Between words and actions!

When I was young, Amma thought I was a disappointment. In her mind, she felt that children had to be loud, commanding and cocksure about everything - not, like her son, passive, agreeing to most everything and giving too much space for the benefit of the doubt.

She would often quote that this neighbour's son is brilliant and speaks well, that the neighbour's kid is doing well in school, and that I should pick a cue or two from them to succeed in life. Actually, she was more colourful in expressing her disappointment.

The truth of the matter is, in my opinion, most domineering mothers give rise to submissive children. It is not so much that it is genetically coded; it is a case of conditioned nurturing.

Amma's mantra is that to succeed in life, one has to have confidence and the gift of the gab. Her tough childhood in post-WWII Malaya made her and her siblings acquire the enviable skills of street smartness and the ability to sell ice to Eskimos.

Like the eyes, the mouth and the words it expresses are the window to what lies within the soul. One must be articulate to capture hearts in interviews and win arguments or elections. My siblings and I miserably disappointed Amma in that department.

I do not think there is any wisdom in Amma's view of the world. Two contemporary examples took my thoughts back.

The present PM was such a good orator that everybody in the country thought he was the solution to all the nation's problems. Conveniently, the then PM then had scandals after scandals that he tried to push under the carpet. Naturally, the current PM was given the mandate to take the realm. Two years into his leadership, everyone can see he can talk much better than he can rule.

The first round of the US Presidential Debate had started. Democrats and Republicans agree that it was a sad state of something hardly resembling a debate. Trump did not have to draw his trademark tirades against Biden but wait for him to fumble and mumble. If articulation and verbosity were so crucial in convincing voters, what did the Democrats think when they agreed to allow a senile and obviously ill Biden to take the rostrum?

Action speaks louder than words. If Modi's modus operandi were anything to go by, an effective leader must work below the surface, calculating and executing his moves without having multiple press releases and public declarations of intent. He must be seen doing things, not just talking or at least walking the talk.

On a sobering note, my siblings and I have not done too poorly for ourselves. The people that Amma asked to emulate and look up to as role models did not end up meeting Amma's expectations in adulthood.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

They think they have everything under control!

Kala Bhairava

The slayer of Time with a dog as his
companion. Hence, dogs are given
due reverence.

Maybe the nihilistic part of me cannot stomach all these. My athymic insides cannot stomach the idea that someone can be so cocksure about everything. I have come to understand that Time and Tide wait for no man and that Time is the greatest killer of Man. Time flies; Man's hopes go! No Man has yet to win over Time; Shiva, a wandering seeker, is the exception and was conferred the title 'Kala Bhairava' - the conquerer of Time. 

I just cannot fathom how a group of people are forever pleased with themselves, knowing very well that they have covered all the potential glitches in life. They act as if they have in their possession a crystal ball through which they have a clear view of what lies in front of them in life's journey of uncertainty.

They have the acquaintance of an experienced seer. Using ancient astrological knowledge, he can precisely point out times they must be careful. He carefully calculates pockets when the planetary positions are not in their favour. Bad events, he asserts, can be averted through rituals that can appease negative energies. 

If that is not enough, they want to know their karmic baggage from their previous births that could potentially derail their blissful time on Earth. Fear not! There is indeed a specially pre-ordained palm leaf in a specific village for every living soul on Earth. It is a genealogical account complete with past karmic brownies and demerit points. Again corrective rituals can be instituted here to keep maladies at bay. 

Maybe one can take a walk in the lonely pathways of holy towns in India. Chances are that he can have a chance encounter with someone who is his long-lost soul from a previous life with a score to settle. A little exchange of wealth in current life should suffice.

Being born in the Hindu diaspora is viewed as a boon as they have avenues for release from the unrelenting life cycle in their armamentarium. In their own way, they feel that they are indeed Universe's chosen ones. Is it not funny that everyone carries the aura of grandiosity and as being the point of reference? Even in their previous lives, they thought they were someone of importance who had changed the world. Statistical odds suggest a nobody, a peasant with a short meaningless life or even a dead neonate!

Come what may, there is nothing lots of money cannot reverse. With a bottomless pit of moolah at one's disposal, unexpected medical emergencies or misadventures are just a medical bill away. There is nothing preventive medicine cannot preclude.

While I tread life with caution, keeping abreast and taking notes of the varying stimuli fed to me, they walk with their noses high like breathing on imported air. The fidgety me took guarded little steps like a prancing jaguar, knowing very well that the lost prey would mean staying hungry and possibly disappearing into oblivion.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Of integrity, coinage and inner devil of Man.

Naanayam (நாணயம், Tamil; Integrity/Coin, 2005)

It is ironic the very thing that makes one loses his integrity bears the very same name that gives confidence. In the Tamil language, நாணயம் (Naanayam - the title of the movie), could indicate either integrity or coins as well as currency. The root word tells it all; coin/currency works based on trust. Once someone loses his trust in the economy of a, say banana republic, its whole financial institution collapses.

There is no problem that a little moolah cannot solve, they say. In a Tamil saying, it is mentioned that even a corpse would open its mouth at the mention of money. There is no stronger bond than the love for money. Even motherly love can be bought over. At the same time, money unleashes all the evil feelings that have been suppressed over the million years of our civilisation and the code of conduct that evolved from it. At the sight or suggestion of easy money, all integrity goes out of the window. When wealth is small, Man is its master. Conversely, money becomes the Master to man when it is humungous.

This movie came to the limelight after passing of the legendary SPB. He plays a pivotal character in the film and his son, SPB Cheran is the producer.

The plot of the film is nothing new. We have seen the same theme in umpteen Hollywood offering in various twists and turn. Here, the storyline gets marinated with lots of masala and music to whet the local appetite. It is a forgettable feat but makes one realise that any full proof security system is as good as the last. Sometimes one wonders, like the makers of COVID vaccine who could have conjured up the Wuhan virus in the first place, perhaps the security firm break their own 'unbreakable' system to market their next product.

The desire to usurp wealth is so great that positive human virtues like integrity, honesty, loyalty and such just get thrown off the window. Money buys everything. The similar attraction must apply to hunger, power and erotic ambitions.

Ravi, an ambitious young man, has his future set when he helps a banker in trouble. The banker employs him and plans to use the young man's security proposal for his bank. Ravi thought everything was falling in place when he met a pretty journalist. The next thing he knew was that her ex-husband appears and makes a ruckus. The ex-husband ends up dead, and Ravi is blackmailed and accused of killing the ex-husband. Then starts the cat-and-mouse game for Ravi to find out what was going on and hence prove his innocence. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.