Was Draupadi's swayamvara fixed ?

From this extremely believable account of the Mahabharta War we are led to consider if it might have been a war, not between cousins but THE LAST WAR between two clans which were always at war: The Kuru-s and The Panchala-s. 

In that light, if we look at the way in which Draupadi's swayamvara was held and the criterion imposed, it appears that all of it might have been simply a show put on by the Panchala-s to acquire some strong allies from within the Kuru-s.

After North-Panchala was annexed by the Kuru-s (by an army motivated by Drona), the Panchala-s would have been looking for opportunities to get back the lost territory and perhaps even avenge the loss. According to Kshatriya code, even when the king is defeated in battle, he cannot be deprived of his land, which Drupada was. So there could have been more than an average bitterness in the Panchala-s. They sensed an opportunity when the Kuru cousins fell apart and might have wanted to forge an alliance with the Pandava-s.

When the Pandava-s were sent to Varnavrata, they were warned by Vidura that Dhuryodhana was plotting to kill them in the flammable mansion. Thanks to the warning the Pandava-s escaped but remained hidden, avoiding a direct face-off with Dhuryodhana because they had neither allies nor wealth. It is possible that Pachala king knew of the escape (through his own spies) and continued to follow their movements but was also waiting for a sound way to enter into alliance with them. What is a more solid base to build an alliance than a marriage. But Drupada could not openly approach the Pandava-s because they were presumed dead.

Hence the swayamvara was arranged and announced. An open challenge was thrown. This ensured that the Pandava-s, who were disguised as Brahamans could also participate. The criterion was one involving archery which removed people like Dhuryodhana etc from excelling. And the test was made so difficult that archers of only the highest skill could pass. Now, there were only two such archers in that period, Arjuna and Karna (and perhaps even Ashwathaama but he might have been too young). There is a debate if Karna even tried to win Draupadi. In the version that he did, it is said that Draupadi insulted his low-birth and refused to marry him even if he succeeded in the test (after it was a swayam-vara). This left Arjuna as the sole candidate who could even have a fair shot at the test. Arjuna proved not only fit for it but also successfully passed it to the great relief of Drupada.

With the marriage, both the Panchala-s and Pandava-s found a solid ally in each other. The alliance was made even stronger when Kunti wedded Draupadi to all the five brothers. This was important because Nakula and Sahadeva, unlike the other 3, were sons of Madri and there was a chance that they could demand their own kingdom in time either by their own accord or by being instigated by Dhuryodhana. If they did, it would cause a further split in the kingdom and a decrease in the support which Dharma might require to be crowned King of Kuru-s.

It is after this marriage that the Pandava-s got a piece of land where they could build a kingdom (and hence an army), perform the Rajasuya yagna and declare Dharma as Samrat, the title which could give him a lot of mileage in seeking further allies.

This could be a mere conspiracy theory which occurred to me during my long visits to the toilet and perhaps, even after a more thorough reading of the text, it will remain  so. Nevertheless, it is a fun possibility to consider.

How much more are you going to milk Rajinikanth? - A response

I came across this article which asks Rajini fans a question. Since I consider myself a Rajini fan I have responded to it and added my own thoughts about our Thalaivar.

First some house-keeping:

• Kabali reminds me of the plight of King Trishanku. It just hangs there in between Madras and Padayappa. Between Thalapathi and Basha. Very much watchable and 40,000 times better than Thalaivar's previous two outings. But, I can't say the same about Ranjith. However, it is not an "over-the-top masala potboilers". My understanding of that term includes movies like Linga, Chennai Express, Sultan, Pokiri, Theri etc. Kabali definitely does not deserve to be put along side these movies.

• Yes, milk being wasted is repulsive and "fans" must avoid this.

• Comparing Kamal and Rajini is, with some exaggeration and inaccuracy, like comparing Woody Allen and Will Ferrell. Both draw audience of different kinds. The former works with cinema like it were his only purpose in life while the later just makes us laugh/cry without much ado. Unlike Ajith vs Vijay or Pawan Kalyan vs Mahesh Babu there is no fan-rivalry between the Kamal and Rajini. Both understand their spaces, their "type" and are comfortable with it.  

• "every single Rajinikanth film is essentially the same...": This is simply incorrect and perhaps the writer refers to the films which have released post Thalapathi (I say a little more of this phase of his career below). Also, many in the audience, especially the family audience, would consider his cigarette smoking to be a serious flaw - something which is very much liable to influence youth in a negative way. We will remember that Rajini's predecessor, in terms of type of fan base, M.G.R, never did any such this: no cigarette, no liquor, no women (and no acting if you ask me).

• Yes, I do agree it is cringey when Rajini dances with Shriya or Nayantara. But I also cringed when I saw Salman Khan dancing with Anushka Sharma or Sonam Kapoor. To be fair, if he interferes with the casting he will be criticized for it. Anyway, we are more than willing to see him get back with Sridevi, Jayapradha, Meena, Ramya Krishna and others if only the producers and these ladies are willing (they are better actors anyway). 

Now matter:

Firstly, about the origin of Rajini. The 90s did not create Rajini. Our Rajini was created in 1977 it self with the line "idhu eppadi irruku" in Padinaru Vayadinile. A movie dominated by Sridevi and Kamal in which Rajini had only a supporting role and a single substantial line (the aforementioned one). But he transformed that into a punch dialogue with his delivery. Rajini need not flip cigarettes and light them with guns to be Rajini. (This was a much later development and every actor is allowed to indulge once or twice. Have we not tolerated Kamal's Dasavatharam?) On the other hand, it is these little things which he does differently that makes him synonymous with style. Take Kabali for instance. Even if you have not seen the movie, the two minute leaked clipped will show you how differently he wears a bracelet. See the famous swing scene in Padayappa: More than the fact that he pulls down a swing which his shawl (which any sensible fellow knows is impossible) it is how he slightly twists his wrist, before placing it on his knee that sticks with us. That is what we imitate after coming back to our homes. These little things are enough. That is what we are after. In a way, his style is not really a style, it is just his mannerism. It is sui generis. The hype in social media in recent times coupled with Rajini-jokes has given him a dimension we never had of our Thalaivar. Our Thalaivar started off as a villain (like Chiranjeevi), used to drink, made flops, obliged friends for guest roles (Pedda Rayadu) and we know this.

Sivaji, though not the proper comparison for Rajini, also has such a mixed image. If it is true that there is yet to be someone to deliver dialogues like him in Tamil cinema, it is also true that there is yet to be someone who "over-acts" like he does some times. But when we remember Sivaji we remember both and place the former aspect of his higher than the latter. Again, Robert Di Niro (who has also done regrettable stuff like Meet the Fockers etc.) has been trying, since a long time, to erase his image of a hard-hitting gangster by taking up projects like Midnight Run, Analyse This, Meet the Parents etc. But the image of his from Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull are the ones that people keep referring to again and again.

