In human, we trust

I had mentioned in my first blog post about 'following' certain folks in twitter, which is rather my raison d'etre in this sort of 'online diary'. I look at it more as a way to know the opinion of a select few on some topics. It could be Ian Chappell of Australia on cricket or Paul Krugman of US on economics (politics?). Of course, if Chappell or Krugman decide to go 'crazy' from next year onwards, ie tomorrow ;), I can stop following them. Such opinions may also throw light on how people are in other parts of the world or country or even state. It looks like many people are indeed using twitter for the reason I mentioned in my first blog post - I knew it 10 minutes before you.

Twitter: a cult and not a cure seems to reemphasize the same. I think leanings of people are being converted or put it mildly streamlined into one particular disposition or opinion towards another. People without their knowledge may become part of a 'mob'. To quote from the article,

given the right kind of push, ideas or products can suddenly gain traction and pass around from person to person like a virus.

Unlike most advertisement campaigns, twitter is novel in the sense that it is not only 'popular reaching out to the public' but 'public reaching out to the popular'. Popular is NEVER right or put it mildly, may not be always right.

I had also posted regarding my online experience and it seems to be well in line with this 'philosophy'. 'Like-minded', rather equally foolish people join together and celebrate their idiocy. I think the bigger point is the repeat of time cycle. People who once 'group'ed together based on language or religion or region or caste are now 'group'ing together in terms of apparent 'connectivity'. It is interesting that the 'actual' person they are grouping with does not matter. They dont even need a face or voice, just someone responsive to their ideas, however ridiculous it might be. There may be also some 'status' associated with whom you are following in such group activities. To quote,

Faced with any kind of group activity, our first response is: do any of them know how to use Twitter?

and

Social networking sites create only a deafening banality

. Just like schooling became another form of segregation among atleast Indians, these online forums are trying to become another. The article seems to suggest that 'reliance' on online opinions is high and it does look like people are relying on opinions, not of their father or brother, but unseen person sitting miles away hitting the keyboard. Finally it is another human that they trust. Well, who is that human that I trust? Well, I dont care.

Oh, and happy New Year. ;)

Governor middling when AP is burning...

I dont know if K Chandrasekara Rao (KCR) wanted to emulate Potti Sriramulu by going for a fast, but south Indian channels were reporting resultant violent events as there was 'Sudden shutdown in Hyderabad, TV bulletins spread panic'. NDTV like any non-South indian channel was not reporting any of it atleast in the beginning. It looked like KCR was indeed able to do what Potti Sriramulu did by dividing Andhra from erstwhile Madras when Home Minister P Chidambaram made the announcement.

Many of my friends from Andhra (none of them were from Telangana) used to say that this Telangana call is nothing but nuisance. They said that Telangana has nothing but Hyderabad and they wont achieve anything by separating from Andhra. Maybe they were biased or 'streamlined' with the opinion of rest of the community. I now know that at the time of the states reorganization, it was indeed agreed that Telangana should be a separate state from Andhra. Congress with its usual approach of postponing or time-wasting 'promised' that Telangana will be later separated because initial level of division of states on linguistic basis had to get completed first and Telangana separation can be 'looked at' later. Congress had been successful in its stalling tactics whether it is Kashmir or LTTE.

Telugus who dismissed the idea of Telangana were those who didnt want Telangana to be separated. So scene of mass resignations was enacted. People from other regions also started giving calls for new states in their regions. Dig well, big hell or to put in Tamil கிணறு வெட்ட பூதம் கிளம்பிச்சு. I intuitively felt that Telangana should be indeed made a separate state and KCR did reaffirm my opinion in his interview. I also felt that protests in Andhra were orchestrated. If some region wants to sever from the old 'parent', how can anyone protest that it should not be severed unless they have vested interests in that region? Also it is going to be just another state in the same country. I bought a flat in Karnataka. So what? I have felt that Telugus are very good at mathematics or studies for that matter but are EVER stupid when it comes to emotions. They mix up everything and are quite 'scheming' .

Central Govt did backtrack, maybe because lot of MPs/MLAs of not just Congress, but TDP and even the recently born PRP seemed to have lot of stake in Hyderabad. With all parties being divided, it makes all the more reason that Telangana should be separated because no legislator from Telangana from any party is against the separation. All parties joined together to form a Joint Action Committee and today JAC gives ultimatum to Centre on formation of Telangana. To add the truly 'film'y look, Governor ND Tiwari was caught in sex scandal and has now resigned.

India is number one

India rout Sri Lanka, become world number one Test side goes the 'news'. With the current recession, entire world seems to go head over heels to give bananas to Republic of India. AR Rehman was given the Oscar sometime back. Now the 'number one Test side'. Does India deserve it? Of course not.

In the season from Jan 2007 till date, India has played 31 tests and won only 12. South Africa has played 28 tests and won 18, Australia played 29 tests and won 14. The fact is that since Jan 2007 India has played only 16 tests abroad, won 5 lost 5 and drawn 6.

Yes, India is world no 1.

Play to win.

When I started staying and studying in REC campus from 1997-2000, I used to play cricket and some considered that I was a 'better' player. I never gave my best when I thought other guys, rather classmates were not 'serious' enough. One of the better 'players' told them in clear words that he expects them to play seriously, but he was advised not to be 'serious'. Of course, I always considered him very good in sports and infact he had a very very positive approach to life itself. I still remember his reply to them on that day - yes, we play for fun, but PLAY TO WIN, buddy. I realised that later he was good not in just cricket, but badminton, table tennis, volleyball and football. He was a real sportsman and even participated in inter-district competitions. In our final year, it was a pity that I was able to reach the finals of table tennis competition, while he lost in the other semifinals. Of course, in doubles, we played as a team and won comfortably. I actually dont mind losing as long as I lost it to some one better. Infact, during the singles semifinals, one junior was feverishly supported by many girls and his face seemed to become very tense. I won the first set and was just 5 points short of victory, when I actually left it free for him to win. Winning that match didnt seem important to me. Losing it was probably more important.

As long as there is a good contest, winning losing does not matter. First test between Sri Lanka and India ended in an insipid draw with obviously the pitch getting all the flak. India is not at all a country for sports, because there is no sporting culture in the first place. If there is any scope ONLY for INDIVIDUAL, then there may be winners like Viswanathan Anand in chess, though I feel that even chess has become very prescriptive with textbook openings - Ruy Lopez Opening, Scotch move etc. With such a big focus on 'individual', of course India will achieve lot of records - batsmen with highest number of runs, centuries etc, and the fact that number of victories is abysmal being 'covered up', if not ignored. I would hope that people see all 'achievement's in perspective that India has played host to the highest proportion of drawn test matches. Even the match at Motera could have been turned into a possibly exciting one like the exciting draw between Australia and New Zealand after sporting declarations in Brisbane test. That is the risk Indians dont want to take even in sports. Rather to put in a 'colonial' ring, that is the risk sub-continent teams dont take in sports.

How holy are temples?

Today I happened to see a link/topic in Orkut 'Kancheepuram priest in sex scandal'. I am neither shocked nor feel bad about the priest. Infact, I find it funny to read

What's even more scandalous is that the 36-year-old priest, Devanathan, used to engage in sexual acts even as unsuspecting devotees waited outside to perform puja.

That is how holy the temple is. If at all, anyone has to take the 'blame', it is the women.

Ever since I first went to the temple near my house in Chennai, I always find that priest in almost all temples indulge in lot of chatter with women (devotees, if one may call so) and I used to hate that especially in a place like temple. It may be distracting for the 'serious' goers. It is often because of 'small' benefits that they get, women seem to enter in such silly talk. It may be 'delay in rituals' so that women can come or 'extra prasad' or some crap like that. If a person is genuinely believer in God, (s)he doesnt need an 'intermediary' like priest. It may be inane chatter, but to put in Ian Chappell's words -

more you allow inane chatter, more likely something personal is going to be said. If something is said at the wrong moment, you will have one person laying his hand on the other.

It sounds the same here as well.

My another 'eternal' question is whether women can be 'atheist's. Atleast in reality, most temples or rituals are meant (to attract) for ONLY women. Why do they believe in God? That leads to the 'intermediary' or 'broker' ie the priest. I am reminded of the classic quote from Pulp Fiction -

There's a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you." I been sayin' that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant.

