Sunday, March 25, 2012

Death Sentence

This is yet another attempt in writing a story by me. As usual I would like to make it clear that this is completely my imagination and not inspired from any individual's life..This is just a story,which should be forgotten after reading.One more thing, don't expect any message through this story... :-).. This is a lengthy story..





It was a monday morning.Roads were busy.School kids  and college students are waiting for their buses..People who went to their native for the weekend are returning back..But without any tension,Krishnamoorthy started his bike..With a heavy bag,he was driving his splendor at a moderate speed and after passing through small-narrow streets,he parked the bike in parking stand.The bag looked heavy. But not many things were inside.A lunch box,The Hindu,some weekly magazines and his office files. Sharply at 8.30, Krishnamoorthy reached the Chromepet railway station.

Generally Krishna prefers to travel in the second class compartment,though he holds a first class pass.Because there people will be discussing so many things.Krishna has the habit of observing the public opinion on certain issues.But when feels its very crowded, he will get into first-class compartment.

As it is a monday, the train came fully crowded and Krishna as expected, got into the first class compartment. With a round tummy and a pale face,people would only think he is in his mid 30s.But he is just 28.He works as a PO in a bank in Maraimalai Nagar.Luckily he got a seat to sit and as usual he started reading The Hindu.Train stopped for a few minutes in Tambaram."Yathrigan krupaya dhyaan dhen,Chengalpat jaanevaali agali gaadi aat(8) number platform se ravaanaa hogee"..A huge mob got into train..They don't even have time to let others get down.

When the train started moving, Nandhini got into the same compartment.Fully covered in a brown color salwar kameez and with a thin gold chain around her neck and with a charming smile,she appeared like a typical Tamil girl.More important - right from the moment she got in,she is busy on call with someone..And as the seat next to Krishna became empty,she went and sat there.As she was constantly talking with someone,Krishna felt a bit disturbed and thought "what non-sense..these girls keep on talking something on phone..I feel like throwing her phone away..but if I do so,she will ask me to get a new phone..".Then he kept a head-set on his ears and started listening Yesudas hits..Listening toYesudas hits during a morning train travel is a heavenly feeling. 

Our hero Krishna has the habit of talking 'within' himself ,means,he will ask questions for which he himself will answer,but everything within his mind.

Suddenly,Krishna slightly pushed Nandhini and within a fraction of second a heavy book fell near her.Had he not pushed her,it would straight away hit her head.For a moment she was in for a shock,but quickly she came to her senses and,

"Thanks.."

"That's ok..but try to observe what's happening around you..don't lose your life paying too much attention to gadgets.."

"Sir actually she is my school friend..she called after quite a long time..anyway I am Nandhini." 

"Krishnamoorthy..You can call me Krishna" - both of them shook hands with each other.

"am working as a Nurse in a private hospital in Chengalpattu.."

They introduced each other.Nandhini is trying for a government job and she is seriously preparing for it..As a stop gap arrangement,she is working in this private hospital..Krishna knows lot of things about current affairs and economy..And Nandhini is more like a chatterbox..She will not hesitate to move with people..Her outspoken nature will attract anyone..

Krishna,on the other hand is a kind of person who never thinks too much about himself.He has 2 elder sisters,first sister has 2 kids and the second one got married recently few months back.He was brought up in an orthodox manner.Everyday he will get up at 5 o clock and will go out only after finishing 'Sandhyavandhanam'.. He will not talk with anyone unnecessarily,especially with girls,but has the habit of observing others..After a period of time he started enjoying his bachelor life..His mom used to scold him for being lazy..."You are looking like an old man Kicha..Go to gym and reduce your tummy...do some physical work..if you don't work on your physique now,none will marry you.." and Krishna never bothered about it..

But after this first day's incidents,Krishna wrote in his diary..

"met a beautiful girl..she was chatting so well with me..Only today I wished my office to be in Chengalpattu.. I have come across so many girls,but what's so special about this girl?Why am I writing about her in my diary..?Anyways looking forward to tomorrow's journey..But..will she again come in the same compartment?"

