Your own Recipe…

I switched the channels subscribed in our television through an entire cycle to find a program to relax (at least that was what I wanted). This is the third time and I am still not able to find a decent one. Being a Chennai based linguistic graduate, I felt honoured when I was offered to review restaurants for one of the leading magazines in UK. But the way I was made to think, observe, manipulate and express my views made me feel disillusioned. Either I am not the person for media, or media is not what it is defined to be. And now, even the visual media disappointed to ease me from my gloom.

“Mom”, I called softly.

My mom smiled from the kitchen and said “I told you TV was not your thing anymore. It is for wives/husbands alone. The PRs of televisions are clever enough to sense their audience and customize programs to satisfy us. You have YouTube channels. Maybe you will start liking these programs when you become a housewife”.

“Do you discuss these soap operas in your office?” I asked her because I was curious to know what amuses them in these operas.

“Not always. When there are no audits Suganya, Maran uncle, Javed uncle, Pavithra aunty and I would talk about some. Sometimes things get thrilling in operas too. Javed uncle even records the episodes. It is just that we find it amusing because we need something to talk about. You can see that we are not addicted like you youngsters who watch a complete season in a night. We are well off with just hearing what happened in the previous week’s episodes. Soap operas are just to keep us engaged and everyone someday will want to watch one”, she replied as usual with rational points.

“Hmmm… Let’s see”, I agreed as usual with no choice. I mean who can win an argument with one of the reputed economists in town that convinces millionaires to buy shares of the companies they like?

“Do you need anything to eat? Try watching the reality show with fried groundnuts. It’s not a great combination to hear. But when you experience it, you will never go back to the UK to review the dishes in star hotels. Amma knows many such combinationsda, Anamika”, she said the last line with such a sweet persuasive voice.

“Mom. Am already upset with the way I am writing the reviews; the way I am asked to write the reviews to be precise. We praise the dishes if the chef is familiar, a little strong if new; honest reviews only if the restaurants and chef are new to business” I sensed that my mom would start convincing me to stay back and said, “Anyway I have to go meet my friend now. So reserve your combinations for the dinner”

I drove my Vespa but that’s just the involuntary action I performed. I was in fact obsessed with the thought that I was not allowed to express the honest opinions on the dishes I tasted. My mind was overwhelmed with the ordinary food I tasted in one of the leading restaurants in Leeds, and how I wanted to pen down the impromptu baking of desserts which they called their special item in the menu, but how I was made to write only the bests about the dishes. With the helmet completely covering my face, I didn’t hear anything much to distract me either. My Vespa must have been going in some 40 Kmph and I saw nothing new in my native from when I had last seen it a year ago. Except for that overly coloured food truck.

At normal days, I would not have cared about its existence, but that day my dismal state prompted me to try a dish there. I craved something outside my circle. Something new, unfamiliar to me, and strange to my taste buds. When I was nearing the truck, there was a young lad setting up the truck ready.

I didn’t park my Vespa yet and asked what their menu was. I should have been a little more polite to greet him first. But he still answered me with enthusiasm, “We have a lot to thrill you with, but I guess you will have to park your scooty first to enjoy our dishes”. I could not resist smiling. I parked, pulled my purse out, hung the helmet to the rear mirror and approached the guy. He was still working on getting things ready with his two assistants. He said that he needed 5 minutes to get the geyser, toaster and pans hot and suggested me to taste sandwich as a first timer. Five plastic stools were arranged near the truck. I sat facing the truck as I wanted to see what they do. Just to see them, not observe or inspect. I was ready for a normal native recipe but astonished to notice the guy was handling Shun Classic Knife series which only the professionals use.

“Are you a Chef somewhere?” I asked, looking at the 8-inch knife he was holding.

“I did my catering, worked in star cuisines for 2 years, been praised by all the chefs I always dreamt to work with and here I am”, he replied with a plain smile.

“Why?”

“Is there anything more delightful than cooking your own recipe?”

God, this guy talks about humans and souls here. “I totally agree. So, you are the proprietor of this dhaba?”

“Yes. I am the proprietor of this VC culinary. Vignesh Chandramouli. Here’s my card in case you need any orders”, he stressed on ‘culinary’ to insist me that he is not running a ‘dhaba’.

He applied butter on the pan with low steam. Before the butter melt, he peeled off the onion and chopped them into slices with exact thickness. “What precision, like the vocabulary of a language” I wondered. I mean, the language would still continue to convey the message but the precise words make it more attractive and most importantly accurate. It is like if you have to say ‘Writer Kabilar lived during ages of King Pari’, you can say ‘Writer Kabilar was a contemporary of King Pari’. Nothing more; nothing less.

He stuffed the breads with much care and detailing on what he was adding for the taste. He was enjoying everything he was doing. He unpacked a banana leaf and I could smell mint and carrot. The shredded carrot was boiled with mint leaves. He was playing with every sense there. He gave the carrot shreds a new smell and stuffed it too with mayonnaise in the bread and grilled at 250 °C. Served it hot and vivid. It was the dish perfect.

I must confess that those 10 steps from the truck to the chair was the most curious travel I have ever had. I could not wait to taste what was in my hand that was intensely increasing my libido with the aroma of brown toasted bread, heated butter, and the mixture of vegetables inside. When I was about to sit on a stool, Vignesh Chandramouli suggested that I sit facing the other side of the road and watch people pass by while eating my dish. I did not understand why he said that but he was a pro, so I did what he asked me to.

I took the first bite and the crusty part of the bread was neither too crispy like adding an ‘r’ adjacent to a ‘t’ nor as soft as two vowels sound together. A little deeper, I started sensing the butter through my nostrils before I could taste it. Such was the grill that made the butter vapor waiting to escape at any bite. The next layer was the cucumber and cheese that slid greasily. Then popped the onion. It was smooth and the aroma of lime blended with butter, brown toast, cucumber, and onion was so fresh that it almost gave me the satisfaction I would attain when I find a new word that perfectly describes a situation. And then came the carrot and mayonnaise that filled my mouth like adding ‘h’ to ‘s’, like when we say ‘English’. Now the whole piece I bit was feeding my taste buds with surprise and adventures. One time there was crispy bread, the next second a smooth mayonnaise followed by the touch of spicy onion, immediately swapped by salty cheese, cucumber, carrot, lime, all together with a mild aroma of mint made me want to close my eyes.

When I was about to close my eyes, I saw little kids from the school walking with their parents going home. The tiny humans were so happy to be back with their parents. Why do we appreciate our pets so much that they show love every time we go home, but not our kids? Those kids had so many friends, new environment; their priorities could have changed but still, they are happy every day looking at their parents in the evening and sad while telling byes in the morning. We force them to stay away, get them used to new environments and later blame humans when their priorities change. On looking at those cute souls expressing their unconditional love, I had subconsciously taken another bite and was again pulled back to the palatal adventures and was enjoying the taste of the sandwich.

And then there were other kids going in the school van with so much excitement. Unlike the kids with their parents, these kids were even more excited about being with friends. Maybe their priorities have already changed or they were pushed to that. Some kids put their hands out, bid me bye. I was so excited to wave back at them. I just waved my left hand taking another bite.

Another bite. Another set of kids. The visual was harmonized with the taste. That was almost an all sensory treat. I totally forgot to add sauce to the sandwich. Luckily there was one last bite to accompany the sauce. Dip and bite. “Oh My God… What have I missed?” I exclaimed to myself. The taste was entirely different with the sauce. That was when I realized there was no tomato slice in the sandwich. The mild tomato flavor of the last bite with sweetness gave the salivary glands a heavenly aura. When I turned back to see if I could order one more, there was already a crowd for the dishes. I just decided to leave paying for the sandwich and not overdo the experience. He said, “Hope you enjoyed our sandwich with filling sights of happy kids”. I nodded with a smile and left the place.

While driving my Vespa I remembered my mom suggesting about the visual and gustatory and here Vignesh Chandramouli did the same. And I was able to correlate the texture with the language I was in love with. Maybe the delight of any sense lies in how much we distract from it and how we are pulled back to sense it again.

