KALEIDOSCOPE JULY 2014

July equals sundry experiences. Intriguing incidents, conversations, gossips and many more. Some were painful, some shameful. Some were humorous, some bizarre. All pieced together makes this article an iridescent kaleidoscope.

Gaza. Mention of this name, what comes to your mind? A conflict, thousands dead, maimed, displaced, etc. Who suffer more? Children. And can you justify their suffering? You can’t. How can you vindicate the Buds being nipped in the war between weeds?

Kavi, my friend, told me he read news where a dying child in the battle field of Gaza, reported to have muttered, “I’m going to tell god what’s happening here.” Doesn’t this send chills to your spine?

As adults, how cold we’ve become ignoring huge loss of human lives! It’s time we did something to stop these atrocities. Thinking this I’m reminded of Bertrand Russell’s saying, “Man that is man’s worst enemy.” As a common man, what can I do? I can pray for this bloodshed to stop. Do what can you the most, please.

Kavi also shared a shameful incident with me from the newspapers. It seems a Chennai high-court judge was invited as a chief guest for a function. He went there attired in our traditional Tamil clothing, a white shirt and a white dhoti. Brace yourself for what I’m to say! He wasn’t allowed to attend as his garb didn’t go in line with their dress code, coat and suit.

Shame shame cultural shame!

Now a tricky incident shared by my mother. It seems there’s a boy who wanted to study EEE but was shoved to do Civil Engineering. Since everyone had done EEE in their family, his parents put him into CE for a change. He didn’t like the studies and quit it after a mere two months.

Do you know what happened when his father went to that engineering college to get his Transfer and other certificates? The college demanded him to pay fee for all four years and then get his son’s documents back!

Engineering colleges: money-suckers! Bullies! Unconscionable villains!

I love test cricket; love it more when India win. India beat England at the Home of cricket, Lord’s on twenty-fifth July. As a result of watching the match sparing neither a ball nor an advertisement, I netted two fish.

First up, a witty remark. E. Smith, one of the English commentators of that match observed, “A test match and a novel can be compared in a sense that they unravel the plot gradually. However, you can go to the last page of the novel and find its conclusion, but it’s not the same with the test match. You should await its result till the last ball is bowled.”

Secondly, to patriots. Ishaant Sharma, who was awarded the man of the match, said in the presentation ceremony, “When you’re playing for your country, you don’t need motivation. Because playing for your country in itself is a motivation.”

Has it ever happened to you that your friend calls you on his birthday and asks for your wishes? It happened to me!

It was July twenty-fifth.

‘Hello, Krishna?’

‘Hello, Kavi? How’re you’

‘I’m fine. Yesterday was my birthday, you know?’

‘Oh! Is it so? Kavi, a thousand apologies. I really didn’t know. I wish you many more belated happy returns of the day!’

We spoke for about ten minutes and towards the end:

‘Kavi, I’ll call you on my birthday and ask for your wishes, okay?’

How forgetting too sometimes leads to unforgettable incidents!