The society is not fit for innocents. It is as dark as we can’t even imagine sometimes. It is the land where charities were made out of business money. What forces someone to pay back to society? It is dharma – aram in Tamil. The victory of Mahabharata war is justified based on aram. Duryodhana has his own justifications where as Yudhishthira has his own. The injustice and humiliations of Draupadi made the Yadava chief choose Yudhishthira’s side – accepted aram!
Aram was the theme of Singapore Writer Festival 2017, where writers from different parts of the world persuaded this topic. Everybody has their own interpretation of aram to justify their stand. There comes the deadlock. We believe, the one which benefits the victim, is the right aram or righteousness.
I write about the one of the finest short story collections of Jeyamohan – Stories of the True, as part of #TBRChallenge by Blogchatter. This is the translation of his Tamil collection Aram. It talks about different personalities, who are real persons in the writer’s known circle and their attempts to ensure justice or righteousness.
This collection contains the iconic stories Elephant Doctor and A hundred arm chairs. Many of the stories would disturb the readers as it has a concentrated extract of painful hearts of our society.
I read A hundred arm chairs in Tamil a few years ago and blogged here. Still, I can’t resist reading it once again. I can totally absorb the mental agony of a son, a mother, a society, and the conflict around them. The agony of the mother became paradoxical with her son. The struggle between them pierced the reader inch by inch.
Elephant Doctor is something to be kept as a compulsory school read. Liquor has been made a fast-moving consumer good by the companies and the Government. Having money to travel to forests and waterfalls, consume liquor, break the glasses, create a ruckus is wrongly perceived as a ‘status building’ or ‘socialization’. But the pain created by desperadoes is something no one acknowledges.
I was moved by ‘Aram – The Song of Righteousness‘ and ‘The meal tally‘. Such stories show the gems out of a stereotypical society. ‘One world’ reminds me of Jayakanthan’s Tamil novel ‘oru manithan – oru veedu – oru ulagam‘.
‘Nutcase‘ was so closer to my heart because those who struggled for Indian freedom and those who got benefit out of it are different. The regents of Indian democracy showed an overt act of suppression on the whistle-blowers.
I recommend this book to get the a memorable reading experience. It will help us to reevaluate ourselves.
About the author and the translator:
Apart from what is written in Wikipedia, he is one of the best writers of Tamil literature. Apart from his writings, he engages his readers on a daily basis. He used to take a stand, clearly justifying the reasons behind it. He spent an enormous amount of days writing a full-fledged Mahabharata as a novel series called venmurasu, which was released on a daily basis for free. I was one of the readers who followed this novel till the end.
Translating Jeyamohan’s language is a challenge for any translator. In that way, Priyamvada Ramkumar had done her best.
Name of the book: Stories of the true. Author: Jeyamohan B Translator: Priyamvada Publisher: Juggernaut Publication Genre: Short story collection ISBN: 9393986177 Amazon
Mahabharata does not need an introduction. When we see the scenes with naked eyes, offer our minds a solvency from the monetary outfit of modern day society. Mahabharata admires every one of us. It looked to me like a story of the ramparts when I was a kid. When the read the latest version of Mahabharata novel series in Tamil – Writer Jeyamohan’s Venmurasu, the scourge of mass destruction, ego and humiliation stench all over the journey.
I saw this book in Chennai airport one day. That was the time Venmurasu was being released every day. I was one of the proud followers. On seeing this book on display, I had no other thoughts.
Name of the book: The Illustrated Mahabharata, The definitive guide to India’s greatest epic. Editors: Bushra Ahmed, Rajrupa Das, Medha Gupta, Hina Jain, Seetha Natesh, Rupa Rao Genre: Epic/Paintings Buy from Amazon ISBN : 978-0-2412-9972-2
But it took me a month to read the whole book, because of the proximity of the characters brought by those illustrations. It has a collection of paintings from different sources.
One tale in every 2 pages generally. The pages are ornamented with paintings. The books starts at the Adiparva with the snake sacrifice (Sarpa sastra). The illustration from Razmnama stupors the reader.
There are 18 chapters to take the reader across all parva-s.
The book quotes the verses from the epic; it shows the family tree. It brings us paintings, carvings, and other art forms across the world.
Why I recommend this book?
