Thala's vendukol to Thalaivar

Recently, our Kalaignar granted land (asku busku. avaru enna pocket lerndhu edutha kodupaaru, elaam govt sothudhaan) to the members of FEFSI (adhavadhu Film Employees' Federation of South India) group. So the cohort comprising of mundhirikottais like Vijayakumar, Bharathiraja, Vairamuthu, Radhika, Sarathkumar et al. had to felicitate Kalaignar and so organized yet another bramaanda nigazhchi to potrify thamizh thaai's kalai sothu. One of the comedy highlights for it was having Harris Jeyaraj compose a 'thalaivar potru' song to praise our thalaivar. Naa edho Puli Urumudhu range ku song compose panni, they will superimpose images of our thalaivar from his young and dynamic days till the recent 'stephen hawking' stage with mandatory pictures of Valluvar Kottam, Mini-Flyovers and Kanyakumari Valluvar statue (because no Tamilian can recall any other achievement in our thalaivar's aatchi) nu edhirpaathen. Instead, Harris surprised everybody by going for a melody. Infact, the surprise was even more when he did not have Bombay Jayashree sing the melody. But anyways, listen to the wonderful lyrics. There is a goosebump causing line (sung by Unnimenon I think):

Neela nirathu kanaadi, kangalin mele koluviruka

Also, Ajith created a furor during the felicitation that was held on Feb.6 (probably at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium which has now become a dedicated paaratu vizha/audio launch/kalai kondaatam arangam). Unlike others he did not do the vazha vazha kozha kozha talk of potrifying thalaivar. After the mandatory couple of lines of he did that and this, he boldy made a firm request to thalaivar (which was actually more of a message to all the Tamil Industry's self proclaimed leaders and the general people) to not drag all actors and the cine industry into politics and force them to attend functions (he did not go as far as adding the line 'such as this' but it is implied). This must have been made long before the likes of Bharathiraja etc shot to limelight through the Neyveli fast or like Sathyaraj through the Hogenakkal fast. Both were for the same issues, by the way, but separated by few years which only goes to show the futility of such mass fasting. Rajini once came quite close to it (watch the video from 3:58). So, Ajith much be greatly appreciated for having the guts to say it in front of everyone. I am sure there are going to be a lot of calls for his head now!

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நான் ஆட்சிப் பொறுப்புக்கு வருவ தற்கு முன்பும், பின்பும் என் பெயரில் வாங்கப்பட்ட சொத்து என்று பார்த் தால்கோபாலபுரத்தில் நான் வசிக்கும் ஒரு வீடும் (இந்த வீட்டின் இப் போதைய சந்தை மதிப்பு ரூ. 8 கோடி), திருவாரூக்கு அருகில் காட்டூர் கிராமத்தில் 14 ஏக்கர் நிலமும் தான் உள்ளது. இந்தியாவிலேயே தனி பங்களா என்று இல்லாமல், தெரு விலே உள்ள பல வீடுகளில் ஒன்றாக ஒரு முதல் அமைச்சரின் வீடு இருப் பது என்று எடுத்துக் கொண்டால், அது என்னுடைய வீடாகத்தான் இருக்குமென்று நினைக்கிறேன்.

Thalaivar vaazhga!!

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Beware! But no worries. India has issued another Joint statement with Pakistan. So all is well.

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Rajapakse

A very interesting interview with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. He talks candidly about the war, his views on Indian Government's stance towards the conflict, politics etc. I don't claim I understand fully the conflict but I like Rajapakse. In an era of weak kneed and corrupt politicians in India, he seems to be a determined and iron willed man. Some one fit to be a president during tough times. Will his achievements be more than any of his contemporaries including Obama? Time will tell.

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Election times are good

We shifted residence some time back and did not find our names in the local poll booth. Apparently, the names were struck off promptly from the area we moved out from but the supplemental list that was supposed to have the names in the new area did not have them. Now, my Naina is furious because he cannot get that 200 rupees that the thaatha's katchi paid everyone in our area to vote for them.

My Aatha is ruing differently. She wishes she had been in Madurai. Apparently, our relatives in Madurai got a nice saree in addition to variable payments of Rs.200 and above. They were compelled to swear on their kids' heads (தலை மேல கை வெச்சு சத்தியம்) that they will vote for thaatha's katchi only. But that is ok.

I was smarter. I got involved 'voluntarily' in the katchi's local sangam and allowed my auto be used for katchi service. Got paid handsomely for that and also a few TV sets that was supposed to be distributed through ration shops. I can sell them each for a few thousands. Moreover, I got to vote multiple times in different booths.