“I am going to write this in my own blog. I am going to write more of these. After all, Is there anything more delightful than cooking your own recipe?” I said to myself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ஏனோ பிரச்சனை வருகிறது…

எப்போதும் போல் அந்த ஞாயிற்று கிழமை காலை என்னுடன் கல்லூரியில் வேலை பார்க்கும் நண்பர்களுடன் எங்கள் விடுதியில் இருக்கும் மெஸ்ஸில் Roasted Bread and Jam சாப்பிட்டுவிட்டு மரத்தடியில் அமைக்க பெற்றிருந்த திண்ணையில் அரட்டைக்கு அமர்ந்தோம். ஆண்களுக்கே உரித்தான விவாதங்கள் தான். அரசியல், சமுதாயம், விளையாட்டு, சினிமா. இந்த பட்டியலின் வரிசை சுவாரசியமானது.தினசரி நாளிதழ்களில் இந்த வரிசையிலேயே செய்திகளும் அச்சிட படுகின்றன. இது எவ்வாறோ பெரும்பாலான ஆண்களுடன் ஒட்டி கொண்டு விடுகிறது. யாரும் என்னிடம் நான் வளர்ந்து விட்டேன், இனி அரசியல், சமுதாயம் பற்றி பேசத்தான் வேண்டும் என்றோ, இதை இப்படித்தான், இந்த வரிசையில் தான் பேச வேண்டும் என்றோ கூறியதில்லை. சரியாக நினைவு இருந்தால் நான் முதலில் விவாதம் செய்தது பள்ளி பருவம் முடியும் தருவாயில் சினிமா பற்றி. பிறகு கல்லூரியில் விளையாட்டும் சமுதாயமும் விவாதித்து, இன்று வேலைக்கு வந்தவுடன் ‘ஏனோ‘ அரசியலும் ஒட்டி கொண்டாகி விட்டது. ஆனால் விவாதங்கள் மேற்கூறிய வரிசையிலேயே எல்லா இடங்களிலும் செல்வதை கவனித்திருக்கிறேன்.

ஜெயலலிதா இறந்த பின்பு தமிழகத்தில் நடக்கும் அரசியல் நாடகம், காவேரி பிரச்சனை, IPL கிரிக்கெட் பற்றி விவாதங்கள் என பேச ஆரமித்து எங்கள் கல்லூரி நிர்வாகம் எங்களுக்கு ஏற்படுத்தும் பிரச்னைகள் பற்றி ஆண்களுக்குண்டான வார்த்தைகளை சேர்த்து சாடி கொண்டிருந்தோம்.

பொதுவாக 24 துவங்கி 35 வரையான வயதில் தன்னை சுற்றி இருக்கும் அனைத்திலும் ஏதோ ஒரு பிரச்சனை நமக்கு தெரியும். அதிகாரத்தில் தனக்கு மேல் இருப்பவர் அனைவரும் மனித மூளையே இல்லாதவர்கள் என்று தான் தோணும். “என் கையில் அதிகாரம் இருந்தால்” என்று கூறாமல் இந்த வயதை கடந்தவர் வெகு சொற்பமானவர்களே.

எங்கள் விவாத நேரம் செல்ல செல்ல எங்களை சுற்றி இருக்கும் பிரச்சனைகள் எங்கள் கற்பனையில் எங்களை சுற்றி ஒரு விஸ்வரூப சுவர் எழுப்பியது போல் தோன்றியது. இது எப்போதும் நடப்பதுதான். குடும்பத்துக்காக, வாங்கிய கடனுக்காக, மருத்துவ செலவுக்காக, காதலி வீட்டில் பெண் கேக்க செல்லும்போது சொல்வதற்கேற்ப ஒரு வேலை வேண்டும் என்று பல சங்கிலிகளால் கட்டப்பட்டு அந்த விஸ்வரூப சுவருக்கு இடையில் பாதாளத்தில் வழியின்றி கிடக்கும் கைதிகள் போலவே தோன்றும். இப்படி பல்வேறு காரணங்களுக்காக தான் இருக்கும் நிலையை மாற்றவும் முடியாமல் அதை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளவும் முடியாமல் மாத சம்பளத்திற்கு வேலை பார்க்கும் ஒவ்வொருவரும் உணரும் பாதாள கைதி நிலைதான் அது. அந்த நிலைக்கு வந்தவிட்டபோது ஒரு எறும்பு கூட்டம் என் கவனத்தை ஈர்த்தது.

20-30 எறும்புகள் சேர்ந்து ஒரு இறந்த பூச்சியை இழுத்து சென்றது. மனிதர்களை பொறுத்த வரை அது மூன்று பாதங்கள் வைக்கும் தூரமே. ஆனால் எறும்புகளுக்கு அது சில நிமிடங்கள் பிடித்தது. இழுத்து சென்று சுவற்றில் அவை அமைத்து வைத்திருந்த ஒரு துளைக்குள் நுழைக்க முற்பட்டன. வெகு நேரம் போராடியும் முடியவில்லை. இதை அருகே நின்று பார்த்து கொண்டிருந்த ஒரு எறும்பு, அந்த பூச்சியிலிருந்து துண்டாகி கிடந்த ஒரு காலை மட்டும் இழுத்து சென்று துளைக்குள் லாவகமாக நுழைத்தது. மற்ற எறும்புகள் போராடி கொண்டேதான் இருந்தன.

இது எதையோ உணர்த்துவதாகவே தோன்றியது. சரியான பொருள் பிடிபடவில்லை. கவனத்தை நண்பர்களின் விவாதத்தில் திருப்பினேன். எப்போதும் எந்த பிரச்சனை பற்றியும் என் கருத்துகளை ஆழமாகவும் நிச்சயமாகவும் பதிவு செய்யும் நான் அன்று சற்று நேரம் கவனம் வேறு பக்கம் திரும்பி இருந்ததால் கருத்துகளை முன்வைக்காமல் அவர்கள் பேசுவதை மட்டுமே கவனிக்க வேண்டியதாகி இருந்தது. அதில் சிலர், பிரச்சனைகளுக்கு  மிக அற்பமான தீர்வு காணும் ஆலோசனைகளை முன்வைத்தனர். நான் அதற்கு எந்த பதிலும் கூறாமல் வெறுமனே கவனித்து மட்டும் வந்தேன். இப்படியே சில நிமிடங்கள் பல பிரச்சனைகளை பற்றி பொலம்பிய பிறகு ஒவ்வொருவராக விடை பெற தொடங்கினர். நான் மட்டும் அங்கேயே அமர்ந்திருந்தேன். மீண்டும் என் கவனம் அந்த எறும்பு கூட்டத்திடம் திரும்பியது. அங்கே அந்த பூச்சி மட்டும் கிடந்தது. எறும்புகள் வேறு இரை தேடி சென்று விட்டன.

அதன் பொருள் அப்போது புலப்பட்டது. “பிரச்சனை”

பிரச்சனை என்பதற்கு ஒவ்வொருவரும் ஒவ்வொரு விளக்கம் வைத்திருப்பர். அதன் அளவுகோலும் ஒவ்வொருவரிடையே வேறுபடும். ஆழமாக பார்க்கையில், எல்லா பிரச்சனைகளும் ஒரே வீரியம் கொண்டதுதான். பெரிய பிரச்சனை சிறிய பிரச்சனை என்று ஏதும் இல்லை. இன்னும் சொல்ல போனால், பிரச்சனையின் சரியான விளக்கம், “ஒரு சூழலை எதிர்கொள்ள முடியாத தனது இயலாமை” தான். சைக்கிள் வைத்திருப்பவனுக்கு தூரம் ஒரு பெரிய பிரச்சனை. ஸ்கூட்டி வைத்திருப்பவனுக்கு அந்த பிரச்சனை சிறியது. கார் வைத்திருப்பவனுக்கு தூரம் ஒரு பொருட்டே அல்ல. இவ்வாறாக ஒரே சூழல் ஓவொருவரின் இயலாமையை பொறுத்து உருவக படுத்த படுகிறது.

