kurian's New Age Blog

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

                     The play is  set in Mmabatho , South Africa.                       The Characters                        Chandy (64), a teacher                         Annamma (62)  his wife,also a teacher               Scene  1               chandy's  house.It's 3.45 PM. Annamma  relaxing on a sofa, watching TV.Her                                         facial  expressions show  that is is engrossed  in the program                                         she  is  watching.                ( enter  Chandy. He is very  tired  and  upset.)       Chandy : (furiously) See, the  circular  for the marking  test  is  out.        ( Annamma  doesn't  pay  attention )       Chandy : Annamma, didn't  you  hear  me? Read  the  circular  for  the  marking                       test.  ( he  throws  the circular  at  her )           Annamma :    what   test  ?      Chandy :          The  markers'   test.      Annamma :     If  there is a  markers'  test

Last Saturday, I had a strange experience.I had gone for a little shopping in the morning at the nearby Spar.My shoppings are very small because we are only two,and and our needs are very limited.We have very few visitors.That day We had a couple due to visit us in the afternoon,so some extra buying became necessary.We don't stock things.We don't have a deep freezer,because what is the use of buying meat and fish and storing deeply when it's available in smal quantities daily. One might deeply regret  if electricity fails for days due to power cuts,and the meat gets rotten. We usually do our little shopping on our way back home from school ,in a standard Choppies bag.There is another reason for little shopping.I hate those customers in the long queue  at the till,I mean those obese couples with obese kids,with trolley full of dogfood,catfood,bulk family pack beef,Boerwors etc whose transactions and packing cosume a lot  of time whereby they are cursed from behind

                         Today the  whole world                           The whole of humanity                           From Johannesburg to Cape town                           From Gannalaagte to Gugulethu                           From london to New York                           From New Delhi to  Beijing                           In cities and towns                           In townships and villages                           On all the continents                           On land, air and  water                           And  even in outer space                           Men,women and children rejoice                           On your birthday,beloved Madiba                           In all languages,by all races.                           Because  you are still with us                           At  the peak of 94                           Rarely  reached by others.                           You are the guiding star                           For the whole world

The rising intolerance in Kerala The rising intolerance in Kerala is alarming. We, as Pravasis,are not directly affected by this,but we are deeply concerned  because we love our state, and want it to be at par with the civilized nations of the world. Not a single day passes in Kerala without  violent protests in some parts of the state,for issues that can be solved peacefully and amicably.Some self-appointed guardians of democracy,constantly wait on the wings to launch violent protests, causing much tension,injuries , disruptions and damage to property. For instance,in some cases when a patient dies in hospital, the relatives of the deceased pounce on the doctors and hospital management,accusing them of negligence, and assault them and vandalise the hospital.The so- called activists join the bandwagon to settle old scores. When there is a bus accident,the onlookers set fire to the bus,venting their anger.Young lovers are harassed and assaulted by the self-styled moral police ( goo

Last month, I had a dream.For a long time, I hadn't had any dreams.Even before my latest dream, my dreams  were few and far between.That night it happened.... I was in my home state, Kerala,India.I was travelling by a Kerala Road Transport Corporation(KSRTC) bus.I don't know when and where my journey had started.I fell asleep during the journey.I woke up at the KSRTC bus station at Kottayam, which was the destination of the bus.There was a big hustle and bustle in the bus,as impatient, exhausted passengers started rushing to the door.Aspiring passengers for the return journey had already amassed outside.I was not in a hurry to get out,and remained seated.Suddenly, I realised that my diary, which I had placed in my laps during the journey,was missing.Probably it had fallen under the seat, but it wasn't there.It contained some vital personal information such as phone numbers, bank account numbers, important dates, passwords and so on.I frantically searched under my seat, but