Karikalan Personal Blog

கலங்கரை விளக்கம்

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 06:59:00 +0000

இன்றல்ல நேற்றல்ல
வருடங்கள் கணக்கல்ல,
தங்கத்தால் வந்ததல்ல
தழுவிக்கொண்டே நின்றதல்ல,
சூதுகளால் சுழன்றதல்ல
சூத்திரத்தால் பணிவதல்ல,
தர்க்கத்தின் தலையல்ல
தரத்திற்கு நிகரல்ல,
தவமாகிப்போன அது - உன்
அன்பன்றி வேறல்ல,
தவமிருந்து பெற்றோமே
தவமிருந்து பெற்றோமே,
தவமிருந்து பெற்றதனால் - உன்
அன்பு வெறும் கடலல்ல
அது எங்கள்
கலங்கரை விளக்கம்!

குறிப்பு: வேலுமணி மாமாவிற்கு பிறந்தநாள் வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

முதல் சுற்று

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 09:57:00 +0000

குறிப்பு: மகனின் கோடை கால நீச்சல் பயிற்சி இன்று நிறைவடைந்தது, அதைப்பற்றி சில வரிகள். பயிற்சியாளர்: நவநீதன்.

நவநீதன் வழி எடுத்து
ஆதவனின் ஒளி பிடித்து - ஆதி
அந்தம் தனை மறந்து
சுவாசத்தைச் சிறையிட்டு
நீரினிலே கற்ற கலை!

அச்சமில்லா ஒரு சிறுவன்,
அதைக்கொண்ட இன்னொருவன்,
அழுகையுடன் மற்றொருவன்,
அக்கறையில் சாடும் சிலர்,
கரைதனிலே ஓடும் சிலர்
என்றோடிய காலமது!

ஈரைந்து மாதங்கள்
தவமிருந்து பெற்ற கரு,
வீணாகிப் போகாமல்
மீனாகிப் போனதொரு
அதிசயத்தைக் காணக் காணத்
தெவிட்டாமல் மனதிலொரு
கர்வத்தைச் சூடிக்கொண்டப்
பெற்றவரோ ஐந்தாறு!

மாரியுடன் முடிந்திட்ட
சித்திரையின் வெயிலோடு,
தடதடவென ஓடிவிட்ட
பயிற்சியது முடிந்தாலும்,
நீரினுள்ளே கற்றறிந்த
நம் முயற்சிக்கிது முற்றல்ல!

தினமொருமுறை முழுகிடுவோம்,
நீரினிலே கலந்திடுவோம்,
உயிர் நினைப்பு வருகையிலே
உச்சிதனை அடைந்திடுவோம்,
அகரத்தில் நின்றுகொண்டு
வெற்றிதனைச் சுவாசிப்போம்,
நம் முயற்சிக்கிது முற்றல்ல,
நம் சாதனைகளின்
முதல் சுற்று!

குரு வாழ்த்து

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:46:00 +0000

ஐம்பதாம் மேடை கண்ட, பலப்பல திறமைகள் கொண்ட எங்கள் சிலம்பக்கலை குரு தொல்காப்பியன் அவர்களுக்கு சமர்ப்பணம்.

சிலம்பக்கலையின் உருவே,
தொல்கலையின் கருவே,
தொல்காப்பியனென்ற குருவே!

முன் சுற்றில் முன்னேறி,
பின் சுற்றில் நிலைமாறி!

இரண்டானடியில் நின்று மடங்கி,
உடானில் சட்டென்று நெருங்கி!

சறுக்கியில் சறுக்காமல்,
கிரிக்கியில் கிறங்காமல்!

பகலில் விட்டக் குத்தில்,
தடையை விட்டுச் சுற்றில்!

தட்டி வந்து நீயடித்தப் பல்டி,
அடிப் பிடி வரிசைக் கட்டி,
தலைச் சுற்றிச் சாதனைகள் கொட்டி,
இவ்வைம்பதாம் மேடையைத் தட்டி,
வெற்றியுனை அணைக்கும் கட்டி!

குறிப்பு: உடான், அடி பிடி குத்து வரிசை, இரண்டானடி, பல்டி, கிரிக்கி, சறுக்கி, முன் பின் சுற்று, பகல், தலைச்சுற்று, தட்டி வருதல் இவையனைத்தும் சிலம்பக்கலையின் நிலைப்பாடுகள்.

சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 04:32:00 +0000

சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே,
சீவிய கொம்பன்களே!

தாய்த்தமிழ் நாட்டினிலே,
என் வாழ்வுக்குப் பங்கமில்லே,
எல்லையின்றி அத்து மீறும் இரட்டைத்தன ஆர்வலரே,
என்னைப் புசிப்பதை நொடி மறந்தென் - குரல்
கொஞ்சம் கேளுங்களேன்
என்று.. சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே!

யானை குதிரை கழுதை மேலில்லை அக்கறை,
என்னினத்திற்கு மட்டும் எதற்கிந்தப் பரிந்துரை?
என் சொந்தமவன் குத்தினாலும் கிழித்தாலும் காளையரை,
மறத்தமிழன் எனை மனத்தால் ஆளும் வரை,
அவன் பணி செய்தே கிடப்பேன் -
என்னினம் வீழும் வரை
என்று.. சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே!

வாடிவாசல் வழி திறந்து,
விருட்டென சீறிப்பாய்ந்து,
குளம்படிகள் ஆழமாய் பதிந்து,
மச்சக் காளைகளினுள் கலந்து,
திமில் தழுவும் முகங்கள் மறந்து,
கொம்பில் எவனும் சிக்காமல் வளைந்து,
சிமிட்டும் நேரம் முன்னேறிப்பறந்து,
அயர்வற்ற உணர்வுகள் வானுயர்ந்து,
வளர்த்த குடும்பத்தினுள் போய் அணைந்து,
சொந்த பந்தம் அகமகிழ்ந்து,
கண்டிருக்கும் கண் வியந்து,
ஆடிவருமிந்த ஏறைத் தழுவாமல் - இல்லையடா
பொங்கல் விருந்து,
என்று.. சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே!

கோடி கோடியாய் பணம் இறைந்து,
கொத்தாக எங்களினம் மடிந்து,
அயலினம் என் மரபு நுழைந்து,
என் தமிழுக்குத் துரோகம் புரிந்து,
கனவு காணாதே - உனக்காவேன்
நான் விருந்து,
என்று.. சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே!

வருடந்தோறும் சீராட்டிப் பாராட்டி,
பசும்புல் பருத்தித் துவரைப் புகட்டி,
காலாண்டில் சத்துருண்டை ஊட்டி,
அவன் பசித்து என் பசியாற்றி,
என்னுடல் நலம் பேணப் பதறிப் பிதற்றி,
ஊர் உறவு காணாது ஊண் உறக்கமின்றி,
என் திமில் அணைத்த அவன் வெற்றி,
அவன் முத்தமிட்ட என் நெற்றி,
சொல்லுமடா என்னை - எப்படி
வளர்த்தான் போற்றி,
என்று.. சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே!

அம்மா என்ற சொல்லை அடிமைச்சொல்லாக்கி,
நீ அம்மா என்றழைப்பதையும் அரசியலாக்கி,
கலைஞரும் கடை நிலையை காசாக்கி,
உரிமைகளை உளுத்த கட்டுமரமாக்கி,
கலகத்தையே கழகங்களின் கொள்கையாக்கி,
தேர்தலில் வன்புணர்ந்து நம்மை விலைமாதராக்கி,
பிணம் தின்னும் - அவல அரசியலை
எறியுங்கள் தூக்கி,
என்று.. சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே!

முந்தா நேற்றைய ஆலம்பாடியனும் காங்கேயனும்,
நேற்றைய புலிகுளத்தானும் உம்பளாச்சேரியனும் ,
இன்றைய பருகூரனும் மலையனும்,
நாளைய அடிமாட்டான் - என்ற
பெயர் பெற்றொழியாமிலிருக்க
என்னினமே தமிழா..
உணவில்லாமல் இறந்தாலும் இற,
உணர்வில்லாமல் இருப்பதை மற!
பொங்கல் வைத்தது விடு,
பொங்கி எழு!
போராட்ட குணம் தவிர,
போர்க்குணமும் கொள்!
என்று..
சீறுங்கள் காளைகளே,
துடி சீவிய கொம்பன்களே!

குகைமரவாசிகள்

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Sun, 03 May 2015 15:36:00 +0000

இந்தப் புவியுடன் நம்முயிர்
எந்திரமாய்ச் சுழல்வது கண்டு,
மீள்வதில்லை நாம்
அதனுள் சிக்குண்டு!

அறிவோமா எந்நாள் முக்கிய
மகுடம் சூடப்போகிறதென்று?
அன்றைய நாள் எக்காளமிட்டது
அம்மகுடம் சூட்டிக்கொண்டு!

வெகுநாட்களுக்குப் பின்
மேடை நாடகம் காண அழைப்பு!
கலைப்பசியைப் போக்கிக்கொள்ள
நன்றிக்கு உரித்தான ஓர் அரிய வாய்ப்பு!

"நாடகமா? கடைசியா எப்போப் பாத்தேன்னே தெரியல. நானும் வரேனே",
மனையாள் கூட்டானாள்!
"நானி, நானி, நானி!",
அட! என் மகனும்!
"நான் வரலடா!"
வீண் திரைகள் வீணடித்த நேரம் பயமுறுத்தியதால்,
தந்தை விலகிக்கொண்டார்!

"ஏங்க, சினிமா பாத்து பழகிட்டோம், நாடகம்... நல்லா இருக்குமா?"
"தூரமா ஒக்காந்தா, மொகந்தெரியுமா? பேசறது கேக்குமா?"
"இப்பெல்லாம் நாடகம் பாக்கறாங்களா? எத்தன பேரு வருவாங்க?"
கேள்வி கேட்கும் இலகுவான
வேலையைச் செய்து முடித்தாள்!
என்னில் ஓடிய எண்ண
ஓட்டத்தையே பிரதிபலித்தாள்!
தெரியாத அறிவியலுக்கு கடவுள் தானே விடை,
(ம்ம்... எந்தக் கடவுள் ?!?!?)
என் குழப்பத்தை மௌனம் என
நினைத்து அமைதியானாள்!