This book is a nice story teller. You can leave it in the hands of kids of age 10+. They will get a memorable exposure to the Mahabharata stories starting all the way from Budh, Pururavas, Dushyanta etc.
To enjoy Krishna’s stories from Harivamsha.
We understand how Mahabharata is being admired by different part of the globe.
It is an excellent coffee table book to engage your guests.
America Chavez and Stephen Strange are looking for the book of Vishanti. In the space between the universes they were chased by a monster.
Stephen StrangeAmerica Chavez
After Strange died accidentally in that encounter, Chavez brought Strange’s corpse to Earth-616. Earth-616 has a version of Dr Strange. With the help of Buddhist Chief Sorcerer Wong, he saves Chavez from the octopus monster.
Wong
Chavez explains that demons haunt her because she has the power to travel between universes.
Strange consults with Wanda Maximoff as he realized the evil tantric acts in that octopus monster.
Wanda Maximoff
But Dr Strange realizes that she is responsible for the attacks.
Maximoff has two children, Billy and Tommy. She created them during his time in the Westview.
She is trying to reunite with them. Scarlet Witch Maximoff hopes that she will be able to use Chavez’s cross-universe-travel skills to reunite with her children.
Maximoff at Westview – image (c) marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com
Dr Strange refuses to handover Chavez. He hides her inside the Kamar-Taj Buddhist monastery. War is raging between the witch Maximoff and the monastery sorcerers led by Wong. But Maximoff tricks them and kills many sorcerers. Before she capture Chavez, Chavez takes herself and Dr Strange to Earth-838.
Kamar-taj
*.*.*.*
Earth-838 has a verion of Maximoff in a suburb and lives with his children Billy and Tommy. At the same time as Chavez escapes, Maximoff uses the dream-walk technique of ‘Darkhold’ to control her counterpart, living on Earth-838 in a dream state. Sarah, a Buddhist sorcerer who survives the Kamar-Taj attack, sacrifices her life to destroy the witch’s Darkhold’s magical action, breaking her dream-walk.
Sara
An angry Maximoff threatens Wong to take her to the forbidden ancient temple, Mount Wundagore. There she continues her dream-walk again. She causes destruction in Earth-838 through her counterpart.
image (c) marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com
Meanwhile Strange and Chavez are looking for help. He is then arrested by Supreme Sorcerer Carl Morto of Earth-838, and is brought before the Illuminati, a group consisting of Morto, Becky Carter, Blogger Bolden, Maria Rambieau, Reid Richards and Charles Xavier.
Carl Morto
The Illuminati had previously recklessly used the Darkhold of their universe in an attempt to defeat Thanos. So they explain that Dr Strange version of Earth-838 triggered the “incursion” that destroyed the universe.
Thanos
After defeating Thanos, the Illuminati kill their Dr Strange, to prevent further harm. Morto believes that Dr Strange (the one currently seeking help) of Earth-616 is equally dangerous.
Before the Illuminati’s verdict on Dr Strange is finalized, Maximoff restores her dream-walk from the Forbidden Temple on Wundagore Hill to arrive at the body of her Earth-838 native. She brutalizes all members of the Illuminati except Morto, and subdues Strange before he escaped with Chavez. The two escape with the help of Christine Palmer who is the ex-fiancé of Dr Strange’s of Earth – 838, He was a scientist working for the Illuminati.
*.*.*.
Strange, Chavez and Christine enter the space between the universes and locate Vishanthi’s book which helps to destroy the evil acts of Darkhold. Alas. Maximoff appears and destroys it. She, then, takes Chavez’s mind. She uses Chavez’s potential to infiltrate others and send them into an universe which is destroyed due to incursion.
Meanwhile, on Earth-616, Maximoff begins her next attempt of Chavez’s attempt to seize power.
Meanwhile Dr Strange, sent by Maximoff, defeats the Strange version of the infiltrated universe. The Darkhold of that universe has spoiled the native version of Strange. He became a bad boy already!! After pushing down the villainous Strange, Dr Strange infiltrates the corpse of Strange buried in Earth-616 by the same Dream-walk technique. The corpse rises and acts against Maximoff. Was Dr Strange able to beat Maximoff? Was he able to save Chavez? You need to see the movie.
As the name implies, it is pure madness to write the plot of the movie. Unless we see on the screen, we’ll be mad!!
