Category: Regional

The Malayali Factor

Today’s is a guest post from a friend, Sally Varma. Please post your thoughts in the comments section.

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On May 22, 2010, Saturday morning, an Air India Express plane from Dubai overshot the table-top runway at the Mangalore airport and plunged over a cliff into a wooded valley, killing 158 persons. There were 160 passengers and six crew members on board Flight IX-812. The passengers included 137 adults, 19 children and 4 infants. Eight passengers survived miraculously.

The whole of India was shocked with the news. I was at home watching TV and was going through the different news channels showing the news of the crash. I went through all the regional news channels first and was shocked to find a harrowing truth. All the Malayalam news channels only cared about the Malayalees in the flight. Among the 160 passengers in the plane, the only reports that were being shown was about the Malayalees who were in the plane. The newsreader kept repeating the same news of the number of Malayalees on board, the number of Malayalees killed, the number of Malayalees who escaped etc… It is a sad state that we live in where such bias takes place. Is this not a tragedy for India as a whole or is it in the viewpoint of all these Malayali channel’s ‘just a tragedy for Kerala’? What about the other people and their families, the non-Malayalees on that ill-fated flight? Don’t they too deserve the same prayers as the Malayalees?

I then switched channels and went to the Tamil news channels, which were faithfully showing the news of the crash with no partiality or bias towards only the Tamilian people on board. Also channels like CNN-IBN, Times Now, NDTV 24×7, were all showing religious coverage of the crash.

So, I think this shows the Malayali attitude of selfishness and regional chauvinism. And to think that all these channels and papers were criticizing Bal Thackeray for his comments on Sachin.  Bal Thackeray had slammed master blaster Sachin Tendulkar for his statement that he is an Indian first and then a Maharashtrian. If these Malayali channels can do this sort of bias while reporting news of a national tragedy like the Air India plane crash, then I think the comment from Bal Thackeray also can be justified.

It is high time that the Malayali media stop promoting such regional sensationalism and start to consider everyone as equal human beings.

In memory of the 158 HUMAN BEINGS who were killed in the Air India plane crash of October 22, 2010. May their souls rest in peace.

Thilakan and “The Gangs of New Kerala”

What goes on in the Malayalam movie industry these days make the movie lovers quite sad. The current state of the Malayalam movies is quite pathetic. We have only a couple of hits each year and rest of them bombs in the box office. The state of the cinema theaters is also pathetic that one wouldn’t take the pain of going to a theater to watch a movie and would rather watch it at his own home. With the arrival of big LCD screens, Dolby home theater sound systems and DVD/Blue-Ray discs, watching a movie at home is much much more comfortable than watching it in a theater. As a result, many theaters are closing down rapidly.

But who cares? There is absolutely no effective discussions going on about a rescue plan. The people in the industry are busy making crappy movies and the competition is so high in this field that we get crappy, crappier and crappiest movies – one after one. Then there are these organizations (AMMA, MACTA, FEFKA and all those funny names) which functions like gangs and we see their gang wars quite often. And it is cinema that dies in this war.

The whole incident of Thilakan being an outcast from Malayalam cinema has proved that there is no hope for any improvement in the near future. Thilakan had accused AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) of not allowing him to work in the movies and he pointed fingers at the superstars (Mammootty and Mohan Lal) in particular. What followed was a series of cheap stunts.

Director B Unnikrishnan, general secretary of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), said that the actor in Thilakan has died. But Thilakan has some great performing moments of Malayalam cinema (or rather Indian or world cinema) to his credit and we all know what kind of movies B Unnikrishnan has directed. Unnikrishnan also said that he would resign from his general secretary position if Thilakan could prove that FEFKA banned Thilakan from acting in films. Incidentally, the same FEFKA has threatened to pull out all technicians from the movie “Dam 999” if Thilakan was cast and the producers threw Thilakan out of the project. And as far as we know B Unnikrishnan still holds on to his position.

