Lock and Key…

The Smile Brigade is an esteemed organization that strives to create gleeful faces.One of their ‘funny’ quotes goes like this : “Whenever I find the key to success,someone changes the lock”.Now at first sight,it fails to impress,worse than say any of Manish Krishnan’s pearls of wisdom.But then,compelled to watch the same thing being repeated for nearly 47 times,I gave it a deeper thought.I drew a parallel to a rather passionate childhood game,’Lock and Key’.The catcher possesses the ability to lock or bind any of the players,by doing which he succeeds.Thus,one could say the catcher holds the key to success.But then,any of the non-locked players in the game can also unlock their locked mate.Does this mean all the players barring the locked have ‘THE’ key?Also,at times more than one person can be locked,or the same person need not be locked always.Since there exists the rule/necessity that all players possess a key,any player should be able to unlock himself,if he gets locked by the evil catcher.This is not possible as the ancient,sacred rules of the game would be violated.Thus,in spite of retaining the key,the locked still crouch as slaves of the evil catcher.In the end,our fate seems to lie in the hands of the evil catcher,deeming the key useless.The key now exists only as an instrument for aid for other locked persons,and not oneself.Consequently,the key to success lies in lending a helping hand to our friends,Romans and countrymen and not in egoistic activites.The Smile Brigade urges us to be unselfish in endeavours as it would not merit success,with the lock being changed time and again by a certain someone,say God ( for fanatics like Ranjiv,name him anyway you want ) ;only such a demeanor could ensure joy and an everlasting grin.Ergo,no ego.

Legally confused..

The past few days of my chronic vacation have been saturated with a certain TV series,Boston Legal.It basically portrays the affluent lives and grandeur of the lawyering profession,along with the twists of a Sun TV mega serial.Yet,what makes this seem a class apart are the characters,Alan Shore and Denny Crane.Gifted and glib,they possess the venerable quality of seeing the lighter side on almost all things,including murder,rape etc.However,due to my addiction to this series,my mind has been impregnated with the idea that it is quite simple to commit a crime and escape unscathed,without any conviction,in the US of A.Now being an alien to their surroundings,I do not understand their laws.The accused get away on most occasions in the name of reasonable doubt or temporary insanity.Come on,a woman shoots a man between the eyes in broad daylight and goes on to claim that she was acting as instructed by the voice of God and her clever,badgering lawyer pleads temporary insanity successfully.Cant deny the fact that “In God we trust”.

Yes,agreed that this is not a reality TV series.Still there is bound to be some credibility.On discussing the matter at length with a would-be lawyer friend,I was astonished to discover that the show did reflect the actual US legal system.People are more than willing to sue each other left,right and centre,which is further emphasized when the protagonist states in court,”Lawsuits are a rather profiteering form of business”.This system sucks.A lung thief,a psychopath with the oedipus complex,a woman who steals sperm to get herself a baby all evade jail term as there exists ‘reasonable doubt’.Till date,in spite of the killer’s confession,he/she is let off as there is ‘reasonable doubt’ over her ‘sanity’ resulting in the temporary insanity plea.The legal system,as illustrated,seems volatile and subject to interpretation.It is malleable to any shrewd lawyer who mints millions.Agreed the show doesn’t depict any discrepancies in meting out justice to the poor or the coloured people.But then,if the law seems to be bent like a 30 cm steel ruler,how does it matter who bends it?To what use are all those 10th and 20th amendments to the Constitution,when the fundamental framework itself is so feeble.

Attorneys are glorified and so is their intellect.Their histrionics in the courtroom grant them that defining edge in convincing a naive jury.They alter and conquer the stringent of jurisprudential minds through verbal onslaughts and chicaner.After all,their invincibility is only surpassed by our beloved Captain Vijaykanth,when he’s off to Kashmir or somewhere else to ward off extremist elements.

P.S. : For all you know,I could be sued for writing this by some suit clad,leather briefcase carrying Mojo

Weird congratulations…

It was my birthday yesterday and my dad graciously decided to take me and my bro to this stud restaurant.As we were furiously making inroads into our plates,the waiter suddenly brought a rich,juicy,delicious chocolate cake with a lit candle.That was not it.There was a live piano cum saxophone performance going on,which was interrupted to wish me a Happy Birthday first and then went on to express the same musically also,thus ensuring several glances towards our tables.I wouldn’t say I was exactly embarrassed,but it hit me only then that my parents were oblivious to me turning 22,growing old etc.My bro and me continued to attack our table with ever increasing tenacity,a cake added now to the already existing,well,lets just say food plates.

The weird part comes now.10 minutes later,the performance was interrupted again for another announcement or rather,to commend a monumental achievement.Yes,to quote,”We,the staff and faculty of restaurant X congratulate Mrs and Mr. Ravi on a successful,happy and prosperous return from their honeymoon”.This was one of a kind and will always be so.