—
Earth-616 – Where Chavez and Strange escaped.
Earth-838 – The universe where Chavez and Strange escape after the defeat of the Kamar Das Monastery. This is where Maximofin’s children live.
The history of Tamil cinema cannot be written without Nagesh. Nagesh has left his unique way of his body, mouth and eye language. He was captivated as a promising actor and protagonist by Director Sridhar and K Balachander. So stamping him as a comedian is like an attack on his personality. He was a full fledged actor who acted in different roles like comedian, hero, villain and supporting actor. He was super busy in the industry to the extent of participating in the shooting of two to three film companies on same day. It was written like, many cars of different film companies will be waiting for him. Whatever the car he chose, will be followed by the rest, to take him to the other shooting spots. He was also the one abandoned by the same film industry. He has also been overlooked by the award committees of Government of India.
About the book
The newsletter from Kizhakku Pathippakam had information about ‘Nan Nagesh’. It was also in Amazon Prime Reading. It was written in a very simple (spoken) style so I was able to read it quickly.
Nagesh said that he was proud of his beauty at his young age. He thinks that he was punished by God for losing his face due to the subsequent measles for boasting his beauty. He has been humiliated in various places due multiple scars of chickenpox on his face.
He has worked in various places like factory, supermarket, drama companies and Indian Railways. Two kind of people can not stick to same job for long time. One – who does not know any work. Another one – someone who is not interested in doing same job repeatedly. Nagesh is of the second type. Even more, his interest in acting has pushed him into the screen industry.
Facial makeup is more addictive than alcohol.
-Nagesh
He faced various insults. So he nullified them over by his unique way of acting.
T.M.S. tried to know the actor for whom he will be singing. He used to mimic his voice while singing the songs. Accordingly, he asked “For whom I am singing this song?”. M.S. Viswanathan said “Nagesh”. On hearing the name, T.M.S. Laughed jokingly to say “I sing for him? Should I sing it? Such a big setup for him?” in a tone T.S. Balaiya’s dialogue of Thiruvilaiyadal. …… One day I was going for a walk on the beach. Then I met T.M.S. On seeing , he said “You won sir!, I said that the song will not be well received and there will be no one in the theater. Anyway, I heard that people watch the movie just because of that Song. I’m Happy sir” and greeted before he left.
This book is a compilation of auto-biography articles published in Kalki magazi with the title ‘Sirithu vaazha Vendum’.
Why this book is important?
Nagesh does not talk much. He does not have much media exposure like present day actors. This is a book containing 58 biographical articles to document his words.
It is written in a easy-reading style
Nagesh’s view on other artists (Director Sridhar, Actor Balaji, MGR, Sivaji, Rajini, Kamal, MR Radha, Manorama, Poet Vaali etc)
Could have done more
This book seems to be written with some restrictions to keep it simpler. Nagesh had concerns about the National awards avoiding Tamil artists. He raised his voice in an interview in The Hindu that Actor Sivaji Ganesan in particular was not given a good recognition by Delhi. These were not found anywhere in this book
This may be okay for the light readers of the magazine. The book should have shed more light on his personality to suit different set of readers.
Conclusion
Nagesh is no more. No further attempt is going to take place. In that sense, thanks to the effort of S Chandramouli to record his words.
As far as I am concerned, actor Nagesh deserves any major award presented in Cinema. If he was born in France, America or Germany, I can guess the kind of recognition he would have received. Despite 12 years having passed since his death, the government continuing to ignore him is a disappointment
Kamal Hassan, The Hindu, September 28, 2021,
Naan Nagesh – நான் நாகேஷ் (autobiography) Publisher : Kizhakku Writer : S Chandramouli Language: Tamil Price : ரூ. 239 / Kindle Prime / Kindle Unlimited ISBN-10 : 8184935625 ISBN-13 : 978-8184935622
Ocean, Forest, Desert, Sky are symbolic representations of the behemoth called the cosmos. They are carnivorous creations of great power. When someone finds himself abandoned in a desert – where the massive dunes are being moved by dusty storms – he may lose his sense.
An adventure against those dunes without safety is insane. So this is my warning in the last post of #BlogChatterA2Z about any such adventures.
