MY QUESTION CORNER - WHY SOME PEOPLE TRY TO ACT AS 'KNOW ALLS' IN KERALA?

A  GOOD POST ON  THE ABSURD EXISTENCE OF KNOW ALLS

We  have been undergoing  a problematic existence in Kerala due to the onslaught of  know - alls. How can a person know all the things unless he has big mental aberrations attached with it? Human brain is equipped with the power to learn and experiment with what one learned. The act of experimentation itself shows you need to know more. So the focus should be on what you need to know. THE FOCUS SHOULD BE ON WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW AND HOW YOU CAN REACH EXCELLENCE THROUGH IT. IN THE PROCESS, YOU SHOULD CURIOUSLY LISTEN TO THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW.  IF YOU ARE A 'KNOW ALL', YOU HAVE STOPPED YOUR CHANCES TO GROW FURTHER THROUGH LEARNING.

                                 

OPINION CORNER - THE ILL EFFECTS OF QUESTION BANK EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN KERALA

                             

   

'EDUCATION', for a long time, has been equated with rectitude in Kerala. The focus is not on how much a person understands and inculcates in his daily life, but how much he can recollect. In that case, such an education should be considered as a MEMORY TEST. Memory, as you all know, is an integral part of learning. But is that all there is to learning? Does it matter if a person does not remember something? It matters when he does not understand the power of  his learning and how it should be applied in his daily life. It is a serious issue if he is unable to understand each subject he studies was conceived and developed for the betterment of human beings. So the primary focus should be on THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION, be it any subject. After all the advancements in technology, QUESTION BANK GURUS thrive and we equate them with THE NEXT GENERATION SCHOLARS. It is high time we rethought this problematic educational strategy.

From the whopping sale of QUESTION BANKS and GENERAL KNOWLEDGE FACT FILES in Kerala, it can be easily assumed that knowledge gathering is equated mostly with these. 'KNOWLEDGE' ,  if  acquired in the right way, will lead to WISDOM (The ability to think creatively and independently from what a person learned). If that is not acquired, educational institutions will exist just as centres of indoctrination (preaching some things, subjects and people are superior over others for all the wrong reasons), rote learning and mere information gathering. What we will lack in future, if we follow this trend ,is a community of creative and original thinkers. WITH THE TERRIBLE ONSLAUGHT OF GLOBALISATION, PEOPLE ARE UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE AFTEREFFECTS OF THAT LOSE. Whom do you prefer - The 'FACT MAN'  or 'WISDOM MAN'? 

FRIENDSHIP DAIRIES,PART 4 - WATCHING A FILM WITH FRIENDS

                                                 
                                                  TRAILER  OF ''ALI BHAI.''

As I  told you in the previous part,this part is all about my viewing of the film ''Ali Bhai'' with my friends.

Watching a film with friends gives us ample information about their idea of  good films,critical thinking and level of sanity.There are some audiences of star driven films who will pinch you or bite you in sheer excitement while watching their on screen matinee idol beating the villains black and blue.In the sheer excitement,some blows may fall on you.It is true that nobody is interested to be a punching bag of a wild nut inside a movie theatre.Nothing of the sort happened while I watched this film in the mirthful company of my friends.

Outside the theatre there was a heavy rush.A garlanded cut out of Superstar Mohanlal,which was put up by Mohanlal Fans Association,faced us.In one poster Mohanlal was shone in a  hitched up green couloured dhoti and a sweat drenched yellow shirt.

Vinayak looked at the poster and said,''Look at the way his dhoti is hitched up.He doesn't know how to wear a dhoti.''

Vinayak loved Mamootty more than Mohanlal.Hence this comment.