நாடகங்களின் முதுகில்
கூனாக திரைப்படங்கள் ஏறியிருந்த நேரம்!
அறிவியல், பொழுதுபோக்கைப் பெட்டிக்குள்ளும்,
மேடைகளை விட்டத்திலும் அடைத்திருந்த சமயம்!

பழங்கலைகளை பட்டியும் மன்றங்களும்
மட்டுமே உரையாடின!
மீத நாடக சாகசங்களை நெடுந்தொடர்கள்
மானபங்கம் செய்தன!

"எப்படி இருந்தாலென்ன? இது ஓர் அறிய வாய்ப்பு,
கலையைத் தொடு, கவலையை விடு!"
கேட்டுரைக்கும் வயதடையா என் மகனிடம் கிசுகிசுத்தேன்!

குகைமரவாசிகள்!
போராலும் பொருளாதாரத்தாலும் புலம்
பெயர்ந்த அகதிகளை பற்றியதாம்!
அரங்கம் நிறைந்த கரங்களின் கோஷம்
அறிமுக உரையை முடித்தது!
மேடையில் காட்சிகள் வரிசையில் நின்றேரியது!
நடிகர்கள் நாடகாசிரியரின் எண்ணங்களை
ஒலியாலும் உடலாலும் பிரதிபலித்தார்கள்!

புரியாத மொழி, புலப்படாத அசைவுகள், உரத்த இசை..
என்னதான் சொல்ல வருகிறார்கள்? புரியவில்லை!
எனக்கு மட்டுமா? இல்லை அனைவருக்குமா?
என்றறிய நான் மேடை விட்டு,
அரங்கம் நோக்கிய... அந்தக்கணம்...

"டம்ம்ம்!" இடியை ஒத்த பெரு ஓசை!
"ஆஆ!” குலை நடுக்கும் கதறல்!
அச்சம் என் கண்களை அவசர கதியில்
என்னனுமதியின்றி மூடியது!
நிமிடம் கரைந்தது.. அந்தக் கதறல்?
அந்தக் கதறல் யாருடையது?
தேட விழித்தேன்!

வெறுமையான இடம்,
பரிச்சயமானவர் எவருமில்லை!
எங்கே சென்றனர் என்னுடன் வந்தவர்? நானெங்கே?
என்ன இது? நான்.. நான்.. நடுவில்,
குகைமரவாசிகளின் நடுவில்,
உள்ளே... குகைமரத்தினுள்ளே!

மண்ணையும் மனையையும்
விட்டுத் துரத்தியடிக்கப்பட்டவர்கள்!
உயிருக்காக உணர்வையும்,
பசிக்காகப் பாசத்தையும் தியாகம் செய்தவர்கள்!

அடுத்த வேளைப்
பட்டினிச்சாவென்று தெரிந்தும்,
அகோரப் பட்டினியில்
எலும்புகள் உருகுவது உணர்ந்தும்,
கடைசி ரொட்டியைப் பகிர்ந்துண்டனர்,
அதில் எனக்குமொரு பங்கு!

இந்தச் சுயநல இரட்டைச் சமூகம்
கொடுத்தக் காயத்திலும்,
பொருளில்லாமலும் ஜாதி ஏற்றத்தாழ்விலும்,
அப்பாவி இயற்கையும் உயிர்களும்,
என்னைச் சுற்றி பலியாகின!
அவர்களுடன் நானும் செய்வதறியாது உழல்கையில்,
மூதாதையர் எலும்பு கொண்டு,
அவரவர் குறையும் வலியும்
போக்க முயன்றாள் தாய் மூதை!
அவர்கள் கரிய உடம்பின் சிவப்பு ஓலங்கள்,
என்னுயிரை நடுக்கியது!
மறுபடி மூடிக்கொண்டன என் கண்கள்..
நிசப்தம்!

அட! இது என்ன? காதலின் ஒலி கேட்கிறதே,
கவிதைகள் உதிர்கிறதே,
கனவுகள் பறக்கிறதே,
இந்தச் சூழலிலும் இதற்கிடமுண்டோ?
காணக் கண் விழிக்கையில்,
ஒரு புது உயிர் பிறந்திருந்தது!
நான் நேரில் கண்ட முதல் கடவுள் செயல்!

பொருள் விடுத்து மனிதம் உடுத்தும்
சமூகத்தை உருவாக்கும் கட்டாயக் கடமையைக்
குருதியில் கொண்ட விதை!
இன்றைய நாகரீகம் விதைக்க மறந்த விதை!
குவா குவா சத்தம் செவியினில் பாய்ந்தது!
மறுபடி நிசப்தம்!

இப்பொழுது உறைத்தது எனக்கு,
குகையின் ஒவ்வொரு சுவடும்,
நாங்கள் விட்டுச் சென்றவையே!
மரத்தின் ஒவ்வொரு அசைவும்,
எங்கள் ஆன்மாவின் மொழியே!
வாசிகளின் ஒவ்வொரு ஓலமும்,
எங்கள் வேதனையே!
அங்கு அரங்கேறிய ஒவ்வொரு காட்சியும்,
எங்கள் மனசாட்சியே!
குகைமரவாசிகள் வேறு யாருமல்ல,
எங்களின் எதிர்கால பிம்பங்களே!

பொருளுக்காக மரபையும் பண்பையும் விட்டெரிந்து,
தன்னை மட்டும் கருத்தில் கொண்டு,
பணக் கூட்டினில் உழன்று,
பகிர்தலும் உத்தம சமுதாய உருவாக்கமும் மறந்து,
நாகரீக முகமூடிக்குள் ஒளிந்து கொண்டு,
வீண் பெருமை பேசி,
இந்தக் குகைமரவாசத்திற்கு காரணமான எங்களையே,
அடையாள அட்டை இல்லாமல்,
காட்டிக்கொடுத்து முகமூடி கிழித்திருந்தனர்!
நிசப்தம்!

ஐயோ! அடுத்தென்ன நடக்கப்போகிறதோ?
எங்களின் எந்த முகமூடி கிழிக்கப்படுமோ?
எந்த இரட்டைத்தனம் சுட்டிக்காட்டப்படுமோ?
எங்கள் சமுதாயம் இன்னும்
என்ன கொடுமைகளுக்கெல்லாம் காரணமாகுமோ?
பயத்தில் அருகிலிருந்த ஒரு
பொம்மையைக் கட்டிக்கொண்டேன்!

குகை மரத்தின் உன்னதத்தை
வெகு ஜனனம் கொண்டு செல்ல,
நிலை மாறும் மனிதன் போதாது,
நிலை மாறா பொம்மை தான் உதவுமென்று,
நான் கட்டியிருந்த பொம்மையிடம்,
வழிகளை வாசிகள் போதித்து முடித்த போது,
வெட்கிக் குனிந்திருந்தது என் தலை!
வெறுப்பால் மூடியிருந்தன என் கண்கள்,
முற்றும் இழந்திருந்தேன் என்நிலை!
நிசப்தம்!

அலையென இரைந்த அவ்வோசை,
என்னிலை உணர்த்தியது!
அதுவே என்னை
குகைமரத்திலிருந்து விடுவித்தது!
என் இருக்கையில்தான் இறுக்கமாக இருக்கிறேன்
என்பதை உணர்த்தியது!
அந்தக் கரவோசையில் அரங்கம் அதிர்ந்தது,
அனைவரும் தெரிந்தனர்!

அப்பாடா.. நிம்மதி! அத்தனையும் பிரம்மையே!
நிமிடங்கள் கரைந்தன..
எங்கே குகைமரவாசிகள்?
சட்டென மேடை நோக்கினேன்,
குகைமரவாசிகள் வரிசையில் அரங்கத்தை
வணங்கிக் கொண்டிருந்தனர்!
ஒரு வாசி மட்டும் என்னை ஓரக்கண்ணில் பார்த்து
விஷமப்புன்னகை புரிந்தான்!
அவன் கையில் என் சட்டையணிந்த
போதனை தாங்கிய பொம்மை!

மிரட்சியுடன் என் கரம் எழுப்பிய கோஷம்
அரங்கத்தில் மறைந்தது!
கனத்த மனதுடன் என்னுடல் மட்டும்
நிஜவுலகை தரிசித்தது!

குகைமரத்திலிருந்து விடுபட்டு மாதங்களாகியும்,
அழியவில்லை அவர்கள் வரைந்த ஓவியம்!
அழியாது வாழும் பல காலம் இக்காவியம்!

இப்படியொரு உலகத்தரம் நாடகங்களில் இன்றும் சாத்தியமே. பணமும் பகட்டும் இல்லாமலே ரசிகர்களுள் தாக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்த முடியும், என்று உணர்த்திய நாடகாசிரியர் "திரு. முருக பூபதி" அவர்களுக்கும், இந்த உன்னத அனுபவத்தை கொடுத்த மணல் மகுடி நாடகக்குழுவினருக்கும் என் பணிவான வணக்கங்கள்.

எங்கள் தங்கராஜா

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 16:27:00 +0000

"எங்கள் பள்ளிகளில், உங்கள் குழந்தைகளை அனுமதியுங்கள்...!!"
பள்ளி விளம்பரங்கள்
பெற்றோரிடமும், பிரம்மச்சாரிகளிடமும்
பாரபட்சமின்றி வீதியெல்லாம் கெஞ்சிக்கொண்டிருந்தன!

"பண்டிகையப்ப, ஊருப்பட்ட விலை சொல்லுவாங்க, இப்பவே சுண்டல், பொறி, பூ எல்லாம் வாங்கிடலாம் புள்ள...!!"
தீவிர திட்டம் தீட்டின
நடுத்தரக் குடும்பங்கள்!

"ஒரு சல்லை, 40 ரூவா. 2 மொழம் பூ 50 ரூவா. ஒரு பக்கா பொறி 30 ரூவா...!!"
வாகன இரைச்சலையும்,
ச்சோவெனக் கொட்டிய மழையையும் தாண்டி
மக்களை ஈர்த்தது விற்பவனின் குரல்!

"வண்டிய கழுவி பூஜை போடனும், ஊருப்பட்ட வேலை இருக்கு, சீக்கிரம் பூஜை பொருள கட்டுப்பா...!!"
லட்சுமி சரஸ்வதி தெய்வங்களோடு சேர்ந்து,
வாழ்வோடு ஒன்றிப்போன ஆயுதங்களும் உயிர்தெழத் தயாராகின!

