DeeSubahar

அரை நூற்றாண்டுப் புன்னகை மன்னன்! -2

2011-12-23T12:29:00.001+09:00

குறைவிலா வாழ்க்கைக் களமிறங்கி இந்நாள்
அரைசதம் வென்றவனே ஆற்றல் மிகும்-உன்
பெருமைகள் ஊர்சொல்லும் பல்லாண்டு - நண்பா
முருகேசா வாழ்கவே நன்று..!

முருகேசனின் 50-வது பிறந்த நாளுக்கு வந்திருந்த மிகச் சிறப்பான வாழ்த்து இதுவே! பகலவனின் எளிய தமிழில் மரபிலக்கிணத்தை மீறாமல் ஒரு வெண்பா. கலக்கிட்டே, மச்சி!

கல்லூரி காலத்திலேயே பகலவனுக்குக் கவிதை மேலிருந்த காதல் தெரிந்தவர்களுக்கு “குறைவிலா வாழ்க்கை...” வியப்பாக இருக்காது. நேரிசை, இன்னிசை வெண்பா என்று மரபுக் கவிதையிலும் பகல் முன்பே முயன்றிருக்கலாம், எனக்குத் தெரிந்திருக்கவில்லை. சுஜாதாவைத் தீவிரமாக வாசித்ததாலும் மரபில் ஈர்ப்பு ஏற்பட்டிருக்கலாம். சுஜாதா திரும்பத் திரும்ப சொல்லியிருக்கிறார் –மரபுக் கவிதையே அவருக்குப் பிடித்த வகை என்று. தொல்காப்பியம் முதல் ஹைக்கூ வரையிலும் நேற்று வந்த புதுக்கவிதையிலும் நல்லவற்றை அடையாளம் காட்டியவர், வெண்பாவை சிலாகிக்கிறார்; மரபிலக்கணம், சொற்சிக்கனம் என்ற கட்டுப்பாடுகள் இருந்தும் உலகத்தரத்தைத் தொடும் புறநானூற்றுப் பாடல்கள் பற்றி தனி புத்தகமே எழுதியிருக்கிறார். “மரபுக் கவிதை வழக்கில் இல்லாமல் போனதிற்குக் காரணம் அவற்றில் பரவலாகத் தெரியும் மிகைப்படுத்தலே” என்கிறார். (கடினமான, அன்றாட வழக்கத்தில் இல்லாத வார்த்தைப் பிரயோகங்கள் என்பதை ஏனோ சொல்லவில்லை). அனிதா(வை), இனிதா(மதம்), வனிதா(வும்), மனிதா(பிமானம்) என்று அனுதின வார்த்தைகளை வைத்து, இலக்கணம் பிறழாமல் வெண்பா எழுதிக் கலாய்க்கிறார்.

பகலவனின் வெண்பா முதலில் அதன் எளிமையால் என்னைக் கவர்ந்த்து. (“ஊர் சொல்லும் பல்லாண்டு” என்கிற போது மட்டும் கொஞ்சம் சங்க காலம் தெரிகிறது); ‘நாமும் முயன்றால் என்ன?” என்று என்னைத் தூண்டியது. வெண்பாவின் சின்ன விதிகளைக் கொஞ்சம் தூசு தட்டி, முடிந்தவரை ‘லோக்கல் தமிழி’ல் முயன்றிருக்கிறேன். பகல், சூரி போன்ற கவியரசுகளுக்கு: அடியேன் படைப்பில் ‘வார்த்தைத் தேடல்’ உங்களுக்குத் தெரியலாம். சொற்குற்றம், பொருட்குற்றம் இருப்பின் நெற்றிக்கண்ணைத் திறந்துவிட வேண்டாம். சுட்டிக் காட்டுங்கள். (பகலுக்கு ஒரு கேள்வி: இரண்டாம் அடியில் வரும் தனிச்சொல், அந்த அடியின் முதற்சீருடன் எதுகையில் இருக்க வேண்டியதில்லையா?)

முதலில் குரு வந்தனமாக பகலுக்கு ஒரு 'ஷொட்டு' (நேரிசை வெண்பாவில்):

சட்டென்று கேட்டால் மரபில் கவிமழை
சிட்டாகப் பாடும் பகலவா -எட்டில்
மசியாத வெண்பாவை இன்றுநீ ஐம்பதில்
தூசிதட்டி பட்டை கெளப்பு!

அடுத்து, இப்போதைய நாயகன் முருகேசன் பற்றி. குறள் வெண்பாவையும் விட்டு வைப்பானேன்?

ஐம்பதிலும் வாரா நிதானம் நண்பனிடம்
டீன்ஏஜில் கண்டு வியப்பு.
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படித்தது ஐந்தாண்டு, மனதி லிடம்
பிடித்தது ஆயுள் வரை.
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பதினேழில் சந்தித்தோம்; கற்றோம், இருந்தும்
எதிலோ கழிந்தது தேடல் - மனதில்
ஒருநாள் விரியும் நினைவில் மலரும்
முருகேசன் புன்முகம் கண்டு.
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பிறந்த நாள் கொண்டாட்டங்கள் முடிந்துவிட்ட படியால், குறள் வெண்பாவிலேயே, முருகேசனக் கொஞ்சம் சீண்டலாம்:

பூவான உள்ளம் உனக்கு முருகேசா,
__வான் எனவும்பேர் உண்டு.

முருகேசன் அடிக்க வருமுன், ஓடிவிடுகிறேன்...!

"அடேய்...... நீ தானா அது?"

2011-12-13T14:10:00.001+09:00

"எந்தப் புற்றுக்குள் எந்தப் பாம்பு இருக்குமோ?" என்பது பெரும்பாலும் நெகடிவ் கருத்தையே குறிப்பதால் அதை விட்டு விடலாம்; வேற சரியான வார்த்தைகள் கிடைக்கவில்லை. இருந்தாலும், வாஷிங்க்டனில் 'எங்கும் தமிழ்; எதிலும தமிழ்' என்கிற மாதிரி தமிழர்கள் எண்ணக்கை அதிகமாக இருப்பதால், .எங்கோ எப்படியோ தெரிந்தவர்களை மீண்டும் சந்திக்கும் வாய்ப்பு இங்கு அதிகம். அதிலும் நான் ரயிலில் பயணிப்பதால் "நன்னா இருக்கேளா?' என்ற குரல் காதில் விழாத நாள் சொற்பம்.

இப்படித்தான் தமிழ் அன்பர்கள் சிலர Thanksgiving Day என்ற சாக்கில் நவம்பர் கடைசி வாரத்தில் ஏற்பாடு செய்திருந்த ஒரு சின்ன சந்திப்புக்குப் போயிருந்தபோது அறிமுகமான ஒருவர், பேச்சுவாக்கில் 'தூத்துக்குடி' 'சுபாகர்' என்ற வார்த்தைகளைப் பிடித்துக் கொண்டு, "அடேய்... நீ தானா அது? நானும் உன்கூடப் படிச்சவன் தாண்டா!" என்று சொல்லி, ஒரு 33 வருஷம் rewind பண்ணி கொஞ்ச நேரம் மலரும் நினைவுகளில் ஆழ்ந்தோம். (இந்த மாதிரி திடீர் கண்டுபிடிப்புகள் என்னிடம் தவறாமல் கேட்கும் அடுத்த கேள்வி: "நம்மோட 'வசீகரன்' ன்னு ஒருத்தன் படித்தானே... அவனுடன் இன்னும் உனக்கு டச் இருக்குதா" என்பதே.)

அடுத்து அறிமுகமான தமிழ் அன்பர், "நானும் கிண்டிதான்" என்றார். "நான் 84 பேட்ச்" என்றதற்கு "அட! நானும் அதே பேட்ச் தான்!" என்றார். "நான் ECE " என்று அவர் பெயரைச் சொன்ன பின்னும் அவசர அவசரமாக என் ஞாபக செல்களில் அவர் முகத்தைத் தேடி (courtesy : சுஜாதா) தோல்வி அடைந்து நான் தலையைச் சொறிந்ததைக் கண்டு அந்த 'கிண்டி' சற்றும் திகைக்காமல், மனம் தளராமல், ECE யில் எங்களுக்கு ரொம்பவும் பரிச்சயமான மூன்று பெண்களின் பெயர்களைச் சொல்லி "அவங்களைத் தெரியும் இல்ல? அந்த கிளாஸ் தான் நானும்..." என்றார், நக்கலாக. அருகிலேயே நின்றிருந்த எங்கள் சக தர்மினிகள் இருவருக்கும் கேள்வி ஞானத்தில் அந்த 'மூவர்' பற்றித் தெரிந்திருக்க, , "சபாஷ்! சரியான க்ளூ!" என்கிற மாதிரி விஷமமாகச் சிரித்தனர். போட்டோவில் என்னுடன் தம்பதி சகிதமாக நிற்கும் அந்த கிண்டி 84 நண்பர் யார் என்று கேட்டதில் Guindy84 group ல் எல்லாருமே 'அது மெய்யப்பன்" என்று கண்டுபிடித்து விட்டார்கள். (நண்பர்கள் சந்திப்புக்குக் கூட gentleman dress ல் வந்திருப்பதால் அவர் dayscholar என்ற க்ளூ தேவை இல்லாதது :) ) மெய்யப்பன் அமெரிக்காவில் பிரசித்தி பெற்ற John Hopkins University யின் (வாஷிங்க்டனுக்கு அருகில் இருக்கிறது) Research Wing ல் சிறந்திருப்பதை கூகுளில் தேடினால் பார்க்கலாம்.

Great Falls Park -VA

2011-12-13T13:26:00.002+09:00

Went to the Great Falls VA trail with Deepika on 12/11; it's just 5 mi from our place, and the trail is 'easy' category. The 3 mi trail attracts for it is so close to where we live, and it offers good views of Potomac river and the Great Falls. Perhaps the water flow in the Great Falls was above normal that day; for the first time I had the feeling of seeing the power of raging waterflow. Enroute we saw a number of guys jogging on the trail, and at least one guy who was getting ready to rock-climb.

On the way back, stopped near a garden where a family was selling real Christmas trees -the fir trees. Was nice to see real X'mas tress after having seen only plastic tress in all these years!