In a similar way, Rajini has also done Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Sri Raghavendra, Thalapathi, Baba etc. And when people remember him in the future they will remember all the Rajini-s. What they will place on top, time will tell.

The legacy of Rajini is not to be sought in his movies but in the actors he has caused. These include Murali, Vijaykanth (I admit with great regret), Paarthiban, Vijay, Surya, Dhanush, Vijay Sethupathi and many more to come: all dark. If it were not for Rajini, who showed that a dark guy need not just be a villain, these people would never have had a chance at making it this big. If Tamil cinema has such people as lead-actors when Telugu and Hindi cinema don't, it is because of Rajini (though he was ably guided by K.Balachander and aided by the general Dravidian Pride wave). And this legacy cannot be erased by flops nor by fanatic fans. 

Coming now to the point of letting him go, I would say that there are very few big stars (and Rajini is the biggest) in South who have as much freedom as Rajini (Upendra, Surya, Venkatesh also come to mind). Even Kamal is a slave to a stereotype - that of making "intellectual"/"deep"/"philosophical" movies like Hey Ram, Anbe Sivam, Virumandi etc. If Rajini was bound to fan demands, would he have done Baba ? Definitely not. Take another example: Robot.  The scene opens and he is working in his lab. That's all ! There is no bang, no somersault, no snake, no nadaswaram. Where is the "Hero Entry Scene", the entry song, which Rajini defined. If Rajini was indeed slave to the fans, would he have agreed to such an ordinary entry ? In Kushelan he had only a guest role. Which other big star do we know who has agreed to be part of experiments like Kochadaiiyaan ? (Of course, one may argue that he was perhaps pandering to his daughter's dreams. But I believe that his daughter knows him better than any of us fans and that if she knew her father cared more about his image than trying new things, she would never have approached him for the role and put him a spot.)

Now coming to the central question(s): "do you really love the man? Or do you love what you like to see of him?"

As fans we will see what ever he gives us and like him for that. As I said earlier, Baba is part of our image of Rajini and so is Baasha, so is Kushelan, so is Robot, so is Thillu-Mullu, and Billa. We want our Thalaivar to experiment to his heart's content. And we will lap it all up. Those who see Rajini only as a style-icon have most probably seen his 90s and 2000s movies. But this image was created by Thalaivar himself by choices like Annamalai, Baasha, Padayappa, Arunachalam etc. and only he can undo it. (In passing, I would like to remind that these movies had strong supporting actors. Baasha was possible because of Antony being played by Raghuvaran. Padayappa was such a sensation because of Ramya Krisha playing Neelambari. Muthu's romance scenes are not cringe-worthy because of his chemistry with Meena.) But those of us who have seen some of the other films know that he is capable of portraying dramatic and comedy roles too. We love him for all of these aspects. I don't deny that when the blue neon light title card comes up on the screen, we forget our selves and go into a frenzy. But that's all. Rest of what we expect depends on what the movie is about. We know what Pa.Ranjith movies are like and we knew he would not have any cringe-y romance or mindless dance-songs. We also know K.S.Ravikumar and that he will do exactly that. Based on this we change our expectation. Tomorrow, if Kamal or Bala or Karthik Subbaraj decide to direct Rajini we will change our expectation accordingly. But one thing we know is that Rajini will give his own version of the character and it will be unique. The movie may be a flop but we will not blame Rajini for it; ask him why did he have to do this, why he couldn't stick to his usual fights and style. Using a Madras-Tamil expression, I say that actors like Rajini have a getthu which requires the script to also have a getthu. If that is there, we will enjoy the movie no matter what.

Finally, taking up the question in the title, the answer simply is that we will milk him forever. When he acts in a good movie we will milk him on general principle. When his films flop we will milk his hits. When he takes a sabbatical we will milk his memories. When he passes away we will milk his movies on K T.V. Until the day all memory of him fades away, Superstar Rajinikanth will be milked as Superstar Rajinikanth: the dark-horse, the style-icon, the game changer.

Is Daenerys Targaryen Mānglik ?

Yes.
This is the question that deserves some attention.
In Marutarṣi's epic Himāgnikāvyam, Dhanalakśmi Thyāgarājan (a.k.a Dhanam) is one of the two principle characters (the other being a mūḍha by the name Jonardhana Swāmināthan). She is the only surviving member of her family and the mother of Ganḍaberunḍa-s.

Dhanalakśmi summoning her Ganḍaberunḍa
asdasda

Now that five kāndā-s of the epic are complete and every one is worried about the fate of Jonardhanā (which is typical of the patriarchical society we live in), we are bound to ask if Dhanalakśmi suffers from acute Sevvai Dosham (Mangal Dosh or the curse of Mars).

Unfortunately, Marutarṣi has not provided Dhanam's date or time of birth and so our astrological scientists are unable to draw her horoscope and tell us for sure. However, the miserable way in which her marriages failed give us strong evidence that she could indeed be a Mānglik.

Her first marriage, which was forced upon her, by her brother, Visleśa Thyāgarājan, started with what can undoubtedly be called marital rape. However, those who have a strong influence of Mangal on them possess "endurance, self-confidence, strength, courage, great organizing ability, independent spirit, and strong determination power."1 Because of this, she was able to turn the marriage around and bring reform in her husband. However, the happiness was short lived as, her husband was badly wounded soon after, went into a vegetative state and had to be "released" by Dhanam herself. The child, resulting from the union, was also still born. Her husband's horse was killed and, her tribe deserted her. Not to mention the marriage resulted in the death of her only living relative - her brother. The only good thing to come out of the marriage was the birth of 3 Ganḍaberunḍa-s which gave her enormous leverage later on in life. (These too, she finds extemely difficult to control)

Her second marriage, also forced on her (by herself, this time) did not even take place. The groom's death came as swiftly (and out of the blue) as the Ganḍaberunḍa came to his mother's rescue in the penultimate chapter of the 5th kāndā.

Hizdahr zo Loraq thinking "Why did I not contact Vādyār māmā ?"
sadas

Thus, based on these evidences we can say with significant confidence that Dhanalakśmi may indeed be suffering from Sevvai Dosham.
(Additionally, we can say that influence of Mars is strong on the Thyāgarājan family itself. Given that the house sigil is red in colour (which is Mar's colour) and their words are "Fire and Blood", reflective of the fact that the Fire is the element of Mars.)

Thankfully, our Vedic science of Jotiśya offers ready solutions for this problem.    
1. She must wear a coral-red gemstone. She must also discard her favourite blue dress and wear dresses which are predominantly red.

