December 11, 1882 - September 11, 1921

Today is the birth anniversary of this fearless fiery and the iconoclastic reformer. A great visionary and poet, well versed in 6 Indian and 2 foriegn languages, this soul gives great courage to my soul to look forward and dare the future with hope.

தேடி சோறு நிதம் தின்று – பல

சின்னஞ்சிறு கதைகள் பேசி – மனம்

வாடி துன்பம் மிக உழன்று –பிறர்

வாட பலசெயல்கள் செய்து –நரை

கூடி கிழபருவமெய்தி –கொடுங்

கூற்றுக் கிரையென்ன பின்மாயும் – பல

வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போல் -நான்

வீழ்வெ னென்று நினைத்தாயோ….

Midnight’s Children

Just a Minute – to clarify – this is not a review post of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children. This is about NCR Gurgaon’s Midnight Children.

23:45 hrs - 2 big shopping malls in the city are full open. People are out as it is only 10 o clock. Even in Mumbai all the shopping malls are closed by 23:00 hrs. I am surprised about the night life in Gurgaon. There is no formal public transport in this city but the night life is in full flow. To my convenience (the universe does conspire to me sometimes) the metro station was just in front of the mall from where I came out after a movie. The metro was open and the business was as usual.

CRPF Jawans were alert on their toes even at that time of the day. During the security checks I was asked where I was heading to, because the last train towards Delhi had left by that time. My business of life, now, is in Gurgaon. So I was let go. The security check in metro station happens like it happens in the Airports, everyday in every DMRC station throughout its business hours. There would be around 8-10 Jawans guarding the area and a squad travels to and fro between stations often. Everyone is armed with either pistols (Google says they are Clock 17.9 mm) or sub-machine guns with 2-3 ‘20 round’ magazines (not books, these are bullets case). Apart from these, in few stations, where crowd turnout would be huge, Jawans are placed for guard duty behind sand bags. They are armed with L1A1 SLRs (Self Loading Rifles). I know SLR as I have handled it during my Senior Division NCC days. As a result, I keep starring the weapons with curiosity and to remember them. At one point I tend to notice the Jawan’s faces. Doing a guard duty behind the sand bag at times is stressful. Civilians look them as some kind of statue in a corner behind a sand bag. It often appears in my thoughts how frustrating it is to stand behind a sand bag for hours and at the same time stay alert noticing each and every movement in the crowd. Particularly, when I see these Jawans during 23:55 hrs, I empathize for them. They definitely need more than what they get now in terms of money or recognition or respect or anything.

I was heading back home after watching the Tamil movie “Ëngeyum Eppothum” meaning “Anywhere Anytime”. Worth the time! It’s produced by Fox Studios and A.R Murugadoss. For those who don’t know Murugadoss, he is the director of “Ghajini”. For those who don’t know about Fox studios, pls Google. “Engeyum Eppothum” is a world class movie, not because it’s from Fox Studios! It’s a world class movie for its narration, cinematography, editing, cast and all the aspects put together. It reminded me of "Babel". Both these movie showcase the fragility of lives. There were few glitches here and there but given the fact that it’s a fresh team and it does make an impact, it’s truly a world class cinema. Real talents have been found and many thanks to Murugadoss for nurturing these talents. A very good movie by Saravanan and team! It is people like Saravanan and the big screen which keeps fueling my desire to become a film maker! This movie director was an assistant to Murugadoss. Murugadoss is an awesome blend of Maniratnam and Shankar. He is the one next in queue who would add more crowns to Indian Cinema in world’s stage. This movie screenplay style seems to be inspired from Manirathnam’s “Ayutha Ezhuthu” / “Yuva”. Or at-least I felt that way! I liked it very much. It had a real clean and innocent humor throughout, except the climax. I wished that it could have been a positive entertainer than the heavy impact it had left. Overall, the audiences liked it. After the movie, I feel like slapping the so called “herosim” oriented movies (Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, AB are exceptions!). That’s why I had removed(for now) the hero ‘look alike’ pic from the blog display as well. I can understand that the term hero 'look alike' could be intolerable! In that case, you can smash e-tomatoes on me “@ramkiram” in Twitter or ramkiram@gmail.com in FB.