Now I'm thinkin', it could mean you're the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. .45 here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or is could by you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth. THE TRUTH IS YOU'RE THE WEAK. AND I'M THE TYRANNY OF EVIL MEN.

Karnataka cricket players

There was a time, maybe when G Viswanath was in BCCI selection committee, that many players in Indian cricket team were from Karnataka. I did not see it as a bias or nepotism in any sense, because among the Indian players available at that time, I thought they were indeed the right ones to get into the Indian team. Also, I have found that players from Karnataka give their best in their deeds and their commitment is unquestionable - Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad etc. True, they may not have been the most talented players even in India, but the most important thing is that one can be sure of their commitment. They had always put themselves in the best position for their capabilities. Kumble is not known for really spinning the ball, but his perseverance and consistency are taller than him.

I may not appreciate their cricketing ideas, as I found them as per 'textbook's or 'British way' of following cricket. For instance, I still remember the one day match at Chennai, where Saeed Anwar hit Kumble out of the ground frequently in one over. I had felt that Kumble should have taken some 'time' off to discuss or atleast acting to discuss to break the 'flow' of Anwar. Similarly, Javagal Srinath 'talk's or 'advice' to other bowlers ('pitch the ball in the right area and pitch will do the rest') are naive to put it mildly. More often, great players cant be good coaches. Sachin Tendulkar cant teach a player how to play straight drive. Of course, he can execute it to perfection. Kumble cant teach anyone because mental make-up was the weapon of Kumble or atleast far more important than the act of bowling. Any captain should love to have players like Kumble, Dravid and Srinath. Personally, I liked players from Karnataka because they all talked down to earth. I read an article in Hindu about Dravid and was impressed reading Kumble's quote - It is important to remember where you started off.

Yet another record, yet another player?

Sachin Tendulkar has reached 17000 runs milestone. Rather it is yet another milestone-a personal achievement at best. From early days when I was in school, I never thought that any player from Mumbai played for the team. Team spirit was never drummed into them. They seemed to play only for records and match was totally forgotten. Sachin is no different and will be the first person to get away from a fight in cricket. Just when fans expect him to go to the finishing line, he will inevitably fail like the famous Chennai test vs Pakistan in 1999 and I guess that will happen today as well. Cricinfo round table did agree that Lara is the best. More than opinion, data speaks for all and the match at Kensington Oval proves the class of Lara beyond doubt.

I remember that some of my classmates in school used to say that I am nitpicking Sachin because I am jealous of him and that while I could just play for 'City', almost at the same age Sachin is playing for the country. I am sure that I am the last person to feel jealous of another deserving person but the point is that I always thought Sachin does not deserve so much credit. The only thing that I like about Sachin is his humility. Especially in India, he has been a role model in handling fame and despite so many records, always had his feet on ground. There are two innings that come to my mind in his entire career - his century at Perth and his century and partnership with Mohammed Azharuddin at Cape Town.

It has to be mentioned that Sachin is not captaincy material (no matter how many times and long commentators are going to commend him). I am not very particular about records (Lies, Utter Lies, Statistics after all) and think that Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly have been the two best cricketers that India has produced. Of course, Ian Chappell did mention that

the difference between Indian fans and Australian fans is that if India lose but Tendulkar makes a hundred, most of the Indian fans will go home delirious. But if Ricky Ponting makes a hundred and Australia lose, a lot of Australians will go home and kick the cat.

Indian fans can be that ridiculous. I remember watching World Cup match at my college, Ganguly and Dravid were on song but most people in audience wanted Dravid to get out. Why? Sachin can come and blast his way to a 50. Dravid did get out, but Sachin also got out in 2 :( That is how Indians are.

p.s. India indeed lost the match. QED ;)

Online experience.

நீயா-நானா programme is going on TV and today's debate is the difference in behavior before and after 'love marriage'. Quite a few participants seem to have got in contact through chat or love had developed after extending a talk with an 'unknown call center professional'. It does shock my senses to call this 'love marriage' because its basis or foundation is so shaky. For instance, I do talk many times with personnel in call center, speaking on behalf of credit card or bank or internet broadband services. I did not get even a thought of 'extending' the talk to include 'personal' details or know about them. I am indeed surprised when people seem to go 'personal' or 'inquisitive', so soon especially in online communities like Orkut or Yahoo chat etc. Even if I know a 'mutual fried/acquaintance', it is probably not in my nature to talk/opine reg him/her to an unknown person, mutually known or otherwise.

When I was studying in REC/NIT Trichy, my classmates used to go to Yahoo chat rooms and had lot of animated post-chat conversations with rest of us. For me, thought of 'chat'ting with unknown person, especially about personal information (asl, for instance) is shocking if not revolting. At the same time, I thought that I should NOT think so without having a direct experience. I did enter the 'internet room' in our computer lab called Octagon with an intention to go to some chat room. I selected some Chennai room and since it was quite early (5:30 am or 6:00 am), I thought atleast some chat users may be 'serious'. I think 'qohearts' pinged me first and since 'she' was also not touchy about talking with a guy, I proceeded. She was apparently a desi in US, married 5 or 6 months back to a guy from Chennai. I realised that world is small when she found that her husband was my school mate. She told me about the 'controversy' which was one among many that we gossiped in school. Obviously I didnt believe any of these 'gossip's to be true. The girl shocked me asking about one such controversy which included her husband. She was atleast talking to me about an 'incident' (which I still think was petty gossip or rumor among school students) and seemed to quite agitated about it. She was 'spot on' on the principal characters and they had contact even after leaving school. I did not know what to say and glad that I didnt start on that topic. The other end seemed to be quite smart in decoding my 'curt'/brief responses. I stopped the chat when the other person told that she had indeed decided in favor of filing a divorce :o I didnt think that I was responsible in any way, for neither did I start the chat nor did I talk about that 'controversy'. At the same time, I did feel whether I could have avoided being the 'last straw' and stopped my solitary experience of 'chat' with unknown people.

It was probably after I started working that I did 'occasional' chats. I did think that it would be great to catch my 'future wife' after some level of chat. Courtesy yahoogroups and online communities like Orkut, I did happen to 'interact' with quite a few people. With a little bit more information known in such communities, I thought people might be guarded over what they talk and more importantly whom they talk. One issue that I had was 'confidentiality' of member's friends. Why should my 'friend's be known or seen by all? Anyway I didnt have 'skeletons' in my closet as such to worry and so I participated in communities. I think I first joined some 'Iyers' community with the idea of finding my 'future wife'. The voodoo continued even here and one girl wanted to chat with me. She wanted to chat not about me but about my friend, whom she suspected had a relationship (to the 'highest' level) with her 'to-be-husband' :( I came out of Iyers community immediately. Tamil Nadu politics was one community that I have been member, almost since I joined Orkut. I did encounter one person who claimed to have 'highest level of contact' with my friend's wife.

I am not sure what is the impact of such 'confession's on me but at the same time, I hope that I dont 'simmer' (as Ian Chappell would say). Maybe what they say or claim is true but I hope that I dont blurt out such things (basically gossip) with others. That is the least that I can do without.

Predictability.

I just read an article in today's Literary Review supplement of Hindu and liked as it ended - I seem to like lines especially at the end of articles

Anyone who is bold enough to finish this book should be conversant with the art of speed-reading – dropping lines, chunks of text, even whole chapters – because when you turn round the corner of a plot twist you’ll be met with yet another long street of predictable narration.

I had mentioned about my 'fast reading'. I dont remember leaving out whole chapters, but the point is plot-based novels like Hardy Boys or Sidney Sheldon can be read fast because there is no great loss in missing out words. Of course, if we take books like 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco or 'The Joke' by Milan Kundera, we HAVE to read it slowly to have full 'impact' of the words and feel of the writer.

Great, good-enough, all-in-all...

India has won over a 'depleted' Australia in a cricket match at Delhi. Eulogies on Dhoni, that had started from previous match, will continue. He might be a great 'captain' but I still havent got the feeling that he is a good wicket-keeper, in the first place. Kumar Sangakkara did talk about 'dilution' or lowering of standards in wicket-keeping. In India, I think we have not seen a good wicket-keeper since Kiran More and maybe as the Cricinfo talk suggested, role of wicket-keepers has reduced or changed. The critical point is that people or cricket boards had started feeling that it is not good enough to be a wicket keeper alone, probably because of Gilchrist's success. Then it later changed to 'good enough' wicket keeper and more importantly, 'all-in-all' wicket keeper (batsman who can keep wickets). I am not sure about other teams, but India started this '$crewed up' theory first of 'good enough' wicket-keeper. Sanjay Manjrekar doubled up as a wicket-keeper for some matches. Rahul Dravid could have his place in the team only if he could keep wickets. I dont think Dravid did a 'sacrifice' by keeping wickets. If he didnt agree, he would probably have to sit out. 'Wicket-keeper' changed to 'wicket-keeper batsman' and now to 'batsman wicket-keeper'.