The above incident proves that there is some truth in what Thilakan says. He also lashed out at the Super Star fans and I whole heartedly agree with him on the fan-hood. The fan associations work like thugs, threatening people if they boo in cinema halls (and they themselves send booing teams when their enemy star’s cinema is released) and they also threaten people who leave after intervals when they are fed up of watching crap movies, and now the fans of Mohan Lal and Mammootty have united against Thilakan. Kerala now see that the rivals joining hands to fight a lone, old man.

Thilakan undeniably is a great actor. The truth is that if there is Thilakan acting in a super-star movie, he outshines the super stars with his acting prowess; however small his role is in the movie. So there are good reasons to believe what Thilakan says about the popularity-hungry, fan-fed Superstars working on denying him chances. Take a couple of superstar movies for example. “Kireedam“, an award winning movie where Mohan Lal and Thilakan played father and son, had both Mohan Lal and Thilakan in an equal performance and for the movie lovers, it was a treat (remember the scene where Thilakan says “kathi thaazheyideraa…“?). Or take Mohan Lal’s commercial hit “Sphadikam“. Thilakan’s Chacko maash was the most powerful character in that movie than Mohan Lal’s Aadu Thoma. Or take Mammootty’s “Kauravar“. It was an outright Thilakan movie, though Mammootty was in the lead role. Or take movies like “Perumthachan“, “Moonnaam Pakkam” etc. I can draw a lot more examples.

But he had very little support from industry, probably because nobody wants to question the “kings” and destroy their own career. Sukumar Azheekode came in support of Thilakan but he only added more garbage to the already stinking mess. Thilakan had claimed that he is a staunch Communist, but the party kept mum on the whole matter. It is understandable particularly when Mammootty is the chairman of party-owned Kairali TV. So the party did not back the ‘lesser Communist’ when they have ‘elite Communists’ in their fold. But renowned director Shaji N Karun came in support of Thilakan. He said, “The organizations have nothing to lose if they ban Thilakan. But the it is the cinema viewers who are going to lose.” He is so right. It is not AMMA, FEFKA or any other organization who is going to lose, but us, the Malayalam movie viewers. And the members of these organizations are busy looting our money and give us crappy movies.

Love Jehad?

Three of my good friends who are Christians married Hindu girls. All three of them were either studying or working together when they first met and fell in love. The girls got converted to Christianity. What do I call this? Love Crusade? I would like to know what Catholic Church has to say about this.

Two of my Hindu friends married Christian girls. The girls got converted to Hinduism at Arya Samaj offices. What do I call this? Love Karseva? I would like to know what Viswa Hindu Parishat has to say about this.

I have mentioned this over and again in many communications that at least in Kerala, those who have to compromise on their religion for a wedding happen to be Women. I have said that this is more of a gender issue because I have never heard of a boy converting to his girl’s religion to get married.

However, when the boy happens to be a Muslim and the girl happens to be a Christian or Hindu, why is it linked to the word Terrorism and an immediate interest in calling it Love Jihad? Why is it that our media even called it an organization without even investigating a little? Why are they remaining silent now that the DGP has submitted a report before the court that there is no such organization and no indication of anything like Love-Jehad? How could the Catholic church shamelessly join hands with VHP in keeping the numbers of the herd intact?

To conclude, an old online acquaintance of mine who happens to be a Muslim married a Christian boy some years back. Both of them have not changed their religions.

What do I call THAT?

What has made DHRM possible?

On September 23rd, a 61 year old ordinary citizen from Varkala went for his usual morning walk and was brutally killed by a group of militants with swords. By evening, the police arrested a member of DHRM (Dalit Human Rights Movement) in connection with this murder, which was followed up by the arrest of 6 others from the same group. The victim had no proven political links and the police stated that this murder was done by DHRM “to get public attention and to prove their strength in ranks“. Police also said that they are inquiring to see if DHRM has any terrorist links.