Little Bennett Park trail

2011-12-13T13:19:00.002+09:00

Opted to hike in Little Bennett Park (12/10), which the hike leader had referred to as 'being so clsoe to Dc yet not known to many', expecting to see a 'typical park' that I had in my mind. Ooooops....this park was also like the other 'National Parks' that run thousands of sq miles, full of densely wooded forests and mountain. 'Park' does not necessarily mean 'poonga' in Tamil, it seems! The 8 mi hike was done in less than 3 hrs -as it was mostly on plains, and it had very few uphills. Saw a couple of guys riding horses on the trail -before I took the camera out, they disappeared.

This was my 2nd hike with the members of the 'Capital Hiking Club'. Apparently, DC has about a dozen local hiking clubs that are active, organized and which regularly schedule hikes picking up hikers in charted bus at designated places. (I knew of small hiking clubs in Japan; had hiked once with a group in Kyoto, introduced by Britto).

வாய்மையே (சில சமயம்) வெல்லும்

2011-12-11T12:08:00.001+09:00

(The subject title is a Sujatha novel. Some high profile court cases that I happened to read made me recall that title): Blagojewich was IL state Governor re-elected for the 2nd time, when he faced corruption charges in Y2009. Crime? Attempted to sell the senate seat vacated by the then President-elect Obama for personal gain! He got removed from the Governor post, and recently, a court has sent him to 14 years in prison (and denied him a public post for the rest of his life). In India situation is different. 'Kani akka' set a record of being the first CM's family member ever having spent 6 months in prison on corruption charges. (Raja is a 'gone case', being a political orphan!)

Michael Jackson's doctor got 4-yr in prison following conviction in a case that found him guilty of causing MJ's death due to his 'negligence'. Never thought that a doctor could go to jail if his/her patient dies! Indian doctors are lucky -as this is not going to happen ever in India, thanks to our overwhelming belief in fate! Even in the recent Calcutta hospital fire that killed 90 patients, not a single guy would get punished -let alone the 7 direcors of the hospital who were arrested just to cool down the emotions of the angered public.

Raj Rajrathnam was a Srilankan that made milions in US running a mutual fund managing company; he was arrested. Crime? 'Insider trading' -which is trading a company's stocks by gaining access to the company's confidential, non-public information. Compared to what the 'poor' Harshad Metha did, this may sound 'ju-ju-bee'; yet, Rajrathnam was sentenced to 11 yrs in prison, in addition to a $92 million cost penalty.

Read in a Tamil magazine the case (2 yrs ago) of Anand Jon -KJ Jesudas' close relative- who became a successful fashion designer, a multi-millionaire in USA designing costumes for celebrities at an young age- who was arrested on charges of misusing his position to lure young girls who aspired to be models, and got them laid. Verdict? This 35 yr old guy has to spend 59 years in prison! (And he is still facing similar charges of 'assaulting minor girls' in New York!).

It 's good to see justice prevail, at least sometimes, in some cases, at some part of the world (and for some reasons)!

Harpers Ferry hike

2011-12-11T11:52:00.000+09:00

Harpers Ferry hike (Dec 3 )was the first long distance hike that I did with a local group in Washington DC area. With 5.5 mile and 1,900 ft elevation gain in the morning session, and 4 mi & 900 ft gain in the afternoon session, it was perhaps the second longest hike I did, next to Japan's Cho-ishi-michi hike in Koyasan I did last year.

Harpers Ferry is a small, historical town, celebrating "Christmas in battlefield" on that day. Many young women & men seen on the street were on traditional, olden days American dress, reminding me of The Scarlet Letter movie. Even otherwise the small town looked nice with a number of petty restaurants. Harpers Ferry is also the place where two major rivers Shenandoah and Potomac merge. The hike offers fantastic view of the place where the two rivers merge.

The hiking leader seemed to be quite familiar to the trails; before we started he told us to follow the white arrow mark that he would make (using chalk powder that he carried) at junctions so that none of us gets lost. I thought why should I follow the arrow marks as I would stick to the hike leader. But alas.... within minutes of starting, the hike leader fled like a flash -he was almost jogging on the trail- that we lost him! He simply disappeared, and we had had to rely on the white arrow marks that he left.

A Russian guy (who hiked with me) looked like a college student, was talking to me about India, and surprised me by asking such questions as "Which party -DMK or ADMK- do you think will provide a better government?" "Do you think India will ever let FDI in retail business"? And when he asked about Kudankulam protests, I couldn't control; asked him what his work was about. he is working for a firm that gathers country-specific info on political & business environments, and sell such info to American companies such as Walmart, Coke etc who would seek to enter other country markets. His assigned area includes India, and hence his expanded awareness about our country. When the hiking was over and as we returned to Farragut West metro by a charted bus, this guy asked me 'that' question which many South Indians would have: "Why am I not finding any Indian restaurants that sell south Indian dishes such as dosa? Why does every Indian restaurant sell only nan and tandhoori chicken??"

It was nice to see 37 men & women out there to go for 15 km hike on the mountains on a winter day. It appeared that more than in Japan, in US, there are many enthusiastic young men & women doing hiking.

Luray Caverns

2011-12-01T13:57:00.000+09:00

வாஷிங்க்டனுக்கு அருகில் ‘லுரே கேவர்ன்’ (Luray Caverns) என்ற –கொஞ்சம் பாப்புலரான– ‘குகை’ ஒன்றைப் பார்க்கவிருப்பதாக சொன்னபோது, நண்பன் ஒருவன் சொன்னது:” அந்தக் கேவலமான இடத்திற்கா, காசைக் கரியாக்கி போறீங்க?” இருந்தும், 90 மைல் பயணித்து அங்கே சென்றோம்– ஃப்லோரிடா மயாமியிலிருந்து இந்தப் பக்கம் ThanksGiving holidaysக்காக வந்திருந்த ஜான்–ரெப்லி தம்பதிகளுடன்.

தற்செயலாக சுமார் 130 வருஷம் முன்பு கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்ட குகையைப் பார்க்கும் போது, ஆர்வத்தை விட, எதையும் பணம் பறிக்கும் கருவியாக மாற்றும் அமெரிக்கர்களின் innovative business approach தான் பெரிதாகத் தெரிந்தது. குகையின் ஒரு பகுதியில் லேசாகத் தட்டினால் எதிரொலித்து இசையாக நமக்குக் கேட்பதை, இன்னும் ஒரு படி மேலே போய், ஒரு மெஷின் மூலம் ஆடோமாடிக்காக சின்ன ராட் ஒன்றால் குறிப்பிட்ட இடைவெளியில் பாறையின் பல பகுதிகளில் தட்டி, ஏதோ ஒரு மேற்கத்திய இசையை அல்லது பாடலைக் கேட்க வைக்கிறார்கள். “பாறைகளைத் தொட வேண்டாம்; அது, பாறகளைப் பாலிஷாக்கி, நாளடைவில் தேய்த்து விடும்” என்று எழுதியிருக்கிறார்கள். யாரும் தொடவில்லை. (ஆர்வத்தில் லேசாக ஒருமுறை தீபிகா தொட்டுப் பார்த்த போது, ஒரு அமெரிக்கர் “Do you speak English? It is written there that one shouldn’t touch the rocks…” என்று சொல்லி மனம் வருந்திச் சென்றார்).

லஞ்சுக்குப் பின் பக்கத்திலேயே இருந்த Garden Maze என்ற ‘புதர்ச் சிக்கலுக்குள்’ கொஞ்ச நேரம் தொலைந்தது சுறுசுறுப்பாக இருந்த்து. ‘ஒரு நாள் அவுட்டிங்கு’க்கு நல்ல இடம்.

Raven rocks Trail (Blumont)

2011-11-29T13:38:00.000+09:00

Did a mini hike in the Raven rock trail that is located near Blumont -about 43 mi form our place. Bharathi & Karthik took us to this trail that joins the famous Appalacian Trail; we didn't make it to the destination as the trail was not 'very clear' with all the dry leaves around, and no sight of the trail blazes on the trees. We returned after touching the Bears Den Trail center -a small lodging facility built on the mountain for the use of Appalacian Trail hikers.

At the hiking start point, we saw 7-8 guys standing, holding a large size binacular-like thing. When Dee asked them what they were looking at, one of them enthusiastically replied that they were watching the migrating eagles, as it was the season for migration. When we watched at the sky, the sky was clear, and we didn't see any bird; but those guys were waiting as if a miracle was going to unfold right in front of their eyes! One of them explained to Dee to watch the eagles from the top after we reach the hiking destination. (As we returned to the spot after 3 hrs, they were still looking at the sky -which was still 'clear' to our eyes!)

Was wondering what kind of hobbies some people have in this country (and spend time & effort on such hobbies so religiously!)
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Lewis Falls Trail @Shenendoah

2011-11-29T13:29:00.000+09:00

If you are in Virginia, and are interested in venturing into 'the Nature', you will hit at Shenendoah National Park sooner or later.

Got this opportunity to hike the Lewis Falls Trails in Shenondoah National Park (located near Big Meadows camping area) with my office colleagues in November. Though the trail was short (5.3 km; 3.3 mi), it gave me an aooportunity to hike through the most popular trail in Virginia -the Appalacian Trail -that runs through the Shenendoah National Park and extends for more than 3,500 kms in the whole of Northern side of USA. The best thing about the trail is that there are blazes -white colored square marks of 50 x 75 mm (app). size - painted on the trees on the trail at every 100m or so. Helps one gain confidence that one stays 'on track'.

As we reached the Lewis Falls, I had this feeling strike me again -that there would hardly be a match to the great Courtallam falls in Tamilnadu! None of the falls that I've seen in Japan/USA comes even close to the Courtallam falls! You call it magnanimous, gigantic, mammooth, stupendous, enormous..... it all perfectly fits Courtallam falls. Compared to that, even the popular falls in Japan/USA would seem miniature (except perhaps the Niagra). I've seen Nachi Taki, Tendaki and the one near Mt.Fuji (Oito falls?).... they all look 'sick'.

Should do a long hike in Shenondoah national Park sometime in the near future.

Halloween @ Chipotle!

2011-11-29T13:13:00.001+09:00

Oct-31 was halloween day -never thought that high school girls would go for the chocolate collection; but as Madhu & her school friends wanted to go to a community near their school, we took them in our car -only to see a number of teenagers in the 'trick-or-treat'ing spree!