விடிந்தால்
தசமி விஜயம்!
விழாக்கோலம் பூண்டிருந்தது
கோவை நகரம்!

ஆனால்! எங்களுக்கு மட்டும்,
அப்பண்டிகை விடியல்
இருளாகவே நிலைத்து விட்டது!
எங்கள் குடும்பத்தாருக்கு,
வெளிச்சமெல்லாம் கருமையாகவே தோன்றியது!
தினமுதிக்கும் சூரியனும்,
எங்களிடம் தோற்றோடினான்!
மழை வானிருந்து மட்டுமல்ல,
எங்கள் கண்களிலும் பெய்தது!
வெளியில் மட்டுமல்ல,
வீட்டினுள்ளும் கொட்டியது!

ஆம்! என் அன்பு மாமா
உறங்கிக்கொண்டிருந்தார்...
நிரந்தரமாக!

என் மழலையைத்
தோளில் சுமந்தவரை,
ரத்தச் சொந்தமில்லை என்றாலும்,
என் அத்தைச் சொந்தத்தை பூரனமாக்கியவரை!
என்னரும்புக் குரும்பைத்
தள்ளி நின்று ரசித்தவரை,
என் குழந்தைக் காலம்
நினைவூட்டிச் சிலாகித்தவரை,
என் மகனின் நடையை
விரல் பிடித்து இன்புற்றவரை,
அரசியலுடன் ஆன்மீகமும்,
பகுத்தறிவுடன் தேசப்பற்றும் கொண்டவரை,
மனதார ஊக்குவித்து மகிழ்பவரை,
சாதனை வெறியும் அதிசய தைரியமும்
மேலோங்கி நின்றவரை,
என் நகைக்குச் சுவை கூட்டியவரை,
நித்திரையின் ரகசியம் போதித்த யோகா குருவை,
உயிர் நண்பனொருவனை எனக்கு வரமளித்தவரை,
...மார்பில் குத்தினேன்!

ஆம்! என்னால் இயன்றவரை,
வலிக்குமோ என்று
ஒரு நொடி சிந்திக்காமல்,
இரக்கமற்று இரு கைகளாலும் குத்தினேன்!

எங்கள் நாட்டில் பிரசவம் பார்க்கும்
மருத்துவச்சி சாலைகள்,
நிஜ மருத்துவர்கள் கைவிட்ட பிறகும்,
என்னுடன் இணைந்து என் மாமன் இதயம்
மறுபடி துடிக்கச்செய்து விடாதா என்ற பேராசையில்,
நானிருந்த அவசர ஊர்தியின் வேகத்தில்,
கண்ணீருடன் கதறிக்கொண்டே,

மீண்டும் மீண்டும் குத்தினேன்!

எதுவும் உரைக்கவில்லை அவருக்கு,
எந்தச் சலனமுமில்லை அவரிடம்,
ஒரு பலனுமில்லை இறுதியில்!

அவரின் மெய் பொய்யாய்ப் போயிருந்தது!
பாவம் வாழ்க்கை அவருக்கு தந்த மரண அடி,
என்னுடைய உயிரடியை விடப் பலமானது போலும்!
ஓரம் நின்று அவர் ஆத்மா
என் அறியாமையைப் பார்த்துச்
சிரித்துக்கொண்டிருந்தது!

ஆம்! உறங்கித்தான் போய் விட்டார்
நிரந்தரமாக,
உறுதி வேறு செய்தார்கள்
அனைவரும்!

இல்லை எனக்கு உடன்பாடில்லை!
எங்களில் அவர் நினைவுகள் இல்லையா?
அவர் வித்துக்களில் உயிர் இல்லையா?
அவர் உருவம் மறந்து விடுமா?
இல்லை பாசம் தான் மரத்து விடுமா?

உடல் துறந்த அவர் ஆத்மா
உயிர்த்திருக்கும்!
உயிர்த்திருக்கும் அந்த ஆத்மா
மறுபடி உருவெடுக்கும்!

அந்நாள் வெகு தூரமில்லை,
இன்னும் எட்டு மாதங்களே!
ராஜனோ ராணியோ
இவ்வுலகில் பிறப்பெடுக்கும்!
அது தங்கராஜனின் மரபைக் கொண்டிருக்கும்,
அன்று அனைவருக்கும் அது
உண்மை உணர்த்தி இருக்கும்!
நீங்கள் உயிருடன்தான் இருக்கிறீர் என்று!

அதுவே இந்நீடித்த இரவைத் தோற்கடிக்கும்,
விடியலை நிரந்தரமாக்கும்!
இனி இருளும் தோற்றோடும்,
உங்கள் மரபு செழித்தோங்கும்!
அது கண்டு உங்கள் ஆன்மா,
மகிழ்வுணர்வில் குளித்து,
பெருமிதத்தில் திளைத்து,
சாந்தி அடையட்டும்!
சாந்தி அடையட்டும்!

அதிரதன் (எ) அதிரத்

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 16:12:00 +0000

தமிழும் இலக்கியமும் இளவரசிகளாய் வலம் வர,
முப்பெரும் தேவியராம்..
சரஸ்வதியின் அன்பும்,
லட்சுமியின் பண்பும்,
ஈசுவரத்தின் தாண்டவமும்,
பத்மநாக விக்னேசனருளும்
அதீதமாய் ரட்சித்திருக்க!
கறியை உண்டுக் காலனை வென்று,
ரவியினொளி சௌந்தரமாய் ஜெகமெங்கும்
சிந்துவாய்ப் பாய்ந்தோடி,
குமரனும் நடராசனும் மித்திரர்களாய்ப்
பன்னீரில் கலந்தாடி!
சென்னியான மசினியின் வேர்களுக்கு,
ஜீவனை வார்த்து!
ரங்கராஜாமனிகளுக்கு மலர்கள் தூவி,
பாரதியின் திலீபமெனும் தீ
அசோகமாய் வளர்ந்திருக்க,
தர்மமெனும் தங்கராஜனுக்குச் சரணடைந்து,
கனகமும் மல்லியும் குருதியில் கலந்தாடி,
சூரி போல் கூறிய நெறியோடும்,
வினோதமான அன்போடும்,
தரணி ஆளும் திறனோடும்,
மாசில்லா முத்துக்களான
மகிழக்குஞ்சுகளை ஈன்றெடுத்த,
மோகனச் செல்விகளும் பிரிய வேலன்களும்
வசந்தத்தில் மலர்ந்திருக்கும்,
அகரக்குடும்பத்தின் ரத்தினத்திலகமான பிரதீபனே!
என் தங்கைத் தமிழின் மகனே!
என் மருமகன் அதிரதனே!

எங்கள் குடும்பப் பயணத்தை,
பயணமென்ற குருக்ஷேத்ரத்தைத்
தோள் கொடுத்து நடத்த வந்தவனே!

சோழன், சக்கரவர்த்தி மற்றும்
திலீபர்கள் உண்டென்றாலும்,
கிழக்கின் மத்தியில் உதித்து,
எங்கள் சேனைக்கு வலு சேர்க்கப் பிறந்தவனே!

அதிரதன் - பல
ஆயிரம் பேருடன்
தனித்தே சமர் செய்பவனாம் -அஸ்திரங்கள்
பல உடையவனாம் - அதிரடிகள்
பல புரிபவனாம் - சிறந்த
தேரோட்டியாம் - மிகச்சிறந்த வழிகாட்டியாம்!

அவசியமான பெயர் தானடா உனக்கு -உன்
பெயரே வாழ்வின் பாதையாகட்டும் - மேன்மையே
உன் நோக்கமாகட்டும் - உன் வாழ்வே
காவியமாகட்டும்!

தேடிப் பகை நித்தம் கொண்டு - பல
வீண் சொல்லுரைத்து - அகங்கார
முடி சூடி, பிரித்தாளும் வழி தேடி - வயதோடு
அனுபவத்தை எட்டித்தள்ளி - அடக்குமுறைக்கும்
அக்கறைக்கும், அதோடு
பயத்துக்கும் மரியாதைக்கும்
வேறுபாடு அறியாது - வஞ்சத்தில்
வீழ்ந்து, பாச நேசம் விடுத்து - தன்
மெய் நாளையே பொய் என்றறியாமல்
மாயத்தில் உழன்று - வேதனையைப்
பரிசளிக்கும் இவ்வுலகத்
துரியோதனன்களை வென்று..

அன்பிற்கே சரண்,
உத்தமர்களுக்கே மித்திரன்,
தர்மத்திற்கே ரதன்,
என்ற கொள்கை சூடி,
அதிரதனாய் உன்னை விதைத்து,
மகாரதனாய் வாழ்ந்து,
ஜெய பேரிகை முழக்கு,
இவ்வுலகை ஒரு கலக்கு, கலக்கு!

அகரன்

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:39:00 +0000

கரத்தினால் தொட்டெழுதி
நெடு நாட்களாகி விட்டது
தமிழில் - ஆனால்
அருமைத்தமிழ் தரமாகவுள்ளது
மனதில்!

எப்படி மறப்பேனென்
தமிழின் சொல் அடி - என்னன்னைத்
தமிழ் கல்மண்
தோன்றாக் காலத்து
மூத்தக்குடி!

அடடே! தமிழ் மீது
அவ்வளவு பற்றோ?
இல்லை - இது பற்றல்ல
பரிசு!

என்னிந்த எண்ண ஓட்டத்தை
முறையாகப் பிரசவிக்க - என்
தாய்மொழி தவிர
வேறு எதை
நான் யோசிக்க !?

தங்களைப்போல் நானும்
நினைப்பதுண்டு - காலச்சவாரி
செய்யவொரு காலக்குதிரை
வேண்டுமென்று!

எதிர்காலம் சுற்றுவதால்
பறி போய்விடும் சுதந்திரம் - இறந்த
காலத்தில் இறக்காத
நினைவுகளைச் சுற்றுவதுதானே
நிரந்தரம்?

அப்படி இறக்காத நினைவுகளில்
தேடியும் கிடைக்கவில்லை - நான்
பிறந்தபோது என் தந்தையின்
உணர்ச்சி எல்லை!

