അയ്യപ്പന്റെ ക്രിസ്മസ് കേക്ക്

തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് നിന്ന് 20 km ഉള്ളുവെങ്കിലും സൗകര്യങ്ങളുടെ കാര്യത്തിൽ ഒരു ദശകമെങ്കിലും പിറകിലാണ് ഞാൻ ജോലി ചെയ്യുന്ന സ്ഥലം.

അതു കൊണ്ട് ഓഫീസിലേക്ക് ക്രിസ്മസ് കേക്ക് സിറ്റിയിൽ നിന്ന് വാങ്ങി

കാണാൻ ഒരു മാരക Look ഉള്ള കേക്ക്. എല്ലാവർക്കും Merry Christmas ആശംസിച്ച് ആദ്യത്തെ കഷ്ണം ഞാൻ വായിലേക്കിട്ടു. ഓരോരുത്തർ വന്നു കേക്ക് വായിലിടുന്നു. 

അടുത്തതു കൂട്ടത്തിൽ തടിയന്റെ അവസരം. അവനിങ്ങനെ മടിച്ചു നില്ക്കുന്നു. ഇനി Diet ആണോ?

പെട്ടന്ന് അവിടുള്ള ചേച്ചിയുടെ നിലവിളി 'അയ്യോ കഴിക്കല്ലേ '

ഞാൻ ഒന്നു ഞെട്ടി' എന്താ പ്രശ്നം'

'മലയ്ക്കു പോണൂ സർ'

'മൊട്ട കഴിച്ചാൽ അയ്യപ്പനെന്താ? '

'അതല്ല ഇനിയെങ്ങാനും'

Kerala had this ability to differentiate myth and reality. Now myth is slowly being fused into reality.

Religion cannot replace Science or literature. But today religious texts are glorified as greatest science or literary texts

മാറി നടക്കുന്ന ഓണം

ഓണം കഴിഞ്ഞ് മാവേലി കിട്ടിയ വണ്ടിയ്ക്ക് തിരിച്ച് പാതാളത്തിലേക്ക് പോകാൻ പോവാണ്. അന്നേരം വരുന്നു മലയാളികൾ Singapore trip ഒക്കെ കഴിഞ്ഞ്. ഇനി മിക്കവാറും പുള്ളിക്കാരൻ ഓണം കാണാൻ കേരളത്തിലേക്ക് ഉണ്ടാവില്ല. പകരം സിംഗപ്പൂർ എങ്ങാനും പോയാൽ മലയാളികളേയും കാണാം Singapore ട്രിപ്പും നടത്താം

ഇത്തവണത്തെ ഓണം എനിയ്ക്കു പ്രത്യേകത ഉണ്ട്. ഞാനും ഭാര്യയും പുതിയ ഫ്ലാറ്റിലേയ്ക്ക് വാടകയ്ക്ക് മാറിയിട്ട് ആദ്യത്തെ ഓണം. The continuous supply of അടപ്രഥമൻ നിലച്ചതൊഴിച്ചാൽ എല്ലാം ശുഭം. വീട്ടിൽ കുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്ന സമയത്ത് എന്തെങ്കിലും കുത്തി കുറിക്കാമെന്നു കരുതി.

ഈ ഓണത്തിന് വേറൊരു പ്രത്യേകത കൂടി ഉണ്ടേ. പുതിയ ഓഫിസിലേക്ക്‌ സ്ഥലം മാറി വന്നിട്ട് ആദ്യത്തെ ഓണം. 'അഹങ്കാരി',' മുൻ ശുണ്ഠി' അങ്ങനെ കുറച്ച് സത്പേര് സമ്പാദിച്ചു വന്നതുകൊണ്ട് ഒരു ശീതസമരത്തിന്റെ ഇടയിലേക്കാണ് സ്വാഗതം ചെയ്യപ്പെട്ടത്. പോരാത്തതിന് അവിടുത്തെ അനിയത്തിക്കുട്ടിയെ പഞ്ചാര അടിച്ചത് ജ്യേഷ്ഠന്മാർക്ക് തീരെ പിടിച്ചില്ല. അതു കൊണ്ട് ഓണ പരിപാടിക്ക് പ്രതിഷേധ സൂചകമായി ഞാൻ കറുത്ത ഷർട്ടും ജീൻസും ധരിച്ചാണ് പോയത്.

