Mersal - my Take !!

    Mersal – a movie which was much talked about not just in Tamil Nadu but all over India. What was supposed to be an average movie turned out to be a huge blockbuster due to the controversies surrounding the film and producers should thank the politicians for all the free publicity the movie gained. The movie talked about two things – Medical system and GST and would like to pen my thoughts on both these topics. They cleverly say we do not mean ‘ALL’ doctors are bad and even in the movie Mersal there is a dialogue which says only dishonest people may get angry at those who talk ill about doctors; I can just laugh at that dialogue thinking how immature Atlee is when he wrote that dialogue. As a common man I have every right to express my disappointment over the movie and I completely concede that nothing is going to change through my blog. If I can make people ponder over the movie after reading my blog  then they will realize what I am saying is true.

     One of the characters Vijay is donning is Dr.Maran and he comes as ‘5 rupees doctor’ and there is no dialogue which requests people to become 5 rupees doctor but let me go over the costs of some of the very basic essentials people use in day to day life in India: Cost of ironing a shirt is ‘6 rupees’, cost of Tea/coffee in a roadside shop is ’10 rupees’, ½ litre milk is ’21 rupees’;  Cost to repair a tire which is punctured is ’40 rupees’; Cost of one lire petrol is ’70 rupees’ ..I can just go on and on …Now let me go over cost of medical school. Costs of medical degree is anywhere between 5 lakhs to 60 lakhs for 5.5 years and depends on scholarship, Government/private college, Quota restrictions etc., One had to pursue Master’s degree too which is another 10-70 lakhs depending on many factors. Even cost of NEET exam is Rs.3750; This is purely the money factor and there is a herculean effort needed to successfully complete both and the process easily takes around 8-10 years. Now after doing all of this is this even practical to say ‘5 rupees’ Doctor is a distant reality? Maybe one in thousand may do that service who is 60+ and who does not have any commitments in life but Atlee who is a 3 films old director talking about free medical system is a biggest joke. Can Atlee and actor Vijay declare their salary to public? Since they represent Entertainment field can they work for 5000 rupees salary per movie?

    Now let me talk about the logic loopholes in the movie. Surgeon gets M.S degree and not M.D as portrayed, the scene where ambulance driver and hospital staff negotiate which hospital to go is mere illusion since ambulance of a hospital will take only to their respective hospital. Also the way in which Doctors talk to each other regarding operation and the way news is conveyed to Girls parents are all very cinematic and melodramatic. Personally I got upset when the movie portrayed checkups are scam – this coming from a mass hero would have ripple effect amongst his fans and that dialogue alone carries so much of mileage towards planting wrong impression regarding checkups. Vijay says medicines are 12% GST but that is wrong – medicines do come as tax exempted and 5%; Not to forget when mam J Jayalalitha was chief minister of TN when the whole of India was paying tax for Insulin, Tamil Nadu was the only state which was tax exempted for life saving medicines like Insulin. Actor Vijay portrays government hospitals ask fee but has Actor Vijay or Director Atlee stepped into any of the government hospitals in Tamil Nadu? Just like how foreign media showcases India as slum, poverty celluloid always portrays Government hospitals are poor but many would be surprised to know the many good things that is happening in government hospitals.

   Emotional outburst: One thing which I hate is emotional outburst that happen every now and then. India witnessed a tragic incident on December 16, 2012 – gang rape of 23 year old woman in Delhi and whole of India was protesting regarding the incident but how many are aware of what punishment was given to the men who was involved in this barbaric act. Somewhat similar incidents of emotional outburst are Swathi’s murder and Anitha’s death where people, politicians and celebrity voice their opinion but once dust is settled everything seem to go away from people’s memory. There is a political incentive behind celebrities voicing their opinion – when Gangai amaran voiced opinion against Ilayaraja recently during SPB concert that is because he was one of the contestants in RK nagar constituency and he wanted some mileage before the election; If Kushboo is voicing her opinion against Mersal then that is because she is representing Congress and wants to defame BJP before the big elections coming up in December in Gujarat. As an actor Kamal is a legend but he trying to be active in social welfare may translate into increase of trade value for his upcoming movies Vishvaroopam 2 and Sabash Naidu where Mr.Kamalhaasan is the producer of both the movies.

