Is-ha Is-ha Is-ha hoiy: When you gotta go you gotta go

I finally found out how this expression "is-ha, is-ha" came about in the famous Tamizh movie song "aadaludan paadalai kettaal" where puratchi thalaivar executes swag bhangra moves. I am referring to this song: https://youtu.be/BqeX54Wmvgw .

Now some context to how this song and its picturisation came about. You see, there are times when you are busy with work, or busy with TV, mobile, etc., when your major excretory organ sends you an alert to park your rear from its current seat to a different seat.

But you are so engrossed in your present activity, or too lazy sometimes, that you choose not to heed the alert and opt to wait till you reach the stage where you have no choice but to go. The pressure starts building up and you start fidgeting around in your seat waiting for the Bat signal. And finally you get the SOS call anda you have no choice but to move.

By now there's way too much pressure built up in the intestines and you start feeling some pain in the tract. It is not an excruciating pain, but one that impairs your free movement which unfortunately is what you need at that time. Your walking muscles seem to have stiffened up and moving appears to be stifled. Added to it, you have this fear that you might soil your clothes if you take a wrong move.

So with weird contortions of your hips, postures you can never achieve otherwise, you start walking, and holding, towards your current heaven.

But every step you take is more painful than the previous one. And based on whether you are alone or with people around, you start moaning internally or externally for every step.

Recollect this moan and play it back in your mind now, or loudly if nobody's around. It is "is-ha".

Yes, "is-ha". The same term used in that song. In fact the lyrics, say more. "varum varum varum. is-ha is-ha is-ha". You can also now relate better to that bhangra steps in the song.

In conclusion, that song and dance was basically inspired by someone who delayed his need to go!

Random Observation # 050

Of late on all Tamizh TV channels, a statutory warning message appears on the screen, whenever they show movies or "serials" where the characters are either smoking or drinking or doing both.

While I appreciate the initiative of these channels, I also want them to put similar warning messages at appropriate times to promote the following two traffic safety norms:
1. Riding bikes without helmet
2. Driving cars without using seat belt

You are welcome to suggest more such instances for which warning messages can be shown.

Random Observation # 049 - Men and Women

It struck me all of a sudden (why else is this a Random Observation?) that when the scale of operation of a work/task/job changes, the gender of the people who do that job changes.

Examples:
1. Tailor.
The tailor to whom we individually give clothes is a man. Whereas, the Tailor who stitches our ready made garments is invariably a woman.
2. Cook.
The cooks who work in individual homes are invariably (if not exclusively) women. But the cooks who work n restaurants and those in the catering business are invariably (if not exclusively) women.
3. Those who serve food.
At home, it is either a mother or a wife. In restaurants and parties, it is invariably men.
4. Sweeper/Domestic help etc.
The ones who come home are all women. The ones who do the same job in an office of public are invariably men (except in ladies' rest rooms of course).
5. Story Telling.
To kids at home, grandmothers and aunts were the ones who spin yarns. But when it comes to the celluloid medium, the men are the ones doing it.

Anything else to add?

Note from author: 18-June-2009:
Corrected the mistake in point number 3; what you see now is the updated version. Thanks Ram.

Random Observation # 048

For some reason, I suddenly had an add-on query on the main question asked by some பாண்டிய மன்னன் in the திருவிளையாடல் movie. The king's question in the movie was, whether the hair of women smelled by default or was it because of the treatment they gave to their hair, including attaching flowers to their hair.

My add-on query is basically, why do women keep flowers in their hair? This practice seems to be more prevalent with the tropical regions that anywhere else.

The question came up from a different angle too. During summer, I really want to have the shortest haircut possible, irrespective of whether it suits me or not. Women have always had more hair on the head than guys and so, I wonder how they are able to put up with all the associated irritations.

That's when I thought that maybe, the flowers that they keep on their hair, has some power to keep the head cool and free them from all associated issues. Do you know the reason why?

Random Observation # 047

Had logged into Orkut today and found that one of my contacts had changed his name to "Happy VD" to wish everyone on Valentine's Day.

Unfortunately, the first thing that came to my mind on reading VD was "Venereal Disease".

