Limping Renu to English Speaking Vijay

I landed in Kochi  on August 15th without any plans other than welcoming Sunny on Chingam 1st. An  instant plan  was made to meet my  Arya school mates.  Kochi is the home of Renu. I gave her a call and decided to meet a day later at Haji Ali Restaurant. As directed by Renu, I got into an auto to Haji Ali Restaurant. The  unfriendly Auto Driver dumped me at a cross road and asked me to find my own way. He was thinking that I have asked him to take me to Haji Ali Road in Mumbai.  Another auto driver agreed to look on the left side of the road and I scanned the right side of the road as we moved forward to find Haji Ali Restaurant at Ravipuram.  As I stepped out of the auto, I could see through the glass door, my school mate from Kaniyapuram sitting there and drinking a Mammutika Juice and waving at me.  I pushed open the door and walked over to her, thoughts from school days raced through ' Have I ever smiled at Renu at school', ' Have I ever spoken to Renu at school for more than a minute'. Maybe in school the struggle  for Renu was to catch a bus from Kaniyapuram to Pattom and then never take the eyes off the books and then rush to Pattom to catch a bus back home.

The Renu, I saw at Haji Ali Restaurant after  33 years is  a cheerful person who can talk..  We spoke for a while, about the 33 years..., but I didn't hear a single word in Hindi. The sweet one to one ended with a selfi and limping  Renu catching an auto back to her work... 

Trivandrum is where I could see many more of my Arya mates. A hastily arranged plan was made to meet Kannan at Alibaba and 41 Dishes at Vellayambalam.  Aspiring cricketer from  Arya who made it big in Cricket world, is always one  I try to meet when I come to India.  A banker now and running a cricket academy , Kannan was free for the day as the banks in Kerala decided to go on strike protesting against my visit to Kerala. 

We spoke about cricket, his days as a Cricketer at Crewe, his experiences in England and a lovely story of an old person who was staying above his house in Crewe. The old person's love for  Deepa cooked Rasam... As we were winding up for the day.. a call came from Sudhir  with an Order ' Wait there, I will see  you in a minute'

I thought Sudhir was in B'lore, but it was a surprise when he turned up at Vellayambalam. Sudhir is a kind of person who one day may be in Jaipur, and during dinner he may be in B'lore and having a midnight tea at Trivandrum. I always meet Sudhir when I come to Trivandrum, if he is around.

Kanan has promised to give  Tirunelveli  halwa  to Sudhir. Sudhir never turns up for collecting the halwa and Kannan uses it for growing Mushroom.  It is now officially called Tirunelveli  Mushroom halwa.  A few minute drive took us to Kannan home  for Tirunelveli  Mushroom halwa.. I also got some halwa.  We talked about everyone and Sudhir kept ignoring Devi's phone calls. Devi uses an app  'Find Sudhir's phone' and when he disappears, she  calls all his phones.. 

Vijaykumar's message popped up saying that he is in Trivandrum. He is supposed to be Trivandrum as per the information from Interpol. Vijay disappeared completely after leaving school and I have never seen him after that.  The last I heard of him was he was on the banks of Naramada. It was a pleasant surprise to get a call from Vijay and chance to meet him.  He and his son was waiting in front of Women's college. He is doing a good job in training his son on ' Vayinottam'. When you have an experienced hand at home, why get trained from someone outside.

As the banner says, two different flavors meet.  Vijay son was deliberately kept out from the photo for privacy reasons( supreme court directive).... 

Shivalal tricked me and didn't turn up for a 6.30 meet at Statue. He lost a chance to get his Civas Segal... Recreated the old memories with JK over the phone..   Spoke with Devi , Asaf Ali and Hari. Asaf says we will meet, but bread and butter priorities took precedence.  

I wanted to meet Suresh Gopi- Sathish Krishna.. but was sacred that he will ask ' Orma Undoo Eee Mukam' 

Thanks everyone for sparing few moments with me from the  daily hustle and bustle... 

Find me in that Crowd.... 

It is Snowing in Kerala

It was Thursday, Every Keralaite is glued to News channels. They are listening to the latest Weather Update. Meteorological Department has predicted that it will Snow in Kerala in few days time.
Referred to as God's Own Country, Kerala is situated on the southwestern tip of the Indian mainland on the Arabian Sea. The state extends between the latitude 10°00 North and longitude 76°25 East. Kerala is bound by the Arabian Sea on the west, Karnataka on the north and northeast and Tamil Nadu on the east. The state can be divided into hills and valleys, midland plains and coastal belts. The hills of Kerala dot the Western Ghat from Ponmudi in the south to Munnar in the centre and Sultan's Bathery in the north. In the coastal belts of this state are situated world famous backwaters that are more or less main attraction of Kerala.

Kerala's climate is mainly wet and maritime tropical, heavily influenced by the seasonal heavy rains brought by the Southwest Summer Monsoon. In eastern Kerala, a drier tropical wet and dry climate prevails. Kerala receives an average annual rainfall of 3,107 mm — some 70.3 km3 of water. This compares with the all-India average of 1,197 mm. Parts of Kerala's lowlands may average only 1,250 mm annually, while the cool mountainous eastern highlands of Idukki district — comprising Kerala's wettest region — receive more than 5,000 mm of orographic precipitation annually.

Keralites are excited with the news of Snow fall. Many have never seen snow except in Films. Most Keralaites know snow as some sort of cotton flakes hence  are looking forward to snow fall. Political parties have taken up the Vechicle announcements of Snow fall. Communist want a Red snow. BJP want Saffron color snow. Some want reservation for Snow. 50% of the snow should be given to minority. Some Politcal leaders are even claiming that they are behind the Snow fall. Snow fall is fast becoming political. Not to be left behind religious leaders have started special prayers. There are rallies in support of and against the Snow fall. Shops are doing brisk business selling warm clothes, jackets  gloves and room heaters. Soft drink companies have come up with Snow special Advertisments and drinks. TV channels have discussions, reality shows on snow fall. The mimicry artists are having a good time imitating film actors and politicians views on snow fall.

Temperature has plummeted in Kerala and is becoming sub-zero. Kerala is becoming a Lungi free state because of the cold. Chief Minister and few politicans have never worn a pant. It is becoming  difficult for the state Government to find tailors. As there are no pants for ministers the goverment has come to stand still.

Finally on Saturday night it started snowing when hype was at its lowest. The Snow fall was continuing when everyone woke up. They are stunned on seeing the snow. More like seeing the KANI during Vishu. Every where it is white. The greenery turned to white. Kids are out there playing in the snow for the first time with their family. The old young everyone are enjoying it.

Many Keralites don't know of Snowman. They started building any thing that looks like a Snowman. BJP, Congress  and CPM started building snowman resembling their leaders .Trouble started when BJP said it is Hindu snow and others claimed it was a Secular Snow. Before it became a full scale violence Police jumped in sorted everyone out. Some Social Organisations started snow man making competition. Everyone was having a great time.

Snow bought its on problems also. Wells and pipe line froze. So as usual if it rains or snows No water for Keralites. Power cut is common, But this time there is no power at all. The Roads were frozen. Keralites don't know of gritting the roads. Kerala went back to Ice age ....

