Who am I ?

My friend and fellow blogger Murali Rama Varma http://muralirvarma.blogspot.com/2009/11/some-questions-and-answers.html sent this Q & A to me, "I came across a blog from a most promising and talented teen-aged girl. She had quoted a questionnaire supposedly asked to a celebrity by a media man and had given her own interesting and most original answers, assuming that these questions were aimed at her.This made me to think as to how I would have answered these questions, if it were asked to me. I think, by answering these questions, we express our personality to enable a friend or reader to understand us more."

I would request my fellow bloggers and readers to answer these questions themselves- whether to publish or not- for the fun of it and for a self analyzis. It can be quite exhilarating.Here are the questions and my answers.

(1). Fun to you is...
Party with lots of beer and dancing.
(2). If you were invisible for a day, you would...
Have a look at many that is not possible otherwise.
(3).The one invention you're really waiting for...
Stop ageing.
(4).Would you like to be young forever?
Certainly yes.
(5).What are you reading at the moment?
http://inorite.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/the-reluctant-princess/
(6).Who is your favourite cartoon character?
Lockhorns.
(7).The place you really want to visit and why?
United States of America, because I haven’t been there.
(8).Which film's hero/heroine do you most identify with?
Naren in Robin Hood (Malayalam movie) .
(9).Your idea of a perfect meal?
Buffet Lunch / Dinner in a star hotel.
(10). Lean or brawny?
Lean.
(11). Three people from history you'd like to meet?
John F. Kennedy, Lord Mountbatten, Diana Princess of Wales.
(12).Your worst date ever?
Alas, never had one.
(13). Ethnic wear or Western wear?
Both according to the occasion.
(14). Morning person or night person?
Night person.
(15).What are you addicted to?
I am embarrassed to disclose.
(16).The naughtiest thing you've ever done?
The Answer is censored.
(17).What's your retirement dream?
Buy a plot opposite to my ancestral place, build a home, enjoy the visits of children and friends and visit them. Then, I would want to travel first class to places of interest staying in the best hotels.
(18). Five personal care products you can't do without?
My toothbrush, comb, my garments, chapels and my eye glasses.
(19).Who do you think your partner has a crush on?

She doesn't have time after her worries !
20).Your favourite drink?
Budweiser Beer.
(21).The one food you can never say no to?
Puddings.
(22). Rate in order of importance: fame, money, power.
Power, fame, money.
(23).Your next move?
Putting it up for the world to come to a conclusion about me.

Comments about me are most welcome.

Communist citadel

Don’t confuse the above picture to be from somewhere in China. It is the K.I. Rajan memorial (click on the picture to enlarge), the late communist Member of the Kerala legislative Assembly. It is situated between Pambanar and Vandiperiyar on National Highway 220 connecting Kollam with Theni via Kottayam and Kumily. Before it was elevated to a NH it was known as K.K.road.

Soviet Union may have vanished, China maybe practising communism and socialism in name only but here in Kerala the Idukki District is a communist citadel. The party apparatchiks control everything here with the help of their union members. The amount of funds they collect from the hapless is mind boggling. The communists are to be blamed for the investment unfriendly situation prevailing in Kerala and keeping Kerala still in the socialist backward era. The SFI, DYFI, and CITU, or the students wing, the youth wing and the headload wing of the communist party is the precursor of the present goonda, mafia, quotation gangs.

Jeb We Met

Dr. Titus with glass in hand, Thomas Matthew parackel standing behind

Couple of years ago Kerala Minister Paloli Mohamed kutty made an adverse comment about the Kerala High Court Judges being influenced by the wealthy. The High court initiated contempt of court proceedings against the minister. Two letters, one by Dr. Titus and one by me, both criticizing the minister were published in the Indian Express on the same day. Both the letters were published under the caption ‘Just desserts’. Since I couldn’t figure out the meaning of the caption I searched out Dr. Titus’s phone number from the BSNL online directory and called him. He was surprised by my call and asked me how I got his number. Even he too didn’t know the meaning of the caption which was given by the (sub) editor. Later after finding the meaning of the word he called me back.