என் தாய்
மறுபிறப்பின் வாயிலில்
இருந்தபோது - அவருள்ளம்
நடுங்கியதா?
என்னை முதலில்
ஏந்திய போது - அவர்
கண்கள் நீர்த் துளிர்த்ததா?
முத்தமிட்ட போது - உடல்
சிலிர்த்ததா?
தொட்டிலிட்ட போது - பாவணை
தடுமாறியதா?
ஒரு கவிதை புனைந்த களிப்பா?
அல்லது
மக்கள் தொகையைக் கூட்டியத் தவிப்பா?

இறக்காத என் நினைவுகளில்
தேடியும் கிடைக்கவில்லை - என்னை
ஈன்ற போதிருந்த என் தந்தையின் உணர்ச்சி எல்லை!

இதை நான் ஒரு
குறையாகக் கருதவில்லை - இருந்தும்
அத்தேடலை நிறுத்த என்னால் இயலவில்லை!

இந்தத் தேடலுக்கு
அமையாதா ஒரு முற்று -
என்றெண்ணி எண்ணிக்
களைத்திருக்கையில் சற்று -
விடையொன்று கொடுத்தது
ஆனி பதினெட்டு -
எங்கள் குடும்பத்தில் உதித்தது
'அகரன்' எனும் மொட்டு -
அவன் வழி என் தந்தையின்
உணர்ச்சி எல்லையை எட்டு!

அவன் பிஞ்சு
விரல்களைத் தீண்டிய அந்த
நிமிடம் - என்
சிரசில் ஏறியிருந்தது
கர்வமெனும்
மகுடம்!

அவன் ஸ்பரிசத்தை
உணர்ந்த அந்தப்
பொழுது - என்
மனதில் துளிர் விட்டது
தந்தை எனும்
விழுது!

அவன் மூச்சுக்காற்று
என்னை உரசிய அந்த
நேரம் - உணர்ச்சி
வெள்ளத்தில் கழுவி
எறியப்பட்டிருந்தது என்
வக்கிரம்!

அவன் பால்
வதனம் நோக்கிய அந்த
நொடி - என்னுடம்பில்
உற்பத்தியான அணுக்கள்
கோடி கோடி!

மகனைப் பெற்றேனா - அல்லது
நான் மறுபடி பிறந்தேனா?
தந்தை ஆனேனா - அல்லது
என் தந்தையை உணர்ந்தேனா?

அளவில்லா உணர்ச்சியில் என் நரம்புகளும்,
சொல்லவொண்ணா வார்த்தைகளில் என் தமிழும்,
கட்டிலடங்கா ஓட்டத்தில் என்னுதிரமும்,
துடிக்க மறந்த இதயமும்,
துடியாய்த் துடித்த என் மனதும்,
நடுக்கத்தைப் போர்த்திய என்னுடலும்,
அதன் சுயநிலை விட்டுக்
கோட்பாடுகளை மீறிய சமயம் - தீர்ந்தது
என் நெடுங்கால ஐயம்!

நான் உதித்த போது
என் தந்தையின்
உணர்ச்சி எல்லை - அறியவில்லை
என்ற பழுது
இனி என் மனதில்
இல்லை!

ஆனி பதினெட்டா
என் தேடலுக்கு முற்று - இல்லையில்லை
இனிதான் ஆரம்பம்
என் வாழ்கையில்
பற்று!

காலக்குதிரையின் சவாரியில்
அமைப்பேன் என்
மகனுடன் கூட்டு -அத்துனையும்
அடைவேன் அவனுடன் வீறு நடை
போட்டு!

என் தந்தையை
உணரவைத்த புதல்வனே - எனக்கு
தந்தையெனும் கர்வத்தை
சூட்டிய முதல்வனே - இன்றும்
என்றும் நீதான் எங்கள்
அகரனே!

How to name her?

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 07:13:00 +0000

"Mama..."
"Maaaamaaa..."
"Mamoooiii..."

...a little cute voice, wakes me up everyday. One could never ask for a better wake up call than this. Past few days, the reason for my sleep was mainly to hear this wake up call. I gave up counting the number of goose bumps ran all over my body, whenever I heard that cute voice. The very moment I shiver to get rid of the goose bumps, my heart would be stolen. I bloody need to gain reserves to promote this robbery. It is a joy beyond my imagination. ....Yes, my niece is in town.

She is the cutest thing happened to our family recently. Well, she has almost completed her 2nd year in this world, but it feels like it was just yesterday. There are so many cherishing moments she brought to our family, which changed the entire climate in our family. One of those moment was her naming ceremony (which also brought out the bright colours of few people in our family for good ;-)).

I have never been part of the naming process before, but I always wanted to be part of one. The uniqueness of few names have always succeeded in fascinating me, especially in my family (ex: Elakiya & Chakravarthi). Well, that wait was over with my niece's naming ceremony. Being a privileged uncle, I have a major role in this process, well, in every custom of my niece for that matter.

Naming is one of the very important custom in our culture; it is a yet another family get together; well celebrated family occasion; long procedures and formalities; pouring gifts; writing the name in a rice; uttering the name thrice; decorating the kid with jewels; feast, sweets, snacks, drinks etc etc; ...and my niece is first in her generation, so it is a double treat for our family.

Vasanth (my brother-in-law) was in a hurry, he just had a week left in India, so my niece must be named before he leaves. Fine, but what to name? and How? As you know, it is a huge responsibility, since name plays an important role in everyone's life and of course everyone in the family has expectations.

Dad: Should be a Tamil name, should not represent any caste or religion.
Mom: Should be easily pronounced. My grand mom's name?
Wife: I am OK with whatever you all choose.
Sister: Must be in Tamil, modern and rare.
Vasanth: Modern, elegant, should be within first 5 alphabets.
Vasanth's Dad & Mom: Maybe we can improvise our family God's name?
Grandpa: Let me ask Mr. Karunanidhi, In 1949..., I tried the same to name my son.
Others: It must abide to astrology, star sign & numerology.

Expectations eh?

We cannot satisfy everyone, but we need to satisfy somehow, ha! is that not called democracy? well, we decided to go for a partial democratic process, after all we are in a country which is one of the biggest democracy in the world.

The Process: Everyone must come up with suggestions; every suggested name will receive votes; voted names will make to the next round; everyone must choose one best name from their list out of the voted ones; the selected list will be given to the parents (Vasanth & Tamil) to choose one out of them.

Simple, but exciting. I was craving for this opportunity and I damn wanted to select a name which is the favorite for everyone. Just a silly pride, which I can carry for my lifetime, which made me to dig through so many things (dictionaries, internet, discussions, novels, poems, verses, quotes, movies etc) and came up with a list. Others might have done the same? Let us see... It all began on February 14th 2011 @ 7:00 pm.

Round 1 (Suggestions & Votes):
Vasanth’s Mom: Yadhavi, Neha, Poovizhi(1), Samyuktha, Agathiya (1) : Poovizhi, Agathiya
Vasanth’s Dad: Deepsika(1), Anushya, Yaazhini(3), Aadhirai, Aathra : Deepsika, Yaazhini
Tamil: Yaazh(2), Pavazh(1), Kural, Mithra, Kalki, Agal : Yaazh, Pavazh
Dad: Aadhavi(1), Kuvalai, Sudar(1), Vetri : Aadhavi, Sudar
Vasanth: Dhaya(3), Emaya, Arpana : Dhaya
Wife: Nethra, Sakthi(1) : Sakthi
Me: Aadhini, Imizh, Adheethi(3), Mugil, Kayalini, Pirai(1), Oli, Mozhi(1) : Adheethi, Pirai, Mozhi

Round 2 (Choose the best):
Vasanth’s Mom: Poovizhi, Agathiya

My niece in action

Vasanth’s Dad: Deepsika, Yaazhini
Tamil: Yaazh, Pavazh
Dad: Aadhavi, Sudar
Vasanth: Dhaya
Wife: Sakthi
Me: Adheethi, Mozhi

...and the finalists are:
Agathiya
Yaazhini / Yaazh
Sudar
Dhaya
Sakthi
Adheethi

That is it, all done. It is now with Tamil & Vasanth to decide; what could be the choice? what would be the name? pressure mounted, phones silenced, TV muted along with some out of context thoughts; we breathed nervousness & excitement. I just could not hide my anxiety, hence I started to utter the meanings, pros & cons of each names. I was like a student who was minutes away from the results; what could it be? I needed someone to calm me down, hence I walked to my niece and saw her calm sleeping face; she was like a rose bud, could not stop my stare at her. Few minutes later, I was blessed with calmness.

A paper came flying across my shoulder towards my niece who was sleeping in front of me. I quickly caught that to protect her sleep, it had the list of names in the final round. Tamil & Vasanth were standing behind me, I gave an annoying look at Tamil and glanced at my niece to ensure that she is still asleep, phew! with a great relief, I glanced at the paper again. Haaaaa! I could not believe my eyes; noticed that one of the name in that list was underlined; understanding my struggle to speak out, Vasanth pronounced the chosen name. Hoooooraaaahhhh! I shouted in joy... ssshhhhhhhhh! said Tamil, it was Tamil now, who gave me an annoying look and protected my niece's sleep.

The next day morning, we were all like an obedient devotees, gathered in the temple and pronounced Adheethi in one voice in her ears, to prepare her for the world beyond her imagination.

Note: Adheethi = is an improvised version of a word Adheetham which means "much more, beyond imagination".

Ten10

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:43:00 +0000

Damn!! it just does not go easily. It is sticky, oily, eggy and so pasty, I need lots of soap and water to get rid of this from my face... After 15 minutes of struggle, I got rid of it. I looked at myself in the mirror victoriously after getting rid of the birthday cake painted on my face by my friends. Yeah, Thanks to all of my friends who took their time to remember and wish me on my birthday.

Usually, Birthday is the time filled with surprises, gifts, blessings, wishes, entertainment, joy and lots of love. It is a time for assorting cakes/sweets, balloons, crackers, friends, relatives and family. This day will be a very special day in every one's life and everyone enjoys moving one step ahead in life.

However, as most of you, I am not for it. If there is a mob who thinks that birthday is just an another day; is just the beginning of an another 365 days journey around the Sun; is a day which reminds you of your aging; is just an another reason for having a good laugh together, please invite me to dive in with you, I will be privileged to have your company.

"Oh, well, then do you want to grow younger?" Of course, I do. Who does not?