2. The lucky number for Sevvai is 9. She may remember this for future nāmakaraṇam and other rituals.
3. She may try to remove the dosham by performing "a ceremony called a kumbh vivah, in which the manglik "marries" a banana tree, a peepal tree, or a silver or gold idol of the Hindu God Vishnu."2
4. Or, the next time she must marry someone with equal Sevvai Dosham.  Since she herself does not possess her horoscope, she can have her thumb impression sent to Vaitheshwaran Koil (in Tamil Nadu) where there are some reliable match-makers (based on Nāḍi Jośyam).
5. She may as well come there herself since Vaitheshwaran Koil houses the shrine of Sevvai (or Mars or Angaraka) to whom she can pray and, receive blessings and, good grace. (She should bring her loyal guard Jorah, who is suffering from skin infection. The Lord Vaitheshwaran cures all diseases. Jorah must take a bath in the temple tank and offer abhishekam to Lord Vaitheshwaran.)

Our ancient rṣi-s who developed the science of Astrology provide practical solutions to all problems of one's life. Even if that person is a fictional character.

Jai Shri /insert name of ishta-devata/

Kot

In a village, there lived a chicken called Kot. Kot was unlike his brothers and sisters. While they pecked at the earth searching for worms, insects and grains, Kot looked up and wondered what it all meant. He would go to his father and ask him what was there beyond the coop and the farmer's house, or what was the bright thing moving in the sky, or why the cow gave milk but hens didn't. His father simply ignored him- he was too busy finding worms, insects and grains. So he went to his mother and asked her. She yelled back at him and told him to stop worrying about such things and get busy finding worms, insects and grains. Kot asked her, "Why?" to which Kot's mother yelled at him once again.

Kot kept looking at the sky in speculation. Soon he started to grow lean and his mother was very worried. She repeatedly complained about him to his father. After a while, tired of the hen-pecking, quite literally, he decided to have a word with Kot. He went to him and said, "Kot, why don't you peck at the ground like the rest of us?". Kot asked him again, "Why ? The farmer already gives us seeds and grains. Why should we peck at the ground looking for worms and insects?" Kot's father said,"Oh! Do you think we peck at the ground looking for worms and insects?!", Kot said,"Of course, why else ?". Kot's father said, "Kot, let me tell you the real reason why we peck at the earth. You see, long ago, when there was no coop or farmer, all  living beings used to live on the ground. Soon, there was no space at all on the ground to live and all animals started fighting with each other over one another's space. Then a magical needle appeared in the sky and a voice said, 'If you pierce yourself with this needle, you will get the power to fly and you need not fight for space on the ground. You can live among the clouds and build your nests in the mountains'. The eagle pounced upon the needle and pierced itself with it. Immediately, it started flying high among the clouds just as the voice said. It gave the needle to the hawk, which also started flying but not as high as the eagle. One by one all the animals which wanted to fly pierced themselves with the needle and started flying happily. But they found that the power of the needle was gradually decreasing. When it came to the pigeon, they found that he could fly only very low and that too for only a short while. The pigeon passed it to the peacock. The peacock pierced itself and found that he could not even fly as high as a tree. In rage, he threw the needle away, instead of passing it to the hen, which was standing right behind the peacock. The hen too wanted to fly, but now he could not do that since the needle was lost. So, he started searching for it with his beak. To this day, we hens peck at the ground looking for that needle, not to search for worms and insects! If you really want to know what lies beyond the farmer's house and the hills, you should look for the needle, so that you can fly anywhere you want. Who knows, after lying around unused for all these ages, the needle would have got back its original power. You will be able to fly as high as the eagle. You would like that, wouldn't you?" 

Kot listened to him as if transfixed. The thought of flying among the clouds filled him with great enthusiasm. He immediately started pecking at the ground looking for the needle. He told this story to his brothers and sisters and they too started pecking at the ground hoping to fly as high as the eagle. As a result, they unearthed a lot of worms and insects which they unconsciously ate and became quite fat.

Now the farmer bred hens just for his family's needs. But when he saw such plump hens in his farm he decided to sell them to the butcher for he was sure that they would fetch him a hefty sum. So, one day he picked up Kot and all his brothers and sisters and took them in his truck to the market. Sitting in a cage in the truck, Kot felt very happy. He was moving so fast that he thought he was flying. He told himself that he might have found the needle without knowing about it. "Even the eagle might not fly so fast," he thought to himself.
But his happiness was short-lived. After sometime, the truck stopped and all the cages where stacked outside the butcher's shop. As expected the farmer got a hefty sum for the hens. Now, Kot and his brothers and sisters sat there in the cages failing to understand what was happening. Soon, they started hearing hens screaming. Kot asked a hen, who was in the cage below his, what was going on. The hen replied, "I don't know. The man there come here every now and then, takes one of us behind that little wall and we never see the hen again. All I know is that there is lot of blood."

A few days later, the butcher opened the cage and reached for Kot and his brother. His brother started to screech, "Brother, brother ! What is going to happen to us?" Kot had no answer. He was too stunned to say anything. The butcher took them behind the little wall. He tied Kot's legs and hung him upside down. He then took Kot's brother and placed his head on a block. All the while Kot's brother kept screaming. The butcher picked up a shiny object, raised his hand high and then brought it down swiftly. Kot saw his brother's head roll off. He then watched as the butcher cut his brother's legs, plucked off his wings, removed his innards and put him in a bag and give it to the man standing on the other side of the wall. Kot knew that it was his turn now. But the man on the other side signalled the butcher to stop. He had not expected to get so much meat from a single hen so he didn't want any more. So the butcher picked Kot and placed him back in his cage.

All his brothers and sisters asked him what he had seen and where their brother was. Kot could not speak for a while but then slowly told them what happened to all the hens. His siblings could not believe what they were hearing. They all started shouting at Kot. They blamed him for their fate. They said, "You spread lies and made us peck at the ground all the time. If we had not listened to you, we would have been at the farm with father and mother."

Soon the sun set and it was time to close the shop. The butcher placed all the cages inside the shop and brought the shutter down.

In the darkness, the hens grew even more scared. They fluttered their wings and tried desperately to move about but they couldn’t. They became even more angry at Kot and in rage one of his brothers pecked at him so hard that Kot began to bleed.

As he lay there losing blood, he realised that there could be one way in which he could set all his brother and sisters free. He said to them, "I know I have led you to this horrible fate. But if you listen to me one last time I assure you we can all be free."

The next morning when the butcher came to the shop, he saw blood running out from under the shutter. He opened the cage and found all the hens soaked in their own blood. They had pecked at one another until they all bled to death.

Kot and all his brothers and sisters were now truly free.

(The needle story I read long ago in Tinkle or some such place)

Frust 3 : Reaching new levels

Today I saw one couple feeding chapati to each other in our university canteen. This gave me lot of unrest and I decided to launch an association.
The name of this association is Association of Frustrated People who Want to be in a Relationship But Aren't due to Various Reasons (AFPWRBAVR). In short AFP (which is a very smart anagram of FAP).
As the name says, anyone who wants to be in a relationship but isn't due to various reasons and is hence frust can be part of this association. The reason may be anything: fear of commitment, inferiority complex, body odour, bad breath, pot belly, caste feelings, family pressure or simply lacking the courage to approach your crush.
Our main job will be to try and help each other get into a relationship oppose PDA. Not because of any moral reasons but because we don't get to indulge in any (in other words, because of jealousy).
We shall do this by applying the following tactics (for example):
1.  When a couple is sitting in one corner, AFP members shall go near that place and pretend that they are attending to a phone call and talk loudly and, if you feel, throw in a few abuses to the "caller" at the other end. Or,
2. When a couple is sitting in one place, purposefully go and occupy the table/bench next to it even if the entire place is empty and again talk loudly.

