Ricky

When the telephone rang early in the morning and the voice on the other side said Ricky had passed away, it didnot register. I was too groggy with sleep and Ricky was too young to die, We had seen him on our last vacation, he often came to our house, his children came home, his wife was a regular at home, beside he was a young healthy man and young men do not die of cardiac arrests.
Ricky was the young turk of the Angady, with a nack of rubbing everyone on the wrong side. He has an opposing opinion to every one's opinion. This trait landed him in trouble when he tried to sell his land and the Angady went to work against him, saying he had included church property in his own land. Of course the land was measured and the Angady was proved wrong.But the sale fell through and his financial problem already high just hit the ceiling.
Now everyone wonders why did he not see a cardiologist when he knew he had heart problems? Now everyone wonders, was it because of his financial problems?
Of now everyone wonders, did we cause his death, make his wife a widow and his children orphans?
Creating obstacles and letting petty differences get in the way of friendships is so easy, then things go wrong and everyone is left wondering did we wrong him?

Obama President

A new era has begun, unlike any we have known. Barack Obama took oath as the 44th President of United States of America watched by millions around the world and the world suddenly looks a better, a rosier place than before. Maybe all this optimism is misplaced, maybe no man, no matter how good intentioned, can bring that much change but everywhere there seems to be hope of better things to come. As if this is the second coming of Christ. And the miracle is that he is not lily white but of a darker shade, this prophet of change.
All of us sat clued to the TV sets, watching everything not missing anything and praying that all goes well for this man who promises to bring goodness back to the world. A lot of my friends said they hoped the helicopter carrying Bush towards Texas would crash, and I have to admit I hoped for the same too but then caught myself just in time as I did not want anything not even the happy event of Bush’s death to deflect attention from Obama’s day.
The world is still in ecstasy and I hope and pray this honeymoon continues for ever and Obama is able to uphold all this hope we have in him.

The images added here are from various websites around the world.

Location, Location, Location

We have started our weight loss exercises, at least that is the intention each time we start going to the gym or start walking. But two days into the start, my periods started and we have put walking on hold and then Ji’s will start and together biological factors will take stop us from continuing the walks for at least two weeks, unless of course we manage to have periods at the same time, which again is difficult as I get mine every 28 days and Ji gets her’s every 45 days.

Any way the recession continues and every one is scared. Each day we hear about someone or a lot of someones who have been terminated or of business coming down or some sort of panic inducing news. Yesterday Satyam computers delivered a shocker. But life goes on. If not this then something else will turn out so we sit here hoping for the best.

My tomato plants have all flowered and so I am waiting for the fruits to form.

Meanwhile the Gaza carnage goes on, with its huge human toll, papers splashed with pictures of children, dead and wounded. We see them and we see our children protected and loved, safe in bed at night, lights kept switched on so that little sounds don’t scare them in the night. Then we realize how lucky we are here, Secure and safe, away from wars and bloodshed.

Broken mirror

Breaking a mirror is considered bad luck in Kerala. When my maternal grandfather broke a mirror everyone was worried and a few months latter he passed away at the age of 64. From then on the belief has strengthened among us about the bad luck a broken mirror brings.
So yesterday when I called home to wish amma A very happy and prosperous new year, just like the one we had just had and she told me she needed a new concave-convex mirror as she accidentally dropped the one she had been using for the last 22 years, well, from then on my mind is not at ease. I have a bad feeling, but maybe it is all just superstition, as if mirrors don’t get broken all around the world all the time. I just hope and pray that this year turns out to be as peaceful and happy as the last.

Going over year 2008

Another year is ending. Tomorrow is Appan’s birthday; he would have been 68 this year.

This year has been good, without any great problems on the personal and family front.
Ø J has mellowed, he does not scream as much so I am happier. He has become to realize that his sisters’ are normal human beings and not paragons of virtue, goodness and everything good in the world.
Ø Chu had twins and San my cousin had a daughter.
Ø Sob and Rig another two cousins got married.
Ø Our property case got solved and finally the land will come back to us.
Ø No major death took place in the family. So it has been a very good year in every way.

The last few years not having been good, I was worried about this year also but it turned out fine. Hope the next year continues this streak of goodness and life goes on happy and satisfied.
Ø Thom will be six next year and in Grade I.
Ø I hope I get a job that had good pay and great timings.

Not so great events also took place this year.
The Mumbai terrorist attack, the current bombing in Gaza, the mowing down of school children in Kannur district Kerala by a vehicle that lost control, the regular and unwarranted warnings that V.S Achuthanandan keeps getting from his corrupt party members and a blind Politburo.
Then again great miracles and acts of defiance also took place this year.
Obama got elected as president of United States of America and an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at George Bush, a fitting end to an year, I am just upset that the shoe missed its mark

Messy December

December has been a bad month, it has been so for a long time now, always a time of change, uncertainty, problems created by my part of the family, a truly messy time of year for me.
In 2005, I was terminated from my job on Dec 22. I was very upset and sat and then came the news of J’s transfer to Hong Kong as country head. He did not want to go and I did not know what to do. Internet searches did not throw up a good picture, at least not when compared to Dubai. We were sick with worry It was terrible. Then January came and things just worked out.
In 2006, We moved into our new house, that too soon after the biggest fight we had, a fight that I thought would end my marriage, but again it all just vaporized as the year ended and another began.
In 2007 came J’s transfer to another branch and his fear of taking up the post. He kept talking of going back to India and all arguments just fell on deaf ears. I went into depression and things went downhill for us. Things just kept turning bleaker and bleaker and then he joined the new branch and came back happy and smiling. This was on January 1st 2008.
As this year ends, things have again heated up. J is being moved to another post in the head office and he is not pleased. Things are scary especially with the downturn in economy. Then as this tension is on another one crops up. Ed, Chu’s hubby has got himself entangled in some mess. A driver of the private taxi that they usually use called me up one day and said Ed had borrowed money from him and is now not returning calls, not meeting him, just avoiding him at all times. I called up Chu and told her of this and also that I do not want to be involved in this and do not want J to find out about this. The driver guy has this habit of calling up in the wee hours of the morning and then coming to our building and calling from the reception. Well now everyone from the reception to the security guard knows about it and I have no idea how I am going to keep this from J. I thought it was over, then this guy calls me up again today and all the mess is on again. I was livid, after J left for office I called up Chu and screamed through the phone, called her hubby a bastard, sick good for nothing, told her maybe he is seeing some woman or maybe he has lost his job, called him a mother fucker and then that if this did not get cleared up I was going to call him and tell the same thing. I don’t if it worked, any way she said a solution to this would be reached today in front of a mediator. Hope something works out and J does not have to be told.

Holiday in Goa

Today I watched the movie ‘Outsourcing” and liked it. Looking at India from the perspective of an American, it does a good job. An interesting part of the movie is the relationship between the Indian Future Assistant Manager and the American and she tells him “he is her holiday in Goa”. For her he is her one chance to escape, even if only for a few months, from the detailed plans laid out before her for her future by her family. This is a real scenario in India now, girls having sexual affairs with someone they like and would love to have a life with, then quietly giving it all up to fall in line with their parents wishes, marrying someone from their caste, religion, community and background, knowing fully well they will never again know the fun and excitement of their previous life.
I wonder if the men know of these things and do they still come to the marriage bed thinking their wives’ are virgins. Surely they know. A lot of women in India still know only one man, their husband sexually, but that is changing and what is more, the guilt that used to be associated with premarital sex among women is almost totally gone. Well, men always had some sort of experience with premarital sex and that was accepted but it is still a taboo for women at least officially.