Freezing Thoughts

“Some wine ?”, inquired the younger woman.  “Oh no, thank you. I prefer tea, with lot of sugar.”, the older woman replied, with a girlish chuckle. The younger woman stared for an instant into the pitcher, poured herself a generous amount of wine and walked around the table and continued the conversation, “You’re saying there is nothing you could do then ? I thought you were the special ones from where you come from.” The older woman, who was admiring the deliberate steps and the play of sunlight on the golden blond braids of the younger woman, replied, “My dear, being better than most doesn’t make one almighty. Don’t smirk, you have no idea what I’d do to change things. But my hands are tied. Joanne has seen to it.”  The younger woman narrowed her eyes and said, “Well at least my fate is not yet written I guess. So tell me, what exactly do you want me to do ? We will have to be quick, I don’t trust George one bit.” “It’s simple. Joanne is currently trying to ruin h...

In a generation of instant gratification brilliantly aided by technology, it is too easy to get carried away and feel satisfied with very superficial knowledge. It is painful to see people falling victim to sensationalist media, viral social media and agenda/propaganda driven fake news. Just like junk food killing appetite for healthy food, these unsustainable short-term elements can leave a longer impact on meaningful things that actually matter. One such meaningful thing taking a beating these days is innovation. Innovation is perhaps one of the most (maybe even the most? ) overused, abused and often misused word today. People want to use innovative products, organizations claim to be innovative, almost every higher educational institution in the country is planning an 'Innovation Cell' and start-ups are screaming "innovation" to raise funding. Opinions on innovation rankings (whatever they mean!) are hard to miss in any form of media; they also easily hail any...

"கற்றது கையளவு" என்பது பணிவை போதிக்கும் ஒரு பழமொழி. ஆனால் இன்று நம் கையளவு இருக்கும் கைபேசி, உலகத்தின் எந்த மூலையில் எது நடந்தாலும் அதை நமக்கு உடன் தெரியப்படுத்தும் ஒரு அதிவிரைவு தூதுவனாக நம் வாழ்க்கையின் ஒரு மிக முக்கிய அங்கமாகிவிட்டது. "தெரியாது" என்ற வார்த்தையை அர்த்தமற்றதாக மாற்றுவதற்கு அவதாரம் எடுத்துள்ள Google ராக்ஷஸன், இன்றைய உலகின் மிக நூதனமான ஒரு பொருளாதார சக்தி.  விஞ்ஞானம் நமது வாழ்வை மேம்படுத்த எவ்வளவு உதவுகிறதோ, அதை விட பல மடங்கு மனித வாழ்வின் தரத்தயும் போக்கையும் புரட்டிபோட்டு நமது உண்மையான அடையாளத்தை, நாம் அறியும்முன்பே மாற்றியமைக்கும் தீமையும் செய்யவல்லது. தனக்கு ஒவ்வாததை தேடி சென்று, மிகவும் கஷ்டப்பட்டு அதை தனது வாழ்க்கையின் அங்கமாக்கி, பிறகு குறைகூறும் விசித்திரமான குணம் படைத்த நமது மனிதஇனத்தின் கையில், சகலவல்லமை பொருந்திய விஞ்ஞானத்தின் (தற்போதய) கடைக்குட்டியான இன்டர்நெட்-பொருந்திய கைபேசி இருப்பது சற்று கவலைதரும் விஷயம்தான்.  Information Age என்று கூறப்படும் 21ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில், கணினியை மனிதனால் செய்யமுடியாததை சாதிக்க மட்டும் அல்லாமல், மனிதனை விட நே...

I was introduced to Cho and Thuglaq during my teens. I'd seen my Dad religiously reading this thin pulp quality magazine every week and I asked him about "that ugly book"! In reply, I got one important life lesson: never judge a book by its cover (or quality of paper!) Over the years, I got to know more about Cho, not only through Thuglaq but also through his dramas, articles and interviews. The clarity with which he expressed his opinions, which were well reasoned and impartial, was unparalleled in a world of paid media and sensationalism of news. His witty manner in no way used to hinder his depth and wealth of knowledge in a variety of subjects, including spirituality and philosophy, which one wouldn't normally associate with a comedian turned journalist. Maybe thousands will not throng his funeral, maybe no official mourning or flags half-mast would tell the world that a great soul has departed this world. But his work would remain a true testament of h...

Conversations are great. If you've watched 'The Man From Earth', you'd instantly agree about the impact of meaningful and powerful conversations. In an age of smartphone driven instant messaging, SLR camera driven 'photos speaking louder than words' trend and routine driven mechanical acts, it is really hard to find some time, pick up the phone, call a friend, find them free and just talk on. Conversations without any specific motives, they sometimes lead to very interesting things. One such conversation with a friend lead to the following: "We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realize that we only have one." - Tom Hiddleston Sometimes things appear so down that it feels like life is The Man with the Golden Gun, possessing a Licence to Kill and looking for A View to a Kill. Now I'm not saying we all possess a Goldfinger to wag and scare The Living Daylights out of whatever is troubling us. But you should just understand tha...

All of us have a passion and natural flair for something. Most of us try to follow the passion. Many of us succeed to a satisfactory level in our chosen paths. Few of us go on to become achievers and very few of us become legends. And then there are the chosen ones, who become the very definition of their passion. Vishwanathan Anand and Sachin Tendulkar are two such legendary human beings who enjoy a larger than life image in India. It is interesting to have chess' Grandmaster and cricket's Little Master in media limelight these days. Anand's battle at home to defend the World Chess Championship is very interesting due to the generation gap between him and Carlsen. It is a bit like a creaking vintage Terminator T-850 fighting it out with a much more sophisticated T-X in 'T3: Rise of Machines' ! Three draws in as many games so far, let's see how Anand's textbook style holds against Carlsen's Macbook-like guile. Tendlkar's retirement, somet...

To be not aware of something is one thing. As long as we don't know what we're missing, there's no sleep lost. But when we know our capabilities, realize that certain opportunities are just waiting out there and all it's gonna take is some dogged effort on our part to make something come true, that gives life a true purpose. Agreed, there are a hundred other things, out of our control, to fall into right places and sometimes we draw blank in-spite of giving 100%. But the disappointment of not even trying, is far worse than that of not reaching a goal even after giving our best. In fact, many of history's most lauded heroes were the ones who fought till the very end, the result was of little consequence to them. We are all unique and immensely blessed with multiple talents. True ignorance is when we don't realize what makes us special. But to feign ignorance, due to fear of failure or some other external factor, and not tap our full potential, now that's...