Desert safari is offered as a culture-coated adventure sport in Emirates. The smart drivers drive their SUV vehicles up and down, turning left and right, tilting here and there to abnormal inclinations relentlessly in the deserts of Dubai. With opened windows, half-bloated tires, these beetle like vehicles make the drivers the guardians of the lives of their guests.
Several incidents were reported about the fatal accidents in these desolated multitudes of sand dunes. Emergency services find it difficult to reach the location due to off-roading. So try on your own risk! Certainly do not risk your little ones by making them sit on your lap or shoulders or wearing unworthy seat-belts. Know what you are doing!
Your desert safari may have a shubh ratri!! Yes, Belly dancing.
Exotic belly dance in an oasis, after the sun hid himself behind the dunes, at an aura of yellow lights, is another attraction somebody should not avoid. There are tourists, who take the wise decision of skipping desert safari, but they assemble at belly dance camp. You may follow them, if you feel you are vulnerable.
Image (c) desertsafaridubaiImage (c) HabeebDeserted streets on a Friday morning (weekend)
I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z 2022 with theme Yātum ūrē!
“Philippines is taking away our jobs”. I have heard this many times in exotic Indian IT industry since 2007. Indian BPO companies have haunting stories. It may be their work pressure, office hours, and cultural issues. Above all, customers blasted Indian BPO agents for their Indian accent. Some of them used racist comments, too.
It was at the time, Philippines became a pet of Silicon Valley. Philippines’ sales managers became am assailant to challenge the Indian sales executives. Conventionally, they exported nurses and maids. If you take Singapore, more than 2 Lakh Filipinos stay here to contribute to Singapore’s healthcare and IT industry.
When I went there, I felt I was in OMR – the IT corridor- of Chennai. But I tried to pacify myself with many ‘too’-s.
“Ok.. Manila’s traffic is so congested like Indian cities, too.”
“They, do not respect traffic rules, too.”
“Hmm… same pollution too..”
Wah.. same hot weather too”.
But there are some key points behind their rise. We, Indians, need to learn these to compete with them.
Makati, the richest city of Philippines, is the heart of outsourcing industries. Despite the low cost of Indian call center agents, Makati won many BPO projects from the US. Over the period, the outsourcing industry has changed like – Indians for development and Filipinos for soft skills (Voice based/call centers). They started winning IT development projects too.
Certainly, Filipinos’ accent was better understood by Americans than that of Indians’. It is also noted that they have better infrastructure than Indians. Though Indians rulers boast themselves, symbols of misfortune – like power cuts, water lorries, poor public transportation, increased business cost (because of too much admin tasks such as buying diesel to run gen sets, finding contractors to run company bus services, finding reliable catering partners to fill the tummies of their employees, etc) – are inevitable. Indian entrepreneurs should overcome the perils of poor Indian infrastructure before focusing on business.
One of the important factors is, Filipino kids are aligned towards American English and culture. They start reading American literature in their schools itself. Indian kids are aligned towards British English. American culture did not reach Indian commoners; it was something followed by a small group of elites. So, it is a bit hard for Indians to catch up.
Still, Indian engineers strive to deliver their best. Kudos! Alas, Indian infrastructure should gratify them!
***
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Why everybody rides a two-wheeler or car in Chennai? Why not we go by Bus? I thought like this once. I decided to go to the office by bus. On the same day, with a blanched face, I decided not to choose the bus once again. With horrific traffic, speedy water lorries (How long will the ‘prosperous’ Tamilnadu run water lorries?), above all, the bus drivers disregard the passengers by not stopping at the bus stops – It is one among the worst.
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One day, the chief of Hong Kong’s Metro – Mass Transit Railway (MTR) – was traveling on London’s tube. The journey stuttered like listening to music from a decade old audio cassette. It runs for sometime, then stops, then goes again. The WIFI was intermittent; finally it stopped working. Finally, there was an announcement that said, there was a signal failure. Later Hong Kong’s MTR won the crossrail project for London, which connects East and West.
Image (c) SCMP
MTR was known for its efficiency. MTR chief – who leads a train service that runs the trains at 2 minute intervals; who leads a train service which provides uninterrupted WIFI to all its users – might have compared the efficiencies of both systems. Could you imagine? A rail comes in 2 minutes interval. When I missed the first train, the next train arrived immediately. For someone, who waits at Chennai’s local railway station for 20 minutes or 30 minutes, it was a stunning scene. It is something, world train services can not deliver even today. In addition, the number of interchanges reduce the travel time considerably.
