Pooktre Artists

How much do we like if our furnitures are also trees? A tree which is also a chair, a tree which is also a coffee table, and trees that have the shape of people. This is exactly what two people have done in Australia and have named their art as Pooktre. These artists are Peter and Becky who have designed their garden in different shapes of furniture using trees. This is similar to a topiary which is also design using shrubs and leaves in different shapes of animals, birds, etc.
They have used wild plum trees for their design and carefully guide their growth so that they get the required shape. Even though it takes some years to shape the trees in the various shapes, the idea is very much new and the outcome is superb. Their garden is just like visiting a dreamland from some of the English fairy tales. They even have a website called Pooktre and have some wonderful photos of the trees uploaded form their garden. But one thing for sure, this one is for people who like art and outdoors much.

Cities of Kerala, Actually small towns

I read a book same as the title edited by Baiju Natarajan and photographs by Ramu Aravindan who I think is the son of noted film-maker G.Aravindan and some sketches by E.P Unny. Actually saying about the book, it is authored by a host of well known writers including Paul Zacharia and C.R.Omanakuttan and this is not exactly a tourist's guide to Kerala or yet another of the numerous travelogues for sale. The book describes the socio-political scenario in the present day Kerala emphasising the cultural and religious diversity prevailing in 9 major cities/districts in Kerala. As the name suggests there is not even a single place in Kerala that can be classified as a big City but the living standards and amenities are more or less evenly distributed throughout and readily available. The surprise element is that the globalised malayali has a better life style in Kerala than people from other states in India. And the class divide amoung the people is even. The 9 major cities (rather towns) explained as seperate chapters are Trivandrum, Kollam, Alapuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur with photo illustartion by Ramu Aravindan. E.P Unny's sketches about Palakkad and the potryal of Tamil brahmin culture arouses a sense of familiarity as these are common to my area too. Another notable context is the communist roots which is explained by all the authors and I think that is the only unifying factor all throughout Kerala. I find certain things that are integral part of Kerala like art, movies and dramas missing.
But the photographs do indeed show of major culture prevailing in the State. The photos begin with the cover page showing the grandeur of the mahout smoking the traditional beedi while his subordinate bathes the mighty tusker - a scene synonymous with the cultural identity brought by the growth of communism in Kerala. Then there are photos of the metre guage train through Palakkad town, passenger boats in lake, tea shop or chaya kada and other unusual but common scenario native to Kerala.
In Trivandrum the photos indicate protests and rallies, while for Kollam it is about fishermen, their boats, an auto in Vallikkavu ferry and cashew themes. An interesting photo that I liked is that of players in football field and some people relaxing. This is one strong deviation found in Kerala as regards to other parts of the country where cricket is much hyped.
In the chapter about Alapuzha Vembanad Lake and the commercial canal are shown and that of the land of letters,Kottayam, the famous KK road, river meenachil and a Gothic chapel from CMS campus are pictured. The carefully captured people show a christian or catholic charisma all around. Ernakulam is picturised with the boat jetty, people and ofcourse the MG road. And the advertisement hoardings inside paddy fields.
For the cultural city of Kerala they have included Guruvayoor elephant sanctury, Swaraj round and Sakthan Thamburan market and bus stand. In this chapter there is photo showing buses racing - another common scene in which private buses vie for more passengers. Yes cheap Private bus service in the communist land!Unique?
For Kozhikode they have shown mosques, masjids and people in traditional Muslim dresses - the mappila aura. Seeing the photo I remember having visited the Kappad beach. For Kannur they mainly show Thalasseri part. There is this photo of a thatched house with a poster of Che Guevara that is both laugh evoking thinking about the local malayali talk about Cuban revolution and also shows the communist strength of this part.
I do miss one photograph that could have been added, the one showing a city life with a Mohanlal movie poster in the backdrop amoung others.

What Is Civilisation?

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I have been wondering about this one for a while.

Is it the migration of people or the so called community from the unbounded wilderness of trees, flowers, mountains, rivers and ponds and their simple interactions towards a more specific framework of technical and technological engineering marvel having a methodological way of doing their regular activities?

Is it the groupism of people to strictly demoralise and degrade the hapless man who seems to be a misfit in the name of common good?

