Exams come every year while World Cup comes only once in four years!!!!!!

I was watching the World Cup Cricket match this afternoon. The first match was between India and Bangladesh at Shere Bengala Stadium. I remembered that Model examination is going on and the students’ performance will be unsatisfactory as the matches were going on.

In 2003, there was a World Cup cricket match and many boys absented themselves from the model examination. I asked them why they were not coming for the examination. The answer was quite simple.

“World cup nadakuvelle, teachere.” (“World cup is going on teacher”)

“Etha important??? World cup o atho parikeeshayo?????? Entha jaikende???”( “Which is important??? World cup or exams????? Don’t you want to pass???”)

“Teacheree parikeesha ella varsham varum. World cup nallu varshathil orikale varuuu,” (“Teacher, the exams will come every year. World cup comes only once in four years”) pat came the reply from a footballer.

Yes, what he said was true. I knew there was no use in telling these boys because their head was filled with cricket and exams were only secondary for them. They could talk about Matthew Hayden, Sehwag, Tendulkar, or any cricketer for hours together.
If you told them about Adam Smith, the father of Economics, they would say, “Ayyo Adam Smith alla teacher, Adam Gilchrist aa.” (“It is not Adam Smith teacher, it is Adam Gilchrist”).

The students were never interested in their studies and they took everything very lightly. Many boys failed that particular year. I was not sure if they completed the course..

A couple of months back a student came to invite me for his wedding. He was the same student who told me that exams would come every year. He told me that he was playing for a famous club in Bengal. I asked him if he completed his Plus two and he replied in the negative and he added,

“Athu anne complete cheyanamayirunu” (“I should have completed it then itself”).

“Ini paranjittu kariyam illelo” (“There is no use saying it now.”)

Anyway he did not complete his Higher Secondary and so did many. Even this year the same is going to happen. I know that many boys both in the first year and second year is not going to complete the course. After all World Cup comes only once in four years

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa

A week back my friend (co-worker) announced her daughter got married. She did not give a clear picture and she evaded our questions. All that she said was that her daughter had an affair and got married 10 days back. Everyone pacified her and then no one spoke about it. My friend Lekha sits next to me in the staff room.

A few days later I noticed she was looking very depressed and I asked her what had happened. She looked up and her eyes were filled with tears. I touched her shoulders and asked her what had happened. She burst out crying and she opened up. Her daughter was doing her Post Graduation in Engineering in Tamil Nadu. Lekha said her daughter got a missed call on her mobile phone and that led to an affair. It is hardly a year since she got to know this man. This man hails from an interior village in Calicut. His parents are very poor and this boy is not one bit appeasing. He is not very educated either.

I do not know what she found in that man. May be he has an attractive way of talking to girls. “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder”, right???

Lekha was getting ready for her daughter’s marriage. She had disposed a property of hers and bought quite a lot of gold. She had already booked for a car. It was then that her daughter got married at a registry. She married him and she stayed in her house itself. Lekha nor her husband did know about their daughter’s marriage. Her daughter had lost her mobile phone and it happened that the guy rang on the landline that they came to know about the affair. Lekha was shocked when she knew that her daughter was already married.
Lekha was weeping bitterly when she told me this.

Suddenly it took me back to 21 years ago when I was a witness to a similar act. I was doing my final year PG and I had a friend – Girija. In fact Girija and I were friends from our school days itself. She hails from a reputed Nair family in Trivandrum. She fell in love with a Pentacost boy. The match was not at all suitable. According to Girija he looked like Ravi Shastri and that was his qualification. Since we were very good friends and we were there for everything together I never discouraged the affair. Love is blind and so were we.

Girija’s parents came to know about her affair. Her father used to escort her for tuition, to college and everywhere that Girija went. Her parents trusted me. They have come to my house and even I used to go to their house quite often. When things at her place became very strict I used to pass letters for them. Finally they decided to get married. They published it and after a month they were getting married. On that D-day Girija asked me if I would go with her. I agreed. Her fiancé came in a car and picked both of us up and went to the register office somewhere near Killipalam or Karamana. I am not sure. They got married and I signed as a witness from the girl’s side. I could feel my knees knocking together and my hands trembling while I was signing. I was betraying Girija’s parents but Girija was more important to me.