One more sequin that dazzle MTR is its earnings. Train companies are making losses. But MTR is making huge profit. But not by running the trains alone. It has a real estate business as well. Malls are built on top of train stations. The shops pay for rental, too. In addition, before building the station MTR used to buy land around the station, to generate revenue. In addition to Hong Kong’s railway, they won a project to run London’s crossrails. They have operations in China, Australia too. They wanted to work on Kuala Lumpur – Singapore metro project too.
In addition to MTR, they have trams and buses too. Passengers used to pull the rople to wield the ‘ding ding‘ bell, which became an important part of Hong Kong’s culture.
One more notable thing – to avoid chaotic traffic like Chennai – Government encourages people to take public transportation and discourages owning private vehicles.
***
I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z 2022 with theme Yātum ūrē!
MacRitchie reservoir has plenty of nature trails of different distances and different difficulties. I had been there a couple of times to take the smaller trails. I had the courage to run my Decathlon Run 2021 there. One fine day Kannan and I went to the full stretch of 11Kms.
This attraction has a haunting tale of love behind the screens. A lady whose last name was renamed as Fann and a guy, whose last name was renamed as Lok, fell in love. Macritchie viewpoint was their meeting point. At that time the reservoir was not built. Fann’s father was a ProBritish business man. Lok was the leader of a local Communist clan. Obviously there comes a conflict.
Fann’s father arranged her marriage with another person, whose last name was renamed to Tai. Fann did not like it. But Tai loved her (One-side). At one point in time, Fann was identified as a dead body, near to the place, where she used to meet Lok.
Despite his refusal, Tai built a tomb for her. Everybody might be praising him for building a tomb, on the MacRitchie hill itself to value his one-sided love. Actually, there was a twist. After a few weeks of Fann’s death, Lok was killed in a riot. His tomb was built at the other side of the hill, on which Fann’s tomb was also built.
Later Fann’s family and Tai’s family were found to be guilty of murdering both. Seems to be Tai murdered Fann. Later, a plot was conspired to kill Lok in the riot, with the support of his Communist leader and built the tombs on opposite sides of the same hill, so that they would not join.
Fann’s soul realized about the deception. It is believed that she used to come out on the water surface during the night to roam around!
Don’t worry. She didn’t harm the trekkers. May be, the trekkers help her not to feel her loneliness. 🚶🚶♀️🚶🚶♀️🚶🚶♀️🚶🚶♀️ We had the cross-country, nature walk, and tree-top walk all on the same day! To feel and enjoy the ekantham (loneliness/tranquility), you should start your hiking early in the morning. Put on your walking shoes, take your walking sticks, and carry enough water. Be careful about the food items, as it may attract Hanumans 🙂
The tree-top walk may require some waiting time. If you go with kids, plan accordingly. Water stations are rare. There is one near the tree top walk. But it is almost the peak of the hill. You may not be able to relinquish your hike just because you are thirsty. You will be stuck.
Jersey is a small and autonomous island under the shadow of the UK. It is part of Channel Islands. But it is not part of United Kingdom. St Helier is the capital town.
This small water-locked country, has a close connection with India. Lal Bahadur Shastri wanted to transform a milk-deficient India into the world’s largest milk producer. National Daily Development Board was formed and Dr Verghese Kurien (Amul man) became its chairman. As the Jersey cows were adaptive to hot climates, they have been imported from Sweden and Germany. In Nepal, these cows are called drought animals!
It is a well-known financial hub. They use English as their main language. They have their own currency. At the same time, Pound Sterling is also allowed at 1:1 value. It has lovely beaches on all sides too! I went there on a sunny morning. After my commitments of the day were over, I used to walk around the streets of colonial buildings. That is how I crossed their Liberation Square.
France and Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, as it invaded Poland. They knew Germany was trying to reach them. German army was known for its valor and efficiency. After Poland, Germany wanted Western Europe. By 1940, France had surrendered. Followed by that, Channel Islands started vacating as they were prone to attack.
Despite Channel Islands being at its door steps, the UK remained indecisive. (But the irony is, they had a clear vision of splitting India and Pakistan 😉 ) Germany occupied the islands in 1940. German press orated their victory. It appeared to that world like ‘England was finished’. But it is not 100% false. The UK lost a place, where its flag was flown for eight centuries, without firing a shot. The UK was questioned for demilitarizing the islands.