Chipotle -the popular Mexican chain restaurant -quite famous among teenagers in particular- had priced every item just $2 (regular $7-8) for those who were in halloween costume. Madhu & her friends got their favorite 'wraps' for $2, but the Chipotle staff would not give me & Deepika the special price, as we were not dressed for the day. When Dee was about to pay the regular price, a friend of Madhu intervened and asked her to go to a nearby costume shop and have her face painted with dots here & there quickly. Being hallowen day, the mall was open even at night 10pm, and all the shops were busy with customers. And thus Dee became a halloween woman that day.....(thanks to Chipotle)!

'மாலை மாற்று' என்றால் என்ன?

2011-10-20T23:17:00.000+09:00

Some puzzles do puzzle you indeed, and the one below is one of them:

Like each one of us, my friend Hannah loves her name. Looking down from her apartment located in the 12th floor, she loves to exclaim "Was it a car or a cat I saw?". The question is: What would you suppose her favorite town is?

(a) Boca Raton, Florida
(b) Saxet, Texas
(c) Reston, Virginia
(d) Potomac, Maryland

Election -here & there

2011-10-14T14:33:00.002+09:00

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I'm writing this even as the TV shows Herman Cain as leading in polls as the Republican nominee for the Y2012 US elections, outpolling the other two prominant candidates Mitt Romney & Rick Perry. It is true that the polls keep changing on a weekly (if not daily) basis, and this guy could as well be dismissed as a mere'flavor of the week'. And have no doubt, Herman Cain doesn't have any clues about the economic recovery either -much like any other Republican nominees or the Democratic candidate President Obama.

What impressed me about Herman Cain's lead in polls -however temporary it might be- is that he is an African-American (who prefers the term 'Black American' to African-American though). It is hard to imagine a black Republican candidate, as the whites I've known were all supporting McCain in last elections against Obama, giving out an impression of 'white-to-white' preference. Herman Cain disproved it. The Americans changed history in Y2008 by proudly electing the nation's first black president; and who knows -this guy who calls himself the 'black walnut' could as well repeat it!

And look what is happening in TN right now. Today is a bye-election in Tiruchy, and who is DMK's proud candidate? The same guy who the people rejected hardly six months ago in the same constituency! The same guy whose brother's bus was 'transporting' in his bus some Rs.4 Cr of cash during the last election. The same guy who is facing numerous land grab cases now, and has just been releaseed in bail. Apparently, there was no voice condemning DMK's nomination of this guy, who was, after all, rejected by the people not long ago. Is it not an insult to the Tiruchy people? or to the police/judiciary that are investigating the land grab cases? தமிழ் கூறும் நல்லுலகம்!

மூன்று படங்கள்

2011-10-12T11:03:00.001+09:00

"பருத்தி வீரன்" ஹிட்டாகி, தமிழ்நாடே 'ஆ, ஊ'' என்று அதைப் புல்லரித்ததில் இருந்து எனக்கு புது தமிழ்ப்படங்கள் -அதுவும் ஹிட் படங்கள்- என்றாலே கொஞ்சம் அலர்ஜி. அதிலும், ஒரு தாடி வெச்ச கும்பல் எடுக்கும் படம் பக்கமே நான் தலை வைத்துப் படுப்பதில்லை. கமல், பாலா கூட ஒரு தரமான படம் கொடுத்தால் அடுத்து உடனே 'கழநி'ப் பானக்குள் காலை விட்டுவிடுகிறார்கள். ("மன்மதன் அம்பு" "அவன்-இவன்") சமீபத்தில் வழக்கமான மாசாலா'விலிருந்து சற்றே மாறுபட்டு வெளியான 3 ஹிட் படங்கள் அந்த டைப் இல்லை.

எங்கேயும் எப்போதும்: சுஜாதா வின் சிறுகதை ஒன்றின் ஆரம்பத்தில் -முதல் பாரவில் - ஊட்டியில் (அல்லது கொடைக்கானலில்) படகில் போகும் தேனிலவு தம்பதிகள் "உனக்கு நீச்சல் தெரியுமா?" என்று பேசிக்கொண்டிருக்கு்ம் போது படகிலிருந்து தவறி ஏரியில் விழுந்து கணவன் இறந்து விடுகிறான். அடுத்த பாராவிலிருந்து, கதை ஃப்ளாஷ் பாக்கில் அவர்கள் என்னவெல்லாம் பேசிக் கொண்டு வந்தார்கள் என்பதைச் சொல்கிறது. இன்னும் சிறிது நேரத்தில் வரப்போகும் மரணத்தை அறியாமல், அவர்கள் பேசும் சின்னச் சின்ன விஷயங்கள் வாசகர்களை 'த்சூ' கொட்ட வைக்கின்றன. கதையின் கடைசி வரி "அதற்கப்புறம் தான் அவன் கேட்டான், "உனக்கு நீச்சல் தெரியுமா?" என்று முடிகிறது.

எ.எ. முதல் ஸீனில் ஒரு பஸ் விபத்தைக் காட்டிவிட்டு அதன் பயணிகளின் பிண்ணனிக் கதைகளை சிறுகச் சிறுகச் சொல்கிறது. நடு நடுவே விபத்திற்கு அப்புறம் நடக்கும் காட்சிகளையும் காட்டி... விபத்தின் விளைவுகளை நிஜத்திற்கு அருகில் நாம் உணரமுடிகிறது. நல்ல முயற்சி.

முரண்: "விபத்துக்கள் அங்கங்கே நடந்து கொண்டு தான் இருக்கின்றன" என்று சொல்லி தனக்கு வேண்டாதவர்களை 'விபத்து' மூலம் தீர்த்து விடும் ஒரு பணக்கார இளைஞனுடன் 'நல்ல பிள்ளை' சேரனுக்கு ஏற்படும் அனுபவங்கள் பற்றிய கதை. 1950களில் வந்த Strangers on the train ன் காப்பி என்று சொல்கிறார்கள். இருந்தும் விறுவிறுப்பாக, சுவராஸ்யமாக செல்கிறது. சுஜாதாவின் "எதையும் ஒருமுறை" யை நினைவூட்டும் ஆரம்பம் இருந்தாலும், கதை ரூட் மாறுகிறது

வாகை சூட வா: என்னை மிகவும் கவர்ந்தது. செங்கல் சூளையில் வேலை செய்யும் சிறுவர், சிறுமிகளைப் பள்ளிக்கூடம் வர முயற்சி செய்யும் 1966ம் ஆண்டின் ஒரு இளம் வாத்தியாரின் அனுபவங்கள் பற்றிய, மிக எளிதான, நேர்மையான கதை. கவிதை போல் சொல்லியிருக்கிறார்கள்.

அதிலும் "சார்..சார்" என்று சொல்லி வாத்தியாரைக் காதலிக்கும் அந்தக் கிராமத்துப் பெண், அபாரம்! ("சாரக் காத்து வீசும்போது, 'சாரை'ப் பார்த்துப் பேசும்போது, சாரைப் பாம்பு போல நெஞ்சு ஊருதே.." போன்ற எளிமையான, கிராமத்து வாசனையுடன் பாடல்கள்) கிளைமாக்ஸில் வாத்தியாரை செங்கல் சூளைக்குள் வைத்து எரித்து, அந்தப் பெண்ணை "காத்திருக்கிறாள், இந்தக் கண்மணி" என்று வசனத்துடன் முடித்துவிடுவார்களோ என்று பயந்து போய்ப் பார்த்ததாக தீபிகா சொன்னாள். நல்ல வேளை, முடிவு நெகடிவ் ஆக இல்லை. ஒரு நல்ல படம் பார்த்த திருப்தி

மூன்று படங்களிலுமே குத்துப்பாட்டு, பஞ்ச் டயலாக், தாய்-மகன் சென்டிமென்ட், காமெடி என்ற பெயரில் வீணாய்ப் போன சொதப்பல் காட்சிகள் ஏதும் இன்றி, சொல்ல வந்ததை சுலபமாக, சுவராஸ்யமாகச் சொல்லியிருக்கிறார்கள். முக்கியமாக, அப்பட்டமான காப்பி இல்லமல் ஒரிஜினல்கள். மூன்றிலுமே புதுமுகங்கள் 'செம்மை'யாக நடித்திருக்கின்றனர். மெகா பட்ஜெட், பிரபல ஹீரோ-ஹீரோயின் இல்லாமல் கதையையும் காரக்டர்களையும் மட்டும் நம்பி எடுக்கப்பட்ட படங்கள். மூன்றுமே புதிய டைரக்டர்களின் முதல் படங்கள். அடுத்த படத்தில் சாயம் வெளுக்காமல் இருப்பார்களாக!

Made in China

2011-10-10T10:40:00.001+09:00

A year ahead of the US presidential elections, US politics is getting hot with the Republican candidates trying hard to win the nomination. There are 7 or 8 of them in the race, and each one is trying to win the pablic support with their own 'punch dialog's! The way they throw mud on each other is 'interesting' to watch. (One lady candidate accused the other -Governor of a state- of taking money from a pharmaceutical company, and making the vaccination supplied by that company mandatory for the school children!).

What surprises me is that almost every candidate projects himself as if he is the only one holding the 'magic formula' that will put back US economy on track. Naturally, Obama looks 'ju-ju-bee' as his bail-outs and other measures (if any) failed to make any positive impact. Republicans find it easy to jump on Obama, and attack him as 'fit-for-nothing'.Obama, for his turn,talks rhetorically that he would never, ever make Warren Buffet's secretary pay a higher tax percentage than Warren Buffet himself. ("ஏம்ப்பா, இப்ப அதுவாப்பா பிரச்சனை?" என்று கேட்கத் தோணுகிறது!)

One thing is clear. US politicians are வாய்ச் சொல்லில் வீரர்கள்! The way the Republican candidates speak in confidence, one would think the US economy crisis will get solved if only they come to power! And Obama never wastes his time -he every now & then talks about building infrastructure, investing in education, subsidizing small business tax etc. With almost everything we buy for our home and work has the stamp 'Made in China' on it, I wonder how it will improve US economy if Obama starts re-building the highways nationwide...! Cheap products -US imports from China. Cheap service -US outsources to China/India. How will the unemployment improve from the current 10%??

நாளை எப்படியோ, நிகழ் காலத்தைப் பார்த்தால் நம்பிக்கை வரவில்லை!