வாழ்வில் இவ்வாறான சூழல்கள் இருந்து கொண்டேதான் இருக்கிறது. அவற்றை நம் இயலாமையோடு ஒப்பிட துவங்கும்போதுதான் அவை பிரச்சனை என பெயர் பெற்று விவாதங்களுக்கு உள்ளாகிறது. இப்படித்தான் ஒரு ஆண் தான் வளர வளர ஒவ்வொரு பிரச்சனையாக விவாதிக்க துவங்குகிறான். ஆம். ஆண்தான் தன் பலவீனங்களை தன்னை அறியாமலேயே எண்ணுகிறான். அதை சரி கட்டவே பெண்களுக்கு பல சட்டங்களை விதித்து அவளை மனித பிறவியிலிருந்தே வேறுபடுத்தி தெய்வமாக வணங்குவதும், மிருகமென விதைப்பதுமாக தொடர்ந்து வருகிறான். உண்மையில் பெண்கள் மனரீதியாக ஆண்களை விட திடமானவர்கள். இதனாலேயே ஒரு ஆண் தரும் ஊக்கத்தை விட பெண் சொல்லும் ஊக்குவிக்கும் சொற்கள் நல்ல பயன் தருகிறது பல சமயங்களில்.

ஒரு சூழலை எதிர்கொள்ளும்போது தன்னை அதில் பொருத்தி பார்த்து வழி காண வேணுமே தவிர, தன் இயலாமையை அதனோடு ஒப்பிட கூடாது. அதுதான் பிரச்சனை என்றாகும். என்னால் வீடு கட்ட முடியாது அதனால் இந்த வாடகை வீட்டில் வாழ்கிறேன் என்று எண்ணுவது பிரச்சனை. நான் ஒரு வீடு கட்ட போகிறேன், அது வரை இந்த வாடகை வீட்டில் வசிக்கிறேன் என்பது வாழ்வின் புரிதல்.

தற்போதய சூழ்நிலைகளை ஆராய்ந்து விவாதிக்கையில் என்ன செய்யலாம் என்ற தெளிவு இருந்தால் மட்டுமே அதை பேசுக. இல்லையெனில் அதற்கு என்ன வழி என்பதை தேடுக. அதை பற்றிய வீண் விவாதம் அதை பிரச்சனையாகதான் உருவக படுத்தும். ஏதோ ஒரு கடைக்கோடி கிராமத்தில் அன்றாட நாட்டு நடப்புகள் அறிய வழி இல்லாத ஒரு இல்லத்தரசியின் உச்ச பட்ச பிரச்சனை என்னவென்று கேட்டால் அவளின் மாதவிடாய் மட்டுமாகதான் இருக்கும். மற்ற அனைத்துமே அவளின் தகுதிக்கேற்பவும் திறமைக்குள் அடங்கியதாகவும், தன்னால் கட்டுப்படுத்த முடிந்தவையாக மட்டுமே இருக்கும்.

பிரச்சனையான சூழல் நேருகையில் நமது திறமையை, அதை எதிர்கொள்ளும் வலிமையையும் வளர்த்து கொண்டு போவதுதான் வாழ்க்கை. ஆனால் மனிதனின் மனம் ஏனோ தன்னையும் தன்னை சுற்றி இருப்பவற்றையும் பிரச்சனைகளை கொண்டே மதிப்பிடுகின்றது. நிம்மதியான வாழ்க்கை என்பது பிரச்சனைகள் அற்றது எனவும், இந்த நாள் எந்த பிரச்சனையும் இல்லாமல் சென்றதால் இன்று இனிய நாள் எனவும், உன்னை விட எனக்கு பிரச்சனைகள் அதிகம் என ஒப்பீடுவதுமாக மட்டுமே பழகி போய் விட்டது. என் தலை வலி உனக்கு வந்தால் தெரியும் என்று கூறுவது மிக பெரிய அபத்தம். இந்த தலை வலிக்கா இவ்வளவு துடிக்கிறாய் என்று கூறுவது அதை விட அபத்தம். யாருடைய வலியையும் யாரும் உணர முடியாது என்பதுதான் நிதர்சனம். அவரவர் சூழலை அவரவர் தான் எதிர்கொள்ள வேண்டும். இன்னொருவர் செயலில் தலையிடுவதும் பிரச்சனையே.

அந்த கூட்டமான எறும்புகள் பிரச்சனையை பார்த்தன. ஒற்றை எறும்பு மட்டும் தேவை என்னவென்பதை உணர்ந்து தன் கூட்டுக்கு உணவை கொண்டு சேர்த்தது. அன்று முதல் என் முகநூலில் சமுதாய பிரச்சனைகளை பற்றியும் அரசியல் ஆவேசங்களையும் பதிவிடுவதை நிறுத்தி விட்டேன். என்னையே நான் உற்று நோக்க நேரம் கிடைத்தது. என்னுள் உள்ள இயலாமையை குறைத்து வலு சேர்க்க தொடங்கிவிட்டேன். வேலைகள் சுலபமாக செல்கின்றது. என்னை வஞ்சித்தவர்களுக்கு காலை வணக்கம் சொல்லி புன்னகைத்தேன். அவர்கள் தோழர்கள் ஆனார்கள். சூழ்நிலைகள் சுலபமாக துவங்கின. பிரச்சனைகள் குறைந்தது என்று கூறமுடியாது. அதை எதிகொள்ளத் தொடங்கிவிட்டேன் என்றே கூறவேண்டும்.

தேவையை உணர்க: சூழ்நிலையை எதிர்கொள்கை.

பின் குறிப்பு: இந்த கட்டுரையில் கூறப்பட்டிருக்கும் சைக்கிள், ஸ்கூட்டி, கார் வெறும் உவமைகளே. தயை கூர்ந்து அதை பொருளாதார அடிப்படையில் எடுத்துக்கொண்டு விவாதிக்காமல், உளவியல் ரீதியாக பொருத்திப் பார்த்து அர்த்தம் கொள்க.

 

How to Watch Interstellar?

I know it is too late to speak about Interstellar, undisputedly one of the legendary classics from Christopher Nolan. The movie plot takes place in 2050, where the director hypothesizes that there would be sandstorm all over the World and vegetation would be nearly impossible. On a deeper look, we can observe that there are no pet animals in the movie, though the movie revolved around a farmer’s family. Maybe he was trying to convey that, in 4 decades, only the non-primitive organisms like male humans and female humans would survive this world. At the same time, a secret group from NASA would design a craft with the space station to send around 5000 embryos to another galaxy so that the human race would not become extinct. A former pilot who then became a farmer would mysteriously be taken to the NASA group and would be pleaded to operate the craft considering his experience to have flown in the Stratosphere. The group of scientists would tell him that he should fly to the next galaxy where there were planets that are suitable for human existence and bring the data to earth along with the scientists who already traveled there. That was plan A. And there was Plan B to take human fertilized eggs with them to plant them there just in case if they find it would be difficult to send all the humans to the next galaxy. That way, the human race wouldn’t become extinct. He would agree to this so as to save his family and million other families and fly to the galaxy. There he would learn that he was bluffed by the scientist (the actual plan was only to send the fertilized eggs to the next galaxy) and would try to come back to the Earth. This is not even the main plot of the movie. The actual theme of the movie is about the relativity theory by Einstein and Nolan’s curious idea as to how it would be if gravity is coupled with space and time in the Earth.

Though this might sound so complex, it is easy to understand and once understood, you would watch Interstellar twice, appreciate its elegance and also you might be able to understand a little more in Physics. Let’s open that gate of Physics.

Relativity Theory:

Einstein was curious about the relationship between space and time.

This is the result of relativity equation. You would have seen these kinds of pictures showcasing the fast moving vehicles in the traffic. How do they capture it? Photographers slow down the shutter speed. By slowing down the shutter speed, photographers technically say that more amount of light gets into the picture or frame. A physicist would say that the camera captures the image at a different space at a different time. Faster the shutter speed, lesser the number of co-ordinates (places) the object moved in the space frame. Slower the shutter speed, more the number of co-ordinates (places) the object moved in the space frame.

Let us assume the time is in X axis and Space, in Y axis. The car is at (1,1) co-ordinate initially.