1941 – UK radio asked the islanders to put up ‘V for Victory‘ sign boards. Some of the islanders joined in that movement, which angered Germans. It was not an organized protest. Individuals and small groups did it. German’s imposed curfew and censorship of press to safe guard their interest.
While Germans fortified the islands heavily, there started a scarcity of food. The West, who destroyed colonial India by their man-made-droughts, sent Red Cross ship to deliver food parcels.
A girl of Jersey, Edna Loftus Channing, was unhappy with the brutal ruling of Nazi forces. She was working as a launderer. She had no other choice except adapting herself with the new rule. She received an identity card, which is to be possessed by her at all times. She has been warned to adhere to German rules.
Their driving rules were changed. Time is adjusted to Berlin’s. German currency was hailed. The Germans looted Jersey’s garment shops to send back to their German girl friends. German soldiers wrote letters with Jersey’s British stamp, which contained the king’s face. Singing National anthem was restricted. Public entertainment were screened for Anti-German propaganda.
Edna was happy when the British Liberation Army came for rescue.
German’s influence declined after they lost in D-Day landings in 1944. Jersey took one more year to get itself liberated in 1945. The Royal Navy and British Army liberated the island. British flag returned to Jersey Island after 5 years. Islanders cheered it on with joy and gratitude. This is where Liberation Square was established on its 50th anniversary.
Edna, too, joined the gathering to welcome the British soldiers, who landed in St Helier and St Peter Port. Nazi Swastika flag was replaced by Union Jack. The islanders rejoiced and partied.
Few days after the liberation, she crossed a sentry post where she found a soldier with charming face. He smiled at her and said a ‘hello’. He was Silas Martin. He was one of the British troop. Edna and Martin fell in ‘love at first sight’. Both of their minds might be arrested by each other. Because Martin did not go back to his home country. He worked as a builder and and Edna worked in a guest house near by. Their endrance made them as a great couple. They married and lived together happily.
Edna died at 68. Martin died 6 weeks later.
***
2011-09-02
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Liberation SquareCrowds welcome British troops on Jersey during the liberation of the Channel Islands. Picture (c) mirror.co.ukV for Victory – Winston Churchill. Picture (c) mirror.co.uk
Mr Jaggu missed his sister and nieces. They too missed a cranky-chatterbox like Jaggu. Jaggu should catch the first bus at 4am to go to her house, which was far away from his home. But he decided to take his Gladiator bike – his new toy! He thought he could start by 4am early in the morning and reach there around 7 or 7-30. Else during the peak summer, Tamil Nadu will roast him like the peeled potato of finger chips. He kept an alarm at 3am, safely getting up around 04:45. He has a strange habit. He will never blame himself for his own faults. He blamed his phone first as his mummy was just watching him. Then he blamed the low volume of the alarm. Finally, he blamed his mummy for switching off his alarm.
Furious mummy looked like Kannagi who argued with Pandya King. She started shouting to reveal the root cause
“You , donkey, sleeping like lazy buffalo. You snoozed the alarm twice and slept like an arrogant donkey. For every snoozed alarm, your dad and I used to wake up. But you never did, Kumbhakarna. Finally you blame me ah. I’ll kick you out of this house, irritating donkey.”
He was wondering, how many types of buffaloes and donkeys she knew. She was still shouting at him like Vishnu sahasranamam chanting, while spraying water mixed with cow dung at the entrance. In their custom, no one should leave the house before spraying. Buffaloes and donkeys seem to be the national animal of his house. Jaggu was wondering, what’s wrong with other animals like dinosaurs, elephants and horses? WTH she call him buffallo and donkey always. She should change her partiality attitude among those poor animals.
Hearing the ‘laksharchana’, Jaggu took a lovely shower and got ready in 30 minutes. He tried to take his bike outside. Mummy came there with another round of shouting.
“How many times I told you, donkey? Not to go out with empty stomach.”
“maa too early ma. I’ll take later.”
“Drink this neeraharam (rice-water, usually kept overnight) at least! When you go out of house, your stomach should be cool. As long as I am here, I’ll give it to you, foolish donkey. If you get married, your wife will not force you…”
“Ok Ok. do not shout ma. Your hubby may shout at me as well. Instead of shouting at me, search for a good girl for me to marry. righto?”
