Menon-Speak

When team fails- the Coach fails, team wins?

2010-07-04T08:15:00.002+05:30

The World and hence the media has been on a frenzy due to the ongoing football worldcup. Its interesting to read pre- and post-match summaries and obituaries. The moment a big team has crashed out - in this case - England, France, Brazil and now Argentina- the coach has been blamed- either for playing natural football or for playing unnatural football. Why is it that for defeat the coach is blamed, he is removed. The same players carryon to play for the country.

While a coach can train them, teach them tactics, its for the 22 foot at play and the 11 heads to execute the strategy on the ground. In a victory if individual players are praised for their play of the day, then in a loss to they should be brought down to earth.

Bhramaram

2009-08-09T16:39:00.000+05:30

The caption of the movie- Brutally innocent intrigued me quite a bit. Being a die-hard Mohanlal fan who has now got around to criticize his movies offlate and not critically analyse them, i did hope that this one would be good to watch.
When I did finally watch the movie, it left me with quiet a few thoughts of the movie much afterwards, which I guess is the true test of a motion picture. Its not the script, the story , the direction or the visuals. Its the spirit of acting displayed by Mohanlal. A role written for him, showed shades of the naugthy lalettan, the ‘chetta’ Lal, the macho man LaL and the emotional Lal whom we have grown up with.
Its pure and vintage Lal, intoxicates you as the movie unfolds and explodes in some of the scenes of the movie especially when he drives the jeep with a sadistic tone and in the climax scene – which i shouldnt talk about.
It will definitely rate in LALs Top 10 movies as an actor.
Watch it if you are a LAL fan, watch it if you are a student of acting. Watch it if you want to see an actor- not acting, just living the role.

King of Pop - No More

2009-06-28T19:14:00.003+05:30

I was late in hearing the news that shocked music lovers across the globe that the King of Pop had popped off from this great life of ours. While there is tremendous media scrutiny now going into what made Jacko have a cardiac arrest let me reflect the influence of one the greatest entertainers of all time.
MJ is easily the most influencial cross-over not just within the U.S but across countries,continents,languages, cultures and became the most successful American export. Besides his huge talent, he was lucky to have been born in that generation. His ‘Thriller” was launched around the time MTV. Both MJ &MTV grew as cult brands, revolutionising pop-music as well as music-vidoes. International appeal was tremendous. His was probably the only voice that reverberated in the Asian countries leading to huge fan following.
Todays young generation maynot realise the impact ‘Thriller’ had on us. It was to do with the fact that we were in the early 80s, TV was only terrestial & hip-hop hadnt happened. MJ’s music transcended generations, equally accepted by the young and the old due to a clever mix of rock and ballads that each of his albums had.
He leaves behind a rich legacy of outstanding pop songs. dance tracks, ballads and ofcourse Moonwalk, easily became every teenagers dance step in the 80s.
While he has been in the news for the wrong reasons, he is not the first one to be in that boat. Some of them self created, some of them by the media who were out to kill the superstar they made. A child who never had a childhood, a performer at the age of 5! and a man who tried to live his childhood.
As a diehard fan i choose to ignore the incidents of the last decade, but i used to still listen to his songs. As the media scoops in on how he died, i decided not to view any of those trials. For me Michael Jackson will live on for ever.
This is it.

Dhoni - Media's Darling to Media's Whipping Boy

2009-06-20T15:43:00.002+05:30

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has always been in the news ever since he made his debut in the Indian team. The meteoric rise to become the Captain of Indian team is like a fairy tale surely. Apart from his talent, his diplomatic relationship with his seniors, he was helped to a large extent by the media. After being tired of writing about Fab 4, they were waiting to create the next icon and who else but Dhoni. He became the media darling, all of them ganging up the build the case for captaincy and then his success tales. The media ignored the fact that during the last year or so, he hadnt performed particularly with the bat till the day Dhoni decided to take on the media over the Sehwag injury fiasco at the t-20 world cup. The battle lines have been drawn and every media ( print/electronic) is on a race against time to bring out his fallacies into the limelight.

The bubble has burst Mr.Dhoni. From now on, your bat also has to do the talking. Ask Saurav Ganguly - he has gone through it as well.

Air Tragedy Air France AF 447

2009-06-02T13:42:00.002+05:30

Air travel is still the safest mode of travel. However the moment one hears about a mishap- the tragic feel of the same is next to none. Extremely sad on hearing the missing of the AF 447 flight to Paris. One feels for all those who are missing from lives- probably for ever.