The obvious reaction of the public to all this was the utmost anger towards such outfits which use the measures of terror to gain publicity. But then I read this article in last week’s India Today (Malayalam edition) about the Varkala incident. I was surprised, because it is not in India Today’s nature to present a view that is contrary to the public opinion and I read that weekly for their local news section in the first couple of pages and then the ‘masala’ section in the last pages. Saritha Balan, a reporter of India Today (Malayalam edition) has written in detail about the backdrop of the murder in Varkala. She says it is important to ask how such an organization like DHRM could influence a majority of the Dalit communities in Ernakulam, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

Highlights of the India Today report:

  • DHRM stood for the well-being of Dalits as per some of the residents of Dalit colonies
  • Hundreds of families in the Muthaana, Thoduve colonies are living without the basic facilities
  • There is not even one cent of land for one house in Thoduve colony, where there are more than 600 houses
  • A family has to live in a ‘house’ that we can hardly call a ‘room’ by the public measures
  • Even the primary education is luxury here
  • There is not even a radio set for ‘luxury’

DHRM came to the scene in such a situation. As per some of the colony residents, DHRM gave them hope and they taught them to live responsibly. Most of the Dalit men were under the influence of drugs and alcoholism but DHRM conducted study classes for them. Saritha reports that an 8 year old Sandhya told her that DHRM study classes ask the children to study well and look after their parents.

“My husband would drink all day and was a total waster,” 29-year-old Kochumol, a mother of three, says. “He turned a teetotaler after attending DHRM study circles.” Soon, she followed him to these Sunday gatherings where, over five hours, Ambedkar’s life would be recalled and advice given on daily affairs. Cultural shows at the end were a big hit. Despite their meagre earnings as wage labourers — they call themselves ‘coolies’ — everyone would gladly pay Rs 30 for the events. [via]

The India Today report also quotes the colony residents and says that Shivsena activists have been threatening them. We can understand the concern of the political parties here. Communists who have been benefiting from the Dalit communities in Kerala since a very long time would not like another outfit to take the leadership of Dalits and contest in the elections. BJP and Shivsena alike would not like such a Dalit uprising as they have been trying hard to place themselves as the alternate shelter for Dalits in Kerala.

The DHRM has a notable influence among the Dalit community and they have contested elections from Attingal constituency and won 5217 votes in the last parliamentary elections. The question to ask here in this context is, did they (DHRM) have to do such a brutal murder in order to get public attention? They were already popular among the community that they work with and would they go ahead and make such a stupid decision to kill someone and get negative publicity? If it is not the DHRM, then who did that brutal murder? The questions remain unanswered until the final verdict on the case comes out. The DHRM members say that they trust the judiciary like we do and they hope the real culprits would be sent to justice.

Also read:

What is DHRM and why do they kill?
Ambedkar’s Lost Boys?

(Image courtesy: Tehelka)

Lt Colonel Mohan Lal

MohanLalIn 2007, I wrote a blog post about Mohan Lal’s promotional ads of a liquor brand. Mohan Lal had formed a business alliance then, with the owners of the same brand, Original Choice. When the news became controversial the defenders were of the opinion that Mohan Lal was only promoting ‘evening snacks’ under the same brand name (just like how Vijay Mallya is selling only soda and mineral water under the brand name King Fisher). Die hard fans and Mohan Lal himself had also argued that there would not be any raise in the number of drunkards just because the actor was promoting it, considering the fact that Kerala has the highest alcohol consumption in the country. The opposition’s concern was that the actor has high influence on people in Kerala, particularly the youth who see Mohan Lal as an icon and role model.

Now let us just casually say that Mohan Lal’s celebrity influence on the youth of Kerala was not going to boost the sales of anything – be it gold, lungies or liquor (you might ask then why would the commercial brands use celebrities for promotion and pay them millions for that, but let us just put it aside for the time being). In the last week, Mohan Lal has been granted the Honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. This honor comes after Mohan Lal’s two successful Malayalam movies (Keerthichakra and Kurukshetra) in which he enacted the role of an Army Major. As per the Army Chief Deepak Kapoor, Mohan Lal will be yet another brand ambassador of the Territorial Army. Defense Minister A K Antony also said that, “this will be an inspiration for the younger generation to join the armed forces“. A CNN-IBN article on this says that, “Mohanlal’s role will be to inspire youth to join the armed forces“.

It is at this point that I have a question – As per the supporters of Mohan Lal during the time of Original Choice advertisement, his influence on the youth did not take any effect in boosting the sales of liquor. Has that changed all in a sudden? Now would Mohan Lal inspire the youth just because it is a good patriotic cause?

