2011 Chennai trip - so far so good

• Makkal TV started telecasting movies, however with (useful) messages such as "inda padathin nayakan periyaar puththagangalai padippaar"
• There are commercials for diapers, baby wet wipes and ellipticals which I had not seen last year
• TV commercials also need a (good-for-nothing) censor board.  Some of them solely depend upon the model(woman)'s level of exposure
• There are apartments everywhere, every family owns a car and every road is flooded with them
• It is either upper middle class family or poor family, there is no "Middle class family"
• Velachery and Chromepet will soon be substitutes of TNagar
• There are overbridges in almost every major junction
• There was enough space between vehicles at Panagal park on India-Pakistan quarterfinals of world cup 2011; I wish I were there to witness the situation on the day of finals :)
• Most women wear Capri perhaps to beat the heat
• Saw at least 5 obese people in the last 10 days
• Extravaganza in shows like super singer makes it unworthy to watch.  Contestants wear clothes that are worn by only the heroines of kollywood; dont quite understand how the parents give a nod
• It is just mid-April and could not sustain the heat waves
• Indian markets have everything that is available outside India

Anda naalum vandhidatho?

April 13, 2011 - Tamil Nadu Assembly election to be held.  And each party is trying to make use of the Indian mentality - OSI; it is not an abbreviation of anything, it is a simple TAMIL(?) word, ஓசி.  And they are gifting Mixer grinder, grinder, refrigerator, laptop etc.  But mind you, my fellow country men,  They are not talking about the power cuts that will deter us from using these gadgets.  They are not talking about a free basic education that will enable everyone to use a laptop.  There are many important infrastructure issues such as laying roads, power and water scarcity, non-standardized education systems, education fee structures and more importantly corruption.  எலுமிச்சம்பழதிலேர்ந்து எலி பாஷாணம் வரைக்கும் ஊழலோ ஊழல்.  But who wants to talk about these?  The gathering at their public addressing applauds for their rubbish talks.  Sometimes I feel India is very much cursed  than Japan.  Why can't there be a tsunami to flush off all these politicians?  At least Chennai is a coast, I wish Delhi gets shifted near Chennai or any other coast as Vadivelu claims in a film so that it gets hit easily by a violent tsunami.  

I do not know the details of Anna Hazare and dont know where was he all these days.  Many many thanks to him and those who support him.  It was good of Aamir Khan to have written to the PM in this regard; I am yet to understand the Lokpal Bill that Hazare and his group of activists are fighting for.  But I have a long time dream on how the rulers of India should be.  Read on:

1. Anyone who is contesting for elections should have had a minimum education of 15 years, in Indian terms  an undergraduate. 
2. All those that contest should have served the country through Army/Navy/Air Force / Police / ICS or similar departments for a minimum of 3 years.
3. EC has the authority to disqualify a contestant (may be already existing?)
4. Only those that file IT returns every year and with clean records can contest
5. Government will take care of the day-to-day expenses of the MLAs and MPs and the other rulers such as Governors and CMs but their salary will be on term basis and strictly on performance and feedback from the people of the constituency. No performance, no salary.
6. Only one person from a group of kith and kin will be able to hold a ministry across central and state
7. No person will be able to contest from his native place or from the area where majority of the people living in the area belong to the the same community as that of the contestant.(I am sorry but India can never ever get rid of caste system)
8. No contestant should have ever been convicted in a court.
9. No contestant should have ever been charged with crimes against women and children.

 I know it will only remain as a dream forever...

Three cheers to Dhoni's men

Well, the world cup fever is all gone!  Every Indian (I count only those that are cricket fans here) is so happy and proud not only for the team lifting the WC but also for making all the knock-out matches so thrilling and entertaining.  Thanks to the ICC group for keeping these matches day-night as I could only watch them after 10 pm IST.  

I had personally lost interest in following cricket soon after few of the Indian team members caught in match-fixing and also when the team's performance was really not up-to-the mark.  Dhoni was getting popular then with his batting and hair styles.  Remember seeing hoardings of his Mysore Sandal soap commercials  in the Central station when hubby and I boarded a train to Munnar.  If at all I liked 'that' kind of a hair style, it was only Dhoni's.  This time when I saw him on the TV, I was shocked to see that he had shed that extra hair and also his batting performance( He scored only singles in most of the matches). Does not matter, he proved that he is the MAN, he is the CAPTAIN on April 2nd, a date that the Indians will not forget for sometime from now.  

When it was 30 required from 30 balls my blood pressure was sure high as the credit history of our men's mental strength is very poor but when Yuvraj and Dhoni each sent the ball to the ropes, it was very evident that Dhoni's men were going to lift the WC.  I read all reviews - the one on the front page, many many on the sports column on the penultimate page of The Hindu and I missed to note one thing everywhere.  Every Indian  knew India will be the champions of 2011 around the 46th over but  what was so enthralling was the six that came from Dhoni on the last ball - I felt it was the best gift that the skipper gave to his men and the country.  I am sure the spectators at Wankhede would have witnessed the best hit of the day!

PS: Very happy that this post comes in April, the month I started my blog last year.  Sometimes I wonder "yaarume illatha kadayila tea aathareno" but Thanks to Major Sir, Krishna, Renga and others who encourage me to keep writing.  Please do continue to visit here and leave your comments :)