  Supply chain of a movie: Movie’s business is primarily due to the names involved in the movie – Hero, Heroine, Director, Production House, Director etc., if we have good technicians then rates go higher and higher. There is one variable called ‘Previous movie success’ which plays a key role in dictating prices to various regions; Distributors buy at fancy prices and sell it to theatre owners who again take a big gamble; When so much of money is involved why does a section of the group get to see the movie beforehand– atleast that way they are still taking a risk but not a gamble of buying something which they don’t have any clue. But none of the production houses are ready to show the movie before release since they are concerned about the negative talk which can literally kill the movie. So end of the day people are the victims. Also without getting the film certified how does the production houses book theatres ?  Theatres without knowing the proper release how can open their online reservation ? This is all an illusion to create an impact with audience of how much they are expecting the movie whereas the process is not followed in the first place.

   GST: GST is something which I am paying more attention and I am trying to get myself up to speed on this topic.  Demonetisation and GST are two biggest moves executed by current Government and though I am not exactly sure about former how it would pan out in long term but GST is something which will help the nation since it is the biggest tax reform the country has seen. Government openly admits it has earned one lakh crores each month since July 2017 and this is huge amount of money. Well currently execution of GST is in a complete mess and chaotic and for it to get settled with India’s literacy rate is going to take some time. Actor Vijay talks about Singapore Healthcare system and says its ‘Free’ but Mr.Atlee (since he wrote the dialogue) is not aware of the funding Singapore Healthcare system gets like PF fund which are deductions from salary of every working singaporeans. Every Singapore citizen has to have an insurance plan like ‘Medisave’ ‘Medishied’, ‘Medifund’ etc., which are financed from citizen’s fund and government also contributes in the form of subsidy. So basically people pay huge taxes and hence get insurance benefits and that cannot be classified as ‘FREE’; how many in India file Income taxes? India ranks very low as far as percentage of people who pay Income taxes. So let us not compare other nations since it becomes apple vs orange comparison. 

  Cinema must be treated like Cinema which is mere entertainment – problem comes when directors like Atlee when they work with big stars like Vijay dilute a social subject keeping box office in mind. I am sure Atlee when he wrote dialogues for the film kept Vijay’s fans in mind and wrote the dialogues since he knew which dialogue would generate claps. There is nothing wrong since he does his job but when he takes a social subject he must handle with authenticity. Cinema people are perfect examples of hypocrites – Actor Karthi endorses for Bru, Suriya for Sunrise whereas their father says no to Coffee; Aamir Khan says one must follow his/her passion in movie 3 idiots and then forces kids to undertake something in movie Dangal; Vijay endorses for Coke and then cries foul against the same company in movie Kathi. Mersal is a huge box office hit and director Atlee is a big brand now but he has definitely earned lot of wrath from section of a people and my request to directors like Atlee is either don’t take social subjects or do it with conviction not keeping box office in your mind.

 

Don't play with Feelings !!

  I wanted to give myself enough time before I pen this blog since I do not want to be a sentimental fool. When someone is angry you can revert back the emotion in few days but when someone is hurt I think it takes sometime to get out of it. Something kept on haunting me about a recent incident and definitely wanted to share my thoughts.

 When you are into social life it is very hard to come out of it completely, the only thing you can do is to cautiously reduce your exposure. Politics among any organizations - be it Profit or Non-profit is inevitable since that is the way the overall design is made. With politics comes groupism and with groupism comes opinions. It is so funny how one groups thinks exactly differs from other group. Each group defends what they say is correct and then comes strategies which are drivers to execute goals for each group. The strategies is looked as politics for an outsider. I used to make fun of leading political parties in Tamil Nadu but now after witnessing whole lot of politics very closely I doubt I will make fun of any political party in future. Based on my personal interest and passion I chose a particular role but unfortunately I had to apply at the last minute due to my personal circumstances; This was looked as political move and frankly I don't expect every single person to know what was going on but the least I expected was at least people who knew me personally should understand and see this as a genuine application. Few people had to say something which was definitely hurting but I have nothing to prove to them.

 People have Master's degree, live in US with sophisticated background but when it comes to behavior they are still childish. People sponsor tons and tons of money to temple, volunteer for hours in Temples but see only part of their prayers are answered and if they analyze deeply they will know one of the reason is they have been offering lot of hurt feelings to their near and dear ones with or without conscience. All of us cannot be a Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa since manufacturing of those people have stopped long back. We are living in a rat race environment where people are waiting to push you down, kind and good human beings are considered as incapable ones. If you consider someone as your friend do try to understand him before joining everyone and raising slogans against him..end of the day understanding is what all matters. 

Wisdom !!

