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Who are you?

Consider two foetuses, F1 and F2. F1 was conceived before F2, but was delivered after F2. Of the two, which one is older?  It would be F2 as it was delivered before F1, even though the latter was conceived earlier. As things stand, one's existence is recognized only when one gets out of their mother's womb. Why not recognize the existence of a life from the day it was conceived, if your birth date is truly the date of your origin. Is the birthday that you are celebrating, really your birthday? http://www.whenwasiconceived.com/  : This website lets you to find the approximate date when your mother got conceived you, what song was topping the charts in the US and the movie that got released at that time. Give it a try. That brings us to the question what is 'you'? If you consider from a physical standpoint, the cells which are building blocks of our body, get replaced constantly and with passage of time, the cells which used to be you, are no longer you. No...

Experiments with self

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When you don't have a proper job, you make things up to keep yourself occupied. Especially when you are as jobless as I am, mucking about with the friendly neighbourhood street dog and having bad blood with the unfriendly neighbourhood pomeranian piece of shit, I digress. So I decided to do 3 experiments on myself. Just to sound like a proper director introducing the audience to an obscure flashback or a plot poin. at the beginning of the movie with a wicked screenplay, I am going to describe an incident which you will come to know at the end, when I throw light on it. Mind la vechikeenga! Feb 7, 2016, Sunday.  I was waiting for my Aunt and her daughter at Theevu Thidal. I spotted a sugar cane juice stall next to the parking lot manned by a geezer who was as scruffy as I was when I didn't bath for a week during the floods. The sugar cane juice was like what I would describe as left over surf water from the dirty clothes bucket. Appearances are deceptive, I sai...

Radio

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Circa 1965, Anandha Vikatan office. Neelakandan had been writing for over a year in the Anandha vikatan weekly under the pen name Komalam. It was was the series' first anniversary. Everyone were congratulating him as he was leaving office. "Vaazhthukkal Oi! Unga thodar nalla poitirukku, Bonus laan vangirkeer, enna panna poereer?" "Radio ku license laan vangiyachu oru varushathukku. Murphy radio with Leather bag" "Sabaash, evalo?" "500 rupees" *with a huge gasp* "Adhengappa, Ceylon radio laan kekalame" "Aama aama", Neelakandan replied with pride Neelakandan was so happy that he finally had a radio of his own. He need not go to his friends' place to listen to olichittiram of his favorite Balachander movies and listen to his favorite hindi songs in Binaca Geetmaalik. He was imagining everything in his mind and was walking to Standard electronics in thiruvellikeni. Picture courtesy Radioactivity "Enna sir...

ப்ளாஸ்டிக்

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  சமீபத்தில் வேலை நிமித்தமாக தமிழ்நாட்டில் உள்ள சில பகுதிகளை கடந்து செல்ல நேர்ந்தது. காணும் இடம் யாவும் ப்ளாஸ்டிக் குப்பைகள். கடவுள் எங்கும் இருக்கிறாரோ  இல்லையோ, ப்ளாஸ்டிக் எல்லா இடங்களிலும் தென்படுகிறது எங்கெல்லாம் மனிதன் செல்கிறானோ அங்கெல்லாம் ப்ளாஸ்டிக். மதுரையில் குளங்கள் இருக்கவேண்டிய இடங்களில் வறண்ட மண்ணையே காண நேர்ந்தது. அப்படியே அதில் நீர் இருதுந்தாலும் அதிலும் ப்ளாஸ்டிக் குப்பைகள், மேலே மிதந்தவாறு. திருபரங்குன்றத்தில் உள்ள ஓர் நீர்நிலையே அதற்கு சான்று. ஸ்ரீவில்லிபுத்தூரிலிருந்து திருநெல்வேலி போய்கொண்டிருந்தபோது என் நண்பன் விசேஷ் சொன்னான்,  "என்னடா இது highwayன்னு சொல்றாங்க ஆனா இவ்ளோ வெளிச்சமா street lights இருக்கு"  அவன் தமிழ் நாட்டின்  ஒவ்வொரு மூலையிலும் எப்படி வளர்ச்சி தெரிகிறது என்பதை சுட்டிக்காட்டினான். போகும் இடம் எல்லாம் 3G connectivityஆகவே இருந்தது. ராஜபாளையம் சென்றடைந்ததும் முதலில் தென்பட்டது, சாலையோடு ஓடிகொண்டிருந்த ஒரு கால்வாய். குளங்களில் தாமரை மலர்கள் மறைப்பது போல்...

தண்ணீர் தண்ணீர்!

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On my way to work today morning, the skies opened up and it was pouring heavily. While I was walking in the rain with an umbrella, my backpack worn like a front-pack over my 3 feet luggage that is my belly, to get across to the place where I would get the share auto I was reminded of something. I was reminded of a similar thunderstorm that occurred almost the same time last year. A Ship had hit the shores towards the Besant Nagar beach and then drifted towards Marina beach near the Light house due to the cyclone "Nilam" The ship that hit shores, as seen from the marina beach Me and my friend had went there to catch a glimpse of the Ship on an early Sunday morning. We got the glimpse of the ship and carefully navigated away through the pieces of shit left over by the locals, like mines in that of a minesweeper game. I've always heard that Pattinampakkam aka Foreshore Estate had a beach. I wanted to visit that place, something other than the usual Marina, Bessy an...

கலங்கரை விளக்கம்

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  On November 24th 2013 one of my childhood fantasies came true. When I were a child, my father and mother would take me to the Marina during Sundays. I fondly remember the days when the Marina's shore would be so long and we would be endlessly walking towards the mirage that are the waves. With not even one fourth of the way through I would ask my vertically challenged mother to pick me up and carry me. She, with all her might would carry me halfway through. I would get restless with a sea of crowd blocking my view of the ocean and ask my 6 foot tall father to lift and place me on his shoulder to give me a towering view above the rest. It was always fascinating for me to get a towering view of the ocean. While going back I would notice the tower structure standing tall and would ask my father to get me up there. He would say we cannot go there and I would cry like a bitch till he bought me "kuchi ice" from the local vendor. I then grew up to realise that it was rest...

Initial thoughts on Irandam Ulagam

  First of all this not a review. A review is something which is done after carefully observing everything in a movie. It should be of service to the film maker and not be a mere guide to the movie goers whether to watch it or not. Only that will elevate the art. Let us set that aside for some other day. Mine is just an impression of what I thought as I was watching and after watching the movie. The film started off with Arya telling the tale of love in two different worlds. Usually the characters in a Selvaraghavan film has lots of detailing and have shades of grey. But in this movie he has failed to do so, as it is totally unclear as to who Arya actually is, a mathematics professor or a Surgeon or a social activist. It is also unclear as to whether it is a hospital or a home of disowned people and children. We are constantly being bombarded with the patients acting so jovial with Arya around and he pretty much has free access to everywhere in the hospital, even the operation...