkad. “It is just a 30 min drive, let us go!” and we all are set. Social media is bustling with Kollengode reels since it got listed in the best 10 villages of India! Now trippers, vloggers and many obsessed with social media are crowding to this tiny hamlet to make their own reels or in their attempt to go back in time and live their nostalgia.

Soon after our presence was recorded at the function which was followed by a heavy lunch, we started to Kollengode. Through the reels and vlogs most of us were already familiar with this place even without visiting it once. Our first destination was definitely to have a good solid tea to refresh and awaken our nerves. Before 2 pm, we were at the tea shop of Chellan Chettan, familiar now to all who follow Kollengode vlogs and reels! We did not expect to get tea at that time. But not only did we have very good tea, we also had freshly fried snacks as well. The road splits into two from there one taking to Chinganchira Nature Temple and another taking us to Paddy Storage Room. We visited both the places and on our return visited Seetharkund waterfalls as well. All pleasant, green rich locations. But do the vlogs and reels really convey the reality? This is a very deliberate question which we all should ask in black and white to ourselves before blindly going after social media.

 

Let us start with Kollengode listed among the 10 most beautiful villages in India. Did we ask who selected it? Did we ask on what criteria it got selected? The answer is most of us do not know. We just heard it in the media or in the vlogs and we simply got convinced it is one of the most beautiful. It is surprising how easily the people of this educated state can also be deluded into believing what the vloggers, reelers or the media wants them to believe! The fact is this list of beautiful villages is neither from any authorized agency nor from any govt. department. It is just from a twitter handle (Colours of Bharat) who suggested it, probably from their explorations or their study and we readily took it to another level.

 

So does it mean Kollengode is not that great a place to visit? This is a subjective question. It depends on various factors – your expectation, your locality, the season, the day you visit etc. For eg. If you are 1-2 hour drive from Kollengode it is worth visiting it on a pleasant day (with light rains) and preferably on a weekday. It is a good place to visit in case you are travelling to any nearby place there, such as to Thrissur or Palakkad and you have some catch up idle time. Now, if you have to drive four or more hours just to be at this place and that too on a weekend or holiday it is a big No! Even on summer days probably this place may not be the way you expect it to be. And it is again a No to all who already have high expectations about this simple village watching all those beautified reels.  

 

Why is it so subjective?  It is after all a beautiful village nevertheless. Isn’t it? Okay – here it is – Kollengode has paddy fields which you can see in several other places in Kerala and you may easily choose one such place which is close to you. Yes, Kollengode has a beautiful backdrop of mountains and a waterfall nearby, making it subjective. But decide it objectively. Then there are many who are coming here to have tea from a nostalgic gracefully underdeveloped hut – hmm, I would like to say, you are sliced by social media – come out of it and reinvent yourself. All these hang-outs here are nowadays crowded by those who are sucked in by social media. Their commutes have already spoiled this beautiful village, the empty bottles, the plastic wastes, their SUV grinded roads – may it be Nature Temple or Seetharkund waterfall all are amply polluted already. Even the outer space is now filled with thrash sent by man, then how can we expect this earth to be clean! Human beings are the most hygienic polluters of this Universe!

 

But isn’t it at least helping the villagers to get some extra bucks? Ha, the most destructive question. Kollengode is already turning into a classic example of how the mindset of an uncomplicated, innocent simple village gets destroyed by the lure for money. If you observe the villagers now, they are already competing among themselves for those extra bucks thrown to them by these commuters. There are new tea stalls sprouting around, there are competing parking areas, there are new constructions in progress and definitely there will be more hangouts, more resorts and more concrete structures around ending up in destroying whatever was expected out of this humble village.

 

So what is in a nutshell to summarize? In simple one line - Let us not contribute to anything that leads to the destruction of the original definition and intention of this village. If that means traveling responsibly, so it be or if that means not even visiting it, so it be too! 

Preserving this pristine village and its unpolluted souls is much more important than these insatiable cravings emerging from the over polluted, superficial, fabricated and cosmeticized social media! 

Kerala Monsoon of 2023!

Yet another Malayalam new year has unfolded with Chingam day today. But unfortunately what Kerala goes through now is not its pleasant traditional aura of the season. Instead of the rain chilled days, the pleasing mornings and cool nights, Keralites are nowadays waking up to temperatures hovering around 30 degrees with humidity hitting 80%, somewhat like an early summer. Call it El Nino or greenhouse gas emissions, it is a fact that Kerala is at the receiving end of the global climate crisis. Earlier this year scientists had given their “final warning” on the climate crisis which is at the brink of becoming irrevocable. Humans, however, in their frantic pursuit of their insatiable gratifications, are yet to realize that they are accelerating their own impending destruction.

If we observe the past decade, the climatic change in Kerala is swinging like a free pendulum hitting the dreaded bells at both extremes. In 2016 Kerala experienced its worst drought of the last century and within two years, in 2018, it hit the other extreme of the worst flood of nearly a century. In 2016, when Kerala was declared drought-hit by the Centre, as per the IMD, Kerala faced 34% deficit during Southwest Monsoon (Jun-Sep) and 62% deficit during Northeast Monsoon (Oct-Dec). In fact, it was the worst drought hit in the past 115 years.

Now coming to mid-Aug of 2023, Kerala is already facing a deficit of 44% in the ongoing Southwest Monsoon with just one more month to go – 10% worse than the worst drought Kerala faced! Just to show how serious it is, from 1-Aug to 15-Aug Kerala received just 25mm rain while the average expected is 254mm! This is not just alarm ringing; it is the ambulance siren blowing at its full throttle for Kerala. Few reports say it is ‘break of monsoon’, if it is true and if monsoon revives soon all Keralites can feel like each of them have won an Onam bumper! If not, the wait will be for the dicey Northeast Monsoon - the final chance to survive beyond which it will turn catastrophic.