On the other extreme, we have companies or people who want to be 'all-in-all', not thinking if they are competent enough. Music directors started singing long back, actors started producing long back, actors started directing long back. I remember Kamalhassan repeated the quote, maybe a decade back, in an interview published in Hindu, 'Specialization is for insects'. Even in Cricinfo round table discussion, it was agreed that Sobers was the best. The problem is that only few or handful of people are good enough to be 'all-in-all'. Sobers could get into a team by virtue of his batting ALONE or by his virtue of bowling ALONE. As Michael Holding said, there is no point in fiddling around with people who could do a little bit or this and little bit of that. Ian Chappell slammed the theory of someone who could get 20 runs, bowl 7 overs and save 5 runs on field :))

This is not a scenario in cricket alone. There is a slow change in mindset of people (rather 'market') that 'high quality' will be costly and therefore 'good enough' is good enough. I remember reading in HBR some years back about US companies vying for China's good-enough market. My brother-in-law who was working in Cummins, also agreed with this article because he thought Cummins was doing exactly this to get into markets like Africa or Asia. 'High quality' products cost a lot, but if sales volume is high with 'good enough' (ie cheaper) products although with lower margins, it can more than compensate. We dont have to even go abroad for such examples, when we have ample things closer home. I think Tamil Nadu was always leading in such ideas or philosophy and no better example than Saravana Stores. Some, especially the rich or wanna-be rich, would not associate Saravana Stores with 'high quality', but there is no doubt that their turnover will be the highest in Tamil Nadu. It is good-enough if we are good-enough ;)

Sreesanth goes on and on...

I had mentioned about aggression, in particular antics of Sreesanth in the name of aggression and he just cant stop dancing. To quote,

According to KCA, Sreesanth was appointed as the captain of the Ranji team on October 10 with the intentions to bring him back into the national team. But since 12th when the camp began in Talisherry, Sreesanth has not attended the camp for a single day.

I am not sure what was the brain spark that first made him a captain, which reminded me of old quote. There is an 'opinion' in cricket that fast bowlers should not be made captain and when Pakistan had Wasim Akram as captain and Waqar Younis as vice captain, I think Boycott said - having a pace bowler as captain is stupid and having a pace bowler as vice-captain is downright bizarre. In case of Sreesanth, sponsors seem to play a big role in ensuring that he is still 'in play'. Ian Chappell had mentioned quite sometime back that he is on his way to asylum if he continuted his antics. Unfortunately nobody listened to him. Indiscipline is Siamese twin to Sreesanth :(

Planets on earth.

I am not sure of the relation between Hindu religion and astrology and for one who is at best an 'agnostic' if not an 'atheist', I do not share the same faith in astrology like my mother. My mother did not force any of her beliefs on me since I neither discouraged hers nor propagate my beliefs within my house. Of course, she would be glad if I were to be a 'law abiding' Hindu. Since my marriage is getting postponed (or am I 'destined' to be single?), she has been advised by 'others' and saying that I should visit 'navagriha temples', all of which are in TN. I initially booked train tickets as usual impulsively on Oct 8, but we couldnt reach the railway station despite starting 2 hrs 30 minutes before the scheduled departure. Bangalore traffic is the most chaotic that I have seen and to add fuel to fire, there was a cricket match. We reached station 5 minutes after train had left and since my mother would perceive 'cancelled trip' as ill-omen, I immediately booked the same trips on Oct 11. It turned out to be a wise decision, because if we had gone earlier the trip would have been chaotic as we had no plans - not even a good map to have a sense of distance between temples. I could chart out a decent plan second time around and more importantly 'execute' it to perfection.

I have decent 'knowledge' on astrology and as per my knowledge, it was a futile attempt by our forefathers to 'predict' future. Belief on 'super natural' or 'extra terrestrial' took the form of astrology or that 'planets' movement decide our destiny. There are of course people who try to 'intellectually' prove or disprove. I dont waste time on such silly things. Basically the underlying philosophy is that life of each person (or living being?) on earth can be put as a big equation with lots of variables. If we know the value of variables, we can say XYZ will have flu at the age of 9, will work in domain of arts, marry at the age of 27, have n children etc. I had already blogged about 'generalizers'. So astrology is on this basis of 'generalization' that there IS A 'GENERIC' EQUATION in which position of 'planets' are the variables. If the value of variables are known, then equation of life can be used to 'predict'.

I am very much FOR 'generalization' as a set of common characteristics of people. Some level of predictability in how people react to some things is infact very good, what Krugman refers to science fiction where 'social scientist's are able to predict what and how people react to an 'event'. Humans whether based on geography or language do tend to share a lot and behavior is definitely one of them. It is indeed natural to 'expect' similarity among people who share same 'native'. What surprises me is when I see people with absolutely no 'corelation', think on similar lines. I had blogged on how I had thought on same lines as Ian Chappell, especially on 'sense of fairplay'. I can agree if astrology is used to denote/describe traits of a 'class of individuals' at a high level. I dont have any issues with say 'Linda Goodman book on Sun Signs' talking about how people born in certain months behave or perceive things around them but I am absolutely have nothing FOR 'future prediction' of one specific individual using 'planets' as basis to the point of saying 'XYZ will have chicken pox at the age of 4, relocate at the age of 17, study till age of 25, have four cars, 3 houses etc'. I am only amazed to see TV programmes running regularly 'feeding on such beliefs' :(

Blast from the past (series on Tamil Cinema in Hindu) -.may be updated

Motor Sundaram Pillai 1966 - 10 Jul 2009

Playwright and screenwriter Liam O’Brien wrote a hit play, ‘The Remarkable Mr. Penny Packer’, based on the incident, and it was expectedly made into a movie with noted Hollywood star Clifton Webb in the lead.

Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum 1965 - 31 Jul 2011

Krishnan-Panju had many hits in many languages, including Hindi, to their credit. Both of them began in a modest manner in Coimbatore, with Krishnan working as a laboratorian and Panju (Panchapakesan) as an assistant director and script assistant. Panju had also worked with Ellis R. Dungan as one of his assistants. He was also a talented film editor and edited all his films and signed his name as ‘Panjabi!'

Iravum Pagalum 1965 - 20 Mar 2009

Joseph Thaliath Junior, son of a high ranking Travancore judicial officer, relocated to Madras to make movies. He worked as assistant director under veterans such as S. Soundararajan (Tamil Nadu Talkies) before he joined hands with noted art director, filmmaker and studio owner F. Nagoor to promote a production company called Citadel Films. But why Citadel? His favourite novel was A. J. Cronin’s classic “The Citadel” which he wanted to film in Tamil

Bommai (1964) - 30 Oct 2011

Hitchcock has been a source of inspiration to many filmmakers in several parts of the world, including India. Influenced by his style of filmmaking and onscreen narration, S. Balachandar, the multifaceted Tamil filmmaker, adapted Sabotage in Tamil, suitably changing the storyline for the local market

Chitrangi (1964) - 16 Jul 2010

AVM. Rajan and Pushpalatha met during the AVM production, Nanum Oru Penn, fell in love and got married. They appeared in many movies together and one of them was Chitrangi. However, they were not as successful as they were expected to be

Pattanathil Bhootham 1964 - 17 Jul 2009

The Brass Bottle fared well in India, including Madras. ‘Javert’ Seetharaman, a lawyer-turned-film person, was an expert in adapting foreign novels and movies to the Tamil screen. Not surprisingly, he rewrote The Brass Bottle in Tamil as Pattanathil Bhootham and played the role of the ‘bhootham’ himself!

