ONaaligia !

Mrithyu !

This is what I thought when I saw this snap in yesterday's Indian Express news paper. 

The rail laborers taking rest under a goods wagon in West Hill Rly stn in Calicut. 

Approximate meaning of the lines :

Does the people take refuge in the mouth of death say that dead, birth, happiness, sorrow are all incomplete?

Is n't it a miracle to be born and to live in this world ? 

Yea.. I got the message that they want to convey ..I see that wheel on top of their head.. the samsaara chakram - the eternal wheel of life and births ! 

Train Timings Calicut (Kozhikkode)

Train Timings in India are often a pain on your......! . Why do they change the timings often? I do not know.
Most trains are demanded and introduced by MPs and Ministers. It seems they never check people's requirement. That is true for Number of Railway lines as well. It seems it is all done on the Whims and fancies of some politicians. There are railway networks to least traveled places and least used. I am not saying that we need not build railway to remote places. But the usability- profitability etc. need to be checked.

If you check Railway map of Bihar or Bengal you will see number of Railway network. This is because most Railway Ministers were from that area. Those areas are notorious for ticket-less travelling still more number of tracks and trains are put there. On the contrary take south. Most people buy tickets and travel - even platform tickets are religiously bought. This is very true for us - for Keralites.

Southern Karnataka, Malabar area is most neglected by Railways. There are many districts like Coorg, Wayanad where train travel is unheard of and they think it is impossible to build a rail line there.  If we can build railway line in Konkan coast then it is very much possible. A railway line through Wayanad and Coorg is a much needed thing. Speculation on environmental damage because of Railway line is exaggerated. More damage is done because of Road connection. More and More roads are built through the forests. In fact a Railway line through forest has less impact than Road.

Malabar Should be connected to Mysore. That is long cherished dream of people. Already there is a rail line upto Nanjangud. This should be extended upto Nilambur. Nilambur in Malabar is near by. A connection through forest, although difficult because of terrain, is feasible and it can reduce the distance between Kochi and Bangalore. The benefits are immense. Tourism potential is enormous. Many times feasibility studies are done and left out. Many people think that this is because of pressure from Bus lobby. Kerala Politician's nexus with Private bus owners is suspected. The private bus owners are unscrupulous and at times they charge hefty rates - especially during Xmas / Onam vacations. There is absolutely no regulation to check the bus Tariff from Various places in Malabar to Bangalore / Mysore.    

We need new Railway tracks. The demand for Nanjugud - Nilambur line or Mysore - Tellichery line is sought since Independence but no action is taken so far. Large number of students study in Mysore / Bangalore also there are number of  IT and other professionals from Malabar working in Bangalore. They find it very difficult to travel because they have to depend on a single train  - Kannur - Yashwantpur express. Tickets have to be booked 3 months in advance for this train that much rush is there. But still there were attempts to make this train weekly once !! It is amazing how people in Railway Ministry in Delhi thinks! - Southern MPs are not capable enough to raise their points or are least concerned about the plight of people.
Concerted effort is needed demanding new trains from Malabar to Bangalore.       

Vellila - Silver leaves

"Amma karuthum makalu veluthum makalute makaloru sundarivesi "
is a riddle every Keralite knows. It is roughly translated as "Mother black, daughter white and daughter's daughter pretty dame" - and the answer is "Vellila" -  Velli leaf - Silver leaf ( or white leaf )..it is wild flowery plant found abundant in Kerala. It is normally found near ponds household bathing tanks and it's leaves are used as shampoo by ladies. Is the daughter's daughter that pretty orange red flower not easily visible in the bush?. I don't know. Perhaps nature has tricked the butterflies with white leaves because its flower is too small ! :)

T.P. - The two letters that shook Kerala

T.P. & Family !

For unbiased news many people in Kerala turn to National English channels  but being a ‘socially aware’ keralite ‘animal’  living in Kerala I should watch Malayalam news channels but the issues they cover normally are so dull - domestic political quarrels and rivalries - so mundane,  that I completely neglect it – well till recently.

On May 4^th things changed. A CPM ( Communist Party of Marxist) rebel named T.P.Chandrasekharan got killed. On that day I was glued to Malayalam Channels for want of news which no other national channels gave. For the national channels it was a small incident. But for the Keralites it was not. It has far reaching implications perhaps culminating in the vertical split of a strongest political party in Kerala.

The killing was not a normal killing. The brutal hatred was evident - 51 cuts on his face  as if to deface him so that even in his death he should not be identified.
Remember Che guvera – surprisingly many leftist youngsters sportingly wear T-shirt with his picture.. .what a surprise ! the Marxists in Kerala wanted the same fate to T.P. himself a Marxist !  

What was his sin for such a brutal end ? What did he do to annoy such a big party ? The reasons are revealed now.

Comrade T.P. Chandrasekharan was small time party worker who had influence only in a small locality. But he challenged the diktats of Party bosses. He floated his own party. He supported  V.S. Achuthanandan a CPM stalwart and the  leader of opposition in Kerala Assembly. That was an outside support for a person inside the party. The person inside is capable of splitting the party. There lies the importance of eliminating an outside support. T.P.has been swearing on communist values and using the same flag which attracted many ordinary folks.

Official party boss Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan openly talked about T.P. as a traitor.

CPM had always supported violence although officially they will not agree to it. They will say that it is not the party line. Some time back the brutal killing of a BJP activist, Mr. JayaKrishnan, a school teacher in front of students had shaken the minds of Keralites but not to this extent. The culprits were caught but like in many other political murders in the state they were let off. CPM was the ruling then and its police did not find enough evidence. No strong witnesses either. Often under threat witnesses change their affidavits. So the criminals walk free. They taunt and roam around with impunity. So when killing becomes a small stroke of music which can be accomplished easily perhaps the decision to eliminate is taken more casually. In the killing JK when the criminals were let off the then State Home Minister, Marxist leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, himself came down to welcome them. They were given a rousing reception in the same town where the killing took place ! What a brazen support to violence – That too from a Home Minister !

We now understand that T P was a people’s man.  He wielded enormous influence in his locality. He was brave and with clear vision. He wanted to steer the party from bad doings. With enormous wealth at its disposal party had become more than of bourgeois party. With its own media, newspaper and  TV channels and several business houses and  co-operative ventures – ( aka  ‘peoples’ ) it bought off every one on the way. Even its central leadership is powerless and depends upon the state arm for financial support. So they wont take any stern action against the state unit. The party almost died in West Bengal – a natural aging process. So the source of income is from the Kerala state. If the party is split what happens to the enormous wealth?  It is unthinkable. What will happen to Trade Unions it nurtured and the money it brings? The top official leadership shudders to think. So they accuse the media that it is masterminding a plot  to destroy the party.

The enquiry is still on .. a verdict is not immediately expected..

We have to wait and see.. 

Ente Marupadi allenkil support

Himsa

Touch me not Flower

"Touch me not" or whatever you call is a common thorny wild bush flower in India. In my home state Kerala it is quite common. Here we call "thottavadi" means "fades when touched" . In other parts of India people call it Lajjaalu, lajvanti, lajjavathi etc. Sanskrit word for it is Lajjavathi meaning "shy dame".
We use it's leaves as medicine. I remember in my childhood in the village when we get injured while playing this was the immediate medicine we used. It has beautiful flowers. But no body cares. In my childhood days I used to wonder why people are not taking it for Onam festival flower arrangements. I had penned a small poem in Malayalam depicting that pain of neglect which thottavadi suffered.