ഓണത്തിന്റെ പ്രധാന കലാപരിപാടിയായ പൂക്കളമൊരുക്കാൻ വന്നപ്പോഴാണ് ഒരു പ്രശ്നം വന്നു വീണത്. ഡിസൈനൊക്കെ നല്ല ഒന്നാന്തര രീതിയിൽ ഒരുക്കി. അന്നേരം അറിഞ്ഞത് കളത്തിന്റെ സെന്റർ ഒന്നു പൊക്കാൻ കുറച്ചു മണ്ണ് വേണം. ശകലം മതി. പക്ഷേ ഏകദേശം നൂറ് പേര് ജോലി ചെയ്യുന്നിടത്ത്, ആരുടെയും വീട്ടിൽ മണ്ണില്ല. എല്ലാവരും വീടിന്റെ ചുറ്റുവട്ടം നല്ല സിസൈനുള്ള Tiles ഇട്ടു ഭംഗിയാക്കിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഇനി മണ്ണും തമിഴൻ തന്നെ കൊണ്ടു വരണ്ടി വരും.

വെള്ളപ്പൊക്കം കഴിഞ്ഞിട്ട് ഒരു വർഷമായില്ല എന്നോർക്കണം. അന്നു കേരളം വെള്ളത്തിൽ മുങ്ങിയപ്പോ ഒരു പ്രധാന കാരണം വെള്ളത്തിന് ഒഴുകി താഴെ പോകാൻ സ്ഥലമില്ലെന്നായിരുന്നു. ആ നമ്മളിപ്പോ മാവേലിയെ വരവേല്ക്കാൻ പൂക്കളം ഷേപ്പിലുള്ള Tiles ഇട്ടു തുടങ്ങി. ചെറുപ്പത്തിൽ ഗൾഫിൽ നിന്ന് വിമാനത്തിൽ തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് Land ചെയ്യുമ്പോ ഒരു ഭംഗി ആയിരുന്നു. നിറയെ പച്ചപ്പും, കുറച്ചൂടെ ഇറങ്ങുമ്പോ തെങ്ങും, പിന്നെ airport ൽ വിളിക്കാൻ നിക്കുന്ന അമ്പാസsർ കാറും. ഇന്ന് മാവേലി പ്ലേനിൽ വരാൻ തീരുമാനിച്ചാൽ തെങ്ങിന് പകരം ടൈലുകൾ കണ്ട് കേരളത്തിന്റെ പേര് ടൈലളം എന്നിട്ടേനെ.

പക്ഷേ ഇനി ഒരു വെള്ളപൊക്കം താങ്ങിയാലും നമ്മുക്ക് ഇനിയൊരു 'സാലറി ചാലഞ്ച് ' താങ്ങാൻ പറ്റുമെന്ന് തോന്നുന്നില്ല. ഓണത്തിന്റെ പ്രധാനപ്പെട്ട വിനോദം കടകളൊക്കെ കയറി ഇറങ്ങി ആവശ്യമില്ലാത്ത സാധനങ്ങൾ വാങ്ങിച്ചു കൂട്ടലാണ്. ചെറുപ്പത്തിൽ ഓണത്തിനു വരുന്ന കച്ചവടക്കാരിൽ നിന്ന് വാങ്ങിക്കാൻ ഏറ്റവും  കൂടുതൽ ആഗ്രഹിച്ച രണ്ടു സാധനങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്. പൊട്ടാസ് തോക്കും നിറങ്ങളുള്ള പ്ലാസ്റ്റിക്ക് ബോളും.

ആഗ്രഹങ്ങളോടൊപ്പം ഓണത്തിനും കനമേറി. ഒരു സുഹൃത്തിനോട് ചോദിച്ചപ്പോ ഓണം റിസോർട്ടിലാക്കിയെന്ന് പറഞ്ഞു. കുറച്ചു പൈസ ഇറക്കിയാലും ജാടയ്ക്ക് കുറവുണ്ടാകാൻ പാടില്ലല്ലോ

പുറമ്പോക്കിലെ ദൈവം

ഇന്ന് രാവിലെ മലക്കറി കടയിൽ പോയപ്പോ ഇളം മഞ്ഞ നിറത്തിൽ ഷർട്ടും മുണ്ടും ധരിച്ച ഒരാൾ വന്നു

കടക്കാരൻ: എങ്ങോട്ടാടേ

മഞ്ഞ: ഇന്ന് ഞങ്ങടെ ദൈവത്തിന്റെ ദിവസമല്ലേ

കടക്കാരൻ: അത് ഏത് ദൈവം

മഞ്ഞ: നിങ്ങടെയൊക്കെ പൊറമ്പോക്കിലെ ദൈവമേ

Patron Papa

Just yesterday a colleague told me how uncomfortable she felt when our boss from the HO called her a 'little girl'. Apparently she called up her colleague who was half a decade older than her. And she consoled her saying she was called a 'little girl' too.

