Tribute to Michael Jackson

Obituary: Tribute to Michael Jackson 1958-2008

When i planned my things to write about a new post, i wanted to make obituary references to Natasha Richardson who died in a sking accident nearly a month ago and David “Kiddo” Carradine of the Kill Bill fame who died under mysterious circumstances while filming in Thailand.Mostly i wanted to write a travelogue about my recent travels.But that all changed in an instant when i came home from my trip and was unpacking as the news on the radio sounded like this “Michael Jackson,king of pop,passed away last night in California”. I was travel weary and couldn't beleive my ears and thought i had heard the wrong name. But then my mom seconded the news and told me it was everywhere on TV. I was too tired to think of anything and went about my daily activities as i had i go to work but i made sure to wear black. I was dull that day but somehow the news did not hit me,it had not sunk in. It came as a shock and i was not wanting to believe it. That night after work i went online and had found out that the net had slowed as people clamoured online to know if it was true. Social networking sites like twitter crashed under the heavy volume of texts being posted and Google News thought it was under attack as millions queried about him that left the site wondering if it was from a automated query generator and returned error messages to users. Then it hit me that he was really gone. I felt a weight on my heart, I loved his music and there is no denying the fact that billions on this planet feel the same,someway or the other one would have been touched by him. You can find his poster in a barber shop in any village next to our Rajni or Kamal. He transcended barriers,iron curtains,traditions and reached people's soul with his brand of music and dance.If you find a dance talent programme on TV or some inter-collegiate competitions one outta ten would would be a wannabe MJ and perform his moonwalk and the rest nine would have shades of dance moves incorporated in one form or another.

King Of Pop

Many people acquire talent in life,but only some people are gifted with it right from the birth. MJ belongs to the later group. His was a singing family and he took to singing like a fish to a water. But the family would have known that he was a special talented child and would go on to reach the pinnacle of music someday. The Jackson 5's early stardom could be attributed to this kiddo. He stood out from the crowd in early days and it was not long before he started his singles and made a name for himself. It was clear that he had a troubled childhood and in 2003 his father agreed in an interview that he whipped MJ as a child. Such violent actions can leave a child scarred for life and some of his later problems could be put down to his childhood. Troubled childhood has lasting psychological problems,would make the child secluded,made him mature earlier and his social life suffered due to that. He found solace in music and exceled in that to prove his worth in a large family. He met Quincy Jones and there was no looking back after Thriller,Beat It and Bad. He became the King of Pop and could relate to the Beatles, Elvis Presley and Sinatra in terms of fame and fortune. But you need to keep a level head when those two come your way. I really admire Sachin Tendulkar for that matter.He is a demi-god here and would have got anything he wanted.He just had to ask,but till now he dint and would not.He has largely kept out of controversy either on or off the field as he had a supportive wife and family. There the difference shows,as MJ became more and more famous he became more private or secluded. You may have hundred people looking over your needs in the mansion and you would still feel neglected if they aren't your family.

When you acheive stardom at an young age,you need a helping hand to guide you,nurture you and make you feel safe. While this will be your parents during the childhood,it will be your spouse after you are termed as an adult just by your age. He was married twice once to Lisa Marie Presley,daughter of King of Rock n Roll,Elvis, which was never going to work and lasted only 19months and later to his dermatologist Debbie Rowe which ended in three years. When you are a celebrity every single action of yours causes breaking news. They feed off you when you are Dead or Alive. He was subjected to intense media scrutiny and it was not like only the media to blame for that. Although we dont know the reason for the change in his skin tone from coloured to white,that became the subject of topic and he remarked in his song Black or White that “Iam not gonna spend my life being a coloured”. His nose falling off at times also did not help the situation. And after the millenium the child abuse trials in which he was not convicted tarnished his image further and made him recluse. His finances crippled as he was thought to be a spendthrift in toys,antiques and elctronics. He spent more than he earned every year. As his friend Paul Mccartney said,he was indeed a boy-man who did not want to grow up.