While we do travel in multi-modes like air, train, bus / drive in car, its the air travel which usually makes you think more. There is always a sense of helplessness once the plane lifts off. The mind races by thinking of all that needs to be done when one is back on the ground and these are usually the things that we dont do. After some minutes you settle down into a relaxed helpless comfort when you have no option but to while away the time in either reading some crappy inflight magazine or watching the inflight entertainment.

While the flight lands on to the runway, again the heart skips, the praying type sends some silent prayers, some guys grip the seat handles etc and then usually give a sigh of relief as the aircraft comes to stop.

Its not to be for these unlucky 228 people on board this Air France flight. Wonder how their last moments were. Did they know it was all over or it was over before they knew it. Hope no one gets that kinda fate.

Smiling to Roaring Assasin - Anil Kumble

2009-05-25T15:55:00.004+05:30

As the tamasha of IPL2 finally ended, the enduring image for me is of one man who has transformed a bunch of also-rans and no-hopers into a combat unit. This man who despite being the highest wicket taker for the country is still not considered in the same league as the greats is the one and only Anil Kumble. Anil showed fierce determination, resolve and passion in restoring the pride of the Bangalore cricket fans by taking his team to the final of IPL-2 and almost winning it. His contribution was maximum. As a captain he lead the team remarkably well on the field. As a bowler, right from the first over of the match when he got Gilly for a duck, he did one of the best 4-over spells in IPL-2. Its unfortunate that his batting isnt suited for this type of cricket or else he would have pockets those runs too for his team. For all you know from now to the next IPL, he would be practising his batting shots, knowing that his batters can let him down even in chasable targets.

For a format of the game which is supposedly young, veterans like Kumble has been phenomenally successful, using their experience to handle situations exceedingly well and turnaround for the team's cause. Thats why the cooldaddy that he is, outplayed the cooldude(msd)& his superkings in the semis. Think for the team reaching the final itself was enough whereas for Kumble, he wanted the cup as well which eluded him by just 6 runs!

We dont know what's in store next year. But this year will be remembered for the Smiling Assassin's transformation into a Roaring Assassin

Raining Cats Dogs..no Rats...Bangalore

2009-05-22T11:14:00.002+05:30

As i stepped out from office and walked towards the area from where I usually get a rick home, I saw that the sky had become real dark in the direction of where my home is. It was only a matter of time before it would pour.Somehow I got a rick in time and we began a memorable journey.In just about 5 minutes time it started pouring. Somehow the ricks in Bangalore doesnt seem to have the screen they use for rain, so i was doomed to be wet. Getting wet in rain is normal. But then the route home via Old Airport Road was water logged. The poor rick was chugging along with speed around 15kmph as the chappie also had to wipe the glass( as the rick dint have a wiper). In the process cars were zipping by from both the sides and thereby splashing the water on to us. I would have had quite a few baths by the time I reached near home. By that time the auto-driver had enough and requested me whether I can proceed on foot from there. Which was OK to me as the water logging on roads was making it difficult for him to drive on. So I walked through what would be 300 meters to home. It took me some 15 minutes as there was only water and water from the drains which were gushing out brining along with it all the muck that had been piled up. One always talks about raining - cats and dogs...but this one was raining rats, as the rodents were uprooted from their homes due the flooding of the drains and they were face to face with the humans above and it was funny to see some of them shaking the water off their bodies like dogs n cats do. It is sad to see Indira Nagar inundated like this. For a place like Bangalore which has so much rains, surely they could be better prepared. Why is it that the same old story keeps repeating...

Understanding Lankan Crisis

2009-05-20T15:48:00.006+05:30

Grappling with claims and counter claims from the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE...have spent a lot of time in gripping the story.

One of the best piece written on it is by Dr.Subramaniam Swamy. He says " But the end of the LTTE does mean the end of Sri Lanka's human rights crisis. The Sri Lanka crisis is the consequence of a festering wound from the past, which however fortunately, is neither malignant nor cancerous".

The best comes later in the post as he breaks the barriers between Sinhalese and Tamils "Tamils and Sinhalas are one people. They have the same DNA structure. There is thus no ethnic difference between them. They all had originated in the Indian mainland and today speak sister languages, Sinhala and Tamil, with a large vocabulary in common with Sanskrit and Pali, both Indian languages. Their scripts have both evolved from the Brahmi script. Thus, there is no fundamental linguistic difference either. Their religions, Hinduism and Buddhism believe in the same distinguishing and fundamental theology of darshan, re-incarnation and karma. In fact, Buddhism began as a reform movement of Hinduism and these reforms have been absorbed by Hinduism. Hence, there is also fundamentally no religious difference between a Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil Hindu"

Its a fantastic commentary on the situation

Full Transcript : Sri Lanka Post LTTE

Delhi Bites - Mouth watering joints

2009-05-15T16:31:00.005+05:30

Bum Makhan Chai – opp Chanakya Cinema,Chanakyapuri.

