Saandilyan, historical writer.

I love books and have been reading fiction right from my school days. But my introduction to fiction was through English viz., Enid Blyton and then Hardy Boys and later Jeffrey Archer and other best sellers. Sometime during my X Std vacation my father introduced me to Tamil books and would make sure that I read atleast one Tamil novel to every two English books. Since I had to get money from him to rent English story books from lending library, I had to tow his line. Thanks to my father and his wide collection of Tamil novels, I had a fairly good exposure to authors like Na.Paarthasarathy, Mu.Va, Akilan, Sujatha, Manian, etc. even at such an early age. But the one I loved most was Saandilyan and though his books are voluminous, it is a great pleasure to read and re-read them. Ofcourse, there were many novelists who wrote historic novels, Kalki being the most famous. But somehow, I am prejudiced towards Sandilyan may be because of the way he depicts war strategies in such minute detail in his stories.  

I had the chance to read “Yavana Rani” again. I am sure I must have read this book atleast four times starting from my X standard vacation. But every time I read, I find it as an interesting novel, a great story based on a real war and enjoy it immensely. Infact, I would go as far to say that this was his masterpiece. Saandilyan’s historic novels are famous for his fantastic description of nature, his extraordinary talent of blending historic (and real) characters with his imaginary characters, his painstaking efforts to make sure that everything he writes is historically correct and above all, an engrossing story woven in between. The research he does for each novel of his is amazing and he quotes all the books he had referred to write each novel in the preface but it is his ability to sprinkle the historic facts throughout the story that makes it interesting. Yavana Rani for instance is about how Karikala Chozhan fought and won the battle of Venni (the place where the battle was fought) crushing both Pandya & Chera kings (the two big Kings who ruled South India during that time) to regain his rightful throne. But the story revolves around a fictional character of Illanchezhiyan, leader of a small army and how he helps the King in this great war.

Almost all his novels were written for weekly magazines, so characteristically each chapter ends with a surprise or a twist so that the reader’s interest in the novel is retained till the next week. Also all the chapters start with a summary of the previous week’s events to make sure that the readers haven’t forgotten the old events with a long winding and pretty lengthy sentence. Though his novels are pretty lengthy, Yavana Rani for instance is published in two parts and is nearly 1280 pages long but to his credit it has to be said that he writes it in a very interesting way that we crave for more. Ofcourse, sometimes he gets into lengthy descriptions and narrations about nature and physical features of women, especially when we eagerly look forward with bated breath to see how events unfold. Also, in certain cases, he ends a chapter with a very important knot but the knot is revealed only after a couple of chapters testing our patience. Everything said and done, Saandilyan’s novels are a trove of historical information and I, for one, can say was interested in history because of his novels and feel proud to live in a country which is so rich in culture and one of the earliest civilizations of the world.

Australian Open 2011 – End of an era?

Another grand slam (Australian Open 2011) had just ended and this time with an unpredictable outcome. No one would have expected a finals without the number one Nadal or the hot contender Roger Federer. But then, as they say, the glorious uncertainties are what make the game. Atleast Nadal had the excuse of an injury but poor Federer just has to blame his ill-luck or does this mean his prime form his behind him?

In the good old days when DD was the only window to the world of sports, they would magnanimously telecast tennis matches from quarter finals stage of all the grand slams. I still remember the Wimbledon Finals of 1985, when Kevin Curren (who had defeated John McEnroe in the quarter finals and Jimmy Connors in the semis) was pitted against a newcomer, whom everyone thought had absolutely no chance. The very fact that he had reached the finals itself was a great achievement for an unseeded player and no one expected him to cross the final hurdle. That orange-blond boy (for he could hardly be called a man at seventeen years) answering to the name of Boris Becker defeated all odds and his opponent to win the Wimbledon title, as the youngest person and also as the first unseeded player to ever win a Wimbledon final. I later read that only one person had put his money on Becker and he returned home with more cash than Becker himself would have got as prize money. I was watching the match in my neighbour’s TV (we hadn’t purchased a TV then) and I too told whoever would listen (the fact was apart from my father nobody did) that I thought Boris Becker would win. It was love at first sight. I just loved the way he moved around in a tennis court, throwing himself at the ball, giving his cent percent for every game and the way he celebrated after every point he won. After Becker, there were a few who played very good tennis like Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras but none captured my imagination the way Becker did.