Kerala in its history never had to really face any situation of a prolonged drought. Even the 2016 drought got neutralized with 2017 rains. And for centuries, the twin monsoons have always blessed it showering the pure grace from heaven in abundance making it God’s own country. However, the past decade teaches us it may not always be so. Everything has its tolerance limit and there is no doubt we have already transgressed its breaking point.  

PS: To those who wonder what we should choose given an option between drought and flood, researchers are of the opinion that while both are disasters, drought is more devastating than the flood. Drought has a lasting impact on flora, fauna, groundwater, water availability and several human civilizations were dusted because of long lasting droughts.

പഞ്ഞ കർക്കടകത്തെ പഞ്ഞിക്കിട്ടേ !

ഇടവം പണ്ടേ ഇടഞ്ഞു തന്നെ. മിഥുനം ഒന്ന് പരുങ്ങി നിന്നു, എത്തി നോക്കി, പേടിച്ചോടികളഞ്ഞു. ഇപ്പൊ ദാ, കരിമ്പോത്തിനെ പോലും കിടുകിടാ വിറപ്പിക്കുന്ന കർർർ...ക്കടകവും, മലയാളിയുടെ മുന്നിൽ മുട്ടുകുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നു. 

മകരമാസത്തിൽ മഴപെയ്താൽ മലയാളം മുടിയും എന്നൊരു ചൊല്ലുണ്ട്. പക്ഷെ കർക്കടകത്തിൽ മഴ പെയ്തില്ലെങ്കിലോ? ആ, അങ്ങനെ ഒരു സംഗതി പഴമക്കാർ പോലും സങ്കല്പിച്ചിട്ടില്ല! ഈ പഞ്ഞ മാസം മലയാളിയെ വിട്ടൊരിക്കലും പോവില്ലെന്നാവും അവരും കരുതിയത്. എന്നാൽ, ഉൽകൃഷ്ടരായ ഈ നാട്ടിലെ ഉത്തമന്മാരുടെ ആ ഊക്കും, ആ ഉത്സാഹവും, ആ ഉശിരുമൊക്കെ കണ്ടിട്ടാണെന്നു തോന്നുന്നു കർക്കിടകവും ആവിയായി പോയിരിക്കുന്നു! ഹ ഹ ഹാ! 

കുറേയായി ഈ പഞ്ഞ കർക്കടകം ഞങ്ങളെ കൊണ്ട് പാരായണം ചെയ്യിക്കുന്നു, കഞ്ഞി കുടിപ്പിക്കുന്നു, ഈറനുടിപ്പിക്കുന്നു! ഇനി ഞങ്ങളിവിടെ കർക്കടക ചൂടിൽ കൊപ്ര ഉണക്കും, കർക്കടകകിഴിവിൽ കിട്ടിയ അമേരിക്കൻ ബെർമുഡയിട്ട് നട്ടുച്ചയ്ക്ക് പോപ്പി കുടയും ചൂടി കറങ്ങി നടക്കും, തമിഴ്നാട്ടിൽ നിന്നും ഇറക്കിയ കരിക്കും, മിൽമയുടെ (നന്ദിനി നഹി നഹി) സംഭാരവും, ആസാമിയുടെ നീമ്പു പാനിയും കുടകുടേ കുടിക്കും, ഗുജ്ജുവിന്റെ അമുൽ ഐസ്ക്രീം നുണയും, പോഷകത്തിന്ന് വേണ്ടി മാത്രം ഇത്തിരി പ്യുവർ കള്ളു (നമ്മുടെ സ്വന്തം) പാനം ചെയ്യും.  രാഷ്ട്രത്തോട് കൂറുള്ള ഞങ്ങൾ ഉറങ്ങുന്നതിനു മുന്നേ ഒരു മഗ്ഗ് (അല്ലേൽ വേണ്ട, ഒരു പെഗ്ഗ്) 'ജവാൻ' പച്ച വെള്ളം തൊടീക്കാതെ (കുടിവെള്ളത്തിന് അന്യായ കരമാ ഹേ!) മോന്തും - (അത് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ജന്മാവകാശമാണേ!) 

അങ്ങനെ ഇവിടെയൊരു നവയുഗമുണരും മക്കളെ ! ചോർച്ചയോ, നനവോ, ഈർപ്പമോ ഇല്ലാത്ത ഊഷ്മളമായ നവയുഗമുണരും, ചൂടാറാത്ത നവയുഗം!

Vande Bharat!

It was on 15^th Feb 2019, India’s very own Vande Bharat Express, initially nick-name Train-18, manufactured entirely in India, was inaugurated for its maiden journey from our capital city of Delhi to our oldest pilgrimage city of Varanasi. With decades of customary red tapism and rampant corruption, I doubt anyone in India believed we could manufacture even a toy train, forget a real rail train! But agree it or not, we are asked to wipe and open our eyes and mind again and look at our transforming India! In 2015 when Indian Railways issued bid to manufacture high-speed trains no one met the necessary criteria. Rather than crapping or corrupting the bid, decision was taken to manufacture them on our own! And look at what we have achieved – within 4 years we have our first semi-high-speed passenger train with aero-dynamic design, world-class features and with a potential speed of 180 km/hour rolling on our rails! What an achievement ! The first heavyweight, perceptible and striking success of “Make In India” ! Another interesting anecdote read is while the wheels of Vande Bharat were initially ordered from foreign countries, India started to manufacture that too in own factories since 2022! In fact the vision has gone so far that there is already planning in progress for fourth generation (Vande Bharat 4.0 – VB4) trains which can hit a speed of 200 km/hour!

Within no time, Vande Bharat has become every traveler’s dream and with 99% average occupancy our states started to queue up to get one for them! In Kerala, we also wished to have one. But how can our small state in the southern corner can dream so big! But then, we are asked again - wipe your eyes and look – India is transforming fast! And here on this 25th day of April 2023, we witnessed the unimaginable - Hurray ! Vande Bharat Express is rolling on in our state too - from Thriuvananthapuram to Kasargod ! This entire day, each and every Kerala news channels were sprinting to cover the live visuals of Vande Bharat. Kerala witnessed an unprecedented, sensational, majestic welcome one can imagine for a passenger train in its entire history – while media rolled in and out of VB, politicians competed to show off, eminent personalities, selected school children queued up for the maiden journey and become the part of history. I have never seen our state with so much of euphoria and elation in any recent times!

