International airport @ Chennai

The moods were happy for me and my wife in the sense that we were about to take an International flight to Dubai to be with my son Pushkar and daughter-in-law Taruna!  My older son Capt Neeraj gave us a staff ticket to travel and thrill was all the more as the departure was from the new International terminal that was recently inaugurated at Chennai.

As scheduled, We took a cab at 5.00 in the morning and were at the airport at 5.30am.  The check in took hardly anytime and we were through the immigration and taken to the departure hall at level 2 of the international airport.  The huge, sprawling size and area of the terminal made us look at everything in awe and astonishment!  We were seated in the new row of chairs that looked neat and clean except for the dustbins kept at regular intervals which did not have proper lids and attracted small flying insects in plenty defeating the basic word of cleanliness that counts for gradation of the airport to match international standards.

Soon, a representative of the Indigo airlines came and told us that the flight will depart from gate no 14 and held out her hand like a traffic police showing the directions to reach there.  We followed  the crowd booked by the same airlines and after a brief walk through the new corridor, We were asked to take the lift to reach the 1st floor level and again walked for sometime only to realise that we were walking through the old terminal and the environment was very familiar and nothing new?  The security area had been removed as the screening was done at the new terminal itself.  The same seating arrangements and the same procedure of entry through the old Aero-bridge left an element of doubt about the way the airport authority boast of having made this new International Airport.  The new International airport must necessarily be new for the passengers and they must not be deceived by showcasing the new one and making them experience the old?  It is like the old saying"old wine in a new bottle"!!

The Airport authority should not charge the new levies and taxes meant for the new terminal if the passengers are to be routed through the old terminal at the airport.  The passengers were at inconvenience and discomfort to have entered through the newly constructed building/terminal only to end up walking and walking to reach the old terminal and take a flight from there by paying more taxes and levies!!

This can happen only in India where the Government does not really care for the citizens and do whatever they feel like without any obstruction.

DTEA alumni meet @ Bengaluru on 13/09/2013

(Diwakar/Raghunath/Shiva Lingam/Rajagopalan/Kothanda Raman/Venkatraman)

The Alumni meet of DTEA Higher Secondary School happened on the 13th September, 2013 at the Press Club in Bangalore and nearly 250 students of the past participated in the meet making it an awesome affair where many could identify their batch mates and friends and introduce them afresh in their lives!  The earliest batch was a gentleman from the 1952 batch and the latest from 2000 onwards that enthused the assembled students to take a step forward to introduce themselves with many!  The meet started with a prayer, speeches from the organisers who prevailed upon the students to contribute generously towards the upliftment of facilities in schools through the Alumni Trust.  As I hear the purpose of generating funds for the Trust was quite successful with interested people chipping in their contribution towards the cause.

The date and venue was fixed at least a couple of months back and We, the batch mates of 1968 decided to book all of us by the Bangalore bound double Decker train which commenced its journey at 7.25 AM from the Central Station.  We were pleasantly joined by 2 more students from the 1965 and 1975 batch Prema and Gita from Chennai.  The train journey consisting of 8 of us was so much fun and laughter that the journey appeared to be short!

                              (Students of 1967 batch Jayalakshmi/Uma maheshwari/gita/Lalitha)                                                                      

                                       (Srividya/Lalitha/Jayalakshmi/Vaidyanathan/Ramesh/Srinivasan/)

A massive 250 persons were there at the Press club by about 6.30 PM when the program commenced.  I could see people meeting friends and batch mates with such delight and awe forgetting their present age, with the same feeling that they had many years back!  I also witnessed funny scenes when friends looked stunned seeing each other without words but glee on their eyes and comforting each other that they looked the same when they were in School.  After hugs that lasted for more than minutes, each one stood apart looking at each other and  would analyse the other pointing out certain factors such loss of 'that' pound of flesh/gain in pounds/ baldness/grey hair/ white hair in the eye brows/checking out that its not the wig/wrinkles/pigmentation etc.. slowly culminating in heat that could melt the very purpose of the meet!!  Nevertheless, it was all about friendship and soon everyone settled to be a part of the program that was to begin.  I also noticed some of the older men with colored hair and moustache and desperately trying to tuck their tummies in just to impress the opposite sex batch mates/classmates as if everything is young even now with them??  The girls, now the ladies on their part dressed up their best and trying to present their bygone youth to the assembled Alumni evoked quite a bit of laughter and the scene was comical enough to relish the episode and cherish it for many more years to come!  Of course, there were young and enthusiastic schoolmates who were much younger in age and added that glitter to the function.