It was next day morning as usual Krishna came to Chromepet station..He again got into first class compartment..It seems hereafter he will travel only in first class..The train stopped at Tambaram and out of curiosity Krishna came near door expecting her..His efforts didn't go in vain,Nandhini saw him and recognized him..Again they traveled together.

Then it became regular for them to travel together..They became friends..In fact close friends..If either of them miss the train,immediately they will call and confirm the reason..Sometimes Nandhini used to message Krishna that she can't catch the train and will ask Krishna to wait for him in Tambaram station..Then depending upon the situation they will go in the next train or bus..One day Krishna brought sweets to Nandhini for buying a land..Nandhini brought lunch to Krishna as a token of 'friendship'..They started discussing so many things in the half an hour travel..They spoke so many things in phone..Surprisingly Nandhini too is interested in current affairs..She respected Krishna a lot..She felt such discussions with Krishna very interesting..

Krishna too found great pleasure in talking with Nandhini..He has never spoken with a girl like this..Or to be honest,none had the patience to listen to what Krishna speaks..Not even his own parents and sisters..But when a young girl like Nandhini shows interest in what he thinks and what he speaks,Krishna had an inexplicable pleasure..One day, as usual,their conversation went on..Suddenly the discussion went to history..

"Mr.Krishna.."

"See I have told you not to use Mr. or sir while calling me"

"oh..sorry sir..sorry sorry..Sorry Krishna..you have current affairs and economy in your finger tips..are you interested in history..?"

"why not?History is an interesting subject..I love it"

"but for me its really boring and confusing..am not able to remember the years and incidents..ok let me test you.."

"go ahead"

"Can you tell me in which year the Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened?"

"Simple..in 1919"

"hmm..ok I will ask you something little difficult..now tell me.. Who was the British Prime Minister when India got independence..let me see if you can answer this"

"10th standard question..its very simple.."

"Tell me the answer boss"

"It was Clement Attlee of Labour Party" 

Krishna suddenly got involved into the topic and started explaining so many things.Nandhini was listening to him with real interest..Krishna's involvement increased on seeing Nandhinee's beautiful eyes and curiosity..Krishna is about to get down in a few minutes..Nandhini with a cute smile on her face said,

"Krishna,you are amazing..amaaazzing..I have been preparing this for quite a while..but am not able to remember so many things..without any preparation,you are rocking..I wish you could write the exam for me :P"

"That's a good idea :P..But one thing,don't read history for clearing your exams..Read it with interest.. Travel back to the years mentioned..Read with love..Think that you are learning about our own history..you will never forget anything"

Accepting his words,she nodded her head..But Krishna has no mood to get down...He wants to travel with her further..He is even ready to give her a lecture on history starting from the First Battle of Tarain in 1191,Delhi Sultanate,the Mughal empire,Indian freedom struggle against the British to till date..But he should be present in the audit meeting today,though he is not needed.His manager will bark at him if takes a leave today..He will always bark..He thinks,'is there a manager who will not bark?' and he finds an answer to himself,'no' and waving his hands to Nandhini, he got down at Maraimalai Nagar.

The next day morning at 5.30,Krishna was getting ready to go somewhere..

His mom,'dai Kicha,indha paniyila enga da kilambitta'(hey Kicha where are you going in this snow)

"Mom am going to gym..You said right,I should concentrate on my fitness,that's why"

He wrote in his diary..



"I am feeling like a new man..In fact,I feel like a college boy now..How should I impress her?Should I buy new jean and cargo pants?Yes I am going to buy fasttrack glasses..How about changing the hairstyle... should I keep spikes?Or should I do something like what Chitti did in Enthiran?na na..First of all I will shave my beard..Even before proposing my love,I don't want to become a devadas"

With a new set of clothes,in full shave and with a new hair style,Krishna is waiting for Nandhini..

Nandhini,"Krishnaaaa..What's this.."

Krishna felt shy and he couldn't control himself smiling..

"You look so gooood like this..What's so special Krishna...any good news :P"

"Well no nothing.." - Krishna stammered..