He put his bike on morning warm-up mode while drinking what she gave. He switched on the headlights, clicked the gear shaft to first position by 5-15. On the way he got some money from an ATM. The poor security man was still sleeping inside the A/C ATM room. Jaggu was wondering if he could insert a piece of straw into his nostrils.
The route was very simple. Pudukkottai to Manapparai (state highway) – enjoy NH 45 till Dindigul – then take NH 210 till Oddanchatram and come back!
It rained the previous night, so the journey was very chill. The road was good and bad, like the human rights policy of western countries. Construction of bridges was in progress. He enjoyed a spectacular sunrise. Peacocks and snakes crossed his way.
He reached Manapparai at 7-00 (58 KMs @ 1 hr and 30 mins). Manapparai was famous for Murukku. But the quality of the Murukku sold at the bus stand was not so good now a days. It lost its taste. It’s too oily as well. He stopped there for nature’s call followed by a phone call.
After Manapparai, he joined NH-45. He needed to ride for the next 60 KMs. Four lane work was in progress. So there were many take-diversion plates. He kept on riding on his left for some time, then on the right side for some time. This patter was repeated multiple times. So keep-the-right is not a fault, when the road is under construction. Does it mean, we can break the rules if we have valid justification? His face was smiling inside his helmet.
The completed road was as smooth as Aavin butter. He could go up to 80kmph (his limit always!! ). There was no sun. The road was smooth. He was enjoying his ride while he opened his wind-shield now and then to get fresh air.
He reached Dindigul bypass – Palani junction at 08-15 AM. (Manapparai – Dindigul 69 KMs @ 1 hr and 15 mins). He should turn to the right on NH 210 to reach his destination. There was a twist in screenplay. The cool weather and the lovely wind made him so crazy. He wanted to ride for some more distance. He doesn’t want to end that chilled journey in another 20 KMs.
He called his sis.
“ka, I won’t join you for breakfast. But I’ll be there for lunch. Do not wait for me.”
“What da? Where are you now?”
“You too? do not start your ‘archanai‘ (blasting). I had enough from your mummy already. I want to ride in the hills. I’ll come soon.”
“Whattt? It is dangerous da, you know. I’ll complain to mummy.”
“Such an obedient daughter, you postpone your responsibility for few hours. I’ll be there soon hee hee.”
Dindigul – Batlagundu
He did not turn to the right as planned. He resumed straight on Dindigul – Madurai road all the way until Kodaikanal Road junction. He took the right to continue his lovely journey on NH 45 Extn. The road was not as smooth as that of earlier. The sun was raising slowly to become more and more horrible. He didn’t have enough petrol to ride on Kodai hills. He stopped at Sempatti to top up the fuel. The petrol staff was so funny, he was asking why Jaggu placed the number plate above the head lamp (Yamaha’s foolish (a) stylish design!)
Batlagundu – Pannaikadu
He continued exploring. Before he crossed Batlagundu, he was about to slip as he was following a mini-lorry. It is the rule. A bike rider should not follow a heavy vehicle at a close distance. They will leave pits and dents between their wheels. Bike riders won’t have time to react. Sometimes, they may apply sudden break as well. The rider may lose balance. After Batlagundu he reached the Ghat road junction. He took the right to go to Kodaikanal. Yes, he did not have a second thought.
After riding for some more distance in the plains, (The road looked like an avenue covered with shadows of tamarind trees on both sides), he touched the ghat road. His up-hilling started there in 4th gear. (Dindigul to Ghat road – 43 KMs @ 1 hr / 09:15am).
Batlagundu – Pannaikadu
The road was smooth. He saw very less numbers vehicles moving slowly, since the summer vacation was over already. He stopped here and there to take a few photographs. The sun was hot enough, but the mountain wind and the shadow beneath the trees subsided the temperature.
There are few other routes lead to Kodaikanal. But Batlagundu – Kodaikanal route is the safer one. In addition, it was the older one built by British. The hair pin pends are less.