 

Several asked me – why didn’t you attempt for a travel in Vande Bharat or at least go and see its maiden journey? In fact I wished to and even tried too. But the maiden ride tickets are for special and selected ones’ and we are neither of these! But for those who asked me, I had a little nice experience to share and here it is -

 

It was Saturday evening of 12th Nov 2022. We (family members of 7) were on our way back to home after a pilgrimage to Tirupathi. Our return journey was from Chennai Central. We reached the station by evening though our train is set to depart only by 9 in the night. Having enough time to relax we found a nice clean place on the floor to keep our luggage and stretch ourselves. While relaxing in sleep mode, suddenly one of Nandus noticed something unusual in the arrival/departure display on the screen. In the arrivals it just displayed an uncommon train name – we waited for it to appear again and then read it loud – “Wow ! It is Vande Bharat ! Vande Bharat is set to arrive around 7:30”. However the platform number was not displayed. Someone in between googled and gave us more information – “ Hey, this is the first commercial run of the Chennai Central – Mysuru Vande Bharat Express, the first one of South India, built in Chennai itself, and it is on its way back to Chennai, it should arrive by 7:30. Let us try to find out the platform where it will arrive!” Keeping the seniors as luggage guards, we with Nandus went in search of the Vande Bharat platform. Being Chennai Central, the end point station, it was easy to move through the platforms. After wandering through all, we found the one line which is empty and confirmed our Vande Bharat is set to come through this line on Platform No.1. Then started our wait staring at the dead end of the rails. After a brief wait, we found the beaming white light of Vande Bharath piercing through the darkness. Aha! It is cruising in slowly through the light little drizzle at Chennai Central - Several people meanwhile gathered around to watch this moment. And in a short while, we saw the elegant white skin of Vande Bharat closing in to us, the rain drops sparkling in its beam light and sprinkling on it as wishes from heaven – what a glorious historic moment we happened to witness ! We relished it to its completeness – talking to the travelers, loco-pilots, peeking into the drivers cabin, taking selfie-snaps and then finally getting in to feel the ambience of its interior too! A proud, once-in-a-lifetime and historic “Mera Bharath Mahaan” moment! 

The Moments :) 

The Vande Crowd!

First Time In VB

Vande Mataram

Republic Day Run - 2023

26.Jan.2023 – Republic Day Run @ Puttumanoor, Puthencruz : It was my first half-marathon of 2023, fifth overall, and first time participation at Puttumanoor RDR. Though I had regular short runs over the past few weeks it was not a prep for this event. Still I felt reasonably confident to complete it well (and push for sub-6?).

But as soon as the run started, it became evident that it is going to be a kind of hill run which only those strong marathon runners can negotiate with ease. My first 5 km went well as per my wish and the 10 km target I pushed to make it at sub-6. But then it started to become difficult and from 15 km onwards it became really tough for me. It was like half-marathon with complimentary “hill repeats”. By the time I lapped into the final kilometers my legs had almost turned into walking-mode with overworked calf muscles giving up in exhaustion  – if the legs had hands it would have slapped me  Anyways I finished happily strolling into my PB at the finish  Then came the realization - for next two days I walked like a robo with stiff legs  – teaching me the importance of proper practice, preparation and hill-repeats!

A Beautiful Night for the Beautiful Game!

18.Dec.2022, Sunday : When we scrambled for our 40 km drive late evening on 18th Dec 22 to watch the FIFA World Cup Final live at the Palace Grounds Screen at Thrissur, hardly did we think our return is going to be such a roller-coaster ride.  And what an emotional blockbuster it was! We reached the stadium ground in the heart of Thrissur city right on time and by then the entire place was jam packed with fans of all kinds! Those close to the screen were seated on the floor, behind them were those seated on chairs and on the flanks and back there were plenty standing. There were several seated in the gallery too. We found our spot somewhere in the middle from where we got a good view of the screen and the crowd. Stage is set for the giant final. Almost all in the crowd including we two were praying for that one humble, gentle man we admire the most in football – Magical Mystical Lionel Messi! – can we see him smile as the night fades? 

FIFA World Cup Football Final - 2022 - Live Screening @ Thrissur Palace Ground

National anthem of the teams is played, and then came the kick-off whistle to roll the ball for the final time! It was greeted with waves of roars! From then, the next 70 minutes of the match was simply breathtaking with relentless attacks and counter-attacks which made us glued to the gigantic screen. Those two moments, which shaped the Argentina goals were celebrated with explosive cries of joy and crackers in the background – Messi taking the penalty to score the first goal and then the swift, under-ten seconds attack, with one-pass moves for the fabulous finish of Angel Di Maria! – we all seemed to be in heaven with mesmerizing dramatic scenes around!

But then, the unbelievable happened. Out-of-the-blue came the two return goals, equalizing the situation, that too when Argentina were just ten minutes away from what they dreamt for the past 36 years! There was sullen silence among the Argentinian fans while the opposing fans started their celebrations around. What was heaven till then turned upside down into a hell! It was a situation too heavy to handle off the ground, then imagine how it will be on the ground! The Argentinian team found themselves slipping from energetic charm to complete chaos. Are we witnessing that one last dream of Messi for that coveted trophy slipping away?!

How can the Universe be so unjust ?! How can the prayers of millions go unheard ?! How can the powers of this cosmos make this mistake ?! - make the disaster of denying the truly eligible human - one with elegance, skill, perseverance and a beautiful soul - playing this beautiful game what he really deserves?! How can he again miss this moment of his life?! How, even being so complete, he be written as incomplete in history?! – This is impossible to be true!

Thoughts of the unbelievable were rushing in from everywhere, overheating our nerves to the brim of snapping it. The full-time of 90 minutes with both teams at a stand-still of two goals each is what we could manage in that tense and startled ground. Every moment there felt like infinity and we decided to move out of that energy sapping black hole. We took our scooter and started our ride back to “escape” the possibility of a potential disaster. 