"Alright Krishna..It seems you are suffering from love fever"

"aahh.." - when he was about to say something,Nandhini interrupted suddenly,

"Hey Krishna,this is Arun..My collegemate..And Arun,I told you right,Mr.Krishna..sorry sorry sorry.. Krishna,the living encyclopedia.."

Arun,"hello sir"

Krishna,"hello" - his face suddenly turned pale..Well,when a girl,whom a guy likes a lot,introduces another guy,it really hurts the former guy..He feels insecure..He is scared of the other guy that he will spoil his chances..Krishna is no exception here..But still Nandhini's engaging speech made him forget all these things..

The journey was bit different today..Nandhini was making fun of him all the way..But Krishna enjoyed it..Still he didn't forget Arun.. He wrote:

"How long am I going to delay this..?I think it's time to propose..It's time to express my desire to her..Will she not accept it?Why not?am damn sure she will not reject me..or should I say she will accept my proposal.. Who is this Arun?She said her friend right?Friend?A boy who is her friend?Means boyfriend? WTF,who coined the term boyfriend..?Whoever it be..Doesn't matter..Arun is her friend..Why will she not accept my proposal?She knows me well..She likes me a lot..She will love me too..But..that..no no..if" - Krishna started scribbling whatever came to his mind like a madman..

Suddenly he saw a bright light in front of him and to his surprise,another Krishna appeared from the light.. Our hero Krishna is confused..What's this?who is this?The other Krishna started talking,

"hey dumbo..stop asking the same set of questions again and again..you want to know who am I?"

"Yes

 "I am your inner conscience..Have you not seen old Gemini Ganesan films? ada adhaan paa manasaatchi"

"Is this true?but..how come suddenly?"

"aah..again don't start asking questions man..I am here to give a solution..Or I should say a judgement here.."

"what judgement?"

"All these while you have been asking questions to yourselves..I thought you are a practical guy.."

"Am I not?if not why?"

"Definitely you are not dude..Because you are considering only your heart..And not the brain..So let us keep it like this...I am the brain..Brain Krishna..and you are the heart..Heart Krishna..Sounds funny right?"

"Hmmm"

"Life becomes funny when you fall into love..All these while you were saying why will she not accept your love?Why will she reject your love?Now am asking you,why will she accept your proposal?" - Brain

"Why will she not?"- Heart

Brain,"Idiot,answer my question..Don't reply me with a question"

"Well well..she likes me a lot.."

"so if someone likes you,according to you it's love?isn't it?"

"no not like that..see she respects me a lot..she shares everything with me..everything like going to shopping mall,buying a new dress,buying a new jewel,incidents in her hospital etc"

"Oh..are you damn sure that she is sharing this only with you?come on Krishna,what's so special about all these stuff?"

"See you are discouraging me.."

"God!!I am here to help you out.."

"Fair enough going to shopping malls is not a big deal..See you know my sisters right..Has they ever bothered to listen my speeches"

"no..hmm..never"  - this time brain replied softly..

"but this girl listened me patiently..She respects my knowledge..She is the first person on this earth to recognize my talent..without having any feelings towards me,do you really think that she will ask me to explain the causes and effects of first world war?without any feelings,do u think she will call me @ 9 o clock in the night and ask me to talk something interesting?when I went in my new dress with a full shave today, she said am looking great..what you are gonna say for this?"

"My God My God!!!"

"What?"

"You are proving that you are a dumbo..Your case proves that heart without brain will never make right decisions..You are talking like a kid Krishna..Do you really think explaining about first world war and Russian revolution will create a special feeling for you?Answer me honestly.."

"Well..that..not exactly" - Heart finally started stammering and brain started going..

"Theriyudhulla(you are able to understand right?)..have you ever seen yourself in mirror?.. how do you look like? with a pot-belly,grey hairs,stout body,don't you look like a man in his late 30s?On the other hand how does she look like?"

"She..she..she looks like an angel.."

"Don't you think you are a misfit for her?"

"You mean to say physical appearance matters more than anything else?"