Puthiya Paravai 1964 - 26 Jun 2009

This Hitchcockian suspense thriller was made in Bengali, also a hit, Sheshankaa, featuring Uttam Kumar, Sharmila Tagore and Sabitha Chowdhary. The Bengali screen story by Rajkumar Mitra was acquired by Sivaji Films to be made in Tamil in color as its first in-house production — Puthiya Paravai

Navaratri 1964 - 7 Sep 2007

BBC News mentioned Navaratri as one of Sivaji Ganesan’s best films in its tribute to the actor, on his death in 2001

Arivaali 1963 - 18 Sep 2009

ATK, a person blessed with a delightful sense of humour, had then narrated not only his filmmaking experiences but also showed him a copy of the agreement with MGR in Tamil, which was almost hundred per cent foolproof, advantage MGR. It had words like `vaarthaigalaiyo. kaatchigalaiyo maatravo, kezhattavo, neekkavo, kokkavo MGRukku sagala urimaigalum undu...' No other Indian cinema personality had such a cast iron strong agreement in his favour

Indira En Selvam 1962 - 13 Nov 2011

That was the period when M. R. Radha virtually ruled over Tamil cinema and appeared in every other film; here too he was his debonair villainous self

Avana Ivan 1962 - 18 Sep 2011

He also introduced interesting publicity materials. One was a larger-than-life cut-out of the hero which was erected in the Mount Road area opposite a popular non-vegetarian restaurant. There was also a cut-out of the dark glasses the hero wears; on one lens was written ‘Avanaa', and on the other ‘Ivan'! These attracted enormous attention, building up pre-release publicity

Annai 1962 - 16 Jan 2009

For some reasons including Bhanumathi's remuneration, she opted out and Nirupa Roy, the eternal `mother' of Hindi cinema was brought in. Nirupa Roy was no Bhanumathi and her performance fell far short of what Bhanumathi could have done. Indeed in a chat with this writer, Bhanumathi told him with a mischievous glint in her eye that her friends in Bombay renamed the film `Dalda'! Balraj Sahni who played Ranga Rao's role strongly suggested to AVM to cast Bhanumathi in the Hindi version too.

Kavalai Illadha Manithan 1960 - 6 Nov 2011

One of his praiseworthy movies was Kavalai Illaadha Manithan in which his friend with whom he shared many interests, J. P. Chandrababu played the lead as a man without worries in life and who never bothered about the morrow. He believed in the philosophy of the famed British poet, Lord Byron, ‘Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter. Sermons and soda water the day after!'

Paarthibhan Kanavu 1960 - 29 May 2009

‘Kalki’ (R. Krishnamurthi) was indeed the founding father of the genre of historical fiction in Tamil literature. He created many immortal classics such as “Sivakamiyin Sabatham”, “Ponniyin Selvan” and “Alai Osai”. Another was “Paarthibhan Kanavu”, a historical novel built around the Pallava-Chola dynasties. He wrote it even as he was working for Ananda Vikatan, but began serialising it only when he established his own weekly Kalki in 1941 in association with his friend T. Sadasivam.

Vijayapuri Veeran 1960 - 24 Apr 2009

The Citadel Film boss Joseph Thaliath Junior who blazed a new trail in Tamil cinema during the 1950s and 1960s proved that it was possible to make commercially viable films casting new faces. This film was a shining example of his bold attitude

President Panchatcharam (1959) - 2 October 2011

Nikolai Gogol, one of the icons of Russian Literature, is known for his short stories and the play, ‘Inspector-General' (also known as ‘Government Inspector'). Wanting to write a play, he sought the help of Pushkin, another icon, who told him about his personal experience when he was mistaken for a government officer on a visit to a small town. Based on this premise, Gogol wrote the play, in which a person visiting a village is taken to be the Inspector-General who was expected to investigate the fraudulent affairs of the village chief

Thanga Pathumai (1959) - 4 Jun 2010
Maragatham (1959) - 30 Apr 2010
Thaai Magalukku Kattiya Thaali 1959 - 13 Nov 2009
Vanjikottai Vaaliban 1958 - 27 Mar 2011
Sabhash Meena 1958 - 3 Apr 2009
Vanangamudi 1957 - 7 Aug 2011
Thangamalai Rahasiyam 1957 - 22 May 2011
Chakravarthi Thirumagal 1957 - 10 Apr 2011
Sadaram 1956 - 12 Jun 2009
Rangoon Radha 1956 - 12 Sep 2008
Chinnadurai 1955 - 23 Oct 2011
Menaka 1955 - 4 Sep 2011
Pennarasi 1955 - 3 Jul 2011
Kanavaney Kankanda Deivam (1955) - 1 Jan 2010
Chella Pillai 1955 - 25 Sep 2009
Malaikallan 1954 - 20 Mar 2011
Kalyanam Panniyum Bramhachari 1954 - 20 Mar 2011
Viduthalai 1954 - 10 Oct 2010
Thookku Thookki 1954 - 19 Sep 2010
Sorgavaasal 1954 - 18 Dec 2009
Thuli Visham 1954 - 18 Dec 2009
Rattha Kanneer 1954 - 31 Jul 2009
Rajee En Kanmani 1954 - 24 Jul 2009
Manohara 1954 - 6 Mar 2009
Andha Naal 1954 - 12 Dec 2008
Kalvanin Kadhali 1954 - 21 Nov 2008
Goondukili 1954 - 10 Oct 2008
Madana Mohini (1953) - 12 Mar 2010
Thirumbi Paar 1953 - 13 Mar 2009
Devadas 1953 - 13 Feb 2009
En Veedu 1953 - 23 Jan 2009
Panakkari 1953 - 26 Dec 2006
Parasakthi 1952 - 24 Apr 2011
Kanchana 1952 - 20 Aug 2010
Rani (1952) - 21 May 2010
Andhaman Kaithi 1952 - 15 May 2009
Kalyani 1952 - 27 Feb 2009
En Thangai 1952 - 28 Nov 2008
Thaai Ullam 1952 - 25 Apr 2008
Singari 1951 - 21 Aug 2011
Vanasundari 1951 - 10 Jul 2011
Mohanasundaram 1951 - 12 Jun 2011
Lavanya 1951 - 6 Feb 2011
Devamanohari 1951 - 2 Jan 2011
Ore Iravu (1951) - 24 Oct 2010
Devaki 1951 - 6 Feb 2009
Sudharshan 1951 - 30 Jan 2009
Rajambal 1951 - 2 Jan 2009
Niraparadhi 1951 - 14 Nov 2008
Sarvadhikari 1951 - 24 Oct 2008
Manamagal 1951 - 15 Aug 2008
Kaithi 1951 - 8 Aug 2008
Marmayogi 1951 - 14 Mar 2008
Maruthanaatu Ilavarasi 1950 - 9 Jan 2011
Ithaya Geetham (1950) - 16 Apr 2010
Raja Vikrama (1950) - 16 Apr 2010
Paarijaatham (1950) - 9 Apr 2010
Vijayakumari 1950 - 5 Nov 2009
Maaman Magal 1950 - 28 Aug 2009
Krishna Vijayam 1950 - 21 Aug 2009
Digambara Saamiyar 1950 - 31 Oct 2008
Ponmudi 1950 - 3 Oct 2008
Ezhai Padum Paadu 1950 - 2 Nov 2007
Manthrikumari (1950) - 28 Sep 2007
Sowdhamini 1949 - 17 Apr 2011
Ratnakumar 1949 - 26 Feb 2010
Geetha Gandhi 1949 - 7 Aug 2009
Kanniyin Kaadhali 1949 - 9 Jan 2009
Pavalakodi 1949 - 7 Nov 2008
Apoorva Sahodarargal 1949 - 27 Jun 2008
Mangayarkarasi 1949 - 4 Apr 2008
Nallathambi 1949 - 14 Dec 2007
Velaikari 1949 - 7 Dec 2007
En Kanavar 1948 - 17 Jul 2011
Pizhaikkum Vazhi 1948 - 19 Jun 2011
Madanamala 1948 - 6 Mar 2011
Chandralekha 1948 - 3 Oct 2010
Bhaktha Jana 1948 - 29 Aug 2010
Samsara Nowka 1948 - 23 Apr 2010
Abhimanyu 1948 - 2 Oct 2009
Adithan Kanavu 1948 - 22 May 2009
Vedhala Ulagam 1948 - 19 Dec 2008
Chakradhari 1948 - 5 Dec 2008
Gnanasoundari 1948 - 29 Aug 2008
Idhu Nijama 1948 - 4 Jul 2008
Raja Mukthi 1948 - 18 Apr 2008
Krishna Bhakthi 1948 - 15 Feb 2008
Mohini 1948 - 19 Oct 2007
Navajeevanam 1947 - 5 Jun 2011
Kannika 1947 - 13 Mar 2011
Deiva Neethi 1947 - 12 Dec 2010
Kanjan 1947 - 21 Nov 2010
Rama Rajyam 1947 - 4 Dec 2009
Rajakumari 1947 - 5 Sep 2008
Miss Malini 1947 - 25 Jul 2008
Vichitra Vanitha 1947 - 20 Jun 2008
Paithiakaaran 1947 - 13 Jun 2008
Katakam 1947 - 16 May 2008
Aayiram Thalaivaangi Apoorva Chintamani 1947 - 29 Feb 2008
Naam Iruvar 1947 - 30 Nov 2007
Udayanan Vasavadatta 1946 - 28 Nov 2010
Vidyapathi 1946 - 14 Nov 2010
Chitra 1946 - 2 Jul 2010
Valmiki 1946 - 25 Dec 2009
Sri Murugan 1946 - 1 May 2009
Saalivaahanan 1945 - 26 Jun 2011
Maanasamrakshanam (1945) - 7 Nov 2010
En Magan (1945) - 11 Jun 2010
Burmah Rani 1945 - 5 Jun 2009
Kannamma En Kaathali 1945 - 9 May 2008
Meera 1945 - 28 Mar 2008
Sri Valli -- 1945 - 28 Dec 2007
Mahamaya 1944 - 5 Sep 2010
Jagathalaprathapan 1944 - 13 Aug 2010
Harishchandra 1944 - 3 Jul 2009
Haridas 1944 - 11 Jul 2008
Dasi Aparanji (1944) - 19 Sep 2008
Mangamma Sapatham 1944 - 23 Nov 2007
Harishchandra 1944 - 16 Nov 2007
Dasi Penn (Jyothimalar) 1943 - 20 Feb 2011
Kubera Kuchela 1943 - 11 Sep 2009
Sivakavi 1943 - 26 Sep 2008
Prabhavati 1942 - 11 Dec 2011