Evergreen Music

Whatever problems in life he had, he was able to create music and dance at a level that could not be repeated by anyone anymore. He was a pioneer in the art of music,dance and staging concerts. He redifined the way in which concerts are held. He had sound knowledge of technology and business acumen as how to appeal to people's senses. He peformed in India oly once in 1995 and i still vividly remember the concert as it was shown live on TV. He made his entrance to the concert from a rocket,sung and danced his heart out. He was full of energy and enthusiasm that even a worst dancer like me made a few steps following him at that time. He knew how to enthrall the audience and know the pulse of the people and act accordingly. He did “moonwalk” which by now would have entered most of the dictionaries. In Bombay he stayed at the Oberoi Hotel and had scribbled about him loving us on the pillow and on the mirror, both of fetched record prices at the auction thereafter and this at the time when we were just opening up to the world. I was glad to see his concert atleast through the telly. People behind the Iron Curtain and those in Africa found hope,independence and joy in his music. He also cared about the environment and had did his part in educating people about it.

Details are sketchy regarding his death. It was sais that he had skin cancer and was on pain medication,the overdose of which had caused the cardiac arrest. He had been practising for the next month concert when it all came to close. So we could assume that he was hearing his own music when he died. Just as his life was surrounded in controversies and shrouded in mystery,his death too generates lot of fodder for the media which undoubtedly will hold onto this for months to come. Guys the fellow is dead,show him some respect and his family's privacy. If you want to pay a tribute play his songs,that would be the one what he would have asked for. I was very much looking forward to 13^th July concert at the O2 Arena in London. The instant sale of tickets still remains a testament to his popularity. Everyone wanted to see him make a comeback and lead a peaceful life. He himself wished for it when he said that these 50 concert dates would be his last in Europe and he would retire after that. When he made a breif appearance in London regarding the concert and remarked “This is It”, I dint expect this would be it. Great people and genuises are taken away from us suddenly because when HE believes that these people are so great that they deserve to be among these mortals and i think GOD wanted to hear Jacky's music firsthand rather than on the radio. May you find peace among the GODS Michael, you have become GOD of Pop. This is also a stark remainder that we are growing older and when someone you could connect with,you idolise,you wish you were them leaves you forever part of you dies alongwith them. We will encounter more of these bereavements and Lord give me the courage to bear it.Will miss you a lot.I wish i was Davy Jones to keep my heart locked away in a chest so as not to feel any emotion.RIP Michael.

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Four Weddings and a funeral

My last post was in February after the tour,after which I have been busy for a while. But its not that I haven't been writing anything to post,its just that I have been writing in parts about a myriad of topics that comes to my mind and I haven't found the time till now to relate all of them in a single post. A lot has happened in the time between my last post and this one,all of which cannot be reviewed in a single column,but will do it.

Wedding 1

Its cricket what else and IPL in particular was the first wedding. After weeks of drama as to where it will be held since it lost out to the biggest democratic process, finally two foreign destinations were chosen to hold the carnival of cricket. But first Mr.Modi what were you thinking when you pitted cricket against the elections, some of my cricket crazy friends suggested that the elections should be postponed in favour of the cricket and for some weeks the electronic media had debates and polls about which one to be moved. Thankfully my friends don't make the decision to run this country,one sane fellow from Sivaganga does and by my opinion it was the right call given the circumstances,logistics and security involved. So for the first time since I know how to make 1+1=3,democracy prevailed over money. In the end or rather the start the guys reluctantly moved it to South Africa where too elections were due. Talk about irony,we came here because elections are going to be held in our country and you have elections too. England was left in the cold as erm...it would be cold there at this time of the year with all the rains and stuff.

So to SA all the teams marched and Delhi became Durban,Jaipur Johannesburg. Finally it was time for bat and ball to speak and they screamed their heads off dint they. Sixes flew,stumps broke as Deccan charged,Delhi dared, Royals roared and Knights lanced. As things settled a clear picture emerged,brute force doesn't always work and teams with a clever leader at the helm and an astute coach seem to read and approach the game well and reap rewards. Four captain theory and fake IPL player and mudslinging dint help the poor fellow Brendon McCullum to steer his team to safety and the two top expensive England players failed to live up to their billing because of the very fact they dint play IPL-1 and were soon exposed of their weakness. Mumbai Indians clicked in parts and it was sight to cherish when both Tendulkar and Sanath sizzled in that one match. Who says Twenty20 is for the young,here are two 35+ guys running between the wickets like teenagers. Injuries kept key players away for the Punjab team as they suffered right through the tournament and maybe the tension on the field spilled elsewhere as the team owners Preity and Ness Wadia broke their relationship halfway into the season. A resurgent Bangalore team under Kumble made a late burst and made it to the semi-final stages along with CDD. But I have to admit it was like getting a overdose of it in the middle stages to sustain interest and it got a bit boring with dead rubbers being played out just for the sake of it. The organisers should be patted on the back as some allied contests,concerts were held during the games to make it a gala affair. As you all know, the all-conquering Delhi came as a cropper against the Adam Gilchrist show and were trounced,mauled,drubbed,massacred and any other adjectives of the same sense. Bangalore showed what they are made of when they edged Dhoni's men in a thrilling encounter which set up a dream finale between the bottom two teams of last year and all-South affair.