"I don't mean that..If you people have known each other for, say some 2-3 years,its ok..Emotions,care,trust and affection matters more than anything else..You need not necessarily be handsome or she need not be beautiful..I would say 'understanding' each other is the important aspect of love.. But you know her for how many months?not more than 7 months right?..Tell me honestly,why do you love her?Is it because of her good nature or her interests?Nothing..She looks great..I say you fell only for her looks.."

"May be true..but.."

"When you have the right to expect a girl like Katrina Kaif,will she not expect a Sidhdharth?"

"So what you mean?You said you will be giving some judgement..???"

"Death Sentence"

"?"

"Death Sentence to your so called love..That's my judgement..Are you ready to accept? Or any last wish?"

"Fair enough my dear brain..I give up..But so many nights we had lengthy chats on call..Whenever I commented on her beauty,she never stopped me..I feel her smiles and cute expressions has some deep feelings for me..Why should I not make a try?Now please answer my question instead of ignoring it?"

"Brain is always right..Heart knows this too..But heart never gets convinced..Till the last moment,it hopes for a miracle to happen..I am not going to stop you my sweet 'heart'..As I said,proposing her be the last wish in this matter..As you said give a try..But be prepared to face the worst..Good luck!!!"

Krishna wrote this lengthy conversation in his diary..He wrote it as such..As a conversation between his heart and brain..

When Krishna was all set to propose her,she again came with Arun..In utter disappointment,Krishna left without talking anything about this..Unfortunately,he missed his bag too..He realized it only when after reaching the office.Almost 2 hours gone.Definitely Nandhini will be in office now..He thought of calling Nandhini,but then he decided to go in person..Fine,in her hospital,Arun will not be there..I can take my last chance there..So he again reached the station.. But to his surprise,Nandhini was standing with Arun in the station..But they didn't notice Krishna and Krishna didn't interrupt their conversation..Instead,he started observing it as it involved his name..

"Nandhini,before giving this diary back I want to discuss something with you"

"About?"

"About the matter written in this diary.."

"What kind of person you are?How can you read others' diary without their permission and how shamelessly you want to discuss it with me?"

"But the matter is about you Nandhini"..Nandhini was surprised..Or should say she was shocked..Arun continued..

"Nandhini he is in love with you..After reading this diary I am able to understand,how much you mean to him"..Arun explained everything written in it..

"Arun,don't you think its stupid?"

"But you have spoken a lot about him to me right..Even I thought you like him.."

"Liking,respecting is different from love..He is a good man..Has a sound knowledge.Even now I would love to listen him explaining Babur Mosque demolition or Kamarajar and Kakkan sir's honesty..But for that reason I can't love him"

"Why?Can't really understand"

"See Arun...He is..he is an outdated chapter..He cannot think beyond planning commission and Pranab Mukherjee.. "

"?"

"Arun discussing about Cholas and Pandiyas is a good time pass..He gave an explanation about the reason for the US economical slow down..Amazing..It was an informative speech..If you ask him to explain Mughal history,he will explain every minute details from Babur to Aurangazeb..He will not even miss the Ser Shah Suri period and the revenue system introduced then..I would love his explanations..It's a good entertainment.. But,for that I can't accept him as my hero.."

"That's what am asking,why?"

"Fine..I will tell you frankly,he will never approach things romantically..Girls like me will like people with so much of knowledge,but our expectation from our 'boyfriend' is something different and this guy is not worth it..and I don't know about other girls.."

Arun thought - "No girl will love him..will love a guy like him..In this aspect,most of the girls have the same mentality..I only feel sorry for him.."

Arun,"so what's your final opinion Nandhini?"

"Death Sentence..Death Sentence to his love, as written by him"

"Arun I am going back to office..In this mood,I can't face Krishna..So please return his bag to him.."

After Nandhini left,Krishna came and collected the bag from Arun..

"Sir... am.. sorry for.."

"thanks Mr.Arun..you have helped me to avoid the embarrassment atleast.."..Krishna started walking.. "Heart without brain will never make right decisions.. How true it is"

The next day morning Krishna went and sat in the second class compartment,with a Junior Vikatan in his hand..

P.S. : The death sentence is awarded only for the love and not for the person.. 