Most of the Naattukottai Chettiars were wealthy, but did not know English. They found these handbills a novelty and encouraged Lena Chettiar

Thamizh Ariyum Perumal 1942 - 8 May 2011
Chogamelar 1942 - 26 Dec 2010
Manonmani 1942 - 19 Dec 2010
Bhaktha Naradar 1942 - 30 Jul 2010
Naveena Vikramadityan (1942) - 9 Jul 2010
Prithvirajan (1942) - 28 May 2010
Kannagi 1942 - 19 Jun 2009
En Manaivi 1942 - 18 Jul 2008
Nandanar 1942 - 30 May 2008
Vana Mohini 1941 - 29 May 2011
Ali Babavum Naarpathu Thirudargalum 1941 - 1 May 2011
Sathi Murali 1941 - 6 Aug 2010
Aryamala (1941) - 23 Jul 2010
Savithiri 1941 - 5 Mar 2010
Venugaanam 1941 - 12 Feb 2010
Sakunthalai 1941 - 29 Jan 2010
Bhaktha Gowri 1941 - 22 Jan 2010
Rishyashringar 1941 - 27 Nov 2009
Katcha Devayani 1941 - 10 Jul 2009
Sabapathy 1941 - 23 May 2008
Ashok Kumar 1941 - 25 Jan 2008
Gumasthavin Penn 1941 - 16 Oct 2009
Madanakamarajan 1941 - 9 Oct 2009
Bhaktha Chetha (1940) - 26 June 2010
Bhooloka Rambai (1940) - 7 May 2010
Chandragupta Chanakya 1940 - 8 May 2009
Vaayaadi 1940 - 22 Aug 2008
Utthama Puthran 1940 - 2 May 2008
Manimekalai 1940 - 7 Mar 2008
Kalamegham (1940) - 21 Sep 2007
Prahalada (1939) - 14 Aug 2011
Mathru Bhoomi (1939) - 14 May 2010
Vimochanam (1939) - 26 Mar 2010
Shantha Sakkubai 1939 - 19 Mar 2010
Thiruneelakantar 1939 - 4 Sep 2009
Adrishtam 1939 - 1 Aug 2008
Rambayin Kaathal 1939 - 11 Apr 2008
Thyaga Bhoomi 1939 - 21 Mar 2008
Desa Munnetram (1938) - 18 Dec 2011

After movies began to talk Tamil in 1931 with Kalidas , some socially-conscious filmmakers began to make movies, highlighting the Freedom Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and others. One of them was K. Subramanyam, who made films such as Bhaktha Chetha and Thyaga Bhoomi . One such film highlighting the issue of untouchability was Desa Munnetram

Maya Mayavan (1938) - 27 Nov 2011

Maya Mayavan was produced by the south Indian movie mogul, T. R. Sundaram, under his banner, Modern Theatres, in Salem, and advertised as “Unnatha Thamizh Stunt Padam!” (a top-class Tamil stunt film!)

Seemanthani 1938 - 9 Oct 2011
Daksha Yagnam 1938 - 25 Sep 2011
Yayathi 1938 - 19 Feb 2010
Anadhai Penn 1938 - 29 Oct 2009
Miss Kamala 1938 - 27 Mar 2009
Seva Sadanam 1938 - 1 Feb 2008
Tukaram 1938 - 11 Jan 2008
Nandakumar 1938 - 12 Oct 2007
Padma Jyothi 1937 - 4 Dec 2011

In the credits, when the name of the heroine, Padma, appeared, Sundaram had a cartoon of a woman's face moving, showing the varied emotions of the character — a path-breaking feature at a time when animation was virtually unknown to South Indian Cinema

Sethu Bandhanam 1937 - 26 Sep 2010
Balayogini 1937 - 10 Apr 2009
Nava Yuvan 1937 - 6 Jun 2008
Chintamani 1937 - 21 Dec 2007
Ambikapathi 1937 - 26 Oct 2007
Leelavathi Sulochana 1936 - 20 Nov 2011

Pammal Sambandam Mudaliar, one of the two founding fathers of the Renaissance of Tamil theatre (the other being Sankaradas Swamigal), created new trends towards the late19th Century. A lawyer and judge by profession, he promoted the famous Suguna Vilas Sabha while he was still a student of the Presidency College, Madras. Along with his friends such as V. V. Srinivasa Iyengar, the legendary lawyer, Mudaliar created theatre history with his varied plays. Some of them were inspired by William Shakespeare and Moliere

Mohini Rukmangadha (1936) - 11 Sep 2011
Chandrahasan (1936) - 28 Aug 2011
Bhaktha Kuchela (1936) - 8 Jan 2010
Iru Sahodarargal 1936 - 14 Aug 2009
Pattinathaar 1936 - 17 Oct 2008
Satyaseelan 1936 - 22 Feb 2008
Naveena Sadaram (1935) - 2 Apr 2010
Nandanar -- 1935 - 8 Feb 2008
Menaka 1935 - 4 Jan 2008
Draupadi Vastrapaharanam 1934 - 24 Jul 2011
Sangeetha Lava Kusa 1934 - 20 Nov 2009
Pavalakodi 1934 - 20 Feb 2009
Bhama Vijayam 1934 - 18 Jan 2008
Seetha Kalyanam 1933 - 5 Oct 2007

Ig nobel or Nobel for Obama?

Many awards have a 'spoof' in parallel or just before. I feel that it puts things in a perspective that awards per se dont matter and stupidity of the non-existent 'halo's around the award recipients . It is not surprising that just before Nobel prize announcments started, we had Ig Nobel awards for stupid science. Actually I was curious about Ig Nobel for Veterinary medicine given to two who made the

discovery that giving cows names such as Daisy increases their milk yield.

Well, I was told that my parents named my elder sister as Bhooma to have a male child and I was born :o

Nobel for literature and peace are expected to be controversial because it is based on 'perceptions' or 'importance' of the people of some region. It is tough to expect Literature award to be given to one who writes in Tulu or Sindhi. Nobel Peace Prize is related to 'statesmanship' or 'work's which affect/effect a large (atleast numerically) audience and recipients maybe remembered by people of that region for centuries if not more, even without the prize. Immediate example that comes to my mind (rather any Indian) would be Mother Teresa. Names like Mikhail Gorbachev or Desmond Tutu seem to reaffirm the same. I got my first jolt when I read that Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, along with Le Duc Tho. In current scenario, it is like giving Nobel Peace Prize to Mahinda Rajapaksa :o Helping in post war rehabilitation is like applying medicine after giving umpteen lashes with a whip. Yes, Nobel Peace Prize can only be given to a pacifist, rather people who THINK, START AND END with compromise and not really a 'rebel' like say Che Guevara or Prabhakaran.

