Two movies /48 hrs

Recently we watched two movies within a gap of 24 hrs. Both the movies were unique. First one was filled with natural and soft treatment of life. The second was a combination of special effects and race against time. In many ways both had some common ground between them. The movies which we saw were - Loudspeaker (Malayalam) and 2012 (English).

Loudspeaker portrayed the changing face (s)of mankind. The following juxtapositions find place in Loudspeaker- old/new, rural/urban,natural/artificial. The treatment surprisingly is not Loud. There is a human element in the movie and it carries a strong message about our changing lives. The central motif is similar to Rajesh Khanna starrers -Anand and Bawarachi and the copy of copy of all these – Kal ho na ho. Something akin to the saying - He came, he saw and he conquered. Watching a movie with some brilliant snapshots of Kerala is a true nostalgic act for a Gulf Malayalee. Jairaj injects a shot of humanism without the help of Doctor Preacher. In a way it was good to see Jairaj attempting a theme like this which is far removed from his usual misadventures with ‘saffronic’ themes. (Paitherekam, Deshadanam). Even though  Mammoty looks different as the Loud Mike, he lacks a tinge of originality.We felt that he was too glamorous for the role of a ‘farmer/kidney donor from the hills’. Jagathy is wasted with an insignificant character of the apartment secretary . We had heard numerous complaints about the sync technique used ( first time in Malayalam) in the movie but our movie watching experience was complaint free.

2012 is about the end of the world. We all know that the world will end soon and the bad/mad rush has already begun. Copenhagen promoting the theme of hope is one way of creating awareness about the dying earth. ( Sign the petition and become a citizen at www.hopenhagen.com) The world as we know will face death due to either environmental issues, terrorism or an alien attack) Mayans predicted it long back and Indians noticed it and as usual Americans saves the world ( or at least the world of the rich) with the help of hard working China men. A movie filled with American jingoism and propaganda, 2012 is just like Independence Day. The biblical ark is shown in a new avatar. In many ways the movie attempts to yoke Mayan calender with the biblical ark.

The Language of Violence

Google has entered into a partnership with leading publication houses to bring the best from the world of words. i was browsing the titles this morning and i came across a book titled ‘The Violence of Language’. the title made me think about the violent ways of using language. I took some time to mull over the topic and found that it will be worthy of a blog. The fact that today violence is a common thing makes the topic more topical. The topic deals only with the verbal use of language. words which are un- parliamentary may be the starting point. every human being has got a breaking point. If he/she is pushed beyond a certain point then he will break. One of the way’s through which he regains balance is by uttering some words which are like bullets and will hit the target bull’s eye. The language becomes violent.

Cursing,Swearing are all instances were language can get really violent. Studies are being conducted into the violent nature of human communication. What are the effects of bad words on the listener? How does human brain process these words?. Answers will be found soon. Most of the time the powerful language we use is a result of anger and frustration. In these modern times you can see people getting more complex and hard hearted. The use of violent language is becoming more intense and common.

The self-development guru’s (Robin Sharma, Deepak Chopra) are of the opinion that violent words always carry a negative field of energy and that will vitiate the ambience. this is one area which they are minting money. to make the post-post modern beings control their anger and practice the golden rule of silence. as a teacher i sometimes do get angry in the class, but experience has taught me that anger in a classroom is utterly useless. When i browsed the net i even came up with the idea of non-violent communication.

In, developing countries like India, the worst forms of violent communication is used against women and children. teachers against students, parents against children, husband against wife… the list goes on. Money, cultural issues, and lack of education are some of the breeding grounds for these types of communication.

Oman Diary - Part One

This is our second year in Oman. Last year we never had the inclination to explore Oman. This year we thought we will do a bit of exploration so that we will discover Oman. We decided to explore the ‘Real Oman’ far away from the hustle bustle of the Sohar life. So we chose a destination that is 70 kms away from Sohar - Wadi Hibi. Surrounded by mountains the village of Hibi is peaceful and has some of the best picturesque places.

 

There are some structures which our driver cum guide Saed told us were old houses.They are made of perfectly shaped stones and plastered with mud. Omanis lived in these houses maybe some 20 years back. Now they remain as examples of the past. the houses were constructed in such a way that the inhabitants were protected from wind and other adverse weather conditions. It had sub terranean passages and air ducts for ventilation. The modern houses co-exist with these ancient structures, complete with air conditioners and satellite TV.

 

 

This was the taxi which took us on this journey. Behind you can see the mountains and a Masjid. People living in Hibi are usually go to sleep late and they get up late. Most of them are farmers and their pace of life is slow and relaxed. We met some of them and they invited us to eat breakfast with them. The time was 10:30 am. Hibi like any other village is a close knit society. People know each other and they share a sense of camaraderie.  Maybe it is effect of nature on the minds of human beings. People are healthy and active. we met an old man whose age was 80+, walking around with the agility of an 30+ man.

( to be continued)

Oman Diary – Coming Soon

FIVE DAYS BEFORE EID

In this blog, I have chronicled our life in Sohar. the chronicle begins with the day we visited Lulu and ends with the day Oman celebrated Id. I was still using crutches and walker. 5 days of our life were recorded in X1 Office Word and later on complied together for this blog.

17-09-09

I decided to chronicle the daily events of my life. After a gap of 5 days I finally ventured out to the shopping area. I didn't get out of the car; I sat inside and watched the crowd and the activities. There were lots of things to watch. Families flocking towards Lulu to do Ramadan shopping. Shincy went inside to buy things for the household. Me and Saed sat and watched the world moving by. It was a boring thing to do, but I was helpless. One thing I was preoccupied with was watching different types of cars - from Toyota to Audi. It was an interesting exercise especially after the prolonged stay at home. Today Anjali shifted to a new flat somewhere near Indian school. We never had a hand in glove existence but she leaves behind a miniscule sense of emptiness.