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Karnan - A Revisit




Every weekend lot of movies gets released.But this weekend is a bit special.One of the greatest classics in the history of Tamil Cinema,Karnan, got released.I mean re-released,but with additional some technical works.With DTS effect "Karnan" simply rocks.I have seen this movie 'n' number of times in TV and CD,but still I wanted to watch it in theater.I was startled to see such a huge crowd for such an old movie.Lot of people came with families and almost 70% of the theater was full.This blog post is not exactly a review of the movie "Karnan"..If you are an atheist and if you feel all this Mahabharatham and Karnan are nothing more than fiction,consider it just as a story instead of debating about the authenticity of the characters involved.

I have heard both Ramayanam and Mahabharatham from my elders.But Karnan's character has made me emotional so many times.I have watched this movie so many times,right from my childhood.That may be a reason.If a movie is able to create such an impact,we can easily understand its quality.Performance by lead artistes,dialogues,music,lyrics etc.,everything together makes this movie an immortal classic.To act as a king, you need a dominant personlity(I mean physical appearance). Just see the pic on the top of this post.Can you really think of anyone better than him? He has a manly voice and a great screen presence.For me, acting means Sivaji..Sivaji Ganesan - the great.

As per the story Kunthi Devi gets a wish from a saint.Funnily she tries to find out whether the wish would really work.As a result, through the Sun God's(Surya Bhagavan) radiations,she gives birth to a kid.Though she gives birth to a kid,she still remains a virgin as its a divine kid.As she was still not married, she feels having a kid would spoil the reputation of her family,so she locks the kid in a box and leaves him in water.A charioteer brings him up and he gets the friendship of Dhuriyodhana,head of Kauravas,who is considered a demon.But this Dhuriyodhana does lot of help to Karnan.As a token of courtesy,Karnan fights for the Kauravas,against the Pandavas.

Karnan is a highly talented person.He is a brave warrior and true friend.He is a great philanthropist and he would dare to give even his life as a part of his charity work.In this movie,the charioteer takes the kid(Karnan) to a saint and asks him to name the child.When the saint opens his hand and calls the kid,he(Karnan) places a jewel on his hands.The saint will say he is born to give.This scene is enough to understand Karnan's character.Whoever asks him something,Karnan never refused to give.

Karnan is believed to be born with Armor(கவசம்) and Kundala(a unique ear jewel). Lord Indira comes in disguise of an old man asks Karna to give him his Armor and Kundala.Without any second thought Karna donates it to him.As long as that Armor is with Karna,none can harm him.But to save his Arjuna(one of the Pandava brothers), Indira gets the Armor from Karna.As a result of this act of Karna, Shakuni, Dhuriyodhana's wicked uncle, forces Karna to learn the usage of 'Brahmmasthiram' from a saint called Parasuraman.But Parasuraman will teach this art only to brahmins. So Karna lies to him that he is a brahmin and learns the art.When Parasurama finds out that Karna is not a brahmin,he curses him.As a result Karna forgets the art learnt from him.

The movie moves seriously though there are some funny one liners and songs. Probably the modern day audience might feel that there are too many songs in the movie and it spoils the tempo.Nevertheless,the songs are simply awesome.The Viswanathan-Ramamurthy duo has provided the best possible music.Be it songs or background music,it simply mesmerizes the audience.And Kannadasan's lyrics adds meaning to the mindblowing music.Especially lines like 

"மன்னவர் பொருள்களை கை கொண்டு நீட்டுவார் மற்றவர்
பணிந்து கொள்வார்
மாமன்னன் கர்ணனோ தன் கரம் நீட்டுவார் மற்றவர்
 எடுத்து கொள்வார் "

[means - for other kings charity is for their satisfaction,but Karna is more concerned with the satisfaction of people who gets things from him]

Anyway, as a Vaali fan,I feel atleast one song should have gone to Vaali sir.But am fully satisfied with Kannadasan's lyrics.