Dr. Titus is an avid tennis player. Mundakayam club conducts veteran’s tennis tournament every year in February. Being originally from Mundakayam I happen to be a member of the club. The tournament was taking place in a couple of month’s time and we decided to meet. As planned we met for the first time at the club and talked for the next 2 hours as if we knew each other since childhood! Ever since, almost every day we are in touch with each other either by phone or text message.

It was destiny that brought us together, a letter by me titled ‘Phew what a relief!’ which I had written supporting Dr. Titus regarding (something about children and their studies) was published when we were total strangers to each other and he had preserved the newspaper showing it to his friends and relatives who called on him and whom he thought were interested. As a mark of our friendship he gave that newspaper to me when I called on him at his place.

A couple of months later I got in touch with Mr. Thomas Mathew Parackel, Muvattupuzha , another prolific writer, the same way. It was a coincidence that he knew my father-in-law and was neighbors with my wife’s maternal uncle. Apart from letters to the editor he used to contribute to ‘Time out’ as well. He gave me the email id of Mr. Swaminathan who was handling ‘Time out’ at Express. I passed on the email to Dr. Titus and we too started sending anecdotes to ‘Time out’. Many of which were published.

All three of us got –together for lunch at hotel Windsor castle, Kottayam last year and regally cemented our friendship over a bottle of Chivas.

Kerala Higher Secondary Model Question Paper

There is a raging controversy in Kerala about the question paper for the mid term examination in the Government higher secondary schools. The question papers are set by teachers’ affiliated to the communist unions.
In the mid-term Plus 1 examination, students were asked to comment on the media coverage of the death of Mercy Ravi, suggesting that the death was overplayed because she had been rich and influential.
There was also a suggestion that students write to the editor, protesting against the lopsided treatment of news, giving `undue’ importance to the death. (of the Federal Minister’s wife).

The congress affiliated teachers union could come out with the following question paper to counter their communist counterparts.

Write an essay on one of the following.

(1). Explain why communist parties constantly agitate for increased wages when according to the Dus Capital workers are not to be paid anything more than what is necessary for their daily sustenance.

(2). According to the communist manifesto all land belongs to the state. Then why do the communist parties support redistribution of land to the landless?

(3). Why is it said that communism is the offspring of jealousy?

( Anyone who answers all questions satisfactorily will be promoted to Std.XII immediately).

The Kannur fiasco

There is a big uproar about the enrolment of hardcore communist party voters in Kannoor from other constituencies. The United Democratic Front (Opposition in Kerala) should have considered this scenario earlier as this is what happens when you try to eat the cake and have it too. It’s next to impossible to beat the Left Democratic Front (the communist ruling alliance) in a by election when they are in power. They will utilise the entire government machinery to their advantage not to mention the substantial number of their bogus voters. If the LDF wins they will claim the earlier trend seen during the recently concluded Parliament election in which the UDF romped home in majority of the seats to have been reversed (in the short span of 5months). The UDF should not have pulled out the sitting MLAs to contest the parliament elections and avoided this needless by-election. This is called bad planning and I am reluctant to bet on the UDF.

Living Puritanically.

The following is an excerpt from (Senior counsel Supreme Court of India) Soli J. Sorabjee’s Soliloquies in the Sunday Express of the 11th October : Pre -censorship of Nehru Edwina Movie.

At long last the film Nehru – Edwina has been okayed by the Government of India. It is reported that the ministry of Information and Broadcasting had called for a copy of the film’s script and asked the producers to tone down some intimate scenes featuring Nehru and Edwina. If true this is deplorable pre – censorship. And pray what are intimate scenes? Holding hands, or lying in each other’s arms or kissing and embracing? Such scenes depict deep mutual affection and do not necessarily have sexual implications. If Nehru, a warm blooded Kashmiri, were passionately fond of Edwina, does that diminish his stature as a great national leader? No mature, balanced person would think so except those who are obsessed with sex and discern it in every physical act or gesture. In the past publication of letters by Netaji Subash Chandra Bose to his close friend Emile Schenold evoked vociferous protests.

Are we living in the puritanical reign of Oliver Cromwell? For God’s sake grow up.