Coming to think about it, over indulgence in the first VD will surely result in the second VD!!!

Random Observation # 046 - For Men only

While wearing a necktie, there is a general fashion convention that says that the tip of the tie shouldn't extend beyond the belt clip.

People give some good reasons for this and the most popular one is that, if a tie extends well beyond the belt, it means that the individual is married.

Whatever be the social implication of the tie extending beyond the belt clip or whatever be the aesthetic conventions about the same, I know this for sure. If your tie extends beyond the belt clip, it is going to be very difficult for you when you have to use the Urinal.

Random Observation # 045

Maybe this has been discussed before and has probably been implemented too, but after seeing the latest political stunt in Tamil Nadu, I now begin to wonder if someone who is "Fasting unto death" can be charged under laws related to "Attempt to commit suicide"?

Random Observation # 044

As mentioned earlier, I am suffering from a severe cold this week. What I observed now is that the growth of my finger nails has been noticeably slower than usual. I usually have to cut them every 4-5 days, but this whole week I didn't really feel the need to cut them. In fact, I cut them this morning (after more than a week) only out of habit rather than a need.

So, the scientific portion of my brain tells me that there is a direct correlation between a nasal cold and nail growth.

Random Observation # 044: The war on Mumbai

Like countless millions across the country and outside, I too have been hooked up on to the TV set from yesterday, following the developments in 'The war on Mumbai'.

My heart goes out to those brave souls who are flushing out the terrorists from the face of this planet and those souls who have perished in this effort.

I have had the following questions cross my mind at various times in these 2 days:
1. Will this ever stop?
2. Is there any proof of terrorism really winning?
3. When will our authorities learn their lesson?
4. Will the politicians ever rise above vote bank politics?
5. Should the media have been allowed to telecast the positions of commandos at various locations?
6. Why was the PM’s address to the nation so hollow?
7. Why is the National Tele Media so obsessed with this development that they have chosen to completely ignore other things happening in the country – like the death of a former Prime Minister (not that I like him, but he was after all an elected PM) and the really bad situation that Tamil Nadu is in, after the impact of Cyclone Nisha?
8. And even in this current episode, why is the same media focusing only on the LIVE events and is not talking much about the incidents at the Railway Stations and Hospitals? Most of the victims were actually out there. Clearly ‘Star Hotel with elite socialites and Foreigners under attack’ has scored heavily over ‘Ordinary citizens shot dead randomly at a public place’. Fie on you all News Channels.
9. Are the likes of Arundathi Roy going to raise the idiotic Human Rights Violation angle and say that the commandos should have offered candies to the terrorists?

There are a lot more questions but am unable to get any coherent thoughts to document them.

It may sound jingoistic, but I really liked the way the Home Minister of Maharashtra ended his press conference with “Bhaarat Mata ki Jai”।

जय हिंद। भारत माता की जय।

Random Observation # 043

Of late, there is an ad on TV for Reliance Communication. It features a guy who has bought a new laptop and is on the way home (I presume). This guy is at first asked by someone in the elevator "got SIM?". Then he gets the same message displayed in various means. Like he sees a text "got simpler" and a bus pulls over and cuts off the "ler" from his view. He sees the mirror image of MI2 which looks like SIM... you get the idea.

All this is for selling Reliance's USB modem which can be used to connect to the Internet from anywhere.

And the theme of the ad is that this USB modem for a laptop is like the SIM for your mobile.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Reliance Communications' core mobile service offered using CDMA technology? Which offers no SIM. So why do they want to advertise with an analogy to a SIM when they don't use it themselves?

Random Observation # 042

I will be in Hyderabad on the 11th and 12th - Thursday and Friday of this week. As part of the travel arrangements, I have been issued an 'e-ticket'. While this is nothing new, there is this thing that struck me as being odd.

All of us invariably take print-outs of this e-ticket. So, does this really qualify as being an 'e-ticket' once it is printed on paper?

Maybe the people manning or womanning the desks of the airlines inside the airport would be able to locate our reservation. But without this print-out, the Security folks at the airport are not going to let us inside the terminal.

The situation is pretty much the same with the 'e-ticket' issued by the Indian Railways.