Two gentleman cricketers faced off once again as their teams sought glory on the global arena and it was the one from Down Under that took his team to glory although it was a great contest and the champion leg spinner lead from the front for his team which had to play back-to-back semi final and final while Deccan had a days rest. But I believe he will emulate his counterpart next year by going the whole yard. Kudos to Deccan. The IPL has unearthed some rare Indian talents and many outsiders too,so it is here to stay. It has beaten EPL-Football in the sense that EPL guys were thinking of holding a “Match 39” outside the country for a while now,but IPL held its whole tourney outside and has broken new ground and who knows where it will be held next time. All in all,everything went to script as the last team came first. That does worry me a bit,all going to script. Match fixing anyone.....na.

Wedding 2

The biggest democratic process that the world stops and takes notice of every five years (if you have bad coalition it will happen in 13 days and 13 months too..but generally every five years) that is our general elections. Thankfully like the IPL they dint move it elsewhere and the election commission made sure of it that they are held peacefully,fair and transparent. It was held over five phases and in some states in conjunction with the Assembly Elections. It is truly an amazing process considering the logistics,security which might be 1000times more than the IPL. It keeps the faith in democracy wherein the citizen is atleast made to believe that he chooses his leader. Even when the technologically most advanced nation uses the old ballot box and tear their hair off for counting them, we used EVM's in all the polling stations with photo electoral rolls,although some people dint find their name on it.

The parties were in election mood but they dint paint the walls red(just an expression,am not aligned with the left) as the election observers were working overnight to ensure the code. Every other leader wanted to be the star of the day on the telly and some even paid them to put on show. The media industry would have gotten of its feet from recession thanks to the generous amount of currency brought in by these leaders and one man who got the most coverage was Varun Gandhi and his cousin and sister Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi. People don't forget the guy they see on telly everyday and duly voted for them although the lady was not directly in the contest. All the media got on the election bandwagon and many papers ran supplements to cover it. Not to be left out the leader of the two main political parties had a squabble of their own and got some airwaves and print space. Down in the south the regional parties were holding sway and went all out to woo the voters. The Srilankan Tamizh issue was made an election propaganda and the plight of their lives was used for canvassing votes.

Come election day and people were out in large numbers to cast their franchise. The so called literate urban people couldn't brave the elements and did not bother to vote. But the same people would be ranting about their streets not being cleaned or debating the reason for the recession and would pose as citizen journalists on many news channels. This election had seen higher voter turnout than any other election as more youths felt the need to be part of this process. Also I think this was the first election where results would be announced in three days from the day of polling (In Tamilnadu polling was held on May13th and results for all the phases were announced on May16th). The political pundits used some complex statistical formulae and conducted surveys based on whatever sample size they could gather around a tea shop and came out with their own result that it would be a hung verdict and no party would gain a majority with the regional parties would have more of a say in the government. The results were out and people once again proved they are the wiser lot than any statistical formula and stupid surveys. People knew who to vote for in their constituency as local issues came to the fore and the status of the candidate did not matter as Mr.Palaniappan Chidambaram would know of as he lost the seat and won it back again on the same margin of a paltry 3000votes. The traditional Left bastions of Kerala and West Bengal voted otherwise and the party is yet to find the reasons for the dent in their armour. The parties which enjoyed being part of the government till the last minute and switched loyalties citing unacceptable reasons for their switch were clearly identified by the people and taken to the dry cleaners as RJD,LJP in the north and PMK in the south would know. In Andhra Pradesh newcomer Chiranjeevi would have thought that he could have a say in the formation of new government. Now he would have learnt the first lesson in politics “Crowds during a rally doesn't turn into votes” as he himself lost out to a woman in his birth place. He started the party very late and very near the elections that he forgot to develop it at the grassroot level which incidentally was done by Vijayakant in Tamilnadu. Even though his party did not win a seat he emerged as the third best party in almost all the seats and did get a lot of vote share which is a good arithmetic for judging a party's popularity and all this without a coalition. For sure the two main parties DMK and ADMK would make note of this and would not ignore him in the coming elections. Both DMK and ADMK improved their tally from last time as ADMK got off a nought and won the lucky number of seats of the party head and DMK twice as much.