A stranded car would remain in the same space at all times (1,1), (2,1), (3,1), (4,1)…..

A Moving car would appear in the different spaces at the corresponding times (1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,4)…..

If the shutter speed is the maximum, only the Graph 1 will be captured. As the shutter speed decreases each graph adds up and gives a line like appearance.

WORMHOLE:

This relation between space and time is relativity theory. Now the wormhole is something where the graph sheet is folded vertically. This is explained in Interstellar.

BLACK HOLE:

Using the wormhole they travel to the other galaxy in search of planets that have a near existential environment for human life. There were already two astronauts who went to that galaxy, were analyzing the data and were sending data to the space station. Then they had to decide on which planet to visit. With the time available to them, they could visit only one planet because the planets were near a black hole, Gargantua.

Black holes have very heavy gravity. That creates a time lapse. If there is more gravity (attraction force between molecules), there will be difficulty in movement in molecules. We will not be able to move as fast as we do on Earth. But we won’t feel that difficulty due to inertia. Since all the molecules undergo lapse in movement, we will be casual though we move really, really slow. In the case of Gargantua, to spend 1 hour, it equals 7 years on Earth. That is how gravity is related to time. Higher the gravity, slower the time.

CLIMAX:

Now, after wasting a lot of time (relative time on Earth where 1 hour he spent was 7 years in Earth), the hero gets into the black hole Gargantua that throws him into the wormhole that led to the bookshelf in his home.

Gravity-Time Relation:

On the Earth, where our feet are attached to the ground, 1 second is equal to 1 second. There is no going back as long as the gravity is positive. But in the wormhole where he was floating, the gravity was variable (positive and negative). With negative gravity, he could travel back in time. He traveled back in time and gave the Morse code signal with books and said “STAY” to himself back in time to avoid all the miseries he had undergone. But the hero on Earth did not listen to him (fortunately).

Clarification:

Time can be altered corresponding to gravity only in the higher dimensions like wormhole where space-time is the fifth dimension in which humans (mass and energy) is allowed to exist (with artificial oxygen).

Gravity is the answer:

He suddenly realizes that it was him, all the while, talking to himself to solve a complex equation. If the gravity was included in time-space relation, time could be altered. So he travels a little forward in time, gives himself the co-ordinate to NASA secret mission center, sends himself to join the team and travels a little more in time and feeds the gravity-time-space relation code through the Morse code in “seconds-hand” in the watch he presented to her.

Conclusive:

1. Time is not absolute. It varies with gravity. Gravity can act on time and change the course, hypothetically.
2. The relation between space and time is the relativity theory that creates the solar system, Galaxy, Milky Way, and Universe.
3. Any mass or energy (Human, Planets, Sun, Stars) inserted into space-time matrix creates a dent/impact. It (mass and energy) fills the space at that particular time so that the whole universe balances itself. For example, if the Sun is removed from the solar system, all the planets would be destroyed. If the moon is destroyed, the gravity acting on the earth, wind and tide pattern would collapse, or even change the pattern of Earth’s revolving orbit.
4. Even your presence in this world is to balance your associated environment. Your presence means a lot to this world. Feel useful and say thanks to Science J

 

CONFESSION:

This article is not about Interstellar movie. But to give a little input on the basics of Einstein’s Relativity Theory, Wormhole, and Blackhole. These theories are such basics that should be known to everyone, for the world is progressing in 176^th level while we are in zero.

A Page from Maya’s Diary

“Shut up!”, I told Deepthi with a chuckle that I controlled cautiously from not being seen by her or Arun. “Look! I and Shyam got engaged just two weeks before and we are talking over the phone to know… You know? (I chuckled a little here and they saw me this time) to know the differences between us. That doesn’t mean we started dating”

“Ya right! We all have said that dear, wannabe Mrs. Mayanti Shyam” told Deepthi with a smirk.

“Ya ok. Stop it. I gotta call my uncle to pick me up from Tambaram. My dad took my Mom for the wedding purchase. I will take the cab to Tambaram. You guys go safe! Babeebo…” Babeebo…. That’s a weird word that Arun introduced us to bid bye. Certain mannerisms and words are weird but contagious. They are weird at first. Then we start trying it. They make us happy, proud of doing them after some time and later they become habitual.

Bidding babeebo to Arun and Deepthi, I called my uncle and told him to wait for me in Tambaran depot by 7.15, and I took my cab.

Aksha, my fiance’s younger sister called to confirm the shopping timings for tomorrow. We both clubbed together already. It is obvious in most cases where the younger sisters are always welcoming in any family. They are always excited to host the big day, enjoy the festive mood, new people, and get a new person to share their diary secrets and emotions. Aksha was 5 years younger to me and was in her second year of under graduation. This age difference cleared off any ego or possessiveness between us and helped us get along as easy as cake and cream. And the shopping she asked about was just the two of us, the girls’ outing.

The cab reached Tambaram by 7.30, delayed due to some traffic. My uncle was waiting there already in my scooty. He retired from the military, having fought for the nation in Kargil during the service. I always called him, Hero. I never grew bored of his stories from battles and non-battle times. In fact, their non-battle times were even more thrilling, emotional and interesting than the battle times. He had to suffer a lot during non-battle times and often mentioned “Battles were easier than camping. In the battle, there was only one enemy. And the enemy was in front of me and I know what to do with them”. He sure has a point.

I apologized for the delay and sat on the pillion seat. It was common in Chennai to be late due to traffic and we both knew that the sorry was just out of the respect I had for the Hero. So he did not respond to the sorry and neither was I expecting one.

On the way back home, we had to take a different route from the usual one as there was a political meeting going on. The election propaganda, that was. I texted Him informing that I reached Tambaram and started home with Uncle. There was a mob standing in the middle of the road. Uncle stopped the bike, parked in the side lawn of the street and we went to see what the issue was.

A lady was lying on the road near a bike and few guys were standing beside her. The lady was suffering from pain. Her saree went high exposing her thighs which she was not aware of. I did what any Human would do in such situation. I rushed to that lady to put her saree properly and made her sit. She was a little heavy. My uncle helped me in lifting her to sit. And that is when we realized that the situation was even worse. The lady’s leg was broken into two that she could not move it and the bones or something that I didn’t know were visible. The pieces were held together only with the support of a piece of flesh. That was the first time I ever saw such a horror in my lifetime went blank for at least some seconds. Till five minutes earlier, my whole life was nearly as good as a fairy tale. All I had were affectionate parents, sweet sister, understanding friends, good grades in schools, appreciations from juries, a peaceful marital engagement, beginning to fall in love with a man and his family and suddenly this. I could not handle that. At least my brain could not. After quick passing seconds, I gathered myself together and looked at my uncle as to ask him what to do.

“Someone call the ambulance please”, my uncle shouted in English with a commanding voice but a requesting tone. But there was no response. I desperately saw every silent face looking at us and decided to call the ambulance myself.

Since the street was new to me and my uncle knew only Hindi and English who could not communicate to a local ambulance registrar, I gave my phone to a boy who stood just beside me and requested him to help. For some reason, he did help at least then. The situation was sorted from the worst to bad. Ambulance was yet to arrive and take the lady to the hospital. Uncle urged few men to carry the lady to make her lie on the platform carefully so that there will be no traffic for the Ambulance to come. I still could not relieve out of the shock and so asked my uncle to move out of there as soon as possible. But then I remembered that I did not get the mobile from the guy who helped with the location details to the ambulance driver. He was still directing the driver over the phone. So I waited behind him to finish.

“Are you done?” I asked him after he had cut the call.

“Haa! Yes. Thank you. Here. Your mobile. And mam please wait here till the ambulance arrives. Because the driver may call you back to this number in case of any need” saying so, he gave my mobile back with a shivering hand. His hands were also wounded a little. He might be involved in the accident. But I could not think anything. Anything. So I stayed there and asked uncle if he could wait. He was reluctant but said yes because I asked him. I was looking if I could get anything to drink. I felt exhausted and thirsty but could not find any shops nearby.

