The Story Behind Ek Neta Ki Maut

Ek Neta ki Maut (Death of a leader) is the latest of my published stories. Special thanks to 21 Fools for doing so. Here is the link for those who haven't read it yet, and would like to do so!

LINK

The story is an outright fiction and none of the characters or locations or context are meant to resemble anyone or anything existent in the real world. (Ha! You don't buy it right? Ok, then read on...)

I had been to Bangalore years ago to appear for an examination on the day following Kannada actor Rajkumar's death and was shocked to see the anarchic state of the city. This picture was etched in my mind since then, and was easy to recall when I decided to take on the subject of political idolisation.

The primary focus of the story is on hero worship of political leaders and film celebrities. Where better a stage to it than the place where both the Chief Minister and the leader of opposition in the state legislative assembly are both film actors! So I decieded to have Chennai as the location of the story.

The other elements portrayed in Ek Neta Ki Maut are the growing nepotism in politics and the ideologies of party leaders and party workers that are incongruent to that of the political party they represent. This in addition to opportunistic monkey jumping by parties to form governments and attain ministrerial berths are seen as the biggest indicators that politics ceases to be a life of passionate social service but a mere profession for money making. I'd hold the same responsible for the Communist debacle in West Bengal last week. (Link)

Moving on from politics, psychology has been my favourite real life subject of study. I continue to be amazed by the power of human brain and always curious to know how it works! So when I decided to fade out the end of the story as a dream, I chose to include certain psychology concepts as well.

I am sure everyone has had their own experiences of having noticed reality being reflected in their dreams. From the kid who dreams of honourably using a toilet while shamelessly bedwetting in his sleep to the scientist who sees his research elements dancing in his dreams, I am sure everyone's had their own share of experiences in this regard. That is why I wanted the nightmare of the character (the riot and its impact) to lead to his real life condition (eye burning sensation probably due to conjunctivitis) as he gradually comes out of it.

Also there is this ever intriguing phenomenon called deja vu. The weird feeling of having already gone through something that is happening now in the present, and trying to predict responses and reactions of others based on the clues the brain throws in! True genius of the human brain! The story ends with a deja vu for the main character as his friend tries to rope him into a situation that he had foreseen in his nightmare.

Now the million dollar question remains would he believe his brain's story telling abilities and refrain from the plan or will he actually go ahead and experience deja vu!

Cheers! :)

A Grandpa tale... Or Life Lesson?

The best way to come out of a writers’ block is to (re-) start off with something not so creative, yet delivering a satiating output, so that on the response to this output one can build upon. So here I am, writing about a story that I heard from my grandfather as a child. The story isn’t particularly great, but its got hell a lot of stuff for a thoughtful brain. So here it is...

There lived an old guy in some part of India in a small village (although not in any way relevant to the story, such a start helps many people identify themselves with the good old days of grandpa and grandma tales) He had a son who went to the town everyday to work. Now this old man was very old (LOL at the sentence), and he had a wish. He asked his son to bring him betel leaves while coming back from work every day.

The first day the boy brought some extra betel leaves. The man had some and stored the rest away (in a fridge? I don’t know!). The next day when his son brought fresh betel leaves, he chewed the ones he had put away the previous day and replaced them with the fresh ones. And this routine continued. The old man continued to keep the fresh leaves safe and chew the stale ones.

Probably I used to fall asleep by this point of the story, for I fail to recollect if there is anything further in it! Never mind, my interest lies only up to this part.

As a child, this story wasn’t anything fascinating. But as I grew up, there is something I found ingrained in this story that reveals itself only to its seeker.

‘The ability to discard’ is a character that we Indians, in particular, lack. To throw away anything, we think twice, thrice and endless number of times only to decide to put it away for ‘some’ use in the future (this fictional purpose shows up every time we think of discarding something but never after that!).

Open the refrigerator and you can find food older than a week or eatables that got past their expiry date craving for your attention there. The best place to look for your family heritage, especially if you are living in your ancestral house, is the attic and overhead storage units that remain neglected since the time you have ever known them. You can be certain to find an old diary or photograph or sometimes much bigger elements of your ancestry there! In cities, we live in relatively small apartments with hardly three or four rooms but still manage to misplace something or the other every day. Like my mother frequently says, “Half of one’s life is spent in searching something or the other.” LOL!

