VarkeyChettan

There is this somewhat old man in my office who appears every evening with a piece of rag cloth to dust tables shelves and old newspaper stands from dust. Since our office is on the side of a busy road in ekm, by the end of the day even we are coated with dust, let alone immovable objects.

This old man is a short man, around 4 ft tall with a mop of very white hair on his somewhat youthful but weathered  face. I don’t think he s  very old but his white hair and mush makes him look at least 20 years older than what he really is!

We call him Varkey chettan. I dint know his name till our GM’s secretary (I think after a very chaotic day) told me her biggest wish if she ever inherit a few millions would be to give our GM Varkey chettan’s role in the same office. It kept coming to my mind and I had to keep reminding myself not to laugh out lound too many times. It seemed ridiculous because Varkey chettan is like the humblest human being I have ever come across. I am not telling this just cos of his job. But every time you look at him, there’s always a smile on his face. I think he has slightly bugs bunny kinda teeth which makes him ever smiling. He always wears a white shirt which is so dirty that you gotta look twice to make sure it was once white. And his trousers are like 3 fourths and he walks bare foot. But despite all this, one look at his face reveals a lot of things, his ever smiling face makes you also smile, and his eyes twinkle everytime he looks at someone. And if at all you speak a word to him, he’s like in the 7^th heaven. He will be filled with so much happiness that it makes you feel like you did something really good. And it could be just a word.For him its like a great honor. One says there are different kinda people everywhere. But you dont meet this kinda people every day.

Terrorism & the City

With terrorism blooming everywhere, I guess we should start taking things with a pinch of salt or even pepper for a change. Who would have thought that Cochin, such a beautiful haven would be under the so-called terror belt? Yesterday’s newspaper showed photographs of Thammanam Shaji, a notorious gunda head in Kochin who was arrested in connection with recruiting (as if its for an mnc placement!!) of youths to be converted as militants (again as if its for the Indian army!!!!) for terrorist groups. In Cochin we all have heard of this guy and he made the place ‘Thammanam’ quite famous too. But I guess it was for the first time we saw what he looked like. And believe me, he looks like a local rickshaw driver not a bit like the hi end killers we would have liked to imagine. (Remember the famous killer Pavanai in Mohanlals hilarious movie Nadodikattu, I could have liked to see a real gunda like that with all the airs and graces and stupidity included).

Coming back to Terrorism and the City, the tag really doesn’t suit our small town. It should be saved for places like Kashmir, Mumbai, or even Delhi – all the big names. Comm’on there are so many metros if these guys really want to play bang bang. And whats the point anyways? Over the years, history has taught us that mankind needs some kind of feeling of importance, an excitement or even a purpose for living. Remember the gladiators of Rome, or the great wars fought to save countries, people who tried to survive epidemics, or even great natural calamities, the great Indian wars, American revolutions, dark ages, the Hiroshima nagasakshi fiasco etc etc. All this had at their point given then living people a sense of importance to be a part of it, be it in the better side or bad, we are not looking for whats right and not here. In our time I guess it comes in the form of terrorism. Always there should be the good guys and the bad. And the good guys should win in the end. That sounds like the law of nature.

But again why Kochin, I am still not getting over the urge to keep cribbing about it. And more than concerns for safety, the emotion has more to do with anger me thinks. It’s such a peaceful place (well u really don’t count the no of bus strikes or hartals and even the stories that come about thefts and murders.. we are talking about Terrorism here!!) Well its evil ,anyways guess that’s what this bang bang is all about. All I pray is none of ma friends or relatives or anyone I know surprise me by making headlines tomorrow by having links knowingly or unknowingly in this network. Lets hope for a real peaceful city real soon. Amen!!

In synonym with thyself

I had had this thought now and again to start blogging again, with my”too lazy to blog status looking creepy to myself. There are lots of examples that could be thought of, but since my blog is still not famous, I think its best to keep it to myself.

For the past few days I have gone through a lot of changes. Changes that may have happened to a hell’a’latta people;) and which will happen to yet another hell’a’latta’ people again;);) Last week I finally snapped out of my dovish depression that was jiggering me for the past few weeks. I don’t know if it was because I finally got into the mood of the festivities that’s coming up or maybe it can even be due the stones I started wearing in my fingers which is supposed to have great healing powers. Who knows? Anyways I am back to being myself;)