After a short while there was a call from an unknown number. I guessed that that must be the ambulance driver, and gave the phone to a guy who was standing next to me at that time. Giving the phone, I looked for the guy who first talked to the driver. But he was nowhere to be seen and I did not mind much.

Things were getting back to normal. And I thought of texting Him to call me in ten minutes so that I could tell him everything and vent out my fear or shock or agony or anything that made me abnormal. A man from nowhere came to me and shouted “Where is the guy who was standing beside you? I saw you talking to him. You were with him I know that. Tell me where that boy is or else I will put you in trouble. Do not try to save your boyfriend”

I saw him blank. I understood nothing. “Boyfriend??? Are you nuts? I don’t even know who that was.” I said in a complete shock and confusion.

“Do not try to bluff. I know you were with him and you both were on the bike. What are you trying to do? Do you think you can save him? I will not let you go anywhere until the boy comes here. You lovers are like this, a cancer to the society. I am the secretary of this area and if anything happens to the lady you are going to be in a very big trouble.” the man shouted with all kind of chauvinistic gestures.

“Do you even have a conscience? At least a bit of humanity? I was here to help someone and this is how you treat a volunteer for help? I don’t even know who that guy was what do you expect me to do? Stop your bloody nonsense or I will slipper you.” I cried. I could not do anything else than to cry as I was already shaken by what I saw.

The idiot got angry and tried to hold my hand but my Uncle came for my rescue pushed him away and said “she is my daughter. She came with me, don’t you dare to touch her, else…”

“Seriously you people forgot the word humanity or what? She wanted to do something no one else even dared to do. And you accuse her for the accident? Goddamn do not thank her at least leave her alone.” said the second guy who spoke to the driver.

“Leave her alone? I will show you all who I am. This girl is not going anywhere, until the boy comes” the man shouted, turned to me and said “You call him now or I will hit you so hard that you will never forget.”

The gesture of the man turned my uncle furious and he was about to hit him. For what my uncle was capable of, one slap on his face would have taken him into coma for years. I averted him and told the secretary, “Are you really trying to help or making a scene that you are a secretary? You say that you saw me coming with that guy, talking to him and standing beside him that says that you were here all the time and you didn’t come to help. What are you?”

The crowd grew bigger and everyone stared at me as if I was the convict. I felt very week, helpless and needed water. I saw a man standing near the gate of his house and asked him for water. The man without a single word went inside his house, shut the door and never turned back. My uncle steered the way amidst the crowd and took me home after the ambulance carried the lady.

The incident kept ringing in my head. I did not text him or talk to anyone. Any emotion can be shared but the moment of being helpless cannot be expressed to anyone. It has to fade and die within us. The moment when we go helpless is when our brain assumes the words are no worth and people are not going to be for you. This feeling will go away but it needs some time. So I thought to myself that I would be normal the next day and would tell Him everything.

But the fate wouldn’t let me. Next day I got a call while I was on my way to work from the police station that the secretary had filed a complaint on me with my scooty’s registration number. I went to police station and the investigation went on for 45 minutes. With all the proofs I proved myself innocent.

“Ok, Ms.Mayanti! We trust your innocence. But we need your co-operation in identifying the boy who was responsible for the accident” said the police who investigated me but I was never called since the lady gave her statement in the hospital.

And the story ends.

One incident. It displayed the current status of our society. No gratitude, depleting humanity, stereotype on girls, couples, girls and boys interaction in the society, chauvinists, insensitivity, selfishness, pride, etc.,

What’s the point in calling ourselves civilized if we fail to be humans?

I remember few lines of Chetan Bhagat. Think of the lemon and spoon game. There is no point in coming first if the lemon falls from the spoon.

 

The Hand that made your Sandwich…

She was already bleeding from her nose. He punched her again on the cheek bone. She wept blood from the mouth then, raised her hands slowly and pleaded not to hurt. That wasn’t a new scene in their home.

She was already bleeding from her nose. He punched her again on the cheekbone. She wept blood from mouth then and raising her hands slowly pleaded not to hurt. That wasn’t a new scene in their home.

“I am your husband. Do you see me? You, your soul and your body belong to me. I nailed you 89 times from our marriage. You are my lady. Do not dare to talk to him again. I do not like him and if I say no, you should not talk to him”

“Please understand” she was on the ground and pleaded with her hands praying to him “I will obey your words. Don’t hurt me please” her voice feebled down. She could not talk anything more.

His pride grew more with her weak gesture and wanted to make more impression of his masculinity over her. He rolled his sleeve, bent over to her, pulled her hair and asked, “Who is he to you?”

She struggled to speak and still answered “He is my good friend. We have nothing more than that. It is a brotherly….”

he pulled her hair harder before she could finish her sentence and shouted “Stop it! Stop it! He is nothing to you. Not even a friend anymore. I am your only friend from now. You got it? Do you see me? I am your husband. Understand?” asking so, he stared into her eyes.

As he stared into her eyes, her eyes grew wider. He was a little frightened. She started laughing. She started laughing louder looking at him, looking into his eyes, struggled and quoted the dialogue from Game of Thrones, “Any man who must say I am King is no true King” saying so she laughed harder.

He could not contain his anger. Her laughter told him that his ego failed.  His pride succumbed. Her laughter shouted in his ears that his male chauvinism is meaningless and his power is not working anymore. He could not think anything more. She kept laughing.

He pulled her by her hands to their living room, “Laughing eh? I will show you who the boss of the family is. I will teach the values of the culture and family now. Get in you…..” he tried to push her into the room. She knew what he was going to do to her. She kept laughing still and decided what to do.

As he pushed her into the room from the behind, she held the door firmly, went a little into the room and slammed the door on his face. His nose broke and started bleeding. When she opened the door, he looked so frightened looking at her laughing at him with power. He could not believe that in just a few seconds the 2 years of marriage scenario has been totally reversed.

She did spit the blood from her mouth, wiped and remembered what she learnt in her Karate class from 4^th grade (which she had to abandon because of societal stereotype) that pulling her hands back as much as possible before giving a blow would increase the momentum of the hand thence increasing the intensity of the blow. Pulling her hand back, she shot a severe blow on his cheek bone right on the mark. He started bleeding worse. She pulled the cooler from his pocket, put on her face, looked up with an attitude. As he was about to speak something, she kicked in his groin. He lost his control and slowly went to the floor. She tied her hair, bent near his ears and asked,

“So what shall I prepare for breakfast? Bread omelet or sandwich?”

“..tch”

“Haan?”

“Bitch….”

She smiled. Went into the kitchen without speaking a word, prepared sandwich for both of them, washed her face and finished eating her sandwich.

He was still on the ground. She went near him “Hey Bitch loser! Get up. Your mom and sister will come home in 10 minutes. If they get to know that you were beaten up by a woman, they will disown you. Do you even need that shame? Oh! Starring at me? Planning to apply for a divorce? What reason would you tell in the court? That I am beating you? Oh man! Aren’t you a man your mom always told to be dominating? Aren’t you a man who can beat your sister but your sister should respect you and obey what you and your father say? Aren’t you a man the society thinks who is rightful to hurt his wife but is deemed to death if hurt by a woman? Aren’t you a man your mom told for whom a lady was born to serve disregarding her parents, friends, job, and passion? Are you going to disown all these pride and ego you have enjoyed these many years?”

He could not stand up. She was about to move out of the place but turned back and asked “Or are you planning to kill me? Well, if you are afraid that you will lose against me for the rest of your life, go ahead, kill me. I will die a winner and you will live a loser’s life”. He was only able to groan.

She ultimately got divorced from him, works as a senior manager for a firm with a decent salary to take care of herself and her child. The devils in the society still poke her but she has seen worse. She knows what to value more, whom to trust, when to express her anger and where to keep people. She moved on.

But the scar on his face will be a mark of shame for the society. He may be economically successful than her after years but those ten minutes in his life would always tell him that his attitude is a loser in front of hers.

Men are not born chauvinists. Blame the society next time. Tell your kids to respect and love everyone. Both ways, chauvinism is bad for the society.

Omens: The Language of Life

Disclaimer: This article is best understood only if you have analyzed the life and have deeper thoughts on philosophy.