Is it the struggle for existence of monotonous souls to reach out to their illustrious counterparts?

Is it the economic dominance of the nobility to outshine and outwit the weak?

Is it the sappy following of hugely publisized endorsement or is it the artistic temperament?

Rather put it is nothing but Interests promoted and acknowledged.

Well Done, Michael Jackson!!

Comparisons are common especially when it comes to paraphrasing the feat of an individual with that of a famous persona that may be existing, existed or never existed! By Never existed I mean comparing with any fictional character that is made famous like Robin Hood. I have come across many such statements like say like-Gandhi, like-Einstein, like-Newton, etc. Many giants from the past have been successful to iconize their name but very few were famous with a wide variety of the masses and also long lasting at the same time!!

In this aspect I think Michael Jackson is very famous and was a living legend who was able to hold the imagination of the whole world. Dubbed "King Of Pop" he became very popular in America and also rest of the world. I was myself awestruck by seeing his trademark "Moonwalk" and to a lesser e

Michael Jackson via last.fm

xtent "Robot". There can't be a more famous and inspiring personality whose fame reached even the remotest part of the world where even the media has not penetrated! Such was his aura that every budding dancer was compared with him even when he was alive. Prabhu Deva's entry into movies was as a dance assistant appearing for dance and songs initially. Remember "Chiku Bukku" with Gautami? It was such a hit that I was told that he learned his steps with Michael Jackson! I was too young that time and naturally I believed such stories. And lol He became India's MJ!

I remember Jackson's "We are the world" to be one of the first albums that I had seen. But I came to know more when my cousins used to see his numbers in MTV. "Dangerous" and "All I wanna say" were the others that I used to see regularly in TV. His tour to India was much publisized and attracted front page coverage in national dailies. Everything relating to Jackson was famous. His Neverland Ranch, his style of dressing even the military jacket and his trademark glove. Though some pediophile accusations were prevalent none were proved and MJ was aquitted of charges. His sudden change in skin complexion, his support for the black, his charities were famous as well.

The impact he made by his music and culture is so great that his legacy and influence will never be challenged atleast in the immediate future. Many younger generation just copied him and was attracted to music simply because of this Jackson including Britney Spears, Mariah caray and Justin Timberlake. Even after his death he remains as the sole leader in Pop Culture - As Michael Jackson. And when I see Appu (sister's little son) dance and I tell him spontaneously "Well done, Michael Jackson"!

Kerala Politics - My Views

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I never understood the politics of Kerala in my childhood owing to the fact that I was living in TN and because I never felt the influence inspite of my close proximity to the state and also frequent travel there. In TN there was this typical two party system with either one party coming to power while the other becomes opposition. Same was the situation in centre. But being wholly Malayalam and hailing from a community whose members are spread wide across the stretch of Kerala, I often happened to hear of such terms like Hartal, LDF, UDF, strike, etc. I wondered during those times that it would be fantastic to study in Kerala since we happen to get a lot of holidays! Later days I realised that there is no such fantasized euphoria with my perceptions. The media, both newspaper and TV,was my main source to know about the affairs of the state and many a times I had to postpone my trips through Kerala or stuck up in the middle because of this state of affair.

The statistics says Kerala to be a highly literate state - more than the average of India as a whole,with good transport and roads. And the development wise, I would view it as zero for all the steps taken by the systematically rotating state government. Kerala has a huge number of migrant population to different parts of the world thanks to the Political Scenario. I'm not critical about any particular party or politician since I don't know much about these things. But reading about the politics and the leaders of Kerala and viewing others opinion is itself a pleasure. For I get a comic feel especially while discussing the state of affairs there. It all started with the phoning programme of Late CM Nayanar which was hugely popular and so was the mimicry troupe that imitated this episodes with ease!! This was supposed to be the first of the kind in India and an example for other states for governance with people's opinion. But none tried to follow it ever again!! An episode is available in youtube as far as I know in this link below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdGDguEh4ps&feature=related

AK Antony and K Karunakaran's political sustenance is a well known issue which ended up in a split in UDF. Karunakaran's floating of a new party, supporting his son and later his crashing out and again going back to the old party with a U turn are all regarded as worst phase of politics. VS was a saint then and their political statements and standings were remade as popular comedy episodes during that term. Byelections, split in party, sub-party, split in that sub-party were all taking place. Then came the much awaited change in government but not in governance!! Almost the same situation existed and this time with the LDF, lol! VS's fame with dogs and the duel with CPI leader PV were all leading again to situations of the previous government. Simply put whoever rules there is only internal stunts and almost no development for the state. Issues apart VS' involvement in controversies especially with the Major's family and then with the election results could have been avoided. I saw another interesting video in you tube again and the link is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqLnutYc8QU&feature=channel .