At the national level both BJP and Congress had gained in the biggest state at the expense of the BSP and SP. But Congress was clearly the winner. In 2004 both of them had been neck and neck in the tally of seats won by them(BJP-108 and INC-116) and INC was heavily reliant on the coalition to see through five years. Now though they have turned the tables as they beat BJP comprehensively and even crossed the 200 mark which in turn means less reliance on the coalition partners and more ministers from the party as was evident from the DMK's post poll scenario. Projecting Manmohan Singh as the prime ministerial candidate did the trick as Sonia silenced any notion of Rahul being billed for the top job although he is clearly groomed to be the next PM. His decision to go it alone in UP did wonders for the party and he did a tireless campaign crisscrossing the country and focusing specially at the top where his party was lean.His magic did work and he has the charisma and personality traits of his father. He cleverly targeted the youth and got not only their attention but also their votes. Slowly he will be inducted into the cabinet and rise in the ranks to be the top guy in five years time. Only thing now left for Congress to do is to bring democracy into their own party and conduct elections for party post instead of direct appointment from the top which cost the party some vital seats due to infighting.

The loser in all this was the BJP as they readily accepted defeat and Advani offered to resign for the debacle. The instability at the top with many leaders projecting Modi as the next PM and the Advani's silence on the issue was part of a reason that did them in. Modi is a star campaigner and he should have been used as such. I feel the biggest reason for BJP's defeat was Vajpayee not vouching for the party. As far as I know he did not issue any statement asking to vote for the party or attend any meeting which may be due to his failing health. But he should have made an appearance and read a few lines which would have lent a huge boost to the party's chances among the secular votes as he is the secular face of the party. He is akin to INC's Manmohan. Congress used him well,BJP dint. Now the party has to assess the reasons and should align themselves to the changing trends and appeal to the voters differently.

Saying all this, I have written more than a page on election and you would be inclined to ask if I had cast my ballot and been part of this vast exercise. The answer is “NO”. I desperately wanted to vote this time but due to unavoidable official reasons I was away from my city during the whole week of the process. In this day and age of the internet we should take a step beyond postal votes and go in for e-votes where in we could go in to any polling station anywhere in the country and be able to vote for your constituency by producing your documents. After all your photo and other details are available in the database which should be made accessible at any station. Upon verifying the details the polling officer should make arrangements

to cast your vote. Sounds easy but not impossible to implement. On the result day I had visited the website created by the EC to publish the results and as all things government the website went bust on the day of reckoning due to several hits. So my idea of e-vote will be just that, an idea.

Wedding 3

This one is personal. No I did not run off and get married without telling you guys,just a different kind of wedding. Last week this day my existence in this world entered a quarter of a century. My movie entered the silver jubilee year. I wonder how long would the movie run for golden,platinum or palladium. As every year passes,my question to me would be “What can you boast of having given to this world” and am still searching for an answer and now my humourous side says “Hey,you have given a blog that people can read of and be enlightened”. Yeah right, as Goundamani would say to Senthil “You better write this question on a Thanjavur Temple “Kalvettu” and sit beside it so that future generations would learn of it and be prepared for it” and would beat the hell out of him. So I guess my gift to the world as of now is this stupid blog where I scribble upon when I find the time. I wonder what the next two and a half decades holds in store for me. Whatever it holds,i will write upon it when I encounter them and have friends in you to share them with. I had a thought the other day that before any of us guys take the big step that is inevitable and looming large (am talking about marriage), we should go on a roadtrip somewhere where we should be in control of the wheel and go on wherever the road takes us. I dreamt of fixing a puncture in the middle of nowhere,meet a village girl and drink out of her pot(no two ways about that) to quench my thirst and be involved in some adventure like taking a wrong turn and ending up in the woods. Since many of you guys will be tieing the knot next year or so, we should put this plan into action by this year's winter. What say you members of the jury...i mean you guys. Place your views on the comments.

