kurian's New Age Blog

Four cousins is a popular wine in South Africa That name prompted me to see the new Malayalam film 'Cousins',which dashed my expectations.It's old wine in New bottle.It's an avial film with a mix of the usual ingredients,ie comedy,romance,sexy women,car races,lost memory,fast songs and dance ,hair-raising escapes etc, but these fail to impress The first half of the film creates the impression that it's a comedy,but the second half enters the realm of love, with little effect.The imposing palace and the royal rooms don't impress because such opulence has been seen in many films.The script is clumsy and moves back and forth aimlessly.Despite vast sums spent on dances ,they don't impress because they are inserted at random. Kunchacko Boban and Indrajith struggle to perform their roles.Suraj also struggles to crack some jokes.Shajon's role is a total flop. One positive thing is the exotic scenery captured by the camera crew.But that's no c

Tv-watching is a way of escaping from boredom,but sometimes not having a Tv is a blessing in disguise.Those who watch the news are on knife's edge these days due to the unimaginable horrors that unfold daily on the miniscreen, eg the massacre in Peshawar.Luckily I missed Tv that day. Some months ago I wrote a post '2014-the year of Defeats'.Mr Charles Abraham advised me not to be so pessimistic.But now I feel vindicated even though I don't have any magical powers to look into the womb of time. When compared to the Taliban, Herod was a good man.He didn't slaughter children en masse.He left some loopholes for baby Jesus to escape.The butchers of Peshawar didnt leave any loopholes. Switch of the TV for one day, and You feel liberated from stress.You are disconnected from images of the direst cruelty.This is a piece of advice that Will bring peace to You. Forgive me for the errors in this post brcause I am typing this lying down in My

MANI    SAR'S   DUPE  ( COMEDY ) RE-PUBLICATION TO CELEBRATE THE 2016 ELECTIONS ( This  play  is based  on the recent ,unsuccessful  campaign  by the LDF  to  unseat  Mr KM  Mani, Finance  Minister  of  Kerala ) The  characters 1.  Shaji              A  mimicry   artist 2   Mini               Shaji's   wife 3 Mohan             PRO  of  Gutternet  News Channel 4  Babu              A leader of  Revolutionary  Democratic   Party ( RDP) 5  A  liquor  tycoon 6  Gutternet    newsreader                                   SCENE  1 (  Shaji's  modest  house. Mini   gives  him  a shopping  list. Shaji  reads  it with  increasing  uneasiness. He knits his eyebrows)                                     Shaji We  have to  cut  the  chicken.                                   Mini Of course. We should  have it  cut in large  pieces  ideal  for  chicken biriyani. It's  ages since I ate  chicken  biriyani.                                   Shaji I di

Doctor (G)  and  Doctor  ( F) I don't  know  whether  anybody  has done a census of Doctors all over the world. If it's done, the numbers  would run into the millions, with a few hundred  thousands  swelling  the ranks every day, especially in India, South Africa, Nigeria etc. The printing houses  have their hands full, printing  beautiful, colourful  Doctorates, 24/7/365, with complicated emblems, with a few Latin words, embellishing  the coveted qualifications which  sell for a few thousand  dollars. And ,of course, there are the stingy Doctors, especially Indians, who are reluctant to spend money on worthless things, and go it on their on, searching  the web tirelessly to  steal  stuff that had already been  published and used. It's a sort of recycling process, by which a new product is formed  from rubbish, I mean  fresh rubbish, like fresh produce. In  a rush to  publish the recycled rubbish, the Doctorate aspirants often forget to make any changes to