And another thing with us. We associate everything around us to religion. Flowers, food, paper. You name it and I can find something religious about it! Until very recently (to be precise, until I completed graduation) it was a sin to shred paper before discarding it. I would be disrespecting Goddess Saraswathy if I did so. Throwing away food was beyond sin! Accumulating trash over trash, in the process! Health and hygiene – gone to the dogs! Don’t worry, God will take care of it. “Humbug” I’d say, if I were allowed to have an opinion on this one. But alas! That would be another symbol of my sinful irreverence.

So coming back to the old man and his betel leaves. He was a typical Indian scared of trashing eatable stuff. If God becomes angry, he may never get betel leaves again! But the truth is that even our religions teach us not to accumulate trash- physical or mental. Discard the ones that do not serve any purpose. For only if you discard the useless can you replace them with something good, something new and useful; and only then will life and lifestyle improve.If he had thrown away the stale betel leaves on one day, he could have probably chewed fresh ones for his entire lifetime.

So, Think fresh, Eat fresh, Be fresh! Make a conscious effort to never accumulate trash, in any form!

Cheers! :)

Image Credits: federico stevanin

Tales From Ambalapuzha

[Inspired from a real-life story. First in a series of stories inspired by the lives of some people from my native place in Kerala. ]
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Time flies. Seems like yesterday, when I left my home and this beautiful countryside to work for the Marwadi in Mattanchery. I was young then, just out of my teens. Matriculation was considered high education in those days. My father, who was a singer in the court of Travancore king, did the best he could to support my education up to that point. With the four younger sisters after me and a toddler brother to support, I could not ask him for the money to pay for further education.

My friend Shastri who lives down the street proceeded with his higher studies and completed his B.Sc. at University of Travancore. He retired few years back as the Head of the Physics Department in the university which was later renamed Kerala University. My cousin Ananthu in Thiruvananthapuram could afford the cost of professional education and is a successful doctor today. But all that I could think of after my matriculation was to start earning and help father in supporting the family.

In those days, the country was going through a post-independence transition. Nehru was going strong in Delhi and Patel was getting the nation stronger across the region. Everything else was in a disarray. The partition had left a deep vaccuum in trade and commerce. Many companies in the Madras presidency were owned and operated by Muslims who fled the place in the fear of communal attacks. Some of them settled in the Kozhikode region seeking refuge under the Sultan of Mysoor, and many travelled further north in search of safer places.

Perhaps due to this politico-economic uncertainity, I could easily get a job as assistant to a Marwadi trader in Mattanchery, near the Jew synagogue. Fifteen rupees a month. To avoid excessive expenditure, I refrained from frequenting home. In six months time, the Marwadi recommended me and Sukumaran to a tea estate supervisor in Munnar. The pay was an unbelievable sum of Fifty five rupees a month! Sukumaran and I had adjacent tables in the otherwise dark dingy office that resembled more of a godown for the tea. The room had unmistakable scent of tea, and a lot many stinks were concealed under this smell. Besides the two of us, we also had an assistant Kuttan.

When it seemed life was settled, I got a letter from home. Mother felt that I must be close to my ailing parents and with the land feud with Govindan mama twisting deeper, they needed my support. I was disturbed. The comfort and good pay of this tea estate job on the one side, my parents and the problems back home on the other. And what about a job even if I decided to move back?

As if she had read my mind, I got a letter (again written by someone else at mother's dictation) saying that a job has been arranged for me at the Ambalapuzha Middle School, at a stone throws distance from home. Now I was definitely in two minds. Sukumaran and others tried to convince me to stay back. I was sure I could not get more than the salary or the luxury of the life I was leading there at the estate. In fact, I would not get a sum anywhere close to this one. But caring for my parents and siblings is not something I could turn a deaf ear to. So I decided to move to Ambalapuzha, the place where I grew up.