After the wedding we went to attend another classmate’s wedding. We had lunch from there and went back to our houses as though nothing had happened. That guilt was there in my mind. On the last day of the examination Girija eloped with her husband. Her father complained to the police that she was missing. Both of them produced their marriage certificate and her father declared, “Enikku ingane oru mol illa. Aval marichu”(“I don’t have a daughter like this. She died”) and turned and walked off.

Girija came home and said that she felt very sad when she saw her father turned and walked off. I felt very bad. I cheated the poor parents. They had so much trust in me. Her father died of heart attack in less than a year’s time.

When I saw my co-worker Lekha’s sadness I felt very guilty. Girija’s parents must have felt the same 21 years ago. They must have shed more tears because they had an elder girl to get married. If Girija had waited they would have agreed to it even after much opposition. I really don’t know if Girija’s mother is alive. I want to apologize to her. Now as a mother I know what it is like if my daughter were to do the same thing. I sincerely hope that I don’t get it back in the same coin. I don’t think I’ll ever withstand it.

My dislikes

I found this in the Jalakam Aggregator –a website for bloggers. As the post was in Malayalam and as it is difficult for me to write in Malyalam I thought it would be better if I post it in my blog itself. The questionnaire was published in Boolokam Online Blogpaper.
It is all about my dislikes and my answer to the questionnaire

ഏറ്റവും ഇഷ്ടമില്ലാത്തത് എന്താണ് (തുറന്ന് പറയാവുന്നതാണെങ്കില്) (What is that you dislike most?)

There are many things I hate. I don’t think this space is enough for this

മറ്റുള്ളവരുടെ ബാത്ത്റൂം സിംഗിംഗ് ഇഷ്ടമാണോ? (Do you like other people singing in the bathroom?)

I don’t mind bathroom singing if it has a melody in it

ഉറക്കം തടസപ്പെടുന്നത് ഇഷ്ടമാണോ? (Do you like ur sleep being disturbed?)
No!!! I hate it!!!! I don’t like anyone disturbing me from my sleep


മറ്റുള്ളവര് ഉറങ്ങുന്നത് കാണാന് ഇഷ്ടമാണോ? (Do you like watching other people sleep?)
NO. I hate seeing other people sleep and feel very jealous that I am not sleeping.


ചരിത്രത്തിലെ ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടാത്ത മുഹൂര്ത്തം/വ്യക്തി? (An incident/person whom you hate in History?)

The Iraq War by the NATO
I hate Gandhi and Nehru. I have always felt that Gandhi was a MCP who never bothered about his own family. Nehru was after power.


അച്ചടിച്ച പത്രം,ടിവി,ഇന്റര്നെറ്റ് – ഇവയില് ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്തത്?(What do you dislike in the print media/Television/Internet?)

Malayala Manorama’s Metro Plus. I hate the sarcasm and the language that they use.
On TV I hate reality shows.
The virus and spasm in the net


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത പുഷ്പം/ഭക്ഷണം/പാനീയം/മദ്യം?( The flower/food/beverage/ liquor that you dislike?)
Red roses. Though it is beautiful it reminds me of death.
I hate my servant’s avial. It sucks!!!!
I am not fond of tea.
I am not a good judge of liquor as my knowledge is limited


അന്യരുടെ)ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത പെരുമാറ്റം? (The behaviour that you dislike about others?)
Nosey Parkers who keeps interfering in other people’s affair



(സ്വന്തം)ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത പെരുമാറ്റം ? (Which of your own behaviour do you dislike?)
My unforgiving nature, my uncontrollable temper and my ego



സ്വയം ധരിക്കാന് ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത വസ്ത്രം? (Which dress do you dislike wearing?)
Saree

മറ്റുള്ളവര് ധരിച്ചുകാണാന് ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത വസ്ത്രം? (What are the type of outfit that you hate to see other people wear?)
I like seeing men wearing mundu but I hate it when they hold one tip of the mundu in one hand exhibiting their thighs in the most vulgar manner. I also hate low waist pants where men exhibit their under wears. It is sick!!!!