Wedding 4

I don't know what wedding 4 is actually as I thought 3 weddings and a funeral would be stupid so I decided to go with the movie. Although I did go to a real wedding last week where the groom was my friend,who got married at the right time before he lost all his hair on head. Anyway now he would lose all his hair and can be happy about it for he has a reason.

Funeral

Here comes the sad part of it. While we were out discussing the effects of this election, a neighbour country was witnessing a gruesome end to a civil war. The leader of the rebel force Velupillai Prabahkaran was killed in military action thus effectively bringing down the curtains on a long running civil war that lasted for nearly 25 years. I'm not for or against his
ideology or for his choice of struggle for freedom,rather am a neutral observer who would like to look at his life differently. Seeing the photo of him with his shy wife beside him you could mistake for any regular family album if not for the camouflage overalls on him. I wonder what his life would have been if he had chosen a different path in life. He would lived a simple life just like all of us do and would just be another life form. Instead he chose a path whereby the history of Srilanka cannot be written without mentioning his name. The place where Sita was taken away from Sriram now hopes for a new beginning of a chapter which will be a peaceful one if the government wants it to be.

Thats all folks for now as I leave you with shots from the movie of an obdurate girl who turns it around.....for the shrew in you.

Tour de Kodaikanal

Tour De Kodai

Recently my friends and me went on a tour to Kodaikanal. This trip was in planning for more than two years and after various reschedules including the shifting of locations from Shimla to Goa to finally Kodai for reasons of time,money and such. After a lot of ifs and buts as to who will be on the trip(I wasn't sure of making it until the day before due to “Work”), Kodaikanal,at a height of just over 2000mts above MSL(how do they measure it, should have had a long measuring tape),beckoned us to its beauty,although in winter there is not much to see.

So this was the schedule : our friends from all over India(overstatement) and abroad(honest) were to meet at base camp where a luxurious van with a friendly driver will waiting for us to hail us up the Princess of the Mountains and to have a jolly time for the weekend and be back on Monday which was thankfully a holiday ,due to our becoming Republic some 60 years ago and nobody cares about that now, the only holiday for months to come.

As far as schedules and estimates go,they are only just that Schedules and Estimates. Here are the actuals:

Night 1:

After finally deciding on the mode of transport,a couple of friends and me(including that NRI who had landed earlier in the week and made that mandatory trip to family temple) decided to meet at the Station to be on the train on which the majority of the touring party will be.
Contrary to nature I was the first to arrive. I was the first to arrive. I was the first to arrive. I was the first to arrive. No its not a typographic error,just to drive home the point that I was on time,punctual. I was joined by the other friend Pangali 10 minutes later who had earlier asked me to call before starting and would reach even before me. After pleasantries we learnt that both our tour bags were won in contests,we had tea later and booked tickets for the three of us although we didn't know about the whereabouts of him.Our train was supposed to arrive at half past midnight from Thalainagaram(state capital) but I learnt from Pangu that it was nearly 30 minutes late as it was a long distance train which starts from Rajdhani(National Capital. As the station was full of holiday crowds,we paced through the length and breadth of it for a suitable spot to lay our bottom on. We received info that my namesake NRI had reached our city and would join us in two minutes. Two minutes,five minutes,ten minutes passed no sign of him. We wondered if he had completely forgotten about the city after his stay abroad and mistook some lights on his way for the city and got off there. 20 minutes later he joined us,explaining the reason for his extended arrival to foot bite of his new slippers. We agreed. It was the first time in 2 years I'm seeing him and it looked to me like he had gotten a nose job and a bit burly. The timing of our train was confused as the display boards showed it to be different for each of the languages the train name was displayed. So we headed over to the info booth where the guy behind the desk announced that our train would be nearly two hours late. So naturally we had another round of tea and discussed about our various friends and what they were up to and things he procured from Obamaland. Meanwhile we heard over PA that another special train would be heading in the same direction and would be arriving in a few minutes. So we headed to that platform and waited for it. The train came and and the doors were locked and found out that we would be allowed inside only if we were wearing bright red all over. Only my namesake was wearing a faint red top and so we weren't allowed.

