kurian's New Age Blog

I'M GOING TO DIE (satire) The events mentioned here happened in the year AD 2025.So there's no need of a disclaimer about persons living or dead. On a fine December morning in 2025,I was preparing to start my fortnightly ritual of dyeing my hair.It was the 40th year of this practice,so you can easily guess my age at this point in time.The process takes about an hour;so I was mixing the dye,watching TV news.The purpose of dyeing in the morning was to youthanise (make younger),as there was a wedding to attend that day.Suddenly,there was "BREAKING NEWS" as usual,with big font and a red background. "HIGH COURT BANS THE USE OF HAIR DYES",the breaking news unfolded.The dish and the brush dropped from my hands.My heart beat faster."The Kerala High Court has banned the manufacture,sale and use of hairdyes,because scientific research has established that they are harmful to the health of senior citizens.The order is issued with immedi

SAY 'NO' TO RACISM A photo of a black girl that appeared in facebook,and the derogatory comments that accompany it ridiculing her blackness,prompted me to write this instant article.An instant article is written without any preparation,solely relying on the writer's previous knowledge,because the subject before us needs a quick response. A distinction should be made between good humour and bad taste.The comments in Facebook belong to the latter category. There is a misconception among a large section of Malayalees that 'black' is synonymous with 'bad' and 'evil'.This has been firmly entrenched in their minds with the widespread use of some words and phrases with racist connotations,such as 'karidinam' (black day),'karutha adhyayam (black chapter),'karinkali'(betrayer),'karinchanda' (black market),'karimpatika'(blacklist)etc etc.The anti-black culture is augmented by the showing of black

INDIA TRIP 2012 14th December 2012 At last,the day of our trip to India arrived.The weather in large parts of South Africa was ideal for travel;due to the heavy rains in the previous few days,and more rains promised for today and the coming days.Why we long so much for rain,and pray for it,personally,and in the church is because it's summer in South Africa,and abundant rain is needed in these parts,where farming is the backbone of the economy of the area where we live.This year,the rains arrived late in this region,causing extreme heat and severe dust storms.Dust rising from the nearby farms,which had been ploughed in anticipation of rains,wreaked havoc when the storms were not followed by rain.In November,our prayers were heard,but with some disasters.A thunderstorm broke,together with the pelting of hail balls the size of gulab jams.The roof of Jetmart Stores caved in,causing injuries to some customers and shop assistants.After the thunderstorm,our surro

THE FESTIVE SEASON IN SOUTH AFRICA South Africa is one of the countries that celebrate Christmas and New Year to the maxi -mum possible heights.This is mainly due to the Christian religion and culture in which the country is rooted,even though,according to the constitution of the country,no religion enjoys a higher status than others. The core of the festive season here is the closure of educational institutions for more than a month,to mark the end of the academic year.The return of children to their homes, dumping their books for the rest of the year,ignites the festive mood.The parents are obliged to please their children in whatever ways possible,and there's no looking back. In the final stage of the countdown to Christmas,all factories and mines are closed to enable workers to go to their villages to spend time with loved ones.The parliment and the courts are closed during this season. Unlike Indians,South Africans are good spenders not savers.Th

Scene 2 Kappumthalakkal family home.Juliet and Saramma Nurse are in Juliet's bed room,Saramma combing Juliet's hair affectionately. Juliet Saramma,today I want to ask you a favour. Saramma What favour,my child? Juliet The matter is simple, You present my request Before mom,I need a cell phone Say it's essential,for today's youth A necessity,not a luxury. Saramma Why don't you ask it yourself, Is it such a big deal? Juliet I'm too scared to ask, Because she has already shot down My request;so to repeat it, I'm too scared,you know her temper It's "vettonnu,muri randu" ie One cut;two pieces. S Saramma I shall ask her,for your sake, Come what may,because I am The drum on which anybody can beat But why the urgency now? Juliet (blushing)From you I can't hide Anything,without your support, I can't survive;th

                       Scene 2          Juliet's room in Kappumthalakkal family home.Juliet is sitting in front  of the mirror,and Saramma nurse is combing

                      ente  cell phoninodu (time-pass  poem)             enthu  paranjalum  nee entethalle  vave             neeyillenkil  njanilla,njanillenkil  neeyum             nammal  orikkalum piriyatha  koottukar             oonilum urakkathilum,veettilum  nattilum             kadalilum  karayilum, nilathum  manathum             carilum bussilum  trainilum workplacilum            neeyundente  koode,yathrayil  neeyen vazhikatti            aapathil  kaval  malakha  pol            nee  karanjal  njanodiyethum            ammaye  pole,top up cheythu  paloottum            nee  kinungiyal  parannethum njan            ammakuruviye  pole,top up cheythu thenoottan            nee  mathramariyunnu  en hrudayathudippukal            nee  mathramariyunnu  hrudayarahasyangal            nee  mathramariyunnu  en chuttikkalikal            nee  mathramariyunnu  en accountukal            nee  mathramariyunnu  en pranayanombarangal            thalayinakeezhil  chilachu nee        

Malayalee Romeo and Juliet Characters: Kappumthalakkal Chandy (65),Annamma (60),his wife,Juliet (18),their daughter,Saramma Nurse,(60) Attendat to Juliet, Mottakkunnel Jimmy (65)  Gracey (60),his wife, Romeo (19),their son and Cheria -chen ,(64) Romeo's uncle.Both families are traditional  enemies.                           Scene  1 Romeo and Juliet  fell in love.Romeo came to Kappu house secretly,and he is about to leave. Romeo : I must leave now,                It's  too dangerous if I,m found,                By  your parents;I must leave                Now itself, even though                I would like to stay longer,                To enjoy your sweet company                And continue "kochuvarthamanam". Juliet:   Dearest Romeo chetta,stay a few minutes              Only a few minutes.I thouroughly enjoy              Your pesense and your small talk,               I  wish to know more               About  you,your  family               And