That was till Roger Federer entered the scene. Just like Becker, this too was love at first sight. But unlike Becker, there was no diving or oncourt histrionics. Federer’s game was like a monarch’s. He seemed to play from a pedestal and he just looked down at his opponent from the other end of the court. His challenge was not the opponent, it seemed he was playing just to please himself. He just used the opportunity to see if he could execute certain shots at incredible angles or make the ball land just at the tip of the baseline, etc. The way he found angles, the way he sets up a point, etc had to be seen to be believed. But more than that, he was always humble in his victory speech. That made him great. On a very few occasions when he lost, he still remained the same cool guy. Neither venting his anger nor giving some lame excuses. He always gave due credit to the opponent in his victory speech though he would have completely dominated him oncourt. That’s why it is really a pain to see the decline of Federer. When he lost to Nadal in clay, it was okay. There would always be another chance. When he lost to the same Nadal on major (non-grand slam) tournaments, it was digestible. But when he lost the finals at Wimbledon to Nadal, that was the last straw. I just couldn’t take it. I think that was the starting point. Now, he seems to lose regularly and it has been quite some time since he had won a grand slam final with conviction. It may not be the end of Federer (I personally don’t want it to be), nor can we consider this as the beginning of end but it is clear that Federer is not what he used to be.

It has to be said that Federer revolutionized the game and Nadal carried it to a different level. Here’s hoping that the Federer era doesn’t come to a premature end. I want him to win all the four grandslams in a year and create (another) history.

Photo taken from : www.tennisnow.com

Mumbai…the city of dreams..!

 

Mumbai… the city of dreams, where slums and high rise building exist side by side. Wherever you go, however high-fi it is, there would be a slum area just near by. Though I stayed there for a little more than three weeks and did experience traveling in Mumbai train during peak hours, I did feel that there a few points that we have to learn from Mumbaittes. First and foremost is their professionalism. Most of the people in my client’s office were traveling nearly 1.5 hours to 2 hours one way to reach office but whatever be the climate (there was a heavy downpour on most of the days I was there), they were always on time and more important, never once complained about the arduous journey. Even when the trains were running late due to heavy rains, it was taken as a matter of fact and nobody complained or cursed their ill-luck. More than that, they never let anything spoil their work attitude.

 

This work attitude and professionalism was glorified by the dubba-wallahs. But I feel  that the taxi drivers of this great city too should be given their due credit. They inevitably turn on the meters and never charge the passengers even a single paisa extra. So much that we can say that tourists from other states or even other countries who have absolutely no knowledge of the topography can get into a taxi very confidently. Just imagine the same scenario in Chennai…. if the auto-wallah knew that you don’t know Tamil, you might as well have to part with the entire cash in your wallet even for going to the next road.. Nothing less than robbery.

 

Wherever we went, we could see people standing in queues and waiting for their chance. Be it the bus stands, waiting for elevator, mutton shop or even liquor shop people stood in queues and waited for their turn. No jumping of queues or unnecessary fights. Something which needs to be followed by every other city and state.

 

Another good aspect was the way the people drove their cars. Though the traffic was very heavy and there was a traffic jam to be encountered in every other road, there was less honking of horns. I just shudder to think what would have been the racket created if the same had happened in Chennai. Everyone would be honking their horns at full blast that would make getting stuck in a traffic jam more horrible.

 

Before you think that I am painting a rosy picture, let me warn you that there are a few eyesores as well. Mumbai may be the cultural capital of India where people are more fashionable but when it comes to keeping their city clean, it comes at the very last. Almost all the people never even think twice before spitting on the ground. All the public places, the corners, walls and almost all accessible places appear in a dull red due to tobacco stains.

 

Next would come the taxis. Well, before you get confused let me assure you my above stated point that they are indeed professional and never cheat the passengers, that is, if you manage to get into one. It is not an uncommon sight to see someone waiting for nearly half an hour or more to get a taxi as the drivers pick and choose their clients and those who want to go to nearby places or where the probability of getting a return fare is less are left in the lurch.

 

Everything said and done, I would say I love Chennai but there are a few aspects which we can learn from Mumbai to make our city good. 

Night Shift by Stephen King – Review

A collection of short stories by Stephen King, the so called King of Horror. The stories are supposed to be eerie but most of them are neither believable nor readable.

Quitters.Inc is about a firm which helps people quit smoking through some secret and dangerous ways. Another story is about a son killing his mother, who is suffering from cancer, out of mercy. Yet another story is about ETs getting into the body of a human. The above stories are average! All the other stories are just not worth mentioning.

The idea of trucks ruling the world, coming back of dead spirits, a man turning into a lawn mower, a piece of machinery gobbling up all the humans, etc may have been great ideas of the author. But he hasn’t convincingly put it across. One gets really bored and the only comforting factor is that they are all short stories. One keeps on reading the stories hoping that atleast the next story would be good but at the end one is left with not an eerie tasting but with a sour taste.

YOU NEED A DETERMINED MIND TO READ THE FULL BOOK. JUST NOT WORTH THE EFFORT.