And they say it as "God's Own Country"!!!!!

Captain's Different Role!

Me writing for the first time about Tamil Cinema. South India's most popular and much followed filmdom and the place where screen presence makes demi-gods does not need my comments as more interesting blogs are always aplenty. But this one I mention because I was surprised to see a star of Vijaykanth's stature (Our Own Captain of Tamil Cinema and TamilNadu as a whole) do such a role where the hero does not hype with the usual do gooder role!!

The movie is "Naane Raja Naane Manthiri" and this is for people who wonders if the Captain has done any roles that doesn't defy the laws of physics. He is neither a Police nor a Politician and there are no dialogues for the audience about justice,truth,poor man's saviour,political punch dialogues,etc.Vijaykanth does the role of an arrogant,uneducated villager to perfection equally supported by Radhika. The sequence of the movie fits well in a moving way and Goundamani and Senthil has been included in the sequence fittingly!!The plus point is that Captain himself is involved in the comedy role with proper dialogues. Radhika who falls in love with the hero and Jeevitha who the hero likes to marry gives a love triangle but the climax is unexpected and a bit dragging, thinking who were the leading actors at that time. Music by Ilayaraja is as usual more than the movie itself and Jayachandran-P.Susheela team's "Mayanginen Solla Thayanginen" is a nice song. I think they made Jayachandran sing for Vijaykanth after the success of "Raasathi Unnai" for a while in the 80's.

Directed by Balunandh and a good screen play and dialogue makes this a different movie of those times.

Cricket

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The gentleman's game had always been my favorite probably because of the large fanfare that it has in the subcontinent. Cricket influenced me mainly because I saw and played the game right from my childhood with my cousin brothers at home. The trio - me, Mani and Veliattan shortly velli always played cricket in the small area at the side of our house whenever we got time. Kochappan, Kollam Chittappan, Asianet's T.N.Gopakumar, Kesavan Namboothiri, Velli and Deepu chettan were my cricketing guru's initially when I started playing. They even changed the boundary line for me and taught me to beat in the gap so that I can get runs without getting caught. Extra Covers? Nay.That was EXTRA STRAIGHTS specially covered for me. Kochappan even made me a bat of wood since the ones my brothers used were heavy and I was unable to lift it. I was so small then. Sho was a great encourager outside the field and also she was a fan of Kapil. Since the ground necessitated straight shots to get runs I learned to play straight of front foot. Velli's and Deepu chettan's spin were awesome and Mani's shots I envied a lot. Kuttetan too sometimes plays with us with his very peculiar hard to repeat bowling actions. But he doesn't like we younger brothers me and Mani score runs when he bowls or even Velli when it comes to cricket. The craze grew worse when Mani got selected in the district team and chanced to play with some players who played for the state. That was the time when I got a chance to play with the cricket ball. Also some very useful and handy fielding tips from Mani so that I can catch the ball without hurting myself. Yes I was in the school cricket team that won the cup in the sportsday event and even was able to score the highest of all playing and that too against Mani's Team! To mention Mani did not put his usual knee breaking stuff for me but opted for the spin. No never fixing matches, maybe he had thought that was enough for me. And his friend Shambu's support for me and our team and the big partnership with Vinod saw us through the game. Not to forget the hand cricket - a version without bat with Rajendran the enthusiast, Planner and captain and Neelambaran captaining the opposing side and he always had Abishek as his key team member. The fad continued in college too with official matches in the hostel ground with mech and eee guys and often played stuff in front of Sajeev's room and ofcourse we discussed cricket at the large ground in Udayagiri fort.
Then the live matches in TV. I remember the entry of Sachin Tendu