   While I was in India I barely used the word ‘Wisdom’ and did not have much clue about this powerful word in English dictionary; My little knowledge with the word was due to the the term ‘Wisdom Tooth’. In a way Life is very simple but in some other way life is too complicated – if they conduct ‘Neeya Naana’ I can be in either teams and win over audience since I believe both are true. But one thing that makes the equation very complicated is how is your life going to be – there are way too many factors that determine like purna jenma paavam/punyam, current jenma paavam/punyam, any paavam/punyam by our ancestors etc., Facing hardships can be very exasperating especially when you start doubting your own strengths; any number of advice or philosophy can turn you off since your mind is not willing to listen. But one who goes through this phase with head strong and comes out of it can definitely be a much matured human being.

    Out of all the proverbs the one I always cherish is ‘Whatever happens is always for good’; I have experienced this many times. At that time it is tough to digest but the rationale is revealed much later in the game and that is when knot is released. Just imagine if everything happens as per our wish will we workship the way we do? Will we be modest ? will we be thankful ? To some extent we may be but success often closes our eyes and we tend to take things for granted. In order for us to remain grounded, feel the gratitude, help our peers almighty play games in the name of ‘Hardships’.

   Many complain ‘Astrology’ is all fake and they are not ready to believe it – I can assure you there is lot of hypocrisy out there !! I am one who firmly believe in astrology though I do not know the technical aspects of it. If Astrology predicts everything like when will you will buy a house or buy a car then will you have the desire to work for it? You may tend to take it easy since you know things will happen in particular timeframe; Even worse is lets say if Astrology can predict when exactly will you die, then you may tend to play with snake or fall from 50^th floor since you know for sure you are not going to die until this particular time. Astrology can give you heads up and it is upto you to take necessary caution on your career and personal actions.

   Gaining wisdom at a young age in a way is good, there is an unofficial competition in my household between me and my wife about who talks more wisdom. In a way I laugh at it and in a way I feel happy since we are getting matured. A person who is trying to have a baby for a long time  will laugh at people who wants their kid to be a male/female, a guy who lost his job will laugh at people who complain about commute time between work and home etc., Any small act of kindness matters and it could be as simple as offering a banana to a poor person. Just be happy and thankful of whatever you have today since you don’t know how long will things last.

Mani Ratnam – The Film maker !!

   I was not sure of writing a blog of my favorite director but upon watching Mani ratnam’s interview with Gowtham Vasudev menon which I totally loved I realized I should write one. The best part of the interview was ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’ was discussed only for few minutes and the entire conversation was regarding the working style of the legend. Internet is an easily accessible medium and all it takes to review a film is someone has to tape your talking and then you can post the video in Internet and create a sensation. These guys on top of not having Filmy qualification they hardly know anything about movie making process, logistics of film making, movie distribution, etc., They just feel they are pretty good critics since their videos have garnered more views. Some of the people who reviewed the film in Internet are pathetic. Anyway these days all of us including me categorize a film saying its either ‘fast paced’ or ‘slow screenplay’ – this is where the problem starts. We have to see each film as a distinct film and not treat all films in a same way. I recently watched ‘Kodi’ and ‘Singam 3’ and though I liked these two movies to some extent comparing these two with Mani ratnam movie is a criminal mistake. Our mind is just polluted and we expect movies to have either edge of the seat thriller or a story which unfolds faster. All coffee lovers know that coffee taste so good once we boil the milk for few minutes but we always take the route to boil the milk in microwave and compromise our taste buds – reason is we want to have the coffee faster. My wife says whenever I talk I always bring a food comparison and now realize how true that statement was !!