However all along the way, we could feel that uneasy air, the uncomfortable and tense darkness of the night creeping into us. The blurred commentary of the live match was floating in the atmosphere all along the way and in several places we could see the miserable, nervous spectators restlessly staring at the roadside live screens! 

We were about half-an-hour on the drive back when we heard a scream from a distance. We stopped by the next live screen restaurant to know what happened. Aha! Argentina has scored, Messi has scored, it is 3-2 ! They are a few minutes away from the dream title. We took our seat and decided to watch the giant moment! But alas, our trauma was not over! Yet again, there came the brutal penalty - another equalizer making it 3-3 and ending the extra-time too. It is going to the penalties!

FIFA World Cup Football Final 2022 is to be decided on penalties! The last moments of Messi, our hero! Will he survive?! It has become too difficult again, too anxious to watch live! We decided to resume what we did. Yes, ride on. Starting the scooter again, beaming the headlight, we sped into the darkness, into anonymity! Our hearts were beating high and heavy, the midnight darkness and the ride of emotions made the surroundings look blurred! Our mind and ears were trying to capture from the surroundings every hint of what was happening live at the Lusail Stadium, 3000 km away!

We stopped for a moment at Hanuman temple for a short prayer, and that is when we heard the first cracker at a distance, few more followed here and there. But what is the result?! Who is celebrating?! We were still not sure! As we moved further on the road and reached the next junction, we saw at a distance under the street lights the white and blue stripes emerging out waving high, fluttering amongst the cracker-fumes – It is Argentina!! The trauma is finally over! Argentina has won the World Cup Football Final of 2022! And from there onwards, we could see everything crystal clear. Our dark thoughts evaporated into the thin air and joyful and dreamy ones reemerged from Lusail! All along the way at every junction, we saw the crazy fans of Messi and Argentina celebrating, screaming, dancing and bursting crackers – an out-of-world feeling!

The sigh of relief I experienced in that moment when we saw the Argentinian flag emerging out of those fumes is something I will never forget in my entire life! Universe has not failed us and the prayers of millions were truly heard. For that one man - Lionel Andrés Messi, the football legend of our times – fate and destiny decided to shake hands! Messi has grabbed with both his hands the “now-or-never” moment of his life (and our lives too) and made it his own (and ours too)! The trust on the goodness in this Universe (in spite of all the sufferings), the virtue of hard work, the power of prayers all got catapulted to new heights in that very moment! And Messi, this magical man, has just made this beautiful game more beautiful and raised himself to the realms of legends, the place which he truly belongs to!

We reached back home from the euphoria on the streets to watch the live presentation ceremony with Lionel Messi receiving the golden trophy! The moment we all have been waiting for eternity has finally arrived. And in that moment that once-in-a-generation soccer career became complete!

 

(Personally, this beautiful night winds-up my unbridled passion for soccer too just like it did for cricket after the God-of-cricket won his world cup in 2011. It is curtains down but with a complete gratification of being blessed to be alive in this era and enjoy the best of two legends – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Lionel Andrés Messi!)

Exactly a decade back (2011) Sachin had his D-Day!

 

***

Vrischikolsavam-2022

Har Ghar Thiranga !

It is after decades, since the long lost school days, I felt that spirit to hoist our national flag again at home on this Independence Day – Thanks to the “Har Ghar Thiranga” celebrating 75 years of India’s Independence. After roaming multiple times around the town we finally managed to find our tri color from Khadi Bhavan - never have we seen such a demand for our flag before. Returning back as we were making the arrangements,  our neighbor Sandakka noticed us and enquired – 

“What is going on?”

“We are planning to hoist the National Flag this time to celebrate 75 years of Independence! – Are you not planning Sandakka?” – Thrupthi asked back.

“During the days of my father we used to hoist the flag on top of this house. Now who is there to get one” – Sandakka replied

“We will try to get Sandakka” - We decided this Independence Day, we should have the national flag for Sandakka as well.

 

Sandakka is in her 80’s and stays alone in a simple traditional home (told to be built for Rs.6000 around 80 years ago!) since the time we know her. Occasionally she will be visited by sisters and brothers. This time she has her sister with her who is 4 years elder. After our talks, we draped the tri-colour at our home and got busy with other activities and it was only the next morning we realized – “Today is Independence Day and we had promised Sandakka to get the flag! But we have totally forgotten!” – “This is not good..” I said. “…and we are not going to get one today, all shops will be closed and even if anyone open, it will be too late!” We both thought of how to get one, and even planned to take our flag for Sandakka, when suddenly Thrupthi remembered – “I think my father has got an extra flag at home..let us check”. We immediately got on our scooter and went to Thrupthi’s home. We are lucky and blessed ! There is one extra flag at her home which is kept neatly folded in the bag. We borrowed it and sped back to Sandakka’s house.

 

“Sandakka, Happy Independence Day! Here is our flag!” - We dangled the tri-color at her home in a simple way and spend time talking with Sandakka -

 “Do you remember how those days were when we celebrated Independence?” – we asked

 “Yes, I am born in 1940 and sister is 4 years elder, so in 1936. I was probably in 4th or 5th standard and I remember there was so much elation all around! Though it was difficult to know the news like how we get now, we had a rally in Kodungallur to celebrate India’s Independence. My father and sister had gone for the rally. He had friends from all the parties, but his favorite leader was always Nehruji. Since then during Independence Day, he would arrange a person to hoist the flag on our rooftop. Those were special days” – Sandakka said

 

“For us, today is very special Sandakka. We are lucky to celebrate this 75^th year of Indian Independence with both of you. You were there when India got her Independence. And you are here with us to share those moments and those feelings to us! We will remember this day forever  – Happy Independence Day !”