Points will be given to any other creative methods for disrupting PDA.

Apart from this, we shall, if you feel like, share with others the reason why you are not in a relationship. Most of us don't have time for such emotion, senti stuff but you can say it aloud and let it hang out there instead of keeping it inside.

Further activities, rules and guidelines to be announced on the basis of need.

afppers of the world unite.

Married - A Facebook Experiment

Lately I have been under some pressure to prepare myself for marriage. My mother has notified me that next year I will be getting married come what may. Added to this, relatives do their job of making routine enquiry, sometimes getting all philosophical by saying that one has to go through all stages of life and such things. All this ok. What flipped the switch was that Facebook too got into the act recently and started posting ads of matrimonial sites on my 'wall'. I thought it would be a good idea to shut at least one mouth up and so changed my status from 'single' to 'married'.
I notified everyone that this was only a test to see if the ads stop and to see what other types of ads come up. (Ignoring this many of my friends congratulated me and wished me and my fictitious wife a happy married life.)
The test turned out to be a great success. The matrimonial ads stopped almost immediately. Victory was near. But the power for advertising could not be undone. As some of my friends warned me, ads about honeymoon/vacation trips started to appear. Exotic locations over the weekend. I was asked if I wanted my family's name engraved on wood (for ease of the near-extinct postman I suppose). Some wedding and event planning company in Vishakapatnam felt I would require their services now (after my wedding. I cannot understand why). Even Flipkart took a dig and started suggesting amazing offers on blenders and juice makers. One of the most common ads was that of some furniture company (one called FabFurniture) which kept insisting that I should definitely get a wooden cupboard and other fancy furniture items. 
The most frequent ad, mother promise, was of some company called Life Cell which asked me if my wife is pregnant and if she was, then I ought to start knowing about stem cell banking. I should gift my baby "the power of stem cells", it said. Yet another company asked me the same question and said that if the answer is again in the affirmative, I should get my wife's pregnancy scan done at their place. It had a ultrasound scan photo of a baby on the abdomen of a pregnant lady. (A very creepy image if you ask me. Attached for your judgment. Somehow reminded me of the movie Total Recall. Don't ask how, why and all.) 

Now let us talk about these two ads for a while. First of all, I have been "married" for not even 3 days. How could Facebook deduce that my wife could be pregnant or that I will start thinking about pregnancy immediately ? Perhaps Facebook performed an in depth analysis of my photos and using all their face recognition software came up with two alternatives:
1. I married a woman who was already pregnant (hopefully because of me. Other wise I don't want to discuss it here. It a personal issue between my wife and me)?  This could be from some of the more "rowdy"/"crazy" images that I had used as my profile picture.
2. Or, and I think this is more likely, Facebook, deduced from my looks that I was so awesomely powerful that my "seed" could impregnate a woman in a matter of hours. Remember how six nymphs got impregnated by Lord Shiva's "seed(s)" just because they were having bath in the same river in which Agni dropped them (because they were so hot. Not the nymphs, the "seed(s)".) Well, perhaps Facebook thought I too was so potent. Thank you Facebook. You understand my powers. Please, come up with a super-hero name for such an impregnator. Something like Instant Impregnator, Impregnator Extraordinaire.
What I cannot understand is, why not post ads of condoms instead ? See, we have so much population already in the country. Added to that, so many children are orphaned due to poverty (or because they are girls) or sold into beggary. We could do with a lot less child production, don't you think ? Another reason I will give. See, all said and done, it is an open secret that the only way (most) Indian men get any "action" is by getting married. So, after controlling all that sexual frustration for so many years, it could be that they forget a very important think like protection on the day (or night, to follow more tradition accounts) of reckoning. So, it would be wise to remind them of that. Think about it Facebook.
Following these ads were physiotherapy ads for back pain. Now, I am not saying that back pain has direct link to the above activity but the connection seems hard to miss. It's all a calculated strategy see.
All this also okay. Why diaper discount ads are coming ? Perhaps Facebook judges that my wife also has super awesome powers of immediately delivering the baby. Instant growth and speedy delivery. Ready for one more madam and sir ?
Last, but not the least, BlapPlus hair consultation offers me cheap consultation and remedy for hair loss and baldness ! This is where I got a jolt. Now, Facebook knows my age (and that's why posted the matrimonial ads I guess) and would hence know that I could not be going bald at least in near future. (I am talking of the average man here. Some unfortunate ones are already going bald. All genes.) But as soon as it saw that I was married, it changed its mind. "See", its artificial intelligence must have thought, "this guy is a nut. He must have married a nut. She might be driving him into becoming an even greater nut. Therefore, his head might start looking like a nut- smooth and spotless. Hence proved. Let me suggest some baldness treatment."
Apart from these striking ones, I used to get ads about mutual fund investments. That's all.
Going by the ads, I could an indirect glimpse into what my life would be like after marriage. It scared me. Hence I decided to change my status back to "single". At least the ads of matrimonial sites have pretty girls on them and not creepy ultrasounded abdomens.

P.S: No insultation of women is intended. Giving birth is an experience I will never be able to undergo myself so all respect to female people.

On this Valentine's Day

She is the most important thing in my life.

My day (my life) revolves around her. Our bond is special and like all other relationships ours too has its ups and downs. Sometimes even for small or insignificant things, she throws a big tantrum. And I really need to think back as to what was it that I did to offend her. At other times, however, I myself can guess which act of mine will offend her. But, I, being who I am cannot stop myself. And boy! do I face the music on those occasions. I have to call on her some 4-5 times a day, sometimes even more but even that doesn't help. She, like me, is who she is, and takes her own time to come back to normal. Even in such normal times, I have to cajole her with coffee to get a conversation going.
For days together, sometimes, she doesn't speak to me. It gets so hard to focus on other things when that happens.
At times, when I think everything is normal, she doesn't speak a word with me. On the other hand, she starts up a conversation when I least expect. It is irritating, because I might be right in the middle of work. But I am better off attending to her lest the matter gets bad. Sometimes she just rambles on, like water, free flowing, never showing a sign of stopping. Sometimes words drip from her mouth like honey. And of course, when she is angry they are as hard as rocks.
However, with all the ups and down, I must accept one thing. When I am with her time stops and nothing else in the world matters. One good conversation with her can light up my entire day.

I was of course, referring to my bowels.