Outside the movie hall at 2345 hrs one fellow movie fan made a call to his friend back in the village and said this line “Machaan, do watch the movie tomorrow without fail and if you don’t like the movie, slap me with your slippers!”. This is why I said that audience liked the movie. I was thinking of calling up my friends too but it was so late to call them. The other fellow did not mind the time he was calling his friend who would have been in deep sleep back in the village!

Probably he would have not seen the time while he made the call. When the malls were full on, pretty girls outside the mall and metro station open; it really did not make to realize that it was end of the day! I never thought it would be so lively in Gurgaon! While metro was not a surprise as it’s managed by DMRC, the rates that the auto rickshaws quoted were a surprise; they quoted the same as they would during the day time (their day time rates are exorbitant). Minimum charge is 50rs! I usually bargain with them during day time but not really during night time as the moon vibes us a melancholy mood.

And the subtle mood is not only for me...It’s the same for the auto rickshaw drivers, CRPF Jawans, the fellow movie fan, the pretty girls; people thronging the shopping mall and everyone around the world under the bright moon.

We are the Midnight’s Children.

Singam vs Singham

Movie making is a tough job. It’s a very serious business done to entertain masses.

I’m young to know what all movies have been remade have been made in Hindi or Tamil or Telugu or any other language! But sure, I have watched very good remakes in Hindi “Ghajini” and “Wanted” recently.

Went to the theatres with a huge expectation for Singham!! Uffff….!

Read the movie to be “inspiring to be a cop”, “a tribute to the cops” and so on. I term them as absolute nonsense.

Singham is a remake from the Tamil hit Singam with Surya in the lead. In no way Hindi version is near to the original. I recommend people see the Tamil version first. DVDs with subtitles are available.

The villain in the hindi version is portrayed as a funny villain in the climax which is completely absurd! It is Prakash Raj who steals the show in the climax shadowing Ajay Devgn. The climax doesn’t support strongly the protagonist.

The hindi version really doesn’t pay a tribute to the cops as I read from few reviews. I don’t know how many movies are there in Bollywood celebrating the cops. In Tamil (my movie knowledge of the past is limited to Tamil alone) most of them knows “Alex Pandian”, “Walter Vetrivel”, “Captain Prabakaran”, “Arichchaamy”, “Anbuselvan IPS”, “Raghavan” and recently “Durai Singam”. They are on screen characters way back from 1980’s but they are engraved as brave, fearless and honest cops in the audience minds.

“Bajirao Singham” doesn’t really do that, particularly during the climax. Prakash Raj steals the show completely out of Ajay Devgn and it’s the same irrespective of the character he plays in any movie. In a row, he plays a same character in Hindi; Wanted, BHTP and now Singham. It makes Bajirao Singham look like a “Golmaal” police.

Rohit Shetty has got it wrong big time. In the name of improvisation with the script, he has taken out the key elements of the script which showcases the villain’s menace, the seriousness involved in it and also highlighting cop’s mightiness. Just having few half baked action stunts will not really mean it’s an action movie. It’s also along with the script. Haven’t bollywood audiences watched “Wanted” or “Dabanng” or “Ghajini”!!

I had to watch all the tamil hits “Kaakha Kaakha”, “Saamy”, “Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu” and the original “Singam” in return of watching hindi Singham and to keep the cop spirit burning. Rohit Shetty has done it nowhere near to the original.

Tamil director Hari has never been a celebrity director. He has given flops as well but the cops’ movie he has made has certainly improved in terms of overall entertainment. Watching hindi “Singham” made me note this point. Thanks to Rohit Shetty for this.