("Chinglish" என்ற Broadway show இப்போது அமெரிக்காவில் பாப்புலர்; சீக்கிரமே சினிமாவாக வரலாம். மேலே chinglish ன் ஒரு சின்ன உதாரணம்)

Billy Goat Trail

2011-10-10T09:05:00.000+09:00

ஜப்பானில் ‘திகட்டத் திகட்ட’ hiking போன கையோடு, வெர்ஜீனியா வந்ததும் அங்கங்கே மலைகள் தென்பட்டதால் hiking trails பற்றித் தேடி…. வீட்டுக்கருகிலேயே சுமார் 8 மைல் தொலைவில் Billy Goat Trail இருப்பதைக் ‘கண்டு பிடித்தேன்’.

அமெரிக்காவின் அகன்ற, பரந்த, விரிந்த காடுகளிலும் மலைகளிலும் hiking செல்வது பற்றி உள்ளுக்குள் கொஞ்சம் பயம். என்ன இருந்தாலும் ஜப்பான் மலைகள் மாதிரி அவ்வளவு safe ஆக இருக்காது என்ற எண்ணம். மேலும் 2 மாதம் முன் தான் “127 hours” பார்த்திருந்தேன். அந்தப் படம் சமீபத்தில் நடந்த உண்மைக் கதை என்று தெரிந்து இன்னும் கலக்கம். Hiking trail களை Easy, Moderate, Difficult என்று தரம் பிரிக்கும் வெப்சைட்களில் Billy Goat Trail குறித்து Very Difficult, dangerous என்றெல்லாம் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தார்கள்.

மிக ரம்மியமான மலையில், பக்கத்திலேயே 'சல;சல' என்று சின்ன சத்தத்துடன் ஓடும் நதிக்கு அருகில் trail ஆரம்பிக்கும் இடம் -Great Falls Tavern -மனதிற்குத் தெம்பாக இருந்தது. ஒரு சின்ன ரூம் போன்ற கட்டடத்தில் இயங்கும் Great Falls tavern Visitor Centerல் hiking trail map தருகிறார்கள். ஆரம்பிக்கும் இடத்திற்குப் பக்கத்திலேயே biking trail ம் இருப்பதால் bikers, runners என்று அந்த இடம் நல்ல கூட்டம். Bike trail ஐ விட்டு விலகி மலை ஏறத் தொடங்கினால், hike செய்பவர்களும் அதிகம். கல்லூரி மாணவ மாணவிகள், குடும்பத்தினர் என்று இவ்வளவு பேர் hike செல்லும் trail நான் எங்கும் பார்த்ததில்லை! (கொஞ்சம் பேசிப் பார்த்தால் எல்லோரும் அங்கு வழக்கமாக் hike செல்பவர்கள்

Trail முழுவதுமே பாறை, பாறை, பாறை தான்! தொடர்ந்து பாறைகள் மீது நடப்பதற்கும் தாண்டுவதற்கும் கொஞ்சம் பேலன்ஸ் செய்யத் தெரிந்தால் மட்டும் போதும் மற்றபடி trailல் elevation gain 'ஏற்றம்' அவ்வளவாக இல்லை. இரு பக்கமும் செங்குத்தான பாறைகளின் நடுவே விரையும் Potomac நதியில் சிறு படகு (canoe) விட்டுக்கொண்டு செல்லும் சாதனை விரும்பிகள். பாறைகளில் கயிறு கட்டி -அதைப் பிடித்துத் தொங்கியபடி மேலே ஏறும் rock climbers. உயிரைத் துச்சமாக நினைப்பவர்கள்!

Trailன் ஒரு பகுதியில் கிட்டத்தட்ட செங்குத்தாக ஏறும் ஒர் இடம் வருகிறது. பார்க்கத் திகிலாக இருந்தாலும் ஏறும்போது சுலபமாக இருக்கிறது -கால் ஊன்றி நடப்பதற்கு இடமிருப்பதால். அங்கங்கே பறைகள், இரைச்சலுடன் Potomac நதி, அந்தக்கரையில் அடர்ந்த காடு என்று கண்ணெதிரே 'சட்'டென்று மாறும் காட்சிகள். மற்ற trailகள் போலவே, பஸ், கார், ரயில், செல் ஃபோன், மின்சாரம், டாய்லெட், வென்டிங் மெஷின் என்று நவீன உலகத்தின் அத்தனை அடையாளங்களும் துறந்து, சில மணி நேரங்கள் இயற்கையுடன் கலக்க முடிகிறது. 5 கி.மீ. தூர trail முடித்து, தொடங்கிய இடத்திற்கு வருவதற்கு 2 மணி 30 நிமிடம் ஆகிறது.

தீபிகா, ஷிபு, மதுவுடன் Billy Goat Trail ல் நேற்று (அக்டோபர் 8) hiking சென்றது இத்துடன் நான்காவது முறை. ஜப்பானின் 'தகாமிகுரா' மலையின் மாற்றாக, weekly regular activity ஆக வெர்ஜீனியாவின் Billy Goat Trail ஆகிறதா பார்க்கலாம்.

Land of Celebration

2011-09-28T10:00:00.002+09:00

At my farewell party in Takasago, many of my Indian colleagues acknowledged, and referred to my moving from Japan to US as one from the Land of Mysteries to the Land of Opportunities. While LoM is widely associated with the US, few refer to Japan as LoM. (Google search shows Egypt as LoM though-for the most part).

Was wondering what India is Land of! Land of Religions? Land of languages? Land of cultures? Land of ... what, what…..? I can’t conclusively think of anything, with my not-so-wide knowledge about my own country :- (

When I was in India in late June, the famous painter MF.Hussain died, and as I watched in the media, MF.Hussain used to refer to India as the Land of Celebration. I dismissed it as a fancy phrase by the Indian painter who was one among the highest paid artists in the world (he was worth several hundred million of dollars, I read), but who defamed India by giving up Indian citizenship citing protests to his depictions of the Hindu Gods in naked.
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As I was heading home following a visit to our ‘family temple’ in Thandupathu with mom and sister in a rental car, I could spot some saffron-clad pilgrims walking barefoot towards Tiruchendur. There weren’t many; but every 2-3 minutes of my ride I could see 4-5 people walking in a group. I learned that in the next 2 days there would be Visakam festival in Tiruchendur for which these pilgrims were walking to Tiruchendur- some from faraway places in Madurai/Ramnad district. They were mostly not-so-well-off people, apparently they had taken ‘oath’ with Lord Murugan to do this barefoot pilgrimage, hoping in exchange a remedy to their problems. Seeing them walk in barefoot in hot sun (it was noon then), I took pity on them. “What the hell had Lord Murugan done for you, after all? Why should you take this pain of walking to Tiruchendur to worship him??” said I.

The next day as I was returning from KKarisal with my sister, again I saw these pilgrims. Being evening (6 pm), there were quite a number of people walking alongside the Tiruchendur road continuously –hardly there was a 50m stretch of road in which I did not see someone walking. Not just the number, the type of crowd also was different; this time I saw people in normal clothes, and none of them was saffron-clad. People were walking in groups –groups of young boys, young girls, families. In a moment I recalled the “Kakogawa City March” we used to do in Japan in which tens of thousands of people gather at the City Office and walk around the city in 10 to 40 km courses. We have done (the whole family) the 10 km course 3-4 times, and in Y2010 I did the 35 km course, the longest then. The City Office organizes this annual event, in which the city residents from every corner participate in great enthusiasm. While appreciating the city Office efforts, I also used to wonder how good it will be if only back in India our Municipalities or City Corporations arranged this kind of ‘healthy’ marches.

And here in Tuticorin tens of thousands of people do a similar – or, to be honest, much tougher walk- every year (twice, one for Visakam and the other one during Tamil New Year, as I learned later)! I felt ashamed that I didn’t know of this event, happening right in my hometown!

I got tempted. Why not join the crowd?
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I asked my cousin Askar in KKarisal, who said he has been doing it for 5-6 years but this time he had a leg injury. Asked another friend Baskar who would have joined me but for his maiden trip to Sri Lanka the next day. I decided to go myself.

It was 8pm when I started with a backpack carrying water-bottles, snacks, fruits and a towel. I had changed to half-trouser and walking shoes. (It turned out that I was the only one guy in the whole crowd –I would estimate it to be 30-40,000- that was walking with shoes). After 2-3 kms, the crowd was too much that it was blocking half the road. It was like going in a mega procession. There were a number of places where they were serving water packs free. Some places they even served hot milk –again free of charge. There was no need to carry water bottles! Also, throughout the route, in all the towns petty shops remained open 24 hours, where one could buy bananas or cool drinks. There was no need to carry snacks/fruits either!

As I said earlier, the crowd comprised of mostly ordinary people –not saffron-clad – and nowhere I felt like being in a religious pilgrimage. They kept talking, cracking jokes…. And it seemed they were doing a sport adventure in a light sprit. It was amazing to see those men, women and children who were actively walking 40km in a single night –and doing it ‘just like that’. Most of them were walking in good speed –I had had to walk pretty fast to catch up with them. Young boys and girls who walked in groups were almost jogging; I gave up catching up with them. For most of them, it was more than a pilgrimage; more than a sport; they were in a festive mood, yet tiring and mindful of the remaining kilometers they still had to walk down before the dawn.

In Authoor I sat for 10 min around midnight. Some people were sleeping on whatever little space available; some right on the road. There was no police anywhere in the entire 40 km route. Yet, there was no disturbance or disruption to the traffic though the crowd was covering half of the road for most part of the route. There was no fear of any misbehavior. I had never imagined even in my wildest dreams that India could be this self-disciplined and safe. (On the other hand, the Govt machinery was so indifferent and careless –they had not even arranged temporary toilet facilities anywhere in the entire 40 km stretch).
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It was sharp 4 am when I reached Tiruchendur. Though I wasn’t keen in visiting the temple, took the extra 5 min time to go inside, which might please Dee who kept talking to me (from US) at my cell phone throughout my walk. The temple was jam-packed with ‘walkers’ and there was a mile-long Q before one could get inside the main temple. I gave up the idea of seeing Lord Murugan, and instead visited the “VaLLi Cave” which is my & Deepika’s favorite spot in the Tiruchendur temple. As expected, there wasn’t much crowd there.

At about 5 am, I left Tiruchendur for Tuticorin in a pre-arranged rental car.

It was such a great experience to have walked 40km with thousands of people the whole night, that I wanted to do it every year –I should schedule my annual visit to India to match this event (around June-12). It was great that some old practices are indeed health-related activities and such an activity -‘the 40km marathon walk’ – is still popular among a section of people , be it in the name of God or whatever. On hearing about my walk, a relative of mine got excited of Lord Murugan’s Godly powers –that He made even an atheist Subahar go to see Him walking 40 km!

