Month: December 2010

2010 – The year that was

Before you begin reading this, I do this post every year to assess my life each year (last year’s post is here). Because without writing this or taking an account of what happened in the passing year, I wouldn’t be able to count the blessings I have or the lessons learned. This is purely of personal nature and might not interest you. Now that I warned you, you may stay or leave. 🙂

Like 2009, it was a very happening year in 2010 as well. There were many pleasant and unpleasant moments. And I have learned a bit to let go the unpleasant ones (though it is not easy). But I would remember this year the most because it gave me the happiest moment of my life to date – when my son was born.

Alright, good things first. I got engaged on January 16th and got married on 31st. I became a father on 22nd of November, the same date I met my wife for the first time in 2009. 🙂 My son’s birth is the happiest event in my life so far. In February, my first music video was released on Internet. Iniyethra Naal was a song I composed. Another song, Manju Pole Oru Swapnam, that I composed and sung, is all set to broadcast on TV channels and the news got published in Kerala Kaumudi. Blogswara kept on going and the 6th album was released on March 1st. In June, I was interviewed by The Hindu Metro Plus, Kochi, about Blogswara. My cover of Picha Vacha Naal Muthal has crossed 10,000 online plays (it now stays at 12,000 and 3877 mp3 downloads in total).

Blogging has diminished but not dead yet. 🙂 I still feel this is one amazing medium that I can always use to express myself. And it is a pleasure when I meet people and they say “I have read Jocalling” or “I know you through your blog“. Expressing thoughts with an individual signature of the personal space cannot be this easy with any other tools available in Internet – be it Facebook, Twitter or any other social media.

In the new year, I am going to spend some of the free time for myself and my music. I have not sung much this year as the personal and family responsibilities mounted up. I think it would only increase this year but I will prioritize better. Though I have not posted many karaoke songs in the blog, my mobile is full of rough tunes that I recorded each time I get a new tune. 🙂 Sometime in the near future, and God knows when, it will hopefully turn out to be an individual music album which is my biggest musical dream.

One good thing happened last year is that I have restarted the old habit of reading during the train journeys from Trivandrum to Thrissur. You’re Hired (Nasha Fitter), Known Turf (Annie Zaidi), Super Freakonomics (Steven D Levitt, Stephen J Dubner), Dork (Sidin Vadukut), Roadrunner (Dilip D’Souza), My Friend Sancho (Amit Varma), Checklist Manifesto (Atul Gawande), Padachonte Thirakkadhakal (Sreenivasan), Nine Lives (William Dalrymple), Kerala history and it’s makers (A Sreedhara Menon), Keralavum Swaathanthrya Samaravum (A Sreedhara Menon) are the books I read this year.

Oh, and one thing I missed to mention! It is something I thought would never happen in my life. I got a four wheeler driving license. 🙂 May not seem a big deal to you guys, but for me as a person who doesn’t know how to ride even a bicycle, this is something real big. 🙂

We have lost 4 amazing people last year. Music director M G Radhakrishnan, lyricist Gireesh Puthenchery, singer Swarnalatha and Malayalam poet A Ayyappan. They will be missed…

The new year resolution – something which I wrote last year under the heading “Things which I learned this year” but never really learned – You don’t have to be nice to everyone.

I hope to learn why and how not to be nice to everyone around me. And to stop blindly believing in people. I am beginning to learn how to throw back the thorns which have been thrown at me for no good reason. There are people who backstabbed me and worse, they said it to my face, “hey, I just stabbed you because I had to”. And they get away with it. Not anymore. If it’s a war you want, it’s a war you get! 🙂 We have a strange world around us who think being nice is a sign of weakness and being arrogant is a sign of leadership. And I cannot afford to step aside.

I hope 2011 will make me a more confident man who believes in himself.

Wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. May this new year help you become better people, have lots of fun and cheers. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you, your family, friends and all the human beings in the world all the blessings and peace that this Christmas season brings. Merry Christmas everyone!

(My nephew Anthony and niece Minna Rose looking at our crib yesterday).

One happy note

On the way to Velankanni this month, my brother-in-law met a young man in the bus. They spoke to each other and my BIL asked him what he does. He said he works in the software field and my BIL told him that I work in the same sector. He asked my name and place. Then he told my BIL that he knew me. He said in fact a major shift in his life happened because of me. This guy was working in the city market for daily wages, roaming around doing several jobs. Then one day, he saw an article in Mathrubhumi daily, Thrissur edition, and the story moved him. The story that was published back in 2006 featured me on the second page detailing about how I was transformed to be a web designer from being a goldsmith. He told my BIL that he went to learn computers after he read the article and now he has an IT job that helps him earn a good living.