Everything that happens in life to any person is a result of events that have been occurring ever since the formation of Universe. A wooden bark fell on the road and delay your travel might be the result of the continental drift that left the rock beds under the roots of the tree and the climatic change that had melted the ice in poles increasing the sea level and change the pressure of the wind changing it direction and made the tree bark fall on your way. These happenings are the summation of a matrix of happenings. One who can read those matrices can read the future, though not accurately can see what might happen.

Life is not how you lived the last second and what is going to happen the next second. It is a process where you react to progress in the existing second towards the next second with what you have learned from the previous second. If there is a huge wall built-in front of you, you may not know what awaits you the other side or what will happen if you pass the wall. That is uncertain which Life hides from you and you can do nothing about it. But whether or not to pass the wall is in your control. The decision you make now, in the current second from whatever you have learned till now can help you take that decision. But is that knowledge enough? Can you be sure about what is on the other side of the wall with whatever you have learned? Life is interesting that way. Sometimes when you feel that you know things well and things happen the way you plan, Life gives you a huge blow with its uncertainty and makes you realize the truth about the Life. Because the matrix of happenings that resulted in your happenings does not only contain your deeds in the past but also every element in the earth. You cannot control everything that is happening to you. Even the greatest warrior in the battle had scars on their body. It is them who knew the truth about the uncertainty have conquered their pain in the moment and succeeded to progress to the next moment.

But Life is not so rude to us. It doesn’t always put us to suffering from the uncertainty. In the book “The Alchemist” by Paul Coelho, it was mentioned that everything in Universe is one. Life, physical entity, desires, dreams, earth, sky, the sun are all one. They are all the Soul of the Universe. Your Life is no different from what you desire is. Life always wants you to achieve your destiny. And this is what Paul Coelho says,

“when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”.

Hence Life always helps you achieve your dream, destiny and desires. But it speaks to you in its own language. One has to understand that language to understand Life and thereby conquer his dream and destiny.

 

With the physical entity, humans speak different languages to connect between one another. With the living things other than humans, they communicate through emotions like love, anger, fear, indifferent, etc., Like Street dogs always threaten people walking on the streets in nights but express love with those who are used with pet dogs. Those who are with pet dogs know the communication with them and can express to them that they are harmless and ready for love. Humans communicate with the nonliving things with their mental vibrations. The same bike, when used by a new rider under same conditions, can perform differently. It is the vibration that the first rider has communicated with the bike that seeks the resonance from the second. When the resonance fails in any magnitude, the performance varies.

And Life has no physical entity and hence it communicates with Humans through Omens. They tell us through the omens whether or not the direction towards the next second is right. I was inspired by “The Alchemist” to write this and also found the message from the book well substantiated with my real life experiences. Omens are true and one has to understand the way Life and Universe works before accepting that the Omens are true. You could have noticed almost all the successful people are followers of omen. They have a dressing style or a car or a person or a ring or whatever they felt that was a good omen to them. Initially, the omen would have communicated to them, they understood the omen, responded to it and they both become one and take much care of each other. Omens can be good and evil. We always notice evil omens because negative happenings make a strong impact than the positive.

The spirituality and God may be a topic of dispute but nobody can ever deny the presence of a power that overpowers all the humanly powers together. That power is simple. It is the connection between the Universe and our desire. One has to understand the connection through the heart. Let’s put it scientifically. One has to understand the connection through what one’s mind desires to achieve.

To understand the connection, one has to believe that their desire is not what they want, but what the Universe want them to want. How does a person’s mind identify its destiny and desire? It does not just like happen. The moment we are born, we learn to respond to hunger. Then we learn to observe. Observe everything that is around us. And with what we observe, our mind gets trained to desire. We start asking for what we want. Children easily get almost everything they desire not because what they desire is small but their desires are strong and real. The universe trains our mind when we are children to desire. As we grow up, we face societal fears and so-called practicality issues forget what Universe taught us and start fooling ourselves. We fool ourselves assuming that our mind is crazy and will want what we cannot achieve practically and hence we take the whole concept of desire lightly and start asking anything at all that is not our destiny. We forget what our desires are. A peace of mind and complete trust in our mind can repair this and make us realize what our destiny and desire are.

Once you know what you really want, the Universe and the Life start working to help us achieve that. Life guides us with the Omen throughout our travel towards the destiny. A man can have any number of destinies but when he is true to his desire to reach the destinies, the whole Universe conspires in helping him to achieve them. Understanding the fact that our soul is the very soul of the Universe and the desire that arose in our mind is the desire arose in the Universe can help us trust our heart (mind, scientifically). Special attention to Omens can make the travel towards the destiny easier.

The Letter from Old Crush

 

Dear Dr.Abhishek,

With all the love in the world and all the happiness I have been served, I am writing this letter to you. I am very sure that you live in this address I am writing to. Do not ask me how I got to know.

As I am 64 now, you must be 68 and we have completed 40 years without looking at each other which we thought was going to be impossible. At least I thought that that would be. You may be surprised by this letter. But I was compelled from the inside of me to write this letter at least now to tell you everything, a person to whom I was once a fantasy. I still remember those times you would cross my home just to share those eye contacts and that stare of yours I enjoyed whenever I talked with Vinay, the times you followed me till my home from the bus stop and lastly that face I saw on the other end of the street when I entered my Husband’s car on my wedding evening. They are so vivid in my memories while I have started forgetting my granddaughter’s school name and my muffler every time. During our days, those two years of our acquaintance, we never talked with each other and yet we knew the ambience of each other. We felt like almost all the songs were written on us. We were always looking for the right moment to talk but when there were so many such moments, we did not. We, in fact, loved being to be that way subconsciously. We did not want to ruin those thrills of “trying to talk” by “talking”. Those two years were so beautiful and close to my heart and maybe that’s why these memories did not wash away along with my others in the brain. After all these years, I want to know what I have missed. I want to know how my life would have been if we had talked. I wish to hear from you at least once before my life ends.

With a lot of my dreams burnt by the marital sacred fire on my wedding, I accepted Kailash as my husband, officially. I honestly did not want to get married to him. For at least a year, my marriage was not the way I wanted it to be. But this day, honestly speaking, marrying him was the best thing I have ever done. He was not as handsome as you were. He was not so skilled in riding those race bikes. He was a little bald. I heard many voices murmuring that he did not deserve me. I was always worried about my marriage. But then, life taught me a hard lesson like it always does. There is nothing called the best. People have seen my beauty with what my dress failed to cover. But beneath my clothes, I had my imperfections. Kailash loved my imperfections. The day when he told me, “I know it all and I love you”, I accepted Kailash as my husband, by heart. I liked to be loved. I always wonder if someone can take care of me like Kailash does. He may not be the man ladies like, but that is not how life works. He turns out to be the man every woman would want to live with. I lived a marital life that I did not want to, but I had a life that I did not even dream this beautifully. Sometimes the reality is more beautiful than our imagination. We just have to break our ice, enjoy that beauty and appreciate it. I still want to know what I have missed by not talking to you because what Kailash could not give me all these years is a moment to think about “What if?”. I never missed any chance to get excited about Kailash. He always made sure that I was happy. But you gave me the moment, “What if we had talked?”. I want to know what words you would choose to talk with me, what will you come up with to talk to me. I want all these curiosities to be answered.

With this note, I am looking forward to hear from you. Eagerly waiting, your old crush 🙂

The Cologne Theory

That was a Friday forenoon in Istanbul. The two teen boys Ajmal and Imthiyas were busy selling their cologne as usual near the gate of a famous mosque in Istanbul. The two were tough competitors to each other. They bought cologne from different sellers who prepared perfumes with different fragrances like sandal, jasmine and lavender. The boys hung a wooden block tied with a strap around their neck. The cologne bottles were arranged in the wooden block. They had a sample bottle in hand for the people to test their fragrance. Nobody could literally pass through the gate without being pursued by either of the boys. They pursued every person who crosses the gate no matter whether they buy or not. They tried to convince every person as though that was the only purpose of their lives. They never took time to feel disappointed for a no, nor to feel excited about someone buying cologne. Once a sale is done, the next second is to start pursuing the other customers. They almost seemed to have no emotions but only a serious sense of competition with each other.