SID, MY NEW FRIEND The  disappearance   and the  consequent , presumed  death of Appu, our cat, has caused  much  heartbreak  and anguish  since April this year. He left a vacuum  that can't  be filled. But  relief came recently, in the form of a tiny puppy called  Sid, short for Sydney, a name  suggested by my grandchildren, Alyssa, Chrissa  and  Marissa, who live in Sydney. It was their overenthusiasm and boisterous behaviour  that  precipitated  Appu's  disappearance , as a mild form of  protest, due to some misunderstandings. By  a  strange  coincidence, when a  friend offered  me a puppy and asked about  my choice of  colour, I opted for  black and white, perfectly  matching  Appu's  colour. So the  3-month  - old Sid  has taken over the little kingdom left vacant by Appu. He is a  bundle of energy, intelligence, mobility, love, naughtiness, and  sometimes, ferocity. His tiny  body is an advantage in running very fast, like a soccer  penalty kick racing t

     LIVING   IN  FEAR I  live in a fortress, With  high, spiked  walls, Reinforced  with  barbed  wire, Safety  vainly  ensured  again, with  electronic gates, alarms, Vicious  dogs, and gun under the pillow. Yet  Fear  stalks me like a shadow, I spend  sleepless  nights, Looking  all around, With  fearful  eyes, Like, from a  watchtower, Like a  rat in its hole, I withdraw into this shell, this fortress, Like a  snail, like a caged, scared wild beast, While  criminals  roam the streets, Unchallenged, untouched,   In  their  Paradise, in  their safe Criminocracy. Fear  and  Death  reign  here, The  graph  of deaths, Rise  steeply, day  by day, New  graves are dug daily, For  the beloved  ones, Freshly   freed  from fear. The  Sun  rises, but darkness  prevails, The   Sun  is shrouded ,  In clouds of  gloom and  doom. The  curtain  rises, to  stage, The  hourly, daily  tragedies.  

MY   SECURITY  UPGRADES Narendra  Modi  took  the initiative  to  clean up India, which has been  warmly received  by the people,including  the elite  and the man in the street. It's a good thing to emulate the example of a country's  leader or leaders. In South Africa, the emphasis  is on security  upgrades, because it's the most  worrying  factor in this country. Littering  tarnishes the face of cities and towns, but that problem gets a backseat  because the  first priority  goes to protect  oneself  from thieves and robbers, who operate 24/7/365  with  impunity. President  Jacob Zuma  set a  good example  by  carrying  out  security upgrades at  his private residence  at Nkandla, at a cost of  R 256 million, allegedly at  the taxpayers' expense. Whatever  be the source of the money, security  upgrades are indispensable, as experienced by the P.M and MPs in the  Canadian  Parliament recently. The PM narrowly  escaped  the would -be assassin's  bullet

IT'S  NOT EASY  TO ACCEPT   DEFEAT An accused  person in the dock never admits  that he is guilty of the crime he is accused of. His  lawyer would try  all the tricks in his legal arsenal   to get a ' not  guilty' verdict. In politics and in sports, the same trend  prevails. In the elections held in Maharashtra  and  Haryana, the Congress  was  thrashed. Yet, all sorts of  arguments and  statistics are put  forward to cushion  from  the shock of the  defeat. This is a  common  practice  of all parties, including  the BJP. The  arguments  go like this: "  We  got fewer  seats, but we have increased  the percentage  of our   votes.'' " The  BJP  played  the communal  card, and misled the people.'' " We  got  fewer   seats, but  our support base is  still solid, intact.'' " The  ruling  party  misled the people  with  empty  promises.''  When  a  party wins an election, everything  is OK. No complaints.

October  12, 2014 These are dull, monotonous  days in Delareyville. The main reason is the absence of any sign of rain, even as the second half of the month is approaching. Early  rains usually  bring  much  relief and  comfort, but this year the rains are reluctant  to shower blessings  on this small town. The  dust-storms which blew throughout   yesterday  wreaked havoc in the form of  dust, leaves, seeds , soot etc rising  from the open fields nearby. The  worst part is  the litter  dumped by irresponsible  people, in the open fields, and in the  bushes. This is a common  practice in the Third World. Some  people are unwilling  to  buy the cheap  black bags to  put their waste, and they throw the rubbish ,in the most  cowardly  manner, at odd times, and in public  places. These  people are rubbish. Their  rubbish is  carried by the wind, to the yards  of  law-abiding, tax-paying, toll-paying, fine-paying, account-paying, decent  people. In Delareyville, there are