    Let me just briefly walk you through some of the subjects Mani Ratnam dealt in his films – friction between the newly wed couple (Mouvna Raagam), Underworld don (Nayagan), story of step brothers (Agni Nakshathiram), story of couple both suffering from terminal illness (Geethanjali), story of autistic child and the plight of the parents amidst cruel face of society (Anjali), adaptation of Mahabaratha (Thalapathy), romantic love story with terrorism as background (Roja), Tamil nadu politics in a nutshell (Iruvar), Love story between hindu and muslim with Bombay riots as background (Bombay), Post marital relationships (Alaipayuthey), Story and agony of srikankan tamils to meet their near and dear ones (Kannathil muthamittal), Youth in politics (Ayudha eluthu), Biography of Indian business legend (Guru), Adaptation of Ramayana (Raavan), reflection of modern urban youth vs old traditional values (O kadal kanmani) and once again a romantic love story between the lead pair who are opposite in nature (Kaatru Veliyidai). I strongly believe for a movie to be considered good then the heroine character has to be good – Divya in Mouvna Raagam, Roja in Roja, Shaila Banu in Bombay, Kalpana in Iruvar, Shakthi in Alaipayuthey, Indira in Kannathil Muthamittal, Tara in OK Kanmani and Dr.Leela in Kaatru Veliyidai are just etched in my memory. He is one director who shows girls as independent, bold, intelligent and garrulous. Can we imagine a film maker who has touched so many sensitive topics in celluloid? To handle these topics with brilliant characterizations, technical finesse, articulate craftmanship and not to forget realism deserves huge round of applause. Ofcourse celluloid demands fantasy elements and to deliver quality films laced with great music, mind blowing cinematography one has to master the art very well and only a top notch individual can do that which according to me is Mani ratnam. 

Realism: Let me just go over few scenes from his classics which depicts realism to the core.

Mouvna Raagam: Now how many of us know that the home in Delhi (one Mohan lives) shown in Mouvna Raagam was actually in Madras. That is where a film maker comes into picture – right from surroundings, sounds, people everything has to have a realistic touch as per the narration of the movie. I love one of the scene in which Revathy stops Mohan from sipping a coffee saying sugar was not added to it assuming he won’t drink and she can use the coffee later in the day. Also one other scene in second half where Revathy rushes to open the door to greet his parents she would be with Idly batter all over her hand. These small details just blends so well into the narrative. I can keep on talking about this movie but on a lighter note I always had this dream before marriage to watch my favorite movie along with my wife post marriage, only to realize Minu slept half way through. Next day Minu said it’s a good movie but not as good as I portray ….Hmm....Minu watches movie by forwarding many scenes whereas I like to watch movies from Title card rolling ....

Roja: Arvind samy takes his newly wed wife to introduce to his Chief and the chief once realizing it’s a tamil girl connects with her so much and the camera angle is tilted to show a Tamil Murugan calendar in the backdrop ….automatically the audience relates to the narration and not to forget Chief requesting Paal paniyaram to Madhu bala in the end ….I am just trying to be myself ..

Agni Nakshathiram: Vijayakumar often swaps names between Ashok and Gowtham which are just instinct gestures by Vijayakumar but it adds so much to the intensity of the movie as both the brothers share the same biological father.

Alai Payuthey: A typical middle class scene when Shalini and her sister have breakfast where mom complains about hair not tied, daughter complains about upma being the routine breakfast and the best was mom tying a thread around Shalini’s hand for her to do the exams well. These are pure slice of life is an Indian household. Talking about this movie I love the house in which Maddy and Shalini stay with just brick and cement (without being painted) only to realize later when I bought my home that I do not even have control to change the place of my Microwave. Reality sucks !!

Once audience able to relate the narrative in celluloid they get connected to the movie. But obviously movies do need fantasy and that is where songs come into picture. Practically we buy few sets of clothes in a calendar year but in movies we love to see hero and heroine keep changing dresses, we may not be able to go to places shown in the movie and hence audience enjoy those during song sequences.

King of Romance: For a hard core Mani Ratnam fan it is easy to point out that he is king of romance as you can see pretty much all the movies there is a strong dosage of romance. Now for someone who is 60+ in India to deal with romance the extent Mani Ratnam has explored shows he must have done an extensive thesis on ‘Love and relationships’. He is one film maker who does not believe in skin show and always differentiates between lust and love– there is one scene in Roja where by mistake Arvind swamy would happen to tear the blouse of Madhubala, had it been other directors they would have asked music director to make the scene look sensuous by some crap BGM score instead Arvind samy says ‘Sorry …it happened by mistake’. People critisize ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’ so much but if you look deeper the movie deals with relationships and difference of opinion between the lead pair. In real life it is the small incidents which creates misunderstanding between couples and that is portrayed beautifully in the movie. Movies like Mouvna Raagam and Alaipayuthey says love after marriage is the true one, Anjali and Kannathil Muthamittal shows love between the couple keeping children in background, Rajini marries a widower in Thalapathy so on and so forth. Love is always shown with lot of dignity and Mani Ratnam extracts the best out of the actors.