...but I read somewhere, "Staying younger is about Living honestly, Eating less & slowly, and Lying about the age".
Yeah, I am only trying to live honestly; Eating loads and faster; My body won't let me lie about my age, Damn!!.

Anyway, as many of you, I want to treat my birthday as a normal day. I would politely request the same to my near and dear ones the same. That is the greatest gift for me ever, but my near and dear ones will never let that happen. There is a saying "Pride is one of the greatest sin", but I am happy to commit that sin after knowing that I am gifted with so many good friends. Yes, my wealth cannot be valued by any means.

Talking about gifts, there were so many birthday gifts I have had in these years, which fascinated me, emoted me and made me feel special, importantly made me feel younger. However, only few birthdays and gifts will stay green forever in you, which will take a special place in your heart, which brings tears of joy whenever you think about it. Yes, there was one such birthday which blew my mind and left me speechless. It was a birthday which was filled with endless surprises, a true effort from my friends and family to make it as a special one. Year 2008 it was.

Tamil and Chakku were master minding all the activities for that day. A lot happened for that day & on that day. Here I am, I split open my heart and share the highlights of my love and laugh...

Broken surprise: Tamil was hunting hard for a cake in the late evening to surprise me @ 12 am; she could not find one; called Chakku to find an alternative solution; by chance, I picked up the phone; she spoke everything about the cake to me without knowing that it was me; the cat was out of the bag; she screamed in anger and scolded Chakku for not keeping the mobile in his possession. Laugh! Laugh! Laugh!

2008 Bday cake

Pride is a sin: I felt so proud after breaking the surprise; yes, I felt like a king; However, that did not last long and I was proved wrong; Tamil is so clever to turn things around in no time; she made a plan B, a cake which (I think) was never made ever in the world; A custom made cake with all my favorite food; A well organised circle of Chicken Biriyani; which had the Dosa as roof; Parotta pieces to decorate; along with Chicken leg pieces and boiled eggs; world's first cake with this combination. An innovative effort, bowled me off.

Surprise visitor: Surprises were all over, I thought; but I was again proved wrong; there was a special visitor about to grace me; Chakku challenged me to guess who; I tried, but failed; all my guesses were wrong; someone came behind and closed my eyes; I still could not guess who it was; at the end, it was my uncle, Panneer; he is the busiest person in our family; hard to reach; I was touched deep in my heart to see him on that day; his presence made me feel special. Love all around.

The final touch: Is that all? Is that all for the day? No way; they had a final touch planned; Yes, that was an everlasting gift pulled by Chakku,Tamil and Sujai; the pals bowled me over again; it is a gift to cherish at all time and a treasure to be kept safe forever; it was a handwritten opinion about me along with the lovely teases, wishes & blessings from my friends & family across the globe; collected for over a month to surprise me on this day; the highlight was that, most of the letters were from my friends & family who I never thought would even write a letter these days; all the letters were funny, humorous, touching and written with lots of love; mind blowing and everlasting; tough to beat this one ever.

I have posted one of those letters below; which made me laugh my brains out; written by my sister Elakiya; Java programmer; do not try to compile this code; this is strictly for your eyes only;...and hey, I am actually not as the code says, it was just a teaser thrown by Elakiya; just for laugh. Here it goes...

Dear Brother, what can I say about you? I cannot explain about you in normal words, so, I am explaining about you in our own language, here you go,

import java.util.naughty;
import java.util.silly;

public class Kari implements BirdWatcher {

String name = "karikalan";
Integer age = 21; //Long long ago
String hobby = "BirdWatching";

public static void main(String girls[]) {

EachDay activity = new EachDay();

do {
if(mom.sees) {
activity.actAsGoodGuy();
}
else {
activity.flirtWithGirls();
}
setInterval(5); //5 mins
}
while(!tired);

try { //girls attention

if(girls.lookAtYou) {
activity.hideBaldHead();
activity.changeInBodyLanguage();
activity.speakBritishEnglish();
}
else if (girlsParents.lookAtYou) {
activity.sillySmile();
activity.moveAwayFromPlace();
}
else if(girlsParents.stare) {
activity.sillySmile();
activity.runAway();
}
}
catch(NoGirlsFoundException e) {
e.print("Be sad, go to work");
}
catch(NoGirlsPaidAttentionException e) {
e.print("Pretend you are not sad, and say, none of the girls are good looking");
}
}

Hope you are happy with my gift brother, Wish you a many more happy returns of the day.

With Luv,
Elakiya

.....will post few other touching and humorous letters in the next posts. If you have any memorable experience like this, please share across.

The perfect storm

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:03:00 +0000

I crashed to the bed as usual as the other days to accompany the beautiful night which showered limitless cold golden rays. This planet is definitely gifted to have a permanent investor to shower the gold, only to get the pollution in return. The earth bowl needs more moon like souls, which will fill the world with happiness and joy; where equality valued as gold; sharing as diamond; overwhelming quality attitude. My mind ran a thought race to win the sleep, but my eyelids refused my mind and closed with shyness. My mind fought furiously and tried to lift my eyelids, this time with the support of dreams filled with racy thrillers, romances, fantasies and a bit of a super heroism. Uff, it is already 2 am.

It was a long fight. I miserably failed in convincing them both, not able to bear my failure, I got up from my bed. Damn, I very badly need a sleep, like a baby. When was the last time I managed that? hmmmm, yeah @ the time of my sister's marriage. What an occasion that was, truly a storm which took us for an enthralling experience. It was years ago, but it feels like yesterday.

"Kari, are you done with the marriage shopping for Vasanth? You lazy duck, why dont you finish it off?" My mom screamed in the morning. This has almost become my wake up call everyday. My Dad's turn now, "Idiot, you are the best man for Vasanth in the marriage, you are proving it otherwise. Hurry up".

Without a surprise, weeks of shopping for Vasanth ended just hours before the big occasion. It was my job to make Vasanth look smart. Smart eh?, that word always kept a long distance from me since I was born, but I can't give up on my ego, can I? After all, I am Vasanth's best man in the marriage. I have lined up the party wears, suits, shirts, T-shirts, shoes, slippers & belts to compete with each other to load Vasanth's smartness, but is that enough? hmm... something was missing, yeah, that is it, a glow, a glow in Vasanth's face was missing. A long nice facial did the job. After 3 hours, when it was all over, I realised that it was too late and I missed to do my facial. Damn.

My parents have made all the arrangements @ the marriage hall and waiting for me to join them to greet and welcome the guests. They were losing their patience on me. "Where the hell is he?" My dad yelled, "Vasanth's family has left their home, they could be here any minute, where the hell is he?"

My aunt Selvi agreed to do a quick facial for me. The true colors of the facial would only be visible after 2 days. I was too late, but I hoped that it would atleast hide my 3 sleepless nights (blame it on the marriage arrangements) from my face. The time was running out, it did not let me think about anything. My aunt did a crash course in facial on my face. Thanks aunty.

Panneer uncle was losing his patience, called me. "Where are you? The groom's family could be here any time, hurry up. We also have to pick up people from the bus stop since they don't know where the marriage hall is". Nataraj uncle called, "Kari, we need to buy few things for the chef to prepare the food, hurry up". Nagaraj uncle called, "Kari, my friends wants to refresh @ the hotel, can you show them the hotel?". My aunt called, "Kari, can you please get a garland for the bride, we forgot". My friends called....

I was driving crazy with the facial mask on, in the roads of Coimbatore with my cousin Dilip covering my back. My mission: Go home, clean up the facial, dress up and get to the marriage hall before Vasanth's family arrives. It needs 60 mins, but I had only 5. Many on the road would have thought, I must be a crazy freak driving with some kind of mask on. I managed to scare my relatives @ my home as well.

Guests, who were waiting for me to pick them up got fed up and made their own way to the marriage hall with frustration, which boosted the anger of my parents and uncle. They were fuming like the Sun and waiting for my arrival to burst. More the time passed, closer the groom's family was to the marriage hall. Dad, uncles, aunts and friends dialled my number again.

I had to shhusshh the mobile for a while. I was in the urge to complete my mission. I sat on my bike and ignited the engine. "Kari, your mustache is not well aligned", my friend Rama told. God dammit! I panicked. Oh boy, the mirror agreed with Rama. Scissors trimmed the error, it was done in a rush, relatives everywhere, never got a private place, even if I had one, the tension did not let me feel so. Outcome: I almost removed my entire mushtache. Crap.

Dad and uncle were busy in the kitchen. Mom was busy decorating the reception. I ran into the groom's room, Thank God, Vasanth's family was not there yet. Phew. Tried to dress up, I was just half dressed, but my uncle dragged me to the reception to welcome Vasanth's family. After the welcome ceremony, I realised that I did not zip my trousers, Whoooops. The moment which I will never forget in my life time.

Guests started pouring to the marriage hall; We expected around 1500 people; Entire family were in full swing to attend them; In a while everyone will want to see the couple, have food and leave. Again my mobile buzzed. "Is Vasanth ready yet?" my uncle shouted. The blame rockets started flying all over the hall carrying my name for the delay.

I helped Vasanth to dress up; the bride was busy with the make up; while waiting for the bride I tried to setup my laptop for the slideshow planned, which let me down in a big time. After a long fight, with huge pressure piling up in the marriage hall, I gave up. I rushed and took the hands of the couple and walked them to the stage to lighten up the occasion.

Uff, major part was over, let me rest, I thought. "What? The ride has just begun, rest is 2 more sleepless days away", said the following events.

Welcoming guests; introducing people; getting introduced; food arrangements; drinks for people; drinks for couple; introducing the couple; pick ups and drops; arranging accomodation; medication for old people; managing the photographers; buying things for the marriage process; securing the valuables; checking the dining; tipping the drinkers; photo session with relatives/family and friends; preparing thank you cards; distributing sweets; convincing some; pleasing some; glancing some; calming down the silly fights; yeah all were tried for over 1000 people.

..the head count was hitting 1500; and the night was still young; we were all over the place; everyone did everything; all plans went for a toss; "Plans are made to be broken?"; we just had to go with the flow; neither could we pause it or streamline it; yeah, just gone with the flow.

I was spinning like a wheel of a car cruising in the speed of 120 kmph. My heart never pumped the blood so hard ever; My nerves played drums in my face; I never drank the air that much ever; I was sweating to resolve the water scarcity; I felt like I was thrown into a Tsunami and struggled to catch my breath. Thanks to Chakku, Sujai, Gopi and Arumugam who accompanied me in this ride. Without them, I would have been left without an Oxygen.