And I found there was some truth in what MF.Hussain said of India: “…Land of Celebration"
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நீண்ட இடைவெளிக்குப் பின்…..

2011-09-27T13:14:00.001+09:00

சில மாதங்கள் வலைமனைக்குக் கட்டாய ஓய்வு தந்ததில், எழுதுவதின் நோக்கம் பற்றிப் பலமுறை யோசித்து, சரியான பதில் ஏதும் கிடைக்கவில்லை. சுஜாதாவே ‘இலக்கியம் என்பதே ஒரு பயனற்ற வேலையோ’ என்று சந்தேகம் வருவதாக ஒருமுறை எழுதியிருக்கிறார் (கற்றதும் பெற்றதும் –டில்லி குளிரில் பிளாட்பாரத்தில் தூங்கும் குழந்தைகள் பற்றி எழுதும்போது). இருந்தும், ‘நல்ல எழுத்து’ பற்றிப் பலமுறை அலசியிருக்கிறார். அழகான ஒரு காட்சியை காமிராவில் ‘கிளிக்’ செய்து அதன் அழகை, மனதில் அது ஏற்படுத்திய ஒரு சின்ன பாதிப்பை வருடங்கள் கடந்தும் நினைவுபடுத்திக் கொள்வது மாதிரி, (நல்ல) கவிதையும் எழுத்தும் மனதின் உணர்வுகளைக் காலம் கடந்து நிற்க வைப்பதாக அவர் எழுதியது நிஜமே (என்றாலும், பழசை மீண்டும் நினைப்பது அவசியமா என்ற கேள்வி எழுகிறது!)

வலைமனையில் இன்றைய தேதிக்கு எழுதிக் குவிப்பவர்கள் ஏராளம். காதல் முதல் ‘புடலங்காய் சாம்பார் வைப்பது எப்படி?’ என்பது வரை தமிழ் கூறும் நல்லோர்கள் வலையில் தொடாத சப்ஜெக்ட் இல்லை. “என்னை நானே பட்டை தீட்டிக்கொள்ளும் களம்” என்றெல்லாம் அதி தீவிர முன்னுரை கொடுத்துவிட்டு “சேகர் பஸ் ஸ்டான்டில் காதலிக்காகக் காத்திருந்தான்” போன்ற சிறுகதையோ, “செல் போன் சிணுங்கியது. காதில் வைத்தேன்; என்னவள் சிணுங்கினாள்” என்று டப்பா புதுக்கவிதையோ எழுதிகிறார்கள். பின்நவீனத்துவம் ஏன்று புரியாமல் எழுதும் மோடிமஸ்தான்கள் ஒருபுறமும், மோடிமஸ்தானின் கூட்டத்தில் வேடிக்கை பார்க்கும் வெட்டிக்கும்பல் ஒருபுறமுமாக, வலைமனையில் குவியும் குப்பைகளுக்கு அளவே இல்லை.

இருந்தும் எழுதுவதில் ஒரு கவர்ச்சி இருக்கிறது. “சொல்லப்போனால் எல்லோருக்குமே கதை சொல்லும் ஆர்வம் இருக்கிறது” என்று சுஜாதா சொன்னதுபோல. எழுத்து, ஒரு ஃபோட்டோ ஆல்பம் போல. அவ்வளவே. சமயங்களில் புகைப்படம் சொல்லாததையும் எழுத்து சொல்லும்போது, அது சுவராஸ்யமாகிறது.

35k

2010-11-15T23:37:00.004+09:00

If I am to make a list of Great Experiences in Japan, the 35 km walk I did yesterday will certainly be on it. Here goes the story....

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My family & I had done 10 km walk in Kakogawa 2-Day march three times, but every time, the increasing number of kindergartners walking the same 10km made us feel 'nervous'! Further, the 40 km guys would arrive at destination the same time when we would arrive there completing 10 km -at around 4 pm. True, the long distance guys start 3 hrs earlier, but that with a 3-hr early start they could cover 4 times what we did was astonishing .... the idea of doing the longest course thus crept into my mind.

I started at 7:30.The 10km and 35 km walkers were of strikingly different, and you see the difference the moment you are in there -the 35 k guys walked pretty, pretty fast, as if they would miss a flight otherwise! It was 'brisk walk' all along, like in a walking race. I didn't see anybody stop by to have a drink -they drank as they kept walking. They were in no way like the 10k families & kids who would leisurely walk. I strived hard not to lag behind (i.e., 'too much behind') the 60+ ladies & men who were walking effortlessly, but at a good speed. There were many elementary & middle schoolers. The trail was fully at the outskirts of Kakogawa; it went along the riverside, got on top of Gongen dam, and at times went uphill on mountains giving a 'mountain hike' feeling. The scenery was pretty good; and the weather was pleasant.

Unlike the 10km trail, more number of food stalls (5 to 6) were on the path, some offering free drinks, zenzai (omochi in red-bean soup) and udon. I wondered had they offered chapathy & korma, that would have attracted IITians (No; we might be arguing 'chapathy was hard' and 'korma from that shop was salty' etc). Frankly, I noticed that all the walkers accepted the free supplies with thanks, and many made it a point to go to the counter and said "oishikatta". As we walked through roads that had paddy fields & plantations at both the sides, there were abnormally more number of scare-crows built in attractive colors and shapes and they all held a flag/cloth that had some writing on it. Do they expect the Japanese birds to read the text (and decide if they can find something to eat somewhere else) or what?? No, they are all greetings to the walkers. When I was taking picture of the scare-crows, a walker befriended me and asked how many km I walked the previous day. When I said I was doing only the 2nd day, he was surprised, and painstakingly tried to convince me that it was a 2-day walk, and one should do both days!

At the start point they give you a package that has a A4 size cloth-like sheet which walkers pin to their back-bag, writing their name and the distance walked /walking on the 1st/2nd day. The package also has a badge. Apart from the A4 sheet, many have pinned the badges they collected in previous years -some 10-12 in number. By looking at the A4 sheet, I found that there was no single person that did the walk just one day; and there was no single person doing 35 km having done anything less than 40km the previous day. In other words, all the 35 km guys were in fact 40 + 35 km guys! (except the sole Indian).

Deepika kept calling me 2-3 times as I was walking. I promptly attended her call, fearing that otherwise she would make an SOS to Kumar :-) (that’s precisely what she did when I didn't pick the phone the other day at 11 pm, as I was on a long call with my mom, being my birthday. She woke Kumar up, and this guy promptly pressed my doorbell at 11 pm. Fearing an emergency I opened the door even holding the receiver in one hand.... . Kumar had lost his sleep, but the sad story didn't just end with that; the next day early morning 6 am, she called him again to say "Sorry, I was very nervous yesterday....". Later that day Kumar was seen checking with his friends how to cancel & terminate the NTT landline permanently! :-)

At about 2 pm I reached the point where the 35km trail merged with that of 10 km. Again, saw the families and kindergartners happily & leisurely walking 10 km. The 35 km guys found them no match to their speed, and overtook them at every opportunity. I arrived at the start point at 3 pm, well ahead of a number of 10km walkers. It had taken 7 hrs and 30 minutes (which included a 20 min lunch break and a couple of coffee breaks each 5 min) of brisk walk to cover 35 km.

Deepika was excited about this walk, more so as it took just 7 hours. She said, apparently with a bright & cheerful face (முகம் மலர்ந்து) she would have joined me had only she been here in Japan. "If you had joined me I would not have done it in 7 hrs" said I. மலர் வாடியது :-)

After the walk I was taking rest and watching the stage performance arranged with mega TV screen in front of the city hall. 10 km, 20 km and 35 km guys were still returning one by one. I felt great that I did much ahead of many 10 km guys. "பரவாயில்லையே, நமக்குக் கூட கொஞ்சம் stamina இருக்குது போல!" என்று கொஞ்சம் கர்வத்துடன் தான் உட்கார்ந்திருந்தேன். Jap girls were dancing on the stage. Soon the announcer interviewed a young girl on the stage, who answered mostly in single-words.

"Hana-chan kyo wa nan kiro arukimashita ka?" (How many KM did you walk today?)
"20 kiro"(20 km)

"kino mo aruitan desu ka? (Did you walk yesterday too?)
"so. kino 40 kiro"(Yes. I did 40 km yestereday)

"tomodachi to issho ni?" (With your friends?)
"pappa to mama to isshoni arukimashita" (With my mom & dad)

"sugoi ne! shindoku naindesu ka?"(Great! Are you not tired?)
"shindokatta" (It was tiring)

"shindo katta...?! ha, ha! demo gambattane! rai nen mo arukimasu ka?"(Tired?? anyway, you did a great job! Will you walk next year also?)
After a pause "Un" (Yes)

"Oh, sugoi... Hana-chan, ima nan-sai desu ka?" (Great! Hana, how old are you now?)
"rokku sai desu"(I'm six years old)

என் கர்வம் அழிந்தது!

.

A 23 km mountain hike

2010-10-13T20:46:00.001+09:00

Koyasan is known for its historical monuments, Buddhist temples, and a vast number of mausoleums. Located in Wakayama prefecture (132 km from our place) on a hill top, the present day Koyasan is a popular tourist attraction. The small town is designed to evoke memories of the past Buddhist rituals. Koyasan doesn't have a train station, and is accessible by road and cable car. A night stay in the ryokans that offer Buddhist style pure veg food is what most visitors from abroad would like to try. Starting from the Daimon (Main Gate), as you walk along the streets you see building that could date back to several hundred years ago. Rituals conducted by Buddhist monks are still popular here. The Art of Living Japan representative Neela Srinidhi conducts residential courses in Koyasan ryokans. Certainly, Koyasan takes you to a 'Zen' type atmosphere (if you close your eyes to the unavoidable commercialization that becomes part of any tourist spot).

Koyasan caught my attention for its hiking trails. There are 7 or 8 courses popular among hikers -each hike taking 2-4 hrs and spanning 4-6 km. I chose the tough course -23.5 km long trail which would take 7 hrs as noted in Koyasan tourist association homepage. Known as "Koyasan Choishi Michi" this trail was registered in the UNESCO World Heritage list (similar to the Kumano Kodo trail -the one we did in 2008 Dec). Walking up the mountains 23.5 km was something new to me....I just wanted to give it a try.

