Freezing Thoughts

அதிகாலை மூன்று மணிக்கு எழுந்து தலை நனைய எண்ணெய் தேய்த்து குளித்து ஆசை ஆசையாய் புத்தாடை அணிந்து முகம் சுளித்து லேகியம் சாப்பிட்டு சரவெடி, லக்ஷ்மி வெடி, குருவி வெடி, பிஜிலி வெடி,  ராக்கெட், தர-சக்கரம், புஸ்வானம் என்று  வாங்கிய பாட்டாசு ஒன்றும் மிஞ்சாமல் திட்டம் போட்டபடி வெடித்து தீர்த்து  பிறகு என்ன செய்வது என்று தெரியாமல் பொழுது விளைவது ஏன் என்று புரியாமல்  நண்பர் உறவினர் எல்லோருக்கும்  தீபாவளி வாழ்த்து கூவி சொல்லி குடும்பத்துடன் அமர்ந்து விருந்துண்டு  'உண்ட களைப்பு' என்று விழுந்து உருண்டு  ஒரு சின்ன தூக்கம் போட்டு எழுந்து  இனிப்பு பலகாரம் கொறித்து  "விடிய விடிய தீபாவளி, அதுக்கு அப்புறம் கோமாளி" என்று பாட்டி சொல்வதை கேட்டு அடுத்த தீபாவளி எப்பொழுது வரும் என்று  ஆவலோடு  எதிர்பார்த்த  அந்த பள்ளி நாட்களின் அருமை இன்று உலகத்தின் ஒரு எல்லையில்  வீடும் நாடும் எட்டா தூரத்தில்  தனிமையில் ஒரு அறையில் இருக்கும்போதுதான் புரிகிறது. சில...

(I wrote this short story when I was in 9th standard, for a competition. This is not a real life incident.) "Arun, wake up. It's six-thirty.", my mother's voice from kitchen woke me up from sleep. Hoping to continue a pleasant dream I was having, I tried to bury myself deep into the bed and mumbled, "Five minutes mom." "Hmm, it's first of November. Remember you promised to start regular yoga from today ?", her words made me forget all about sleep and I was immediately wide awake. 'First of November', I thought. 'India versus Australia Pepsi Cup ODI series starts today. Man, after the humiliating defeat in World Cup, it's pay-back time, got to pack-off these Aussie batsmen with spinning tracks...' My thoughts were interrupted by the realization that I had to go to school. 'Maybe I can watch the match in library', I continued thinking. 'The librarian is a very nice guy, he will surely let me watch. The tr...

I've always enjoyed autumn in Stockholm. The aged red walls of KTH (my university) buildings are adorned with climbers getting ready to shed their last leaves. Over a fortnight, one could observe the leaves going from green to many beautiful shades of yellow to deep red. In evenings, a bright golden sunshine illuminates the surroundings in a yellowish glow; just sitting outside and taking in the surroundings is an awesome time-pass. We in Stockholm know that in a few days, once final traces of autumn vanish and a white blanket of snow engulf the whole city, there will be no evenings to enjoy the sun (thinking about that, there will be no sun most days !). But then winter also brings festive mood and holiday season with it, so I guess there is not much to complain about. Talking about festive mood, I was lucky to be in Munich on the final day of Oktoberfest. The whole city was filled with people in traditional Bavarian attire; music, dance and beer everywhere. Even thoug...

One of the good things about living in Munich is the ease with which one can travel to most of Europe's top tourist destinations. Last week, I had been to Amsterdam. It was Queen's Day, a day-long party festival in Amsterdam. Knowing what is legal there and how people party, I knew I was going to meet some "interesting" people. But the turn events took was far from my wildest imaginations! I reached Amsterdam on 30th April morning, after a bus journey I will remember for life. The route was wonderful with beautiful mustard fields, green mountains, slight rain and overcast skies that made me feel I was in Kerala traveling from Palghat to Cochin. :) I straight away went to Keukenhof tulip garden, which was the main agenda of my Amsterdam trip. With eighty acres of tulip gardens and miles of tulip fields outside, it was a colorful spectacle. After walking around for more than six hours, I finally gave up trying to cover the entire place and decided to go back to the city...

India's impressive World Cup victory is the result of a thoroughly professional approach from a team, which is blessed with a wonderful captain and an amazingly committed coach. M.S.Dhoni and Gary Kirsten started plotting 'Operation World Cup' about 18 months ago, making sure that the right players for different roles were identified, carefully groomed and exposed them to some good cricket so that they are ready for the big stage. Everything went as per the plan, India started as favorites to win the cup, played very good cricket and won it in style. Strictly from a sport point of view, there is nothing more to say. But in India, cricket is not just a sport. Indian cricket team is an alter ego of every Indian fan. We all wish we were the captain, the coach, the selector and every Indian player playing there in the middle. When we see Sachin play a creamy cover drive or Sehwag nonchalantly stroke the ball around, we feel the same sense of achievement the batsman experiences...

During the winter of 2009, when M.S.Dhoni was asked about some curious team selections that were made then, he replied, "We have the World Cup in one year, we want to have a squad of players who have an experience of 50-plus ODIs, so that we can pick a suitable playing eleven from them." The fact that India has marched into the finals of World Cup is not surprising, it is no miracle or an overnight transformation. It is the result of some carefully planned strategies and team selection. It is great to see all that effort paying off and Indian team lifting the game (when it really mattered !) with some disciplined cricket. Having the world's best batting line up, a score of 260 in a not-so-bad pitch in Mohali was not something an Indian fan would have expected. It is true that India finished 20-30 runs short of a competitive total, but then from 205 for 6 in 42 overs, it was Raina's cool head and uncomplicated cricket that made 260 possible. The bowlers had a tough job...

Yesterday's Pacific tsunami and Indonesian volcanic activity has made 'Supermoon' a hot topic. On 19th Match 2011, the moon will make its closest approach to Earth (called lunar perigee) in 18 years. A new or full moon at 90% or greater of its closest perigee to Earth is called a 'SuperMoon'. An 'Extreme SuperMoon' (the one we are going to have on 19th) is when the moon is full or new as well as at its 100% greater mean perigee (closest) distance to earth. The effect of moon on earth and earthlings is nothing new. Ever wondered about the word 'lunatic' ? It refers to abnormal mental activity due to the impact of lunar cycle (different phases of moon). For example, on full moon and new moon days, the effect of moon's gravitation on earth is more than normal. This causes mood swings and mentally unstable people tend to be more sensitive and prone to aggressiveness. Apart from gravitational force, there is also the effect of moon's wave energy o...