Vadivelu – Real Comedian

When I think about our great comedian’s recent activities, I have nothing else otherthan to say “height of stupidity”.

Vijayakanth’s party people throwed stones at my house and office and attacked – I will contest in the next election and prove that I have more mass than Vijayakanth.

What a spectacular reason for contesting in election!!!

Following this trend, I can think of some of the “possible reasons” for contesting elections.

• The infamous “Tree Surgeon” Dr. Das R’s party people cut a rose plant in my garden. I will contest in election against him and prove to him that…..
• Party people of the “Heavy Weight Lift champion” famous for lifting Maruti 800 in one of his movies (whose first wife kids have the legal rights to call “The official chitti” as “Chitti”), once rejected my request to lift a 10Kg bag. I will contest in election against him…
• The 9-Rasam Nayagan/Hero and political leader denied me Rasam during our last lunch togather. I will contest in election against him…
• Head of the “Cheeta Relief” movement, Mr. Maa Vallavan verbally threatened me of pushing me into cheeta’s caves. I am not scared of him. I will contest in election against him and prove that I am a courageous person…
• Chair Person of “Elder Brother Knowledge Temple” denied entry into the Knowledge temple. I am going to contest in election against him and prove….
• One person left the Knowledge Temple to start a new political party, looted my “Black Towel” which ended up being his party symbol now. I strongly object him for stealing my towel and using it as a symbol. I am eligible for a “Loyalty” which he will not be ready to pay. I will contest against him in the election and….
• The lady, famous for causing traffic jam right from the time she bathes till the time she settles in her office, once hindered my visit to my “Keep”. She thinks she is great. I will prove her wrong by contesting against her in the election.

There can be several other reasons to contesting in election. The one idea that can never become a true reason is “doing some good to the nation or citizens”.

 

I wonder what could have made this stupid comedian think so badly and to thunder so much to contest in election. He sure is a “Comedian” not just in cinemas, but even in real life. I can’t help but laugh and laugh and laugh at this stupid idea. He sure has a messed up mind.

 

He sounded so confident when he addressed reporters the other day. I really want to scold the reporters who spend useless time to write about this stupidity. I blame the media for showing even few seconds on this. This is height of stupidity and if I get a chance to meet Mr. Vadivelu, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell him that.

 

From where does he gain so much confidence? How can he be so sure that he can win in the election? My thinking goes to look at his achievements. He was so thin, dark and ofcourse close to ugly for showing his face in the big screen. Somehow he got a break and entered into movies. Ofcourse later he proved himself as one of the veteran comedian with lots of his “trade-mark” items. I liked him a lot as a comedian and I still like him to be seen as a comedian on screen. Do you think his achievement as a comedian would have given him that confidence? I think it might have…

 

Next could be a track record of successful actor-turned-politicians, who won elections to become MLAs and MPs. For example, the actor famous for his colourfull dresses (mix of yellow, greeen, red and blue), Mr. Ramarajan became MP once. Similarly there were people like Sarath Kumar, Napolean who won in elections. These would have given him that confidence. All the above mentioned wanted a political career and started persuing it. But Vadivelu’s case is not like that…

 

Above all he might have thought that people are stupids to vote any infamous person to victory.

 

Is politics in India so silly that anyone with any kind of reason can contest in elections and presume that he can win? I think that should not be the fact and I am afraid it might well be a fact.

 

I would love to see him contest in election and loose his deposit. I urge the voters to prove to him and to the world that we don’t allow such acts of stupidity to happen.

 

Mr. Vadivelu. I understand one would get emotional when such things happens. I feel very sorry for the attack. As you claimed,  if Vijayakant is responsible for it I would want him to be punished for it legally.

 

I can even agree that there might be more mass for you than him. To prove that, contesting in election is not the right solution. If you want to do something good for the people and the nation, you can do so and for doing so, you can contest in election. If I feel that you will definitely do good for the people and for the constituency, I would even vote for you. But if the reason is to prove some point to some people, then I think and strongly feel that it is the height of stupidity and you will fail for sure.