A rich looking slender man in green kurta and white pajama came over and asked for samples from both Ajmal and Imthiyas to compare and buy the best. The two eagerly gave their sample bottles. Both the sample bottles were almost full. Selling a single bottle would give the seller a 15 Turkish Lira profit which is enough for three good meals of the day. Despite the competition, the two boys deep inside their heart wanted the slender man to buy from both of them. This care for the competitor is “Saturn-ring care”

“The ring around the Saturn is filled with rocks and dusts rotating around the Saturn because of a virtual complementary gravity created. Disturbing the ring in one side of the Saturn would collapse the gravity, consequently the whole ring would fall off. This is psychologically applicable in humans where we develop a care for our long term competitors though we do not agree with them. The death of a political leader would mentally affect his longtime rival more than the dead’s kin.”

The slender man rubbed each cologne on each of his wrists and smelled. He looked confused as if he could not judge. So he turned towards a shop, waved his hands and called his friend loudly. The boys turned towards the shop out of reflex. They saw no one responding to the slender man’s call. Their eyes searched for the kind of person the rich slender man would have been accompanied with. When they turned back, the slender man was running at a distance with their sample bottles. The boys could not understand anything for a moment and looked at each other. Immediately they shouted at him, sworn and were broken. Ajmal without much delay started running behind the slender man. He was so determined to catch the slender man and get back his sample bottle. Imthiyas instead, thought of his own fate, opened a new bottle and started selling what he had. Ajmal after running for some distance realized that Imthiyas was not running with him. This broke the Saturn-ring care and he decided to get both the samples for himself once he catches the slender man. This double profit made him double the pace of his run. He caught the slender man over a mile and with the help of some people gathered around he got his sample and Imthiyas’ sample back. He was so excited that he got his sample back and also a bottle almost full of cologne. Selling that even for half the rate would give him a huge money he had never had for himself. He already started planning on what he should buy with that money. He always wanted that feathered England yellow cap from Bazar near Maiden’s tower, have pasta in Süleymaniye pasta corner and buy the green kurta showcased in Jennifer’s Hamam. By thinking so, he reached the Mosque gate and saw Imthiyas selling his cologne as a monopoly without any competition. Imthiyas had sold cologne bottles more than any other days. He also gained some trustworthy customers. Ajmal during his chase behind the cunning slender man lost his customers to Imthiyas whose only aim was to attract customers.

Correlating the theory:

In the story, the colognes are like the trust and gratitude we express towards people. Customers are the people around us and the slender man portrays those who betrayed us or did hurt us. Be an Imthiyas and continue to express trust and gratitude towards people which will definitely help gaining true people. Revenge on betrayers and giving back to the haters what (we think) they deserve are just the virtual relief. Continue spreading the positivity. Keep smiling despite any odds. Worrying about haters would only make you lose the people you could have gained during the so-called bad times.

Keep Smiling 🙂

When was the last time you thanked?

That early summer morning of March, Madhan backpacked and started to Thengumarada forest for his usual sample-collection. He already got approval from the D.F.O (Divisional Forest Officer) to collect the samples and was also assigned two tribal APWs (Anti-Poaching Watchers) to assist and protect him. Madhan went to the forest dressed in his usual green tee shirt and blue jean as he was well aware that wearing white and red or the use of perfume is prohibited while walking in the forests. The reason is that the animals tend to get irritated by such colors and are wary of the new/alien scent. He also carried bread, jam, a knife to cut leaves, a note, sample covers and the Nikon DSLR in his bag.

Madhan met the APWs Madhayyan and Kumar at the Ranger office from where they started walking into the shrub jungle, Thengumarada. It is mostly non-greeny, except during rainy seasons. It is the core region of the Sathyamangalam forest where wild animals wander freely. You find at least a herd of deer or any other animal every 50 meters. He had to walk 2 kilometers into the jungle. Since that was a severe summer in 2016, the river stream that served as the water source for the animals was dry with only little patches of water, which made the animals wander more that day in search of water.

The trio started walking in a formation. Madhayyan took the lead with Madhan 5 meters behind. Kumar backed them at 10 meters from Madhan rough diagonally. This formation was to guard Madhan against unexpected attacks since he was new to the forest. Madhayyan’s vision would cover anything that was in front of them. And Kumar walked at least 10 meters away from Madhan diagonally such that he would be able to see things in front without Madhan or Madhayyan hindering, and also the purpose was if Madhayyan was encountering any animal attack, Kumar could shoot his knife from the angle that would not have had either Madhan or Madhayyan on its way. Kumar would also have a clear vision over the lateral and rear sides of them.

The sandy paths meandered into the shrubs on either side. Madhan could not see anything but dry shrubs on both of his sides and Madhayyan in front and felt they were still within the safe zone of the forest. But Kumar and Madhayyan knew that at least 1000 eyes were watching them from just 5 feet distance. Madhayyan kept insisting Kumar to be cautious. That was when Madhan started observing the shrubs closely. He could see wild animals standing everywhere behind the shrubs waiting to cross the road or to pounce on them. He realized the risk then. He was into a death trap we can say. Madhan had to collect at least 10 unexplored different plant species that day to extract 10 micrograms anti-cancer compound failing which, the 5000 Rs. he spent for that single day would be a waste. “Explaining the loss to the principal investigator and institute would be worse than being a prey for 100 hyenas” Madhan thought to himself as he continued to walk. The narrow path led to an open field. They could see trees on the other side of the field behind which was the almost dehydrated stream.

The open field was mostly grassy. Herds of deer were grazing. Madhan just realized the wild nature of the forest. As they neared the herd, to his surprise, the deer raised their heads and stared at them without moving an inch. Their horns were at least 2 feet long. Madhan felt the chill in his nerve looking at one of the most frightening animals staring at them. He realized the severity of wildness of the animals in Thengumarada. Kumar advised to move faster from the area for two reasons: Deer did not like the presence of humans there and wanted them to go away; Since Kumar and Madhayyan were native to the forest, they always understood the cue from the animals. The other reason was the deer are the prey for cheetahs and tigers and there are more chances that they may arrive any time for hunting. If cheetahs or tigers enter the field for hunting where deer and humans stand, they prefer the easier prey, the Humans. So they rushed to the other side of the field into the woods. They were still anticipating a tiger or cheetah anytime.  As they stepped into the woods, shadows darkened the vision a little. The place felt a bit cold. All this time, the three were talking with each other about plants and cure for cancer. After observing some weird noises from the darker region of the forest, Madhayyan advised them not to talk anymore. He cautioned Kumar to be ready for defense. They did not stop though. They kept walking. Madhayyan and Kumar had their knives raised. They knew that they were surrounded. Madhan understood what was happening but he could do nothing about it. He held his camera high to shoot what comes in front of him. He decided to capture anything that was about to happen and tell his kids a brave story if he survived. Walking pace did not decrease but the distance between the three reduced a little. Madhan was safe-guarded by two brave hearts from both his ends. For each step, the noise around them grew creepy. They were standing in the stream that was totally dry with only huge pebbles. On the banks were tall trees that casted shadows and cooled the place down. The darkness, silence and strange noises intensified the eeriness of the situation. Madhan totally felt the threat. He tried to click the camera’s trigger but the chilled nerves refused to bend. Dead silence prevailed. Weird noises. With much effort, he did. Click. Shutter sound. Madhayyan looked to Madhan with frightened eyes that said, “What have you done????”. The shutter sound was heard louder than usual and in 0.08 seconds delay, they heard the barking of wild dogs that deafened their ears. They were surrounded by wild canine animals. At least 20 dogs each side. The dogs looked at the three like they were waiting for their prey for at least a year. The heroes Madhayyan and Kumar jumped into action. They immediately threw stones on the dogs and shouted “Hoi” for every stone pelt. Their volume was as loud as the bark of the 20 dogs together. Madhan could do nothing but watch what was happening. Kumar defended them from the dogs behind. The dogs did not expect that from their prey and ran away. Could a human be any faster and more furious? Yes. They were faster and furious during the next encounter which could have killed the three.