I remembered myself snoozing when driving back to my home after sending off the last guest who came for the marriage. I tried to keep myself awake from the 3 sleepless nights, but couldn't, I almost fell off from the bike. Thank God, my home was not far. I somehow managed reached the home. I felt like a drunkard; I blabbered something; my vision blurred; head spun; swimmed to the bed; and crashed like a baby; Yes, I truly felt so. It was at that time, I slept like a baby.

Yes, I slept like a baby. Do babies snore?... I did. I heard someone asking "What happened to the plan?"

Cartoon characters plan was swayed away due to the lack of professionals.
Face painters plan was washed away by traditional humans.
Magician plan disappeared due to the afford-ability.
Ramp walk plan was ruled out since we didn't even have time to run.
Slideshow plan worked, but the old memories were never in the picture.
Wish speech recording plan was a victim of the disease "Busy".
A script to carve a movie was dropped due to the lack of plan.

In my deep sleep, from somewhere inside the well, I heard again "What happened to the plan?". I wanted to say "It is all still alive... in the DREAMS", but... I just continued to sleep like a baby.

Dear Darling Uncle

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:13:00 +0000

"Who is with Tamilarasi?", the doctor called.

I stood in front of the Doctor with a curious and nervous face. I was alone, looking after my sister in the labor ward. Everyone has just left the hospital to refresh themselves after waiting for the doctor's response for the whole night yesterday. 

"We need to do a Cesarean to your sister immediately, since the blood pressure is not coming down and we cannot delay anymore, so we want your signature to start the operation.", the doctor said.

That is it, all my fear, nervousness and tension has took a panic face and my sweat was demonstrating that to everyone. 

"...but Doctor, you said that it will take at least a day to decide on the operation, why all of a sudden..." I asked.

"It will become critical if we leave it for later, due to the high BP", firm was the doctor's voice.

At once, I called Vasanth (my Brother-in-law), no response. Called Dad, no response. Arggghhhh!! They might be driving?

"Karikalan, can you please sign? this is urgent", the doctor was impatient. I have no choice, I signed and looked at my sister by hiding all my fear and panic with a pathetic smile and thumbs up, thank God, she did not notice the shiver in my hands, phew.

Few minutes later, Tamil was wheeling towards the operation theater. Vasanth made it on time to hold Tamil's hands before the operation, that is all she wished for. We were asked to wait outside the operation theater. It was a wait with lots of tension, nervousness, fear, anxiety, expectation, joy... ufff, a real storm of mixed emotions.

I could not be idle; walked here and there; bit my lips; called friends without knowing what to say; smiled ridiculously at the people in the waiting room; just wanted to pretend that I am not tensed; so filled my hands in my trouser pockets; felt something, something inside my pocket.  What is it?  What is there in my pocket, a paper? Must be some forgotten bills? I took that out and opened it... it was a letter... yes, letter... and it read...

My dear darling uncle,

I am doing great in here inside my mom with all of your love and care. I know you are a bit tensed now, roaming like a restless cat outside the operation theatre awaiting my arrival. Don't you worry uncle, I am doing great and I will step into this world with a good health. I know my words won't give you complete peace, but at least you will be too busy to be tensed until you finish reading this letter.

I heard your bet many times on my gender. Yes, you are right, I am a girl, It is a little secret between you and me. Maybe I am a girl just to make you win in the bet and I am so happy about it. Here you go, victory is my first gift to you with a pride.

Few months later, if you wonder why I am staring at you without a blink and my jaw open when I hear your voice, it is because, a month ago I felt your hands touching my legs few times. I felt the love and care in that touch. I really wanted to see you at that very moment, but it felt like I won't be getting a ticket for an another month to step into your world. I just could not wait, so imagined your face and captured that in my mind. Hence, my stare is to compare if my imagination matches with the reality, so don't be bothered with my stare. 

I know my mom and you share a great love. I really envy that, but it is something I truly admire and would want to continue forever. I know you are worried that I might steal her from you, but not to worry uncle, I will ensure that her love is even more than before and I will be the stronger glue to stick you both together forever.

My mom told that you are the first grandson in your generation, so you got all the extreme love from our family which spoiled you to the core to be naughty and tease everyone in the family. How dare you? Well, uncle, those days are gone, here I come, the next gen kid, whiz kid, tough kid, funny kid, importantly a naughty kid to tease and challenge you back and steal all the love you got from our family. To start with, here is my open challenge, can you try to keep me calm when I am being tonsured and pierced for the first time? can you? If you lose, the penalty is Rs. 20k. Deal? I bet you cannot ;-).

My mom also told me that, you did not even know that you had a sister until you are 12 years old, due to your lion share on the love from our family. She for sure has missed lots of her brother care at the initial stage of her life. I know you also want to pay that back to her. Here I come, to give you a chance to compensate that. Utilise it to the maximum. I am Tamilarasi junior, the childhood photos of my mom is the proof for the same.

You complain a lot about the hall size of your house being too big, dont you? but uncle, don't worry, I will ensure that with my naughty and cute plays, I will make the hall look smaller. You better remodel your hall before I start speaking, if not, you will regret it for sure ;-). You have a great lawn as well, get your lazy butt up and keep the lawn well maintained and clean along with my Grand Dad for me to play. Otherwise, I will ensure that you will lose your sleep with my scream ;-).

My name, hmmm, what would be my name? would it be traditional, modern or funny? Is it something to be proud about? Well, I am not paranoid about it, because I have a feeling that my parents would select the name of your choice, so I am not even thinking about it since I know it would be a great name.

Uncle, remember, I am the first kid of my genration in our family and I will always hold that position with pride, as you are in your generation. This is the position which no one else, literally no one else, not even your kid can hold, Wahey! I am unique and will have a special place in all of your mind forever.

I really will miss my great grandma. I have heard great things about her from my mom, but nevermind, my mom looks like my great grandma, so I would see and feel her through my mom. I am sure she is watching me always from heaven and I am so grateful for the love she has left behind for our family.

My mom said, you are not very expressive emotionally with kids, but there is no escape from me. Together we both will have lots of fun when our parents are busy in their own world. I am sure you have lots of stories to say, games to teach, things to watch and moments to cherish. I know, you will turn the world around for me if I behave. I promise that I will be a good girl, since the world is not enough for me. Alternatively, I will reach out to my aunt Saranya to knock you down ;-).

Unlike other uncles and niece in our family, I know you would take special care of me and my future, with that, I will climb to heights, I will live my dreams and I will get all I wish for. I know, there will be lots of challenges in this life, and being a girl, many will try to break me, but I know you will be at my side to support me in all good and bad times. I will just enjoy what I am doing and will find my purpose and passion to have a great life. 

I know my parents would be sweating their blood out to set a great future for me, but honestly, my future would be incomplete without your presence. 

Just few more minutes away to meet you uncle, see you in a moment.

With lots of Love,
Your niece.

I was dumbstruck. I looked around. Read the letter again. I ran to Saranya to show the letter with an excitement beyond imagination. A loud and firm voice distracted my sprint, 

"Tamilarasi, delivered a baby girl, both mom and kid are doing fine, relatives can see the kid now", the voice of the doctor.

Everyone of us were jumping in joy. I was jumping around to take a first look at my niece, capturing every one's reaction and my niece's encounter with my relatives around. She was so cute, like a pink full moon.  it was a magical moment. After few minutes, she was taken back to the ICU. I called and informed my relatives and friends about the occasion. It took some time for me to come back to normal. ...hmmm.. wait.. I forgot something, what is it?

Aaang! the letter, letter from my niece which I wanted to show to Saranya. Where is it? in the trouser pocket? no, in the shirt pocket? no, gave it to someone? no, fell somewhere? no. Where is it? did I leave it in ICU? no, where the hell is it?

Would anyone believe me if I say that my niece wrote a letter to me even before she was born? or would they just call me a day dreamer? or maybe it is a day dream?

Patriotism misunderstood

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:07:00 +0000

10000 years old history; 3.3 million square kilo meters; 7600 km of Coastline; 6 major religions; 22 major languages; 845 dialects; 1.3 billion people; 7 major rivers; 28 states; 7 union territories; Taj Mahal; Poweful democracy; Founders of chess; ...hmm, the list never ends, and we call her Mother India.
With a stiff pose, my mind filled with heart, heart filled with soul, soul filled with pride, with a shiver in the body, I grew up as a proud Indian.

Amal, Jose, Antonio and few of my friends have witnessed me with a loud voice, wide opened eyes and an arrogant attitude to fuel up the defense in me to shield my country when some loop holes and flaws have been pointed out about my country, culture and people.
As the saying goes "A person who flaws your country, should not be spared even if your mother orders to do so", Hoo Ha! my soul shivered and my mind said, I am patriotic.

I like Netaji and love Gandhiji, hence I am angry at them for not owing me a chance to be part of the freedom fight. With that fire, I ran into a tattoo shop in Germany and printed "Jai Hind" to celebrate the Independence Day.
When there is no pain, there is no gain; a patriot does not know the pain. Long live India.

Infinite time has been clocked with and without the company of Moon and Sun, by arguing over the problems; the creators; the leaders; the politicians; the drainage; the system; the law; the changes; the society; the root cause; the remedy; Yes, argued until our throat gave up on us and went on inventing an another remedy for thirst.
Yeah! we are all children of Mother India, and we are all loyal to her. Vande Mataram.

These were my thoughts on patriotism. hmmm... I am NUTS, am I not? Though I did not do these deliberately, I was deceived to think that this is what is patriotism is all about, but as the time ticked along, mentors and friends made me realise that I was pretty much screwed. For god sake, yeah, they made me realise...

stiffening the posture for the national anthem; respecting the flag than your life; knowing history and geography about your nation; arguing over the national issues; not standing the constructive criticism about the nation; switching to defensive mode and attacking the person who criticises it; tattooing patriotic slogans in the body; shooting up the patro-meter on an Indo-Pak cricket game or when a terror attack in the state;

...just these won't make one patriotic. Since I misunderstood the meaning of the patriotism, yes, I was screwed.