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The race to 7, Race Course Road

The marathon voting process ended (May 13) in India with Tamil Nadu, one of the decisive swing states. With the magic number of 272 only a dream for both Congress and BJP led UPA and NDA respectively, a lot of shift in the political alliances are to be expected once the results are declared a few hours from now.

DMK raked up the Tamils issue, quite some time before the election was in the horizon, to use it as a political agenda (The Tamils in Sri Lanka have been suffering for years now. But their sufferings have opened the party's vista only now). It is going to be there for the next state elections too and for the Assembly elections after that and so on. It is like Pakistan dealing with Al-Qaeda. Everybody knows its a problem but nobody will want to do anything about it. But what really sent me hopping with rage was the sycophantic acts of the tamil film industry. Lead by minions like Bharati Raja and Sathyaraj who tow the lines of KK (K.Karunanidhi) shamelessly, the entire industry were arm twisted to take part in the fasts and protests to end the atrocities in Sri Lanka (Yeah right. The minute they protest, Rajapakse would be cowed into submission). And people like Vadivelu groveled behind.

The Third Front's fragility is as obvious as the lack of a common ideology for the 'alliance'. Continuous assertions notwithstanding, I really expect the alliance to shatter as offers are made by both UPA and NDA to woo the individual parties, and the star of the show would definitely be Jayalalitha.

Seriously, I do wish AIADMK wins though, not because I think JJ is good but because she is better (I know this is not state elections but its been sickening seeing Dayanidhi Maran's face in the TV). Even as I am typing this, NDTV is predicting 20 for DMK, 18 for AIADMK and 1 for Vijayakanth's DMDK. I hope JJ gets much more than 18 AND choses to go with BJP. Another, 5 years of weak-kneed UPA is something India can do without.

If for some reason UPA wins more than NDA, I still sincerely hope that AIADMK wins more than DMK. This way, Congress will try to take JJ under their wings (who cares if JJ called Sonia an Eunuch a few years back?). Why this would be significant is, JJ's only main, if not the only condition, for proferring support to UPA is the withdrawal of support for the DMK alliance in TN. This would mean the collapse of the state government and new state elections for TN. Woohoo.

P.S.: Just for the kick of it, I would like to see Modi become the PM. It will be fun to see US Consulate to try and refuse a VISA for him again.

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Worn out terror

Finally, the Obama team does something sensible. Whether it is out of a sense of compunction or aimed at primarily distancing itself from the acts of the previous regime is debatable. I have already harped on about how the phrase infuriated me.

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Hyprocricy en masse

Finally, a piece in CNN that I can completely agree with. I thought the day would never come. Everybody, including the Government have a easy punch bag with the Big 3. Though they are far from being innocent, nevertheless they provide the ideal outlet for people to vent their ires on: a highly paid CEO of a struggling company who goes on a leased jet to ask for money to run a company that fires people in thousands, the same people who are part of the infamous UAW and supposedly getting paid a fairy tale amount of $30/hour. It couldn't get better. It is a clear case of the bully picking on the weakest kid and twisting his arm. That is what is being done to the auto companies. Even though they deserve it, everybody should take responsibility instead of pointing fingers. For example, Wagoner is being accused of turning a blind eye to fuel efficient cars and instead focusing on SUVs and pick-up trucks. Well, who bought those pick-up trucks? Did people buy the pick-up trucks because that was the only vehicles in the market or did GM make those because it had the biggest demand? Naturally, a company would exploit the demand in the market. You want a big car? You get it. You want a retrofitted Corvette? You get it. Clearly, these are not the days when you can say, "you can order any color as long it is black" and get away with it. So why blame them now for having provided you with what you wanted all these years? Look within.

On an another note here is a piece from Paul Krugman, one of the most vocal critics of the way the current crisis is being handled:

Underlying the glamorous new world of finance was the process of securitization. Loans no longer stayed with the lender. Instead, they were sold on to others, who sliced, diced and puréed individual debts to synthesize new assets. Subprime mortgages, credit card debts, car loans — all went into the financial system’s juicer. Out the other end, supposedly, came sweet-tasting AAA investments. And financial wizards were lavishly rewarded for overseeing the process.

But the wizards were frauds, whether they knew it or not, and their magic turned out to be no more than a collection of cheap stage tricks. Above all, the key promise of securitization — that it would make the financial system more robust by spreading risk more widely — turned out to be a lie. Banks used securitization to increase their risk, not reduce it, and in the process they made the economy more, not less, vulnerable to financial disruption.