When I last saw Chanakya, it still had the smell of the typical Indian movie hall with slimy characters offering tickets on black, the pan stained waiting area outside the hall as well as economically friendly tickets of around 30-70 bucks. Just at the entrance to the hall, on the opposite side of the road rests a small tea shop, which has been famous over the years for selling bun-makhan.

Nothing but a square of Amul Butter spread in a simple bun. It has a huge gathering and tastes only good there. Other options like bun-omelette, brad pakoda are there and top it with fine garam chai, patti tezm doodh kam. A big hit in the winter months, people from all walks of life descend to gorge on these yummy bun – makhans ignoring their diet consciousness for a day.

One hope that the bub-makhan shop will survive the multiplex which is replacing Chanakya.

Election Day

2009-04-23T17:50:00.001+05:30

I start this exercise on a day Bangalore votes. Due to which i am at office without any work to do. After all being a marketing person who usually doesnt do his follow ups on a working day! , a paid holiday is all about introspection. But then how much can you introspect and plan ahead!.

Planning is a big zero when you are on the pitch and the ball is being bowled. Life is very much like that.

Coming back to the election, I do wonder how much the social (read 'Jaago Re' types) that has been on in the media prompting the people to vote has had its effect. Idea is good, the choices arent still there. We still dont choose our legislator. We choose a person who may be the lesser evil. How many urban voters will shake their inertia and actually vote its to be seen.

The campaigns are egalitarian in nature. If the youth should be moved to vote, it should be made a fad to vote. Maybe the next time around these social campaigns would change dimension.

Otherwise the election day would be a holiday for most and a paid holiday for someone like me.

p.s. interesting sms was floating around today - that by showing the vote-mark on the finger - one can avail 20% discount at Louis Philip store, that surely is a novel way! Common marketeers surely next time one would pile up such offers. Thinking aloud, maybe a discount coupon booklet for all voters!!!

The Open File

2009-04-23T17:48:00.000+05:30

This Blog is intended to be an open file to my life.
Hope to pour out the life that was ...is and ...is going to be...

Since its the open file...the content that will be present has passed through the censor board...

Parenting

2008-11-20T14:51:00.002+05:30

Bundle of Joy
Parenting- Priceless

Lead India - Blah Blah

2008-05-19T15:52:00.000+05:30

Lead India..blah blah
Lead India campaign was a very high decibel exercise ostensibly to give to us a person who had the vision to take us and hence India forward. And after the many rounds of determining the best of the lot, Mr.Mishra emerged as the rightful winner. Ever since he has been voicing his views on issues that matters to public.
Offlate one notices the politician in him emerging strongly.Nothing wrong with it. After all in India,to emerge as a real leader one will need to enter the political arena.( has he realised this?).
Leaders should be a change driver. After all what India needs is a person who will lead us forward and not backward. However here we see Mr.Mishra as a campaigner against change. I write this with reference to his views on the Bangalore airport taking off & recent views expressed in TOI-Bangalore on 15th. Is it an issue of utmost significance to the average Indian that you sarcastically write about the efforts of the Karnataka Government. Shouldnt you be taking the people together in accepting the change rather than whipping up emotional sentiments aimed at maintaining a status-quo.
India needs more infrastructural investments and already this fiasco is sending the wrong signals abroad and if the much glorified "leader" of India will also succumb to irrational thinking, then I am afraid there is no difference between the political establishment that we have today as well as the apolitical initiative like Lead India.
Dont be afraid Mr.Mishra. Take us forward, Not Backward!

Personal Ramblings

2008-01-24T13:30:00.005+05:30

The Open File
My Roots
Ennui & Gibberish

Spiritual Journey

2008-01-15T15:08:00.001+05:30

Sabarimala - Dec -2007

Sabarimala - 2007

2007-12-31T15:56:00.001+05:30

My 6th tryst with Sabarimala has been a memorable one.