He was driving between 30 to 40 KMPH since he felt it was comfortable. He continued at 60kmph on the plains. There was a place called ‘Dam Dam Paarai’ (paarai – hill in Tamil!), where he got a charming view of the valley and an Eli-vaal (rat tail) falls. The water was gushing out slowly. He throttled again. He was very much eager to enter into ‘the road not taken’ – Pannaikaadu – Thaandikudi – Paachaloor – Oddanchatram
He reached the Pannaikadu tri-junction. Kodaikanal is just 20 KMs if you go straight. The ‘road not taken‘ was there on his right. He turned right on the deviated route. That road was hardly taken. Mostly it is used by public transports which connects the villages to different cities like Kodaikanal, Dindigul, and Oddanchatram. He stopped at Pannaikadu for a short break!
Pannaikadu to Thandikudi
You can see, the road was damaged considerably. Even the concrete at the end of the road was also worn out.
Pannaikadu to Thandikudi
Being hardly used, the greeneries were not spoiled there. The greenish bushes and trees decorated both sides of the road. Some of the places on the road seemed to never see sunlight due to those densely covered trees! The bushes with blooms on the side of the road formed a lively-flower-compound-wall. No body should miss it. But the road was bad. Sometimes he brought down the throttle below 20 kmph.
Pannaikadu to Thandikudi
After Pannaikadu, the next destination is Thandikudi. That stretch of the road was much better. He was all alone on that single road. He was the only rider exploring that hill. The horses, horse boys and other jeeps stopped at Pannaikadu. He liked that ekantham (loneliness)! But he didn’t know, the same ekantham would worry him at the later point of the trip!
He saw a view of the green and cloudy valley and dam on the way. (10-25 AM)
Pannaikadu to ThandikudiPannaikadu to ThandikudiPannaikadu to ThandikudiPannaikadu to ThandikudiPannaikadu to Thandikudi
He reached Thandikudi soon. He was very cautious about the roads and its branches. So he stopped when ever he got confused, to enquire the route correctly. He took a right turn there.
Next target was Thadiyan Kudisai via Mangalam Kombu. Another 10 KMs! The names of the villages were funny. There were lot of uphilling and downhilling with dozens and dozens of many U-turns. Some times he switched to second gear for steep uphilling. Wah.. It was enough in two places, he switched to 1st gear!! In the deep forest, the road divided itself into two. Nobody was there except a teashop, and its owner. The owner-lady looked like God Jakkamma to him.
“Akka, How to go to Pachalur?”
“You should continue to go straight. It will take you to Kuppamma-patti, KC Patti and Pachalur”
He got confused since what she told was different from his earlier enquiries.
“Thats ok akka, But people suggested me to go through Thadiyan Kudisai”
“This is Thadiyan Kudisai”
Then he realized that he had reached Thadiyan Kudisai already. So his next target was Pachalur. Thanking her, his leg started clicking the gear shaft. The downhill and uphill started again. The road was very bad due to rains. The way was dark due to shadows and very hiiiiiiighly grown trees.
On the way He understood from few locals that 1 liter of petrol was 70 rupees there..! (It was 52 in Delhi in 2010). He was interested to see the Churches in those villages. Interesting!
There was a twist at ‘Kuppamma patti’. The locals suggested to take a short cut which can skip KC Patti and lead straight to Pachalur, which may save around 5 KMs. The option to save 5 KMs in hills is simply superb. It is equivalent to 10 or 15 kilometers on the plains. But the shortcut was even steeper. His Glady was vrroooming much while downhilling at 2nd gear. Then again uphilling.. downhilling.. uphilling… oofff.. Finally, he reached Pachalur on time (12-00 noon).
His final target – Oddanchatram – was at 30 KMs from here. The road becomes smoother now, as that road is widely used by Transports. Mostly he was in downhill mode, which indicated that he was reaching the plains. A lot of U-turns reduced the elevation. Bamboo forests decorated the way!
He was flying like a bee as he reached the plains! Alas, he felt like the chicken inside the grill due to the hot sun.. Yes, elevation came down to 500 meters from 1600 and 1200! With a non stop ride surpassing Vadakadu village, he reached the destination with utmost pleasure at 01-00 Noon! (30 kms @ 1 hr)
His sister was scolding him non-stop like an RJ. After her turn was over, his mummy called him to take over.
“What do you think, donkey? Such an irresponsible buffalo. If something happened somewhere, what to do?”
6th Day of June 2010
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I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z 2022 with theme Yātum ūrē!
dwaraka
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