In this movie the protagonist is Sivaji Ganesan and next to him, only actor Asokan(Dhuriyodhana) has more no. of scenes.But the actual show stealer is NTR(N T Ramarao).He comes only in few scenes,but his make up,acting and dialogue delivery is highly impressive.He acted as lord Krishna in this movie,which is an interesting character in Mahabharatha.He dubbed for himself in Tamil too.His pronunciation was perfect. Being an Andhrite,he speaks Tamil so well.Absolute professionalism.To be honest,everyone were too serious in the theater.But NTR's intro scene got a huge round of applause.When you are making a period film or a mythological film like Karnan,its very difficult to have a 'mass' character.But director Banthulu satisfied the masses through Krishna's character.NTR's presence does some magic for sure.Undoubtedly NTR is one of  the main reasons for this movie to remain immortal.

Dialogues are like back-bone of this movie.Satire,sarcasm,emotions, friendship etc everything can be 'felt' in the dialogues.Best example is when Kunthi comes to know that Karna is her son,she says to Krishna that she will try to bring Karna to Pandava's side.Immediately Krishna will agree to this and when she is about to step out of the door,Krishna stops her and says,atleast when your attempt fails,follow my advise.Kunthi replies,"ok fine my attempt will not be successful,tell me what to do". When you watch this scene you can understand the sarcasm.

And emotional dialogues means,the best scene is Karna refusing to join Pandavas.The conversation between Kunthi and Karna will be really touching.

When someone is highly talented and yet fails due to circumstances,it really hurts.This happens in day to day life too.Not every hardworking/talented person gets a break.Most of them fail due to the selfishness and mistakes of others.Here Karna is highly talented person.We can even say he is unbeatable in most of the aspects.But he couldn't defeat Pandavas.Throughout his lifetime,he gets humiliated by people around him as he is not aware of his parents.Is this his mistake?No.But he gets punished.Krishna helps the Pandavas to defeat Kauravas.Shakuni brainwashes Dhuriyodhana to avenge his father's death and as a result Dhuriyodhana commits lot of mistakes which destroys the entire Kaurava brothers.But it is Dhuriyodhana who gives recognition to Karna's talent,so Karna joins him.As Karna joined with the evil force(Kauravas), he falls into the trap and dies at the end.

Though Karna joins Dhuriyodhana,he still remains a good person by heart.When NTR enters and asks for a compromise,Dhuriyodhana insults Vidhura(half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura) and talks ill of his mother.When he talks ill of his birth,Sivaji will show an expression in his face,which will clearly say that he was deeply hurt by Dhuriyodhana's words.Because even Karna gets repeatedly humiliated mainly because he was unaware of his birth.

The most difficult situation in life is, when you have so many problems around you and you have a solution for all the problems and you are desperate to solve them,yet for some reason you can't implement the solutions. You may feel like your hands are tied.That's what happens to Karna here.Had he used the 'Nagasthiram' one more time,he might have killed Arjuna.But Kunthi asks Karna to promise her that he will not use the 'Nagasthiram' more than once.When he uses it for the first time,Krishna presses the Chariot down and the 'Nagasthiram' misses Arjuna's head.And as promised he will not use it anymore.




Finally, Karna dies.In the climax,when Arjuna(actor Muthuraman) realizes that Karna is his elder brother, he accuses lord Krishna of forcing him to kill his own brother.He will keep on saying "en sagotharanayaa naan kondren,en annanayaa naan kondren".Which means I killed my own brother,I killed my elder brother. Krishna will say,

"Don't feel so proud that you killed Karna.You alone cannot kill him. Already 6 people killed him.Lord Indira killed him first by taking away his Armor,then saint Parasurama killed him by cursing that he will forget how to use Brahmasthira,then a Brahmin who lost his son due to Karna(once when Karna was riding his chariot,accidentally a boy came in between and died) cursed him that your chariot will not run on an important occasion,then your mother Kunthi urged him not to use Nagasthiram more than once and finally when he used the Nagasthiram for the first time,I killed him by pressing the chariot down and saving you.. Like this already so many people have killed him..Don't feel proud that you killed him,you just beat a dead snake(verum setha paambai adithu vittu naan kondren naan kondren ena maar thattaadhe)"

Now don't expect any special reason for this blog post.We come across so many things in our day to day life.We see deserving people struggling and undeserving guys enjoying high positions.When we are not able to figure out the reason for this,we are forced to believe that there is something called fate,which always troubles only people with good intentions.There is something called luck,which never favors a deserving candidate.Karna is one such person.Right from his birth,he got punished and humiliated throughout his lifetime for the mistakes committed by others.What should we call this? "It's all fate". 