I joined the school for a pay of Twenty rupees a month. (Yes, from a lavish Fifty five rupees to Twenty rupees!) Life was difficult. I was working at almost one third of my earlier pay. There was just two earning hands and eight mouths to feed at home. Medical expenses, celebrations, fees for siblings, the list was infinite.

But like they say, even that phase passed by. I got my sisters married off. My brother got a job. Parents were with us for a few years. I got married myself after a couple of years. My son today works in the UGC division of the government in Delhi.

I am sixty five now. Personally, I have not earned much money. I taught at the school for thirty years and retired as its Headmaster. Some of my students have reached very high ranks in the society. The whole town today knows me as' Iyer Sir', an achievement I consider above the monetary benefits of a private job.

Time has changed a lot. Ambalapuzha has changed equally. Three buses a day from Alapuzha has now grown to more than fifteen. People from all over South India come to worship the big temple, which used to be the temple of this town and its people. The beauty of the place remains intact irrespective of all these developments.

I read in the newspaper yesterday that Sukumaran has become Managing Director of the tea company, today Kerala's No.1. Had I continued with him, even I would have become someone. We would have had a lot of money, a bungalow perhaps and my son would have become a doctor or engineer or a lawyer. He would not have had to take commerce simply for getting a job quickly. Yes, things would have been different, very different.

Today, I do not have wealth but I have the satisfaction of having taken care of my parents and supported the family when they needed me the most. As a teacher I have the satisfaction of shaping a few honest and dedicated people who will play significant roles in the future. The honour of being in such a noble profession and the respect I get everywhere I go.

They were two different roads entirely. When I die in a few years from now what I shall be remembered for, will be decided entirely by that bus ride I undertook on a rainy afternoon from the elevated tea estates of Munnar to the low lying plains of Ambalapuzha.

It is the one decision that truly changed my life!

Thalaivar Rajni and the HR Dept

Disclaimer: This is not about Rajini nor is it a review of Enthiran/Robot. But it is a must read for everyone who enjoys a good Rajini movie. Read till the end, and ignore the management aspect if you are not interested in it, but the thought will still make sense to you!

Motivation of the employees is an important role played by Human Resource Management and Business Psychology units, and from my experience one of the best tools for motivation are Rajinikanth movies! How? Read on...

Before I go ahead trying to explain this, it is important to clarify why is it just Rajinikanth's movies. If not from others, I expect this question to be popped up by avid Kamalahasan fans at least! Well, to answer this, almost all of the standard Rajini movies are based on the same plot. The movies are all about Rajini (as in the central character) and rarely would you find too many concepts and intricacies ingrained in the storyline. (Robot/Enthiran does not qualify to be a standard Rajini movie. Padayappa, Sivaji, Annamalai, Arunachalam, Muthu, Basha etc. do)

Now lets come to the topic. Imagine a state when you are depressed beyond reason. You don't know why, but you know for sure that you are sad. (I am very sure this situation happens with most of us- Churchill called it black dog, we might just stick to 'bad mood' ) What is most required at this time? Motivation and inspiration, a feel-good reason and the ability to think beyond whatever is the cause for your gloom.

These are precisely the role of the HR team (or the work culture improvement team, as they are known in some firms) when the company is passing through a rough patch, for example the recent subprime crisis and the economic downfall that followed it with job cuts and pay cuts. Generally the HR team go about solving this problem through team building exercises or an offsite visit to curb down the stress on the employees and relax a bit, or may be go for a football game or watch a movie together to chill out!

Yes, the movie. Rajini movies are a genre of films and do not necessarily contain only Rajinikanth's movies. And watching a Rajini movie is not just a corporate solution, also a personal motivation tool. How?

First thing, all Rajini movies are about 'the Rajini', all other characters are facilitators for Rajini to be Rajini. (Wow! Thats four straight Rajinis in a single sentence!) Yeah, and the second thing is that the common plot for all the Rajini movies (and most of the Amitabh starrers during one period of time) would read- Rajini goes into a bad state (poverty, cheated, mental discomfort etc. as the case may be) either at the beginning or as a consequence of something that happens in the movie, and rises up to be successful overpowering all his enemies (physical or spiritual)

Now, this is as much as saying that the plot of almost all Indian movies is that the hero falls in love with the heroine and after lot of struggle, the feeling turns mutual and they live happily ever after! Not really! Rajini has certain elements that make this standard plot inspiring.