Break the stereotypes: Running time of his movies vary by each movie, number of songs vary per movie, heroine may have kids if the story demands, close up shots are plenty if that is necessary for the movie, on board an actor quite opposite to his nature like the RJ Balaji character in Kaatru Veliyidai, shoot songs in India and still show the aesthetics and talk less about his movies instead have his movies do the talking

    Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam aka Mani Ratnam is a film personality we should all celebrate. Given his recognition any actor in India will be willing to work under his direction knowing he is a low pay master. Sometimes people like Mani Ratnam are forced to make movies in many languages across same time to have pan India release but due to availability of dates with lead actors and other logistics challenges they had to compromise on Nativity as they have to wrap up the shoot. Obviously his movies in 80’s and 90’s are no match to his current films but nevertheless he is still one of the best film makers in the country. Now makers have tough time to defend one scene which sensors believe may be controversial but here is one man who has touches many sensitive subjects in the likes of religion, love, relationships, political battle, disabled kid etc., and still came out in flying colors. He would have made many movies and increased his bank balance but he did not believe in number game. He is inspiration to current crop of directors and his movies act as a dictionary to them. Through this blog I have paid my tribute to my favorite director in Kollywood – Mani Ratnam

Shame on Media

    Indian democracy is said to have four pillars – legislature, executive, judiciary and press which is nothing but media. Media has several different forms like – paper, television, social media etc., Many media is privatized and influence with government authorities can obtain you license to one of the lucrative industries. I am so disappointed with Indian media – anything and everything is sensationalized in order to garner viewership. Their only goal is TRP which is a key metric to denote how well they are performing in the market.

    Sasikala going to jail is captured like never before as if a freedom fighter is convicted, there are alerts, flash news, minute by minute updates on her activities on the day she went to jail. I am not sure about the judiciary aspects but when someone is convicted there has to be process in place saying person who is convicted should report within so many hours or days but here is a person who took her own time and media did not question that instead they passed on the news to public by elaborating hour by hour details. I was informed Thanthi TV program called ‘Kelvikenna pathil’ is a very nice program – yes Pandey definitely does a good job but if you carefully evaluate the program all he is trying to do is counter attack the person he is interviewing. Though he feels something is correct but still he goes up and beyond from what the other person is saying by cleverly presenting facts and smartly interpreting information. People may think Pandey is too good by grilling the person but actually he is trying to be loyal to his employer by making the program more interesting and gaining more viewership. Now let me talk about the super duper famous star ‘Gopinath’ of Vijay TV fame. The day he did doctors show I lost all respect for him but that is just personal level. He can talk about any topic under the sun given the amount of reading he does but where was he during Jallikattu protest, why did he not raise any opinion regarding Jayalalitha’s death, why did he not question Udayanidhi stalin during DMK’s regime on 2G scam, why did he not raise any questions regarding Swathi’s murder case …People may say he is not  police officer or government official to handle law and order in the state but he projects himself as a social activist and says his program will ask questions to raise concerns on current state of affairs. Now he went to a place to stop hydrocarbon project and also gave a speech – this is mere eyewash to gain popularity. He criticizes government authorities and at the same time interviews celebrities associated with political parties; why this hypocrisy? His program picks on good topics but intensity is lost when they edit which one is aired. I have heard from few folks that people talk quite a lot but the one appearing on TV is very less – obviously you cannot show everything but the way program is shown on TV is to attract good one liners, punch dialogues, emotional aspects and also anything which can has the potential to be sensationalized. Media projected Nadigar sangam elections so much which increased their business by many times but do an election comprising of 5000 votes overall deserve this much hype? If Vijay Mallya is arrested, Karunanidhi is hospitalized, Nayantara is separated from her lover, Simbu’s beep song is released then that news dominates the day overlooking many important aspects in the state administration.

    Money dominates the policies; If a jewellery shop is about to be opened in the town then they pay exorbitant advertisement fee to have their ad placed on the very first page. Media should have a policy of not to display ads in the first page. Some news may not have business value like an inspiring real time story but rather than placing it in a nook and corner they can give more real estate to the news by placing it in a nice slot to attract readership. Tamil Nadu farmers are protesting in Delhi and there has been little coverage and even when the coverage is there media is either sensationalizing or sympathetic towards the whole topic. Media started to cover Marina beach protest only after it gained more attention, basically only after it realized there is a monetary potential to the whole proceeding. Through the name of ‘Reality shows’ media also taps emotional quotient and translates into Business which is very sad. A small kid eliminated from a round is projected as a loss in Olympic race by having a BGM score, tears all round, close up shots of parents etc., It just pisses me off completely.