Information received from Kudoyama town - the location of Jison-in temple where the Koyasan Choishi Michi starts- was very useful. Leaving the car in the Parking lot, I dressed up for hiking and walked towards Jison-in. In front of homes I found baskets of 'kaki' (persimmon) fruits kept for retails sale -but there was none to receive cash. Looking at the price tag, customers put the exact cash in the small box, and walk away with the fruits taking them in the carry-bag provided. I've seen similar scenes in Kumano Kodo as well. Unmanned shops!

As I walked up the steep stairs of Jison-in temple (8:20 am), I saw the first 'cho ishi' -the stone marker, which is actually the 180th stone marker. The trail got its name because of the 180 'cho-ishi's located throughout the trail, each at a span of 109m. Each cho-ishi is a 1ft x 1ft base & 1.5 m high stone pillar -was the 'milestone' in those days (and even now). I needed to walk up to cho-ishi 1, to reach Koyasan.

The trail wasn't as wide as Kumano Kodo's, which I realized in the first few minutes. In the first 30 minutes, the kaki tress standing at both sides of the trail provided a nice shadow; and the kaki fruits seen in abundance explained the 'unmanned' fruit stalls I saw down the mountains. I would not have carried the two kakis that I had carried in my back-bag, had I known about this. The trail was of 1-2 ft wide for the most part, and it was quite steep at several points. After an hour or so, there were tall pine trees at both the sides (again reminding me of Kumano Kodo); thanks to them, there was no sunshine.

Fearing that I may not be able to complete the train in 7 hrs as noted in the pamphlet, I started walking in a good speed right from the beginning. Met a couple of Japanese ladies at 10 am in a resting place, who said they started at 7 am. As I took less than 2 hrs to cover the distance they hiked in 3 hrs, I was confident I could make it in time. I continued to walk fast, taking a look at the cho-ishis and trying to look at the number written on them. Perhaps as it was kanji of olden days, I couldn't get what the numbers meant in some cases.

As I approached 60th stone marker, I could hear the traffic sound coming from the nearby mountain road. At 12 noon I could reach the 60th stone marker -covering 2/3 of the distance. At this point, the trail crossed the public road; and there was a restaurant and some vending machines (along the 23.5 km, this was the only place where vending machines and restrooms were there). Many hikers were having their lunch there, some cooking in the portable stove they carried. I had a banana and was all set to move.... for some reasons I never feel hungry when hiking. I sat for a while, feeling relieved that 2/3 of the hike was over! I had walked past many Japanese hikers that I saw, and nobody ever overtook me, unlike the Takamikura and other hikes where I used to see a number of people pass by.

The distance between 60th stone marker till the 1st one was steep, or so I felt after 4 hours of continuous hike. Saw a couple of families, young couples and groups hiking as I moved up. And then came all of the sudden the sight of the crimson gate -the Daimon -which is the traditional entrance to Koyasan (which is at 6th stone marker).

I reached Daimon at 2 pm -an hour less than the published 7hrs it would normally take. Good!

Sat for a while, and started walking 1 km further... till I reached the bus stop and went to Koyasan station. Though not hungry, I went inside a restaurant to relax my legs. Took the cable car & train to reach Kudoyama. While in train, I realized I had sweating all over my body, and my clothes were fully drenched in sweating. (Those sitting next to me would have had a 'stinking' time!) Only after a relaxed bath in the onsen ("Yu-no-Sato in Hashimoto), sauna and steam bath, I felt fresh. Started driving at 8pm and reached Takasago at 10:30 pm.

It turned out to be quite a challenging day for my legs. Now I'm OK to do more day-long mountain hikes in the days to come!

C-S Wedding

2010-10-06T22:54:00.000+09:00

It was an amazing experience to attend Cheruba--Sanjay wedding in Connecticut State on Sep-18, 2010.

Both the wedding ceremony in the church and the reception that followed in the evening kept me wondering about the painstaking efforts and the attention paid to minute details without losing sight at the bigger things at the same time. That Malini anni chose to sing the popular 'MangaLam.. MangaLamE...' in church pairing with her co-mother-in-lawi was a great idea. (I recalled -this was perhaps the song I used to hear in all the Christian weddings back in India). Cheruba's rememberance note of her father was touching. As she noted, her dad would be watching the Wedding from above, and He would be watching with pride. Her note promptly recalled the other three gentlemen who were very supportive in the recent past, and traveled from India to attend the wedding.

The wedding at the church was simple and nice, and the pastor's brief speech was meaningful and to the point. He made the couple to repeat the oath that ended with this powerful text: "I am yours only".

Rajesh drove us to the Evening Reception which was arranged in a lake front resort.The evening reception sizzled with excitement though -with the Monsoon Wedding song and the couple's moms' and friends' dance performance. Both Cheruba and Sanjay did well in the toasts. The 'thali' ceremony was an interesting add-on! (They should have had the 'ketti-mELam' and 'NathaSwaram' palyed in the speakers!) The lakefront venue was a nice selection, and there was 'a lot' of food. Thanks to the careful picking of table-mates, we felt like being in India for a while! And there was this custom- an American custom?-the bride Cheruba threw the flower bunch backwards for one of the unmarried girls to catch, symbolically suggesting the next-in-line for the wedding!

Sanjay impressed us quite with his broad smile and courteous speech. He took me & Deepika by suprise by recalling our Mt.Fuji climb. Cheruba was gorgeous in her choLi-like costume that fit well for the evening -she was just 'too excited' that she uttered even a simple 'hi' with a lot of 'drama'tic facial expressions! :-)

The day also presented us an opportunity to mingle with some of our relatives whom we (or 'I' to be precise) met for the first time. Dr.Bosewell's two daughters -Beryl, Cheryl, their husbands, YaLini Ravi Arumugam, Murugesan-family & Amsa-anni were all new faces to me at the beginning, and not at the end of the day. Though we could 'catch' Divya and Thompson, we couldn't catch up with them as they were busy with the arrangements. (Thompson must be a fan of 'Sivaji' Rajini :-) In the hotel where we stayed in, we befriended Murugesan-family and another gentleman who said he was Cheruba's dad's boyhood friend from Nazareth.

I should be thankful to Malini anni for this opportunity for another reason -this was the very first marriage all the four in our family attended together. We have attended marriages of relatives in India but there was never a chance for all the four of us to be present. One thing our children miss being in a foreign country is the warmth of attending family functions/weddings -I'm glad that both my kids could attend the wedding of their 3rd cousin Cheruba-akka with whom they had traveled to Hiroshima, Nara and Kyoto in Japan in 2006.

Mt.Fuji -A once-in-lifetime Experience!

2010-10-05T23:16:00.001+09:00

In August this year, Deepika, Shibu and I climbed to Mt.Fuji's summit!

Mt.Fuji, the iconic symbol of Japan, remained elusive to me for years. ln 2006, our Kalyan's team (Kalyan, Sudhir, Rajkumar & Nick) traveled to Mt.Fuji in a package tour with Nick making it to the top while others reaching 'almost the top' -the 8th station. A year later, a package tour booked by 15-20 of IITians got canceled due to storm forecast. There was no serious attempt for a Mt.Fuji expedition thereafter.

Mt.Fuji is officially open to public only for 2 months a year –July & August. (Due to extreme windy/snowy/freezing conditions at the summit, it is closed for the rest of the year, i.e, ‘officially’ -meaning, you could still go there throughout the year; but you are unlikely to return, as they say!). Deepika, Shibu and I decided to Just Do It it this summer. It turned out to be an amazing trip and proved to be an acid-test for our physical and psychological caliber. Here is our Mt.Fuji story (July 31-Aug 1).......

‘Roadside’ sleep: We chose to drive (one way 520 km) instead of going on a bus tour, to have extra thrill, fun & flexibility. And it just worked great. We left around 7 pm on Friday (July-30) from Takasago, drove along Sanyo, Chugoku, Meishin, Shin-Meishin, Higashi Meihan, and Ise Wangan expressways and were soon in Tomei expressway where we stopped at around 10:30 for late-night dinner. Being one of the oldest and widely-used highways leading to Tokyo, many Parking areas in Tomei expressway have convenience stores (like Lawson) and chain restaurants like Yoshnoya, Starbucks and McDonalds. At 1 am we stopped in a Parking area, and got ready to sleep (we had carried with us bed, bedspreads and pillows). As the restaurants were all closed except one or two, we made the tables they had left outside into twin beds, and comfortably slept under a shamiana! Almost equivalent to 'roadside sleeping', it turned out to be another unique experience we could do only in Japan! (We saw some others sleeping like us).

When we woke up at 6 in the morning, it was bright though the weather was chill, and the Parking lot was just getting busier. The place was surrounded by mountain in all the sides, and people were simply strolling or sitting at the viewpoints enjoying the mountains sipping hot coffee. We took local driving directions from the Information center (no GPS in my car!), had some hot Udon noodles for breakfast and left at 8 am to reach Kawaguchiko.

Kawaguchiko Trail: Mt.Fuji (3,776 m) is divided into 10 levels (known as '10 stations') and buses/cars could reach up to 5th station. There are four 5th stations at different points in the conical circumference Mt.Fuji namely Kawaguchiko, Fujinomiya, Gotemba and SubaShri (what a name! :-). We chose to climb from Kawaguchiko 5th station (2,300 m) as it is the most popular and supposedly least difficult of the 4 routes. The ascent to the top is 7km and could take 6 hrs, and the descent -in a different path- 4km and 3 hrs. (That's what internet said). Kawaguchiko's Visitor Center had all the information for tourists and the girl was helpful in Kanto style (which was different from the Kansai style in that the typical Kansai style politeness and friendly smile was missing). We had the first glimpses of Mt.Fuji from the 2nd floor terrace of the Visitor Center; wondering that soon we would be climbing to the top!

Preparation: At the car parking lot in Kawaguchiko 5th station we changed into our climbing attire and ensured that our backpack is equipped with the essentials -1 liter water flask, headlamp, gloves, face mask, sunglass, sweater, knitted hat, towel, plain hat, thermal in-pant, spat (?)*, rainwear, a cover to protect the backpack against rain, aspirin tablets, oxygen can, energy biscuits, dry fruits, chocolates, a number of Y100 coins, cash, cell phone & camera. We also carried a hiking pole -a 1 meter length stick sold for Y700 in any convenience store in that area. The list may sound redundant -but each & every item became absolutely essential at some point or the other when we were climbing up for day & night in areas where there was nothing but molten rock! 5th station is visited by not only climbers, but also those who just go there to see the Starting point. There were a number of foreigners (we met about 6-8 Indians along the route). Statistics says more than one-third of Mt.Fuji climbers are foreigners. Had lunch at one of the restaurants in 5th station.