As it became colder and Windy Keralites decided to go indoor. The euoproria is over, But far away in the Snow one person is still playing. He is not having a shirt. He is having an Umberlla. he has a Big belly. Looks Like Maveli is enjoying the first Snowfall in Kerala

Namuku Holiday Cheyan Lake District

What shall we do for Christmas? The same thought was in the minds of all of us. 10 of us joined and decided to go to

Lake district. Nimy took the initiative

of booking couple of lovely cottages in Newlands valley. Vinoo, Nimy, Manoj and Dhanya chipped in with the food items along with Navin, Nida and

Shadhaab. I joined in from Brussels catching a boat. Nayeem added to the fun. Nearly 50% of the names started with "N".

Early hours of 25th December we left for Lake district. A Mazda and BMW from London and another BMW from Abeerden. First shock came when Kavya and Gopi dropped out becuase of ill health. Second shock was Manoj's BMW refused to start. Vinoo's

Mazda provided Manoj a helping hand with a jump start. Off we hit M1 from Hendon and agreed to meet at some service Birmingham. Manoj was in Fast Forward mode and was eating up M1 quite fast.

Brunch was in a service station near Birmingham. All went for different flavours of English Breakfast. Egg became a main ingrident of the trip. Manoj again needed a jump start and we all hit the road again. As we left Lancashire into Cumbria the beautiful scenery started unravelling.

The snow capped mountains, the black curving roads, occasional sheep march and frost bitten trees. No wonder everyone wanted to write a poem. As we started going up the hills with sunlight hitting the white mountains, cameras were busy. The occasional fog was the icing in the cake. We decided to take a break somewhere on the A66 to enjoy the landscape. 20 minutes out in the cold we realised that we need more protection. Jumping back in to the car we drove to Keswick town centre.

Keswick is a small town with mountains, lakes and rivers. The buildings were made from the slight green slates of Cumbria. We loved the place. It

being Christmas all was quiet and car parks empty. We walked down to the Bassenthwaite Lake.

Bassenthwaite Lake and the hills was truly a magnificent sight. With the sun going down the hills, the still lake and white snowy mountains was truly a photographer's dream. The occasional flight of the birds and a curious Robin all added to the fun. As the evening light faded we all decided to drive to the cottage.

The roller coaster ride was begininig. Navin had reached the cottage after few ups and down, Manoj raced up the frozen roads. As we left the main road into the country roads, driving was a nightmare. At the top of a hill we lost traction and car was sliding down. Nayeem jumped out the car looking for stones(Kalleedu Thumpi). I was trying to find some thing that could provide grip to the tyres. A good man in a Chelesa tractor advised us to drive up the hill with full traction. In between we called Manoj and Navin for rescue. They never reached us. I think they were afraid of being lost. We went back and in full throttle drove up; the momentem took us up the hill down the hill, hairpin bends and again up the hill. We saw Manoj and Navin as streaks when we passed them. A zig zag sign made me think of the good old days in Earth. Vinoo braked avoiding Dhanya and Shadhaab and car stopped before the Zig Zag. Vinoo was trembling, but did a good job. We all thanked god. Somehow we parked the car and then started unpacking our stuff.

The Kitchen was like Sahara desert, but within minutes it sprang into life with our food stuff. Crisps, milks apples, bomerang bananas and lots more. This could keep us in the cottage for atleast few days and also if required feed the neighbours. Beer was buried in the snow to make it cold. All of us were talking of roller coaster ride. Cottage-1 was the main kitchen and cottage-2's kitchen was rarely used. Manoj Dhanya and Nayeem(with few ghosts) decided to stay in Cottage-2. Myself, Vinoo, Nimy, Navin, Nida and Shadhaab used Cottage-1. Someone told that Nayeem was really talking to ghosts in the Night.

Dinner was ready and drinks were cold enough we all got into the act of finshing the food. I was meeting Nida and Shadhaab for the first time and Navin after a long time. We had lot of catching up to do. Late night we all hit the bed. Vinoo realised that the word "Kuthra" means bad and not good as he was thinking all now. But for Vinoo's cool handling of things we would have been in some hospital in Cumbria.

As the Boxing day morning sunlight started beaming to my room, I could see the cottage was sitting in front of a farm were sheep's were trying to find grass in the snow. Behind the farm snow capped hills hugged the blue skies with occasional clouds. The sun was playing hide and seek. The front of the cottage faces a valley and the sound of a small stream flowing coming from somewhere . My tummy was grumbling, signs of bad stomach. I had tea with lemon and sugar to keep it calm. Taking my D90 I walked around the cottage capturing everything.

The frozen trees, the sheep's, the stream and the hills. Walking on the frozen ice was like learning to walk for the first time. I had faith in my shoes. When I returned to cottage I could see camera flashes, signs that others have woken up.

The ladies were very good hosts as always, they had the breakfast ready. The chances of going out was very remote in this frozen conditions. We decided to do a pilot with Navin's BMW which had winter tyres. The idea was if Navin's car could come back to cottage then we would take the other cars. Myself Navin and Nayeem decided to drive down the Newland Valley. Going down was the road was very tricky, but manged to reach the bottom of the road. Driving up the car lost traction and the car started doing things it wanted to do and within minutes the car was sitting perpendicular to

the road. Manoj was asked to bring the showel. He told me that 2 cars are coming down the hill. I ran up the hill to stop them. Finally we decided that it was not a good idea to bring the car up the hill A sheep was trying to avoid Manoj with a showel on a curve and lost its footing and took Manoj along with it. All we could hear was a bleating and crying sounds. The sheep returned after a day with its friends to show them Manoj. The sheep was a hero in the flock, being the first to fight an Indian.

Manoj's car needed a battery, the nearest Halfords was at Penrith. Vinoo was left in the company of the ladies. Myself Manoj, Navin and Nayeem decided to get some drinks and a battery. Everyone bought good protective gear at Keswick and we drove down to Penrith looking for a super market and an Indian Restaurant. Searching for an Indian Restaurant, we came upon this British guy. He might be yellow pages of Penrith

Hilal: Is there any Indian Restraunt here?

Stranger: Yes. Do u want to go to Good Restaurant or Average one?

Hilal: Average!!

Stranger: Shocked !! Thinking; who is this fool asking for an average restaurant on a boxing day. I thought I got a chance to show my knowledge of Indian restaurants to few Indians. This fellow spoiled it by saving average. Finally he guided us to the green coloured building. But lucky for the Restaurant; it was closed. Everyone had a good laugh over it.

We got the battery and drove safely back to the cottage. We were starving and ate anything. The day also had a snow fight competition and we built a snowman also. Dinner on Boxing day was real fun. Manoj was drinking his washing liquid oops Brandy. His Brandy was sitting next to washing liquid and someone used it to wash the plates hence the name washing liquid. The colour of the brandy was like Persil. A bottle of Champagne for the ladies. I tried everything. Others stuck to the usual things. After dinner Vinoo was boxed to a corner to give him some advice. He is the youngest of the married lot. There was a boxing match between Nida and Nayeem and I was the referee which Nayeem lost. If he loses again next day Nida will call him Bubble. We all agreed to be ready by 10.00 am next day to go to Gramsmere.