A Note On Bike Bumper Stickers

Autos had since long used sticker on their outer seat cover as a decoration. Mostly it was "Sallu-Bhai" or some religious message like 786 or Om. Of late, however, the practice of bumper stickers on bikes has picked up in Hyderabad.
Well, technically, it cannot be called a bumper sticker because bikes don't have bumpers. It is a Mud-Guard Sticker to be exact. So what are the different types of Mud-Guard stickers that I have seen. Well, mostly these stickers do the job of displaying the sponsor's name. So we have stickers which say "Mom's Gift", "Dad's Gift", "Brother's Gift" or "Ma Baap ki Duah". But then one day I saw "Marriage Gift" which is a nice way of saying "I got this as Dowry". Rarely have I seen such pride is displaying one's Dowry gifts. Perhaps the in-laws stuck it and gave it to him. Or perhaps the bike was given on the condition that if the sticker were to be taken off, the girl and all her dowry would be taken back. Quite an innovative way of reducing the practice of Dowry, I think. Which man would want the whole world asking him "Don't you have a vehicle of your own?" when they see "Marriage Gift" stuck on his vehicle.
Then there are these Caste/Family Name indicators. So, you will see "Reddy's", "Raju's" or "Naidu's" or "Nuthala's" or "Thamineni's" and so on. Funny thing about this type of sticker is that they all seem to be in the same font. It is good, in a sense, that all castes came together at least to decide the font in which they will display their castes. For a more detailed analysis of this type of stickers refer here (http://gultrage.tumblr.com/post/6518031713/gulti-car-decor)
Next we have the religious people with stickers saying "Om Sai Ram", "Jai Sri Ram", "Jai Matadi", "God is great", "Allah malik hain" and so on. I saw one person whose sticker said "Garv se khao hindu hoon, Pyar se khao jai sai ram". Two things, I don't think Sai Baba is strictly a Hindu sage or "god" and so the connection being a proud Hindu and being a devotee of Sai Baba is quite weak. The second thing of course, is the spelling which practically ruins the whole message. Instead of "kaho" (which means "to say") and man say "Khao" (which means "to eat"). I double checked just to make sure and indeed it was "Khao". It is a tough life leading a religious one.
We then have a segment of people who wish to let everyone know their nick names. So, we see "Chanti", "Bablu", "Chinna" and so on with a skull mark or something like that. By the way I think "Bablu" is one of the most funniest nick names.
Lastly, we have the wise guys who have some wise crack, catchy message. For example, this one guy's sticker said "If you think I am slow, Take right and go to hell". Another cool-dude said, "Racing is my passion, Speed is my attitude". This one was on a Hero-Honda passion - hardly a racing bike. Moreover, what does "Speed is my attitude" mean ? I can never get around such sentences. Another guy's sticker said "Save water Bath with neighbour's daughter". This one was quite funny and I liked it. I wished to compliment him but he was riding with a girl so I thought it might be offensive. I don't know how he got his parents' approval for that.
Many times, spellings go for a toss when it comes to these stickers mainly due to lack of space I guess. Grammar nazis too can have a good time with them because quite often you find the apostrophe missing, as in "Mom's Gift" becomes "Mom Gift" or a comma missing. But being charitable to these fellows, I encourage the practice on the whole because it adds some colour and amusement to the other wise arduous experience of driving on Hyderabad roads.

P.S:I apologize if the title seems boring. I suppose reading Philosophy does that to one.

The Dark Knight and Logic

Before you read, I must warn you that this is my first serious post. It has been a long time since I wrote anything and I just wanted to write something. Ok. Start.
Dark Knight is a ultra awesome movie. With great stunts, story and most importantly the greatest villain ever. His dialogues, I am sure, will become like the ones in The Godfather. But there is one dialogue that I want to examine.
"This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets and immovable object".
First, some basics in logic.
Two concepts/statements are contradictory if the assertion of one negates the other and vice-versa. So, when I say, P1:"this ball is red", the contradictory of it would be P2:"this ball is not-red". If P1 is true, P2 has to be false, and if P1 is false, P2 has to be true. Similarly, alive and dead are contradictory ideas. What is alive cannot be dead and what is dead cannot be alive. In the above dialogue, the idea of "an unstoppable force" is contradictory to the idea of "an immovable object". The existence of one negates that of the other. That is, in a system (or world) we cannot have the two co-existing.
A disjunction is true when either of the disjucts is true. "The train will arrive on Platform Number 1 or Platform Number 2" is true, if a) The train arrives on Platform Number 1 Or,b) The train arrives on Platform Number 2. (It can't arrive on both. This is called an exclusive disjunction. I have taken this example to get the idea through. In logic we generally deal with inclusive disjunction where in both disjuncts can be true).
A conjunction is true only when both conjuncts are true. "The ball is red and spherical" is true only when a) The ball is red And b) It is spherical. If either of them is false. The whole sentence is false.
In a true disjunction, if one of the disjunct is known to be false, we can automatically infer the truth of the other. Example, let us say that the statement "The train will arrive at Platform number 1 or Platform Number 2" is True, let us also assume that we know that "the train has not come on Platform Number 2" then, we can happily (and validly) infer that it has come on Platform Number 1. (Sherlock Holmes is actually using this Disjunctive Syllogism when he says "It’s an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however tedious, must be the truth.")
From a contradiction, one can deduce anything. This is called explosion or ex falso quodlibet. The Proof runs like this: ( P and Q stand for any sentence like "Raghavan is white", "Ball is red" or "frustBoy bought a car")
1.P and not-P (a conjunction of contradictory ideas/sentences)
2.P                    (From 1, a conjunct can be true only when both its conjuncts are true)
3.P or Q           (From 2, a disjunct is true if either disjunct is true)
4.not-P            (From 1, a conjunct can be true only when both its conjuncts are true)
Therefore,
       Q                ( From 3 and 4, Disjunctive syllogism)
Notice that in 3, we could have added anything in place of Q (say R, S, T...) leading to the fact that we can derive anything from a contradiction.
Now, we come to the main point.
The above dialogue is a statement containing a contradiction. In such a system one can deduce anything validly. In other words, anything can happen when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object (even stuff like a missile turning into a sperm whale like in our H2G2).
But, when the Joker says that "This is what happens...", I take that he is referring to one particular instance or event which he think is the outcome of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. But in fact it is not, since in a contradiction anything can happen. He should not have used the word "this". So, in my opinion, the above dialogue is just a fancy piece of literature that the writer found and need not necessarily imply anything of relevance (to Batman or to us or to the movie)
But that's just my opinion.