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lkar but we all considered Kambli to be the better player then and laughed at the small boy who was new in the field. Especially Allen Donald's balls to the maestro stirred a lot of giggles on our faces. The ads for boost by Kapil Dev and Sachin were quite famous. Kochappan always liked Keppler Wessels and his South African team that had just come back after a ban from International cricket due to its Apartheid laws. Ya I watched Jonty Rhodes fly in the air to catch a ball and Gary Kristen's long innings with the bat. Those were the times. Azhar and Ajay Jadeja were my favorites but unfortunately they had a really bad exit from cricket. The much followed episode of Hansie Cronje was indeed a black mark for cricket. Saurav and Dravid were great during their peak time and has done a lot to the Indian side. Not to miss the Indo-Pak matches, it created a lot of enthusiasm especially the duo of Javagal Srinath and Venketesh Prasad while bowling to players like Inzy,Yousuf Youhana and Saeed Anwar. The Miandad-More episode was funny. I had watched the ODI match in which Anwar took 194 and the test in which Kumble got all 10 wickets. Though players like Gilchrist, Afridi, Flintoff, Dhoni, Gayle and Gibbs with their power shots and quick runs were phenomenal, I always liked methodical players like Martyn, Bevan and Kallis whose cricket were right out from the books. The trump games also increased my knowledge about the players. I always wanted the card of Vivian Richards and Desmond Haynes to win the game. Also movies like Chamatkar and Iqbal had themes about cricket. Of late due to Chiranjivi's and other classmates enthusiasm I heard some match details and also happened to see some matches with Jeyettan at his place.

Sri Suktham

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OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

"Sarva Mangalya Maangalyae Shive Sarvaartha Saadhike Saranye Thriyambage Devi Narayani Namosthithe"
This is one mantram that I learned from Kochappan who taught me and my cousins to chant prayers daily in the evening before the 'Vilakku' the traditional lamp burning with cotton dripped in Oil. Some will call the title as "Sthree Suktham" as a Purusha Suktham is also there. The most chanted line is given in bold as it is not possible to read all the lines correctly because it is complex and most of us donot know Sanskrit. This 'Sri Suktham' is praise of godess Lakshmi who gives wealth to all (God of wealth).
The meaning of each and every word I donot know but the second sentence in bold states "Holder of Wealth, Please Grant Money(Artham), Increment in Children and Generation, Money and food Grains(Vikasanam)" and so on. Actually I learned it in Malayalam and so I write the main lines in Malayalam below.

Sri Suktham:

• Hiranya Varnaam Harineem Suvarnarajathasrijam Chandraam Hiranmayeim Lakshmeem Jadavedomaavaham Thaamavaha Jadavedobhalaksmeem Anabhagamineem Yesyam Hiranyam Vindeyam Gamaswam PurushanAham.
  


• AswaPoorvam RathaMadyam Hasthinadaprabhodhineem SriyamdeveeMu: Pahvesriermadeveem Jhushadhaam; KhamSosmidham HiranyaprakaramArdraam jwalantheem Triptaam Tharpayentheem Padmesthitham PadmaVarnaam Thamihopahvesriyam.


• Chandraam Prabhasam YeshasaJwalandheem SriyamlokedevajushtamUdharaam; ThaamPadmineeum SaranamAham Pravadhye LakshmeermeNasyathaam TwaamVrinae. Adityavarne Thapasodhi-jaadovanaspathisthava Vrikshodha Vilvaha: Thasya Balaani Thapasaanudanthu Mayamtharayacha Bahaya Lakshmeem.
  

• Upaydhumaam Devasaka Keerthischa ManiNasaha Pradhir BoodhosmiRashtresmin Kerthim ridhimDatatume Shustipasa AmalamJeyastamAlakshmeemNa ShyamiyAham Abhudheem AsamridheemCha SarvaamNirnidha me Grihat.