When the movie started there was this usual howls and whistling.As the visuals began to tell the tale,I understood that that the film is not a wee bit different from the numerous  other outings of this star in the garb of a saviour.This time he is the captain of Calicut city.As you all know there are these things in a typical Mohanlal commercial films at that time: hitched up dhoti,curled up moustache,larger than life image of the star,a group of mute spectators to see the bravado of  the star,cohorts at the ready,punch dialogues and a villain who enters the fray just before interval  and throws heavy challenges at the hero.

All the elements I stated above can be seen in this film also.Till interval we get bored by the bullet riding hero delivering dialogues to villains with an ear splitting  score in the backgound to pump up his star charisma.Just before interval we get to see the real villain in a tweed coat and tie with mouthful of English dialogues to make the life of the hero a living hell.To add insult to the injury of the hero the villain has gun toting assistants in black coats.

The villain warns a knife holding hero,''Ali Bhai, the days of  knife are over.''

Post interval there is one question: Which weapon will win?- knife or gun.The movie becomes a pseudo fight between a bourgeois and proletariat.

When the credits were rolling up,Vivek warned,''Prepare for that dreadful background score.'' He was right.

FRIENDSHIP DIARIES 3 -FRIENDS IN NEED ARE FRIENDS INDEED.

                                          A DRIVE THROUGH CHANGANACHERRY TOWN.

The video up there is just to show you the town,in which I met my dear friends.Nothing more.This time,I am getting very personal.The story continues from the next paragraph.Kindly forgive if you do not agree with my ideas of friendship.

As you all know,human beings are social animals.Unlike other animals,they have the higher capability to understand the pain and happiness of fellow beings very deeply.This quality is predominant in some people.Both my friends(Vivek and Vinayak) have it.By the time I met them in college,I was tired of my search to find an ideal friend,who would understand my predicament and pain of existing in a village,which had the lacking of many things I dreamt of.It is only because god is capable of seeing troubled souls that he helped me to meet my soul mates.

Ruminating over my staying in that room with Vivek,I remember many things,which made me reflect on my existence in the village.The main difference between me and Vivek was that he was city bred and I was from my sleepy village,in which everybody intruded into unnecessary matters without giving a damn about anybody's feelings.Towns and cities are known for its menacing aloofness.It was a surprise for me that anyone from a big city could be as nice as Vivek.In a way,he is my bridge to my childhood fantasy world -Ernakulam city.There was a passion that connected the three of us -  cinema.

What is better than going with friends to watch a film?.With all the howls and whistling,it is a fascinating experience.Till now,I remember the day,in which we decided to go to watch the film ''Ali Bhai.'At that time,money was a pressing issue.My mother gave me money every Sunday,which was essentially food money,and that was supposed to last the whole week.Unnecessary entertainments like films were out of the question.So I confessed to Vinayak-''Buddy,I don't have enough money.'

'Don't worry man,we are here',he said.'We' means the whole circle of friends.

I  heard something like that for the first time in my life.I had some cynical relatives,who took the son of my father's youngest brother to theatres in Ernakulam.The city is around 20 km.s from my village.My mother couldn't find money to send me with them on any of those trips.Those idiots were unable to understand the pain their trips caused to a lesser fortunate child of my age.Never once,being our neighbours and relatives,did they ventured to take me during these trips.This made me believe that their life is essentially connected with money.I never believed that any relationship with people from different economic backgrounds possible till I met my friends.Ernakulam was the stuff of my dreams,something very far away and exotic.Only two times did I travel to that city during my school going years.The first one was to a hospital,a place a child of my age at that time would hate to remain.

When Vinayak said he and my whole friends are there to spend money for me,I started to regain my belief in essential goodness of human beings,which makes life in this world worthwhile. Vivek  rekindled the flame in more ways than one.

                                                                             To be continued.