I was tickled to the bone when I read 'Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize'. Two lines into the news -

Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.

I am not sure if I am 'shocked' but with a 'history', I am not sure why others are shocked. As George Bush's final or 2nd term as US president was coming to an end, I had the feeling that Europe especially wanted to avoid 'Republican' president in US. As much as Obama 'created history' as the 'first black' to reside in White House, it is childish, if not impossible to expect the same in an European country. I dont know why Obama went to Copenhagen to press the case for Chicago as Olympics venue. With 'Chicago rejected', I dont know if 'Nobel Peace Prize' was the compensation :o The international politics behind Obama’s Nobel Peace prize is weird, to put it mildly. There is some talk in India against Obama being given Nobel Peace Prize, when some wanted to know the reasons for Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate. I never thought Gandhi was 'good enough' for a Nobel Peace Prize, being a pacifist within a county or state can be no reason - so I felt till some years back. With a precedence like Kissinger or Obama, I cant be blamed for asking - why the heck was Gandhi not given Nobel Peace Prize? :o

'Origin' question or 'identity crisis'.

Many have said that all of us are HUMANS first and HUMANS last. Once political borders/boundaries come up, then the first level of 'classification' comes up in the form of citizenship. Taking into consideration the eventuality of nomadic culture or migration, it is hair-splitting to talk about history and geography of any individual. If we take Europe, most people would have multiple 'origins' as Eric Hobsbawm observed in his books, say 'The Age of Extremes'. Such people as he observed have an 'identity crisis' - born in Bulgaria, brought up in Austria, worked in Germany and so on.

One of the winners of Nobel Prize for Chemistry is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan. His citizenship says that he is American and I think it should be stopped at that. Hair splitting in the form of 'origin' or 'language' is not necessary. Yes, it may please some Tamils to know that a person with Tamil 'roots' has won Nobel Prize. Yes, it may please some Indians to know that a person with Indian 'origin' has won Nobel Prize. I expect media to be more pragmatic and not cater to this section of the public by playing to the gallery. When an American astronaut Kalpana Chawla died (she had become an American citizen, rather renounced her Indian citizenship much before), Tamil Nadu Government instituted the "Kalpana Chawla Award" to be given annually on Independence Day for bravery and service and I find it ludicrous. Apart from the fact that there is nothing 'brave' or 'service' about a PROFESSION, giving it to one who is NOT Indian and who definitely had nothing to do with Tamil, has simply NO BASIS. I am sure America referred by some as 'land of immigrants' with have n-stories of history and geography for every Nobel Laureate having the citizenship of US. It is childish to take pride in 'German-American' or 'Italian-American' etc.

Within India, Tamils have moved to every nook and corner. Even in this case of Venkatraman Ramakrishnan did mention, he had moved to Baroda when he was three and barring some OCCASIONAL visits may have nothing to do with Tamil or Tamil Nadu. I wont be surprised if he cant read Tamil. As of now, classification theory can stop at 'citizenship' and if some scientific or biological analysis needs to be done, then dwelving deeper into the 'origin's and 'identity' of a person may make some sense. We see that even citizenship is an issue. Quite a few Indians would have been born and lived many years in Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. My mother was a Sri Lankan citizen, my sister was born in Sri Lanka and I shudder to think of someone saying that I am a Sri Lankan-Indian :))

'Aggressive' behavior...

In recent years, there is a trend for people to be 'aggressive' or show 'aggression'. I heard my colleague saying a few years back about need to drive on Bangalore roads with aggression. It means that you have to keep driving without looking at a 'possible' vehicle which could cross your path. He reasoned that once we are sure that 'WE ARE RIGHT', why should we care about others and especially those who ERR? Yes, it may be true that I am right and other isnt, but why inflict damage on either person to just 'prove' that I am indeed right? One-up-manship is not just ridiculous but is exhausting.

Also it could digress a person towards peripheral things. In cricket, there is a thought that has come into India that aggression is the way to win because Australians are aggressive. I never liked the look of Sreesanth right from the beginning but to quote Pulp Fiction,

Just because you are a character doesn't mean you have character.

To begin with, I thought he is trying to be 'Australian', which he is not, but today I read the news about Sreesanth fined for bad behavior in a first class match :o I am reminded of the quote

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

I have often thought atleast some people in Kerala are strange if not ridiculous. I dont know if it was a 'compulsory' need to belittle Tamils or Tamil Nadu, but they seem to have a genuine need to show that there are 'superior' or better than the rest. Even in films, some of the females who have 'become stars' recently like Asin, Meera Jasmine etc or even a newcomer like Ananya (Nadodigal), tend to go over-the-top in their performances and it is comical that they used to belittle Sivaji Ganesan for 'over-acting'. I tend to view this as a need to get 'noticed' or even praised. On retirement, Michael Holding and Ian Chappell say that some greats don't want to leave the limelight or cant get off the merry-go-round. I am not sure if they think 'going over the top' is short-cut to stardom among Tamils. It is true that actors from Andhra or Karnataka or Kerala or Maharashtra or Punjab might have become 'superstars' like Kushboo or Simran to quote recent ones and 'appreciation' went to the level of building temples. I dont know whether it is cocaine or maybe it is an inherent human need to be appreciated.

Verifying initial awe

In Cricinfo's talk about best batsmen which concluded with the obvious that 'Lara is the best', John Wright made the important point

For me it's the look, you just see it and think, he's a great player.

to which Ian concurred -

As John said, you don't get a player who looks like a champion and then find out that he averages 10. It just doesnt happen

. I always found Ian Chappell talking sense, not jingoistic though I felt he had more than an axe to grind against the English but he was always fair. Especiallyon Indian players, I thought commentators, columnists were getting 'swayed' by peripheral issues and not really on what happens in the field. I always supported a 'foreign' coach because Indian coach is more likely to biased in favor of some players and could lead to lower performance on the players. To put one dialogue that I liked in the movie 'Siege' spoken by Denzel Washington

I am not questioning your patriotism. I am questioning your judgement.

Obviously I have not seen Ian Chappell play or captain the Australian team, but from whatever he spoke on cricket, it seemed fair and I felt that he was my 'spokesperson' or 'alter ego' atleast on those issues. To know more about the person, I have to know what their opinion is on 'other aspects' of life - after all, life is not just about cricket. I happen to stumble upon an old programme in ABC - Enough Rope with Andrew Denton which has a 'video snippet', transcript and entire audio. I had heard about Tampa episode, maybe in abridged form, some ship was stopped midway in seas by Australia because some illegal immigrants were aboard and maybe some of them were dying in the ship. Till those (after all they were human beings) were 'deported', ship was not allowed to move :( I was naturally wild at Australia, which by itself was 'country of white men' to begin with or to put in Ian Botham's words - land of convicts. I was very happy to see that Ian Chappell had indeed spoken against the Australian Govt in favor of immigrants and in some way, verified my initial awe in him. To quote,

You asked me before what principles I learnt from Jeanne and Martin - a pretty highly developed sense of fair play, I think is another thing that I should have said in that answer. So that really offended my sense of fair play. I thought to myself, “It doesn’t matter how you’re trying to get into Australia, these are still human beings we’re talking about here, and as human beings they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect" - and they certainly weren’t.

Frankly that is my opinion spoken through the mouth of Ian Chappell :o I wondered how people spread across the globe can have 'ad verbatim' same opinion.

Another part of the interview was equally liked and to quote -

"Just tell the truth.” I’ve found, over the years, it just simplifies your life because you get to the point, if you’re telling lies, not only do I have to remember the lie but then I’ve got to remember which lie I’ve told to which person. It just becomes really complicated. So that was one thing. My mother, I think, was responsible for not - you know, money has never been a high priority in my life.

Infact I was chosen as finalists of one Mr.Genius contest in corporate competition at Bangalore in 2003 for my written answer to the 'fill in the blanks' - Money is blank and I wrote 'Money is something but not everything.'. Of course 'finals' is always theatric and not liking to be involved in it, it is not surprised that i walked out mid-way, despite some female cries or cheers. I also came to know what others told about Chappell, for instance to quote -

I read a quote in Clive Lloyd’s book that said - “I played a lot of cricket against the Chappell brothers. It was always very hard, but it was fair.

and the fact that he was a 'well rounded' individual, which current generation of cricketers are NOT. I had the same 'opinion' on 'cricketing greats' like Bradman, whom I thought was keen only on money but expected others not to be. I believe that people cannot indulge in personal taunts during a discussion on a 'general topic'. Also I also empathised and fully agreed to the 'divided line' on work and personal life. Anyway, I liked what he had to say and felt that he was honest.