Skeptics say that youth is more prone to go under the bad influences first, than good ones.

PS: Some also say that considering the situation, Mammootty should be conferred an honorary position in CBI for his 4 successful movies as a CBI officer, or Suresh Gopi as an honorary Commissioner of Police for his numerous super hits as a highly ranked police officer. 😀

(Image source: Google Images)

Man eats 68 “dogs” in 10 minutes!

Don’t believe it? Check out the front page of today’s Deshabhimani newspaper (click on the image below to see the full and enlarged version). It says a man ate 68 dogs in a competition organized in America as part of the independence day. And the second prize winner ate the flesh of 64.5 dogs. If you are just stunned at how a person could eat 68 “dogs” in just 10 minutes, check out this link.

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As the Malayalam saying goes, “kaala pettu ennu kekkumbum kayar edukkaruthu“…

The Soul That Knew How To Sing

kamala_dasThe famous Indian writer Kamala Suraiyya (formerly known as Kamala Das), who is also known as Madhavikutty in the Malayalam literature, has passed away in Pune at the age of 75. Her body will be brought to Kerala tomorrow. Kamala Suraiyya wrote poems in English and is famous for her stories in Malayalam with the pen name Madhavikutty. She was nominated for the Nobel prize for literature in 1984.

For most of the Malayalees, Madhavikutty was a porn writer. Ask the common public, who couldn’t see the truly original soul that she was, about Madhavikutty and they would say, “I know, I know… she is the one who wrote “Ente Katha” (My Story – her autobiography), right?”. Ente Katha must be the most widely read autobiography in Kerala for it’s references to the experience of love and lust. Madhavikutty was true to herself in writing that book. Unlike most of the so-called social/cultural/literary icons, she did not try to glorify herself in her autobiography. She was honest and wrote what she experienced and felt. Madhavikutty was not a writer who wrote something pretentious in her works and lived off a personal life completely different. She did not hide her weaknesses along with her strengths in her book. With Ente Katha and by showing herself open through her writings, she poked at the Malayali community (or for that matter, the conservative Indian society) and laughed at their pseudo-morality. And her writings about love and lust brought her so much criticism from the people.

Madhavikutty made news when she changed her faith to Islam. There were people who opposed and supported her on this decision. I also felt bad. Since every religion has the presence of God, what is the need of changing religion, I thought. Along with the other people, I also thought that it was a publicity stunt. But on another thought, I felt that I was wrong. If I had truly believed that every religion has the presence of God, why should I have any problem with changing the religion? There I concluded that I haven’t yet understood the concept of universal love that Madhavikutty had believed and practiced in her life.

But later on she said that her conversion to Islam was because of a Muslim man who promised to marry her but decieved her later. This man was said to be a young and famous Islamic scholar from Kerala. People had their eye-brows raised. Both Hindu and Muslim extremists were enraged. “The old woman still has not lost her desire for lust“, many people said, as if they were living a perfectly divine life, lust-free. Madhavikutty was a person who had so much of love in her that she spread around. And when she spoke of love, it was not just the sexual union that she referred to. She was known for her referrence to Krishna in her pre-Muslim writings and this has given her kind of a Meera figure. Look at the old poems she wrote:

Krishna, I am melting,
Melting, melting
Nothing remains
But you

or

“If love is a flower, lust is its fragrance. Without love, where is lust and without lust, can life be created?” Kamala Suraiyya quotes Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam. “I think of Radha and Krishna when I think of love. Life is all about various dimensions of love.” [via]

But the pseudo-moralistic Malayali society could not accept Madhavikutty for what she was. When she was awarded the Ezhuthachan Award by Kerala government, recognizing her outstanding contributions to the language and the literary world, the fundamentalists threatened to hijack the award ceremony. Their argument was that “she who writes on love and lust” does not deserve such prestigious recognition! The most interesting part of Madhavikutty as a writer is that she was never a part of the “Feminist writers” or did not prefer to call herself as a Feminist. She did not need the label of Feminism in her writings. However, she spoke about the crimes against women, child prostitution etc.

