What to write?

There are so many things going on around me that I am actually having a writer’s block as to what I should write in my blog. Let’s look at each of them:

The global economic meltdown:
I am not an expert to go into the reasons behind this collapse. Nor am I well versed to summarise the reasons provided by the experts over the past so many months. And I definitely cannot say with any kind of conviction that the worst has come or is yet to come. So you are better off asking for acting tips from Vijayakanth than checking up my blog to learn about the current economic situation.

The mosquito menace at home:
For the past few weeks, there is a steep increase in the influx of mosquitoes at home. It is a well known fact that the popular repellants like All Out and Good Knight have lost their potency in being effective mosquito killers. So the only options left in front of us are to swat them with our hands or use the hand-held bug zapper. The latter contraption, popularly known as the “கொசு bat” costs around Rs.150 and is extremely efficient in providing மோக்ஷம் to the insect. I have been using it quite extensively over the weekend and at one time, noticed fumes coming from the bat after a particularly large mosquito hit the circuit.

Shifting of IPL out of India:
Nothing in the recent past pleases me more than this news that is breaking out this evening. When the wheels of the 2nd version of this tournament started getting into motion, I distinctly remember Lalit Modi saying that the Government cannot push the country to a standstill due to the General Elections. I felt it was a highly irresponsible statement and was clearly made by someone whose only purpose in life seemed to be chasing the moolaah. And to all the great citizens of this country who are saying that the terrorists have won because of the Government’s decision to not provide security, I have only one request – please remove your head out of the sand lest you start physically resembling the ostrich. I think when the drama surrounding this decision starts unfolding in the days to come, I will surely have something more to write here.

General Elections:
The General Elections are round the corner. There is a lot of political realignment going on, so it is too early for me to give my predictions. But I can definitely tell you what I want. I want the BJP to return to power. And for BJP to win (this may elicit a “Duh!” response from you) Congress and its allies need to lose. And my vote would very much be based on that policy.

Engae Brahmannan:
I have finally bitten the Tamizh Soap Opera (தொலைக்காட்சி நெடும் தொடர் ) bug. As long as I return home at a favorable hour, I make it a point to watch this serial. And it is not for the story, but more for the interesting interlude that Cho provides in the middle of each episode. I am a big fan of his and of late have started getting a strong desire to read the books he has published. Coming back to the serial, everyone says that the chap who comes as Ashok is doing a good job. But I beg to differ. I just don’t like his voice and modulation. And many times, I find his body language contradicting his mental make-up.

Freecell:
My latest addiction is to play this very traditional game that comes with Windows. I have now played around 275+ games and my winning percentage is 77%. Am trying to get it to the 80%+ mark, but it is getting very difficult!

Twitter:
I signed up to this service today. Don’t know how effective it is going to be considering that sending updates by SMS is going to cost at least 10 bucks every time, since it involves a special number. Their site doesn’t seem to be WAP enabled, so I may not find twitter that useful. Anyway, I will let time decide that.

Temple visits:
Believe it or not, I actually had 2 temple visits in a 15-day span this month. The first one was to the ஆறுபடையப்பன் Temple in Besant Nagar on the 8th and yesterday evening, I was goaded to visit the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthana Temple on Venkatnarayana Road. I really cannot remember me visiting temples at this frequency. I am probably getting old!

So as you can see, these are pretty much the type of things that I normally write a lot about. But due to some mental block accompanied by a return of the wrist pain, I am holding myself back a little. Hopefully, I should be able to write a proper post soon and as mentioned earlier, the IPL drama will give me enough ammunition to do so.

Jai Shri Ram - The power of Lord Rama

Before you start making any assumptions that this is a religious/spiritual post, please be advised that you are making a mistake.

As most of you know, Ramanad Sagar's "Ramayan" - arguably the most popular television series in India - is now being relaunched by the same people who created the original version. Apparently, they want to milk the Indian audience who never tires of such magnum opuses.

But what really interested me is that Sun TV is now telecasting this serial after dubbing it in Tamizh. I know their channel war with Kalaignar TV is going on at a similar pace as the Israel-Palestine war. But I think Sun TV has now issued the biggest challenge to Kalaignar TV, by telecasting a series of a Hindu God and that too, the God whom the DMK and cohorts are known to abhor to the core. The interesting twist is also that the DMK is doing its level best to demolish the "Ramar Paalam" alias "Adam's Bridge" under the guise of launching the ridiculous Sethu Samudram project. So, would Kalaignar TV get the Tamizh rights for the Mahabharatham series that is also under Production?

Whatever it might be, my mother is watching the first episode right now (which is probably what prompted me to write this blog) and I actually hear my father's voice in the same room. She has been talking about watching it for more than a week now and at some level, I am happy that she is not watching one of this $hitty Tamizh serials, which btw, has a huge fan base amongst even some of the guys in my circle of friends at work (they discuss the plot and also catch up with one another whenever they miss watching one episode!).

Serial Victim

Its my father.

For the past two weeks, he has been having a bit of a bother in the lower back. So his evening walk to the temple added with grocery shopping, has been reduced a lot.

Turns out that since he was kinda immobile in the evenings and he also had the misfortune of having to spend some time in the living room.

That's also the time when my mother watches one of her daily diet of 3 serials. One at 6.30 PM, next at 8.30 PM and the last at 9.00 PM.

In effect, it meant that my pops had to watch the TV at 6.30. Normally he would have walked away from the room. But due to his back pain, he couldn't take that course of action and had to sit there.

Just like many people start picking up an alcohol habit under the guise of being social drinkers, my naina is now an avid watcher of that serial. According to him, it does not have too much of yelling, not much of kozhai adi sandai and the actors/characters are normal.

I have observed similar behavior in people who convert into a religion or adopt a new principle in life or begin following a new guruji. They are basically the marketing arm of the new area.

My mom was telling me that one day last week, he was asking her if he had enough time to go out and come back before the serial started. And a day or two ago, he's apparently asked her if she knows how to record the program in case he is not in the house.

I am now really scared. Looks like I am losing my only supporter in this house!