 

Stop being comedian in real life. I am sure your kids will laugh at it when they grow. Try to be a hero for your kids. Comedian is just your profession and it should not be the real YOU.

Gone for days…

I have been out of blogs for more than a week now. The reason being that I have undergone a minor ear surgery to correct some problem that I have had for years. Its been corrected and from what I understand from the doctor, I will take a month to recuperate. 

Anyways, I will immediately follow this with a blog on something that I find quiet interesting in the past few days… 

Nano or Vano

Tata Groups is one of the most renowned groups in India. Off late, with its expansion & acquisition plans abroad, it is making its presence felt worldwide. Looking at their history, we can easily figure out that they have been achieving things that were regarded as “unachievable”. Be it the Tata Steel, Taj Hotels, Tata Motors or TCS; Tata’s have always been the first of its kind in India and in some cases the world over.

Tata’s were regarded as excellent entrepreneurs with high “social responsibility”. For example, history of Tata Steel conveys many unique traits that depict their social responsibilities. Tata Steel introduced

• 8-hour work day as early as in 1912 when only a 12-hour work day was the legal requirement in Britain
• Leave-with-pay in 1920, a practice that became legally binding upon employers in India only in 1945.
• A Provident Fund for its employees as early as in 1920, which became a law for all employers under the Provident Fund Act only in 1952.

Tata Steel’s furnaces have never been disrupted on account of a labour strike and this is an enviable record considering its presence for more than a century now.

Tata’s were the one to setup India’s First Luxury Hotel (Taj). They brought IT industry (TCS) to India and introduced onsite-offshore model which is providing jobs for millions of engineers now. They introduced one of India’s first multinational companies (Tata Tea Limited) which became the world’s second largest global branded tea operation with product and brand presence in 40 countries. They also introduce the first “All Indian Car” (Tata Indica).

Their current venture is to commercialize the much-awaited and much-talked-about “Tata Nano” or “The One Lac Car”. It takes more than just a dream and huge money to bring in such a revolution. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication, endless research, innovation, huge investment and above all perseverance to transform such a Vision into Reality. The question is, “Is it going to be a reality?” I am sure that they can make it happen but the timeline (Oct 2008) is what I am not really sure about.

When we look at all the chaos that surrounded the Singur Plant and its land acquisition, we can clearly say one requires more than the above said qualities to formulate things to happen.

What was the problem? Do you think Mamata Banerjee doesn’t want West Bengal to be industrialized? She is known for opposing industrialization. Even in 2005, she protested against Salim Groups huge investment in WB. But in my opinion, I don’t think she has non-industrialization policy in mind.

I think no politician would intent to stop industrialization. They would be looking at more and more industries for the state’s growth. If not for the state’s growth, it will surely, at some point in time, turn out to be monetary benefit for them.

Then, why should she protest? I am sure it is not about her vetted interest on the farmers. She might have wanted to get some visibility and public prejudice for the next election. I am not really sure how much of votes she has won/lost by this action/trick.

I am in total agreement with the idea that it is the wish of the landowner to sell or not sell their lands. But how pragmatic is it to consider individual owner’s wish, when the government needs to acquire such huge landscape for good cause? I am sure such problems are there in all the SEZ’s setup in the country. There will be at least one landowner who will not be readily willing to let go his land. Government (of course with the help of party workers) will have to threaten them for successful acquisition. Unfortunately, in this case, the protest went overboard to the extent of totally shutting down the plant operations for more than a week now.

When we think logically, it is not going to be very feasible for farmers to cultivate in those lands, if construction works have already started on them. For those who require better compensation, they can sit and negotiate and I think they should get it. Regardless of whatever be it, the government will have to settle this issue either by providing more money or through some other means. If they want to handle it politically, they can think of some huge sum for the politicians involved in the protest and get them off the race. That would leave the farmers “unarmed” and open up an easy way to tackle them individually.