It was Umechi who thought that M-Pod (the Malayalam podcast) needed more attention for the effort I was taking and print media would be helpful. She brought me along to Surendran sir who was the chief editor of Thrissur edition of Mathrubhumi. When he heard about M-Pod, he sent me to a reporter to talk about. While taking notes, the reporter asked me what I do and how I came to learn computers. After I told him the story, he told me that he would like to change the nature of the article. He asked me if I have any problem in mentioning that I was a goldsmith. I said I don’t have any problem with mentioning the past but I didn’t want it to look like a personal promotion and would rather be happy if more people came to hear about M-Pod instead. He said the story could be inspiring to many people and M-Pod will definitely be the focus. I think that reporter’s name is Retheesh M B. I should thank Umechi, Surendran sir and Retheesh for this article.

It makes me so happy to know that there is this one person who was inspired by my life and it got his life changed. 🙂 Here is the article that was published in Mathrubhumi daily in 2006. The title reads something like, “Joseph’s world of computers glitters more than gold“.

Mathrubhumi article from 2006

Malayala Manorama news blooper

From the house of Malayala Manorama comes the biggest Malayalam print media blooper of the year. One of their news titles today says that united nations chief has condemned (അപലപിച്ചു) the death of U. S. Ambassador Holbrooke, when it should have been mourned (അനുശോചിച്ചു). And it’s repeated in the article portion. Funny thing is that even after 14 hours, they still haven’t bothered to correct the mistake. So much so to Malayala Manorama who would run after finding a Malayali connection even to the UN chief.

(Thanks to my friend Pradeep for the tip)

The Hollywood-phobia

I don’t understand what it is with our intellectuals that they hate Hollywood so much so that they cook up some ridiculous claims when they talk about something. I read an interview with film editor Beena Paul that was published in the last week’s Mathrubhumi weekly. The interviewer says this in his question –

“The biggest cultural invasion in the world is from America. Hollywood movies in particular try to portray the past tortures (especially the persecution of Jews) in the markets and film festivals these days. After 9/11, they have created a logic that says ‘not just the Muslims but we also were persecuted ‘. Movies like “Usama” and “Passion of the Christ” are examples to this.”

After cunningly weaving this highly (pseudo) intellectual question, he goes on to ask, “have you noticed such global political tactics gaining ground in our film festivals?”

Either this fellow, I remember his name is Sreekumar, has not seen many Hollywood movies or he is just weaving some intellectual conspiracy. One thing that is beautiful about America is that there are so many people in it’s society and intellectual/academic circles who would openly voice against any injustices of their Government in the public. People like Sean Penn or Michael Moore and some others were vocal against war in the off-reel world. So while most of our academicians and intellectuals would observe a criminal silence on sensitive issues most of the times, for a couple of awards that their political friends might fetch them, the Hollywood never hesitated to voice themselves even in the larger events like Oscars or Grammys. Against their own president or government and it’s strategies, knowing that the whole world is watching them. If it was our film industry, our patriotism would have drooled out first.

Secondly, there have been many movies from Hollywood that does not victimize themselves but take sides of the side-liners. The quick ones I can remember are Rendition (which was based on the Islamophobia post 9/11), Green Zone (which Michael Moore called the most honest film about Iraq) and not to mention a number of movies which had  been made on Vietnam war (many of them are now classics). I also heard of the recent movies like Redacted which are also based on the Iraq war.

So I have one suggestion for such kings of their small dens like Sreekumar. Try to watch some Hollywood movies before you start criticizing them. And try to learn something about producing movies that would be artistically and technically perfect (Learn from Enthiran that just spending some crores won’t fetch you quality of work). Just blabbering something and making up conspiracy theories won’t help.

Of becoming a father

I realize that ever since this blog came into existence, I have never been this far away from it. 🙂 And there is a good reason. I and my wife have been blessed with a baby boy on 22nd of November at 7:44 PM. I have become a father! Yes!!

It is the most amazing feeling I have ever had. I have never been happier in my life than the moment I held my child in my arms for the first time. I couldn’t stop smiling when I watched that most beautiful, precious baby as he made some movements. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I softly touched his head, his hands, his fingers and I was being extra cautious when someone else took him in their hands.

Many people had told me that life would change after marriage. But I haven’t felt much of change except for the first couple of weeks. But this… this has made me feel very different. It reminds me of the bigger responsibilities I have from now on, being a parent.

Some people said this moment on you would begin to respect your parents more. I don’t know how true that would be to me, because I always understood that it was not an easy task to bring up a family of 8 children and I have been trying to give my best to them ever since I have begun to take care of them. But there is one big difference of parenting in those days compared to our time. In those days, they were most worried about one thing – primarily about giving food (not even “enough” or “best” are the words to be appended to it) to their children and give them basic medication available when they were sick. In my time, I think there are a number of things to worry about – to provide them with the best possible options for every important step in their life.

And then there are even more thoughts. Will I be able to pass on the values that my mother taught me to my son? Will I be able to pass on the good things I learned from my life to my son? Will he become caring enough about the world he lives in? Will he care for the family? Will I be able to continue to provide the financial support that my family expects from me? The thoughts are terrifying at times, so I am going to give it a rest. 🙂 For the moment, I am happy and working hard to contribute my best to the family.

And here is a pic of my son, taken when the nurses brought him outside the labor room.

That's my son!