18-09-09

Sheetal's visit. After a year long time some relatives visited our home. Sheetal, Rakesh, Ryan and their friend Shony and family. They were enroute to Muscat and they took a pit stop here. We had prepared food and a Kerala delicacy called pazham porichuthu. We tried our best to make them comfortable. They were bit surprised by our 'overflowing hospitality'. After our guests left us, me and Shincy were occupied with updating our Orkut profile. We added some new photos into our albums and created some new albums.

19-09-09

Today was an uneventful day. Shincy washed lots of clothes and she cooked lunch. For dinner we plan to eat some fruits and the local bread called khoobs. Did multiviewing of three Malayalam movies. Not even one was riveting. Six more days for the college to reopen. Time to relax and make the right moves. After taking bath in the evening I started watching the movie - Ruins in HBO. After sometime Shine also joined me. We were bit shaken by the man eating creeper plants. We found redemption through Shrek 3 and slept.

20-09-09

The day was quite uneventful because we got up late. We had some brunch watching the repeat telecast of Ruins. We had some discussion over the creepy situation especially the carnivorous creepers. The day passed away just like. I played for sometime and Uma aunty came in that time to exchange some pleasantries. After prayer and supper we sat watching TV and got hooked to this Malayalam movie - Mattoral (another person) starring Karamana, Mammoty, Urvasi and Seema. The movie explored marital bonds in bold way. We slept like two babies after watching that. Time was 3:00 am.

21-09-09

Today is Eid. Saed came in the morning to give Omani bread and beef stew. After that Mohammed came with chicken rice, sweet and beef fry. We didn't cook anything. As usual got up very late. Evening Uma aunty invited us to join them for a ride. It was a blessing for both of us since we could take in some fresh air. Shincy did some essential shopping. Our Tamil neighbours paid a visit for the first time.

Dr. V. J. Mathew – An Obituary

A few days back Dr V. J passed away. A name that was quite popular in Loyola college, Chennai, for 25 years. He retired from Loyola as the HOD of the English Department and became the co-ordinator of the Self-financed English Department. Then after two years of service he took up the post of Principal of Mar Gregorias College, Chennai. He was involved with AIMS personality development program developed by Sunny Tharappan. He was an avid reader. He liked to walk and talk. He was an excellent teacher. He was a prolific orator.He was my teacher. He made me – He made me discover the student within me. He made me discover the writer in me. He made me discover the teacher in me, He made me to discover the reader in me, He made me to discover the rebel within me. Sir, I will miss you like anything, I love you and may your soul rest  in peace.

Eleven years back, me and my father stood outside the English Department of  Loyola college. We were there waiting for the HOD to get take the entrance exam for admission into the Master’s program. The office assistant, Stella, made us sit and asked us to wait. After some minutes Dr VJ walked into the room. He was wearing a white corduroy and a printed shirt with large collars. He had a silver watch on his wrist and he was wearing classes. He gave me the question paper and asked me to sit in one corner and write. The next day I became a Loyalite. the day also marked my association with Dr. VJ. In our time table he was known as VJM. He taught us PD in the first semester. Then Chaucer, Phonetics, and British poetry in the consecutive semesters . His classes were a heady mixture of info and entertainment. He had his own unique style of handling English Literature. He was also known for his VJ jokes which used to appear in the department newsletter. Sample this:

Son: Dad, which one is more intoxicating?  whisky or brandy

Father: Neither of them, it is Lewinsky…

His classes were never missed and I used to worship him from a distance. We both had a commonality in our names. He was targeted many times for his Malayali roots. I remember that even I was targeted for possessing the same name. Sir,I am so proud that i have your name. It was through him that I received a letter for my first job which i didn’t take up.  the strange is that he is the one who informed me about the opportunity in Nepal and he is the one who dissuaded me from going there. I am sure that he was watching me from a distance maybe he didn’t want to openly show his concern for me fearing a local backlash.

After Masters I joined MCC for my M.Phil and even that time I remember the letter of reference that he had given to Prof. Vishnu Bhatt. It was like our bond was extending even beyond the 100 acre Loyola campus. When I got through my UGC exam I had applied for the post in Loyola and even there, he were present as the HOD of the newly formed SFS English department. I thus became a teacher with his blessings. Sir, I am so happy and i feel blessed that I started my career with you. I remember my first class and how you asked me about the experience after the class. I was amused by the way he used to gel with the young and the old alike.Che, Sugnathi and me were the Young Turks and Prof Arockia Dass and Jeyadoss - the old army. Che and me had numerous discussions with him in the canteen. He was specially interested in the author Fritjof Capra and his book – The Tao of Physics. Che and me, one day took him to watch the movie – A Beautiful Mind. He was so excited about the event. I remember how tensed he was when his brand new Santro hit a tree and had a dent. he was upset for some days. Dr VJ used to be upset for even small things. Maybe he was a sensitive being ( Just like me)

Once i joined MCC as a teacher, I used to visit him at home. We used to go for short walks which sometimes ended near the church. He used to talk about his daughter who got settled in the US and how he loved her. He told me in a funny how she forced him to watch movies related to American style wedding when he visited her for the marriage.His second daughter was more like him – especially when it came to reading. I had befriended many books through him during these home visits. Da Vinci Code was one among them.

I am missing a good friend, a great teacher and moreover a good human being… and i know that i am not the only one…

the weekend post

hoolala
just checking my new window