The day after boxing day was pleasant. All those who woke up early went for a walk around Newland valley. The easiest way to remove the snow from cars was to have a snowball fight. I was fighting against Navin and

Nida but was able to survive; Nimy helped me. Nimy was chased by Vinoo who had a fall. Humpty Dumpty had a fall.... I was helping Shadhaab with snow balls as she could not bent down. It was decided that Vinoo's car will be taken to Town Centre and will be left there overnight. We also did some warm clothes shopping at Keswick and left for Grasmere.

Gramsere, Dove cottage, is the place where Wordsworth lived. We had a "new shoes" photos taken, Nida was kept out of it and she was sulking. Knowing more about Wordsworth, someone whom we learned in school was really a great experience. Nimy was the curios of the lot. As we left Dove cottage to Keswick, it was snowing heavily. But still we manged to take some pictures at Thirlmere and push a car into the road. Next important thing was to find a pub for Dinner/Lunch as it was already 4.30.

The first pub we went didn't provide food; but Bank Tavern served food. We drove back to Keswick. I made sure that everyone had a seat. Some tried bitter beer and gave up. The food at the pub's at city centre never used to be that good as in the country side, Bank Tavern also continued the tradition.

After dinner we drove back to cottage safely. I was acting as the Satnav. Dinner, Movies and Munchies were served for the evening. Nida Nayeem Boxing match never happened as Nayeem forfeited it. Nida now calls Nayeem now as Bubble Chachu. Packing and cleaning has to begin for the next day's return trip.

The Cottage was handed back by 10 Am on 28th December. All cars were packed and cottage cleaned, we handed over the keys to the cleaners. They took our group photo. I was in Navin's car. We stopped at Derwent water lake to take some pictures. The freezing lakes, bit of fog over the lake, the parked boats and the sunlight was a treat to the eyes. I was busy snapping up. We then reached the Car Park. Things were moved into Vinoo's car. Myself, Vinoo, Manoj and Dhanya left for Windermere, while Navin, Shadhaab, Nimy, Nida and Nayeem went to Birmingham. Later it turned out that they had spent the whole day on M6 stuck in traffic.

Vinoo, Manoj, Dhanya and myself drove to Windermere. In between we stopped at Walla Craig and Thirlmere to take some pictures. The sunlight, the fog, the snow flakes, the blue skies and the still lakes was majestic. I hated leaving Lake district. We then went to Ambelside lake. This was an accidental discovery. It was near a cottage where non residents were also allowed. We walked down the garden footpath. Behind us was a house built from Cumbrin slate and glass windows and sloping roof. Walking down the footpath we crossed the woods and reached the lake. The sight was breath taking. The snow capped hills, a small island with a plant and the clear water with an ocassional boat creating small waves on the shore. We spent an hour on the lake's bank. From here we decided to find a pub for lunch. We ended up in INGS which has Watermill pub. This is the best pub in Cumbria. Our car got stuck in the snow, but was helped by strangers. The Pub food was fantastic and we left Lake district to London. We met the M6 people at Palm beach.

We all really enjoyed the days in Lake district. I was missing Zubeen a lot. It was sad that everything got over very fast. I was up early morning to Brussels. I nealy missed the bus at Folkstone. Someone from the bus found me and took me back. Naveen, Nida snd Shadhaab are back safely to enjoy snow. That completed the puzzle.

Looking back it was a good thing that I went with my friends to Lake district.

Like birds, let us, leave behind what we don’t need to carry…GRUDGES SADNESS PAIN FEAR and REGRETS. Life is beautiful, Enjoy it.HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

Snippets:

Hilal was talking only food and food during the trip and not Nimy.

Vinoo improved his Malayalam Vocabulary.

Navin read a book on smoking over the weekend, and stuck to it.

Manoj is very famous among the sheep's of Newland valley.

Nayeem is now the official stone man.

All of us pushed most of the cars in Lake District except Vinoo.

There are bananas as big as Boomerang in UK.

Dhanya was the guard for the North Korean president.

Karimoor is the official shoes for winter days.

What is causing the Economic crisis?

Is it that US and UK is faking real growth. Is it the integration of Emerging economies into world economy affecting the west? The emerging economies with massive labour force, capital, technology and access to markets are affecting the west.

In 1990's there were 100 Mainframe programmers to do 100 jobs; the availability and demand were matching. In 2008 the jobs remained at 100 or less, but there was a massive influx of mainframe programmers from emerging economies. This was not a problem initially, but as the programmers became more efficient and jobs decreasing there was a mismatch.

The emerging economies with new found wealth from increasing work force lent their wealth to the UK & US. This resulted in the emergence of Service economy. The lending of wealth to US and UK resulted in no productive wealth creation, but resulted in real estate inflation, consumption, consumer credit and excessive government borrowing. Oil economies recycled the money in to US and UK creating Credit and Housing Bubbles. In fact borrowing is not creating wealth, but foregoing of future wealth. So borrowing by US and UK appeared as economic growth, but much of the activity was taking place at the expense of future wealth.

The moment you buy something, it will have a multiplier effect, i.e. with your payment you are paying someone's salary, someone's building rent and so on. When you buy lighting with borrowed money, the lighting would have been manufactured in China, where there are hundreds of factories. The lighting buy will result in additional investment in these factories to service the demand, which will affect the supplier of goods to the factories and so on. The cumulative lighting buy would result in growth in UK and US, in turn will increase employment, which would have resulted in those individuals to purchase some other things and rising economic activity.

Thus huge amount of borrowed money flows through UK and US to service this credit fuelled activity. The world shapes around consumption, and we believe that wealth is being created. When lending stops, the world economy suddenly is pointing in the wrong direction.

The economy is shifting shapes. The over capacity will lead to price competition and bankruptcy will follow. This is seen as a collapse of Service economy in UK and US which will have knock on effect on suppliers. This will lead to destruction of economies. This is destruction of Savings. The empty factories with surplus workers will lead to destruction of savings.

Creditor countries like Japan and China have exchanged the goods for overseas paper called debt. They don't know what to do with this paper now. If they sell the paper, its value comes down and more paper will be issued. The US and UK don't have enough output to service the debt. The consumption in US and UK was really destruction of capital. It is like lending the money to someone who spend the whole lot on parties. Without proper investing in some kind of productive activity no one can pay back. If some one buys a TV with borrowed money, at some point he has to pay with his hard labour.

Now the lenders have realised that the money given to US & UK was spend on parties and are wary of lending to UK & US again. There has been massive erosion of saving in favour of consumption. US and UK have a massive hangover of Debt, meaning less capital. Both countries should produce more to have new base capital and surplus value to service debt.

US and UK have little capital base to transition to real wealth. But the good thing is both economies have good companies to rebuild a capital base. The government is pouring more money into the insolvent banking system. In doing so they are borrowing huge amount of future capital. By borrowing so much they are denying the availability of capital to business that might start the transition of the economy. The amount of saving both domestic and international is finite. Every $ that is put to use for government borrowing is not available for business.

The government is trying to use the stimulus money to generate employment which will increase consumption. But the problem is that we need saving and not consumption to build capital for economic restructuring. When the government try to resume consumption it actually is trying to make up the short fall in consumer borrowing and restart partying. When Bank of England reduces rates many savers have seen the money fall to nothing. The cash drain is a worrying symptom of rising unemployment. People who have lost their jobs are forced to dip into their savings to pay for their everyday expenses.