So, does anything called 'e-ticket' truly exist in this country?

Random Observation # 041

Lot many official documents and reports carry a similar message - "This page intentionally left blank".

But if you actually print something on a page, it is not a blank page. Then why do they print the above message and then claim that they have left the page blank and that too intentionally?

Random Observation # 040

Everyone is talking about an increase in cases of over-weight or obese people in the human race.
Everyone is also talking about an increase in Global warming.

Going with basic laws of Physics we all know that cold contracts and heat expands.

Increased Global Warming only means that the heat has increased. Which means things start expanding. That's probably why obesity is also on the increase in the human race.

Random Observation # 039

You may have noticed that I am not a very musically talented person. And I may not qualify as a great music aficionado, but I do listen to quite a lot of songs on my daily commute.

I am limiting this observation to the Indian Film Music genre. I observed that when singers are humming - I think that's what its called - they seem to use either "la" or at best "na".

I haven't heard anyone go "ri ri" or "sa sa" or any of the known 7 musical notes (or whatever it is called).

What could the reason be?

Random Observation # 038

There are many many competitions going on around us, sponsored by an assortment of companies in various media. Some are purely driven by luck, some with just talent and some with just luck masked in the form of talent.

In most of these competitions, there are rules. One of the standard ones is about the age of the participants. You are expected to be at least 18 years old to participate.

This is true not just of competitions, but also of few fundamental rights we have as citizens of India. For example, the right to vote for an individual who is not less than 18 years, is specified through this 61st amendment to the Indian Constitution.

Anyways, of late, I am seeing an ad on TV for a program that tests the skills of an individual and see if he/she is brighter than a 5th standard student. One of the things that's mentioned in the ad is "If you are 18 years and above, please dial....".

My question is - how can someone be 18 years old and also be above 18 years old? If you are 19 years old, then you are NOT 18 years old, which means you cannot participate in the competition. If you are 18 years old, then you are NOT above 18 years old, which also means that you cannot participate in the competition. So is there someone who can participate at all?

I am sure that this is not the only competition that has a similar rule. Shouldn't they all rephrase it to "If you are 18 years or above..."? Or at least, they should follow the text in the constitution that says "... not less than 21...".

Random Observation # 037

Why do we watch all these countless music competitions on TV?
Is it to really hear someone give a good rendition of a popular song or is it simply to pacify ourselves by understanding that there are 100s and 1000s of people who sing worse than us?
Needless to add, I simply detest these programmes irrespective of whether its American Idol or Ennodu Paattu Paadungall!

Random Observation # 036

This is more like a random question.

How does the Government allot numbers to plots/houses etc.? My question stems from the fact that sometimes, in a single street, there could be plots of different sizes. One could be 40 feet wide, another could be 35 and yet another could be 55. There could even be cases where 2 neighboring plots could be used by a single owner to come under a single compound.

So in such cases of a merger, which is the number to be used? Should the lower one be used or the higher one (between the 2 merged plots)? More importantly, when a big plot is split into 2, how does the numbering happen? Or when a split plot is merged with a previously independent plot?

Extending the thought, what if someone buys some 3 contiguous plots and splits it into 4?

I am sure there is some logic applied to the whole numbering process and am curious to know if any of my handful of readers can actually give me the real answer.

Random Observation # 035

Most of the cab drivers in Chennai almost invariably listen to "thathuva paadalgal". And the "thathuvam song" is sure to be one talking about death. They tend to have at least one CD with lot of songs of this genre.

Does their job make them take solace in such songs?

Random Observation # 034

Restaurants should imitiate the setup inside a typical commercial aeroplane. Whenever we need to draw the attention of the cabin crew, we press a button and a light glows above our seats. The crew then identify the seat easily, come to us and we can then get on with our business.
In crowded restaurants, it gets very difficult to call the maître d' or the servers and hence my proposal to install buttons and lights, a la commercial aeroplanes.

Random Observation # 033

Everyone is encouraged to read more books. For more books to be read, more paper has to be made. For more paper to be made, more trees have to be cut down. If more trees are cut down, it causes more environmental issues.

So why is everyone still encouraged to read more books?