Sandakka

Celebrating 75th Independence Day with elder sister 

With Thrupthi & Lalitha

The Great Escalation

“You have got an escalation!” – for IT professionals this statement is probably a nightmare of sorts, it is so nasty that you are guaranteed an ordeal ahead! Though the dreaded line “You are sacked!” stays as the top IT punch statement, it is a kind of kill-in-one-shot situation. The former however is a slow and silent killer and the way it works is potentially traumatic too! Let us take a closer look at it.

Escalation starts working on you by bringing you down emotionally and making you think you have done something terribly wrong, a big mistake or perhaps the greatest blunder which can take down the entire world. Of course, there is no doubt that this big, oblique, funny, fat world will float as usual in space, but there is no doubt either that your little world is going to shake like never before.

 

If the escalation comes directly from the client, then your life is destined to go through hell. Be prepared. Hold your breath and get ready. It could be for days, weeks or even months depending on how the spell is defined for you. If you think you are not one who can be pulled down so easily, here is the next ordeal in escalation which await you. The big bosses of the organization, many of whom you are not even aware of, will arrive at the crime scene from nowhere as if they were hiding somewhere in bushes. They are hard-nosed, unsentimental, no-nonsense IT hulks who with their brute force can just puff your confidence into thin air. Their power is so immense that they can virtually kill you with a word or even a look, they are so shrewd and cut-throat-businessmen that they will make you own all the mistakes of this entire world just with a stare. Add to this any kind of loss they suffered  due to escalation – such as loss of dollars, loss of a client, loss of a project, loss of reputation – be ready to be cooked alive! The giants will cut, chop, peel, slice, sauté and finally fry you in boiling oil making a “kadai paneer” out of you! Then you will be served hot to all the bosses (and to clients too if they like it) as they relish it themselves!

 

If you think it will be done with it, you are again wrong -  it is just a mere beginning. You will forget your sleep, your wife, your kids (if you have any), your food and even your surroundings! You will wonder at your weight loss which will so drastic and dramatic (you might probably love it too!) – some high blood pressure, headaches, palpitation, body aches etc. are side effects. You may not even notice it.  You will be always floating in escalation-nirvana for days, weeks and perhaps months! Do not get surprised if the outside world finds you rotten, in fact you are.  You will keep your hands-on in presentations, charts, long mails trying to defend, maneuver through the numerous tangles with the big bosses each time failing miserably like the ants getting crushed under elephants! And in between you might see the macho bosses themselves fighting each other with their oxford English bringing sparks in the air, their egos clashing to keep up their reputation and power. But in your case, you are not supposed to keep any self-worth, you did what you should not have, you did something terribly wrong. You are paid for doing it right and you failed. You are a failure and in this so called org structure those who fail are bound to suffer!

 

So is there no way out of this ordeal? Very valid and sensible question. Remember, when power, money and reputation is at stake there is no place for humanism (if there is any such thing!). Add to it your incapability resulting in failure there is no easy way out. But everything which starts will have an end. Below are the commonly seen patterns of aftermath of escalations.

 

• The hunted becomes a hunter : this is one pattern where the one who got hunted, who got bruised, thrashed will start hunting himself for his survival, for his self-worth. He will mimic how the clients and bosses treated him to his team members and sometimes even to his family. He will find peace as he pass on the mistakes, frustrations, failures and become a pseudo-hunter.
• If you can’t beat join them : this is more subtle pattern, where the one who is crushed uses his skills and manages to get into the breed of bosses. While the first one merely pass on the frustration, this one will eventually become a boss himself and transform his self and brings his own breed of bosses.
• I am okay for slavery : This is the pattern commonly seen in escalation aftermath. As a quote says, slavery is never abolished, it just got extended to include all the colors. Those who want a job for survival, those who have a family to take care, those who have financial commitments will accept all the rotten eggs thrown at them. They will be okay to be chewed up by their bosses, ignoring their mental and physical health, they will stay as dogs and will always believe the client as their gods. They do not believe (or ignore) in their self-worth, they will accept all humiliation for their family, for their job, for their hefty salary which they need to keep their social status. Even though sans self-worth, they will be happy to be not in the slavery of jobless, penniless poverty and without health too (which in fact is more horrible)
• There are finally the patterns of “Intellectuals never follow, they Lead” and “Saints find their own way” who handle escalation aftermaths in a completely different and unique ways of their own. Since they are very rare let us keep those patterns for later research.

 

Look at which pattern you fall into, how you treat yourself and your life keeping in mind that as long the world exists exploitation in one or other form will continue. Finally remember, no one here is right and no one here is wrong. It is a mere a fight for survival, for existence, sometimes with self-worth, sometimes without. Time will pardon you for both.

വീണ്ടുമൊരു പരിസ്ഥിതി ദിനം !

നോവുന്ന പരിസ്ഥിതി ദിനം

ഉറക്കത്തിൻറെ കാണാക്കയത്തിലായിട്ടും ഒരു സ്ഫോടനം പോലെ ഭൂമിയിലേക്കു പതിച്ച ആ ഇടിവെട്ടിൻറെ കുലുക്കത്തിൽ ഞാൻ ഞെട്ടിവിറച്ചുണർന്നു. മണി മൂന്ന്. പുറത്തു മഴ കോരിചൊരിയുന്നു. ഇടവപെയ്തിൽ പതിവില്ലാത്ത ഈ ഇടിനാദം എവിടുന്നു വന്നോ ആവോ?! എന്നാലോ, പകലായാൽ ഇടിവെട്ട് പോയിട്ട് മഴക്കാറ് പോലും കാണാനില്ല. മനുഷ്യൻറെ ചെപ്പടിവിദ്യകൾ മഴയും പഠിച്ചെടുത്തോ? ഞാൻ വീണ്ടുമൊന്നു മയങ്ങിതുടങ്ങിയപ്പോഴേക്കും പിന്നെയുമൊരു ഇടി വെട്ടി. ഇപ്രാവശ്യം ഭൂമികുലുക്കം പോലെയാണ് അതെനിക്ക് അനുഭവപ്പെട്ടത്. ഭയന്നുവിറച്ച ഞാൻ തലയണയെടുത്ത് ചെവിപൊത്തി കിടന്നു. എന്നിട്ടും എൻ്റെ നെഞ്ചിലെ കിടുകിടുപ്പ് ലേശം പോലും അയഞ്ഞില്ല. യുക്രൈനിൽ നിന്നാണോ ഇപ്രാവശ്യം ഇടവപാതി ഇങ്ങോട്ടെഴുന്നള്ളിയത്?! പുറത്തു വീണ്ടും വീണ്ടും ഇടി വെട്ടുന്ന മുഴക്കം. എൻ്റെ ഉറക്കം തീരുമാനമായി. ഓ ! ഇന്നാണല്ലോ ജൂൺ 5, ലോക പരിസ്ഥിതി ദിനം, ഞായറാഴ്ചയും. കൊള്ളാം, വെറുതെയല്ല ഇങ്ങനെ മഴയും, ഇടിയും.