The government is thinking of Quantitative easing which means printing money. They think this as creating new capital. UK and US government should understand that wealth has moved away. The only way to return to wealth is restructure economies and meet the new challenges, else both $ and Pound will go the Zimbabwean way.

What A Mallu

Mallu for me is anyone who speaks Malayalam. I am a Mallu. This year's trip to Kerala was very exciting. With few expectations I landed in Kochi.During my stay in Kerala I came across a lot different varities of Mallu. They come in diffrent forms attitude and views.

Driving in Ernakulam is a Nightmare, we decided to try an Autorickshaw. The driver of the Auto was a real specimen. He is thin and drives a very old auto. The problem with him is that he don't like anyone. Any car with a different district registration, he says 'I must give him a Pani' means I must do something to him. He don't likes anyone overtaking. His auto is an antique and anyone can overtake. He keeps taking about how he can create problems for other. I asked him why. He replied 'U will not understand' He was a shorter version of Raj Thackrey.

Next in Line comes a Cab Driver. His problem is again attitude. He is uncompromising. He is ready for a fight with anyone. May be he is a Communist. He thinks only Socialism can solve the world's problem. Well longtime back his family might have been a capitalist, But now he is a Communist and still belives in past glory. He didn't survive long with us and disappeared after picking a fight with us.

Another Mallu is a state policeman. I met this guy while waiting in the queue to fill petrol during the petrol shortage in Trivandrum. He is quite happy to be in places where is there is TV camera. He knows most of his senior's , what they do, which department they are posted. He is happy not to do what he is supposed to do and do something else. He gave up so easily while trying to control the crowds in the petrol station and let others do the work for him. These are the people who are supposed to protect us. They are happy not to take any responsibility

Two wheeler driving Mallu is another bunch. They don't plan anything. They are always in a rush. They drive anywhere they can find 3 mm of space. They have scant respect for Road rules. They don't care about pedestrians or signals. When asked they reply 'We pay tax so can do anything'. They are selfish and try to wriggle in to anywhere. They never think that a second delay or going somewhere a bit early would easily solve lot of problems. If one side of road is blocked due to traffic , they will wriggle through the other side and blocking free flow from otherside also.

Another interesting aspect of a Mallu is that they never stand in Queue except at Kerala State beverages corporation to buy alcohol. They like to crowd round a table. They don't realise that standing in a queue will quicken things out. They will crowd round and one with the longest hand will push his stuff to clerk and then walks out thinking that he has achieved something. Thank god they don't try to the samething in a toilet.

Another variety of Mallu is someone who believes that 'I am late' so let me make others also late. I happened to meet this sort of mallu at the petrol station. He is a mixture of a wriggling Bike mallu and want to make others late. I asked him if he could move his bike forward so that I could make my way out of the petrol station. His reply 'I have been standing here for last 2 hours so you also wait for another 2 hours. No wonder why Kerala is way behind other states.

Another variety of Mallu who loves honking. U are stuck in a traffic and there is no chance of moving forward, but the Mallu behind you will continously try to honk. I am not sure what is he gaining out of it. May be contribute to the destruction of environment and other's ears. This applies to anyone from who holds any respectable position to someone who drives for a living.

Mallus also love driving there cars on roads with a high beam in the night. They don't care for others. They are least bothered if he is hazard to others. I wish I had a torch to shine into his eyes. They also never give any space to anyone to go. If u try reversing your car then they try to go in between you, No matter if it affects the smooth flow of traffic. They also try to get into your parking space when you are trying to do a reverse parking. They then look at you as though nothing happened.

Government staff Mallus are another intresting variety. They only give you part information. You have to ask him 10 times if you want know everything. This sort of people you can find in RTO office and anyone who working in a Customer facing role in any government office. Strangely I ended up irritating someone when I kept questioning why he never gave me all information in one go.

Another variety of Mallu is someone who boasts that he knows popular people. Everyone falls a bit into this category. I also belong a bit to these category. Sometimes I also says that I also have high connections.

Another variety of Mallu is full of ego. His ego is driven by either his inferiority complex or Superiority complex. Either way he don't listen or thinks. He is always correct. The problem is they quickly come to a conclusion and will stick on to it and will not relent; even if he is wrong. It is very difficult to work out a sensible solution with these sort of people. He thinks agreeing to someone is like he has lost his life. This sort of people drags things on and on untill the other person gives up. He now has a winning feeling, but never realises that he is the real loser. What will happen if people with Egos meet up??

Another variety of Mallu is someone who will agree to get things done by this particular day. When you ask him if it can be done or not. He says sure, but will never do it. We met this tailor who agreed to make bedsheets for us. We gave all the measurements, sketches everything. We asked him if he could do it or not. He said he will complete it by 13th January. What happened on 13th January, he shut his shop very early and left. The cloth material is back at my home without even being opened. When asked why 'I didnot get all the information' How can he retain customers. They don't say no, but will not delivering on the agreed day.

If Mallus come in different forms, then Mallu ways are strange. Has anyone been to Big Bazar or Parthas. They want to keep even handbags at the counter. They are not willing to take the responsibility of the bags. When we are allowed to have the handbag inside the shop after long argument, then someone was shadowing us.
Finally when you buy things; all the items are stuffed in to covers just like in airport and will come out of the shop after multiple checking. Is it to improve security or to irritate people. Why don't they use tagging system.

Politician Mallu is someone who comes for jogging early morning surrounded by 10 people. They move us one unit. Looking at the other guys, they are on a compulsory jogging mission. The Politician Mallu smiles at everyone trying to impress others. They are a hazard to other joggers and they walk on the middle of the road. Still believes in blocking road for attention.

Not all Mallus are negative and egoistic, but Majority are. Then the Kerala would have been Somalia. I have met few who are good and unhappy with what is happeneing. This particular Auto driver was charging less compared to others. I asked him why 'The price of petrol has come down and everyone has to contribute if things need to improve'. I was very impressed by this guy.

Another variety of Mallu is who works hard so that others get their salary. He is a government officer who is on time and doing his job very well. He gets riducled by his colleagues, but he is not bothered.I wish the current percentage reverses so that Kerala can progress.

What I like of few Mallus are they don't have to be a part of a group or someone to tell to take up intiative. He does by himself. But the problem is if there are negative Mallus in the group then he will be dragged down.

Eye Contact

Of all the ways we communicate with people, eye contact is the most powerful. "How we look at other people, meet their gaze and look away can make all the difference between an effective encounter and one that leads to embarrassment or even rejection." Whether it's a loving gaze, hostile stare, nervous glance or a refusal to look altogether, the duration of the contact (or lack thereof) reveals our interest in the other party and the situation.

Looking at people and meeting their eyes are the first steps toward striking up friendships and making positive impressions. The best advice is to make short frequent glances in social situations. Making eye contact for too long a duration can be seen as threatening; the subtext of interest becomes distorted. Failing to look at others causes suspicion as they wonder what signals are being masked. "Honesty and the ability to look someone in the eye are very closely related" Refusing to make eye contact also sends messages of arrogance and contempt communicating to the other person that they are insignificant, a non-person. There are subtle, silent rules to eye contact and they vary from culture to culture.