       Love  is  a  balloon             Love  is  a  balloon (poem)      

                 PALA--what   a  beautiful   name!            O,be  some  other  name! What's  in  a  name ?That  which  we call a  rose By   any  other name would  smell as  sweet; So  Romeo  would,were  he  not  Romeo  called                 (  Romeo  and Juliet,Act 2 scene 2 ) I  beg  to  disagree  with  Juliet  in the matter  of name changes.Her argument  may  be valid  in the case  of  Romeo,but in the  case  of our  beloved  town  Pala, the name is sacrosanct;indeed that  name is the  soul  of  Pala.Try  any  other name;you  are  bound  to fail in making  any  impression at all;eg Palakkad,Kampala,Palampur,Palava -yal, Palayur etc.The name Pala  is pregnant  with  connotations and clues  about  our  history, culture, psyche, mindset and  so on.There's no  place like Pala and  no name sweet  as Pala. It's the  easiest to write,pronounce  and hear. THE  SAGA  OF  NAME  CHANGES Since   the  1950s   name  changes  have been  common in  the Third World

In  Kerala, if  a  woman's  gold  chain ( or duplicate, by mistake) is snatched  by  a  thief, either  on foot  or on  a bike, that  news item  is  flashed  on  the  myriad  TV  channels in big  red  font, as  "BREAKING  NEWS ", and  all  the  TV  crews  rush  to  the  spot, vying to  report the event  as  interestingly  as  possible  for  the  millions  of  Malayalees at  home and  abroad. Sometimes, the  hapless  thief  is  caught  with a duplicate  gold chain, and  subjected  to  a  round  of  mob  justice, before  being  handed over  to  the police.Then there would be the interviews  with  the victim, making her an  instant  celebrity. Not  so in  South Africa.The  snatching of a wallet, cell phone  or  cash, in  broad daylight is  not  worth  mentioning, even to  your  closest  friends, because the usual  response would be," So  what ?"  In  this country, where an average  of 50 murders  take place daily,snatch- -ing  a wallet  or  cell  phone, o

                THE  1962 CHINESE  SEIZURE  OF  INDIAN  TERRITORY     The  invasion  and  seizure of  tens of  thousands  of  square  kilometers  of  Indian     territory  by  the  Chinese  in  1962  is  the most  painful  chapter  in  our  recent     history. Prior to the invasion ( it was not a war: it was one -sided )China  and  India     had  signed  many  non-agression  pacts, and  the slogan " Indi-Chini Bhai,Bhai '     was  recited  enthusiastically  by  Indians. The Chinese  had  hoodwinked  the     then Prime  Minister, Jawaharlal  Nehru, into  believing  that  the  Chinese  were     good  neighbours and  trustworthy  brothers  while  they were preparing  for the     invasion.         When  the Chinese  attacked, the Indian  army  was caught  off-guard, without any      readiness  and weapons. The  Indian soldiers' 303  rifles  were no match  for  the     Chinese  machine  guns, and  more  than 3000 Indian  soldiers  were  mowed      down  like sitti

                            WISH   YOU  ALL  THE  BEST            We  wish  you  all  the best            In  your  final   exams.            Come out  with  flying  colours            Come  out  on  top            We  pray  that  your   minds             Shine  like  the  brightest  stars             To  comprehend  things  fully.             Let  the  hardest  questions             Melt  like  Ola  ice  cream             Let  your  ideas  flow             Like  the  Victoria  Falls             So  that  victory  is  yours.             Come  January  2013             Celebrate   the  New  Year              Celebrate   a  bumper  harvest             Fill  your   baskets             With  honey-sweet  fruits             Of   success, enjoy  forever              The  fruits  of  your   labour             And  make  us  proud.

                     We  wish  you  the  best                       In  the  final  exams.                       Come  ou  with  flying  colours                       Come  out  on top                       We  pray  the  your  minds                        Shine like  the brightest  stars                        To  comprehend   things  fully                        Let  the  hardest  questions                        Melt like Ola  icecream                        Let your  ideas  flow                        Like the Victoria   falls                        So that  victory  is  yours.

  The  year  was 1960. The annual  retreat  at  Paika  church was in full  swing. The retreat or  'dhyanam' was  held  in  the  church  due to  the lack  of  a  parish  hall.There  were no chairs  in the  church. The  people were  sitting  on the floor, listening  to the  rousing oratory  of Father Justin  Aanathookil OFM Cap. The  prominent  families in  our  parish  are named  after animals, like Narithookkil, Pamputhookkil, Kaduvathookkil, Pothummoottil etc, for reasons unknown. Anyway, Fr.Justin was a reputed dhyanaguru.Dhyanam is like  a major  car service,removing the karioyil, which is sin,and replacing many parts and emerging  with boosted spiritual  power. As  the  dhyanam  was in progress, there  was a very loud "thud" sound heard  from the right  side  of  the church.All  the people  craned their heads  to  see what  was happening. The priest  stopped  his  speech and appealed to  the congragation  to remain calm.There was a man  on the floor, w

                                  RIVERS    OF  BLOOD ( poem)                             When  rivers  dry up                              When  taps  go  dry                              When  women  and children                               Wander  in search of water                               In polluted, dry or stagnant  rivers                               Clogged  with  plastic, rubber, bottles                               Cans, barbed  wire and carcasses                                New  rivers  are  rising                                And  flowing  swiftly                                In Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, DRC                                In  Pakistan  and  Palestine                                The  blood  of innocents                                 Of  women  and children                                 Of   the precious  youth.                                  Wasted  for  nothing                                  Only to feed  thi