ഇത് മനുഷ്യവർഗ്ഗത്തിനുള്ള ഭൂമിയുടെ മുന്നറിയിപ്പ് തന്നെ! മനുഷ്യൻറെ "പരിചരണത്തിൽ" വീർപ്പുമുട്ടിയ പ്രകൃതിയുടെ അലർച്ച! പരിസ്ഥിതി ദിനമെന്നും പറഞ്ഞ് പതിനായിരം (ചതി)കുഴിയും കുത്തി സെൽഫിക്ക് വേണ്ടി ചെടിയും തൊട്ട് പോസ്സും പോസ്റ്റും ചെയ്‌താൽപിന്നെ തിരിഞ്ഞുപോലും നോക്കാതെ പൊടിയും തട്ടി കടന്നു കളയുന്ന കാപട്യത്തിൻറെ ആശാന്മാരായ മനുഷ്യകുലത്തിനുള്ള താക്കീത് പുറത്തൊരശരീരിയായി മുഴങ്ങുന്നു!  

"അടുത്ത പരിസ്ഥിതിദിനമാവുമ്പോഴേക്കും നട്ടതിലും കൂടുതൽ നീ വെട്ടും, കുഴിച്ചതിലും, കിളച്ചതിലും കൂടുതൽ നീ മാന്തും, പിച്ചി-ചീന്തും, മാലിന്യമിട്ട് മൂടും, പുകച്ച് എൻ്റെ ശ്വാസം മുട്ടിക്കും, എന്നിട്ട് ഒന്നുമറിഞ്ഞിട്ടിലാത്തവനെ പോലെ വീണ്ടും വരും - ഹാ! എന്നെ രക്ഷിപ്പാനെന്നും പറഞ്ഞ്! 

എടാ മനുഷ്യാ ! നീ എന്തറിഞ്ഞു? നീ കണ്ടതിലും എത്രയോ ഞാൻ കണ്ടു. എൻ്റെ നെഞ്ചിൽ വിജയകൊടി പാറിക്കുമെന്നു പറഞ്ഞിറങ്ങിയ നിൻറെ അപ്പൂപ്പൻറെ അപ്പൂപ്പൻ വരെ കരിഞ്ഞമർന്ന് പുഴുവായ്, കാണാകീടമായ്, വെണ്ണീറായ് എന്നിൽ കിടന്നലയുന്നു, എന്നിട്ടും, പമ്പരവിഡ്ഢിയായ നീ കരുതുന്നു നീ എന്നെ രക്ഷിക്കുമെന്ന്! വേണമെങ്കിൽ നീ സ്വയം രക്ഷപ്പെടാൻ നോക്ക്! എൻ്റെ രൂക്ഷരോഷത്തിൽ നിന്നും! നിൻറെ സർവ്വനാശത്തിൽ നിന്നും!"

പുറത്തെ പെരുമഴയിൽ അടുത്ത ഇടിവെട്ടുന്നതും പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ച്, കണ്ണുകൾ ഇറുക്കിയടച്ച് പുതപ്പിനുള്ളിൽ ഞാൻ ചുരുണ്ടമർന്നു.

 ***

തൃശ്ശിവപേരൂരിൽ തേരാ-പാരാ

പുലർച്ചെ വീട്ടിൽ നിന്നും ഒരു കാലിചായയും കുടിച്ച് പുറപ്പെട്ടതാണ്. ദിവസം മുഴുവൻ തേരാ-പാരാ കറങ്ങി നടക്കുക, അതാണ് അജണ്ട. അല്ല. അതുമാത്രമാണ്‌ അജണ്ട !

ഇരിഞ്ഞാലക്കുട വരെ ഇരുചക്ര ശകടത്തിൽ. അവിടെ, കൂടൽമാണിക്യം ഉത്സവമാണേ - പതിനേഴ് ആനകൾ, കുട്ടേട്ടൻറെ പഞ്ചാരി. പാൽ പായസവും, പപ്പടവും കൂട്ടി പ്രസാദ ഊട്ട് ! തുടക്കം തന്നെ ഭേഷ്! ശേഷം തൃശ്ശൂർക്ക് ബസ്സ് കയറി. ഒന്ന് മയങ്ങി. റൗണ്ടിൽ എത്തിയപ്പോ, നേരം ഉച്ച കഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു.

അപ്പോഴതാ കാർമേഘം നിറഞ്ഞ മാനത്തു നിന്നും ഇടി മുഴക്കം. മഴക്കോളാണോ? അല്ലപ്പാ ! ഇത് പൂരത്തിൻറെ വെടികെട്ടാണെ! ഈ നട്ടുച്ചയ്‌ക്കോ? മന്ത്രിപുംഗവൻ കല്പിച്ചാൽ നട്ടുച്ചയ്ക്കും ഞങ്ങൾ പൂത്തിരി കത്തിക്കും. അങ്ങനെ ആകാശത്തതാ വർണ്ണങ്ങൾ (ഇവിടെ കുറച്ചു മനോധർമ്മം വെച്ച് അഡ്ജസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്യണേ) വാരിവിതറി അമിട്ടുകൾ പൊട്ടിവിടരുന്നു! തല തിരിഞ്ഞ ഈ ചരിത്രസംഭവത്തിന് സാക്ഷ്യം വഹിച്ചതിന്റെ ഒരു ചാരിതാർഥ്യം!