   There is quite a lot of investment made in starting a media and without attracting sponsorship it is difficult to sustain the competition. Once sponsorships come into picture then external influence comes into picture on how media is run and also founders drive the initiatives keeping the sponsors in mind and not the public. End of the day people are made fools by watching news which is not close to reality. Delhi gangrape attracted so much attention for media and then once the dust settled very few media covered whether justice prevailed; For media the news happened at first instance provided so much fodder whereas latter did not. Anyway I am not against media since they are the ones who bring the news to our doorstep but when media commercializes everything then I just feel very disappointed.

Thaipusam 2017

  Thaipusam is celebrated as victory of good over evil. It is to be believed that on Thaipusam day goddess Parvati gave Vel to Lord Muruga to demolish Asuras. Offering Kavadi to Lord Muruga has its own significance – burden in one’s own life will be lessened. Thaipusam is widely celebrated across the globe and here in America Murugan devotees are lucky enough to participate in Shiva Murugan temple’s Thaipusam celebrations. Padhayatra is one such ritual where devotees take pilgrimage to temple. Living in a country where few drops of water on the floor is cautioned using a yellow board, pilgrimage must be a distant dream for many. A Trail in California which is pretty much straight for most part of the journey and all the way to temple – do we call this luck or do we call this a divine intervention?

   Volunteers – a word which gained more respect and meaning after seeing them in action. Young adults take off from their work, young ladies get together on a house and do mass cooking, Teenage boys do Bike patrolling, teenage girls help their mom on break spots, small girl gives napkins, 70-year-old lady does pandhi visaranai, so on and so forth. Food for breakfast, lunch and dinner is not catered but cooked by volunteers; Just to make sure people are not lost during the walk especially the out of station folks, leads are assigned and several folks are assigned on many intersections just to direct to the right path.

  Key to hosting a successful event for an organization is to plan things and execute them meticulously. If one can bridge the gap between planning and execution, then success story is on the making. Let me give you three examples. They had multiple counters for serving food and one volunteer gave plate, spoon and napkin together which reduces time rather than allowing people to pick each one from table. They had dedicated volunteer to collect plates, napkins, spoons by that way they can prevent trash bag getting filled with empty space. By this way they could fill in more and this on top of being environment friendly it also reduces number of trips to dispose trash. Next one is traffic control – with overwhelming numbers each passing year they came up with a strategy in how they want to control traffic amongst the walkers. They placed volunteers in appropriate junctions and basically the person did a traffic constable job in managing the overall flow of walkers. I love the concept of neither sodas in any of the break spots nor junk food. Liquid items were buttermilk, rosemilk, chai, coffee, Gatorade and panakkam which were all well made.

   Padhayatra is a wonderful experience to interact with nature – place your feet on the ground, look upto the glorious sky and feel the wonderful breeze of air and in the process, also thank nature of our existence in this world. There are more and more challenges for the organizers every year due to the overwhelming response from devotees across the country. Being religious is good in many ways and there are many ways to offer our prayers to almighty – Padha yatra is one such thing. ‘Seva’ actually means ‘Selfless service’ and just want to go over this term in detail. First and foremost as devotees we have to acknowledge the fact that many may not be able to do physically exhaustive tasks like Anga pradhesham, padha yatra etc., If we are being truly religious then we can encourage devotees and motivate them and if the other party still feel they cannot then it is our responsibility to give them the free space. Some offer money, some volunteer their time, some sing bhajans, some market the events etc., people can do anything to their capacity and lord will be happy to accept prayers of his/her devotees. The true devotion is the key and this is called ‘Bhakthi’. I know people who are now old who have not indulged in any padha yatra but still having a fulfilling life with good health, wealth, prosperity, good children etc., But there were truly devotional and always good at heart. If one can perform traditions like Padha yatra in a foreign land then that is well and good and should consider themselves very blessed and at the same time they should encourage more people to participate in future. I have been blessed to experience Padha yatra in USA for three consecutive years and would highly recommend you to participate in future. It just takes one experience for you to keep coming again and again. 

