Paulo Coelho

"whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth." ...."And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to acheive it."

Paulo Coelho

"mavelikara Ravivaar durbaar [m-R-d]"

Weekend is here..... I am in a festive mood... time to get back home after an irksome week....

The most important programme during my usual weekend is the Mavelikara* Ravivaar Durbaar. It started as a gathering of friends on a Sunday evening and then got extended to Saturday evenings as well. Now we call it "Durbaar" instead of "Ravivaar Durbaar". The below passage will give you a detailed explanation about our Durbaar.
"mavelikara Ravivaar durbaar [m-R-d] is a coLLaboration of paLs who've grown up together, studied 2gether, Lived 2gether, Loved together & even had their 1st peg 'n puff together!

Itz a Weekend Fiesta ceLebrated with aLL its vigour & pomp & ecstasy! Friends meet over a bottLe of beer or 2 & share their experiences, sing an oLd nostaLgic song; once sung by/to their loved one, discuss trivias, probLems, movies, Love, marriage, sex, music, profession, dreams, aspirations, family & anything & everything under the sun!

We dedicate this community to aLL those who made our lives miserabLe, who broke our hearts, who turned a deaf ear to our laments & who pLayed with our seLf respects...We wish them aLL success & luck in their future endeavours & let 'em know that even when our life's a heLL & whatever bad happens durbarians wiLL be together.... 4ever!

Remember... Shit Happens! But the butt cheeks get closer after all that!

Love Live mavelikara Ravivaar durbaar!"



Now, let me introduce you to the members of the durbaar:

The Cast:

Anish Nambothil: My childhood friend born juz ten days after me.... a tall libran and a hard core Mammootty fan (well...in this case he is the odd one out in the durbaar). His favourite food is "karikku" (tender coconut), omlette and idli. Working as Channel Sales Manager for Idea in Kollam District.

Aakaash Nair aka Vishnu: My school mate and a very good friend. He stands out in any crowd bcoz of his long hair and pony tail. A creative being, struggling to make his mark in the film industry. A good writer and a visualizer and we all are looking forward for his success in the unpredictable industry.

Manish Pillai aka Tittu: My nephew (rather a bro) and a new found friend. He was the biggest discovery for me in my family. Born and brought up in Mumbai but settled in Cochin due to "personal" reasons. He is my partner in crime. Working as Operations Manager, ICICI Lombard, Cochin.

Adv. Rajesh Kaimal: My neighbour, elder brother, friend and a supporting hand. An Advocate by profession,but working in Bajaj Alliance, Thiruvananthapuram. He is a joy to be with and his situational comedies invokes comic currents in the Durbaar. His family consists of his wife, Aathira chechi and their naughty twins- Bhadra and Rishi, who are celebrating their first birthday this month.

Jayakrishna aka Jithin: He is Anish's cousin brother,my neighbour and friend too. He has just finished his graduation and currently doing Cisco networking certifications. Youngest in the group but never short of words. Ready to do anything at the word go. He is the opening pace bowler in our local cricket team.

Anish Krishnan: He is Anish Nambothil's class mate and a good friend of mine. He is a chatter box and likes to talk about anything and everything under the sky....and he has got the knowledge too. He is working in a software firm in Cochin.

Guest Appearances:

Dr. Kurian Ninan: My schoool mate and a good friend. He is a Doctor by profession and currently in Mangalore doing his PG. He is no longer single... got engaged very recently.

Arvind: My neighbour and team mate in our local cricket team. Currently in Bangalore giving final touches to his MBA.

Vineeth Unnithan: A friend of mine and a pinch hitter in our cricket team. A hard core Lalettan fan and does not miss to watch the first show of any of his movies. Currently in the process of clearing his MBA exams.

Arun aka Jayan aka haskey: A childhood friend and a neighbour too. He is a master of all trades. A hard core computer professional and a kind hearted business man (an extinct species nowadays). Polite and always to the point. A peerless addition to the durbaar.


George Thomas: Mumbai ka daan...... he is my school mate and a good friend. Now in mumbai hopping jobs every now and then. He is a marketing professional in the hotel industry.

Gokul Pillai aka Sankaran: He is Manish's younger bro and my nephew. Makes yearly visits to Kerala and takes part in the Durbaar. Working in Deutsche bank, Mumbai.

Krishna Kumar Varrier aka Kris aka KK: My colleague and a very good friend. He has been to Durbaar on one of his visits to my home. He is an encyclopedia of Hindi songs and emotes those songs really well. He is working as Asst Manager (HR) in Assyst International, Cochin.

Supporting cast:

Santhosh: An elephant fanatic and the all in all of Kottakkal Arya Vaidya sala, Mavelikara.

Sathish Nambothil aka Kochumon: Anish's elder brother and a friend of mine. He runs his own paper mart and book store in Mavelikara.

Monayi: He is a chatterbox and adds masala to the topics that he usually takes up. Now in UAE.

Director:

Sandpiper

Associate Directors:

Wills Navy Cut, Gold Flake, Kings

Assistant Directors:

Kurkure, Lays, Idli and scrambbled egg from "swayambhu" thattu kada, opener, lighter and match box

Location:

Terrace of DB building overlooking KSRTC bus stand and the pond '"Valiya kulam" that has some historical importance.

Time for me to go......... all you guys are most welcome to the Durbaar.....

Cheers...........!!!!!!

Marooned........

I am marooned in an 80 sq ft room with a cell phone and a galore of books. The contradiction in my statement is intentional...marooned with a cell phone!!!!! But its true. Though the cell phone connects me to the external seasoned world........there lies no help...no aid at all!!!!! I used to shout my throat out..... I waited for a silver lining.... a slimmer of hope...a heeding ear...a helping hand.... but in vain!!!! Indeed a belie........!!!!!

