Intolerance

elections, the biggest festival of the largest democracy is on the anvil. there are three tiers of elections for India. The local body level, the state assembly level and the federal parliament level. this year the elections are for the supreme tier viz Lok Sabha. There are 2 seats as far as Kerala state is concerned. All the major political parties have come up with their candidates. The biggest show is on. Alappuzha aka alleppey is my home turf. We do have many candidates out there. Sitting MP is contesting on congress ticket. His arch rival is from LDF. May the best of the lot win. It is tough to be at the top. In order to get to the top, one will have to cut through many rivals to raise in one'sown party. Alappuzha seat is traditionally contested by UDF (congerss)with candidates outside the locality, earlier by Vakkom Purushothaman, later by present KPCC chief V.M.Sudheeran to sitting M.P. K.C.Venugopal. We have the tradition in LDF too. however, LDF has decided to field a local candidate this time. Lets see how the elections work out. Initially i was under the impression that there is an anti-incumbancy leaning towards LDF. My recent trips and interactions reveal that there is nothing of that sort on grass root level. Though i am wary about the political machinations especially of the sitting variety,i guess present sitting M.P. is having an advantage. Picture is not yet clear. May the educated and politically aware electorate of the alleppey constituency decide upon the right candidate on the poll date. Considering the economic scenario, it is highly desirable that some political party gather winning majority to form the government at centre. Recent happenings at Delhi governance is an eye opener. I personally do not mind any political party coming into power at centre. My only worry is that some political party MUST come into power with a thumping majority. UPA led by congress if coming into power will see continuance in the present scenario. NDA led by BJP if coming into power will preside over some U turns in policy which need not be as bad as the word seems. Specifically one can hope for some more disinvestment. Hope Gandhiji's talisman will be remembered & the welfare of downtrodden will be prioritised. A clear picture will emerge after declaration of results. I hope all parties will abstain from horse trading to form a clean governance. Long live Indian Republic! This much as preamble, let me come to the title! Intolerance exist in the society de facto. The levels it can take is to be watched and curbed if necessary. Political, racial intolerance that exist in a plane do not ring alrams. However, intolerance to forms of art curtailing the freedom of expression does worry me. I was going through recent viral videos of youtube. As part of international womens' day celebrations, there was a song posted from some female artists. The kind of responses that we got were amazing. Clean parodies true to the spirit of 'King of Malayalam Parodies' Sri. V.D. Rajappan were enjoyed to the hilt. But there were some elements which as per news report threatened original posters. If such a thing is true, we ought to re-visit the definition of artistic freedom. I watched the trivandrum version, thrissur version and many i could lay my hands upon. Some were hilarious especially the Thrissur one and some were simple and elegant. To think that some one will take a revengeful take on a seemingly innocent outburst is outrageous. I congratulate the original uploaders ans the parody makers. I am sure no one would have thought with animosity. It is strange and sad that some people take things to extreme and goes on to threaten original posters. May wisdom prevail & people get used to ravines of the youth

At Cross Roads

Year of big elections for the biggest democracy. Big elections imply Lok Sabha elections. In fact for keralites, there is panchayat elections for next year and assembly elections on ensuing year. Surely the tone of governance in the coming years will be set soon. In a way we always had choices but this time choices as well as issues have sort of multiplied. Aam Admi Party (Common Mans Party) is the new kid on the block. Many especially the learned ones and activists have flocked to this party to make a change. With the Delhi fiasco, the long term action plan / agenda will have to be set. There are actions to resurrect third front. I am not very enthusiastic though. The main coalitions (UPA & NDA) will fight it out for majority. Regional parties which are associates of either of the coalitions might polish some worn out local issues to trump up support. National agenda of sustainable development and having a long term plan as in the past takes a back seat. The optimist in me hopes for prudence to prevail so that all parties stay away from election gimmicks and agree upon certain bare minimum agenda for nation building. We do have talent, resources and capabilities. A political will power is one missing ingredient. May all of my fellow citizen get good choices for the elections and may the best come out of the elections to govern this ancient land of wisdom. On a personal front, I am also at cross roads personally as well as professionally. I guess getting into 'Naughty Forties' comes with this baggage. Peace and stability in the long term are major issues. Responsibilities towards earlier and new generation gets a hold on you. Professional growth is still of concern but i guess that might get dumped into back burner once we progress on the time scale in life beyond the present. Investment decisions especially connected with asset creation seems critical and important. In a decade, kids will move from schools to college. Education has surely become costly! Given the values inculcated into my generation, we as parents will not spare any avenue to impart better education to kids. I am hopeful (merely hopeful) that kids will realise some time or the other that parents did their bit. Alas i can't claim that i had been with them for long. My job had kept me away from most of the time. Initially in New Delhi, then in Vishakhapatnam and presently in Thiruvananthapuram. I am happy and thankful that I managed to come nearer with every move so far. The progress have been good - from visiting family once in a quarter to bi-weekly visits. Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