I strongly feel that Tata’s and the State Govt. did not take Mamata seriously. They should have settled this issue even before starting any work on the plant. Now that a huge investment is already made, it is very unlikely to pullout and if in case it is pulled out, it will prove to be an expensive decision. Somehow Tata’s have not been as efficient as Reliance in handling politicians. “Handling politicians” is a crucial for any corporate to survive and grow in this country.

Anyway, what next? Governor’s intervention and negotiations have brought down the agitation and politicians are off the battle now. “We need to give some to take some” – Tata’s need to understand this and think about giving back at least some portion of the land. I am sure there is always more than one possible solution. Tata’s can let go some portion of land and still can achieve the goal. I don’t think alternate solution is impossible – it’s just that they don’t want to think of one.

Tata’s – you can handle any situation. Just be judicious and do what it takes to bring your Nano into reality. Let’s cut down our (future customer’s) long wait and provide us with your engineering marvel; let the world ponder.

You can count me as one of your future customers for sure.

“BREAD & butter” – it is…

Hurricane Gustav had a huge impact, not just on the life of the costal residents but also on the crude prices and world economy. I too have got some very fond hurricane memories. Hurricane is not something familiar to Indians as there is hardly any chance of it in India. But USA is more prone to hurricane and often experiences major disasters. Meteorology department in US is well developed and equipped to predict the intense and location of the hurricane in advance. Often times their prediction is close and surely it helps the government to plan in advance to reduce the human loss and to prepare themselves for post hurricane rescue cum rehabilitation operations. Louisiana, Florida, Texas and other coastal areas will be affected by series of hurricanes during monsoon season.

Katrina (of course not our K Kaif) was so far the most disastrous hurricane of this decade (Aug 2005), which left 80% of New Orleans, Louisiana flooded. It was worst as it broke the levee and flood wall constructed by US Army Corps of Engineers and engulfed over 1500 lives. Next was Hurricane Rita (Sept 2005), which was supposed to be the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.

I was in San Antonio, Texas during 2005 Hurricane season. Although Texas has a large costal presence, San Antonio is well interior and so it very less prone to being affected by hurricane. Earlier reports of Hurricane Rita hinted that the hurricane being a category 5 will surely have an indirect effect in San Antonio. We were told that the city might be flooded and thereby there are chances of “no electricity”, “no water” situation.

We (me and my roommates) thought “What’s big deal? We will not have power, we will not have water.” But later we realized that it is not going to be possible to go out because of flood and we cannot cook because electricity will not be there and so our electric stove, which is the only form of stove there, will not work. We were also informed that water cans are getting sold out in the nearby WalMart and H.E.B. Wow… what a challenge? But above all we were fascinated because we will not have to go to work till the flood recedes.

What do we do? We planned. Equip ourselves with enough food to eat, water to drink, candles to see and cards to play poker so that we can invite our friends and spend the few days of vacation effectively. We (me and one of my roommates) went on a mission named “Rita purchase”. First we went to WalMart, where we found no water and so we took a course to a nearby H.E.B. As always, we had no list in our mind and we went taking all that we felt like getting.

Mission “Rita Purchase” took back home the items which includes but not restricted to the following list. 

• 8 loafs of bread
• 3 different Jams
• 2 different spreads
• 6 candles (scented candles ‘cos ordinary candles were unavailable)
• a pack of lighter (contains 6nos) – ofcourse for lighting the candles
• 2 match boxes – a backup – just in case
• 3 packs of plastic cards
• half-a-dozen of each of apples, tangerines, banana
• strawberry pack
• couple of packs of muffins (12nos each)
• 4 different cookies
• flavored water cans (12nos of 1 liter cans) – peach flavor – didn’t have any other choice,
• etc.  – it’s 3years now and i sure forgot what all we purchased

The bill came to $200. We did not stop there. Our next stop was Krispy Kreme for a dozen doughnuts.