It all boils down to the phrase, sense of 'fair play' and I also found that he is also a Libran like me :) More on that some other day :)

Champions Trophy and my prediction

Well, the champions trophy is currently going on and 'experts' do give their guess/take on the possible semifinalists. Ian Chappell, the commentator that I regard highly, has got it wrong and I have got it right :) It is not a case of being 'wiser on hindsight' but I had given my comments in his analysis of Group A, I had commented that Australia and Pakistan will go through. I always thought India was over-rated ever since Sourav Ganguly retired. Dhoni is a good captain but I dont think he is able to get the best of his team, especially the bowlers. Harbhajan Singh, Sehwag, Yuvraj seemed lot more inspired under Dada than Dhoni. Of course, I always felt Sachin and Dravid are never going to win matches and at best can perform 'supporting roles'.

Ian Chappell, in his analyis midway during the tournament or even before, didnt fancy England's chances. I suspect, with Australia being naturally hostile to England (atleast in Ashes), one cant expect Chappell to view them favorably. Again I had commented immediately (can be seen in the page) that England and Pakistan would do better than 'what people expect'. So am I boasting my 'capabilities' to predict? Of course I am. Profundity does not come by playing or captaining a team. It comes from observation, which itself is a science according to me. In cricinfo roundtable where it was concluded with the obvious statement - Lara is the best, John Wright made an observation - 'record's do not matter when we estimate a person - "For me it is just the look and then you say 'he is a great batsman'". Figures just bear it out and Ian concurs - you dont see a person who bats like a bloody champion averaging 10. I remember long back when I just saw one ball (NOT A WICKET TAKING delivery) in a Under-19 World Cup bowled by Irfan Pathan and I told my roommate - he is going to play for India. That is profundity, according to me.

Marketing, lobbying, bribing...

I was always amused, if not irritated, by marketing. There used to be this competition called 'ad-zap' in schools and obviously I neither liked it nor wanted to be part of it. I, for one, am never going to buy anything because XYZ is modelling for the same or if the ad is good. Appreciating an ad does not tantamount to 'buying' into it. Maybe I am a 'serious' person but I believe that a good product talks for itself. I need not convince another person that it is a 'good product'. The problem is with 'good enough' products and to decide how much is 'good enough'. When there are umpteen 'good enough' products, the right and easiest way is to go and buy the cheapest. My classmate who was working in companies that made televisions, used to say that television has become 'standardized' and there is no point in saying LG is better than Samsung or Sony is better than Philips.

I can understand in 'marketing' products like television or refrigerator because it is after all bought by any 'average' person, who need not be knowledgeable on the product and has to be talked to in the 'language that he can relate to'. In companies or atleast in semiconductor companies, I am aghast that marketing takes the form of 'lobbying' and is rampant in almost all Indian companies, if not worldwide. In one company that I worked, tools from Mentor Graphics were used, maybe because manager had worked in Mentor Graphics. Similarly in one interview that I attended, the interviewer was adamant that Tetramax is the best and he knows it because he had worked in Synopsys :x In my opinion, 'tools' are just tools to perform some function. We should be 'patriotic' towards some tool needlessly. In that sense, my experience in Texas Instruments especially in ASIC was more than handy. The tools can differ according to each customer as per the convenience. Some customer may have some deal with Synopsys/Mentor and had to use Mentor tools. So we too had to work on what the customer can use. We were 'EDA tool' agnostic, which was good.

Even during my 'last days' in TI, there was a move to use 'Synopsys' tools only and we did joke/resent about the same, even alluding that 'suitcases' were exchanged between Synopsys and 'TI management'. I was glad to read this 'Hindu' editorial today - especially how it ended

Critics say that what is called lobbying in the west is called corruption in developing countries; and one Indian campaigner says corruption stinks but it is at least a stink that everyone knows. There can be no doubt that lobbying will continue to pose a serious threat to democratic processes around the world.

It is funny indeed that those who shout in roof-tops about 'no transparency' or 'nepotism' in Governments dont even think/mumble about corporate corruption, which according to me is rampant and enormous, to put it mildly.

'assertive', 'insistent', 'nit-picking'...

Difference in perception often crops up over people. Some say I am 'assertive', some say I am insistent what I was right, some others say I nit-pick on others perennially (to show that I am right?). I was reminded of one interview of Carly Fiorina soon after she 'quit' HP. I dont know why but I was always impressed of her and even business wise, she did many things that were good for HP than those that were wrong. Her reply just seemed to reiterate the same to me that she talks sense.

Q: What is the worst mistake you ever made in your career, and how did you try to fix it? - Thomas Keenan, San Jose

A: The mistakes are always about people. And sometimes people think I'm copping out when I say that, but not at all. A leader's most important decisions are about people. Who do you put in which jobs? How long do you leave them in a job? You misjudge people.

Although as phrases/words, 'confidence', 'insistence', 'nit-picking' may seem mutually exclusive if not disjoint, I think they are inherently interlinked. Judgements and self-evaluation of judgements are quite critical in a person's disposition towards life. What other feel/opine is basically immaterial unless the person desperately wants to make others happy and do what (s)he personally does not believe in. My experience is my 'judgement' on people has generally been very good and I think I am very good in 'quick judgment' of characters, which Ian Chappell says is very important in captaincy. People including my siblings think that I judge 'too fast' but I am not sure if it is a 'conscious' decision. I think we all 'estimate' others but just that we may say so and we may take more time. Some believe in face value of words that are told. I dont depend on face value of anything. As Carly of HP says, there have been misjudgements of people.

In my case, I think probably it is a mixture of misjudgement and 'confidence'. I may know that the person concerned CANNOT do it but thought because of relationship with me, (s)he may break the 'society' bound restrictions to do what they feel they should do. In general, I think most people, especially women (including my sisters) are single minded. Especially since birth, we are most often selfish. We cry when something is grabbed from us, taken away and even worse, given to another child. Gradually as we start 'seeing' life, we see that some are not as fortunate as we are and we compromise. Even some of my relatives have asked whether I am a communist. I dont know what 'communist' means but I dont believe in 'monopolising' anything. As they say 'success is often counted sweetest by those who never succeed'. Once I succeed, I renounce. We should give chance to others - maybe that is the 'communist' in me.

Coming back to what I started - I am 'assertive' that I am good enough for anything - whether it is a quiz competition or crossword solving or playing chess/cricket/table-tennis etc, I am insistent that I am good enough even if I fail in the same and I nit-pick those who continue to play even after winning once. For example in Landmark Quiz, I hate to see some people qualifying year after year for the finals. I mean beyond the first 'year' thrill, there is nothing to seek for, atleast in my opinion. Again to quote Ian Chappell, I hate people who cant stop the merry go round. I think it is our duty to let others do what we could do. There is no point in claiming 'ownership' or 'monopoly' over anything, after life is much bigger than these silly thrills of life.

Whom can we be angry with?

My sisters, my friends and some other have often told me that I am angry with too many people and at too many things. I dont think this is true because I believe that I can be angry only with friends or those who we consider 'reasonably close'. I cant be angry with say Sachin Tendulkar or Kamal Hassan or AR Rehman. I can easily ignore such 'personalities'. I often think about the typical 'filmy' question - failure in friendship, love etc. I always think in intangibles, especially in relationships, whether it is friends or siblings or others, 'tangibles' dont play any part and there is nothing called as 'failure'. There can only be 'disappointment's because the person we believed in did not come up with what we expected him/her to come up with. Rather, they didnt behave the way we expect him to behave. In that sense, 'hypocrisy' is almost unacceptable in life, not just in politics. If a person says something and does something altogether different, then 'expectations' are belied. It is strange indeed that people are saying 'hypocrisy' is a way of life.