Of New Life and Arts Girls

First post from my new laptop (woohoo).
First post from a Linux computer (all thanks to frustBoy).
And my first post after I became a student again.
Very good.
Our frustBoy did not install any media players in the laptop so I have nothing to do sitting in my ultra boring hostel and thus I set out to write this.
Moreover, this past month has been really hectic because of one life changing decision and because of its consequences.
Coming back to the boring hostel, I say boring because, nothing seems to happen here. In college there was lot of activity, gaming, DC++, shouting, ragging and so on but here people seem to hardly know each other. Just some time back, a guy who is in his final year of M.Sc Computer Science lamented with me that he has been in that room (two rooms next to mine) since the beginning of his course but now all his neighbours have changed. He goes about his business in a very melancholy way.
The food here is very wurst but the hard core Telugu people seem to like it a lot. I see their plates full of rice and pappu. Its not that bad, but it is very limited in variety and is full of garlic, which I not used to. But no problem, there are other sources of food which are quite tasty and affordable, only that they are very far away from the hostel.
That reminds me, this campus is ultra huge. College is nothing compared to this. We used to complain about how far our hostel (in Third year) was from our classrooms, and now that distance seems insignificant. I have to cycle about 10 kilometres everyday just to get to class from hostel and back again. If I have to go to the library or computer centre, it is another 1-2 kilometres to the total. But I am not complaining. Why, because I am happy that the belly I developed during my lifetime as software engineer might disappear.
One thing worth noting here, in this campus, is the number of girls. It is huge. Right from the beginning of time, I am been in a female deficient environment. Schools age is irrelevant, junior college saw only 4 girls among 60 students, and college was abominable with 8 girls in 210 students. Even software life sucked, for our team consistently saw (inadvertently) only 1 female member, if a new girl joined, the old one left and so on. But here ! Girls seem to be present everywhere, or perhaps my eyes are looking for only them. In either case, they seem to be everywhere. And the kind of girls is also problematic. You see, we are used to only lifeless engineering girls who have been through 2 or 3 years of IITJEE coaching then 4 years of engineering college and end up making software thus having all life sucked out of them. We are not used to these "Arts Girls", by them I mean, all this economics, humanities, social sciences , fine arts etc. students (female). There seems to be a different air about these girls. They seem to far less reserved and more outgoing in their life. They have many male friends (which our engineering gang never dared) and they move around with them quite freely. Now, one might say there is nothing wrong in that, that it is modern city life and so on and I completely agree. I am not going to explore the morality of their actions. I am just making note of the drastic change in my environment w.r.t girls.
Needless to say, all this free movement, touching and talking and all is adding lot of unrest. And as we know unrest is not a good thing to have in large quantities. Whenever frustBoy says something in this regard, I say that philosophy will come to my rescue, but he does not buy it. Instead he plans to visit more often so that he too can enjoy the sights. However, he is more frust after the first few visits, though he claims he has seen many such girls.
As one of his friends had remarked, this problem of getting frust because of lack (or abundance) of girls in ones life is only among the engineering students and this is quite evident in the way the Arts Boys move with their girls. They seem quite relaxed in the company of the girls and don't seem to make much of the touching and talking and same spoon sharing and so on.
Unfortunately or fortunately, I am one of those engineering students. But then again, it is just a matter of time. Slowly I will also become one of those Arts Boys or at least half Arts Boys (Ar Boys kikikikiki) and then perhaps I can be more relaxed in my female rich environment. Only worry is, what if the Ghost of Christmas Past comes back to haunt.

Another Rage toon

It is a combination of rage and "kaddi" (P.J).

Moreover, this is true of Bengalis also.

Bong will say, "Jool khaabho ?"

My Rage Guy Cartoon

This was my submission to TambrahmRage . Unfortunately, I screwed up the font and I doubt if they will accept it. So, after I found out that this Rage Guy is not some copyrighted thing, I have decided to post it here for the greater good.

Pass it on, no problem, I won't mind. I just hope the JalsaJilpa guy doesn't mind.

Mother Promise

I don't want to get married.

Seems like a big burden.

My mother is awfully worried about this attitude of mine towards marrige (I must write about that sometime).

However, I have decided to give her some concession.

The moment I hear this song in my head when I see a girl, I will marry her (ofcourse, only after I sought her consent and all).

Trisha looks picha-homely in this song.

I will marry Trisha only man PERIOD

There was time when she looked so divine. Now I don't know what got into her. Sha.

Some Ghaadu must have got to her.

Curse him!

*mental note* Must get rid of him.

LOL DOG

The left over+ curd go to this dog every night.

KiKiKiKiKi.

C++

Funny. Moreover, I am taking a "Fundamentals of C++" training in the company, so this error fascinated me.

An Old Bag

Srinivasan generally walked in quick steps, but there were times when his pace equalled that of a pregnant Rhinoceros wading through the water. Today was one such day.

He had woken up as usual and set out to get the day's supply of milk. On his way back, as he turned the corner of 3rd Cross, a voice called on to him,

"You should get a new bag, Sri".

Srinivasan stopped abruptly, only one person called him by that name. He wished he could walk away without turning back but he knew he couldn't. He turned around slowly,

"Hello Rohini, you seem to have come after a long time".

Rohini seemed to have just got up. She stood behind her gate with her arms over it and held her coffee tumbler in one hand. She smiled gently, "Yes, some or the other reason you see. In between my parents came over there so I didn'nt have to come here".

"Hmmm", agreed Srinivasan.

She went on, "Its been so many years and yet, the colony seems just the same". She looked around and Srinivasan followed her gaze.

"So, how is everyone ?", he ventured meekly.

"Oh, the same. We just put Ravi in school".

"Who?"

"My son",

"Oh!", said Srinivasan in a teasing tone. Rohini grinned.

"What about you?"

"I teach music".

"Very good, very good. My sister Lakshmi's children are also learning now-a-days. My mother makes them sing when ever they come here. I don't make much out of it, you know how I was at music".

Pause.

"What about you Sri ? What are you up to".

Srinivasan was a bit dazed. What was he up to indeed ?

"Oh, the usual routine..", he said dismissing her question.

"Nothing special?", Rohini asked suggestively.

He knew perfectly well what she was suggesting at. What she meant was- "Didn't you get married ?". This brought back unwanted memories and Srinivasan at once bucked up.

"Ah, well, I have set up a terrace garden in our house", he began, "I do some basic horoscope matching- nothing big, just for an initial opinion. I am a member of the Temple committee- you know, the old Rama Temple. Then....I passed the CA exam some time back and I have taken up some simple accounting work for some of the colony people- who ever has enough courage. Haha". There, those were his achievements and there was a reason he said it with so much vigour.

"Wow! You've been busy. Good".

Pause.

"Till when are you here then ?", Srinivasan hurried to change the subject.

"Next week. Just came to pick up Ravi. My parents had brought him with them when they returned."

"Oh! Nice nice."

Pause.

This time, however, the pause was interrupted by a terrible shriek from within the house.

"That must be Ravi. I better attend to him. Come by some time. Bring your mother too, its been an age since I saw her."

"Yes, yes, sure."

With that Srinivasan walked away and Rohini ran inside.

It was now,that, Srinivasan had assumed the pace of the pregnant rhinoceros.

"Rohini", he said that name aloud.