                                                 (students of 1967 batch of various schools)

The prepaid amount at the time of registration included food and drinks on the house!  I could see a small crowd thronging the Bar counter and never stepped aside gulping their favourite drink like "Jal Jeera"!  I could spot some of the batch mates who would never even write the word alcohol or even utter it, holding the glass on their hands and saying cheers!  I wondered if the changed profile was due to excessive thrust of religious activities and upbringing by their households who were so pious and god fearing?  On the whole, it was very interesting to see people change for better and mingle with open mind with everyone present there. I also got teased and advised  constantly by another classmate of mine who kept on reminding me about loosing weight and this happened every time I bumped into him in the venue till such time, I requested him to change the topic and find some other parameter!!  Some habits never die and many of the old batch mates never thought that they also sail in the same Boat!!

It was a great experience to be with old friends and classmates and I am sure everyone will cherish these memories for life!!

disruption of traffic in Andhra Pradesh- dist Chittoor

Normally, driving down to Bangalore and back is considered a pleasure but not in these days as there is uncertainty of reaching your destination due to anti-Telengana protests in pockets that fall in between the journey!
                                                        
I decided to take the old Madras route from Bangalore to Chennai on the 29th August, 2013.  My mother who is 85 years also travelled with me only on assurances that I will stop the car as and when she wants to ease herself.  I started with my wife on my side and my aged mother at the back of my Toyota Corolla and everything seemed fine as we reached a place called Mulbagul on the border of karnataka with Andhra.  We reached Mulbagul within 50 minutes of our drive and wanted to cross Chittoor Dist in Andhra from where the present Chief Minister of andhra Pradesh, Kiran Kumar Reddy hailed!  we reached Palamner and the trouble started.  soon we found hundreds of trucks parked on the sides and there was no traffic coming from the opposite direction.  I mustered courage to drive right up to the point where protesters were shouting and arguing amongst themselves for nothing, I guess!  I requested the so called self styled chief of the movement to let us go as my aged mother required consideration.  Nothing could squeeze even a bit of their hearts and the mob consisting mostly of young boys and men with sticks in their hands were showing their "mob-might" to people by banging the sticks on the road and sometimes showing signs that they may even hit your car or the glasses.  I reversed my car and reached the Palamner town and asked a police man on duty about an alternate route to Chennai.  The cop said a few rumbling words in Telugu that frightened me a bit and I decided to use my IQ instead.  I cut across a road and aimed at reaching the Hosur highway driving through some eye soothing paddy fields and well maintained villages.  I reached a stretch that would lead me to a dist in Tamilnadu known as Gudiyattham.  Believe me, the car was tested for all its rigidity, endurance and safety as I had to drive through roads that were battered due to rains and had huge craters which made a roller coaster ride!  After a patient one hour drive through the muddy, water soaked slush, sand and craters, I reached Gudiyattham and from where I reached Ranipet and then to Chennai.  I was delayed by nearly 1 1/2 hours.

My personal feeling is that it is time that our country is either given to China or exchange our Government and import General Musharraf to clean up our mess and restore normal functioning of the country.  The boys and young men who were blocking the roads, instead of going to school/college were tail-wagging as a mob and threatening all the road users with sticks and loud exchange of words amongst themselves.  These people must be taken to task and jailed indefinitely for causing nuisance and preventing free movements and affecting fundamentals of Freedom.  The politicians behind the scenes must be arrested for contributing and destruction of peace in the area.

I fail to understand as to how the road blocks can solve a problem that is confronting the state?  One of the youngsters who spoke Tamil told me that the Chief Minister hailed from Chittor dist and the blocks and hurdles were created only on his instructions?  I asked him as to how he will earn his income for the day if he indulges in such unproductive activity?  He replied that each boy/man is given food and drinks besides some money which he did not specify?

I am convinced about the depreciation of Indian Rupee and the poor economic plight of the country given these circumstances!!

AGS cinemas on OMR road- A Goram affair!

I went to the AGS complex that boasts of housing cinema theatres and a Mall on OMR to watch a Hindi movie "Bajate Raho" last evening.  The man at the entrance was prompt to give us a parking print out marking the entry time of our vehicle.  We went round and round all the way to the basement 2 to park our car.  The basement was full of dust and was rising like a cloud of dust each time a car passed through the path way making it miserable for people like me who are just waiting for an excuse to start the most dreaded disease-Ashtma!!

The air-conditioning inside the theatre was perfect and may be since we were hardly 35-40 people watching the 7pm show!  When we discovered our seats on the C row, my heart sank a bit seeing the pathetic conditions of the seats that were ripped and torn from all sides possible.  The seats were real comforters and could have been very relaxing but for the condition it was subject to.  The irritation caused by seats that were ripped off cushion did not allow me or the members of my family to watch the film quietly.  I always felt there was something biting my skin whenever my skin came in contact with the exposed sponge of the seat.  Could be some insects which might have taken refuge in the torn area with comforts to raise their families?