All is well

Hmm, It had been quite tough on professional as well as personal side. But the tough gets going i guess. Off to New Delhi today(8th Sept 2013) for a training. Hope to reach back in Kerala for the impending Onam Season. Here is wishing you all Keralite friends a very happy Onam

Onam

Keralam celebrated Onam on 16th September this year (2013) Festivities were slightly dampened by rains but the grandiose scale in which this festival is celebrated were really attempted to everywhere in the state. It has been my first Onam after getting posted back to own state. There was lot of travel just before onam as i had to travel to Delhi/NOIDA. Took family to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala which is also my workspace at present. This is the place where Onam gets ample support from Government. There were a lot of decorative lamps literally on every tree and establishment, a lot of cultural programs and lot of people on the streets! Braving the evening drizzle, there were family outing to Museum, Vellayambalam Junction, Palayam etc. We also gave participation to otherwise thin audience at Nishagandhi open air auditorium where various classical dances were being performed every evening. My kids enjoyed the shows, outings and grand onam sadya (lunch) on 16th. I am sure Onam is celebrated by each malayalee remembering the just king 'Mahabali' and the golden era of justice and equality. Having lived outside the home state for considerable chunk of my youth, i can assure you that 'pravasi' celebrations are nearer to the true meaning of this festival! Anyway it is nice to be home during the season & thats the reason why many of the Kerala diaspora make it a point to come home during this festival.

Dengue and Me

Hi friends I had been to places in India which are remote in the literal sense of the word. My friends who are from Kerala might not understand the word 'remote'.But i am sure that those of you who have been to northern parts of our country can feel the meaning better. Well, there is always a danger of falling sick (& helpless) whether you are in a city, town or a remote rural area. Generally when one gets into northern parts of India where climate swings to extreme ends, there is always a chance of falling prey to a communicable disease. Normally it is either Jaundice or chickenpox. I have been to various sections of India for the past 19 years starting from 1994 but never got into such an imbroglio. I hope you can imagine a situation where in you are alone and get into sickness. surprisingly, after my posting into Thiruvananthapuram, i somehow managed to break free from my record and fell prey to Dengue. 'Saalaa, Ek Machar Aadmi ko.....' Yes dengue is supposedly spread by day time mosquitos. My previous posting was near visakhapatnam which is coastal just like Kerala. There was Dengue fever lurking around for most of the time in the rainy season. Still it eluded/spared me! At the nip of things where a gettogether was being organised for the 20th anniversary of golden batch of CET (College of Engineering, Trivandrum where i graduated),I was under attack. Though i can't claim to belong the elite class of organisers (at least officially as per the documented photos) of that gettogether even though i was an early bird and some what active member of the core group, i was down on 5th july admitted to hospital. I managed to attend the function at college on 13th July but missed out all the fun at the poovar resort. Alas i was there for the dry run of the poovar function and booked tickets for my family too to join the fun. Everything had to be called off at the last moment. I am thankful for my batchmates who welcomed & appreciated my prescence at CET. I had a chance to see many of old mates face to face after a gap of decades. I hope to have similiar events in future. I must admit that i missed many of my hostel mates. Hope we can have yet another meeting in days to come.