Rahman, Rasool and Gulzar puts India on the Oscar map...

It was a spectacular show at the Oscars on Monday. There is no doubt that the Indian trio deserve the Oscar. Slowly, but surely India is making its presence felt in sports and entertainment. Jai ho..................

Wanted: Fraudsters and criminals!!!

The drum beats are getting louder for the next general elections in India, and so is the search for suitable candidates. As always, one would expect more film stars and cricketers to take the plunge. Still, I am dismayed by the level to which the saviours of Indian masses could plunge to. It seems that being infamous, notorious, corrupt, criminal is a pre-requisite and being a convict is an added qualification.

 We are used to the spectacle of bandits and hardcore criminals going on to become MPs and MLAs, and the vice versa. So may I should not be surprised to see the likes of Sanjay Dutt and Mohammad Azharuddeen preaching samaj seva and gandhigiri. After all, more would follow....

AMMA at Kozhikode on Feb 14th and 15th

We Kozhikodans had the good fortune to have the universal AMMA, Mata Amritanandamayi, among us on the Feb 14^th. I spent the day at the Ashramam at Vellimadukunnu, at the lotus feet of beloved AMMA.

 AMMA urged us to re-kindle the flame of universal love and brotherhood and pass on the values to the youth and the children. One of the many stories and anecdotes that AMMA used in her speech is about the change in our own family and home values. During her childhood, houses in her village used to greet the guests with a message that read, “athithi devo bhava”. Later it gave way to “swagatham”, which is still okay. But, what do we see now? Most of the houses have a message that reads, “beware of dogs”. This is reflective of the change in the social, domestic and mental situation in the society. We have created a system where we can no longer welcome a stranger into our home without being sceptical about him/her. We have shut ourselves behind the closed doors, mentally and physically, making our society more and more insecure and intolerant.

 Likewise, AMMA talked about many aspects of daily life where each and every individual and family can make a change, resulting in the overall benefit of the society. Hope the peace and solace that one gets in AMMA’s embrace will spill over to the society and the world.....

Magical Murali- The record wicket taker

The Indian cricket fans are having an incredibly good time with the men in blue doing exceedingly well in the recent past. The ongoing series in Sri Lanka has been a rather one sided affair with India out playing the hosts in every aspects of the game.

 Still, I have been awed by the performances of two Sri Lankan players, Sanath Jayasurya and Muthiah Muraleedharan. Jayasurya is the best fielder in the Sri Lankan side in this series so far and his batting is as magnificent as always. And the wily off spinner Murali has overcome all the obstacles and achieved what I view as the equivalent of Sachin’s exploits as a batsman. Right through his long career, Murali has had to prove himself to those lesser mortals who kept coming up with all sorts of ridiculous accusations. In doing so Murali has displayed tremendous character and resolve much like the Maharaja of Kolkata, Saurav Ganguly who was also under the scanner throughout his outstanding career. The players like Jayasurya, Scahin, Saurav and Murali took the gentle man’s game to an altogether different class, with lesser players and teams left far behind. 

Cheers to Murali...