When the dogs ran away from the spot, the silence filled the stream again. Madhan was still shivering a little inside. They walked a little forward and could see the light approaching. Trees were less over a little distance away. They decided to climb the bank and walk away from the stream as animals might keep coming to the stream in search of water. The distance between them resumed to 5 meters and 10 meters from Madhan but the heartbeat that escalated did not come down. Breathing was still cautious. Madhan closed his camera lens with the cover. Three steps over the bank, their heart beat skipped for a second as they heard a huge growling sound of the Bear that ferociously stood taller than them in front of Madhayyan at 10 meters distance.

Bears are the most dangerous beasts of a forest for their physic and energy to run any distance chasing its prey. Though they do not eat flesh, they pluck out the eyes with their claws (might be their tradition to blind the two legged animals they see). The Growl was way louder than the barking sounds of the dogs they just battled. Since they were climbing up, they could not see what was on the other side of the bank and ended up in the path of the bear with its cub. Madhayyan was taken aback and kept a foot back. Madhan could not think anything looking at the giant beast in front of them, with his hero Madhayyan himself coming back. Madhan turned back and started running. He was never that fast. His memories were never vivid. The sweet his dad bought him to convince, the tears his sister shed for the death of her favorite patient, the touch of his mother’s palm over his forehead when he fell sick three years ago, the video chats he did with his cousin from Malaysia, the laughter he shared with his roommates in hostel, the bills that were rejected by the accountant Velusaamy to pass, the premium tatkal ticket his guide cancelled out of haste and wasted 2000 Rs., all these along with a lot many memories flashed while he ran those 10 steps. A stone slipped under his woodland shoe made him stumble and fall into a pit. During the fall, all his memories finished flashing and the brain was shut down, blank and ready to die.

While Madhan was running and fell into the pit, the heroes were acting supernatural (must say). The bear growled and moved towards them. The cub behind the bear was pushing its mom insisting her “Go mommy! Attack those dressed animals. Go, go, go”. Madhayyan, after the first step he placed behind, with all his energy for life, made a sound that echoes in the ears of Madhan even today and that was when his mind went blank and he fell into the pit. The sound made by Madhayyan did scare the bear as she had her cub behind. The bear did not want her cub to be hurt. But the cub was totally adamant and still pushed its mom. Madhayyan threw his knife on the bear with a Bahubalian force. Kumar from the diagonal angle went even more ferocious and shouted louder than Madhayyan which scared the cub as well. He collected a heavy stone and threw with a killing force on cub. The bear that was potential to kill at least 100 soldiers together was scared and ran away with its cub. Be it human or an animal, a mother is always a Mother. It was not the Bear that ran away that day, but a Mother that prioritized the safety of her kid though she knew she could have blinded the three humans.

Madhayyan and Kumar turned back with the sigh of relief and looked for Madhan coming out of the pit at just a distance of 5 meters from them. They had no need to discuss anymore on what to do after that and returned back to the office. Madhan was able to collect only 6 plants out of his targeted 15 species.

This is a routine in his research. He risks his life every time he goes into the forests to extract an anti-cancer compound. Some years later, you may read in your daily news on the arrival of a new drug into the market that will be claimed to be formulated by a govt. agency or our institute or his guide. Neither his name nor the names of APWs who staked their lives (they are still the sons of each mother) would be known by anyone. Nobody is going to be thankful for them. They will continue to lead their middle and lower middle-class life as a common man whom you cursed the other day in the signal because his bike failed to start and cost 10 seconds of your life. We do not have time to thank the unsung heroes of the society around us. Why are we not thanking a driver who takes you to places safely, the doctors who work on festival emergencies, electricians who run during nights? Not just farmers and militants deserve thanks. Everyone deserves a thanks, every day.

Hashtag Marina Hashtag Jallikattu Hashtag What’snext?

“Johny Johny Yes PaPa… O.P.S. enga Escape ah?”

“MRF na tyre… Students na Fire”

“Kombu vacha Singam da… Maanamulla Thamizhanda”

Who can forget these kinds of Terrific slogans that enthralled all over Tamil Nadu?! Jallikattu was hardly watched by 10% Tamil People despite it being one of the identities of their culture. Thanks to PETA that agitated an unexpected huge unity among Tamil Nadu students. The protest was a huge success for the positive facts that outnumbered the negatives. Girls felt secured in the mass crowd. The public took parental care of students who participated in the protest. Students maintained respect towards the elders who visited the protest despite the situation where the whole crowd was in students’ control. Traffic was regularized. Even the corporate people without prioritizing their stress and loss of pay have participated in the rallies. Discipline was maintained throughout.

The world will remember this epic protest for the way it has been conducted. At least India would. “A protest that showcased the potential of a united students’ community”. 20 years later, while narrating this story to our next generation, we all would definitely feel the Goosebumps. But is that all? Are we going to live only with speaking the history? If you argue that the students are always ready for protests then the Jallikattu ban protest is to be named, “failure”. If you have to struggle, protest and go on a rally to retain everything that is yours, then you are not doing it right. Jallikattu ban protest is not over. It should not be. You came down to the street to voice for your culture, do it. Complete it. Set things right. You cannot keep asking for your rights.

I met a 9 year old boy in the protest at Sathyamangalam. He had come with his dad. When I was talking with one of the organizers of the protest, Mahendran, a student from my institute, this little champ with his dad was listening to me. His dad asked me about my whereabouts. I was telling him that I was working on formulating a mosquito repellent emulsion. This 9 years old Tamizhan asked me questions that not even my viva panel had asked. Here are his questions:

“Is it true that only female mosquitoes make the noise near our ears? If so, why specifically they do?”

“Are the commercial products not patented? How come there are different brands coming up with almost same formulations?”

“Will you file a patent for your formulation? But as per norms, natural resources are not liable to patents, right? How will you file the patent then?”

“Have you heard of a fish that eats the mosquitoes in their larval stage? Is it not more economical than what you are doing?”

Though I answered all his questions, I did not expect those questions from an 110 cm human. I was surprised and gazed at his dad. He was so calm listening to our conversation. He then asked me, if I would volunteer his NGO movement that works actively on preserving the nature in Sathyamangalam. He introduced me to a 90 years old man who just then returned from Chennai after filing a petition in Madras High Court against the deforestation in Erode district to extend the two-way roads into four-way roads. I happened to converse with four generations of people at the same time and felt the resonance. They were all versatile yet calm, stood in the last row of the protest, observed right people, learning things practically and respecting everyone’s stand. The man was Mr.Ravikumar, a familiar and notable social activist in Sathyamangalam. They clearly made me realize what really matters in life. A 9 year old boy can have better knowledge on things than a Ph.D. scholar. That moment he made me realized a truth that Ph.D. is just a certification. Not to exaggerate but he is way better than me in my field.

Do not just live your life inside the four walls. Everything you read in NEWS is just the point of view of the reporter who covered the incidence. Everything you learn from books is how the author understood the concept. As long as you live with this “so called” wisdom, you will have to struggle and protest for everything that is yours. Get out of your shell. We are supposed to learn from the first source. Help a farmer and know what subsistence agriculture means and how the economy works. Bonus: You can also learn weather forecasting from farmers. Help your nearby shopkeeper and learn what marketing is. Spend time with age-old native artists and learn how to keep your body healthy. We cannot keep blaming others for all chaos, the Earth is in now. We need to look after each other and leave an Earth at least not any worse than this.

Things we can do to look after ourselves:

4000 students in a college. Collecting 10 rupees from each student for 10 days would aggregate 4,00,000 rupees. We can build a public toilet in a village.

We can share the ride with people in our vehicles if we are riding alone and share the fuel costs. Reduce the usage of petroleum run vehicles.

Preserve reservoirs and stop buying lands from Lakes.

Learn a native art.

Stop donating money to beggars. Give them food. If they refuse to get, never give them money. That is serious business.

Plant trees, ofcourse.

RESPECT OTHERS, (even them, who are younger).