On top of all these I read comments that it makes feels proud to be a Marathi seeing Singham. It really doesn’t!! People should watch “Mi Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy” to feel proud as a Marathi.

An experience director like Rohit Shetty should have got it right!! The movie stills itself essays which is better. Ajay Devgn better turn down south if he aspires to be an action hero.

My reaction is that of Surya's on watching"Singham" and on Rohit Shetty.

Being Single

I don’t understand the fuss around here. Almost everyone in my group is married and the very first question when they call me is “When is your turn…!” as if it’s a bungee jumping thing.

In a way from what I hear and see I correlate marriage & bungee jumping and I found two things common in between both

• Both are expensive affairs

• Both start with an adrenaline rush

• Both have good safety precautions, but still it’s a pure probability that they will work ;)

Irrespective of the physical strength you possess, if the cord holds you tight you enjoy the show, or else.... darrr keestha yaha

The same here too...Irrespective of any amazing, marvelous, stupendous marriage material, it’s a probability.

Coming to the micro things, I don’t understand why there are people around me pushing for a marriage!! Yeah, I feel bored and lonely as my friends group are married and going to be married.But, it should not be a reason for a ransom! Science puts it as “be better on the other side”. It’s always a matter between the mind and heart. ‘How can a heart think…’ kept arguing a “once upon a time friend” of mine! Now that friend is married. So stopped thinking about it and does not argue also.

On top of all these is, none of the _______ guys who were around me are now married are not even picking my call to talk. While they return the call, the prominent thing in the conversation would be about me getting married. I seriously doubt that they are pushing me as they are jealous of me being single. (Few admit it too…they want revenge on me)

The group has shrunken a lot and divided as “married” and “still bachelors”. Nowadays I call only the ones in my group. The reason given by the married fellas is that they are very busy with other things in life – booking vacations, booking tickets for in-laws, attending in-laws family functions, feeding child and so on (the list goes on). They all sound alarming for me although I like being around with people. And at times I feel that I have to snap ties with the married fellas. They incept many things in my primitive mind. இதுக்குத்தான் கல்யாணம் ஆன பசங்களோட சேராதன்னு எங்க அம்மா அப்போவே சொன்னாங்க...!

The major push for marriage is of course from parents and the beloved relatives. Indian family attitude is a masterpiece! Sometimes, the conversations from friends and family happen together. And that’s the time I feel to press the eject button and go on a long solo ride with my mean machine. Pity me; the machine is still not realized…! So I am kind of cornered to listen to them as of now and I stop hard to make a thought about future.

The words “think”, “plan”, “responsibility” associated very closely with the opposite of the bachelor life appear to me like greek, latin and a kind of Spartacus fight.

One serious thing is that the “married” tag is a kind of social status and bachelors are like an endangered group by the once upon a time ‘single’ statuses!!! If you reading this, and by any chance have that kind of thought in your mind, rethink for a while.

It’s said, a lion in its forest hunts best when it is single. Being single relates very much to that:meaning - living life to the fullest (not hunting many) and I see that it cannot last long for me :'(

However, singam is single now.

A Question to you

After a stressful day, having a sleepless night, u wake up early in the morning n resolve to yourself that this day is going to be great n start early..And while walking down in an upbeat mood feeling the morning bliss, suddenly a short guy in saffron dressings appears b4 u with a snake in hand...He chants something n the snake wakes up seeing you..With little fear in mind you try to ignore him but he blocks you. He continues chanting, lifts n moves the snake towards your face..u feel to run away but cannot..After a minute somehow u gather courage, confront him n move ahead...

You walk forward with a mixed sense of fear n relief.He shouts something...A few yards away from him, u r stopped by a big guy with a bigger snake...Your phone rings, u pick up and hear this "hey buddy cool...how you are? How’s Delhi treating you?? Rocking...!?"
What will your answer be at that moment..?