1. His acting-
Undoubtedly the most important feature. Rajini looks and make the character look one among us. The way he portrays the characters makes us feel in unison with his character. And the looks, he is not the most handsome actor in the industry. On the contrary, like malayalam actor Sreenivasan says in one of his movies- 'This guy is darker than me, must be shorter than me too..yet he is a superstar!' That is the thing. His not being 'the fair six footer six pack hero 'makes him closer to people's heart and this in addition to his natural portrayal of the role is the only justification for the frenzy fan following he has. His fans, almost all of them, do not assess him. We do not assess God, do we?

2. The style-
Now that we have faith in his role and consider the character one among us, let us move on to the next best thing. The style! The way he wears his glasses, or how he lights a cigarette, or how he pulls down the swing with his shawl- Superb! 'Wow! Wouldn't it be amazing if I could do it too!'- this is the natural amazement that anyone would have! Now this lifts your spirit. Gives you that motivation. The ability to see yourself in his place now defines your mood.

3. The mass appeal-
Rajini never fights alone (I know this contradicts his 'Singam single-a thaan varum' punchline, but what I mean here is the large number of well-wishers the character accumulates over the course of the movie) He always has the backing of friends and well-wishers, the common people from the streets! This makes him a hero- a public hero to be preicse! Now who does not want to be a hero, and make his/her family and friends gleam with pride? And since you are already seeing yourself in his character, you are now going to be a hero too! Would there be any better way to put your problems behind you and feel inspired? 'Now its not 'your' fight Thalaivaa, its OUR FIGHT!'

4. The cause-
You are now fighting a crusade (with Rajini of course). It is important for you, the public hero, to feel motivated to achieve the goal. The goal- it plays a role too. Have you noticed that Rajini movies are all about fighting a public cause. Be it poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, corruption, goondaism, terrorism, black money etc. , these are all issues that we see in day-to-day life and firmly in tune to our conviction (reiterated by the daily chaos in our lives) that life without these social issues, would be much more comfortable and happier. So naturally, when you are fighting the sad state of your life with the right motivation, you feel better. You feel the transformation within you and you are energised to think beyond your present state of mind into a bright future in the better world that you are building for yourself. (notice the 'you' s in the sentence, the feeling of self-importance is the stepping stone to motivation)

5. The victory
The epitome of achievement! 'Vetri kodi and the sikaram! ' The feeling of un-explainable joy and satisfaction of having made a difference. Its a feeling nothing less than bliss! And the stylish way in which Rajini achieves it with all the punch-dialogues and stunts (yeah, they deserve a special mention. The stunts too have an important contribution in making you feel happy with the way things are going). And at the end of the movie, you are there in the winners camp with your own battalion around you in the theatre and what a feeling is that! There would hardly be anyone who would still be sulking after the whole 'Rajini treatment'. The biggest thing that you must not miss in this is that your brain was relaxing all this while, and your heart was driving you, your desires, your ambitions and your thoughts!

The impact of Rajini movies on your mind are something similar to a psychotic hypnotherapy. Have you observed how the person takes you to a world, special to yourself, designed with the most aesthetic creations by YOU! This makes you feel very comfortable and then you dispense your negative thoughts (problems) into the unknown ocean that you created. Some practitioners use the concept of driving up your negative thoughts to a point and feel them being absorbed by the white light.

In all these cases, what you do is create your happy territory, convince yourself that you exist there, and that all your problems are solved. And most importantly gain courage and motivation out of it to fight your physical or spiritual problems in anticipation of being able to reach your personal utopia at the end of this struggle!

In Rajini movies, things are no different. He always ends up building the society you ever wished for. And the placebo effect of the product is mysteriously high, and undoubtedly makes you feel a lot better and more confident to live life the king size! And that is why, the whole experience of a Rajini movie is not just entertaining but also rejuvenating, motivating, inspiring and literally hypnotising!