          

                                             

FRIENDSHIP DIARIES,PART 2,THE END

                                                             A  COLLEGE CANTEEN

The next day was fateful because we  experienced laziness after a day's sleep.Waking up was a struggle like Sisyphus rolling the stone up the steep hill.I was the first to wake up.It was 6.30 am.After a big yawn,I looked around the room. My shelf was filled with books and coins lying higgledy piggledy.With books and objects in a neat pile,Vivek's shelf showed neatness and order.I ventured out of the room.The cold air was being cut,as if by a needle dipped in honey,by the Ayyappa devotional songs by K.J.Yesudas,the legendary singer. The nearby temple played the same set of songs every morning for the  three years of our stay in the room.

Vivek woke up at 7 am.He removed the blanket from his body and got up with a yawn that was wide enough for three hornets to enter his mouth simultaneously.He was moving in the direction of the bathroom while I was outside,inhaling the fresh air.If there was anything that created a discordant note in the harmony of this serene musicality of the atmosphere,it was the barking of the dog of our neighbour.By the size of the dog,the sound it produced felt  uncanny.

''Buddy,you could have called me when you woke up.'',Viek said.

  I turned around and looked in his direction.''Sorry buddy,I only thought of not disrupting your sleep'',I replied.

He nodded, went inside,took a book of poems and began to read.Once entering the room,I took William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet.'After reading the 'To be or not to be soliloquy,I dropped the book on the table.

'Buddy,he is very philosophical.'

Who?

Hamlet.

He nodded his head and went back to reading.Nothing passed between us that morning till the fateful minute.That was when Vivek came of the bathroom in a towel that he tied around his waist after drying himself up.''Arun,your bathing is not ordinary.It is the grand bath of a Maharajah ('Neeraattu' in Malayalam).''

  I took a lot of  time to bathe.That was why Vivek made this coment.When we were out of the house,there were only fifteen minutes for us to reach the class before the deadline.After locking the door,Vivek threw the key at me.I kept it safely in the biggest folder of y bag.Breakfast was out of the question.Yet when we neared the N.S.S.Canteen,I asked hi -''Vivek,what about eating?.'' 

''Let's eat '' ,he said.Theory can be learnt any time,breakfast can only be eaten in the morning.So we started.As I was not interested in Dosa,which Vivek pronounced as 'Dosha',I ordered paratha.Sambar was free.

''Buddy,paratha is not good for your health,'' he warned.I knew this,but couldn't help it.We continued to eat,nodding the head at times.It was like terrorists having their breakfast in ''Baba Kalyani.''That was when Vinayak entered the room.

Vinayak was the Mahesh Babu material of our college.A six feet tall young man in T-Shirt and jeans slowly moved towards us.His neatly polished boots glittered in the sunlight that was entering the room through the side windows.He gave us one of his smile that made one of the beautiful girls in the campus to fall in love with him.

                   The end of Part 2.

FRIENDSHIP DIARIES 2,CONTINUATION.

                                                        CHANGANACHERRY TOWN

The landlord and landlady gave us one week time to decide on matters.Though I tried very hard to convince my mother,she was not ready to budge.It still felt like an uphill task till Vivek decided to intervene on Saturday when I phoned him.

''Buddy,I am coming there tomorrow.''

He reached home the next day in the afternoon.My mother gave him hot tea.Her hot tea felt lava hot to me.So I blew too hard into the cup.To my utter surprise,Vivek finished the beverage in three gulps.Now,let me take you to his exact sentences.

''Aunty,you know how hard it is for him to wake up at 4 am. and pedal all the way to Piravom in that bicycle.By allowing him to stay in that room,you are doing him a great service.''

My mother budged,at last.Sister and my mother have to stay in this home while I am away.Now,I can visit them only on weekends.Father will be away because of his work as a driver in K.S.F.D.C.,Thiruvananthapuram.He will be home only on some weekends.

Next week,we reached that home in Changanacherry.It was a Monday.There were two double storey houses in the vicinity, and I only noticed it that day. The landlord waxed eloquently about his plan to take two more people in that room.We felt numb when he gave us this grand plan.If it happens,it will be very much like a second wagon tragedy.The room was not spacious enough for two more people.