ബസില്/ട്രെയിനില്/പ്ലെയിനില് യാത്ര ചെയ്യുമ്പോള് ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്തത്? (While traveling in a bus/ train/ aeroplane what turns u off?)
When my nose is under some sweaty, stinky armpit in a crowded bus or some one’s hair flying into my mouth
The beggars in the train and also the dirty toilets
The indifferent attitude of air hostesses in foreign aircraft bound to India

സ്വന്തം വാഹനത്തില് യാത്ര ചെയ്യുമ്പോള് ഇഷ്ടമാവാത്തത്? (What do u dislike while travelling in ur own vehicle?)
Wearing the seat belt while driving

മുന്പില് പോകുന്ന വാഹനം ട്രാഫിക് തെറ്റിക്കുന്നത് ഇഷ്ടമാണോ? (Do you like vehicles going in front of you breaking traffic rules?)
No

പിന്പില് നിന്ന് വരുന്ന വാഹനം ഓവര്ടേക് ചെയ്യുന്നത് ഇഷ്ടമാണോ? (Do you like vehicles overtaking you?)
I don’t mind them overtaking provided they don’t keep honking and tries to block my way once they find that it is a woman driving.

സുഹൃത്തുക്കളോടൊപ്പം സംസാരിക്കുമ്പോള് ഇഷ്ടമാവാത്തത്? (What do you hate while talking to your friends?)
I like them saying things but not spraying it.


സുഹൃത്തുക്കള് ചേര്ന്ന് താങ്കളെപ്പറ്റി തമാശയൊപ്പിക്കുന്നത്/പരിഹസിക്കുന്നത് ഇഷ്ടമാണോ? (Do you like your friends teasing you?)
It depends on the situation. I won’t tolerate humiliation.


ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടാത്ത സിനിമ/നടന്/നടി? (The movie/ actor/ actress you dislike?)
All Mamotty comedies, his dances, then Amitab Bacchan’s dances. I hate Aishwarya Rai too.

ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടാത്ത ഗാനം/ഗായകന്/ഗായിക? (The song/ singer you dislike)
Noise polluting Malayalam songs.
No one in particular

ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടാത്ത സാഹിത്യകൃതി? (A literary work that you dislike?)
All works of Rushdie and many more

ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത സാഹിത്യകാരന്/സാഹിത്യകാരി? (An author/ authoress that you dislike)
Salman Rushdie…He makes unnecessary controversies to sell his books.


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത ചിരി? (What type of laugh do you hate?)
Loud and irritating laughs


ഇഷ്ടമാവാത്ത കോമഡി? (Which type of comedy do you dislike)
All Mamotty comedies


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത സമയം? (Which time of the day do you dislike?)
Morning. The very thought of going to work makes me sick!!


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത കാലം/സീസണ്? (Which season do you dislike?)
Summer of course!!!


ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടാത്ത ജീവിത സന്ദര്ഭം? (What are the times in life that you dislike?)
Going to class to teach, staff meetings and the indifferent attitude of the present day students and the deterioration of the education system.


ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടാത്ത ടൂറിസ്റ്റ് കേന്ദ്രം? (Name a tourist spot that you dislike?)
Many tourist spots in Kerala which is not at all maintained by the KTDC


ബ്ലോഗില് ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്തത്? (What are the things you don’t like in a blog?)
Trying to preach religion through blogs and also trying to propagate ones political ideologies. I hate both.


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത സ്ഥലം? (Name a place that you do not like)
Vettucaud church and its surroundings.


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത പുക്ഴത്തല്? (What type of praises do you dislike?)
Praising someone to gain favours


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത യാത്ര? (Name the journey that you don’t like)
Travelling within Kerala. One always find men ogling at women.