All said and done,a lot can be learnt from Karna's life.He respects his friend, who gave him the much needed recognition,till the end of his life.Dhuriyodhana,though he is perceived as a demon,trusts his wife and friend.Sahadevan - one among the Pandava brothers,is good in astrology.When Dhuriyodhana consults him when to give 'kala bali'(sacrifice to field),he predicts the exact date and time and says if he gives 
'bali' on new moon day,he can win the battle.Even though Dhuriyodhana is his enemy,Sahadeva is sincere to his profession.This is called professional ethics.When Kunthi says,blood relation is superior to friendship,Karna refuses to accept it and remains loyal to his friend.When Arjuna refuses to fight against his own relatives,Krishna advises him that if he doesn't fight with them now,world will call him a coward.He further says,instead of thinking what to become,think what not to become.Make it sure that history doesn't name you a coward.We may also learn from this.If we are honest and sincere,we may not be rewarded.But if we are not,we will be branded as 'dishonest'.We can atleast try to avoid getting bad names.

Every incident(or every scene in this movie) can be interpreted differently and we can learn so many things.If you are not interested in it,ignore it. This blog post is completely for my satisfaction.

Coming back to movie,as I said earlier,the modern audience might feel there are too many songs.But again as I said earlier,the quality of songs will keep you tied to the movie.I believe in our generation not many have seen Karnan.If you like watching good cinema,go for it.Even though we have seen this movie so many times, watching it in theater is still a special experience.After watching Karnan,I feel some more classics like Salangai Oli,Sindhu Bhairavi,Nadodi Mannan etc can be re-released in DTS.

My verdict about Karnan - Go for it!!!

உள்ளத்தில் நல்ல உள்ளம் உறங்காதென்பது வல்லவன் வகுத்ததடா கர்ணா,
வருவதை எதிர்கொள்ளடா!!!!

P.S. : There is a mistake in this post. I have mentioned that NTR dubbed in his own voice. But after publishing this post only I came across in The Hindu that it was Mr.Srinivasan who dubbed for NTR. I would like to thank வெசீரா(one of them who commented for this post) for reminding this to me.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

5 State Polls ~ A Wake Up Call




There were huge expectations from political parties and media people regarding the recent poll verdict.The hot topic was 'Rahul Magic' in UP.The congress was expected to give a tough competition to the strong regional parties(BSP and SP) in Uttar Pradesh.Congress spokesmen made too many statements.Mr.Beni Prasad Verma, honorable steel minister of India said "Dalits are better than goons"(meaning its better to ally with BSP than SP). Even when the counting was going on,Mani Shankar Aiyar was arguing that the SP cannot form a govt on its own and it needs the support of congress.But at the end of the day,everyone was proved wrong. And this time the exit poll result about the UP elections was perfect.They predicted a landslide victory for the Samajwadi Party and the SP got a landslide victory too.This clearly shows that there is no 'Rahul' magic.

But this post is not about Rahul's magic or gimmick,as I always believed there will be no Rahul magic in these elections.This post is all about the other national party which is celebrating without any reason.I am seeing lot of facebook/twitter updates from the BJP supporters who seem to be very satisfied about the outcome. BJP president Nitin Gadkari,spokesperson Mr.Ravishankar Prasad look too happy and they find 'anti-congressism' in this verdict.But what about your party Mr.Gadkari?During the counting,the initial trends were highly favorable for the BJP and many thought it would finish second.Even I thought the BJP 'may' finish second but with a question in my mind,'why'. But the people's mandate is clear.They wanted to throw away the arrogant and atrocious Mayawati govt.They didn't find either the BJP or the Congress to be a credible alternative.And they chose the so called 'goondas' again.