I looked around and found that all those beautiful seats have been badly mutilated and upholstery torn apart!  I stood up to see if I could spot one good seat in tact but to my dismay, I found all the seats right from the A row till the last row had to tell the same story of the pathetic conditions that the seats were in.  The management of the theatre should take note of this and take corrective measures so that the film goer does not feel cheated?  The rates of the theatre is as competitive as that of Inox or Sathyam cinemas!  The nearly 3 hour ordeal also ended on a bitter note.  Instead of clearing the crowd within a short span of time, the theatre management preferred to make all of us walk for at least 250 metres all around the theatre clockwise for an exit for reasons best known to them.  Is it not mandatory to make exits easy for the public so that even in emergencies, evacuation could be done easily?

The CEO of the AGS cinemas MS Archana Kalpathi boasts about opening a similar theatre in T nagar.  One really wonders what kind of upkeep the CEO has in mind for the futuristic ventures as the one on OMR leaves serious doubts on her capabilities and skills to administer?

The final exit from the car park was clouded with fear as we could not spot our vehicle due to clouds of dust that zoomed out from the speeding tyres of cars trying to exit the basement.  I had to plug my nose with a cloth and holding my breath, I managed to get into the car vowing never to return to AGS cinemas for anything unless the shortcomings are addressed properly!

Week end Retreat @ Hiranandani, OMR Chennai

we decided to go to our week end retreat apartment @ Hiranandani, OMR to have some quite and serene moments.  It was past 6pm when we reached the place and what a lovely change it was to be there, away from the city.  The air was fresh and in plenty to kindle our thoughts and brains.  The freshness prompted us to murmur the famous song from the film Khushboo-  O majhi re apna kinara..... We were quite thrilled to see the moon lit sky and the reflection that it created on the back waters that was adjoining!  Breathing fresh air and eating fresh dal/roti and chawal, we were sitting in the balcony and recollecting all songs that had words like sea/water/tide/boat/majhi/boatman etc.. The time flew and it was past midnight when we realised that we must retire for a good sleep to wake up fresh in the morning.  We decided to keep all the windows open and the cross ventilation of air and the circulation was a different feeling, rejuvenating!

The morning Sunrise from the East was spectacular with the sky glowing blue and golden.  It was around 5.55am when the first rays of the fiery planet came through our windows and quickly within minutes, it was broad day light and we felt the heat of the Sun slowly intruding our room.

Down below in the back waters, there was a motor boat with some fisher folks who were venturing for a good catch!  I felt happy for the fishermen that they had mechanised motor boats driven on diesel which was fast and speed ed up their routine.  Very soon, they had spread nets and got busy with their work.  Hopefully, they got a big catch to make it a great celebration for their families?

From the rear side of our apartment was the panoramic view of the OMR(old Mahabalipuram Road) which was developing fast in view of the IT hub that got parked in this locality.  There were apartments which were ready for occupation and in some places, work had started for building more apartments and villas by reputed builders who found this place as most rewarding in the city of Chennai.  The place has all infra structure facilities and is also connected well to the city and the suburbs.  One thing that comes to your mind is what next?  The days are very warm and sometimes hot enough to push you remain indoors.  The recreational facilities are not enough in this place and has to develop.  Ultimately, one realises that it is the climate that makes a place enjoyable!  Yes, one can enjoy all these views if the climate is good and cool for anybody to step out of their homes.  It is a good experience for enjoying a few weekends in a year!!

Editor of Kumudam for the issue dt 30/08/1990

Sandhya, my wife was immersed in happiness and ecstasy when the then Editor-in-chief  Mr Ra.Ki.Rangarajan called her and requested to be the Editor of the issue dt 30/08/90 that was coinciding with the  eve of Ganesh Chathurthi !  There was only one single Television channel during those times and the announcers and News readers during those times were as popular as the film stars and were given a special status wherever they travelled throughout the State!  Similarly, Kumudam, the weekly Tamil magazine was so popular that people used to rush to the book stalls in their area to secure a copy of the most wanted and popular magazine, every Thursday!!  The magazine had a wide circulation of more than 100,000 copies every week!!  The Madras Door Darshan in between their popular programmes,  started flashing the advertisement of the forthcoming issue of the popular magazine and the name of the Editor who would pen, Edit and contribute to the magazine! Sandhya being one of the most popular News Readers and now editor of the most popular and leading weekly magazine created quite a flutter and infused inquisity and anxiety amongst the Tamils!!  One Mr Bamaji, a person filled with sense of humour and information on current affairs  was deputed to assist my wife in this venture.  Bamaji would convert even a simple sentence into a humour and it was great fun working with such a brilliant personality who was responsible for this temporary conversion of a Tamil News Reader into an Edior of the most popular magazine!! The advance information, in the form of advertisement in various forms of media,  from Kumudam attracted several individuals who were interested to be associated with the issue for the sake of mustering popularity and fame as it was a magazine with the largest circulation!  