The Journey

Reached Alwaye early morning (15th) at 600 or so then went home. Kettunira and then started off at 10.15AM. Had been reading about the unprecedented rush this year especially from Dec 1st. Hence was mentally prepared for a tough ordeal. People had been waiting for 12-16 hours in que just to climb the 18-steps and then there was the controversy over the "Aravana" payasam which was on shortage & people waiting for that in que for 6 hrs. Anyways the power & pull of Ayyappa overcomes all as they say.This time my elder brother was also there, he climbing the hills after almost 20-22 years or so.We went in the trusted neighbourhood Amby which has been part of most social functions during the last 10 years or so. Since we have been visiting the other temples which come on the way on a regular basis whenever we are in Kerala, we decided to head straight to Erumeli(around 50km off Pampa). Reached there and the place was brimming with Ayyappas doing the peta thullal(mostly tamil/andhra devotees). Prayed at the temple there and had lunch at a nearby hotel. Now food is typically " season food" as they call it which means kanji-payar is the most popular,but settled for "nadan" "oonu" with pacha-ari as people like me find it more digestible. Keeping in mind the climb ahead, we kept the food to minimal.

The Climb

Then left off to Pampa. Reached there around.3.30 or so. HAd a coffee to charge the body up. Upto two days back there was a crisis at Pampa also with water almost dried up. Fortunately for us water had been released from the dam & we managed to have the dips there. What was noticable was that the typical round stones one finds in Pampa was missing as this years rains had been so much that it had washed it off and only sand was there in the water bed.After that we were off with "Swamiye- Ayyappo" visiting the Pampa Ganapathy temple and breaking the coconut as is customary. We started climbing at 400PM. Initial climb was smooth, for those of us who are familiar then the climb gets rather steep and is known to take ones breath away. Climb was slow and steady with me and bro into rhythmic sharan vili.Somewhere on the way my mind wavered and I started thinking that just the last steep climb and then we will start descending into the valley. Thats when it sort of hit me. A combination of gastric emission inside(popularly called "gas" by mallus) and it was probably the chena in the kalan which we had for lunch. I am at times allergic to chena.I stopped for a while , took a pause and resumed climbing. Bro was ok in the climb. After a few stops...I found myself short of breath, almost a feeling of helplessness & I felt I couldnt climb more. Took a break again, sat on the chair at the tea stall on the way...thinking about it....had a lemon soda..which sort of refreshed me..and then putting my mind back to Ayyappa I started again...slowly steadily...got thru the toughest part and reached sharmkutti-aal. The climb was over...again I was brought down to earth just when I was thinking that I had done it...The place is a great leveller...

Darshanam, Divya Darshanam

From Sharamkutthi, there was a controlled que..but luckily we reached the sannidanam by 5.45PM. Spending just .30 hour was a miracle in itself...then finally had darshanam at around 6.45 or so because we choose the line which is the closest to the sannidanam and hence after some spirited jostling with macho-andhra &tamil ayyappas...finally had the moment for which so many lakhs take the penance..the ayyappa darshanam..there he was smiling at you...caught it even if it was for a few seconds, but etched in memory for a lifetime.

At Sannidhanam

We had no accomodation there,and was resigned to spend it on a paya(mat) during the night..still we went to the accomodation centre and voila housefull board was there. Just as we were contemplating what next..a voice asked.."saarey room veno"...he was apparently from the accomodation office and said that a "cottage" on hilltop was available. Cottage is not like a cottage, its just a two room setup with no facilities, after all one is a swamy. we took it since it was a godsend.

we unbundled the kettunira and broke the coconuts with a stone and poured it into vessel for doing abhishekam and then assorted various items to be offered to the different dieties.

went back to sannidanam, again we were lucky to have our second darshanam ,arranged for abhishekam & prayed at mallipapurathamma & other deities and finally just casually went to the prasadam centre, to our surprise the "Aravana" counter was not having a huge que,So we got Aravana prasadam also! at times in life when you expect little,,,you get a lot...so it was like that for us too..

By that time, the bones in the legs was cracking up,used to comforts of city life...it was taking a toll..with great difficulty went back to the room (having "dosha" enroute)...finally settled for a nap at around 12.30. woke up at 3.30 , went to sannidanam again and had the abhishekam done and collected the vessel. By 6.00 or so we were free, having had a amazingly fast darshanam, little time in queues, neyyabhishekam also done. Looked around at the shops & then started the descent back, breaking the coconut again.with a silent prayer of thanks...and a hope that will be able to come again...

Descent back...

Descent thru the old route was tough for my bro especially as we were applying brakes with our legs and knees were feeling the heat...finally we reached pampa at 8.30 & left off for home, a safe journey back...and to the delight and relief of all loved ones, reached home at noon...and then the final coconut breaking and removal of mala...