In another context, I read the same in an article in Literary Review of Hindu. To quote,

One of our MLAs now, who is also a good writer, once made a comment to me, saying, “You write about all these controversial subjects, don’t your family object?” I didn’t expect it from him because he projects himself as a progressive thinker but he is something else in practical, everyday life. When I asked him about it, he said “duality is the way of life”. Of course, life is full of such dualities and contradictions but we try to bridge it, or at least think about it...saying such contradictions are a way of life is an easy, ready-made answer.

When there are disappointments, there is bound to be anger, most often with ourselves. When people belie our expectations, then the anger is at ourselves for having 'high' expectations on people, who cant/wont keep with the same. We do know that the other person cannot do what we expect him/her to do. We fervently hope/expect that the 'intangible' force between us will impel him/her to overcome the 'hurdle' and take the earnest attempt to achieve what we expect to achieve. In our judgement, if the other person is not able to do it, we can be nothing but bitter, maybe at life or most definitely ourselves. Probably the relationship was not all that worth.

Self-preservation...

Randor Guy writes a column these days in Hindu on Friday (Cinema Plus section) titled 'Blast from the Past' about old films in Tamil and some snippets/observation about the 'times' then, are interesting. Today, is the turn of Arivaali 1963 and in particular I am interested in one 'sidenote' that he mentions.

ATK, a person blessed with a delightful sense of humour, had then narrated not only his filmmaking experiences but also showed him a copy of the agreement with MGR in Tamil, which was almost hundred per cent foolproof, advantage MGR. It had words like `vaarthaigalaiyo. kaatchigalaiyo maatravo, kezhattavo, neekkavo, kokkavo MGRukku sagala urimaigalum undu...' No other Indian cinema personality had such a cast iron strong agreement in his favour.

To give a rough translation of the italicized part - MGR gets all the rights to change or remove or join scenes, dialogues in the film. Is it an one-off case in one industry reg one personality - here it is MGR in Tamil film industry and so we should not read too much into it? Similarly I have heard that 'Sivaji' Ganesan another star in those times, after one big hit 'Parasakthi' was trusted/loaned by others to produce a film :o I am more intrigued by the 'business' rather than the 'film' part. How/why do people invest in something, which they may not have much idea about? People have a need to multiply their wealth and if they are already wealthy, they have the need to maintain status quo, if not go even higher. More often, people 'hitch-hike' with others so that they can atleast get the bread crumbs without any issue.

Debate during a film function Mozhi is a bit interesting. Gnani makes a point about people always siding with the 'success'. Without getting into the rest of debate, where I agree more with Ameer than with Gnani, I wonder whether sycophancy is a way of self-preservation. It is probably a way of ensuring that life is 'reasonably' secure and predictable and one is always in the 'comfort' zone. People give a red carpet to those who say WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR and help in perpetuation of status quo for a reasonable time. For many, status quo is a way of self-preservation because it 'does not rock the boat'.

Are people 'same' everywhere?

I am not sure if this is a continuation of my previous post, but today one German friend reiterated what an American friend told me, back in 2004 - people are the same everywhere. American gave a probably credulous argument focussing on 'basics' of human nature. All of us laugh and cry and emotions are the same because we are all humans. Having seen 'Il Postino' just weeks back, where postman innocently queries 'isnt a poor man entitled to happiness?', I probably agreed (atleast mentally) with him. Now, I am also exposed to columnists like Krugman who assert that 'Devil is in the detail'. If we want to 'satisfy' ourselves with just 'countenance' of people without bothering about what is inside their mind, we can easily say 'entire world is happy'.

People are same if we think they are same. Just because we want to simplify and are not interested in getting bogged down with detail, we pigeon-hole people and unfortunately their mental state. Actually 'pigeon-holes' vary according to each person. For instance, Tamils film have long been harping that 'poor' is happier than 'rich', because 'rich' is too occupied about preserving what has been 'accumulated'. On the other hand, 'poor' aspire to be the 'rich' - happy folks wanting to be unhappy :)) As Krugman said during his interview in Stockholm, we need to know where 'strategic simplification' helps. Generalization, simplification cannot be applied universally on everything. It is not surprising that those who 'choose' which dress to wear, what food to eat, which car to drive etc cannot reason/justify why some cannot afford even shoes/slippers. MGR has put it across 'simply and entertainingly' in his Tamil film, Nadodi Mannan நாடோடி மன்னன் (nomad who becomes a king).

As George Orwell puts it down in 'Animal Farm' - all are equal but some are more equal than others :))

Public Opinion: Homogenizing a heterogeneous world?

I was never interested in watching these 'public talk' programmes in any language, forget about participating. I never understood why people or even 'guests or celebrities' participated in such programmes, almost making it a joke. The 'topics' are chosen intentionally to be 'entertaining' and not really 'informing', forget enlightening. On the other hand, it seems to be the 'only avenue' to get public opinion. It is probably a good way to get informed about topics that we dont even have much of an idea (maybe misconception) or opinion, say homosexuality or bull-fighting or agriculture. On the other idea, as often is the case, if there are topics like 'should women work after marriage?', 'should we live in joint families?', it is an easy guess on the 'output' with atleast 1008 opinions.

In India, I am not sure if there are so many DIFFERENT channels in one language as in the case of Tamil. I dont watch Hindi channels but from the little bit of it that I have seen and even looking at Hindi movies, I dont think they represent 'cross section' of the Indian public. For instance, one 'common' perception is that all Hindi speaking people are fair-skinned, which is nothing but a joke for anyone who has done an occasional visit to Bihar or to Rajastan or Maharashtra - like me. This common perception is being floated by the TV channels and the people they 'invite'. Let me not go too much into Hindi or other language channels, without watching much of it. Among Tamil channels, there is a clear differentiation in audiences for each channel - almost leading to the point where the viewership could be mutually exclusive :o One can easily discern by looking at the 'anchor's of different TV programmes. Sun TV, easily the most popular Tamil TV channel, not just across India but across the world still remains the 'representative' of Tamils. I feel that now they are moving towards catering to the 'upper echelons' of the society. Jaya TV was always elitist and brahminist - whether it is in its choice of programmes - one soap/serial 'எங்கே பிராமணன்?' ('where is the brahmin?') recently ended - anchors, invited guests, content etc most are English-smeared. Makkal TV - started by one political party PMK, probably with 'high ideals' is finding it tough to maintain the economics of running a channel, especially after it received a severe drubbing in 2009 National elections, where it could not win even a single seat.

Public talk programmes were always popular in Tamil, even when there was only one TV channel for the public - government run - DD Chennai now named 'Podhigai'). Public participation was often as 'spectators' and 'learned' people (mostly professors in colleges) were invited guests/speakers. In particular, 'patti mandram பட்டி மன்றம்' or 'debate' was often of two kinds - one on Tamil literature, more often Kamba Ramayanam and other on issues facing the society. In early days, even in latter, speakers used to speak predominantly in clear and erudite Tamil, quoting snippets from Tamil literature. Colloquial or local parlance was used more often to inject a 'humorous note' in a serious topic. When Sun TV started as probably the first 'private' channel in Tamil via cable TV, they had no pretensions of catering to erudite audience and wanted the 'public' to watch and 'enjoy'. So debates were clearly ones that had 'social relevance' - for example, who is more important - mother or wife? The audience also 'grew up' that it has got nothing to do with 'knowing a new perspective', so why not enjoy it? The speakers started and ended in a Tamil, that was definitely not 'erudite' but one that is heard in street corners.

The talk show started in Sun TV with 'Arattai Arangam' அரட்டை அரங்கம் compered by Visu and reached higher TRP ratings (viewership) mainly because now the 'public' can also participate and give a 'piece of their mind'. The other channels too followed suit - Visu later switched to ADMK (why?) and so did the same programme with a different name ('Makkal Arangam' மக்கள் அரங்கம்) in Jaya TV. Vijay TV all the while was not just brahminic but also Chennai obsessed. It is no wonder that their talk show நீயா நானா Neeya Naana, hosted by somewhat popular Gopinath, starting with much 'promise' fizzling out to abysmal depths. Today's topic was 'whether people should be emotional'. I never knew how any TV channel or anchor can stand on judgement on an inherently personal topic. Today somebody said that he didnt cry for his father's death. I didnt understand the point of why someone should say that in 'public' and even worse to follow, when people question/judge why he didnt cry. It takes all kinds of people to make this world. It is ridiculous to 'homogenise' people and expect him/her to react the same way as one 'expect's to. Some may cry, some may not. Some may like idli, some may not. Oft quoted quote - all fingers are not same - seems to be lost on all TV channels, these days.