പക്ഷെ മഴയ്ക്കത്ര ചാരിതാർഥ്യം തോന്നിയില്ലെന്നു തോന്നുന്നു. മാനത്ത് അമിട്ട് പൊട്ടുന്നതും നോക്കി നിന്നവരുടെ മണ്ടയിൽ അവനങ്ങു തിമിർത്തു പെയ്തു തുടങ്ങി. മിഥിലയിൽ കയറി ഒരു ചായ കുടിച്ചു വന്നിട്ടും മഴയുടെ അരിശത്തിനു ലേശം പോലും അറുതിയില്ല. ഇത് കട്ടനടിച്ചു നോക്കി ഇരിക്കാൻ ജോൺസൻ മാഷിന്റെ മഴയല്ല ഗഡി! ഇനി രക്ഷയില്ല! പൂരം എക്സിബിഷൻ തന്നെ ശരണം.

മുപ്പതു രൂപ കൊടുത്തു - രണ്ടു മണിക്കൂർ നടക്കാൻ !  കത്തി, കോടാലി, കോട്ടൺ സാരി മുതൽ കോളാമ്പി വരെ ഒരു കുടകീഴിൽ! ജാഗ്രത, കരുതൽ - മലയാളികൾക്ക് സുപരിചിതമായ ഈ രണ്ടു ജാർഗൺസ് ഉണ്ടേൽ പോക്കറ്റ് കാലിയാവാതെ പുറത്തെത്താം! പുറത്തപ്പോഴുമപ്പാ മഴക്കോള് തന്നെ ! ബൈ-ദ-ബൈ, മണിയൻചാവാറായി ! ഭാരത് കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നു. ചായയും, മസാല ദോശയും! ആ പതിവ് തെറ്റിച്ചില്ല. 

ഇനിയെങ്ങോട്ട് ? പൂരപ്പറമ്പ് കറങ്ങി കഴിഞ്ഞില്ലേ, ഇനി പൂങ്കുന്നത്തേക്ക്. പൂങ്കുന്നം സീതാരാമസ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ ഹിന്ദുസ്ഥാനി കച്ചേരി ഉണ്ടേ. അമ്പടാ, എന്നാൽ അങ്ങോട്ടേക്ക് തന്നെ! വയലിൻത്രയം - അതും ഉത്തരേന്ത്യയിൽ പയറ്റിതെളിഞ്ഞവർ! ശ്യാം കല്യാൺ, ദേശ്, ഹംസധ്വനി, ഭൈരവി (ഇതൊക്കെ അവർ പറഞ്ഞ കാരണം അറിഞ്ഞതാണേ!) പിന്നെ പേരറിയാത്ത പലവിധ രാഗങ്ങൾ ആ കലാകാരികളുടെ വിരൽത്തുമ്പുകളിൽ അനായാസേന നൃത്തം വെക്കുന്നു. എങ്ങും ബലേ ബേഷ് വിളികൾ! സ്വര-രാഗ-താളങ്ങളുടെ തീ പാറുന്ന മാർച്ച്-പാസ്റ്റിൽ മഴയ്ക്ക്‌ പോലും നിക്കക്കള്ളിയില്ലാതായി. മഴയും, കച്ചേരിയും ഒരുമിച്ചു തോർന്നിറങ്ങിയ പുറകെ അവിടെ തൈര്സാദം വിതരണം തുടങ്ങി. (വീട്ടിലാണെങ്കിൽ പുച്ചിച്ചു തള്ളുമായിരുന്ന) ചെറു ചൂടോടു കൂടിയ തൈര്സാദവും, പരിപ്പ് തോരനും മഴയത്ത് തേരാ-പാരാ അലഞ്ഞു തേഞ്ഞ എന്നിൽ അമൃതേത്തായി അലിഞ്ഞിറങ്ങി എന്ന് പറയേണ്ടതില്ലല്ലോ!

സമയം രാത്രി ഒമ്പത് - എങ്കിലും, തൃശ്ശൂരെത്തിയാൽ വിളിച്ചാൽ വിളിപ്പുറത്തുള്ള സുഹൃത്തുക്കളെ കാണാതിരിക്കാൻ സാധിക്കില്ല. പുറത്തിറങ്ങിയതും ചങ്ങാതി അതാ മുന്നിൽ! പത്തു മിനിറ്റ് സംസാരിച്ചു. ശേഷം എന്നെ ഒരു ഓട്ടോയിൽ കയറ്റി  - തൃശ്ശൂർ കെ.എസ്.ആർ.ട്ടി.സി സ്റ്റാൻഡിലോട്ട്.

ബസ് സ്റ്റാൻഡ് ആണെങ്കിലും ബസ്സ് നോക്കിയും, കാത്തും അങ്ങനെ നിക്കാം എന്നല്ലാതെ ബസ്സിൽ യാത്ര ചെയ്യാം എന്ന വ്യാമോഹങ്ങളുമായി അങ്ങോട്ടേക്ക് കേറി ചെന്നേക്കരുത് എന്ന് അനുഭവം പണ്ടേ പഠിപ്പിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ടെങ്കിലും ഞാൻ വീണ്ടും അങ്ങോട്ട് തന്നെ കേറി ചെന്നു.