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பாம்பையும் பார்பனையும் கண்டால் முதலில் பார்பனை அடி

Hahahahaha. Oh my God. I couldn't stop laughing on reading this:

..he (S.Ve.Shekar) said he would soon meet Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and request him for 7 per cent reservation for the Brahmin community. “I am sure he will agree, and when he does, I will show my gratitude by campaigning for him among the Brahmins. Even if I don’t, the community will unanimously thank him and lend support"

He might as well expect Karunanidhi to turn up at Kapaleeshwarar temple with him, since he is the current Mylapore MLA. What an ass! After criticizing politicians in his plays, he doesnt mind becoming one of them now.

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Make hay while the sun shines

It started with the CEOs of the big three. Now, the latest person at the receiving end is AIG's recently appinted CEO Edward Liddy who has to defend himself against the 'malfeasance' of his predecessors.

The politicians all over the US have rallied unanimously for the good of the common people by taking the opportuned moments provided by this recession. The result: all CEOs of failing companies being summoned one after the other to stand at the center of Capitol Hill's Rotunda and get fired from all sides. All of this creates good visuals and catchy headlines. But the same Congressman where wallowing under the money rain that was pouring everywhere when these companies where doing what they did always: indiscretionary spending. 

What a farce!

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இதுல என்ன பெருமை?

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Shoot at Sight

The violence that erupted at Madras High Court is a prime example of the law & order breakdown that is becoming all too common in India nowadays. It is also a classic case of political parties toying with people like puppets by inducing them to think on the lines of caste/language/religion resulting in 'factionism' which the political parties utilize for their own propaganda.

Seriously, did these people behave like advocates? Look at their unruly behavior. Do they appear like educated people who studied law and have the roles of upholding it? Don't they realize that advocates have as equal a responsibility like the Police and Doctors and other essential service providers to keep the society running like a well-oiled machine? There are so many issues that require attention and legal support in the court. There are so many issues to fight for in this society. But somebody called some one by a derogatory name 'referring to a SC/ST' and immediately the entire battalion assembled at the High Court unite as a single force and indulge in violence; that too inside the court. Don't these people have any qualms?

Then, the buses. For a long time the public transportation buses have been at the receiving end of any form of sectarian violence. I consider this the ultimate form of indiscipline and law & order breakdown. What rights do any one person or a group has to destroy even a small piece of public property, leave a lone a bus, just to show their support for a cause or their misguided solidarity or protest? Whenever a bus is torched because some idiots think this will show how important they are, I wish the police had the courage and the permission to shoot these people instead of trying to chase them away or arrest them and remand them in custody and then finally releasing them due to pressure from political parties. In this context, for once, I fully support the Police Department.

P.S: On a not so entirely unrelated note, I really wish that nothing happens to Karunanidhi when DMK is still in rule. Otherwise the demise of KK would be heralded as a national calamity by the corrupt DMK party cadres. Weeks of mourning would be declared, statues would be installed even in the airport runways, roads and areas would be renamed under his name and the most misused symbol of public property - the buses, would be broken or even burnt. Chennai would become a city marred by riots because the ruling party's chief died of natural causes. So let's all pray for the well being of KK for the next 3 years.

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East is East and West is West but all the politicians are the same

Hmm. The recession has caused many an opinion to be reformed. While the suave American politicians, with their hypocritical stance of refusing to approve the 'new' stimulus bill on the grounds that it constituted wasteful spending, reemphasized the fact that politicians everywhere are the same whether they wear a Dhoti or a suit, their Indian counterparts have now begun to portray sense of togetherness in a hitherto unseen fashion albeit temporarily.

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அதென்ன சார் சம்பவம்?

Kamal asks this in Aboorva Sagodharargal when Janakaraj (the police inspector) keeps accusing Kamal of being involved in that 'சம்பவம்' (incident) without actually ever telling him what that 'சம்பவம்' is.

Similar has been the case with the dilly dallying by the Governments of India and Pakistan. While Pakistan kept claiming that perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai were 'non-state actors', India still keeps urging Pakistan to take things to their 'logical conclusion'.

Why is the Indian Government afraid to openly state the steps it expects Pakistan to execute? If you keep telling them to take things to their 'logical conclusion' they will continue saying 'that they cannot act without further evidence'. Both Pakistan and India would endlessly argue that they do not know what the 'logical conclusions' should be or that 'there has been sufficient evidence given' respectively.