When I heard the news of her departure today in the morning, I felt sad because she wouldn’t be there anymore to speak of love – that four letter word that people hold on to dearly but fears to admit publicly. May her soul rest in peace…

(Photo courtesy: IndianExpress.com)

Pictures of Thrissur Pooram

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I just went to see the Pooram tonight with my friends. The city was still alive and filled with people. Families come to see the Pooram at night. There were small Poorams coming to the town from different Desams. We walked around, occassionally clicking the photos in our mobile phones. Here are the pictures that I took.

Panthal at Manikandanal (Kuruppam Road Junction)

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Panthal at Naduvilal (M G Road Junction)

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Panthal at Naikanal (Near Dhanalaxmi Bank)

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Elephants passing by

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Vadakkumnathan Temple at night

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Thrissur Pooram

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When the Goddesses of Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady meet in front of Vadakkumnathan, Thrissurians wake up to Thrissur Pooram, a festival filled with colors and music.

You have so much to see and hear in the two days of the festival. Start with the Panchavaadyam of Madathil Varavu. The heat would be so unbearable, but you would ignore it when you hear the legendary artists performing right in front of you (by the way, if you want to hear the best Melam artists performing, come to Thrissur Pooram). You will see many foreigners on the road but don’t be surprised if one of them told you that they came from BBC or a French or American television channel to cover the program. If you did not want to miss the Paandi Melam of Paramekkavu, walk past the cheering crowd to the Sreemoolasthaanam of Vadakkumnathan Temple. Pause a bit on the way to listen to a team performing Naadaswaram. Enjoy the music a little and if you are thirsty, have a glass of sambhaaram from the near by houses or stalls that supply it for free. Rush along to hear the Paandi Melam and on the way collect all the goodies you get for free – the newspaper, butter milk, a paper cap or a handheld paper fan to beat the heat. Watch around while you walk, you would see some of the famous elephants in Kerala (or perhaps in the whole of India). You might just want to stop and see their elegant look with all the ornaments.

Rush inside the Vadakkumnathan temple after you are done listening to the Paandi Melam at Sreemoolasthaanam. The Elanji tree awaits you to treat with the famous Elanjithara Melam. Sway along with the crowd and their waving hands in the air, cheer at the peak of pleasure that only music can bring. Then head on towards the Thekke Nada to watch Kudamaattam. Keep your heads up in the air, while you watch the beautiful umbrella exchange, or else you may not be able to breathe properly among the lakhs of people around you. Give a smile at the TV cameras in the area, your friends of family watching numerous TV channels which broadcast Pooram live may get to see you on TV.

It is not time to leave yet. There is a grand firework ceremony in the early morning next day which is a very famous part of Thrissur Pooram. So you can either hop over to a cinema theater nearby to watch a Pooram special midnight show or check out the Pooram Exhibition. I would suggest that you take a walk in the Swaraj Round though. To smell the pooram. The smell of Pooram consists of the Panthams (cloth lanterns) lit in the night and of the aana piNdam. 🙂 You would also get to see many small Poorams entering in the temple throughout the night. So don’t even think of sleeping at night. In the early morning, open your eyes and ears for the grand fireworks ceremony and then those of you who comes from outside Thrissur district may want to leave. Because the second day of Pooram is for Thrissurians to see.

People have different reasons to love Thrissur Pooram. Some people come to see the elephants (some would even call them by names. You will hear comments like  “isn’t it Paramekkavu Rajasekharan?“, “Thiruvambadi Kannan looks elegant!“), some like the melams (orchestra), some people like the Kudamaattam, some prefer the fireworks etc. I love Pooram for the Melam part. And to see the strangers smiling at you and sharing what they saw in the festival city. That mixture of people from different parts of the world, celebrating pooram together is one thing that’s so special about Pooram.

PS: Take the necessary precautions like you would before going to any place in India were people gather in masses. Watchout for pick pocketers or eve-teasers and beware of sexual harassment (don’t even think about bringing your woman folk in to the crowd, unless you find a safe place to sit) .

(The photo at the top was taken in 2005)