Flying Times by Bill Cosby – Review

Bill Cosby has such a good and original sense of humor that makes this book a very enjoyable one. The language used is so simple and it flows so smoothly that despite having no suspense element, one just can’t put this book down. Of course, the fact that it not voluminous also helps

In this well written humorous anecdotes, Bill Cosby shares his personal views of growing old. Usually growing old is met with a lot of anxiety and apprehension but in this book, Bill laughs it all off. Small real-life incidents with which readers can relate to, narrated in the inimitable style of the author makes the book thoroughly interesting and amusing.

 A very deserving sequel to “Fatherhood”, Bill once again proves that he is made of an inexhaustible source of humor. With this book, he has got another best-seller and can literally “laugh his way to the bank”.

 FINAL VERDICT : Not to be missed book. Very funny and amusing.

Midnight games…. a different ball game ;-)

After an overdose of T20 cricket,what with IPL and T20 world championship, it was a welcome change to watch some other sport. Though I am an avid fan of cricket, I do love to watch tennis , shuttlecock and football in the same order. So the FIFA World Cup was really a treat to watch.  The only dampner was the timings – the matches started at 7.30pm and at midnight, yet I did manage to catch a few matches. I like the South American teams and was eagerly hoping that either Brazil or Argentina would reach the finals. Unfortunately neither team reached even the semi-finals. But that didn’t dampen my spirit and I did manage to watch the finals.

I did catch glimpses of few other matches but didn’t have the time nor inclination to watch any match fully.  Whatever I saw impressed me but what was disappointing was the number of fouls being involved (Ofcourse even in a gentleman’s game like cricket there is no room for gentlemanship so can’t expect anything less from football) and the lack of individual brilliance. I can still remember Maradona’s goal against England in World Cup 1986 semis.  Maradona collected the ball just before the half line and then ran  the full stretch (nearly 60% of the length) dodging four or five defenders and shooting a goal past the English goal-keeper. Individual brilliance at its very best. Thought Messi or someone from Brazil would provide such brilliance but that never materialized.

But the biggest disappointment was the teams which advanced to the Finals and the quality of their games. Spain atleast had a stylish game but Netherlands was playing a very rough game and it wasn’t a delight to watch and surely not upto the standards you would have expected from a World Cup Finals. Though I am not a follower of predictions, I did want Mr. Paul’s predictions to come true and wanted Spain to win the cup mainly for their stylish and smooth game but they lacked the finishing skill and dearly paid for it. Inspite of having possession of the ball longer and able to dominate the opposition, the failed in the final hurdle and I thought the game would be decided by the penalty shoot out. Luckily for me and Spain, they were able to get one past the goal keeper with just a couple of minutes left and became the deserved winners of the World Cup. Inspite of the disappointment of neither Brazil nor Argentina making even to the semi-finals and lack of individual brilliance, this World Cup showcased the domination of European style.

My dream is for India to get qualified for the World Cup. The next World Cup is just four years away. But for my dream to come true?

Accidents…. are they accidental?

Today when I was driving back home from work there was a slight drizzle and inspite of the roads being slippery everyone especially the two wheelers were driving fast with the intention of reaching home as early as possible. When I was halfway through my long 32km journey, I witnessed an accident.

A bike had fallen on the ground and an auto rickshaw was parked nearby. The driver of the two wheeler was lying in between the two vehicles his face was covered with blood. I, like many others, slowed down my vehicle for a few minutes and after realizing that the person was not fatally injured and there were enough persons to help him out, proceeded on my way.

My immediate thoughts after crossing the accident spot – poor guy it would take him atleast a fortnight to recover from this accident physically. My sympathy gradually turned into anger because it was very obvious that the person must have driven the vehicle fast inorder to overtake the auto and must have lost his balance. Didn’t he know that the roads were slippery due to the drizzle and he shouldn’t drive fast – even a child would know that.

Just then I looked down at my speedometer and it showed 50 kmph. I immediately reduced the speed of my vehicle and wondered what would have been my thoughts if I had been the victim. I would have immediately blamed the auto rickshaw driver for the accident and would have held him wholly responsible. I would also have expected everyone to stop their vehicles and help me out of that position.

Leaving aside those aspects, the prominent thought which kept recurring and long after witnessing the accident was – was this particular accident (and most others) avoidable? If the two wheeler had driven slowly and was not in such a hurry to overtake the auto; if the auto rickshaw driver allowed the two wheeler to pass; if the driver of two wheeler had worn an helmet – if only….

I am sure most of us must have witnessed accidents and some could have been very gory. What is it that we can all do to avoid accidents? Following traffic rules (we do that only if a traffic police is nearby otherwise they are flaunted); wearing helmet (most of us keep our helmets above the petrol tank); driving slowly (a relative term but you can try slowing down 5kmph from your next drive) & thinking of the last accident you had witnessed – I am sure these would do the trick of bringing down the number of accidents.

