RIFLE RANGE BOY

Mr Dalip Singh Kokra (1922-2020) Yet another story of an immigrant who started with nothing and went on to create a legacy of sorts for himself and his offsprings. I had the pleasure of knowing Uncle Dalip Singh when I entered my wife's family more than thirty years ago and had taken part in many happy and sad events as they came and went. Over the years, I made a composite picture of his life and times starting as a night school guard and gradually rising to be the President of the local temple. As a young man, with scant of education, he arrived in Malaya with hope in his chest, strength in his limbs and resolve on his mind. As a night guard, he had built quite a reputation as a goto man for petty cash. Towards the latter part of the month, it was a common sight to see peons, clerks and even teachers forming a beeline outside his quarters requesting friendly loans (at 'reasonable' interest, of course). He was a leading a thrifty life, appreciating the simpler things of li...

http://www.riflerangeboy.com/2012/07/12-year-old-my-stepmum.html A 12-year-old, my stepmom?   Moondru Mudichu (3 Knots, Tamil; 1976) Before fame and ego took over the best of them, Kamalhasan and Rajnikanth used to act together in many memorable films. Of hand, comes to mind are Avargal, Aval Appadithaan and Apoorva Raagangal. Sridevi's debut as heroine at the age of 12+ Child abuse or what? In that vein, Moondru Mudichi showcases sterling performances by this duo and another talented actress from the south, Sridevi, a debutante then as a heroine at the age of 12+ (born 1963). Kamalhasan and Rajnikanth are soul mates and roommates. Kamalhasan falls in love with a college student Sridevi, but the chain-smoking devious Rajni has both his eyes fixated on the lass and has no qualms expressing his desires to her behind his back. During a boat outing, Rajni lets Kamal drown after he fell overboard in full view of Sridevi. During police interrogation, he denies kn...

V. M. Shamuganathan (1938-2017) Just a few months short of completing his eight decades of existence, the soul that who infused part of his genetic material into my DNA sighed his last breath in the early hours of Christmas 2017. At a time when most revellers would be in a state of a stuporous daze after a long Eve dinner, he did his last bodily duties and travelled into the horizon to the Otherside. He died in his sleep, finishing his dharmic obligations. At a time when serenity was the order of the day in the green-lushed tropical port city of Penang, in 1938, he was a born to first-generation Malaysian parents. His cry was greeted with smiles and waves of laughter of thankful parents and relatives. Growing through the tumultuous years of the Second World War, the sluggish economics years of the post WW2 era, the poverty of joblessness, the street-smart years of the 50s, through the euphoria of the independent Malaya wit...

You think you have got it made. You think you are perfect. That is what everyone aims for. And we all yearn to be THE one. Many want to leave their legacy behind, something for their descendants to feel proud of. Mythology repeatedly told over time from ear to ear over the years, got spiced up and snowballed to portray infallible characters, invincible, just, powerful and elevated to demi-God and God statuses. As usual, my mind got thinking... That could explain the many 'great' men (mahaans) and avatars of God who had graced and walked the land we stand on. Not to belittle the great deeds that they had done, there must be blemishes in their otherwise pristine time on Earth. When Robin William passed on recently, the internet and social media were fluff with a flurry of messages praising him to high heaven. Many thanked him for the comedy and making the world a happier place. One even praised him in his role as a motivating teacher in 'Dead Poets Society'. If not for...

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013. MALAY MAIL http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/praba-ganesan/article/i-came-here-to-bury-chin-peng-not-to-praise-him Praba Ganesan is chief executive at KUASA,  an NGO using volunteerism to empower  the 52 per cent. He believes it is time  to get involved SEPT 19 — Funerals are always for the living. The dead don’t derive value from the exercise, irrespective of whether the remains are of obsessive atheists or deeply reflective monotheists. The dead are dead, which is why body-grabbing episodes by your local cheerful Islamic department amuses me — and upsetting only as far as the act excludes the deceased’s family and presupposed values in the eventual rites. The dead themselves can’t mind. I say this upfront because I would prefer a zero-cost funeral for myself using recycled plastic, or roadside grass. I say this now because Chin Peng died and a slew of willing citizens are raving and ranting like a mob ar...

It is interesting to note that certain people are born to this world with a particular task to perform equipped with an aptly given name. This, I discovered during the time around the passing of one of Malaysia's badminton legends, Punch Gunalan. Punch is of course a nickname given to him by ardent fans after seeing his style of play and his killer badminton punches! Interesting his real given name is Gunalan s/o Panchacharan. (Panch!). Then there is the manager of one of BPL's premier team, Arsenal. Guess what, his name happens to be Arsene Wenger. And the English footballer with the name Alan Ball! Bon Voyage Punch! Hope not to see you so soon..... Punch Gunalan 1944-2012

1927-2012 After living a full life to a ripe age of 80 something, Amachee slumbered off to the land hereafter. It is funny that when someone passes on, we only think of the good times and funny times that we spent together in their lifetime. Amachee was one of the few relatives who used to visit us when we were exiled in RRF. Her lighting trips up north from Seremban (106, Templer Road) will be unannounced. Hive of activities will ensue to make the house presentable and tea will be prepared in a jiffy. She would update Amma about the latest happening in the family circle - who died, who married who, latest scandal, etcetera. The tea is not complete if not with some accompaniment. That is when I would be summoned to the rescue to buy some biscuits or such from the shop downstairs. On one particular visit, I had a crash course on dentures and food selection after buying a variant of Mung Bean Pastry    (tau sar piah) with gooey sticky paste. Only then did I kn...