The BJP missed out a golden opportunity to make its presence felt.It can very well say there is anti-congressism in India.Yes its there.People are fed up with this scam tainted UPA govt.They dont want them to come back to power at any cost.So naturally the BJP should be the beneficiary and the anti-congress votes should go to BJP. But that's not the case here.Instead of considering BJP as an alternative,the electorate finds it better to vote for the regional parties. This clearly shows the BJP is fading away. If BJP thinks the regional parties will support them and they can form govt at the centre with the support of these parties, then I would say the party is dreaming. It will be a day dream. Day dreams never come true. Remember BJP, there is something called 'secular card' and 'minority appeasement'. Whenever the regional parties face CBI inquiry they will become 'secular' and they will support the so called 'non-communal' congress party. After the congress party gets the necessary support,CBI inquiry will vanish. This is the prevailing culture in India.

The role of an opposition party in a democracy is something incredible.Yes no party is perfect in India. But atleast the opposition parties should be shrewd enough to take advantage of the mistakes of the ruling party. But the BJP,which once inspired the nation,is in a self-destruction mode.Only when the opposition is strong enough to attract the common man,the ruling party will atleast have a small fear of losing the elections.Here we have a central govt which is battling out lot of scams and facing severe anti-incumbency,but still they are confident enough to win the next elections too.The reason for this over-confidence is they are damn sure of the fact that the opposition is not strong enough.

The BJP didn't have enough guts to bring Narendra Modi to campaign in UP.Instead they brought in Uma Bharti from Madhya Pradesh and she was even perceived as the party's chief ministerial candidate.The party gave lot of importance to 'desperate-attention-seekers' like Varun Gandhi,who said the party had 55 CM candidates for UP.But they are not giving much importance to some of the good leaders like Mr.Mukhtar Abbas Naqui.When a scam tainted minister(Kushwaha) was expelled from BSP,the BJP accepted him to join their party calculating his OBC votebank. This is a party which stalled an entire parliament session demanding a JPC =(Joint Parliamentary Committee) probe in the 2G scam.You are fighting corruption in parliament and you are accepting 'scam tainted' Kushwaha to join your party eying his OBC votebank.Sounds really awkward.

The BJP and its supporters were too critical in finding reasons for the defeat of congress.Media and the BJP say congress party's promise to give reservation to Muslims failed to attract the minorities and it instead backfired.Agreed - the minority appeasement politics didn't do any favor for the congress.But on the other hand,what did the BJP promise there?They promised to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya.I don't understand how will they build Ram temple in Ayodhya,when there is a case related to this issue is pending in the Supreme Court.Are people so dumb to believe this?They lost in Ayodhya.

This time the BJP lost heavily in Lucknow too, which was its stronghold since 1991.It lost 4 out of 5 assembly seats in Lucknow.So on the whole,the BJP performed badly in UP.The party should take this as a lesson and it should behave like a responsible opposition.Last time the BJP won 51 seats,but this time it lost 4 and could manage just 47.Instead of laughing at the failure of congress,the BJP should find reasons for its defeat.These national parties should take this as a wake up call and should rectify their mistakes.Instead of trying to play communal card,they should promise development.Anyday the congress or the BJP is far better than BSP or SP.Its disheartening to see these national parties struggling against arrogant regional parties. As long as SP or BSP is in power,UP will never witness any development.

Anyway,there is still some hope for BJP.This time the SAD+BJP alliance was expected to do badly in Punjab.Media carried reports that the Prakash Singh Badal's govt is facing severe anti-incumbency.But the poll verdicts show there was nothing called anti-incumbency in Punjab.Again point to be noted here is,the BJP is just riding on the success of SAD.In Uttarakhand too BJP didn't lose miserably.They could manage 31/70 while the congress got just one more(32).And in Goa,its a strong victory for BJP,winning 26/40. Congress could retain only Manipur,where no other party is really strong enough to compete with Congress. 

From these results,we can interpret that there is 'anti-congressism',as the BJP says.Undoubtedly,people are frustrated with the central government.But the BJP is not in a position to take advantage of this.As I said earlier the party should take this as a wake up call and should start correcting its own mistakes, instead of criticizing the congress party.