Having spent a hefty amount, we were disappointed when Rita took a turn and went past Galveston making no impact to San Antonio. All the hype was gone and we had to go to office the very next day.

What next?

We ate only bread and bread related food for the next one week to 10 days. Items like bread sandwich, bread with jam, bread with butter and not just that. Innovative recipes like bread sambar, bread uppuma, bread thovayal, bread poriyal also made it to the list. The best part was we had 4 loafs of “sweet” bread which we used for some of these items – funny taste, but who cares.

We sure know what the phrase “Bread & Butter” means… Bread & butter it was…

Rural Selection…

For a true Indian, “patriotism” reflects in their loyalty in supporting “Indian Cricket Team” in all their matches. Their loyalty doesn’t go outside of Cricket and that has become a recent trend. They don’t care when a college student dies in a marathon race organized for a good cause, but surely they do care when Dhoni misses a game or Sachin is injured and out of tournament. Anyways we know what we are (I am no exception). Anyways, that is not what I am going to be talking about…

Recently India, for the first time in the history of cricket, won a series against Srilanka in Srilanka. Applause… and more of standing ovation. Even so, we lamely lost the last match of this series. Shame…

In a causal analysis, BCCI found that the team lags consistency. The selection committee was also informed that there are lots of talents out there in the usual mass, in particular in rural areas, which we can explore, for better results. So the selection committee decided to go on for a field trip to rural parts of the country to try and find some young and consistent talent.

They finally found one, whose matches they watched for a week and decided to bring him to the team after a little interview. The rural player was called for an interview just for the sake of it…

Interview went like this

Selection Committee member (SC): How do you feel when you are out there in the middle to do the job?

Rural Person (RP): I feel I am responsible for getting the right result. So, I tend to be more “focused” and pay “full attention” without any diversion. One needs to stay focused to get the correct and desired result.

SC: I agree. “Focus” is more important. But what about “Style”? Don’t you think “Style” is also vital?

RP: Yes, absolutely vital because “Style” differentiates one from the rest of the crowd.

SC: What about M.S. Dhoni? People sometimes complain about his style.

RP: In my perspective, everyone has got their own style. There is no problem in Dhoni’s style. Some people won’t like it; that doesn’t mean he is not stylish. Anyways, he has changed a lot from what he was. I like both his current as well as his earlier styles.

SC: Good to know that you have watched Dhoni so closely.

RP: I do watch Dhoni a lot, for his styles. He sport different styles at different time. In fact I adore his stylish “Cut” and try it out whenever possible. Friends like it because I cut exactly like him.

SC: Oooh. That’s amazing to know. We have not watched his cuts so closely. We felt he is just doing whatever he can and never observed his cutting style. Good that you are trying to learn from others.

RP: Learning from self mistakes and learning from others are two important things. If I don’t learn from my mistakes, then I will never improve and may be that will become the end of my carrier. If I learn from others, I will have more varieties.

SC: I have no choice but to agree to you. You seem to observe people a lot. What’s your opinion about Shewag?

RP: I think he doesn’t care about anything. When I saw him initially, I thought it was Sachin who’s standing there. He used to have exact same style like Sachin. But when you look at him now, there is hardly any resemblance of Sachin. I think he doesn’t care about losing.

SC: I understand what you are saying. Sometimes people say he is a carefree person.

RP: Hmm… (chuckles in satisfaction because his point was taken yet again)

SC: I think you are good in cutting. Can you tell me about your sweeping skills? I think that is also very crucial.

RP: Very, very crucial indeed! A clean sweep is something that I always resort to. Sometimes my friends funnily comment I am better sweeper than a cutter. I tell them that just cutting, cutting and endless cutting might land me in a mess, if I don’t sweep at least once in a while. I feel one should know everything to do a job.

SC: That is very logical.

………

Interview went on and on. Only thing is that the rural person, being a barber, presumed that he was called for an interview for the post of a “barber” in some luxury hotel. Now, if you have more time, go back and reread the interview… J