When the landlord was gone,Vivek took a blank sheet of  paper.

''Buddy,we have work to do before leaving for college.''

He started to scribble something in that paper.I inched closer to have a look.Paste,broom,mat e.t.c.

In the evening,we went to the Margin Free Market.The neat objects in the shop gave me a spine chilling dread for the first time.

That evening,we were quiet a sight for the people of that town.With pillows,mats,one bucket,a cup,a broom and many other objects that would make life in a room comfortable,we walked to our new  humble abode.Vivek had a confident look on his face while I sported a confused one.All this swift shopping spree was not present even in my wildest dreams.Back in the room,he said,''Buddy,we have to split the pay.Let us check it.''

He paid for most of the objects.I was clueless.It felt very much  like magician Samraj goggling his eyes and screming,''Vanishing Beauty Illusion.''

''And the jug costed?.'' 

I looked at the bill and said ,'25'.

After one hour of calculations and deliberations,we both stopped.Then,we started to talk freely about various things.After sometime,we switched of the light  and lay down.Then,we cracked jokes,talked about Superstar Mohanlal and commented about his latest films.Amidst laughter I asked him,''Can I keep the bill?.'' the laughter ended for some time.Howver,he let me keep it.We resumed talking and laughter.It continued till midnight.The word ''bill'' was not powerful enough to intervene in that friendship,which was a tryst we both were unknowingly making with destiny.

                                                      

A TRYST WITH DESTINY,FRIENDSHIP DIARIES,PART 2

                                                    VANCHINADU   EXPRESS
         

This part starts in a cold morning.The jeep of Avarachan, the person who brings me to Mulanthuruthy Railway Station everyday,slowly entered the parking lot.Unlike the day before,the station was cloaked in mist,powerful enough to bring a shiver down the spine of even the most courageous person on earth.I remembered Stephen King's novel ''The Mist'',in which an entire city gets covered in mist all of a sudden.To make the situation worse,there are alien creatures in the form of giant gadflies lurking in the terrible whiteness.By god's grace,we know that nothing like that will happen in Kerala.Aliens have a special liking towards Americans.

The train (Vanchinadu Express) chugged into the railway station,howling its ear splitting whistle.Een in that darkness,I could see the mist,which was neatly parted by the first coach.Literally,it was as spooky a day can be.I could not stop  chatting with Avarachan even while entering the first compartment.Vivek was sitting,as usual,in that long blue coloured wooden seat.Seeing his surprised face,I asked him what the matter was.

''Didn't you know that today is a holiday?.Man,that S.F.I. and A.B.V.P. clash.''

Truth gradually dawned on me.The day before,some hot headed party hungry morons showered abuses at some other blockheads of the opposition party.I seriously doubted whether that fiasco would create anything worthy for anyone.All they managed to get was one day off. It would give them time to devise their obsessive and grand plans for social welfare.

Vivek was on his way to Changanacherry to see the room,in which he was planning to stay as a paying guest.As there was no urgent business for me to finish,I decided to assist him.

''Buddy,are you sure about this.''

I was as sure as James Bond saying ''007 reporting for duty.''

I visited the landlord with him.He was a portly man with a white dhoti tied around his pot belly.

''If you had notified us early,the room would  have still been available.Now,we can only assist you to another room in a house nearby.It is down the curve.''

A retired school teacher and her husband lived in that house.The room behind their house was an annexe,which was specially built for the purpose of taking paying guests.From the look on their face,anybody could easily understand the good nature of  the couple.The husband,though,was a little talkative.

If I had not seen that room,my story would have been different.Call it destiny or any other name.

The room was spacious enough.There was space for two beds and a table.The back wall contained three shelves of equal size.My heart began to long for living in that room.It would save me much time and effort in the morning.The things I would miss most will be the home made food and the comfort of my bed.Yet,my mind was made up.It will only be a matter of time before I convince my mother.

                                                                                                          To be continued