Musings

FOr people like us who are used to comforts in life, its a tough one no doubt...to take the vrutham, do the climb, and the large number of pilgrims make the place not very clean...to ignore that...while climbing down...one sees the filth around...one walks on it....So what...Swamiye Sharanm Ayyappa...I will do it again and again...as long as I can..the effort will be there...people crib about facilities...about food...about cleanlines...common..one is supposed to be a sadhu when one goes there...one is above it isnt it...lakhs of pilgrims one a day cant be managed....its the people like us who can do better...the awareness is for the pilgrim to treat the place better...not the authorities

The climb to sannidhanam epitomises life and lifes chapters..for some its easy..for some its tough...for some like me who found it easy previously...finds it tough now...nothing is for granted in life...we put the effort and things will fall in line...isnt it..with a little bit of luck that is...

Swami Sharanam

Also see http://menonspeak.rediffiland.com/scripts/xanadu_diary_view.php?postId=1195287128

Bundle of Joy

2007-09-20T15:59:00.000+05:30

Bundle of Joy

Few of us who has been with me on this iland will know that I moved to Bengaluru just recent.Family is back in Delhi still.I rejoin them in Delhi over the weekend and bring them with me.
Its been 15 months since our son came to our lives. And every moment spent with him has been priceless.It has been a great stress reliever to see him after a busy day at work. His silly sounds andeffort to communicate with frowns when I am late and smiles when I am rarely and surprisingly early has been heart touching.
Its also have been rather regretful to see him wait up to midnight to see his "Acha". He would wait for me and then mumble his own language and then cuddle to sleep.
In between my job change I spent a week at home and he was overjoyed to see me day in and day out. Must be praying then that wish every day was like this only.ha ha.
And hence the last 10 days also must have been tough for the little chappie, thinking wherein the hell did I dissappear too.I am told by his loving mother that he wait near the door around 7.30 knowing that I should be coming home...and apparently scolds whoever else coming home at that point of time.
Seeing your kid grow up is the ultimate joy of life as he learns new things by the day and shows off to us.
I have been on the phone to Delhi and little fellow eagerly listens to me on the phone and after I am over, he shouts..."Acha...acha...acha"...(Acha = Father in malayalam)...
My heart really seeks out to all those families that live separately due to mostly unavoidable reasons and at times avoidable.
If 10 days have been this bad..wonder what it would be for those who live separately for months together especially with lil ones...
Economy drives us to such measures in life...while we gain in rupee terms...what we loose out is surely priceless moments in life that will never return...
Chao to Delhi

Parenting

2007-07-16T16:00:00.000+05:30

The ChildMy toddler turned 1 recently and it has been amazing seeing him pick up new things by the day.Despite the advances in technology and also the impetus in training programs these days, it is quite unlikely that there exists such a programmed training manual as one finds in the infants.In fact leave aside inspirational stories like that of Robert Bruce. If you capture your child's progress in learning various things and showcase it, its a good enough case study.The MotherThat takes me to the most important aspect of parenthood. What exactly parenthood stands for.The time,energy and patience shown by the mother is of such levels that probably cannot be surpassed. Despite the irritation at the stubborness/crankiness of the baby, the mother goes along like a well oiled machine as if she has been doing this for ages. It seems just like children comes with a programmed training module, women seems to be suddenly well trained when they become a mother.The FatherWell last but not the least, the Father. While the first two character seems to have similar roles in any family, the Father takes various characterstics. In some cases, he is the doting father, eagerly changing the nappies and playing with the kid, in some cases he is forced to do so (ha ha). In some cases he goes overboard in showing his love to the child as he is perpetually busy with work & in the process spoils him. These are just observations. We all do love our children.(did i hear a sigh)And before I end in retrospect, let me put my own thoughts on parenthood... I feel that parenthood has two aspects- Motherhood-which is about the Mother taking care of the baby with such love & care that only she can & Fatherhood -which is about the Father taking care of the Mother with so much love and care that only he can do.

Thinking Aloud ( I aint no expert..still)

2007-05-23T11:21:00.000+05:30

Lead India
Election Day
Sri Lankan Crisis

Sushil Menon Genealogy

2007-05-11T16:54:00.001+05:30

Born to Payyappillil(Chendamangalam) Rajagopal Menon & Thattengat Ramani Menon on September 29, 1972. As per the matriarchial lineage, belong to the Thattengat family which if I am not mistaken has its roots in Pullut, Kodungallur( formerly Cranganore), Thrissur( formerly Trichur district), Kerala.

Grand Parents : (Father's side) : Late Palliyil Raghava Menon & Late Payyappillil Lakshmi Kutty Amma.
(Mother's side) : Late Ponnisseril J.Balan Menon ( affectionately known as Balan Mashu- settled in Ashtamichira, Thrissur district) and Thattengat Subhadra Amma