The Start: It was 2:10 pm when we left the start point. The entrance to the climbing route had two stone pillars, and a small wooden board showing "Route to Mt.Fuji summit (320 min)". Deepika happily posed for a picture with a smiling face near the board. She realized little then that this 320-min was going to be 600-min for us and that too the toughest 600-min we have ever had!Apart from a number of enthusiastic climbers, there were also many families that were not in the climbing attire -they went for a 30-min hike along the route to get a feel of what climbing Mt.Fuji was. The initial path was not steep, the mountain was green, the trail was 2-m wide, and with the mild temperature in a cloudy atmosphere, the 30-min hike made a wonderful one-day-picnic for families & children. Horse-ride was also there. The first 30-min trail was the same for ascending & descending, and we saw those returning -all of them had only weary look. The trail was nice to walk, and Shibu was commenting if the entire route would be like that there would be no difficulty at all. He was naive.

The scene changed: The scenes of day-picnic changed after 30-min where we saw only climbers all set for a tough track. I found the climbing way different from the hiking we've done -that there was absolutely no greenery and the trail was very steep and continuous. At many places, Mt.Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical conical shape made me feel like climbing up a conical surface with 60 degree base angle. And the trail was full of rocks, rocks & rocks. Without proper hiking shoes and the hiking pole, one would risk injuring his ankle. There were many groups led by tour guides that passed by. We decided to go on our own pace.

The 7th station (2,700 m level): As we reached the 7th station at 2,700 m level, both Deepika and Shibu were active; -they wouldn't let me go ahead; and they stayed ahead even as I was following them. Saw a 'mountain hut' (yama-goya) -a resting 'box' - where you can take rest in a 6 ft Length x 1 ft Width x 2 ft Height space in a 'wooden container' for Y7,000. We had only climbed 400m and reached 2,700m and I was wondering why one should rest at that level. The peak is at 3,776 m level, and we have to climb up another 1,076 m!. The hut had a small bench (just one bench) for us to sit & relax, and space for smoking. They sold 500ml water bottles for Y500, one banana for Y200. (I buy them for one-tenth of that price in Takasago Seiyu!). Despite a 'clear' weather forecast, it started raining, and we had to use our rainwear. It stopped in 10-15 minutes. It was still bright.

7th station (3,000 m level): It took nearly 4 hrs to reach the 3,000m level, and we were all tired having climbed 700m. People were seen taking rest at the side of the trail, mostly on rocks. Saw many people using their oxygen cans at this level. On seeing them, Deepika wanted to use hers as she said it would 'clear her lungs'. I had read that the air will get 'thin' as we climb up where the oxygen cans would come as handy, but I didn't feel anything strange in breathing at this level. Sensing that Deepika's need for 'clearing lungs' was more of psychological than actual, I promised her that we would use oxygen when we reach the 8th station, where I had reserved for 3 spaces in a mountain hut. She was a bit upset that I didn't buy her theory of 'clearing lungs' but she didn't have (her usual) energy to fight back either! I wanted to save oxygen for 'real' breathing difficulty one might face at much higher elevations. We were eagerly looking for 8th station to take rest.

The 8th station: At 7 we reached “Horai kan” the mountain hut in 8th station at 3,150m. Being well-mannered or being dead-tired, the in-mates were silent and the 'container' didn't look like the one where some 200 people were sleeping! They provided curry rice & salad -which were luxury at that level. The 3ft wide bed was spared by 3 persons, and a slight movement would disturb the other guy. Yet, there was absolutely no disturbance, and there was ‘pin drop’ silence. Shibu & I had mild headache and we took aspirin. Deepika used oxygen cans, and 'looked' fresh. We went to bed at 8:30. The sunrise on the next day was to be at 4:41 am, and we had to climb another 600m. We had a good sleep till 12:30, and woke up to see no guys around us -they all had woken up early and proceeded to climb up (without making any noise!).

We changed to winter clothing and left the hut at 1:30 am. Just outside the hut we saw a chain of people climbing up- with weary looks and heavy breathing- they all had started from the 5th station at night of the previous day. (A majority of the climbers start at 7-8 pm, and climb throughout the night without resting in the hut) I don't think I could do that- as the 4 hr rest in the hut came as a psychological boost.

The 9th station: Even within few minutes of climbing we were tired -apparently the rest wasn’t that refreshing as we thought. We all had headlamps. Our climbing pace had come down greatly. As it was 3 am there were a number of climbers lying on the rocks -and sleeping in whatever position they could --sitting, leaning on the rocks, or simply lying on the sideways. Tents are not allowed in Mt.Fuji. At times, I felt like walking through a battlefield where there were hundred victims lying dead. Some were seen vomiting -as they suffered nausea at higher elevations. I made sure that there was no breathing difficulty. Shibu was lagging behind. And Deepika was walking like a 'sadhu' --taking every step very slowly as if in 'slow-motion', holding her hiking pole like 'Auvaiyar', having her head lowered and mostly closing her eyes. Even when I asked if she was alright, she said '...mm' without raising her head or opening her eyes; I never knew she could speak in such a low voice! I commented if only she was this quiet at home, how peaceful my life would have been... She wasn't in a mood to smile (or ‘give back’). When she & Shibu were sitting on a rock to rest, I saw her eyes closed, and heard her mouth chanting "Muruga....Muruga...." !! (I doubted Lord Murugan in Mt.Palani (TN) could hear her thin voice from Mt.Fuji).

It was 4:40 and all the climbers got ready to look at sunrise, though everyone was dead-tired. A number of them continued to sleep on the rocks –apparently the sunrise failed to impress them to wake up and see. They've been climbing all through the night.

The summit: Since 5 am we could see the summit close-by, and the ‘tori’ they had built as the point of entrance. Yet it took another one-and-half hours to reach the spot... and at 6:30, we finally landed at the highest peak of Japan. Even before we could take pictures, Shibu slept on a small bench. There were a couple of petty shops, a cafeteria, and a post office (where you can buy cards and send anywhere in the world). Even as Shibu was sleeping, we went near the crater and walked around. It was a fulfilling feeling -wherever & whenever we see Mt.Fuji's picture, we can now point our finger at the summit and say "We have climbed up to this point..."

The Descent:Spent a couple of hours at the summit and started descending. I found the descent equally hard -if not harder than the ascent. We didn't get tired as we didn't strain the heart, but the legs ached as they took the load. The descent was in a different route, and though there were no rocks, the trail was steep, and full of small stones that would keep getting inside your shoes if you weren't wearing the so-called 'spat'. It got quiet hot at 9 am and without sunglass, sunscreen and mask it would have been really tough. And there was no hut -meaning there was no place to buy water. Mt.Fuji changed from black to red and finally to green in color at the 6th level. As we approached the start point we saw hundreds of enthusiastic climbers just beginning with a lot of vigor and energy their expedition –their long struggle to reach the summit.

It was 2 pm Sunday when we arrived at the Start point –it took exactly 24 hours for us to get back to where we started. We packed ourselves in the car without even changing the climbing wear and proceeded straight to a nearby onsen -Fujiyama Onsen.

Climbing Mt.Fuji is truly a once-in-lifetime experience. At 3,776 m elevation, Mt.Fuji is the highest point we have ever landed in/ climbed up on earth. To do that, we had to climb up and down continuously for 24 hours, except for the 4 hr rest at night and the 2 hr stop at the summit. We felt great that We Made It. We couldn't believe we made it!

Uma

2010-10-04T21:09:00.009+09:00

Caution: Vegetarians must skip this page!
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"Sushi" -rice ball topped with a slice of raw fish- is by far the most popular Japanese food known in the world. Raw fish ("sashimi") by itself is a popular delicacy in here -and is sold in all the supermarkets where you buy meat. People visiting Japan might wonder how the Japanese eat raw fish. Thinly sliced raw fish served on radish flakes eaten dipping in hot soy sauce is a tasty delicacy indeed -you would hardly believe its raw fish! Having most of its landspace very close to sea (and perhaps being in a hurry to spend time in cooking!), these guys have been historically having 'raw fish' as a main item in their menu.

Even 'adventurous' foreigners who like to try different meat often avoid sashimi -the idea of eating something raw is indigestible to them. You don't have to ask about Indians who dare to touch even beef. (Deepika still believes Sridhar changed his travel destination from Japan to Egypt mainly because of my writing about raw fish as a delicacy here! :-)

Eating 'raw' hasn't just stopped with fish -they eat beef, chicken, octopus, squid and shrimp also raw, rather occasionally. Lately, I came to know that they do eat horse meat, that too raw! Though not sold in regular foodcourts/ restaurants, there are restaurants that sell raw horsemeat -"basashimi"- and I got curious to give it a try. As Deepika won't even touch beef or sashimi, I had had to wait..... and visited last week a restaurant in Kobe that sells this item which, as the restaurant claims, comes from a farther island "Kyushu" in Japan. It tastes not quite different from raw fish. (See pics). ('Horse' is 'Uma' in Japanese)

Thought about the unique meats that I could put my hands on in all these years.... in Seoul, a local guide showed us a restaurant that sold snakes and only snakes! (I didn't have the guts to try, then). Tried turtle in China which also has dog meat restaurants. My Japanese boss who is otherwise adventurous in trying unique food was taken aback on seeing dog meat restaurant -and refused to try as he was raising a pet dog, and that pet dog used to sleep with him in his bed everyday! Though I didn't have any such affinity for dogs, as a courtesy, I had had to give up that chance. Pagals & Ponraj when they visited Florida have tasted alligator fries...(or was it alligator fin?) which tasted like chicken. Octopus ia another popular item among children in Japan.

Back in India, almost all the Tuticorin 'night clubs' (that's how evening-only non veg stalls' are known in Tuticorin) sell a unique item "kaudari" a bird which tastes pretty much like chicken. Pigeon is also sold in most of the restaurants, and Tuty guys comment that pigeon doesn't have much of flesh. Kathax and Isaac might have tasted them. Surprisingly, I haven't seen these dishes in Chennai or other places!