Abdullah, a ticket checker in the train fined us for a missing ticket for a luggage, his politeness and respect shattered me.
Vellaiyappan, a neighbouring farmer, his dedication and mentoring to the next generation inspired me.
Shankar, my colleague in Pune, his commitment and sincerity shook me.
Sivakumar, owner of a snack shop, his straight forwardness and passionate attitude impressed me.
(I just chose few examples in a long list, if I keep listing, I bet the list will beat the Schindler's list ;-)).

All of these patriots do not know either the history or details about India. They do not know how and who delivered India. Some, do not even know the complete national anthem or the meaning of it. However, they do their duty without fail with the right attitude without compromising for anyone or anything. They might not be aware that they are lifting the country up with their actions, but in reality, they are.

They ran through me, and stamped hard in my mind and made me realise that patriotism does not need a mass motive, it does not need a complicated effort. Small things and actions taken every day with a right attitude and motive to do good itself will qualify as patriotism. Hence, every day has to be celebrated as an Independence day, not just August 15th. Therefore, patriotism is not something scenic or fashionable, but a humble act involving struggle for what we believe is right. The struggle could be in any form, it could be in,

Performing our duties correctly;
Being honest about everything in any situation;
Actions to make a difference in the society;
Voicing against the crime and corruption;
Participation and contribution to the system;
Care for the people around you;
Respecting the countrymen and the opponents;
Accepting the criticism and acting necessarily to rectify it.

I witnessed the law acting in a light speed to enforce the rules on flag handling, evolving the national anthem, posturing for the national anthem etc. I cannot explain this in any other words than "joke", hence the fun is unlimited. It is a "joke" since the government fails to realise that the patriotism is a feeling and not a knowledge or habit. It needs to be nurtured in the citizens and not forced. As we all know, anything forced in us will be killed sooner than a day.

There are plenty of silly stinking political games played in the country by the people who only cares about themselves and not their countrymen. However, I realised that the love for the country is different from the love for the government. We have to bear with lots of non-sense with the government's lack of vision, planning and lack of common sense, but a patriot should still perform his/her duty correctly to bring up the society and the nation.

Jai Hind

The Fractured Match

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:56:00 +0000

August 18th 2009, 5:30 am.

Wake him up! Wake him up! it is getting late, his friends might be waiting. He alarmed his wife.

Let him sleep for a while, he came late last night from work and it is just 5:30 am. His wife replied.

30 mins later.

Ey, wake him up! it is late. You are spoiling him with so much care, he needs to learn to get up early. Wake him up, otherwise he is going to be very late. It is already late enough, come on, wake him up. He yelled at his wife again.

vrrrruuuuuummmmmmm!! their car was ignited outside their house. virrurruuummmm!! they heard the rise of the engine louder again. The couple was not sure who is in the car. His wife thought, it was their son who is already leaving, but he thought otherwise, since he was confident that his son is a lazy bumb and won't get up that early from bed ;-), so he came running to see who is in the car, but they could only see the half torn soul of their son's shoe on the floor after the car's smoke cleared off.

I was driving the car in a high speed (only because, it was early morning and no one was on the road), to attend the morning session started for a cause, with passion, with hopes, with dreams. It was going on for past 2 weeks, and all this is for the D-Day, which was just 3 days away.

Yes, the CRICKET match ;-).

It was scheduled between mine and an another company in Coimbatore. My team is very skilled, however they needed lots of practice to get back to their form. We had chosen the captain and coaches in a democratic way (my guys might disagree ;-)), since we took this match seriously. The opponents were very skilled and threatened us with their class performance in the friendly warm up game played a week ago.

I reached the ground, joined the team in the warm up session. I started to give instructions to the team to warm up and keep fit in the practice session, since the team cannot afford any injuries (we were already less in numbers). So I was very cautious about the health and fitness of the team in the practice session. Yes, I have been appointed as a coach.

Where is Gopi and Boopi? I asked Nissar.

Nissar is our captain cum batting coach, who was not very fit on that day, he was running a fever, maybe he wanted to dodge the warm up session? ;-). Gopi is our fielding coach.

They are sleeping, they won't make it. Nissar answered.

Whhoops, what a let down after all these build up ;-). I said we are already less in numbers. Oh! probably Gopi and Boopi thought, staying in bed is the best way to stay out of injuries ;-). Whhooa! great idea, but what about the practice? hmmm, I think bed is their ground where they will practice, since they are good enough to play bed games (Strictly no naughty thoughts ;-)).

Warm up done, practice started. I was bowling for Chakku. Nissar, Sujai and Dilip were fielding. 2 overs done, it was Nissar's turn to bat. I got a call from my aunt (who was aggressively searching a girl for me after I gave a go ahead for the marriage), after 2 minutes the practice resumed. Everything was going smooth, everyone were involved, everyone were focusing on the practice, everyone were enjoying...

....until that incident happened, yes the incident which shattered our dreams, the incident which shocked everyone, the incident which canceled the scheduled match, the incident which costed the unaffordable.

I ran to cover Sujai, who was fielding Nissar's drive towards mid off; The ball was heading very slowly to the boundary; I did not expect Sujai to miss it; so I slowed down, but I was wrong, Sujai missed it; I picked up the speed again to block the ball; My focus was only on the ball; I ran faster; I did not see the surprise hump on the floor; I stepped on it... the next thing I knew was... I was in the air and landing towards the ground at 68 kg per feet; I tried to position myself to be safe, but failed; my left hand landed in an uneven surface and my 68 kg landed on it.

"Kduk" was the sound I heard; there was a slight pain; I was forced to face the sky, showing my back to the earth; I could not move my hand; I immediately knew that I fractured my bone and the match scheduled in 3 days ;-(.

Watch out for the posts on the "after fracture" experience ;-).

The Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:54:00 +0000

The light necklace around our house were blinking with happiness and added to the glow; the entrance gates opened it's arms to welcome the guests storming in; our lawn was filled with chillness after a smart haircut to cool down the heat poured in from it's day buddy; the dad made pond was juggling their little treasures to jolly up the mood; the way to the portico was filled with chairs which politely said "relax" in their foreheads; the plants were expressing their pleasure by nodding heavily; Our house was showing off with the recently done two layer make up; garbage kicked out, so that more can be made again; Whiskey and Rummy (pet dogs) were missing in the scene; "I am busy, I am busy" prided our house which attracted the strangers passing by;

Stepping into the hall made me feel that I was in the middle of the ocean, ocean of people, people with love, lots of love;

Everyone busy chatting about the occasion; some thought loud about their childh(g)ood days, some exaggerated; some started their history, some wanted to make one; some teased, some looked away; many laughed, few tried to; some in the loo, few in the other loo; some played cards, some watching them; some dum sharads, some anthaksharis; some sung, some screamed; ladies cooking, gents eating; kids running around, some grown too; some watched TV, few ignored; some were loud, some were quiet; teasing comments, fake angers, naughty jokes, lousy histories, future predictions, applauds, kisses, hugs, waaah!

Lots of love around, overwhelming it was; Feels like a gigantic Mexican wave was right on to drown me for good.

I know you are wondering, "what are all these for?"

mmmhummmm... let me fix my throat before I speak, this was all for one thing, yes, the one thing our family was waiting and dreaming for, the first marriage in our whole family in my generation, YES, a long awaited one... MY SISTER's WEDDING.

Ofcourse, we wanted to make this occasion a memorable experience for our whole family. Hence, the master plan was devised, Ho Kay! (as our famous comedian Vadivelu says).

Dad, Mom, Tamil, Vasanth and Myself were working out different possibilities, more possibilities than when we chess. The plan, we mentioned it at least once whenever we spoke, we slept with it (no naughty thoughts ;-) ), we dreamt about it, we woke up with it, simply we were breathing it, yeah, THE PLAN.

Cartoon characters around kicking the giggles in the hall.
Face painters to hide guest's real colors.
Masks to see our funny face at least once in a while.
Magician who surprises the guests with... well you know.
Ramp walk of the next in queue brides, grooms kids.
Slide show of family photos to help our guests digest their dinner.
Wish speech of our guests in a video.
A Script guides the video recording to carve a movie out of it.
Wish book, signed by the guests, which will seat in the album next to their photos.
..and delicious food, comfortable stay, glittering decorations, breezing travel etc.

Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Laxmi aunty, Easwari aunty at the reception.
Panneer and Thangaraj uncle taking care of the procedures and formalities.
Natraj and Nagaraj uncle at dining. Yeah, they love food ;-).
Thilaga aunty to ensure guests attendance with a click.
Chakku to take care of the stay and travel with the help of Sujai and Gopi.
Myself to take care of the bride and groom, stage plans, greet, welcome all the guests and to manage the above activities planned.

Now, we are all set, armed and equipped. Ready to rock and impress our guests and to passionately deliver the mission "Wow, what an experience". We were all confident that we can execute the plans above smoothly without a flaw and make this occasion a memorable one. After all, it is just our relatives, we have arranged everything and we have a huge experience in our bag.

...but, but, but, the reality had a different answer for our plan.

Have a break, Have a kit kat. Before the reality jumps on you ;-).

Kari invites...

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Bro! When are you going to do it?

It was Tamil, who sounded excited, eager and anxious. I heard her heart through her voice. One should be a very holy person in his/her previous life to see the behavior of excited Tamil ;-). Well, it is always good to see a kid wobbling around all the way when she learns to talk and walk, isn't it?.

The days are racing with each other, when are you going to do it? you are pushing things to the last minute and going to lose the race with the time.

It was Tamil again, who got fed up of asking the same question again and again (not even .1% of the times she spoke to her new friend over the phone ;-)). I had to appreciate NOKIA's QA team for making such a withstanding product. There were also rumours that due to the high revenue the Indian government got through the calls made by lovers, they are planning to launch a sub-ministry called "Love all" ministry ;-).

Dey, have you got the content ready? are you going to print it or not? Do whatever you want, I do not know what you are thinking. I am not going to say it again, then it is your wish.

She was furiously serious and seriously furious this time.

Well, all the emotions were pitched on me for one thing... wedding invitation. Recently we have fixed a boy for Tamil to be her life partner (whether the boy is in a fix or not, only the Oracle can answer ;-)). My Great Great Grandfather dictated that, only the bride's parents should print the wedding invitation. Now a days, people do not even remember their grand father's name, ha, their words? yeah, it is in the bin. Well, I am printing one to invite my friends for my sister's wedding, ahrrr.. my first kid's wedding. So, G.G.Grand pa, I am not breaking the custom ha? so bless us from heaven.