With people we don't know where our personal "bubble of space" is also being invaded, eye contact hardly exists. In an elevator, on a plane or on the street, make contact if you wish, but break it immediately. Any glance longer than a brief one becomes a sign of recognition or rudeness. In general conversation, you can make eye contact for a few seconds at a time before breaking it. And in public speaking situations, glances of even longer duration are vital to getting your message across
In normal conversation, eye contact plays an important role as the regulator of turn taking. To start a conversation with someone, you need to first establish eye contact. If that person looks back, "permission" has been granted to begin speaking. As soon as the conversation begins, you will find that as the speaker, you look away from the listener glancing back only intermittently to check in. If you're speaking to a group, be sure to check in with all sets of eyes to maintain their interest. When you are done, grant permission via eye contact to the person who has signalled his intention to speak next. If you don't want to be interrupted by someone, avoid his gaze. Without eye contact, your listener will find it more difficult to interrupt which will keep you in control of the conversation.

When we pause to choose our words, we usually look away from our audience. Some people look to the left, some to the right. Experts tell us that those who look away to the right are more scientifically minded. Those who look to the left tend to be more religious or artistic. If we're gathering our thoughts to answer a question, the hemispheres of our brain determine which way we look. If we're asked a verbal question, we tend to look right to gather our thoughts. A spatial question will cause most of us to look to the left. In public speaking situations, skilled speakers look directly at their audience when they want to emphasize a point or display conviction. At other times, they sweep with audience with their eyes taking a few seconds to "click" with each set of eyes. Their goal is to appear as though they are having a mini-conversation with each member of the audience

It is important not to make eye contact look deliberate or controlled. The goal is always to use your eyes in a relaxed way so that you never make others feel uncomfortable
• Listeners typically look at the speaker about 75% of the time in glances lasting 1-7 seconds
• Eye contact rarely lasts longer than three seconds before one or both viewers experience a powerful urge to glance away
• In Japan, listeners are taught to focus on a speaker's neck in order to avoid eye contact, while in the U.S., listeners are encouraged to gaze into a speaker's eyes.
• If someone should surprise you, stay calm. Look him right in the eye--always maintain eye contact. That way you don't look shifty-eyed, but, more important, all he will notice is your eyes.
• When speaking with others, people who have a hard time making new friends are more likely to look down at the ground, or look away. They rarely will look at the face of the person they are talking with.

How many of us thought we are Raj from Dilwale Dulhaniyan Le Jayenge... Thinking that our Simran will look back when I say "Palte ke deek".

How many of us might have thought about someone when we made some sort of Eye Contact in School and College...

Come on Bring back some spark from old days

Superstitions

Superstitions are believed to be signs which people observe to gain good luck or to stay clear of bad luck. Superstitions have evolved over a very long time. People just seem to need something, or someone, to blame if their life goes drastically wrong. For example, if someone has some unexpected bad news it can be more acceptable for them to put the blame on the ladder they walked under earlier that morning, rather than face a difficulty as their own responsibility. There appear to be more superstitions about avoiding bad luck than there are about creating good luck. Perhaps this is because people like to think that if something good happens it is due to their own hard work or because they deserve it, whereas when something bad happens people don't like to blame themselves.

Superstitions vary from country, region and religion. In some places a person with a particular star sign will be first person to visit the home on a new year. This is supposed to bring good luck. If something wrong happens, then ' I told you not to call the person’. Someone else will get a chance next time.

In Western folklore, traditional superstitions associated with bad luck include Friday the 13th, walking under a ladder, and black cats. This article will discuss superstitions involving cats across the world.

• A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck
• It is considered bad luck to pass a black cat after 9pm
• In North America, its bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and good luck if a white cat crosses your path.
• In Britain and Ireland, it's the opposite.
• Black Cats - In ancient Egypt, the Goddess Bast was a black, female cat. Christians, wanting to rid society of all traces of other religions, convinced the ignorant that black cats were demons in disguise and should thus be destroyed. In the process, they also destroyed the kindly ladies who cared for the cats, believing them to be witches. Being demons, a black cat crossing your path would create a barrier of evil, cutting you off from God and blocking the entrance to heaven
• A kitten born in May - a witches cat
• A black cat crossing your path - good luck (A white cat in USA, Spain and Belgium)
• A black cat seen from behind - a bad omen
• Stray tortoise shell cat - bad omen
• Cat sneezing three times - the family will catch a cold
• USA belief - A cat washing on the doorstep - the clergy will visit
• Killing a cat - sacrificing your soul to the Devil
• Kicking a cat - Rheumatism
• A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. - Italian superstition
• It is bad luck to see a white cat at night
• Dreaming of white cat means good luck
• If a cat washes behind its ears, it will rain. - English superstition
• A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means cold weather ahead. - English superstition
• English schoolchildren believe seeing a white cat on the way to school is sure to bring trouble. To avert bad luck, they must either spit, or turn around completely and make the sign of the cross.
• A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic. - Irish superstition
• A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity. - Scottish superstition
• A cat on top of a tombstone meant certainly that the soul of the departed buried was possessed by the devil.
• Two cats seen fighting near a dying person, or on the grave shortly after a funeral, are really the Devil and an Angel fighting for possession
• To see a white cat on the road is lucky.
• To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck. - Irish superstition
• When moving to a new home, always put the cat through the window instead of the door, so that it will not leave.
• In 16th century Italy, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick man, he would die. But there's also a belief that a cat will not remain in the house where someone is about to die. Therefore, if the family cat refuses to stay indoors, it is believed that someone in the house is doomed.
• In India if any cat crosses the road then it is bad luck if you cross the spot first where the cat crossed the road.
• Kerala Supersition : Two political parties seen fighting on the road, means harthal for Next two days
  

Kerala- How to kill Development

Kerala in the last decade of the 20th Century was run by corrupt LDF and UDF governments. LDF does favour to anyone supporting red color and UDF supported the one with 'Kader'. The Employees are also divided on these lines. They lacked initiative or not willing to take responsibilities. Un-employment rate was very high even though most keralities are educated. Industries could not be set-up as Communist parties think that they can grow only if there is un-employment. Business community is more worried about their profits and and how not to pay taxes. Politics, Police, Business and government office were all fingers in the hand supporting each other. Students were divided on party lines. LDF and UDF used their student wings to destroy public properties and bring down government. Goonda gangs flourished supported by Politicians and Blade companies. If you cannot get your things done then use these gangs, they will make sure that it is done. Strikes, bandh hartal all were part of life. The only good thing was that there was not much religion based politics. The Religious groups were a part of LDF or UDF in the form of parties. Muslim League thinks they help Muslims but never. Kerala Congress stood for Christians they say and SNDP stood for a few Hindus and BJP who owns all the Hindus all over the world. Trade unions are another big problem. They are a hindrance to the development of the state. The world 'private' is allergic to Communist lead unions. If someone decides to set an industry in Kerala, communists will make sure that the owner will be bankrupt. Communist objects to each and every proposal. If some one shows an elephant and tells the Communists that it is an elephant. They will say that is not elephant, But will they it as any other animal. No Never. They will keep on arguing that it is not an elephant. May be after 10 years time they will say it is an elephant, by the time lot of properties would have been destroyed.