We headed to the next platform and inspected a couple of magazine parcels and waited for our superfast train and there she was the queen of my dreams,she swept past me and my heart skipped a beat. Butterflies in my pot belly. I couldn't dare stand in her way or I would be rammed to my next life. “She”-the train arrived and it was no less of a love story that we boarded her unreserved compartment and found a few of our waitlisted friends there.Then we hopped to the reserved compartment hoping that the TTE wouldn't be around at the wee hours and started our journey.It was a two-hour journey for which we waited four hours.We arrived at our base station and the terminal at the station said we had arrived late by an hour.Next we looked for our van,since we were late,the driver figured he could catch a nap and went off to doze. We woke him and headed next to the Bus Junction where some of our friends had arrived much earlier than us from the Garden City and were waiting (what else to do you ask),picked them had a mini tea party to start off our day.


Day 1:

The effect of the hot tea soon weaned off as we started to climb the mountain and many of us were feeling the pinch of early morning winter having been used to 30+ temp. Good thing I was in my winter gear and capped off with a monkey cap. Earlier I was told that the monkey cap was out of fashion and ever since I was counting them on heads to support my claim. A 2 hour climb resulted in us reaching the destination and we unpacked in our cottage and relieved us of our morning duties and had tea. Since the agenda-ellora was thrown haywire we decided to go with the flow. We ventured into reserved area of the forest after breakfast thanks to a recommendation from the forest department where we were promised wild animals would be on view. The narrow road took us up and down as we stopped midway to get in the scenery and feel nature around us. I was the first to venture deep in the troughs and crests. By this time infinite number of photos were taken from half a dozen cameras already. I didn't feature in many of them as I heard in a Pandiarajan movie that photos decrease your life span. After 500 odd photos and an hour later we reached Perijam where there was a beautiful natural lake,the boating lake up is artificial I believe. We trekked,photoed,photoed and trekked. No sign of wild animals though. Only their early morning kakka,jaangiri,kanni vedi or whatever you call it were to be found. We kept this until it was time for lunch. Before we headed up we found some mountain water,it was tasty cool and slightly muddy. This is water in its purest form untouched by the pollution of the cities. The whining van driver had already told us to get some snakes which we figured were snacks and gave us a “told-you so” talk when we said we were hungry. Back on top we headed to one cluster hotel. As expected the hotel was full and the service wasn't good. This was visible as a quarrel broke out in the adjacent seat when a very hungry and angry customer didn't get his papad. He was yelling and after he left the hotel we got generous amount of papad which we didn't know existed on the menu. After the late lunch we lounged about in a flowerless park where a bunch of drunkards peed on every tree they saw. By evening we set about for boating in the lake and we were the last one to receive tickets so we had to wait for eons and struggle with others to get a boat. Once again the protagonists of the slipper-throwing incident(guys your incident became so famous that some journalist guy in Iraq tried the same thing on George Bush) were put in a twin seater love boat hoping for some Moondru Mudichu action that either of them would rock the boat. Nothing of that sort happened. After boating couple of them crazy guys took cycling around the lake,I opted out as I thought pedalling a boat and cycle didn't make much of a difference. Besides there weren't any beauties to follow them on a cycle. Instead we chose to do some shopping and bus full of very outgoing Keralite college waved to me,teased my friends and everyone they could lay their eyes upon. The cyclists returned and we headed for the warmth of our rooms.


Night 2:

I leave it to your wild and vivid imagination.