Why should I delay it? if I can get a nice concept to pour in the card. It takes time, a long time. Should I be usual or casual, sentimental or emotional, responsible or irresponsible; I told you right, it takes time. But, at last, One fine night, I got it.

The clock in my house was close to finish it's day's task; The sofa yielded it's physic to hold me; after lots of sentimentally usual drafts torn and binned, I started to tear my hair (believe me, I do not have much left;-)); closed my eyes to search for some light; tic tic tic, the clock kept me awake; it was at that right moment, I heard someone humming a hit song; very mild; very casual; not organized; like a freak trying to spoil the music; loud laughter; heard some footsteps; I tried to focus, my eyes were still closed; thig thig thig thig; I heard someone running; suddenly I felt the sofa was bulging next to me to hold someone; who was it; I opened my eyes slowly; Shreeeekkkkk!! my heart jumped out of the vessel; my eyes were opened to the boundaries; my blood was pumping hard; and it was hot; shivering and speechless I was; I do not remember us having a mirror next to me.

Yeah, I saw myself sitting next to me; crazy eh?; but, my clone was different (was wondering if he was a clone or a clown ;-)); relaxed; agile; enthusiastic; humming; in a jolly mood; just an opposite of me; the outlook and the behavior says it all; I was staring at him for a long time and he did not seem to care; wanted to scream, could not; did not know what to do; it took time for me to recognize that he is a jolly side of me; Yo, dude whatz the time? he asked; I looked at the clock, it was 12:40 am; when I turned to answer him, he was already using my laptop; I was still shivering and nervous; My eye lids became heavy; I glanced at the time again, it was 1:30 am; by the time I turned, my clone was not there; I looked for him everywhere; he was gone; I looked at the laptop, the cursor was blinking at the end of the following content in the Textpad,

2008 B.M.V.

Mom: Tamil, who do you like in our family? Dad, Me or Kari?
Tamil: Dad and Mom are my eyes, my brother is my heart.
Dad: How can you be without us after marriage?
Tamil: I hate to think about that, I will never get married, I will never leave you, mom or Kari.
Mom and Dad: (concerned).

2008 A.M.V.

Mom: Tamil, who do you like in our family? Dad, Me or Kari?
Tamil: (Singing duet with Vasanth... in her dreams).
Dad: Tamil, answer mom, she is waiting for your answer.
Tamil: ufff! I heard this 1000 times, ask something else Mom.
Dad: How can you be without us after marriage?
Tamil: Vasanth will take care of me, God! why the days are not moving faster?
Mom and Dad: (still concerned, now about Vasanth).

Well, I too am concerned about Vasanth, after all he is a huMAN race. When Vasanth visited the worry factor and asked me what to do? what to do?, I boosted his confidence by making him aware that my dear ones are around to save him. Only then he agreed for the life time deal on Dec. 5th 2008 at 6 am in Ponmani Marriage Hall, Coimbatore. So, friends, I know your wishes are always with us, but ensure your presence to at least introduce yourself to Vasanth so he feels comfortable to call you when he is in Tamil trouble.

Vasanth's well wisher,
Kari...

B.M.V. = Before Meeting Vasanth.
A.M.V. = After Meeting Vasanth.

Confused; angry; furious; happy; teased; let down; funny; why did I push Kari to get the invitation ready; It was Tamil who was having mixed feelings.

Bro, are you really going to print this in the invitation? She asked. Without a doubt I said (I just said it but...).

...but I cannot let my kid down at any cost, can I?, a week later, Tamil had a look at the invitation shown in the image, the first printed copy. When she finished reading it, her eyes were filled with tears of sentiments and joy.

So friends, please be there to make Vasanth comfortable by being on his side.

Voluntary Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:25:00 +0000

Here goes a successor of Alien vs Me.

...yeah the truth tastes like a beer, yuk, not tasty ha ;-). So, here is how the war was fought between me and Mr. Alcohol.

Drunkard sitter appointed, name is Jose, Don Jose. He was very generous to do this job without any compensation, no compensation? you may shout, yeah Jose is new to this job ;-).

I am onto a mission, lead me to do something strange, something dangerous, something which changed my life entirely... alright, alright, I am partly lying ;-).

Jose is one of the few from my trust planet, but he lived in (earth) Stratford. Did he promise that he will look after me if I go crazy? do not ask me ;-). I thought Jose never knew who fear was, until he invited Cristina (our friend) to this adventure.

The year was 2003; The day was fixed, friday; dinner was ready, curry; beverages were rolled, now I realised that Jose invited some more to the party - beer, whisky, wine and champagne.

Heard "Ding... Dong..." 8 times, yeah, it was 8 pm; evening swallowed half of it's life; central line threw me and Jose in Stratford; prawn puris, some rotis, butter chicken and jalfrezi, costed 30 pounds; Stratford bus station, shopping mall, McDonalds, KFC, curry house, college, kebab shop, a big Sainsbury... hmmm yeah Jose's flat is bit of a walk. We marched, Jose was like a jet, I was like a duck.

"Hey Kari! let us not do this today", a voice boat cruised through me. It was familiar, yeah, it was mine. "aahh, come on, do not look back, be a real man", yeah, you are right, me again ;-).

When I gathered myself up, it was warm, heard the door closing behind me, we were inside Jose's flat. Jose visited his kitchen to make it up (he loves his kitchen ;-)), the sofa was soft, I innaugrated Channel 4.

Quick it was, first sip of the whisky passed through my throat and then spine; thirsty I was for ages, that is how I felt; beer, wine, whisky and champaign; it continued to flow; I continued to drown; 3 pegs bottoms up; zhhoom... 30 minutes passed; heavy was my head; crossed were my eyes; there were Jose triplets, Cristina clones; I was floating & blabbering; Jose tried to control me; both Cristinas were not in the room; think I was swearing, Jose was red, furious; did I care? ha ha, did not want to; let me stand up, no let me walk; my steps were going deep down in the valley; am I under the water?; did someone click slow motion?; let me get on the table, success.. wahey; tune.. do you hear that, la la la.. let me dance; danda nakka.. danda nakka... very traditional; kicked the bottles, what? yes it broke; Whoops! do you know what I did? smile, laugh, giggle.. that is all I could do; the liquor and food spilled on the mattress; one Cris shouted at me; I laughed; 2 Joses scolded me; I laughed; 3rd Jose said, get out of my flat, he was holding my shirt and dragged me out of his flat, I accidentally banged into the TV, the TV went off....

Jose threw the remote on the sofa and said "Hey Kari, come on let us start the party!".

I forgot to blink, blrblrblrblr!?!? shook my head, uhhhh What!? ufff, it took sometime to sense the truth, yeah I was dreaming and I was paranoid.

A cute spanish accented voice, "Hey Kari, are you alright?", it was Cristina.

I am ok, let us start, I said. Naah! Let us drink first, Jose said.

this time, it was real. Becks, Screw Driver, Red wine and a home made whisky were wramp walking on the table. "get.. set.." GOOOOOOO!!! the alien entered my blood territory.

Slowly, burnt my taste buds, throat, lungs. I felt warm somewhere deep down in my stomache
2 rounds of becks, tried touching my nose... perfect.
a line of screw driver, tried touching my fingers, pefect than ever.
2 squares of wine, looked around... could not see Jose's twin, you can guess ;-).
a glowblet of glaalss of whhikksy... staaedy I ma, you think I am drunk ?

no way... let me prove it.
Straight line drawn in the hall; hand in the air positioned to my shoulder, like a flight; Forward March.. left & right.. left & right.. no flaws, a trained soldier.
Nose game again... both of my big fingers were bang on the nose target. Ouch!

Really, I was alright, my head was a bit heavy. Well, I spoke less fluently, yes it was late. Wish me, Jose and Cris shared the same mother toungue.

Surprise, Surprise for Jose, his eyes were wide open, yeah, he forgot to blink, ha.
"You are a strong man Kari", spilled Jose.
Laugh... it was Cris.

yeah, I didn't get drunk, hmmm, maybe the consciousness killed the flavour, maybe it is meant to be ;-). Who knows.. my dream might have come true, thank God for keeping Jose still in my planet ;-).

Lights off, I fell on the sofa, what an attempt, not the one to be proud about, ahhh!?!? especially after seeing what alcohol can do, I dared to give a try, faaah... yeah, not the one to be proud about, but my stand never changed, yeah unbeaten in the war with this alien ;-). I closed my eyes, did I snore ;-).

The next morning, Thirsty, first thing I felt; Water, first thing I wanted. Head was heavy and the pain was mild; I was stinking bitter; yes I was going through a famous feeling called "Hang over".

I switched on the TV and it said...
Drunkenness is nothing but a voluntary madness.
..
..
Sorry? Did you ask whether I kissed a... cigarette? ;-).

It's just the beginning...

noreply@blogger.com (Karikalan) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:14:00 +0000

...a usual New Year started some days ago...well, it was not as usual as I thought... it brought lots of changes to my near and dear ones...

Yet another Republic year, for my country...
New life, for my friends...
Next generation thoughts, for my parents...
New plans and partnerships, for my collegues...
New bondings, in my family...

Along with that...
A beginning of the long awaited Blogging initiative now, for me...

Yeah, it is time to blog. A long awaited one... do not ask me how long... you would be surprised to hear my answer ;-). Thought I would never start blogging in this life... thanks for my disbelief in next life ;-).

...not the new year, every day is special to start anything good...
...not the money, I had been without it...
...not the loneliness, I am not alone... and I am not lonely ;-)...
triggered me to begin now...

Then what? hmmmm, I really do not know... just thought I must not push it further.

Maybe it is just the thought that the secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings, so kicked this off now to keep my savings and ofcourse to earn more.... (hey hey, hang on... not money... people ofcourse ;-)).

or Maybe this Pongal trip to my farm with my entire family...
or Maybe it is due to what happened recently in my previous organization...
or Maybe my friends who are blog freaks...
or Maybe I have time now to breathe for myself ;-).

or Maybe... ufff... is it so important to know what triggered me? well no... if I find it, I will go nowhere else than this place ;-).

Now my friends.. let us move on...

I know initiating is just one third of the work. In my experience, none of the initiatives are successful if it is not owned. The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. I am glad that I am making that first step now, hoping that my friends and family will join me in this journey...

Feel free to walk with me... It's just the beginning...