• Gandhadhaaram Dhuradarshaam Nithyapustaam Kareeshineem Eeswareem Sarvabhootha nam Thamyahopahvesrayam ManasahaKama Akutim VachaSatyam Ashimahi PashunamGa RoopamMannasya MayiSri ShreyathamYeshasha:
  

• KardhamenaPrajabhootha Mayisambhava Kardhamam SriyamVasayamMekule Mataram Padmamalineem ApahSrijanthu SikleedhavasaMe GriheNichadeveemataram Sriyamvasayeme Kule
  

• Ardhraam Puskarineem PushteemSuvarnam Hemamaleem SooryaamHiranmayeem Lakshmeem JatavedomAvahaam ArdhaamYekarineem YeshteemPingalaam Padmamalineem ChandraamHiranmayeem Lakshmeem JatavedomAvahaam TaamAvaha JatavedobhaLaksmeem AnabhaGamineem Yasyam HiranyamPrabhoothamgavo Daasyoswaan VindheyampurushaanAham.
  

• AswadhayiCha Godhayi Dhanadhaayi Mahasane DhanaMeDhadhaThaam Deveem SarvakamAartha Siddhaye Putra PouthraDhanamDaanyam Vikasanam Prajaanam BhavathiMatha AayushmanThanKarothumaam.

The main lines and a sample of how I was taught by my uncle and it was in Malayalam

ഗന്ധധാരം ധുരാധര്ശാം നിത്യപുസ്ടാം കരീഷിനീം ഈസ്വരീം സര്വഭൂത നാം തമ്യതോപത്വേസ്രായം

അസ്വധയിച്ച ഗോധയി ധനധായി മഹാസനെ ധനമെധധതാം ദേവീം സര്വകമാര്‍ത്ത സിദ്ധയെ പുത്ര പൌത്രധനം ധാന്യം വികാസനം പ്രജാനാം ഭവതി മാതാ ആയുഷ്മന്തന്കരോതുമാം

Mahabharata - My Views

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My acquaintance with the Mahabharata started at a young age with my Grand Mother narrating interesting stories to the ever observing little minds of mine and my cousins'. I used to fantasize myself as the main characters coming in those stories with magic surrounding all around me. Yeah, those were the days when I used to admire Krishna and liked to imitate his mischievious acts that are annoying and contrastingly admirable at that age. But I actually followed credulously when DD-1 broadcast these stories in series every Sunday. The five Pandavas, the Kauravas, Krishna - all of them became real and imitable. May be many a kid's imagination was captured at that time by this series. My later days saw a twist in thought with me reading some works by Collins, Wodehouse and Dickens that had real life biographies and kind of things that can happen at present. And of course some commentary work of B.G.Tilak in English about "The Gita". I realised that Gods were made in earth by the admirers and followers. My grandmother's version of a small kid dancing on the hoods of a 10 headed serpent now seemed ridiculous and perverse. Also it may be a premonition to be different from others in family who are all austere believers and followers of age old tradition and dogmas. But then I wanted to know why this epic is so great and revered even after so much bloodshed and war for worldly pleasures and wealth.And one day I happened to read an article that one of my cousins send me online the link of which I provide below. It had small articles about understanding old stories and their relevance in modern times. It was simple to read and gave ideas about why Mahabhrata is still cited as references and why people try to follow it after so long a time.
The Mahabharata teaches all of us an important lesson and this is about circumstances that make a man to take decisions. For instance Arjuna is at first not interested in war with kith and kin for power and wealth but changes mind hearing Krishna's advice. He justifies the war for dharma or virtuousness. The abridged version of the story will indeed give a plain idea of a tit for tat ideology but the broader reading would allow us to get insights into the culture and customs of the people of that times. The gambling by the heros and their suffering in exile and finally when they got their kingdom back they had to lose thier 100 cousins and dear ones. The illustrious and chivalrous Karna who was losing every time and killed treacherously in war and the ever cunning Krishna winning every time. Do this mean that good deeds always loses out in this world? No the Mahabharata serves or tries to explain that only the circumstance is the villain and what one does at one instant of time will turn against him at the other instant. Here lies the subtle clue to why this epic is much celebrated even after centuries. It gives us a cause and effect reasoning for all the things that happen with us and for good things to happen we have to be good ourselves. In this way Mahabharata really denounces the real life heros and tries to interpret that being God and devil lies in one's own thoughts and acts.
Does that mean that I'm an atheist? No I still really do not know the meaning of atheist and I'm an ardent follower of traditions and beliefs so naive and incredible in this century.
http://www.devdutt.com/category/mahabharata