Day 2:

After an early morning tea and vadai we learnt that all of Kodai was full due to the holidays we decided to do our part to reduce the rush,so we vacated the four rooms of which two had extra beds. We used the extra bed while in the other room as I saw in the morning they didnt,four guys in two beds huddled up against each other to fight the cold. After an energising hot-green water bath and after much discussion as to where the breakfast should take place we ate breakfast but not before another X number of photographs were clicked(all hail digital cameras). A tea later we headed off to see the rest of Kodai. The caves made famous by the shooting of a movie fifteen years earlier was our next stop although they have fenced off everything that offered a view and charged us for it. Next on our agenda was more hills,rocks and peaks. What else would you expect at a hill station?. So another set of rocks and views later it was time for lunch. Time considerations,heavy traffic and ever complaining driver forced us to have lunch at some North Indian restaurant serving so-called South Indian meals. The food was not good and we beat a hasty retreat after which we did some home made chocolate shopping,the last of which I finished right now. One last location before we head to base camp and the toughest of them all. I was exhausted at this point and the bad lunch didn't help matters either. Since our van too large for the narrow path the happy driver stopped way before where he could have stopped and let us walk a mile more. As I was drained I was the last one to follow and the terrain was unforgiving to say the least, we had tread each step carefully. The view was spectacular and of course it deserved another hundred photographs and we weren't even to the “Spot” yet. The spot made famous by another recent movie was a rock structure which extended from its parent and it offered expressway passage to heaven or hell as the case may be. I didn't step onto the rock as did a couple of others,but those who made it made sure their solo snaps were taken to be given to prospective brides to prove their daredevilry. I didn't sign up for the adrenaline rush the spot offered as I watched the proceedings from a safe distance. Who technology doesn't reach the farthest part of the world. Now here is a remote place and to my right was a makeshift tea shop(where else would I be) sellling cuppa instant noodles on which you could pour boiling water and minutes later you would get hot noodles. To my left was the real deal of digital age. The professional photographers not to be outdone by the digital technology had on the go Epson printers where you could print your digital photos in a second. I certainly believe next time when I come here they would using the digital Polaroid camera which has built-in printer just out now. Meanwhile the guys finished off their photo session and we were ready to leave. I hauled myself off my back and reluctantly followed but eager to reach the top. Climbing back was harder than I thought it would be. So after regular rests and tips about how not to breathe through your mouth when you are heaving I made it to the final pitstop beating a certain couple with sticks on my way. A lemon soda later,something against the ordinary I didn't go for the tea I felt recharged and even had the sense to ask a foreigner where he was from and reminded that Aussie he had dropped something. Still climbing we met some smoking(literally) hot Aussie girls at a tea shop(we had something in common both having tea but I was put off by their smoking). So I decided against asking her about ASL(S I know I but AL not sure of) and headed up. Up on the road we finally headed to where the van was and cooled off our heals in the stream nearby. We bid adieu to Kodai and started our journey back to base camp and the driver nearly lost it a couple of times while following that brute of a bus. The first time was horrible a foot closer and we would have made the morning news along with a photo of crumpled remains of the van. We decided it was best to have tea and the driver for once agreed with us.

Night 3:

We reached our base camp famous for its Thalapakatti biryani and decided to try it for dinner. After dinner it was time to part. Few of them were coming to their homes with me as the day next was a holiday. Others were heading to their respective places. We took leave hoping to meet soon and boarded a bus back to home town. Sleep was a long way off so we talked about various issues and how to make the world a better place and bring about world peace in short we put a topic to pass off time and pass off it did when we noticed we had reached the outskirts of the city and we arrived at nearly the time we boarded the train two days ago. It was that time to exchange pleasantries and take leave. Curiously I declined an invitation for tea by my friend and felt fishy that I did so.My local bus had already gone to its shed way before I landed and decided to take an autorickshaw along with a friend known to us as Kurudan who goes in the same direction. The driver didn't ask much and we got into it. Familiar sights passed and we reached the Head Post office roundabout where for some reason the driver parked in the middle of the road. Suddenly a huge crash and it took us a while for our weary brains to figure out that a motorcycle rider had a head on collision against our vehicle. I don't know whose error of judgement it was whether the auto driver or the motorcycle driver who had ample time to cross us over. Anyway it was the perfect example of a head on collision of a small object against a slightly bigger stationary one. He slammed into the auto and was thrown into the windscreen where the wiper dug into his head and he was bleeding profusely. Within seconds we were rounded up by not less than three traffic wardens (in kodai I didn't see even one of them and here there are three in the same spot) and they concluded their little investigation that fault lay on the auto. As I said it took a while for us to realise what had happened and get out of the auto which was largely unhurt except for a big dent in the front. This caught the traffic warden's ire that we “ejukated folks” didn't get out earlier than expected and he started hurling abuses at us for this incident. The motorcycle driver was apparently dazed and was carried off to a nearby hospital in the same auto that he had crashed into along with the pillion rider. After he was carried off the warden let us off. So we were in the middle of the city with no transport option and we still had some way to go. We contemplated walking but by then another auto arrived on the scene and we were brave enough to trust the driver to take us home safely. I dropped off my friend at his street and headed for my home. Finally I was home and had my share of adrenaline rush although it felt different. The Tour de Kodai was over.