The books colligates me to the virtual world... a castle made of dreams.....but so untrue. I am fed up of dreaming....I am sick of believing that these lifeless creatures will evince me how to live a better life.....

I know that on the far side of the door, there is light... there is a Brobdingnagian world waiting to be conquered...... but something is coercing me and drawing me back from opening the door...... an inconspicuous and invisible force called my conscience...... its confining me inside the four walls......... I wish to break the shackles........ I wish to be free........... I wish the light to illuminate me....... 

I am waiting for a storm to sweep me by my feet and turn me upside down and make my life a different one..... a complete metamorphosis.....!!!!

Not to be continued.............. THE END!!!!!

God save God's own Land....

I was absoultely beguiled when I read an article in The New India Express dated 31st July 2008 titled "When the going gets tough, the tough..........run and hide" The article has been penned in reference to the recent bomb scare that sent shock waves across our city. The author Manoj K Das has used irony as a weapon to deal with the so called patriots of our state. He has raised a lot of questions for the politicians and even the common man to cogitate about. (I consider politicians not as common man but a class well below them).

Manoj doesn't leave any stone unturned in indirectly criticizing all the political outfits. He enquires where the khadi clad young turks, the young comrades and the saffron brave hearts were, when the state was sweating in the bomb scare last week. He ridicules them for doing a vanishing act at the time of need.

Not only does he give a subtle hint about the all-weather protest by the young turks against the Class vii text book but also does not forget to compliment the comrades who did a wonderful act by smoking the godmen and women out of their spiritual heavens. He says that we had watched with pride when these young politicians tore off one mask after the other. But none of them were seen helping the cops or the common people to search for the explosives. He chips in that we all expected at least the saffron brave hearts to build a human wall in between the explosives and an innocent life.

He again raises a question about what happened to Hindu leaders, Church Pontiffs and Moulavis who were worried about the threat to the secular fabric by a text book.

He concludes by saying that all those people, both political and spiritual, are used to shadow boxing and are weak-hearted that they crumble at the first sign of danger.

And in response to the article, Dr. Titus Sankaramangalam has rightly pointed that even a mosquito can wreck the state...keep apart bombs. He says that the curious thing about the scare was none of the politicians called for their ultimate weapon- The Hartal. Satirically, he exclaims that the hartal is the perfect safety device!!!!!!!!

Kudos to Manoj and Dr. Titus for trying to bring the attention of the people to such a shady contradiction. Five thumps up for both of them for their wry but strong statements.

To wind up, I would like to quote Manoj's lines..... "God save God's own land"

I Truly Object........!!!!!

All these days, I have been writing poems and my complex thoughts. Now I have a sudden realization that I should write down whatever that is going through my mind. I decided to give it an attempt and to see what comes up......

At present, the situation around me is not so encouraging. Both, my personal as well as professional life is at a stand still. I want something new..... new means a new environment... a change from the routine..... i know that everybody experiences such things through out their life's.... but when it comes to self, its quite disturbing..... we tend to lose interest in things around us.....

My senior manager for the last 3.5 years is being shifted to a different department..... I thoroughly understand the undercurrents.... but I can do nothing but accept whatever is happening....a feeling of helplessness. He was a man with deep compassion for the fellow beings, be it his colleague, friend or anybody around. A committed man... married both to his organization and his job.... he was instrumental in retaining many employees in the company..... and the price that he had to pay for his commitment, which I believe, is truly dissentient and objectionable. And I want to say this to all you deaf ears.......... "what you did now is fallacious and shows extreme callowness!!!!!!!!!!

Confidence

I am only one, but still I am one;
I cannot do everything,
but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something that I can do....

-Edward Everett Hale

Lesson

Every instance of heartbreak can teach us powerful lessons about creating the kind of love we really want.

Zeitgeist

In sync with the spirit of the time..........the spirit characteristic of an age or generation.........the spirit so unaltered, so unchanged!!!!!

At first, I never believed in it.... tried not to cogitate about it and never ever tried to abide by it....i consider this as lack of perception, intuition and imagination....

Then I realized that this spirit is true and unfeigned. True to the core.... completely innocent and impeccant.... gentle and docile....

I made up my mind and decided to pursue this spirit. I waited for the dawn to hold me with its golden fingers...... to hug me gently and to feel comfortable in its bosom.....to experience the lovely feeling which i have heard about.....and wished that it will exculpate me...... but its always late when the realization dawns on me......

and then it was morning....

Pushing the river

Pushing the flowing river

Severely burnt, severely crushed
I stand here with nothing to earn
loosely tied, perpetually disfigured
I stand here mentally opaqued

Lonliness, I say is a blessing to me
but bane to many who detest it
living life is a burden to me
and that is how I wanted it to be..........

Rendezvous problem

Rendezvous problem

''Two young people have a date in a park they have never been to before. Arriving separately in the park, they are both surprised to discover that it is a huge area and consequently they cannot find one another. In this situation each person has to choose between waiting in a fixed place in the hope that the other will find them, or else starting to look for the other in the hope that they have chosen to wait somewhere.

If they both choose to wait, of course, they will never meet. If they both choose to walk there are chances that they meet and chances that they do not. If one chooses to wait and the other chooses to walk, then there is a theoretical certainty that they will meet eventually; in practice, though, they would need an infinite amount of time for it to be guaranteed. ''

Now the question is...... should I walk or juz wait...........