They had known each other for so many years. Her parents moved into Jayanagar when Srinivasan was eleven. They were in the same class and walked back home in the same group, not together, but in the same group. Ramesh kept Srinivasan engaged and Rohini walked with her own female friends. Apart from that, the only time he saw her was at the temple every Saturday.

Now that he thought about it, and he often did, he could not recollect the exact time or stage in which he fell in love with her. But he knew that his life had become very painful ever since. He had spent many sleepless nights, lying on his bed running conversations in his head. As soon as he came back from college he changed and stood outside, waiting for her. She came by that way, sometimes, to buy vegetables or to accompany her mother for her evening walk and he didn't want to miss the oppurtunity to speak to her, which, thankfully, she did.

However, he never said a word about how he felt to anyone, for he knew that it would not serve any purpose. Both of them belonged to very orthodox families. Added to that her father was highly ranked officier in the I.T department, while Srinivasan's father, when alive, was a clerk in the Postal Department; It was obvious that Rohini would get married to someone of equal stature. Moreover, he realized, as he sunk deeper into his thoughts that, Rohini was very smart- she was always first in class, she sung very well- she did so during every colony event and she played the Veenai. Srinivasan on the other hand was good only in History, much to the disappointment of his father, and could not deal with the raagas even if they were fed to him three times a day.

Nevertheless, he concluded that he could not go on living in this pain and decided that some thing had to be done about it. He would tell her, yes, he would tell her how he felt.

After considerable thought and lot of rehersal, preparing himself for all possible outcomes, Srinivasan fixed the Ramanavami day that year to drain his heart out.

"Lord Rama will bless me with the courage", he thought confidently.

After her program she invariably stayed for some time to enjoy the proceedings. This was the time Srinivasan deemed right. Of course, he feared being slapped right in the midst of all the colony people, but it had to be done.

When the D-Day came, Srinivasan sat in the crowd nervously and waited for Rohini to finish her performance. He could never appreciate the music but he loved her singing and was more than glad to join in the applause. She wore a blue pavadai and a yellow davani to go with the border, and she looked more radiant than ever. If she accepted his proposal he would be the luckiest man on earth, thought Srinivasan.

Rohini finished her performance, came down and sat next to him.

"How was it ?", she asked.

"Oh! What can I say..", managed Srinivas.

He fidgeted around for a while.

Then is spoke.

"Rohini..",

she turned.

"I have to say something",

"Yes..",

"Try not to slap me",

Now he had her full attention.

"I love you Rohini", there, he said it. He had seen stuff like this only in the movies. The handsome hero confidently went up to his lady love and said those words with all charm. Srinivasan, on the other hand, was not handsome, or confident nor had any charm and was definitely not the hero.

Rohini blinked for a second. Srinivasan didn't say anything else. He forgot all his lines. He saw her from the corner of his eye. There was a smile on her face.

"Why is she smiling? Does it mean she likes me too ?", thought Srinivasan.

"I never thought you might have such feelings towards me Sri", she said. Srinivasan grinned hopelessly, "Besides, you know it won't work ".

"Yeah, my mother would most definitely die of a heart attack if I told her that I was in love with an Iyer girl", said he.

"And I cannot imagine what my father would do".

"Yes, yes....He might be having great plans for your future".

Pause.

"I like your Sri. Let us be as we were. I am not going to say anything else."

"Yes, yes. Sure. I just...", Rohini seemed to have stopped listening, "...wanted to let you know", said Srinivasan to himself to complete the one line he managed to recollect.

After that day, Srinivasan's life was less miserable. He didn't have to wait near his gate every evening nor did he have to spend sleepless nights. He realised how much time he had spent or rather, wasted, waiting for or thinking about her.

"All this love nonsense is behind me, time to get back to life", resolved Srinivasan.

Sometimes, when he saw her in the temple, the bitterness of the thing came back to him. He closed his eyes and pretended to be in deep meditation. In time, he got used to the pain, of being rejected i.e., and resumed cordial talks.

He passed his B.Com in distinction, passed the Bank Exam in the first attempt and bought a Chetak as soon as he became permanent. Rohini on the other hand, completed her engineering and was married to a doctor in America. The wedding created quite a buzz in the colony. This was the first foreign mapilai in the colony. Srinivasan also attended the wedding, with his mother. He had gifted her a shiny envelope in which were present 101 rupees. Srinivasan's mother had objected strongly.

"Just because she studied with your for four years doesn't mean you pour out your fortune into her bridal purse. No one in the colony is giving that much", she said.

"Oh! Be silent mother. Its okay", he said. She grumbled to herself and went away. Just like all other guests, he too had had his picture taken with the new couple. Again, his mother was right beside him. Srinivasan often wondered, what Rohini did with those photos.

Years later, Ramesh, confessed, rather unceremoniously that he too had proposed to Rohini. Srinivasan was amazed. He was not the only one to have fallen for her.

"Is that why she smiled that day?", recollected Srinivasan. "Was she laughing at another "victim"? Every possibility that she was! Women take pride in the men they have managed to succesfully entice. Men might find pride in their job or in the car they drive or in the number people who saluted him, but a women takes pride in her family-her husband, her children, their success and status. Rohini. How inappropriate a name ? She should have been named Mohini, the enchantress", thought Srinivasan spitefully.

"Wait a minute", said another voice within him, "she didn't ask you to come and stand at your gate all evening. Don't blame her for your foolishness". Srinvasan agreed with this voice and felt apologetic towards Rohini. "After all, in astrology, Rohini is Moon's favourite nakshatram", he said, as if to complement for his bout of anger.

At this point in his recollections, he reached his home.

He went in and set his bag on the table. His mother had just finished her bath. She came in and took the packet of milk to make coffee.

"How many times did I tell you to get a new bag ? You never listen to me", she grumbled.

Srinivasan smiled at himself and buried himself into The Hindu.

A Poem

I was just sitting like so , and this just came to me:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a gandu in the sky.

Some friends didn't like it. But that may be because they are like the last line of the poem.

Auto Art

And here we have an Italian Auto Driver in Bengaluru.

And right beside him:

We have a Shakespeare in every auto. He just needs to work on his spellings a bit.

At first I didn't understand the "No Kiss Me" part. Then I remembered one short essay by R.K.Narayan titled "Causerie" in which he tries to figure out what his niece meant by

"Shame Shame; Poppy Shame

All the girls no your name".

And I quote:-

"....could it mean that word was used as a verb without an auxiliary".

As in, the driver is yelling out to the guy behind him not to come and kiss the rear of his auto with his vehicle.

The Fifth Time

Srinivasan was getting worried. It was 9.30 and there was no sign of the boy's family nor a phone call nor a message. They said they would be there by nine. A bridal inspection is not an event one is late to attend.

"Most boys look forward to these kind of things", he thought to himself.

"On the other hand being the boy's side they might not want to look too eager. It would look cheap. Right, right" asserted another part of him.