And here comes a response from my friend Isaac (another Tuty guy), with a poetic ending:

Subahar and AJB,

You guys are making my mouth water :-)~~~~~~~
The following is not for the faint of heart. Vegetarians should probably quit reading at this point...

Yes, I have had Kaudari, while living in Tuticorin. We used to buy from hunters, and later used to hunt them ourselves in the wilderness area that surrounded our Harbour colony. My younger brother was quite good at catching those birds. Kaudari is a flightless bird, but it can fly better than chicken. If you chase it, it will hide quickly, sometimes by throwing loose sand over itself. Because of its camouflage, it will be very difficult to locate. So, when it hid like that, we would surround the area and wait patiently for it to pop back up. We would then rush it, scaring the bird into hiding right in front of our eyes. Once we knew its exact location, my brother would pounce on it.

AJB, you are right, it is very difficult to tell the difference between Kadai and Kaka. In those days, we used to hunt, cook and eat all sorts of living things, including squirrels and vellai eli (as long as they were grey and not too dark, they were good enough for the table). One day, we thought, "Why not kaka?". So, we got a young Kaka and our grandma cooked it for us. I think my mom was too grossed out. For some reason, we didn't make it a habit of eating kaka (our mom must have prevailed). We did cook and eat kaka eggs sometimes. Once, my cousin, who is even more adventurous, wanted to try a raw egg. He cracked it open, poured it into his mouth, but quickly spit it out. The egg was not so fresh after all. Uncooked kaka kunji managed to gross out even my cuz.

We were "growing boys" and we loved meat. Chicken was expensive and mutton was almost out of reach. Thankfully, we found a person who could buy beef from a nearby village and bring it to our house on a regular basis. Eating beef was looked down upon and we had to kind of do it quietly. But we loved it, especially the unlimited quantity that we could eat.

Recently, we tried buffalo and elk meat, while visiting Wyoming. They tasted good, but I couldn't tell the difference between them and beef. Venison (deer) is not sold in stores here, but some of our friends are hunters and they do get a deer or two every season. Paavi pasangal are not sharing it with me!

There are some wild rabbits living in our backyard here in Carson City. I sit and watch them sometimes, wondering how things have changed. There was a time when they would have become tasty rabbit fry. Now, I refer to them by their names, like 'Cloudy'. They are names that my daughter has given them.

Regards,
Isaac
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2010-10-04T21:02:00.001+09:00

ஆண்கள் அறிக!

2010-06-27T13:17:00.002+09:00

கவிதை பெரும்பாலும் நிஜத்தைத் தொடுவதில்லை. “ஆண்கள் அறிக” என்ற தலைப்பில் தாமரை விகடனில் எழுதிய கவிதை அப்படியில்லை எனலாம், அங்கங்கே தெரியும் சற்றே மிகைப்படுத்தலை உதறிவிட்டுப் படித்தால். (கடைசிப் பத்தியின் ‘நச்’ வரிகளில் ஒரு கவித்துவம் கலந்த ’இடி’யைப் பார்க்கலாம்).
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காதல் சொல்லும் கணத்தில்கூட

முதல் காதலிக்கான கவிதை

வாசிக்கப்படுகிறது.

கல்யாணத்துக்கு நெருக்கும்

பழுத்த காதலிகளிடம்

இன்னும் வயதுக்கு வராத

உங்கள் தங்கையின்

திருமணத்தைப்பற்றிப் பதறுகிறீர்கள்...

உங்களை நம்பி ஓடி வந்து

மாலை மாற்றிக்கொண்டவளிடம்

'என் அம்மாவைவிட்டு

வந்துவிட்டேனே' என்று

புலம்புகிறீர்கள்..

அடுப்படியில் வெந்து விறுவிறுக்க

மனைவி தயாரித்த மணத்தக்காளிக் குழம்பை

உறிஞ்சிக்கொண்டே,

'என் அம்மா வைத்தால்

ஊரே மணக்கும்' என்கிறீர்கள்...

'என் மனைவிக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்தது

மல்லிகைப் பூ' என்று

கைம்பெண்ணிடம் பூ வாங்கும்போது

முணுமுணுக்கிறீர்கள்...

வாழ்வின் விளிம்பில்

ஊசலாடிக்கொண்டு இருப்பவளிடம்

எப்படி உங்கள் பெண் குழந்தைகள்

தேவதைகளாக இருந்து

உங்களைக் காக்கிறார்கள்

என்று வியக்கிறீர்கள்...

மரணப் படுக்கையில் இருப்பவளிடம்

உங்கள் மனைவி பிரசவத்தில்

பிழைத்த கதையையும்

விபத்தில் சிக்கியவளிடம் உங்கள்

குருதிக் கொடையால் கண் விழித்த

கல்லூரிப் பெண்கள்பற்றியும்

விவரிக்கிறீர்கள்...

பிள்ளையற்றவளிடம் உங்கள்

பாட்டி பெற்ற பதினாறைப்

பட்டியலிடுகிறீர்கள்...

நாட்டியக்காரியின் வீட்டை

நாடி வந்துவிட்டு

அவள் காலை நக்கிக்கொண்டே

உங்கள் வீட்டுக் 'குத்து விளக்கை' எண்ணிக்

கண்ணீர் உகுக்கிறீர்கள்...

காதலோடு நீங்கள் பேச ஆரம்பிக்கும்

ஒரு பொழுதேனும் இடைமறித்து

'அந்த மகிழம்பூ மரத்தடியில் வைத்து

மகேந்திரன் கொடுத்த முத்தத்துக்கு

ஈடாகாது எதுவும்' என்று

சொல்ல வேண்டும்.

கண்ணகிகளை மாதவியாக்கும்போது

நீங்கள் நகுலன் அல்லது

சகாதேவனாகிறீர்கள்.

இடம் பொருள் ஏவலற்றுப்

பிற பெண்களைப்பற்றிப் பேசும்

ஆண்கள் அறிக,

உங்களுக்கான முத்தம்

வேறொரு உதட்டில்

இடப்பட்டுவிட்டது!

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”அண்ணாச்சித் தெரு”

2010-04-02T23:40:00.001+09:00

’அங்காடித் தெரு’ படத்தைத் திரைப்படம் என்று பார்க்க முடியாமல் போவதற்கு, ”காட்சிகள் கற்பனை அல்ல; அத்தனையும் அண்ணாச்சி கடைகளின் நிஜம்” என்பதை நாம் உணர்வதே காரணம். சில விமர்சனங்களில் சொல்லியிருப்பது போல காட்சிகளில் ஏதும் மிகை இருப்பதாக எனக்குத் தெரியவில்லை. எல்லாம் நாம் ’தெரிந்துகொள்ள விரும்பாத’ நிஜங்கள்.

அண்ணாச்சி கடைகளில் காலை 8 மணி (அல்லது அதற்கும் முன்னால்) முதல் இரவு 11-12 வரை ஓய்வேதும் இல்லாமல் வாரம் 6 நாள் தொழிலாளர்கள் வேலை செய்கிறார்கள். ஏழாம் நாள் ஏதாவது ‘படத்’துக்குப் போகிறார்கள். (”மதிய உணவுக்கு 20 நிமிஷம் தான் தருவார்கள்” என்று ரங்கநாதன் தெரு அண்ணாச்சி கடையில் வேலை செய்யும் பெண், முன்னொரு நாள் என் தங்கை போயிருந்தபோது சொல்லியிருந்தாள்). எந்த வகையிலும் நியாயப் படுத்த முடியாத இதற்குக் காரணம் கிராமத்து அறியாமை, மற்றும் கொடுமையான வறுமை. ஒருவர் விடாமல் எல்லா அண்ணாச்சிகளும் சின்ன வயதில் இப்படி மாடாக உழைத்து மேலே வந்திருப்பதால், ‘மாடாகத் தேய்வதே உழைப்பு’ என்ற பொய்யான எண்ணத்தில் இருக்கிறார்கள்.

அண்ணாச்சிகள் ஸ்டைல் -சம்பளத்திற்கு மேல் தங்க இடமும் மூன்று வேளை சாப்பாடும் தருவது. இதெல்லாமே சொற்பமாக சல்லிக்காசாக இருந்தாலும் அதை விட்டுச் செல்ல யாரும் விரும்புவதில்லை -பிற வேலைகளில் உள்ள “நிச்சயமின்மை’ பயமுறுத்துவதால். நம்மைப் போல் “labor law regulations" "exploitation of illiteracy" "abuse of poverty" என்றெல்லாம் பேசத் தெரியாத அந்தத் தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு நிச்சயமாகத் தெரிந்தது: இந்த வேலையை விட்டால் நடு ரோடு தான் கதி என்பது. அதனாலேயே வேலை பறி போவதை சிறிதும் விரும்புவதில்லை. ’கொத்தடிமை’, ’ஜெயில் கைதி’ என்றெல்லாம் நினைப்பதும் கிடையாது. வறுமை மற்றும் அறியாமை.

Child labor ஜப்பான் மற்றும் மேல்நாடுகளில் நினைத்துப் பார்க்கமுடியாத ஒன்று. Sexual harassment, power harassment, limited working hours பற்றியெல்லாம் இப்போது பெரிய கம்பெனிகள் மிகக் கவனமாக இருக்கின்றன. நமக்கு அதைப்பற்றியெல்லாம் அக்கறை இல்லை. அதிகாரிகளும் ‘நம்ம பை கொஞ்சம் நிறைந்தால் சரி’ என்று இருக்கிறார்கள். அதுவரை Demand-Supply தியரியின் படி அண்ணாச்சிகள் காட்டில் அடைமழை தான்.

அண்ணாச்சிகளைக் ‘குறிவைத்து’ அடிக்கும் இந்தப்படத்திற்கு அண்ணாச்சிகள் தரப்பில் கூடிய சீக்கிரம் அரசியல் ரீதியாக எதிர்ப்பு வரலாம். (Aftar all, முதல்வரின் ‘துணைவி’ அண்ணாச்சி ஆளாச்சே!)

(படத்தின் எளிமையான மெயின் காரக்டர்களும் ‘கனியிருப்பக் காய் கவர்ந்தற்று’ போன்ற வரிகளை ஜெயமோகன் நைஸாக நுழைத்திருப்பதும் என்னைக் கவர்ந்தன. ஸ்னேகா வருவது போன்ற கலகலப்பான காட்சிகளைக் கூட்டியிருக்கலாம்).