This is my World

What problems could threaten the integrity of a developing nation in the 21st century ? Poverty ? Corruption ? Inequality ? At present, these are not the issues that is troubling the biggest democracy in the World the most. Instead, it is men's age old disease called lust that is the rocking the boat this country is sailing on. Over the past few months, this lust has manifested in many different forms across the lengths and breadths of this country. The disease has consumed the flesh of its victims with a grin on its face. It has poisoned the souls of many and destroyed the lives of many more. It hasn't even spared our children.  Sought after for long is a cure for this disease. But with no breakthroughs after so many years, it has only grown more vicious and contagious. The steep rise in the number of lives it affects and the brutality with which it strikes has us all wondering what has gone wrong? The ever "responsible" media offers a cure. The death penalty !...

It is a longstanding ritual in some of the cultures across the globe where men and women shave their heads and offer their hair to a god in return for a favour. People, over the centuries, have ridiculed it as weird ceremony which has no spiritual bearing.  These allegations are not without reason. It is these same cultures that consider tonsuring their heads holy, consider hair inferior. They even use this very word as a derogatory term to refer a person who is dull/lame/stupid. To quote a dialogue from a Tamil movie, Ratha Kaneer(Tears of blood), "Uyira kodutha kadavullukku mayiraya da kodukura?"(Is it fair to offer the lord your hair? - Sarcastic) sums up the contradiction in the beliefs of these cultures.  In this article, I am not going to defend/criticize the practise because fools will always be fools(Note: I haven't said who the fools are, the ones who shave their heads or the ones who don't. I leave that to your judgement). Instead, I am going to ...

[What led me to write this article was the recent controversy surrounding the IPL] In the wake of Tamil Nadu government's decision to ban  Srilankan  players in matches to be played at Chennai, a lot of my friends, both knowledgeable and uninformed, have taken to Facebook and Twitter demanding these matches be moved to a different venue so that they can have the privilege of watching a handful of  Srilankans  sledging and slogging. While sports and politics are two different things, is this decision the first of its kind?  Hell no, is the answer.  During the apartheid era, ICC banned South Africa from International cricket. After the Mumbai attacks, our very own BCCI banned Pakistan from playing in its soil. And about a fortnight ago, it banned China, Myanmar and Bhutan so as not to form non-political connections with these countries.  None of the above were done for sporting reasons. Instead, all these are symbolic bans intended...

I'm dabbling in the black, Like a drowned red cherry, Deaf and dumb and blind, And yet nothing to worry! I'm crawling on the floor, Babbling ceaselessly and One time I cry to mommy, "I waant dhe elloo candee". I'm inching to the school, Holding dad's broad hands, With white and grey shades, Come friends and funky grades! I'm soaring to the blue skies, Diving down the lush valleys, At the first kiss of adolescence, I dream of dames and damsels! I'm walking on my twos, Past the girl in pink saree, She's of sweet disposition, And soon, we get married! I'm prancing about proudly, With her cradled in my arms, In a green garden of my own, Love and duty to be shown! I'm ambling down the alley, Looking at posters of my baby, Turning orange and purple, It's time for her espousal! I'm running down memory lane, To fetch foregone hazy scenes, And make a chatoyant movie, Dazzled eye used to be groovy! I...

I don't remember much about college. I was loner back then and I did not make many friends. Not even enemies. I was this guy who was a part of no group, sometimes by volition and sometimes by omission. So I have no fond memories to even think about let alone share. Or is there one? Yes, there is. There is one distinct memory that I always carry around with me. Like the arm that is hinged to my shoulder, this memory is glued to my brain and it keeps me alert except when I am having one of my brain-fags, which I do have more often than not. (Note: Right now, as I am writing this, I am not having one. Believe me.) It was my third-year summer holidays. The sixth semester exams were in the past and the class was in the brink of campus placements. Two months, that's what we got to get ourselves ready. That's the time we had to transform ourselves from being a mark-craving-teacher-hating-holiday-loving college student-pretense to a grade-craving-boss-hating-holiday-loving professi...

வயிறு வாடும் பொழுது சொட்டுத் தண்ணீர், அணியலிழக்கையில் முயற்சி எனுமந்திரம், சிரம் தாழ்ந்தும் தாழ திடாரிக்கம், ஏமாற்றத்தின் விசனம் துடைக்குமோர்மம், இழப்பின் வெறுமை நிரப்ப ஞெலுவன், தனிமையில் துணையாய் இறைவன், கருணையுடன் கண்ணீரகற்றும் கரம், இருள் விழுங்க தொலைவில் சிறு ஒளி!

இருபதாயிரம் ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு, காடுகளில் சுற்றித்திரிந்த மனிதன் பேசிய முதல் மொழி நம் தமிழ் மொழியே. நாகரீகம், பண்பாடு, கலாச்சாரம் என்பனவற்றை உலகிற்கு கற்றுக்கொடுத்தது நம் முன்னோர்களே. இரண்டாயிரம் ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு வரை மருத்துவம், கணிதம், வானவியல், புவியியல் போன்ற அறிவியல் துறைகளிலும் , இயல், இசை, நாடகம் போன்ற கலைத் திறன்களிலும், விவசாயம், விளையாட்டு, வணிகம் போன்ற அன்றாட வாழ்க்கை கலைகளிலும், சல்லிக்கட்டு, போர் போன்ற வீரதீரத்திலும் தமிழர்களே சிறந்து விளங்கினர் என்றால் அது மிகையாகாது. வேறு கண்டகளில் மனிதர்கள் காட்டில் சுற்றித்திரிந்த போது, இங்கு நாகரீகங்கள் செழித்து வளர்ந்தன. கையசைவுகளின் மூலம் அவர் உரையாடி கொண்டிருந்தபோது இங்கே சங்கம் வைத்து புலவர்கள் இலக்கியம் படைத்து கொண்டிருந்தனர். நம் மன்னர்கள் கப்பற்படை வைத்திருந்த போது, ஆற்று வெள்ளத்தில் சிக்கிகொள்ளாமல் தப்பிப்பது எப்படி என்று திணறிக் கொண்டிருந்தனர் ஆப்பிரிக்கர்கள் அனால் இன்றோ வேற்று மொழிகளின் ஆக்கிரமிப்புகளாலும், மத வேறுபாடுகளாலும், படை எடுப்புகளாலும், கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாய் அழிக்கப்பட்டு எதோ ஒரு பகுதியினர் மட்டும் பேசும் மொழியாய் ...