വെള്ളിയാഴ്ച രാത്രിയായതിനാൽ സ്റ്റാൻഡ് നിറയെ ജനങ്ങൾ (കാത്തു നിൽക്കുന്നു!). മങ്ങികത്തുന്ന  ഹാലൊജൻ വെളിച്ചത്തിൽ ആന വണ്ടികൾ അങ്ങിനെ നിരന്നു നിൽക്കുന്നത് കാണാൻ നല്ല ചേലുണ്ട്. ഉത്സവത്തിനു കണ്ട ഗജവീരൻമാരേ പോലെ. പക്ഷെ ഇതിൽ പലതിനും നെറ്റിപ്പട്ടവും, പാപ്പാന്മാരും (ഡ്രൈവർ, കണ്ടക്ടർ) ഇല്ലായെ! ഒന്ന് രണ്ടെണ്ണത്തിലാണെങ്കിൽ അറവുമാടുകളെ പോലെ മനുഷ്യശരീരങ്ങൾ തിങ്ങിനിറഞ്ഞു തൂങ്ങി നിൽക്കുന്നു. അങ്ങിങ്ങായി കെട്ടി കിടക്കുന്ന മഴവെള്ളത്തിൽ എപ്പോഴെങ്കിലും വീടെത്താമെന്ന പ്രതീക്ഷയോടെ കുടയും ചൂടി നിൽക്കുന്നവരുടെ പ്രതിബിംബങ്ങൾ ഉടഞ്ഞു മാഞ്ഞു പോകുന്നു. അന്തരീക്ഷമാകെ ബസ് സ്റ്റാൻഡിൽ എത്തുന്നവരെ മദിപ്പിക്കുന്ന (ഉന്മാദിപ്പിക്കുന്ന!) അനാമകമായ വാതകത്തിൻറെ മനംപിരട്ടുന്ന ഗന്ധം (മാസ്കിൻറെ മഹത്വം അറിഞ്ഞ നിമിഷം!). കാത്തിരിപ്പ് ബെഞ്ചുകളിലെല്ലാം നിര്‍ജ്ജീവമായ അസ്ഥിപഞ്ചരങ്ങൾ. അടുത്തുള്ള കാത്തിരിപ്പ് അറയിൽ ക്ഷീണിച്ചു അവശരായ സ്ത്രീകളും, കുട്ടികളും അവർക്കായി ആനവണ്ടി വരുമെന്ന കിനാവും കണ്ടു ഉറക്കച്ചവടിൽ കൊഴിഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു. മൊത്തത്തിൽ സാൽവദോർ ഡാലിയുടെ സർറിയലിസ്റ്റ്  കലാസൃഷ്‌ടി (ദി പെർസിസ്റ്റൻസ് ഓഫ് മെമ്മറി?) നേരിട്ടിറങ്ങി വന്ന അനുഭൂതി!

ഇതെല്ലാം കണ്ടു കടന്നു തിക്കിത്തിരക്കി ഞാൻ "അന്വേഷണങ്ങൾ" എന്ന ബോർഡ് തൂക്കിയിട്ട കൂടിനടുത്തെത്തി. ആ കൂടിനകത്ത് രാത്രിയുടെ ആലസ്യത്തിൽ വിശ്രാന്തിയിലോട്ട് കാലും നീട്ടി ഇരിക്കുന്ന ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർ. കൂടിനു പുറത്താണെങ്കിൽ അന്തമില്ലാത്ത (കുന്തവും ഇല്ല ഹേ!) കാത്തിരിപ്പിൻറെ അസ്വസ്ഥതയിൽ അരിശം മൂത്തു നിൽക്കുന്ന ആൾകൂട്ടത്തിന്റെ ആക്രോശങ്ങൾ !

തൊടുപുഴക്ക് എപ്പോഴാ വണ്ടി?
രാത്രി പന്ത്രണ്ടിന്..
പാലക്കാട്ടേക്ക് വണ്ടി ഉണ്ടോ?
ഉണ്ട്, എപ്പോ എത്തും എന്നറിയില്ലാ!
പെരുമ്പാവൂർക്കോ?
വരേണ്ട സമയം കഴിഞ്ഞു.

അങ്ങനെ അസ്വസ്ഥചിത്തരായ യാത്രക്കാരുടെ ചോദ്യങ്ങൾക്ക് അചേതനവും, അപ്രായോഗികവും, അയുക്തവുമായ ഉത്തരങ്ങൾ ആ കൂട്ടിൽ നിന്നും നിർഗളം പ്രവഹിച്ചു കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു! ഇടയിൽ കയറി ഞാനും ചോദിച്ചു -

ഇരിഞ്ഞാലക്കുടയ്ക്ക് വണ്ടി ഉണ്ടോ?
പതിനൊന്നിന് എത്തുമായിരിക്കും !
ഓ ! എനിക്കും കിട്ടി എനിക്കുള്ളത്. സമാധാനമായി!

ഇനി ഇവിടെ കാത്തിരുന്നു കാര്യമില്ല. നിസ്സഹായനായി ഈ ദുരിതം കണ്ടുനിൽക്കാമെന്നല്ലാതെ! സർറിയലിസം ഒലിഞ്ഞൊഴുകുന്ന ആ ആലയത്തിൽ നിന്നും ഞാൻ എൻറെ തേരാ-പാരാ റിയലിസം അന്വേഷിച്ചു പതിയെ പുറത്തിറങ്ങി. ഒരു സഹൃദയൻറെ മുച്ചക്ര ശകടത്തിൽ ഇരിഞ്ഞാലക്കുട വരെ എത്തി. അവിടുന്ന് എൻറെ  ഇരുചക്ര ശകടമെടുത്ത് രാത്രിയുടെ അന്ധകാരത്തിലോട്ട് അലിഞ്ഞിറങ്ങി. പോരുന്ന വഴി, അങ്ങകലെ പരന്നു കിടക്കുന്ന ചക്രവാളത്തിലെങ്ങോ ഒളിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു എന്നെ പിഴിഞ്ഞെടുത്ത് ഉണക്കാനിട്ട "ആ ഗഡി" യോടായി ഞാൻ പറഞ്ഞു - ഹാ !ചാമ്പിക്കോ !

കൂടൽമാണിക്യം ഉത്സവകാഴ്ച - 1

കൂടൽമാണിക്യം ഉത്സവകാഴ്ച - 2

വയലിൻത്രയം - സംഗീത ശങ്കർ, രാഗിണി ശങ്കർ, നന്ദിനി ശങ്കർ 

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