Goonda files

Keralites always love shortcuts ,one could always find custom for goat farming ,teak investment and other such bizzare invsetment options ,the mallu wanted hard cash the easiest and laziest way possible .

Militant labour was one such excellent career option for many youngsters

the climate of zindabad howling and Hartal declaring was ideal for this .

Any new venture in the state would find a flag implanted on it shortly and then the fun would begin !

it was always a sure fire winner with no shot fired .

Bloodless revolution

Attimari or qouting abysmal charges for manual jobs is a Kerala speciality ,discovered by the great founding fathers of united labour welfare .

This singular phenomenon provided bread and butter to many comrades with no sweat involved

After all qouting ones price when one was confident of its acceptance is a sure winner !

With this lineage of succesful schemes it was not long before Goondaism took over

Gods own country became something else again starting with G .

not much investment was required to qualify into this hallowed career option ,of course a good build and strong biceps is mandatory

foul language and swearing definitely helped ,one could get trained watching the right movies ,a sharp object was a must even whe used only for demo purposes .

the clientiele is far and wide with even corporate banks requesting Goondah services .

Goondaism is run on strict management guidelines these days .

Territorial independence is literally a legal right

confabultaions ,consultations and even conferences between goondahs and the society at large are part of the job .

Goondahs are untouchable in the right sense ( not the one Gandhiji fought for ) .

Thier responsibilities are wide and varied .

vacating premises ,eve teasing ,catcing eve teasers ,handling business rivalry ,tackling infedelity ,dowry ,family disputes ,and political rivalry ,

goondas have thier hands full and thus thier bank accounts too .

An arrest here or there is an occupational hazard they face ,

moments of media glare when Goondahs peep from behind turkish towels over thier grinning faces ,publicity in TV channels which could signal a future in the movies ,a stint in the cooler could also be in the offing but it could be in style depending on thier stature .

Career counselling experts are seriously thinking of training in Goondaism as it becomes more and more structured

a Goonda welfare society ,pensioners /Goondas assn is a need these days ,

the needs of these hard working people after thier productive years is to be met thier medical insurance is a must as they are in a high risk job

Goonda recreation clubs are a real need where they can relax after thier daily dose of unavoidable volence no interference and a couple of fine swigs of thier favourite brew

with our great leaders themselves having strong backgrounds ,Goondaism is a sure hit as a career option in Kerala .

One could rise to become anything ,sky is the limit

to be a Goonda in Kerala today sounds a very a sensible option .

Goondeswara namaha ....

happy onam

wednesday film

When I was recently given a DVD of the film WEDNESDAY I had my own doubts ,used to hindi potboilers and having a low opinion on thier action thrillers i reluctantly sat down to watch what I though was one more of the kind .
I sat straight in a few minutes and till the end of the movie for it absorbed me every single minute ,it appealed to my senses and at the end I clapped for Neeraj Pandey the director ,for the sauve sophisticated actor called Nasserudin shah and Anupham Kher the brilliant actor he sparred with .
suffice to say it is all about five bombs being planted in the city ( mumbai you guessed it baby ) and the events that followed this .
Iam not stupid to reveal an iota of the plot for each and every on of you should experience the thrill that unfolds .
all i would mention is the histrionic capabilities of our actors .
Naseerudinn Shah with his flawless diction voice control that melds and minces and his stylised trained acting ,this can come out of only a veteran whatever be the role he takes !
Anupham Kher is another pillar in the movie as the police comissioner he is all restraint and full of concealed strength ( heard kamalahassan another of my favourites is doing the role with mohanlal yet another of my beloved actors is taking a tamil version of this movie )
the film progresses with no loose ends and is a tapestry of thrill keeping one on the edges ,and with a nail biting finish ( not that you have much left out to bite by the end ! )
so take my advice go for it
a trailer link given below

http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/jul/28video6.htm

Scary Nites

This was when I was studying in Kilpauk Medical College Chennai for my MBBS .I used to stay just 2 Km away and used to walk home after college !

There was a short cut through the mortuary and in the evenings I used to take this route as it saved a short distance ,usually there was always a crowd outside the mortuary and inside some attenders would be there or even the Forensic surgeon at times ,they usually ignored students walking through the mortuary with thier white coats on thier shoulders .

Having got used to the anatomy labs by then the mortuary was just another place for us and one never associated anything scary there .

But one evening I sat in the library too long and when I reached the mortuary on my way back it was getting dark ,it was windy and had started to rain ,I rushed into the mortuary opened the door and went inside ,half way through the corridor I realised there wasnt a soul

( or was there ? ) in the place and my pulse was beating faster then ,it was too late to retreat as I had walked half way through my only fear was the gate at the road end was not locked so I walked fast

suddenly

the power went out and the lights blonked ,at the same moment the door shut in the wind with a bang ,I was in total darkness with God knows who !

I still remebember the shiver that travelled up my spine it was chilling as if a hand had crept up my behind I dared not to look behind and screaming silently I pushed open the door to the outside corridor which would lead to the gate and ....it wouldnt budge !!