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത ശബ്ദം? (What are the noises that turns u off?)
The noise of children screaming and screeching


ഇഷ്ടമല്ലാത്ത ഇഷ്ടം? (Name a dislike that you like)
No idea!!!

May the Lord bless them with ‘many more sons’!!!!!

My neighbour’s son has found a suitable girl for marriage from the internet. (It is not through matrimonial sites but through chatting). I went to their house the other day and what I found was the true face of the couple.

First of all let me give you a brief sketch of them. The master of the house is Mr. Cyril who is a retired senior manager and his wife Mary is a house wife. They are staunch Catholics and follow all the precepts of the church (they clam so). They have four sons and all of them are engineers. (Thanks to the private engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. If not, none of them could have been engineers!!!) Their eldest son, John is ‘foreign’ educated. He completed his engineering from a private engineering college and went abroad for a six months diploma course. So that is his ‘foreign’ education. The others are working in India for various IT companies.

John found his prospective bride from the internet – to be more precise from Orkut. John is a dusky tall boy (sorry…. man) with sharp features. He is not handsome but I would rate him as just average. He is a very good flirt who can talk very sweetly to girls. He is a very good ‘switch’ too. ( I learned that from his mother Mary who would swell with pride in claiming that her son had many admirers.)

Coming back, Mary welcomed me heartily and exchanged pleasantries. In course of our conversation she told me that John was getting married to his chat friend in Ernakulam. She added that the bride was the only child of an extremely rich Hindu businessman.

Immediately Cyril said, “Arathi ku 100 crores l adhikam swathundu.” (Arathi has assets worth over Rs.100 crores )
I gave Cyril an unbelievable look. The generally quiet Cyril was eloquent. He was describing about her 40 cents of land at the MG Road in Ernakulam and about her other properties. His face revealed his excitement. The middle class family had found a rich bride. I casually asked them how they knew that she had so much property. Mary said that she had asked Arathi about her assets when she had come to their house.(Greedy lady and foolish girl!!!!)

Mary showed me the bride’s photo and asked me how was she to look at. To be very frank she was not half as good John. As Socrates said, “Truth is disturbing” I decided not to pass any comments and said that she was okay. I remembered the old proverb, “The bride's faults are hidden by the dowry.”

Now it was Mary’s turn to sing praise for her would-be daughter-in-law. According to Mary, Arathi was a very well brought up child (that is why she used come to Trivandrum quite often to meet John without her parents knowledge) very simple ( that is why she drives a BMW) very polite and a whole lot of adjectives. I was a silent listener to the entire conversation.

In between Mary remarked, “Arathi aal oru midukki aane. Johnne engane karaki eduthu? Avan pandu Fathima de puruke ayirunu. Fathima l ninnum avalude chechi Farida thatti eduthu. Dee Faridayude kayil ninnum Arathi thatti eduthu.” (“Arathi is very smart. Wonder how she snatched John from others. In the beginning he was after Fathima. Fathima’s sister Farida snatched him and from Farida Ararthi snatched him.”). Mary gave me a wide grin. I was already feeling uneasy.

It was then their second son came back from work. As soon as he entered the house Cyril told him, “Njangal ipol John ne kurichu parayuvayirunu. Avan 100 kodi aa konduvarunne. Nee athilum kooduthal kondu varanam.” ( “We were talking aboutJohn. He is going to bring 100 crores. You should bring more than that”).

What an advice to give a son????!!!!!! I was shocked. Cyril gave me a cheeky grin. The staunch Catholic who preaches and claims to be a true Catholic was giving the most atrocious advice to his son. I wonder what he expects from the other sons. If they have to find brides according to their father’s demand they would better look for Bill Gates daughter or Laxmi Mittal’s daughter if he has one or Ambani’s daughter. I saw the true face of the couple who was blinded by Arathi’s wealth. They never realize that great dowry is a bed full of brambles. I truly feel the Lord should shower more sons on the couple so that they can become the richest couple in the world in no time!!!!!!