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Showing posts from November, 2008

What I Missed While Walking Past the Kanchi Mutt

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A place I passed every day without really understanding it. As a kid growing up in Malleswaram, devotion wasn’t something we discussed — it was just in the air. The smell of agarbathi in the evenings. The noise of vendors lining up on 8th cross before a festival. The quiet expectation that you showed up, bowed your head, and moved on. Ganesh Chaturthi. Varalakshmi Vratam. Deepavali. Janmashtami. Ugadi. The calendar moved, but the pattern stayed. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Malleswaram was part of my daily route to school. Not something I questioned. Not something I deeply understood. Just… there. Every morning, on my way to school, I would slow down for a second in front of the Mutt. Just enough to bow my head toward Kanchi Kamakshi from outside the gate — and then hurry along before the school bell. It was a ritual for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it came from devotion. I did it because my parents did it. The street...
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Mumbai

I try to keep away from current affairs on my blog, simply because, there is so much media coverage that you feel who cares about what is written here. But then, I also realize, that this statement holds good for other posts as well. Whatever said and done, my mind just refuses to forget what happened last night at Mumbai, the financial hub of India and one of the important centers of the world, where a small ripple here can cause major waves in the global market. I try to switch my mind to other things, but, invariably, and rather, involuntarily, my fingers make an impression on the keys that correspond to the different news sites across the web. I want to find out more and at the same time, get away from what's happened last night. I am not sure whether I am getting callous. Yesterday afternoon, when I was at work, there was an update in the web space that Mumbai was caught in the midst of yet another series of blasts. Oh, God! Yet another one. I hope nobody is injured, an...
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The musical conversation

Are you going to put that piece of wood aside or not? I was really stunned to hear my wife shout at me like that. Wood? How dare she call it a piece of wood? I was not going to take it lying down. So, I screamed out what was in my mind, How dare you call it a piece of wood? Can't you see what I am doing? For your information, this is violin, the heavenly musical instrument. Aamam, enakkudhan onnume theriyadhu . Yeah, I am the one who doesn't know anything. She replied with sarcasm pouring out as if I was not aware of it in all these years of our marital life. It was just two years since both of us got married, but it already felt like two decades. How many times I have told you not to play the violin in front of me. I really lose it when you attach yourself to anything remotely musical. Now, now, this was uncalled for. She had touched a raw nerve. How can she insult my musical talent? I had to give a reply. That's the reason I asked you, as well as my mot...
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The white tiger

I had queued up a copy of Aravind Adiga 's The White Tiger in the public library ages ago. Last week, when I went to the library to get my copy, I realized that it was not a hard copy, but actually an audio book. I have never listened to anybody, let alone an audio book, and my spirits were severely dampened. In any case, I got the book home, and resolved to listen to it sporadically. I was thinking about how India inflicted an ignominious and crushing defeat on the Aussies. India was well and truly on top in the entire series, and it felt weird that there was hardly a fightback from the Aussies. What a way for Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble to retire. It is just a matter of time before the other three of the fabulous five retire - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Having grown up watching these brilliant cricketers on the field, I am not sure whether watching cricket will be the same again. Test cricket without these guys will certainly not attract the "...
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