I, for one, would surely not drive above 45kmph for the next one week J

Current Affairs…. Low Voltage High tension.

I rued my decision to buy a home in the outskirts of the city as one my new office is too far off but second and more important is the low voltage supply that we are getting for more than 70% of the day. Whenever we (or rather I) need electricity the most, the voltage is too low that I am unable to use any of the electrical appliances be it a AC, water motor or even wet grinder. We checked the voltage received and it was anywhere between 110 – 140 Volts. We ape Americans in everything including the supply of electricity!

Today we had a get-together at home and the hot topic ofcourse was on electricity or rather the lack of it. I put forth my complaint that the air conditioner that I had purchased with much hope and burning a hole in my pocket was lying idle. The only time we could try switching it on was around 6am. This opened the Pandora’s box and a lot of my friends had similar complaints. The ACs which everyone had bought would function only during specified times and it ranged from midnight to early mornings. Though my area was the worst hit as the AC would function only at 6am, I was still happy knowing that the problem was throughout the city and even the so called VIP areas were not spared.

I do feel that we are partly responsible for this situation. The buying capacity has increased and with that the purchase of high energy consuming appliances has improved. Just like TV & fan, AC has become an essential item and almost all the houses have atleast one installed. All this leads to a lot of consumption of electricity and the Government is not able to cater to it. Though I am frustrated to no end as I can’t even operate my desktop in the evenings (even for checking mails I have to wait till midnight when the situation slightly improves) I do have to sympathize with the Government. The situation is far worse outside Chennai, where electric supply is cut off for 3 to 4 hours every day. I am not a avid follower of state politics but feel that electricity could be a hot topic in the next state elections. My only suggestion is that the Government can implement load shedding for say 1 hour per day throughout the city and in turn provide adequate voltage during the rest of the time.

Let’s hope the time comes soon when we all can sleep in the luxury of an air conditioned room.

The Dream Merchants by Harold Robbins

It’s been a long time since I read a book of Harold Robbins. I’ve always thought his books made light reading with sexual scenes sprinkled liberally.

The Dream Merchants proves me wrong. It shows H.Robbins in a new light. This is the novel of our age-old theme “from rags to riches story”. Almost all the famous authors have tried their hands at this theme and for sheer narrating skill, I would rate Jeffrey Archer’s “As the crow flies” as the best in that genre. This book of H.R. however focuses on the human emotions and conflicts and has brought them out superbly and in a very moving manner. Though the story revolves around the film industry, there is not much of glamour to be seen that you normally associate with any novel dealing with that subject. Instead his attempts to portray the friendship between two persons and their joint struggle to move to the top.

No sharp twists, no explicit sexual encounters, no dramatic incidents but Robbins holds one’s attention till the last page with his gripping narrative which flows so smoothly that even the dramatic twists that he introduces  don’t produce the desired effect.

The novel is pretty lengthy which might be a put off but once you start, Robbins guarantees that you’ll race through every page and atlast, put it down with a heavy heart.

Cool drinks… Hot Temper?

I don’t normally drink aerated soft drinks and avoid them at all costs. But last week, I was out in the sun for a long time and as my throat was parched and as I couldn’t find any tender coconut vendor nearby, I settled for a branded 200ml bottle of aerated soft drink. After gulping down the entire content in one go, I was shocked to hear that I had to pay Rs.10 for it. The actual MRP was just Rs.8. When I raised the issue with the shopkeeper, he replied that as it was not affordable for them to sell it at MRP, their union has decided to sell all cool drinks at only Rs.10 and wherever I purchase I have to pay this rate.

As I have not bought soft drinks very often, I was totally shocked and inspite of my heated arguments (one of the few rare occasions when I lost my cool), I finally had to part with Rs.10 (25% more than the MRP). Just calculate what if everyone else charged the same way :

Commodity	MRP (in Rs.)	Price charged after 25%
Petrol (per litre approx)	55.00	Rs.        68.75
Colour TV 21” CRT (approx)	6,000.00	Rs.  7,500.00
Air conditioner 1.5ton Split (approx)	22000.00	Rs. 27500.00

 

My question to all these vendors who charge more than MRP – What would be their reaction if they go to an electronics shop and say, buy a mobile phone with an MRP of Rs.6000? If the shop owner charges Rs.7,500/- for it would they pay that amount? The only reason why they are fleecing the unsuspecting public is because the aam aadmi is not raising his voice and we cannot go to the consumer court as no shop gives a receipt for a soft drink.

It is not that money matters to me, I can very well afford Rs.10 for a cold bottle of soft drinks, but how can a group of shop owner so blatantly defy the rules?