Crazy People

Rewind: 15 years back

I studied in a government school. The classes were under thatched roofs (proper buildings now) and it was a common wall which separated two different classes. If three of us would bang the wall once it would fall down completely. Such was its strength. One side of the wall polished and painted in black served as black board. The other two sides of the class would be open. Natural light, natural air…! My class was near the small play ground and all the time all my vision used to be in the ground on other students coming for the PT classes. At any given point of time, the small ground will be occupied from morning to evening with some or the other class students. This school has a different concept of co-education. The school was only co education, not the classes. The class would either be full of girls or full of boys. And the small ground is meant for girls to play coco, rings, badminton etc…That way having the class near the small ground I have almost seen the entire population of girls in our school. Not only me, everyone in my class except the first two rows! These girls are of the kind that when out of school we spot them in public places like railway station, bus stands, tuition centers and say a hello; they don’t respond to us. We were aliens…! For them, the natives were matriculation school boys. They were considered brilliant. Holy cows, there were people from matric schools for whom I have taught mathematics and computers!!

During school days, the uniform would differentiate who is from which school! And holidays were the only respite for us that we could go around in color dresses. Everyone would be in colour dresses. But, our competitors in matriculation schools were so intelligent that they go around with their ID cards in public places. And that’s the height of craziness, show off…seeking priority in everything! In a way the society paved the way for this. The school’s association had an effect on us. Government schools are considered third grade…! So naturally the matriculation guys would want to distinguish themselves to take advantage on everything.

Playback Now:

My office is located in the IT capital of India – Electronics City, Bangalore. All the top named Indian IT companies are around my office campus. There are few crazy employees. I call them crazy as they are always seen around with the ID cards tagged in their neck. In tea shops, road side chat shops, hotels, public bus stands and everywhere. As per my understanding, the ID card is purely for official purposes and a proof of the organization’s association with the employee.

This is a very common scene in the airports, especially Bangalore. When the check in or the security clearance seems like delaying their boarding, the very next step is they tag their ID around so that they would get some priority. Fair enough. Understood the situation…!

Once I was in the city railway station and I saw a guy and a girl with their ID cards displayed. I was amazed on why they had to wear it in a railway station. The time was 11PM then! Fine… Okay…

Once, it was early morning 4AM. The train had just arrived in Tiruchirapalli railway station, south TamilNadu. There was a girl alighting from the train sporting her company ID around her neck. What the heck!!! Why during early morning 4AM!!!?

Once in Tiruvalla and Chengannur railway stations in Kerala, once in Koyambedu bus stand, Chennai in the night. And the recent one is when I was travelling back after the holiday season. It was Sunday night 11:30 PM. This guy was not even wearing the ID around his neck! In one hand he had his luggage and in the other hand he held his ID by showing his organization’s identity. I was thinking if any preference or tie ups is present between the bus and the organization. At that time in the night, returning back from holidays, why is that he had to display it to all the passengers. It’s a good and popular and trendy organization he works for. But why does he want to show off at that time and place. He was walking inside the bus to and fro 2-3 times. I felt it as the height of craziness! The best part was all the passengers did not even bother to notice him. I, to show my hate toward that attitude just pulled on the blankets covering my face while he was near my aisle seat.

All these people were from that one particular set of companies. The glorified ones in India…! Not all…!

When I tell these to my colleagues they tell more and more of the same kind. Absolutely insane stuff! I could only relate these to what I had experienced in school. Getting a feel that people don’t grow really!

Seeing all this, I make sure as soon as I make the last swipe in office I remove and put my card inside the bag. I just want to be myself. When out of organization I am one among the one billion in the nation. The common man! And I would like to remain the same. I don’t want to be associated as a person who holds some position in some company. I don’t see anything to do with the associations around me. I want to know if this is some kind of phobia..! I don’t understand this behavior. Is this the way an individual is valued…!!!

Next time I am going to ask someone why the %$#& is that they wear the ID all the time! I doubt whether they will wear their marriage rings / mangalsutras like this! Crazy people…