My question to the interested readers is that, do the above apply to all presently married warm blooded people or to the so called Great National leaders only?

Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer - Dewan of Travancore / Random thoughts

Dewan Sir C.P.Ramaswamy Iyer standing next to
His Highness Sree Chitra Tirunal Balarama Varma the Maharaja of Travancore.
click on the photo to enlarge (photo courtesy Kerala police history.com)

Southern Kerala has not seen development since Travancore days, says former Royal (Click on Text to read)
It is the truth and nothing but the truth, what His Highness. Sree Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the Mharajah of Travancore said about Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the erstwhile Dewan of Travancore. It is for the first time someone at his level or rather anyone at all is publicly praising Sir. C.P. I fully concur with HH. "C.P. should not have been mistreated".

The following is the comment I had posted in the blog about Sir. Mirza Mohammad Ismail - ‘Musings from Antique Origins’ http://muralirvarma.blogspot.com/2009/02/sir-mirza-mohammad-ismail-kcie-obe.html. “You are absolutely correct in your observation that the quality of administration of the princely states had been great with the contributions of men of exceptional caliber like Sir Syed Mirza Ismail and Sir C.P.Ramaswamy Iyer. India and more particular Kerala suffer from lack of such able administrators. In my opinion Kerala is in this present state of morass may be because Sir. C.P. cursed this state for having tried to kill him.

The Communist parties of course have an understandable hatred towards Sir. C.P because he would have crushed them. But 'Malayala Manorama' the leading right wing daily in Kerala too have an animosity towards him. They state that he deliberately sealed the newspaper office and liquidated the National and Quilon Bank in which the present Chief Editor K.M. Mathew’s father Mammen Mappilai was a director. Not only that, he even incarcerated Mammen Mappilai. Recently I happened to see (couldn’t read) a book written by Prof. Sreedhara Menon, in which the actions of Sir.C.P. regarding the National and Quilon Bank is lauded. In the book it is written that but for his timely action the public would have lost their deposits in the bank.

The Pottamkulam family to which I belong too has an axe to grind with Sir. C.P. See the attached pages from our family history. But I always took the entire episode with a pinch of salt for two reasons. one, as a Diwan who encouraged economic and industrial reforms could a man of such high competence be communal and or jealous whatsoever, and two the lack of business acumen coupled with the legendary extravagant lifestyle of the people in the picture too may have contributed to the cause of the shut down.

I must point out that Mr. & Mrs. K.V.Thomas Pottamkulam (my great grandfather's brother)were supposed to be close with Kaudiar Palace especially with Amma Maharani Karthika Tirunal lakshmi Bayi. It was he who originally bought the Ammachy Kottaram (Regent's summer palace) at Kuttikanam, Peerumade, Idukki district, Kerala; from the Regent Maharani Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and made it his residence before selling it to its present owners the Kallivayalils (incidentally my maternal grandfather's brother).

I admire Sir.C.P. maybe because of the belief that he would not have allowed the communists to be anywhere near where they are now, keeping Kerala still in the socialist era . I also appreciated his call for independent Travancore (for which the State Congress too disliked him). But had Travancore been independent and in the course of time became a democracy, the communists when they come to power by rotation as it is happening now in Kerala, would have implemented the land reforms act much more stringently and none of the other parties would repeal it when they come to power for fear of loosing support of those who got the land for free. The plantation sector escaped the Kerala land reforms act because of certain control of Indian Parliament.

Click on photo to enlarge

(Translation) "If that K.V. Thomas is allowed to to grow and become successful like this, he'll become very rich" Sir.C.P. said to his secretary on their way to Trivandrum after inaugurating Travancore Wood Works with a Golden Key. The rapid raise of KVT was such that even the Dewan of Travancore became jealous.

Click on photo to enlarge

(Translation) In 1938 The then Dewan of Travancore Sir C.P. Ramasawmy Iyer himself came to inaugurate Travancore Wood Works which had about 1000 workers. Surprisingly on his return to Trivandrum he issued orders to stop cutting of trees within an area of 10 square miles of the factory and put pressure for foreclosure of all bank loans.