I know what you are thinking but no I don't have photos of the auto incident. Had I taken a photo I would have incurred the wrath of the Traffic Wardens and been writing this inside a jail cell titled “My Experiments with Midnight Auto”. Here are the other photos that are aviailable right now.

Kodaikanal Photos

This is a tour special and my longest blog yet. Regular post will follow next week.

New Dog Old Tricks

New Dog Old tricks

James Bond has returned. As promised last time, I have watched the movie by which I mean getting up at 6 in the morning and downloading the parts of the film patiently for four days under the “Unlimited” slot that my ISP offers from 6 to 8(they offer it from 2am to 8am,but never in my right sense would I get up at 2 to download a picture,not at least now).So I expected such a painstaking effort on my behalf would be rewarded by a very good espionage picture left me with no Quantum of Solace not even an iota of solace although many physicists would argue that quantum is smaller than iota. But that's not the point, Casino Royale set such standards that you expect more every time the next instalment(is it instalment or installment) comes up. I watched CR at the theatres and absolutely loved it. Daniel Craig was raw and untouched by the Bond gimmicks of Girls,Gadgets and Gas Guzzlers. One could also forgive the product placements of the producing company. I was so pissed off after “watching” it that I decided to “watch” the other Bond movies once again to wash off the harmful effects of this movie. That gives something to look forward to get up early in the morning in this winter when you want snuggle in your bed till the clock strikes 8.30 and five minutes after that. Well now I'm into Golden Eye. Rant over.

Scarlet Pimpernel

Keeping with the espionage plot,I would suggest reading of this book that you would be aware if you were a “matric” in 10^th standard. Its called “The Scarlet Pimpernel”.Still dont remember it “Matrics”,it was our English-II subject along with one act plays which I don't remember much except for that diamond theft play where one guy sits in a high-backed chair. The Scarlet Pimpernel was a very good novel thanks in part to our English teacher who made it all the more interesting by scheduling one chapter of it on alternate Fridays. Add to that that the syllabus was changed that year and the supplementary book did not came out late in the very end of December, so our school had only one book and that was the teacher's copy. So every other Friday she would read it or ask any of us to read it aloud and we would be all ears to the one chapter allowed for that Friday. Sir Percy Blakeney was the big daddy of Commander Bond. He too had a girl named Margrette. She was French and a villain in the form of Chauvelin. I do not want to ruin the fun any more. You can read his exploits here,courtesy of Project Gutenberg.(BTW Project Gutenberg was the big daddy of Google Book Search).

Layout

I have made some improvements to my blog layout like the ones you see to your right. My personal favourite is the chat box. On a more serious note,by now you the media consumer would be aware of the atrocities committed last month in Mumbai. Every nitty-gritty details of the heinous act were flashed across all the English news channels to serve the purpose of think tanks across the border(never mind the flip-flops,we know they are from your country Mr.Zardari) who were in constant touch with the terrorists informing them of the happenings. Enough has been said about the role of Visual Media in such circumstances and how they could jeopardise the mission of commandos by beaming every activity of them. It is up to them to impose self-restraint while reporting these events. If not the government could impose a media blackout to stop them like military jamming mobile signals during a curfew.

Hope the New year brings in good changes. So another year has passed and I'm writing down the same New Year resolutions as I did last year. They are learn swimming,learn French,trim up your body and go to France to watch Tour De France not necessarily in that order. If you have read my earlier posts you would find that France has more nude beaches. Mama mia(I know its not French). Until next year....

Seasons' Greetings.

Oh i almost forgot(not almost totally),here is the video of the week,month and year.This is a show running on HBO based on a Mumbai call centre(no no no,no kinky stuff here).Just watch the pilot and i really do love the theme music.