I pushed it with my shoulders and I distinctly felt or heard a couple of footsteps behind me ,I felt something was running behind me to catch me

retrospectively thinking I am sure it was my fertile imagination that did the trick ,

my hands clawed the door for by now I knew it was bolted inside I reached up and found the bolt and brought it down with a cracking sound that sent a shock into my frightened self ,wordlesslly weeping i pushed the door open into the rain and ran into the gate which luckily was not locked I creaked it open and like an apparition myself popped out of the horror chamber wrenched in sweat which was washed by the rain

the next day morning seeing the mortuary in stark sunlight I laughed at myself but then that was the last time I used the shortcut !

Mangavu Kovilakkam

I have always had the yearning to go to the Mankavu Kovilakkam in kozhikode because that is where my grandfather belonged to,

P.C.M. Raja ( Padinjare covilakkathu Manavedan Raja )was born as one among the Zamorins but before you get impressed by the royal name let me hurry to tell you the Zamorins today are anything but royal ( probabaly only in thier culture )they are friendly and down to earth people like you and me

Unlike the kochi and Travancore royal families the ancestral house of the zamorins are in a shamble

The British and later our politicians effectively reduced them to penury ,a very few of them got educated and into good jobs but many are now average middle class families eking out a living .

Many are in other cities and abroad and some of them in very good positions and highly educated .

I also understood that family gatherings are happening in a big way these days

Apart from the Mankavu kovilakkam in kozhikode , the Zamorin family has two other branches: the Kizzhake Kovilakkam at Kottakal and the Thiruvannur Kovilakam.

The eldest member of these three Kovilakams will be the Zamorin.

The current Zamorin, P.K.S. Raja, belongs to Thiruvannur Kovilakam

I still remember the stories of my mother in her childhood when she used to go to Mankavu in her childhood with her father and thier customs and traditions .

those days they still retained a semblance of royalty

So this june on a rainy day I took an auto from Calicut Station to Mankavu kovilakkam to see my cousin Ammani thamburan who was waiting for me ,I had called him and evinced intrest in seeing the place and he welcomed me .

I alighted near a huge tank full of blue water upto its brim ,the rain was heavy and an umbrella clad thin Ammani chettan rushed to recieve me ,he was joyous at my intrest and attitude .and we entered the walled compound called Mankavu which housed several houses .

many houses are sectioned partitions of a bigger house which was a part of the palace ( when one talks of palace please dont visualise any other palaces say like in Rajasthan ,

the Zamorins were never ostentatious but rather lived like all in tiled Kerala houses some of the residents had built thier own small bungalows with gates and gardens .

I was taken to several relatives houses and introduced ,and was touched by thier love and affection .

We went into narrrow corridors up dingly attics cobweb ridden but full of history

the rain was drumming its music all along and the paths were slushy and green

it was a very cosy and wet forenoon ,we saw the Vaikkina maliga which was the place where gatherings took place to read scriptures ,it had some lovely temple paintings on its walls ,we also saw the small temple inside the complex .

Soon it was time for me to return ,

This trip was to me just a beginning ,i do hope I can make a longer one to delve into the details of my ancestor and his way of life

Ramaserry Idlis

Driving in the rains in Kerala is a delight

of course this statement should be taken with a ton of salt as potholes ,narrow roads with steep edges and murderous drivers demonise the delight !

But then if one just looked around the landscape was a feast ,

soothing green ,foggy clouds ,thunderous rains ,windswept umbrellas ,wet children with schoolbags ,overfilled buses ,drenched cyclists ,here lay the real chicken soup to the soul !

We were on our way from visiting a family deity in Nallepully Kavu a hamlet in Palghat district ,after our divine responsibilities we were looking forwards to our gastronomic one ,

It was breakfast time and we were heading towards the well known Ramaserry Idlis !

This is available in only one place in the world and this was where we were headed to ,

Near Elapully we turned towards the village Ramaserry

the country road wound its way and we reached a small vilage with a few shops and a temple ( Mannath Bhagavathi temple )

On enquiry from a group of youngsters I came to know that there are four families in the idli making art and it was a tradition handed over to them by thier ancestors .

Chittoori ammal was said to be the prima donna who bequeathed the secret recipe to her offsprings .

Way back some families from the weaving community in Kancheepuram ( Mudaliar families ) in Tamilnadu migrated to Kerala and settled down in Palghat ,they left due to lack of work and as all they knew was weaving and making these delicious idlis ,somehow they gained fame in the latter which they used to make and sell in Palghat town .

thier idlis were different from the conventional ones as these were flat more like appams soft and succulent and taken with chammandi ,podi ,or if you want chicken or whatever

( in the shops only vegetarian fare was available ) .

The special taste came from the ingredients and the making .

specific varieties of rice were used and the ratio of urad dal to rice, its fermentation were all specific and exacting ,the idlis were steamed in special clay pots only in firewood ( attempts to do the same in gas stoves in ambient five star kitchens were failures )

This was true gourmet food handed down the generations and just could not be commercialised ,maybe if it was it would reach the fame of Italian Pizzas or rather it should

We enjoyed the idlis ,and also bought some for taking home ( they last for more than 3 days )

a couple of links below on the same topic

http://chilayaathrakal.blogspot.com/2007/11/blog-post_28.html

http://kerala.gov.in/keralacallfeb_08/pg16.pdf

so make a trip to Kerala preferably in the monsoon and while the rains make a pattern watch it tucking into these heavenly idlis .( food for the Gods indeed ) .

Note : if you are the type to look into ambience of eating places you better parcel them if not njoy !