Police is Kerala is a very scared community. Why? If they do their job they are transferred or terrorized. If they don't do their job they are incompetent. So what can they do? They spend more time worrying about themselves rather than doing the job. Politicians use them to their advantages. Police has to please all the politicians. Justice is for the person who gives them more money and who has more influence. Politeness is a word alien to them. Police in Kerala has their dictionary and words are meant for them only. There is something called Pollution Control Board responsible for protecting the environment when a new industry is set up It can be called as Pollution 'Kantilla'( Will not see') Board. Certificates are given to any one who fills the officer’s pocket with money. Goonda gangs are another menace. They are the creations of the political parties and arrack shop owners. They are used to settle scores. The younger versions of these goonda gangs are their in colleges to assist in College elections. Rig Veda (Vote-rigging) is not that popular is Kerala.

Keralites fed up of not able to make a livelihood decided to leave Kerala. Many ended in Gulf Europe and America. The money sends by these people are responsible for running of the state. and making politicans rich. What is happening to the tax collected? 95% goes as government salary. 5% don't know. Do Keralities protest against this? No. They clap when the Super stars fight against the system in films or watch ' Rang De Basnti' and get emotionally charged and go to sleep. There protest is over with that.

In the 21st Century things has changed not much. Most of the old generation government employees children have educated and left the state and is working in the Metros or abroad. People are waiting for things to happen and not making things happen. When other southern states progressed Kerala 'God's Own Country' thinking of the famous dialog from 'Naddodikattu' "EdaDasan Athin Athente Aaye Samayam Undu '

Did Corruption change? Yes it is now a part of life. The Government pays the salary to the employees. A part of it has to given as bribe, party donations to the politicans and parties for getting things done. Even for passport verification police needs money. Else they sit of it giving silly reasons. Postman for delivering the passport needs money.

If you go down to any government office the employees are always on break. By10.30 they reach office (Actual time 10). Sign the register and open the 1st page of the newspaper, it is time for 11'o Clock coffee break. Coffee break will be till 12 otherwise they cannot rest before the 12.30 Lunch break. So at this time if someone comes with an enquiry then the standard dialogue "Time for lunch come after Lunch'. There is no politeness in anything. Off for lunch from 12.30 to 2 Pm. 2.15 back to desk to finish the newspaper and film Magazine. By 3.10 he is off to pick the children from School or a Coffee break. By 4.30 back to Desk to pack up to go home by 5. During this short time in the office they will discussing or the Serials "Stree' and " Kochunni'". A day is gone, did anything productive happen? Probably this is the reason why there is a pile of Dusty files sitting in front of him. This has accumulated from the day he joined work. Besides this he has to work for the party, take part in party meeting, hunger strikes and so on. If someone comes looking for him. His College will reply ' He was here till now'. This continues to represent the sad state of Kerala. The revenues don't increase so there is no development. But every now and then Government employee needs salary hike and Bonus.

The Bandh took a new name hartal. It means voluntary closure, But Political parties make sure that you are stoned or poured cow dung if you go out. A hartal will be there for each and everything. Political parties believe that Number of Hartal is directly proportional to the popularity. Communist parties arranged a hartal protesting Saddam's Hanging. They think there was a mourning in Iraq when Pinrayi Vijayan was arrested with a gun in luggage. I don't know where they get the idea and motivation to do these silly things. Hartal for Sneezing, one supporting it and one against it. Then a third one protesting that the Central government is responsible for the Sneeze. These things are keeping Kerala primitive. Do people of Kerala support this. No!!. Why no one is protesting. They are scared. If some protests the Political goondas will make sure that he is no more. All Political parties are united on this. Police is there but more like a 'Nookukuthi' (Scarecrow in the field).

Any form of development like road, factory or anything else other than planting flags and building party office Communist parties Objects. An Express Highway connecting Trivandrum to Kasargod was objected by Communists saying that it will divide Kerala into two. Communists was not looking at the economic benefits to the state and environment when cutting down of the time of travel. Nuclear power plant. No chance.

An interesting incident occurred when a white business man was travelling from Trivandrum to Ernakulam. He noticed that in Trivandrum for digging the roads machinery was being used, But in Allapuzha people were digging the road manually. He asked his Indian Counterpart. ' Why no machinery is used in Allapuzha'. The Indian Counterpart said ' In Allapuzha the Communists are powerful so they don't allow machinery so that more people get jobs' The Foreigner was stunned 'He replied they should use Tea-spoon so that more people can work. May be next time Communists will try that.

The ordinary people should stand up. They should stop paying bribes. They should record the visits to government office when making enquires. If they have problems try using the Right to Information ACT. People should start obeying laws. They should try to follow the road signs.
Reading this article don't think I am Anti-Communist. I support anyone who want to develop the state. Country comes first then the party.

C1_1990_Part_2

We became S5-C1 and we grew bolder. S5-C1 and S5-C3 rivalries became prominent. Some of the C1 guys used to irritate C2 guys by throwing pebbles on the asbestos roof. C3 Guys were always stuck inside their class and have a 'Panchara'(Buttering up the Girls). Some where between S4 and S6, Chitra stood for the Vice(Wise) Chairman's post during elections. We campaigned for her. She won. Well she would have won any way as she was a 'Pavam'. I was replaced as the Class rep with Gopan. When there was a tie, I voted for Gopan and not for me. This was for keeping Peace(piece) in the class. The Great South India trip was planned. Gopan took up the lead with Hari.G (Ochira) and Ashokan. I think Hari.G went on a Pilot trip for checking the security arrangements for the C1 VIPs. After lot of hassling and persuasion we had Upendran sir and his wife in the party.

Back after the hectic South Indian tour. It was time to resolve the New Year celebration incident which started from Bangalore. A class meeting was arranged to resolve it. Everybody's version of story was heard.I don't know who all were involved in it. But I remember some of my friends blaming me for starting it. All boils down to ego and teenage mis-adventures of Kuluthur Kamalahassan's and few others Balalelas. After the meeting Bindus and Devishuba made the decision not to join the All India tour.

Life rolled on. Some things were forgotten. The Guys were invited for the Ladies Hostel day celebrations. The Girls were invited for men's Hostel day. I got drunk and was telling stories and next day everybody made sure that I did not forget what told. They kept repeating what I told during the MH day. I remember buying one of those smelly sweets to my parents. This was to make sure that it is not alcohol smell but the smell of the sweet. In the meantime I also used to attend the Women's college and All Saints College' celebrations.

Labs were more fun than theory. University exams and other departmental semester exams made us toil day and nights. Writing records combined studies. Occasional visits to Anand's house for Cricket and late night movies. Once in while the strikes. Some for no water. Some for postponing the exams. New Batches were added and once a while we kept interviewing the freshers. The tuitions, the ego clashes between lectures. Life moved on.

I introduced the gallop polls in College elections for the first time. A sample survey was conducted to know the voting patterns to predict the winners. To escape from the beatings of the losers I had to run away before the elections were out. Gallop poll was more like starting a sweet talk with pretty girls.

We made friends with few pretty seniors. A junior was so scared of me that she used to wish me whenever she saw me. I saw her at an exhibition and she wished me there as well. All the fun Life rumbled on.

