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The Years They Will Remember

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Akhil and Sahana with thatha. Akhil is in sixth grade. Sahana is in fourth grade. My own fourth grade feels like a blur, but I remember sixth grade quite well. Mrs. Vijayalakshmi was our class teacher. She was outstanding at teaching English. At BP Indian, grammar, punctuation, and the structure of a composition mattered. Some of my classmates had a natural flair for writing, and I loved reading how they put their thoughts on paper. I came third in class that year and received a merit prize. I still remember the books: Five Have a Wonderful Time by Enid Blyton and Grandmother’s Tale by R. K. Narayan. I still have my copy of Grandmother’s Tale . Inside is the school’s prize label: third rank, Class VI D, 1992–93, awarded to Subbarathinam—the name I went by then. My sixth-grade merit prize. I still have the book. ...
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Taxing the alien

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Finally, I made up my mind. Yes, I can fill up the 1040 EZ form to file my tax returns. Wait a minute . What if this is not the right form? I went back and forth, getting into discussions with like-minded, not fully informed gentlemen, individuals, who had as much proficiency in accountancy and related information as I have, in say, Carnatic music. I tried to reach every information I could avail with a faint hope of procuring the maximum possible in some way. It is also important to fill up the right form; you don't want to be hauled up for filling out a wrong form! I wanted to believe whatever others said as far as tax forms were concerned. I thought that everyone other than me had better knowledge when it came to filling these forms. It was after careful deliberation that I was sure of two things I am capable of filling these forms on my own instead of going to a consultant, even if that meant additional complications in figuring out the obscurities. That I cannot fill t...
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Khelo aur Jhelo - One of a kind

Controversy theories have plagued Indian sports in the last week much to the delight of some of India's acclaimed serial killers. Ekta Kapoor , in an exclusive media interview to SaaS TV , thanked the Indian sportsmen for her inspirational new biopic, Khelo aur Jhelo (JLo?). In her usual candid self, Ms. Kapoor spoke about the various problems troubling the cricketers of today. So, in her typical style, she chose a name starting with 'K', and says that this is one of a kind serial, bringing to the forefront, the relationship between sportsmen and their in-laws. In-laws? Yes, as she has repeated often, this is a " one of a kind " serial. Media sponsors are thronging her house, in a bid to gain valuable advertisement spots for her 1199 episode drama. When quizzed why she has to offer only 1199 episodes, she said that the story will take its course, and depending on the response, she plans to continue the plot. The interview has generated never before heard ...
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Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

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I had no idea about Jhumpa Lahiri's latest release until I got many of those promotional mails from Barnes and Noble, Borders and Amazon offering an attractive discount. It was a perfect way to start the month. Obviously, my first intention was to check up at the local library, and on finding out that I was 81st in the queue, I quickly went to the nearest Borders store, swiped my Amazon (what an irony!) credit card for $15.75 (inclusive of tax), and there I was clutching the beautiful hardcover bound book as if I was the proud author. Even though Interpreter of Maladies was her first publication in the literary world, I latched onto this only after I had finished reading The Namesake . The Namesake has left a lasting impression in me (link). The feeling lingered on for some days, as the emotional aspect of the book ebbed on to me in seamless fashion. Her topics are not out of the world; on the contrary, they have got a lot to do with day to day situations that we conjure in ou...
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Anbe Sivam

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Our lives are governed by facts and beliefs over a period of time that we have got used to these things; practices have been stamped with unquestionable beliefs. It is only a confined section of the society that tends to think on iconoclastic lines, and majority of us find it difficult to have our views matched with the minority section. I run into a severe thought process; most of the times, they are about trivialities, and the rest, about the extremes. It is always a great feeling to know that you have complete control of life, and that you want to think and act independently. But, ironically, it gives us great comfort to think that there is a power vastly superior than us controlling the various stages of our lives. Who is He? is a big question, but it gives great comfort to know that there is a He governing our lives! Last week, I happened to watch the movie Anbe Siva m once again (you can safely put the number of viewings to a double digit value). Some of my non-T...
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Simply subconscious

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It's an awry feeling to get up at around 8 in the morning after about twenty snoozes an hour; the war torn feeling just lingers on and you know exactly what you are going to do for the next twenty to thirty minutes to get ready for work, and at the back of your head, you actually don't have any idea as to what you're doing. Ironical, but every human being getting up to go to work will know what exactly I'm talking about. Every morning is like a deja vu and the repeatability of daily life leaves you asking a lot more questions instead of getting the answers as time goes on. What is it about the subconscious aspect of life? Many times, I don't even realize that I am driving my car from home to office or vice-versa. I have spoken to a lot of people about this, and I get a response, that it is the case of taking certain things for granted. It is just about how you prioritize certain things in life. You know the route by-heart, that you end up following the car ahea...
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Six o' clock

Back in India , every evening, I was wafted into a sea of devotion, thanks to MSS , whose enchanting voice rendered the complicated slokas of Sanskrit in perfect clarity. The pristine voice filled the surroundings with a sense of calmness and everlasting composure. But, there were many a times, when my brother and I wanted to change the evening atmosphere at home, by replacing the usage of the only tape recorder with the latest happenings on the television. So, on many days, we have watched the only sport that the whole of India supports, and on many other, we would end up watching one of the latest movies being played on many different channels. "Praveen, today is a very auspicious day. Why don't you both play some devotional songs on the tape recorder?" Even before I could open my mouth, my brother would let out a cry of anguish as if she had just asked us to go to war, "No, let the movie finish. We are watching Alai Pay uthey." She would agree relucta...
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Jodhaa Akbar

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Ashutosh Gowariker , when he decided to make a magnum opus on one of Indian history's significant and finest characters, would have had a tough time to take up the challenging task of bringing out the appropriate fusion of fact and fiction. History is a daunting subject, the moment you decide to merge it with the present, there are people - those who know history and those who have no idea about what happened five hundred years ago , are literally baying for your blood for an unknown reason. There is little wonder that Ashutosh researched on his pet project for more than four years before getting down to the basic aspect of film making. It would have been easy for him to give up and proceed with the same old cliched subject of hero romancing heroine set in contemporary times. But, he stuck on to what he had set out for, getting the right people to do what he wanted, and in the end, he has come out with an outstanding movie of monumental grandeur transcending all possible imagin...
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