"Did they meet with an accident, did they forget something, did they drive by this house and deem it inferior, or did they not find the house at all- how can someone not find an address in Jayanagar, all mains and crosses are so well marked, or did they have any last minute reversal, God forbid", his speculations continued.

Already four boys had come for the bridal inspection. Some rejected Gita and others where rejected by her. With the current trend finding a suitable boy itself was a task in itself. It was now three years since he first started looking for a son-in-law.

He went in and had another look at the arrangements. The cool drink was in the fridge, the glasses were arranged on a plate, there was sufficient milk for coffee, enough snacks and his sister was standing by, ready to make hot vadai. It was her speciality. She made it on all previous occasions and every family complimented her. The chairs were well cushioned, fresh covers were laid on them( they were reserved for such occasions, packed neatly into the cupboard there after). The rest of the furniture in the living room was well dusted. A few paintings which Gita had done hung on wall, he show-cased them to every family much to the embarrassment of Gita.

He went out again, the dog was chained in the backyard and it was silent. "Even it has got used to this ceremony once in a while. Good dog", he thought and smiled.

A car appeared. Another followed. Srinivasan looked on eagerly. They slowed down and halted in front of his gate. Srinivasan went out to greet them. His brother-in-law having heard the cars came out and joined the welcome wagon.

"My son forgot his passport", began a lady, Srinivasan assumed she might be the boy's mother, "We had to go back to get it, we didn't think it would cause this much delay".

"Oh! No problem, its okay", responded Srinivasan politely. "What an excuse ?!", he thought to himself, "A man who supposedly travels regularly by plane doesn't forget something as important as his passport. They just want to assert their superiority as the boy's side". But he didn't mind, he was used to such behaviour. After all, this was not the first marriage that he had to see through. He had experienced such situations during his sister's marriage.

"Raghu is leaving by the evening flight, so he will be leaving for the airport directly from here", continued the lady.

"More show off", Srinivasan thought, "Very well, very well, good thing that we were able to fit this conveniently", he said.

He led them inside and seated them. A special chair was reserved for the boy and he was duely seated in it. The lady seemed to be rather pleased by this. She beamed intently at the boy and he in reply sunk his head into his shoulders.

After the introductions, general enquires where carried about. Srinivasan asked if they had any trouble finding the house to which the boy's father replied that he had none. "How can some one not find an address in Jayanagar?" said he, a comment which Srinivasan found very much agreeable, "I used to live here some ten years back and then we bought our own house in Whitefield and so left, but excellent area", the man nodded to himself, not requiring any ones assent. Srinivasan however could not refrain from saying a word or two about his beloved colony and replied "True, true, every thing is so close by and convenient".

Another round of enquires resumed, this time about the ancestry of each other's family. The lady went on to say how they were a very recognised family in their native town of Kumbakonam. Supposedly, the boy's grandfather was a priest in one of the temples there and that sealed the matter. Everyone agreed how great it was to be a temple priest in Kumbakonam. Srinivasan's brother-in-law, a more religious man than Srinivasan, enquired what this priest was called. It was something of the nature of Govindan Iyengar or Ramanujam Iyengar, Srinivasan was not bothered much, but his brother-in-law immediately said that he recognised him and went on to explain in detail how he did so. The boy's father was very much pleased. He seemed to a rather content man. The very fact that his possible daughter-in-law could be from Jayanagar filled him with great enthusiasm.

As his brother-in-law went on about his story, Srinivasan quickly saw how many people accompanied the boy. This was a very important matter. He had theorized that if the boy's family were accompanied by many relatives it clearly meant that the boy's parents were not so sure about their choice and so they brought in as many of their relatives to get a second (third or even fourth) opinion. On the other hand, if only his immediate siblings or aunt/uncle came along, it meant that the parents had pretty much made up their mind and brought the said aunt/uncle just in case they missed some fine detail.

In the current gathering, he found that it was the latter case and was very much relieved. Only the boy's elder brother and his wife, a rather stout woman, and his aunt and come along. "Right, they are pretty much sure then. Good thing. Now if only Gita likes the boy".

The boy in question was typical of his generation. Spectacles decorated his face, a sign of intensive coaching during his +2 days for various entrance exams; He wore a stripped full sleeved shirt, most probably his Monday wear to the Software company where he worked; In his hand was a rather large mobile phone, with all features squeezed in so that he could work even without his laptop; The sides of his head, where there should have been some hair, was as smooth as a cricket ball just before the match started. And he felt rather lost, now that he was not in a cubicle. "Well, if Gita likes him, I will also learn to like him", thought Srinivasan.

Presently, his sister came out with the snacks and as he had already smelt, the delectable vadai too. She was known in her whole family for the vadai and coconut chutney.

Srinivasan and his brother-in-law helped in serving them. The boy's family immediately realised that these were the work of a master chef and the mother asked promptly

"Has your daughter made these ?", to which the aunt said "No, no, these, I have made. But don't worry, Gita is a very good cook, but she generally makes North-Indian type dishes. By the time she is married I would have taught her everything about our cooking". Gita who was just at the threshold of the kitchen made it a point to give her aunt a nice shout once this inspection was over. The ladies made enquires about the formula of the batter for the vadai and Srinivasan's sister was very much obliging.

Srinivasan, not with standing the suspense, interrupted-"Laxmi, go and see if Gita is ready, will you". His sister having got the hint slipped out.

"Gita, they have almost finished, is the coffee ready ?",asked Laxmi as she went into the kitchen. "Yes", replied Gita, as she poured in the last portion of the beverage into the cups.

Now this, is what Srinivasan looked forward to. He noticed that his daugther had a very convenient, simple and sure-shot way of conveying her approval or disapproval of the boy. In his theory, which he formed after the third bridal inspection, if the coffee was cold, his daugther's decision was "I don't like him, let him drink this as fast as possible and get out of here", if it was hot, it meant "Let him be, he seems alright. Let me not hurry".

Presently, Gita came out with the tray.

"This the my girl. Her name is Sulochana. We call her Gita at home", said Srinivasan. Gita served coffee, starting from whom she thought was eldest. When she came to the boy, he whispered a gentle, "Hello". Gita gave a polite smile and said "Hello". The lady seemed very pleased with this effort of her son. It was as if she half-expected him to shy away and wet his forehead with sweat at the sign of the girl.

After having served the boy and his family, Gita turned to her folk. Her uncle got his coffee, her aunt got hers and at last, she served the remaining cup to her father.

With nervous hands, Srinvasan grabbed his cup. He took a sip. He got the verdict. He could have gulped the entire contents of the cup in one shot as if it were lukewarm water, such was its temperature.

Srinivasan's shoulders dropped and he slouched into his chair.

Gita went in without looking back.

"Well, atleast you got to eat the vadai", said a voice from inside him.

It cheered him up and made him sit up straight again.

"Onward Gentlemen! The hunt resumes".

Friendly Restaurant

"Plane Rice" right at the top. Wonder how they prepare it ?