(I am not sure why some women confide their worries in me. I don't bother to sound politically correct or protective) I wondered aloud- Why isn't he calling me a little boy!!!

Today mankind is standing at the fork road of history. In terms of progressiveness we have a chance to take a turn and it is left to us. I am talking this in terms of role of women in society and in the society I am in it is very much manifest in religion. It started from form of divorce in Islam to sexual exploitation by a Christian Bishop and now permitting women to enter a Hindu temple in kerala.
India as a society, for all these years, has cunningly dietified women to confine them in the confines of her home.

One greatest tool for gender discrimination is PATRONIZATION. It works better than physical or sexual abuse. It's a very common and accepted practice in our society. It starts off when you label your daughter as a princess and she'll carry the tag to her grave and die as a princess. All through this journey she's normalized to believe that she's weak, unclean, vulnerable and is destined to protect her beauty and chastity.

Workspaces are the trickiest space for a woman to be in. Ever since the liberalization the protective walls around the woman has gone down. She's in a free space to express herself but so does she have to resist and overcome the challenges of sexism and discrimination which are more pronounced. She has to fight from the same platform with men in an environment heavily favouring against the independent spirit.

The work environment today are largely asexual. The work , it's character and nature can be performed by any gender. In this common space sexuality is an invisible player and need not be explicitly expressed. Sexuality may be conveniently used for one's advantage.
Adopting powerful patrons is one such method to steady your ship in rocking water of the corporate world.

Legalizing patronization is akin to legalizing abuse. In the name of protectionism it is not right to curb the right of expression. The onus falls on the girl to protect her beauty and chastity. Haven't we seen the same argument raised as a counter narrative to grossest of rapes.

Movie review - വരത്തൻ

The first question I try to answer before reviewing a movie is why I chose the movie in the first place and in this case 'why this amongst a deluge of Malayalam releases after the real deluge'

A decade ago it took only 35 bucks to get a balcony ticket in Kerala and I have seen many from neighborhood States come over to watch movies. Probably the chairs wouldn't recline but still it was worth it.
Today you spend 10 times that amount for a movie and the only difference being you can recline back to sleep and forth if the movie gets too boring.

So choosing a lousy movie means waste of time, money and digesting the cheap pop corn. These days the paisa-vasool factor comes in first when I pick something. So in this case I hoped the big names in title-credits wouldn't disappoint. The popular reviews too had given a thumbs up with cliche phrases including- strong woman, survivor, abuse, patriarchial fascism etc. So I decided this was the one I will be burning my money on.

The movie is set in the picturesque, hilly locales of central travancore and based on the lives of a agrarian community. The community is largely portrayed as xenophobic, misogynist and largely machoistic. The movie touches on the issues the post-liberalization , middle class , urban generation of Kerala today can identify with.

There has been a generation shift in the way the movies are told today. When cinema shifted from indoors to the rustic countryside a bunch of story tellers brought up in a rural background told us their stories. As the movies shifted to cities the characters too shifted out, but thanks to the effect of Nehruvian socialism we still couldn't stop glorifying the rural India and all the old school morality and fidelity. We had a dark patch in the timeline of Malayalam cinema during the shift through the liberalization of 90s. Characters were reduced to caricatures and so were the shallow ethics.

The current lot of movie makers are more comfortable with their urban upbringing. The present movie reels off from Dubai, from the concrete jungles to picturesque locales of Kerala. The characters today are more comfortable and flexible in their ethics and doesn't mind fiddling with loose morality. If we do a careful study of the body of work of Amal Neerad, we can't help but notice that most of his subjects are based on issues faced by the upper middle class urban youth- ranging from religious radicalization, trafficking, substance abuse to greed and revenge. Even still, the director doesn't dive deeply on the subject and in the end a hero with grey character shades destroys the whole bunch of bad guys.

If you have a look at the present cinema, which I am trying to analyze, we can't miss the fact that the objects used in the movie to sketch the characters are largely inaccessible to the average middle class and are largely removed from their lives. In a larger context the average guy is reminded that he's still in the slums and has a large corner to turn.
Another observation of many reviewers that the movie is about the 'bold-woman' , is very curious. I found the movie is about a average ordinary-Joe transforming himself in to a super human avenger and that too without much logical reason. The problem I find here is reducing the bold-woman into a caricature who's clothed prettily and doesn't mind flaunting her curves. This is a larger problem in every other new age movie where the characters are reduced to caricatures and we can conclude that malayalam cinema hasn't wholly shaken off the demons yet.