When we were S6 we moved from the Asbestos shed to a terraced room behind Computer engineering department. Few of My classmates like me also started accumulating back papers called 'Supplie and Criti'. Some dropped out. Our S6 class had 2 entrances. One day we pushed a lamb in to the class through the back door and entered the class via the front door. Natrajan sir turned to the class after writing something on the board; He saw a lamb in the class. He turned around to see if I was there in the class. But somehow he came to know that I was responsible for it. He reduced my session marks. Finally I had to go to his home and beg him to increase the marks else I would have never passed. It was the day of Island Express accident at Ashtamudi Lake, so he felt a bit of sympathy and increased my sectionals mark for Construction engineering. Biju and Anwar one night decided to kick all the gates at Sreekarium. They were given fine bashing by the locals.

Finally we became seniors and moved to the civil main block. Our class was next to HOD's room. We gradually became theoretical engineers. As we reached S7 it was time for the All India tour. A new principal told that if only C1, C2 and C3 made a combined tour the trip will be approved. He informed this to the Tour Clerk. Many never liked the idea. We went personally to the principal, but he did not Budge. Directorate of Technical education (DTE) has to provide funds for the All India Tour so Principal's approval is a must.

This is what happened after that. I went to the administration department on the day Tour Clerk was on Holiday. I told Superintent that Principal has asked to send the Tour approval request to him for signing. Superintent prepared all the papers and gave the papers for Principal approval to the Peon. I know that if Principal sees me, he will never approve it. The Principal signed the letter. Immediately I took the letter to DTE office. My friend's sister was working there. She did all the formalities and got the funds approved from Director. I took the approved letter to the Principal saying that the Tour and Funds have been approved. Principal only realized his blunder, but was late. He gave a good lecturing to Superintent who did not speak to me for a while. Once C1 got the approval C2 and C3 also got the approval.

A fun filled All India tour got over. My mother caught me with bottle of Cashew Fenny meant for Gafoor (He was from Architecture who joined us for the tour). Some who made the decision of not joining the tour might be regretting it. We started concentrating on studies again. Biju and I were the combined study mates. Anwar also used to join us.

Puncharia sir never liked me. That is what i think. He made me write the record 4 for 5 times. I got annoyed with him and said that I am not going to write the record even again, but things were sorted out later. Foundation engineering had an attender Narayan who was more powerful than HOD. It was very difficult to please him. Sebastian sir used to give advices to me once a while. So also Devishuba and the Bindus used to advice me. The HOD Krishnan sir and I were always at logger heads. But that was me...

7th and 8th semesters were serious days. We also had the golden jubilee celebrations. We prepared the Aruvikara project. It was hard work but enjoyed a lot. We had a new teacher called Jane. She caught me and Biju discussing during exams, but we told her that as we did combined study we also had to discuss during the exams. As a penalty she reduced my sessionals by 1 mark. We used to have extra class. Some one used to bring something or the other to eat.

Devika stood for elections as a Vice chairman candidate. She won by 4 votes. My gallop polls showed she will loose by 3 votes. 4 juniors who were supposed to vote for Sonia did not turn up for voting. I decided to stand for Civil Department secretary election. After Radhakrishan bribed me by giving me a treat at Lords and I withdrew from the contest. The Decision to stand and to Withdraw was mine only. On Civil engineering day we had mimicry by Kalabhavan troop. Few film stars attended it.

8th semester always saw a one day trip by us. Almost everybody turned up for the trip. We made the food for the lunch. It was a memmorable one. I remember a professor who accompanied stole someone else alcohol.

We had project work for 8th Semester. I joined with Anand to do Stress Analysis. The project started off seriously. We had the final year celebrations an elephant parade. A tug of war and the Rope broke. But days of not taking studies seriously caught up with me. Got myself in the web of 'Supplie and Criti'. I was not able to complete my final year project. I had attendance shortage and finally forced to repeat 8th semester. S8-C1 celebrated the final year's day at Veli. My successful friends moved on. Anand was the class topper.

I confessed to my parents about the mistakes I made and asked them to give me a chance. Since I told them the truth my dad agreed to give me a chance. I was able to complete my engineering not with flying colors but was colorful.

I learned a lot of things in Engineering. It prepared me for the challenges ahead. I still believe my engineering college days were my golden days....

Communism from Sandesham to Arabikatha

In ‘Sandesham' Prabhakaran the son of a Station master is a die hard communist. He will do anything for the party. Prabhakaran depicted very well the communists of 90's. Prabhakaran was educated and didn’t want to work but work for communist. Communism in Kerala thrives in unemployment. Everyone become a part of some political party once he becomes a government servant. Prabhakaran being educated was a party "Buji", the so called ideology guru. Prabhakaran follows Marxism as written down in the book.

Marxism brings Prabhakaran always in conflict with his brother. Prabhakaran's parents try to put some common sense in him, but as Marxist ideology says only the book and one who follow it only right and rest everyone is wrong. Prabhakaran's form of communism is always trying to bring social change thorough strikes hartal, When Communists lost in Poland Prabhakaran was there in the streets protesting it. Did they gain anything from it is still a mystery.

Prabhakaran never liked anyone criticizing the communists. He is upset with his family when some one criticizes the party. A communist never takes criticism. We never take responsibility, we oppose everything, our protests are violent and we destroy public properties. We instigate students to protests. Finally I only care for the party, not even for me or my family. Since Prabhakaran the communist only thought from one side he could never see anything good or bad from the other side. Our Prabhakaran's father decided to act tough with him and Prabhakaran fell in line with the family and his politics ended. There are lots of Prabhakarans in Communist party because of which it is surviving. They are still looking towards China and Cuba to help them. The best quality of Prabhakarans is that they are not selfish.

Nearly 30 years since Prabhakarans helped Communist party survive; they are now transformed into Cuba Mukundans as we in ‘Arabikatha’. Cuba Mukundans is an ardent fan of Fidel Castro and loves his party than anything. Cuba Mukundan criticizes and resists everything that is forbidden by the party texts. And so he is against cola, bourgeoisie, bribery, computers and even don't believe in gods as communists originally don't. As Marx somewhere suggested that he rethought many times about his decision to enter into marriage, Mukundan also don't like to enter into matrimony.

The new generation Communist party contains not only Cuba Mukundan but also selfish leaders like Vijayns who want to be rich. Vijayns are now becoming the public face of communist party. Vijayns grow along with the party. But Cuba Mukundans are again a brand of non selfish leaders who remain in the background and never reach any where. Cuba Mukundan dream of going to Cuba and China, But Vijayns think of going to US and Gulf. Cuba Mukundans always fall into the bottom of the communist food chains and are eaten by Vijayan crocodiles. May be one Cuba Mukundan will slip out once a while and see the other world.

One such Cuba Mukundan reaches Dubai. Cuba Mukundans think that he should help others even if he doesn’t have anything. They think that it is there birth right to help China. May be that is why they want to help China in the nuclear deal. Mukundan being a communist never touched laptop or don't have any knowledge except a good heart. Mukundan's silly beliefs are taken advantage of everyone. In Dubai Cuba Mukundan sees the difficult aspect of life. There cannot be equality everyone has to struggle. The rich needs the poor for work and become elite. Poor needs rich to become middle class and so on. The food chain on the other side is different.

The ruling communist parties in Kerala, has moved away from the ordinary people and its ideals, to become a party controlled by a Vijayans and business tycoons devoid of social commitment. Mukundans at the lower of food chains believe and support them. Few Mukundans who slip out Food chains survive, but they never take on the Vijayns. They find happiness in other forms, with communism still burning deep in their heart.