Successfully this issue has been politicized, pushed under the carpets and slowly being forgotten by everyone, just like things have been in the past.

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வந்துட்டான்யா, வந்துட்டான்யா...

பய புள்ள நாளைக்கு வேலைக்கு சேரறான். பொருளாதர சரிவுனு சொல்லிண்டு, துவக்க விழாவுக்கு 147 மில்லியன் செலவாம். சுத்தமா அடவே இல்ல.இது போதாதுன்னு ஆப்ரகாம் லிங்கன் வழிலயே போவேன்னு அந்த ஆளு உபயோகிச்ச பைபிள் ஓட நிறுத்திக்காம, ஒரு முழு ட்ரைன் வாடகைக்கு எடுத்து தலைநகரமான வாஷிங்டன் வரை வந்துர்கான்.என்னதான் நன்கொடை பணமாக இருந்தாலும், இந்த செலவு அவசியமா? அதுவும் இந்த சூழ்நிலைல? இதை யாரும் கேக்குற மாறி தெரிலையே? நெறைய பில்ட்-அப்பு கொடுத்து வரான். நாலு வருஷத்துல என்ன பண்றான்னு பாப்போம்.

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Finally, some clarity in thought...

It is highly amazing that a dignitary from a nation that was in cahoots with the US on the alleged 'War on terror' could have such clarity of thought. Even more amazing is the fact that he has openly come out with such clear headed statements.
The British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said that phrase 'War on terror' was misleading. Furthermore, he adds that 'terrorism was not invented or started on 9/11. But since then the notion of a “war on terror” has defined the terrain.'
Here is another excerpt from his statements: The call for a “war on terror” was a call to arms, an attempt to build solidarity by portraying a fight against a single shared enemy.....the foundation for solidarity between people and nations should be based on the values they shared instead of who they are against. The notion of a war on terror gave the impression of a unified, transnational enemy, embodied in the figure of Osama Bin Laden and the organisation of Al-Qaeda. In fact, as India has long known, the forces of violent extremism remain diverse. Terrorism is a deadly tactic, not an institution or an ideology.
It always feels good to say 'I told you so'.

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The Frenetic Week that was

I had around hundred things in my mind that I wanted to ramble about following the Great Economic Depression followed by the even Greater Farcical Comedy enacted by the US Senate during its 'inquisition of the CEOs of the Big 3'. Immediately, this was followed by the Mumbai terrorist attacks. As usual the (International) media coverage of it, riled me as much as the terrorists did: the dogmatic refusals of foreign media to acknowledge these terror invoking 'gunmen' as terrorists and instead subtly referring to them as 'gunmen' and 'militants'. Some even speculated that these could be 'discontent muslims' from within India. Somewhere, some guy had the balls to suggest that these could be LTTE too. I forgot if his article was in CNN or NY Times. But, there you go. That is a gist of what I had in mind. Things that would have made a several paragraphs of verbal outpour condensed into one. Meanwhile, a friend of mine referred me to this article in NY Times. Maybe, the world is not doomed yet.

PS: And what is this entire 'War on Terror' thing. I am not from Oxford but nevertheless it does not make sense to me. Should it not be 'War on Terrorists'?(Even that is silly. Something like crusade against terrorists would befit. But I guess crusade is a word nobody wants to use) How can there be a war on terror? Terror is an emotion. Can there be a war on laughing or a war on crying? War can be waged against Comedians, against sadists but not on the emotions inflicted by these men on the people.
Oh anyways. Who cares. The media found something and likes it. Try grabbing the bone from the dog's mouth.

PS2: Why Indian media have to keep posing the question to everyone if this is India's 9/11? What does that mean? Are you trying to grab the attention of US by self declaring it as India's 9/11? "Hey Bush (or Obama). Look, look we got our own 9/11 now. We are also affected by terrorism. We are now automatic allies in your 'war against terror'. Please throw us some bones too" Why does it have to be 9/11? India has fought terrorism in days when people in US did not know to spell the word. So why wait for US to acknowledge that we are hit by terrorism. Why declare 'Terrorism is a global thing now. This murderous act in Mumbai shows no country is now free'. This is a statement that should have been said probably when Al Qaeda attacked US. Not when LeT attacked Mumbai. Because, it is not a surprisingly new phenomenon. In short, stop sucking to US everytime.

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The MK Family tree

A good article, for someone interested in TN politics, elaborating on the spread of Karunanidhi's family and its whereabouts.

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