Demonetization

   Demonetization – the term that shook the nation by surprise and which occupied headlines in every type of media. Not just that it also dominated most of the space in public gatherings. I was fortunate to be in India when such an announcement was made. Let me brief you on my experience during this earth-shattering announcement from PM Narendra modi ji. I was in my native attending sister’s marriage and whoever recognized I was from USA asked me whether I am missing my vote in the high-octane US elections without realizing I am not eligible to vote and I am no way closer to the eligibility. Everyone was curious who will win as if I am well versed in astrology. But this being on one side around 8.30pm on November 08^th, Tuesday the announcement came saying that 500 rupees and 1000 rupees notes will be mere paper after dec 31^st of 2016. Gossips, banter, shock all started to come from all corners since this is not a forwarded message. Videographer pulled me and showed his phone and it had how 500 and 1000 rupees notes used to fill ground nuts. The creative minds who does forwarded messages should seriously consider getting into cine field since their creativity is good enough to make some good movies. Anyway banks were announced holiday on Wednesday (November 9^th) for it to get ready for the busy days ahead. If there was a survey on human interaction, then I bet November 9^th 2016 would have topped the list in this digital era since every single human being wanted to interact with as much people as possible to get their insights. After the shocking news on Trump’s victory in the morning the only thing that could have made me happier was ‘Food’ and thoroughly enjoyed athangudi perumal’s breakfast.

  Let me point out what are the misses from this move

(a)    When Prime minister of the nation makes an announcement through national media of such a move then what is the credibility of Indian rupees? No law, no reform and a mere announcement gives a bad brand image to Indian currency

(b)    Consumer spending could be less since people want to safeguard the notes for emergency; I visited a medical store in Thirapathur on November 9^th evening to buy a medicine and shopkeeper either doesn’t have change or doesn’t want to give change. 100 rupees notes were suddenly treated like mango lassie in Sahara dessert

(c)     Value of money suddenly increases and with it comes the value of debt which also increases. It makes it more difficult for the debtors to repay their debt

(d)    It also resulted in mad rush to buy other investments like Gold since people had to convert the cash into something tangible; Due to demand the prices increased much beyond than its original price

(e)    Unaccounted cash can be converted into expensive gifts which again makes the gifts go skyrocket in price due to demand than its original value

(f)      I saw a post in FB where Chetan Bhagat said he had to buy all the balloons from a balloon seller who was having tough time selling any due to the cash shortage; India is about these people do who make small money to make their ends meet. The people below poverty line is affected the most since they thrive only by cash

 I personally liked the move and see this as a bold step towards the right direction

(a)    Black money is a very common scenario in a country like India and the move will no doubt help to eradicate black money (not from all but at least from many)

(b)    Counter tax evasion – generate more tax revenue for government since underpayment of taxes will be prevented

(c)     In a land of forgery counterfeiting currency has become very common and the move will help to prevent counterfeiting of currencies

(d)    Terrorist attach groups will not have fake cash to attack our country

(e)    Corruption may reduce significantly due to lack of currency notes

(f)      Local groups who cause petty fights might be discouraged to get into violent acts since there is no cash to award them.

  We can argue both ways but if we want to transform a country and get into a clean state then we have to address things at a grass root level. People believe notice must be given and we all know if a notice given on this regard how many protests we would have seen in the country. The message reached across the length and breadth of the country and this was evident for me since I got a receipt for my purchase of snacks from a small shop run by achi in Venthampatty. The transition is going to be a tough one especially since illiteracy rate for india is still very high. But once people get a hang around then day to day operation will be smooth; Believe me some road side shops generate lots of revenue too – I know a parotta shop in Trichy who has been in business for 30 + years now and I always relish his egg parotta since childwood. This man per my dad owns lots of houses and business is driven purely out of cash. Likewise there are many whose business may appear low profile but may be far lucrative since no tax is paid. Use of credit cards, machines, online accounting, customer service, banking service, application forms all are going to take some time for the common man to sink in but once transition is done we could see a bright, clean and powerful nation …right now it’s in the making. 

Don't forget the Roots !!

    I wanted to pen this blog after observing many different conversations from many different people from all walks of life. It is something which saddens me that people very easily forget their roots. Optimism is important but it should not be at the cost of something. I just wanted to point out how people forget that they came from India after sitting in wealthiest country in the world counting dollar notes.

   In 1980’s and 1990’s the number of Indians migrated to USA was less compared to these days where we see good number of Indians in all parts of the country. As the number increases automatically number of Indian temples, Indian stores are on the rise. With that we also try to bridge the culture as much as possible to pass the rich tradition to the next generation. Example – things like mango leaves, jasmine flower or plantain leaf may be impossible or very expensive stuff in those days which is all very accessible these days. People are basically born, brought up and had all their schooling and college back in India and they have come during their earlier twenties and kind of settled down here in USA. Now with their next generation people try to promote culture and tradition which is praiseworthy. But the problem starts when they say “Ippo ellam India la kuda pilaingalaam epadi ellam paadaadhu” (Meaning: Nowadays in India we don’t get to see kids sing like this); According to me this is completely unwanted. They can be happy that kids are doing a good job here but why unnecessarily they drag India into picture even if what they say is true. Have they seen all kids not sing in India? Mother India nurtures an individual, teaches basic principles, provides education and once people inherit everything they migrate to a foreign nation and harvests everything in an alien land and starts to bad mouth their own country though their passport would say something different.