P.S. : I do not know the Ravis…this should strike off a certain Ravi couple from the list 🙂

Retrospection

Yes,I finally made it,I became a graduate.Not that I never even thought I wouldn’t become one.The Western world deems it necessary to celebrate a person passing out of school.Several miles away,in India,where the education system is a gazillion times more competitive and students another gazillion times more sophisticated,brilliant etc.,all that we do is break our heads over the choice of a college.Is it the fault of those students who prefer to dwell in their momentary achievement,no matter how significant it is,or do we blame ourselves for having forgotten to take pride in what we do,the way we live .Why am I not able to feel proud of graduating as a Mechanical Engineer..Maybe cos lakhs of men/women graduate as engineers along with me every year,maybe cos I haven’t accomplished anything path-breaking [yet] as an engineer in the last 4 years,maybe cos I don’t want to be an engineer in the first place.We boil down to 2 roads,both define our lives – choice and chance.I decided to pursue engineering cos it was bloody damn convention to do so.For heavens sake,it was blasphemy not to do so.Of course,there were a few heretics in those days,there always are.I felt dragged into an ocean with a million ton boulder strapped to my ankle,but I swam through.I did cos I wanted to mingle with the crowd,I didn’t want to stand out.Hey,I would go down only if they did,every single one of them.It was this sickening attitude that I carried through to my college as well.I suffered,I really did,there were times where I wanted to jump the gates,hitch hike my way to another land,where I could assume a totally different identity,a new persona,where I could choose,where I was not bound by the shackles of convention or the fear of breaking them.It is this morbid fear that prevents us from lagging behind in the rat race,sustains our spirit,in the process drains our soul.Agreed circumstances influence our decisions,for instance at a younger age,not in this country,I couldn’t play cricket for a team I wanted to cos I was not a native.Come on,Indians are over the Silicon Valley,there is not a single nation in this planet which can boast to be devoid of Indians.And Im off to work in a month,Im not sure this is what I want.However,I will do it,I will adapt,I will cos I have no choice.There exists the possibility that I may love my job,till then I shall keep my fingers crossed.I will go on to do things that I have to,to survive,to keep pace with my ever changing confines.Not for long though,for soon I shall be ready,as Robert Frost said,’to take the road less taken by’.

P.S : I turn 22 in another twenty minutes.. 🙂

A mortal who became immortal..

Seldom are there men who become cult figures in a nano second,without even speaking a word.Some say its their charisma,some feel its their puissance,some attribute it to their inherent vivacity,below is one such living being :

Kutty,as the masses call him,is an icon,the true machismo,a class apart in everything or atleast he tries to be so.If people prefer watching Rajnikanth movies,he would opt for a hero like Prassana as he believes such movies are ‘breezy like a cup of coffee’.A few of his aspirations are political stud,an innovative film maker,staunch by the book Government Official,successor to Anil Kumble etc.His govt official thing though depends on the decision of his better half,only proving what a romantic he is.Kutty literally has transformed himself to be and behave like an ordinary soul,the Common Man as he believes this would help integrate his political image.He dresses only in dirty clothes,pyjamas almost always,never shaves,eats only rice and whatever served at the mess,never spends as he considers even a Re.1 Center Fresh to be an enormous waste of money.Also,he was supposedly the Ramanujam of a school in Mylapore,Chennai [ read P.S.Senior ] till destiny decided otherwise.He is still adamant that he should have got into an I.I.T. and didn’t only because of certain corrupting influences.Kutty is a highly busy person for his mobile keeps buzzing perennially.Rather Karna : Kavacha Kundala = Kutty : Mobile.It is only ironic that he now forms a part of the work force of OnMobile.Strategy,intelligence and the likes of it all are bread and butter to our stalwart who puts even Chanakya to shame,however feels Ricky Ponting gets lucky and is not even remotely talented.A man who never drinks or smokes etc,but if he does only God can stop him,on an average Kutty consumes about 6 whiskies,5 vodkas,6 scotches,2 beers or so,then has a sip from just about everyone around.The classic localised galeej Kutty emerges from within whenever any fast paced number is played.He holds the distinction of enthralling several thousands with his tumbling moves in spite of a band named Jal playing onstage.It is rumoured that Kutty is well on his way to choreograph the next Mani Ratnam blockbuster.And of course,it is he who brought light into our lives,took us to the acme of salvation with the perfect rendition of the all powerful mantra,those words which make every man search deep within and find their true self..

“Maguboob Subugani Mahzukh Ragumani”

And contrary to certain persons’ interpretations,this is has nothing to do with breasts.Kutty would never utter a word like that,yeah he came out of the closet long ago,people he say its those cat like eyes that held him spellbound.Only Kutty knows for sure how it all began.