 Shaji   was in  Kochi  for three days, on an assignment  from his   company  to conduct an audit  of the local branch. He had  left his wife ,Smitha  and  his 2 -year daughter, Mini, in his hometown, Trivanndrum. The little girl, Mini ,was  so close to  Shaji  that  she always  opposed his  tours. Even his going to work every day  was  against Mini's  wishes. She  compromised only because her mother was a housewife, and didn't  go to work. At  the weekend, Mini was very happy  because  she had her  father  entirely  under  her control. On the  second  day  of  Shaji's  stay  in Kochi, a  sudden  ' Bandh ( Shutdown)  was  announced  by the Opposition  Alliance, apparently to  protest  against  ' police  brutality'. As  usual, the organizers of the ' Bandh'  exempted  newspapers, milk , weddings and  funerals. The   city  was  paralyzed . A  few  private  cars, bikes  and autos  were seen  on the road. Generally, the people  didn't  dare

   CONVERSATION   WITH   RAM             Finally, Winter   has   withdrawn , after  wreaking  havoc in the  final  stages. Life  is  back to normal  after  three  months  of  generally   cold  weather conditions. There  are signs  of  a new  awakening  everywhere- in the  form of  flowering   peaches, plums, apricots  etc, and  above all, hordes  of  birds appearing   on the trees and  on  the ground, celebrating  the  arrival  of Spring. The  number  of  birds visiting my compound  has  increased  dramatically, mainly   due to  the  disappearance   of  Appu, my cat, whose  memory evokes much  pain. He  disappeared in April, due to a misunderstanding. Perhaps  he wanted  to return  after a  few days, but  some kind of  disaster  struck, and he  is confirmed  dead. The  birds are aware of this, and  now they  are everywhere, because  there's  no  fear of imminent  attack. Ram, the  weaver  bird, has  returned , and has  started his futile  exercise  of  building 

THE   JOY  OF  SUCCESS  ( a  motivational   poem  for  Grade 12  students )      Success   is  a  peak,      It   towers  as  a  challenge,      It   seems  insurmountable,      There's no path  leading  there,      You  cut  your own  path,      Through an unknown, unexplored  territory,      Removing  sharp, painful  thorns,      And  falling into treacherous  pits,       Sweating  and  panting,       Yet  you climb on, higher  and higher,       Bit  by bit, by  trial  and error.       At  times  you feel,       "  No more of this, it's time  to give up,''       But  you  carry on, with  a resolve,       Tougher  than  steel,       Have a  plan, have map,       Lest  you get lost in the wilderness.       Ask  for help, help from God,       From  teachers, parents  and  well-wishers.       On  top of the peak,        Unfurl  the  flag,        The flag  of  victory,        The  flag of  hard  labour,         Heave  a deep  sigh,        

Excerpts   from  the  keynote  address    delivered  by  Honourable  Dr Kindy  Chor, founder   and  Rector  of   Kindy  Chor's  Academy  of  Thieves , on  the occasion of  the  first  graduation   ceremony of  the  new  graduates  in  the  various  disciplines such  as  B.F  (  Bachelor  of  Fraud ), BGS  ( Bachelor  of  Gold  Smuggling ), BB ( Bachelor  of  Blackmail ) etc ( A  big  hall , overflowing  with  people. Distinguished  guests  are  already  seated on  the  stage. Enter Dr Kindi  Chor, waving to the  crowds. All  rise, as a sign of respect. Dr  Kindi  Chor  indicates  to  the  people  to  sit  down .)                                   Dr   Chor Distinguished  guests, parents, students, thieves, fraudsters, ladies and  gentlemen, It's  with immense  satisfaction and  sky-high  pride  that I  stand  in  front  of this  august  gathering   today, at  the  solemn  occasion  of  the  graduation of the  first  batch of  students  who have outstandingly