    Some religious events are so authentic back home and people do not customize per their preference. Things have been changing in India but India cannot become USA and USA cannot become India. Saying we are good is just enough versus saying others are bad. What people must acknowledge is they cannot get best of both the worlds – let us be happy of what we do here as well as learn to respect our nest - ‘India’ 

J Jayalalitha

J Jayalalitha – a powerful name not just in Tamil nadu but throughout the nation. Her demise no doubt created a huge vacuum in Tamil nadu politics. I remember when I was in my childwood appa used to pay a price just to have the letter ‘J’ in the car number plate. Like title value the letter ‘J’ demanded letter value and whenever people hear anyone with ‘Maha’ nakshathiram first thing people quote is it is the nakshathiram of Jayalalitha. Her audacity, perseverance and Intelligence are her trademarks and her oratory skills (Tamil/English) is simply outstanding. Whenever she addresses national media with eloquent English I always felt proud.

    These days’ people grumble for petty things like – gas has gone high by 10 cents, iphone glass broken, visa fees increased etc., but here is a woman where ‘struggle’ was part and parcel of her life. With her dad passing away early in her life she was brought up by her mom, a single parent, she also spent lot of time away from mom since she moved to Bangalore for some time, her brother passed away and she was forced to enter cine industry which she was not interested in first place. When it comes to career, it is very difficult to pursue a career which you don’t relish. Then from one glamorous field to another she had to foray into politics which again was not her natural choice. She could not attest her relationship legally with a leader and hence had to live with a name tag which no woman likes to have. Then after the demise of the leader she had to undergo some nasty experience during funeral, an absolute disgusting experience in Tamil nadu assembly in 1989 where she promised she would enter the place only as a chief minister. In 1991 she became the chief minister of the state and from then on it was a roller coaster ride. She faced many ups and downs and all her hardships packaged her into a person of who she is as a person. Though people talk of gender equality it is not easy for woman to prove her mettle in the male dominated society.

    Just imagine whether we can have woman freely go to ration shop or a middle class cinema theater in India, often there is mad rush and men make use of the situation and nasty incidents are either reported or go unnoticed due to privacy issues. A lady and a fair skinned person coming from cinema industry to fight the system with so much grit shows her caliber. Every national leader attended the funeral or at least expressed their condolence message to the iron lady of India.

   Jayalalitha has been a huge inspiration for woman; To run a leading party of the state and win elections for the party with so much conviction talks a lot about her talent. I liked many of her initiatives and there was a saying that when she rules the money rotation is more in the state. She was steadfast on her thoughts and she will not bend down rules or policies to attract alliances during election. One thing she does often within her ministers is to fire people if she feels they are not fit for the position. She reaches out to Central for funds but never have them dominate when she and her party are ruling the state. I am pointing out this because in politics when money comes in people tend to relax everything including self-esteem. Her nomination list, her allocation of portfolios, allocation of seats to alliances all are admired by political circle. I loved the way she addressed the issue during Visvaroopam release when actor Kamal haasan was going over the roof by quoting how he had to sell the house for the making of the movie. She said if Kamalhaasan is over 60 and had to sell the house for a movie then she or her government cannot be accounted for since she is more responsible for providing law and order to the state and not just one movie and one person.

   Her final days was not pleasant at all. Spending 75 days in a hospital campus without seeing the outside world is no good. She couldn’t meet her beloved people of Tamil nadu in her last phase of life. But who would have imagined that when you get admitted to a hospital you will be there forever, and eventually end your life? She had so much command over her ministers but in the end, she had to be put on life support. Life at times sounds harsh but reality is always a bitter sweet. She got full state honors and Chennai came to a standstill to pay respects to a politician who stood apart from her counterparts. I will personally miss her speech like "J Jayalalitha enum naan", "Seiveergala".  I am not sure how long should we wait to witness another lady politician like J Jayalalitha but we all should be happy that we were part of her era. Rest in peace mam …