Sub Prime - The Housing Bubble

After the Dotcom Crash and September 11 attacks, The Federal reserves lowered the interest rates to create capital liquidity (Liquidity is a financial term that means the amount of capital, or money, that is available for investment). It worked as economy began to stabilise by 2002 by encouraging borrowing, spending and investments. Property prices also started increasing.

House prices followed the general principle of demand and supply - When demand is more than supply price increases. People assumed that property value would always appreciate and wanted to buy more houses as investment. Banks started lending to everybody and also to sub prime customers. Sub primes are people with weak credit history or less of a capacity to repay.
Banks always got higher profits over high mortgage rates associated with sub primes. Financial institutions thought that this is a safe option as even if sub primes start defaulting, they could still sell the property at a much higher price and make a profit. Banks safely repackaged the mortgage products and sold to other financial institution and hence reduced the risks. Investors thinking that the house price will continue to rise decided to put money into the risky portfolio.

The property prices increased to such a level that it was not affordable buyers. New buyers were out priced. Now the supply is more and demand is less and price started falling. As property price started to fall, it became difficult to meet up with the high interest based payments; financial institution stopped investing in mortgage based investment products. Banks in order to compensate the loss increased the mortgage rates, which forced the sub primes to default. The housing bubble burst.

Looking back, the 'Interest only' repayment incentive and very low rate for 1st few years was very attractive. This encouraged borrowers to assume that mortgages were within the affordable limits, believing that they could refinance later when house prices appreciated. When house prices were rising refinancing was available. When house prices started dropping refinancing became difficult, making interest payments unaffordable and increased defaults.

The US housing bubble started to plummet in 2006. It all began in 2001 and reached its peak in 2005. The house sales increased from 2001 due to low interest rates, which reduced cost of borrowing. Mortgages were tempting due to their low introductory prices and minimal down payment. This encouraged borrowers to invest in homes. Dot COM crash in 2000 led to 70% drop in NASDAQ share prices. People pulled out the money from stock market and invested in housing, which seemed like a reliable source of investment.

Mortgage brokers received incentives and higher commissions for selling riskier loans. They made lot of profit, but never did enough to see if the borrowers were able to repay if interest rates increased. Underwriters determine the risk of lending to a particular borrower. Prior to automated process all this was done manually and it took a week to process a loan. The automated process did it in 30 seconds, which made lending to anyone easy. The credit rating agencies gave high ratings to mortgage backed securities.

Sub primes have taken a toll on Stock markets. Financial institutions were forced to do a lot of write-downs. Some homeowners are turning to arson as a way to escape from mortgages. This is having effects on insurance companies. More and more houses are sitting vacant which is attracting squatters and criminals. The declining dollar is also attracting foreign buyers to buy properties as investment. Jobs are being lost. Tenants are being forced out, as landlords cannot afford mortgage payments. What looked like a US crisis’s has spread to the Global economy?

Trivandrum_Calling

It has been a long time since I caught with my Engineering College mates. This time when I went to Kerala, I was on a mission that I would find Biju. Biju and I were in good contact till 1995. Last I heard was Biju has been to Kalapani (Andaman).

Arriving in Trivandrum, I got hold of Bindu George. My trip to Trivandrum will not be complete if I don't meet Bindu's George and her family. Bindu gave me the contact details of few of our classmates.
After a long time I heard the voice of Harindranath. While chatting he told me that his son’s classmate is Biju's kid. Well that made life easy for me to get hold of Biju. The kids did us the favour. I have never seen Harindranath since college days. We planned to meet at Vellayamballam. He picked me up from water woks compound. We went to Caffe Coffee Day. Caffe Coffee Day is a coffee shop for the new IPOD generation. It is there hangout. We walked in there to see the new generation. Caffe Coffee Day is a private sector dating shop. In our days we had only public sector "Panchara places" like Museum and few parks.
When we reached the Caffe Coffee Day India has just defeated Australia. Harindranth has changed a bit. His hair is completely gone, but the way he talks aas not changed much. The usual way of talking like a flat stone, which jumps through water when we fling it touching the surface once a while. We had a good time there catching up the past. Harindranth and I made sure that we would meet after few days.
The hunt for Biju is still on. Finally I got Biju's number. We decided to meet up. Statue was the location. Achayan as we call him arrived on time. Achayan has not changed much, but his face has expanded and has become a bit cinemascope, I think. We moved to Swagath restaurant to do the catching up. Swagth is a good restaurant at Pankaj hotel and serves good food. As drinks were out of bounds as both were to drive, we ended up in soft drinks. Biju in fact never went to Kalapani after he left Trivandrum working for MES. He was transferred to Coimbatore. Now is working in panchyat Water supply department. He has to do lot of travelling every day. We left Swagth and walked down Statue road. We found Jaideep waiting for the Bus. We took some photos and left.
After a long time I went to College to see how it is. It is a fortress more walls and building. Platerium is still in ruins. The Ground and the basketball remain as it is. Beena PR is there. Our S5 classroom has become Coffee shed. A new civil block has been added. I think in what ever form be the college you will still love it if you go there every day and U will miss it once you leave that place.
Anand was supposed to arrive in Trivandrum in few days time. We decided to meet at Muscat Hotel. I don't know how Anand looked after he left College. Harindranth also joined us. I was waiting for Anand outside the reception while he was sitting there in the reception. We had a good dinner and a discussion of the old controversial topics of college days. The hot and rough incidents of All India tour, South India. We walked down the memory lane. Anand has changed after he left college but now his physical form has returned to near college days except the beard. We also thought of having a get together of who ever can turn up. Since it was off short notice; I took up the responsibility. We also decided that we would meet Harikesh as well.
In between I called up Bindu JS. I decided to meet her. She still stays near Sree Padnambha theatre at East Fort. Still she hears the Sound tracks from the movies and not the picture. Bindu has no major changes except a kid and husband are now part of her life. Her kid takes care of all emails and social networking sites. Her husband is an interesting guy.
Anand Harikesh and myself met at South Park. It is years since I met Harikesh. Harindranth never turned up. What chemistry has gone wrong with Harindranth and Harikesh is for speculators to make up stories. As always we discussed about the past present and people who were a part of us. Harikesh is very thin these days and not the muscle man of the college days. But he has a gadget called headphone attached to his ear. The South park hotel guy finally after a lot of attempts took a photo of us. The Plans for the get together was arranged.
Coffee day is hosting the catch up. Anand, Harikesh was not there. Jaideep as well whenever we call him, He goes to a place, which is quite far from Trivandrum. Hari G was supposed to come, but he backed out at the last moment. Binu Sukumar and her Hubby came. Beena PR was their driving her Alto. Everyone in Trivandrum knows of Beena and her white Alto. Beena L Chitra Bindu george, Bindu JS. Gopan Biju,Harindranth all came. Since it was off short notice we could not grab hold of all the others. But there was fairly good attendance. Binu's Husband Rajiv vanished when all of us came. He said he would be back after an Hour or so. Chitra has always been Chitra- no change. Beena L became Beena Fat. Gopan has put bit of weight but still the same except no bag. Others view of me is that I have not changed as usual Noisy. It was good fun

Chitra's conversation with Beena's kids

" Don't you know me, I was there at Beena's – your mother wedding, Did you not see Me " I was surprised hearing that so were the kids