The next problem I find is with the politics of the cinema. The young Malayalam film makers, to a larger extent, proudly don their left liberal cards on the lapel. In the present movie there were so ominous mentions on the popular  right wing, patriarchal figures trying to curb the every day freedom. But unfortunately, again, there's no deep thought that has gone into the issues.
Even when the politics takes a left identity, we don't see much of class struggles in the theme. It's where the mainstream left politics of the country, unable to take a stand on neo liberalization is. They have said permanent good bye to class struggles and is more of socialist Democrats in nature.

We see a agrarian society which has lost its economic independence and hence the identity. They see their land and belief system being encroached by the monster which is fondly termed as global village. The film maker prefers sweeping the garbage under the carpet and then elaborate on the stench.
I sign off with a question if it is fair to sketch a whole community as misogynistic?

The film is said to be 'inspired' from a Hollywood flick. Another Amal Neeradh signature

End of something sweet

What does 27/07/2017 mean to you? Date with a fancy numbers? Or any day like the usual ones. For me this day, you threw the guillotine at whatever we had for the past few months.

I know all the beautiful things end fast and the sweet memories just fade away. I wanted it to last as long as it could. Probably I am very immature and unpractical. But it’s good to be stupid than mediocre.

The weekend you stopped talking to me I knew something was going wrong. The moment you told me not to join you for lunch and took the higher moral stand I knew everything was over. Romanticizing the past is good to the point you take refuge in the myths that never were. I remember the people you told me about, the ones you shut out completely from life. I wondered if it was my turn to be next.

You gave me a chance to be ‘normal’/’good’ friends. I never knew the meaning of it. I have had enough of the ‘good’ friends and I didn’t want another one. I would rather fade away with the sweet moments you gifted me rather than pretend nothing happened. I would treasure the first phone call, the car rides, holding hands, rides in elevators, the chocolates. Today those memories are mine and mine alone.

Everyday when you give that look that pierces in through me, it hurts me like nothing else. Soon I will go away and will fade off from your memories. Years later we will meet in a mall or restaurant. I wonder if you will recognize me.

Love and Love alone

He remembered a question some had asked him once', 'Have you ever REALLY loved someone ...ever?'

The question had brought a smirk on his lips back then. But not any longer. For him, back then, love wasn't far from the loins and he didn't cry when they left him.

Still love has been a undefined emotion for him. He was trying to name some deep enchanting emotion he had been feeling for the past few weeks. The college days were over a decade ago. Mid life crises was looming in the horizon. Any 'normal' people would term him crazy, when they giggled incessantly, stole secret glances, smiled broadly, feigned anger or jumped into empty elevator together.

When did he realize he was in love?  He had heard of someone moving into his office from Bangalore. He had hoped for someone stylish and single. What caught his eye was someone tall with broad shoulders glistening in sweat and salwar with back cut low. He had always been a fan of the blouses with open back. He sat there dreaming of the sweat when she turned up to show her buttoned nose and smile that lit up the entire universe. He didn't get much chance to break in and she was married and pregnant. She did catch him more than once staring shamelessly and must have thought what a jerk was he to stare at a pregnant woman.

Soon she moved into another floor. Goodbyes were exchanged. The meeting would, from now on be, random and serendipitous bumping on in crowded canteen. Life went on until he got a call from an unlisted number. He hated picking unknown numbers to say it was the wrong number. He thought for a few seconds and made the decision that changed his outlook for love, forever.

Although it was for a lost wallet, they became thick friends from that evening. Tea was planned, dark secrets and smiles were exchanged. He started wearing his best to office when she said one day that she liked his shirt. She came onto the secluded washroom area, when he said how much he missed her.

But when did he realize he was in love. For him love attained  a strange meaning when he felt himself burning with jealousy. She once told him about a guy who made her so special and the unforgettable night she spent with him. It took a few moments for him to  feel himself burning with passion. He couldn't stand the fact that he was not the unforgettable person in her life. Will he be able to give her a atleast a minute she wouldn't forget. As the passion left him after a sleepless night and tears, just like the fire after consuming a dry forest, he realized he had to be her special man. Someone she would never forget. Someone she would tell her kids, when she grew old.