There were many popular Tamil film artistes, theatre personalities, family members and freinds  who called us and impressed upon including them as part of some informative matter and the prominent amongst those was Music Director Shankar(Ganesh) who personally called me and started talking about being son of the soil of Tirunelveli and praised sky high about my singing capabilities and what not?  Incidentally, my wife also hailed from Tirunelveli(Gopalasamudram)!  The inputs given by so many personalities were taken and included.  However, the final verdict of inclusion rested with the Kumudam Editorial staff who scanned all the contents carefully and picked only those which had interesting substance in them in order to retain the popularity and readership that the magazine enjoyed!

My boys Neeraj(12) and Pushkar(8) both students of the D A V Higher Secondary School, Gopalapuram  knew there was something interesting happening and happily posed for photographs that were taken by the magazine for publication.  One such picture is what appeared on the cover of the magazine in the Sound Studios fondly named after my father Suryanarayanan!  

I also contributed my stories and jokes which formed part of the magazine besides talking about the bank in which I was working as the Chief Manager.  The trade union leader in the bank wanted me to write about him and about the union that he was heading in the south.  When I told him that it was my wife who was editing it and the magazine will not allow private publicity, he got angry and left my chamber with disgust!  Similarly, there were quite a few family members who got upset as their names did not feature in the issue and chose not to talk to us thereafter!!  On one side, there was joy in seeing the final output that came as an issue dt 30/08/90 and on the other side there were disgruntled elements who did not appreciate this popularity and were not in favour as the magazines did not mention about them?

Overall, the experience was rich and rewarding and the subsequent issues carried praises from the readers for bringing out an interesting weekly issue that was edited by my wife Sandhya!  I was thrilled to get this honour that made us more popular throughout the country!  For the sake of thrill, we drove past many bookstalls on that Thursday and felt happy to see the magazine stacked or clipped for display and sale!  The magazine at that time cost Rs1.75p only!!!  As I look back, 23 years have passed by and it is still fresh in our memories and thoughts and brings a smile in us whenever we recollect this pleasant past!

Chinese also steal Hearts!

I was quite surprised to get a mail from my old time friend Ganesh sundaram inviting me to attend the marriage of his elder son Nikhil with Hsin @ Delhi on the 23rd June, 2013.  The name added curiosity and more so as she was an Associate Professor of Music with Texas A&M University, U S A.  My friend is an accomplished Piano-Accordion player himself and we used to perform in Delhi during the 70s.

I and my wife left for Delhi on the 21st morning as there was sangeeth program at the Lake Side club, Mayur Vihar in the evening.  Hsin, hailing from Taipei presented a couple of Chinese folk songs which were sounding brilliant and outstanding.  She is trained in Opera singing where one is trained to sing without using Mikes or amplification systems!  One has to use the vocal cords to amplify the sound and the training is so perfect that you do not require any supporting gadgets to amplify your voice!!  It is also true if you recall how our carnatic stalwarts like S D  Kittappa, M D Ramanathan and many others sang without using any supportive amplifications.

There were more than a dozen versatile singers and each one outclassing the other in singing!  Mridul, younger son of Renu and Ganesh adorned his Spanish Guitar to accompany the singers and also play a few heavy metal clips which were appreciated well.

The morning of 23rd June, 2013 witnessed the young couple locking themselves in the spectrum of Matrimony, the rituals of which were conducted according to Hindu rites and rituals.  Hsin was clad neatly in a traditional south Indian silk Saree and looked vibrant and beautiful.  Nikhil looked absolutely handsome and affectionate.  Both of them got married and there were hundreds of guests to bless the newly weds.

There were 5 family members of Hsin who specially flew in from Taipei to attend the marriage.  The highlight of the marriage were a Chinese couple from Delhi, friends of Ganesh who were gracious enough to do Kanya Dhaan of Hsin who did not have her father.  The Chinese couple were known friends of Ganesh for a long time and readily agreed to do the role of parents of Hsin for the function!  god bless them all!!  I also met one of our good old friends popularly known as LC(L Chandrasekar) who used to try his hands on the drums when we had the orchestra during the early 70s! Both of us looked well fed for ever whereas Ganesh, the Groom's father,  looked as if he had parted all his food only to both of us!!  We had a good time cherishing old memories together.

Chinese not only intrude Indian Territories but also Indian Hearts!!