My meeting with him lasted only for ten minutes. I went to him with I-scored-over-you feeling ; elated. But it didn't last long.
He demolished me. He rinsed me in what Samsung calls 'Tumble wash' ; BPL SANYO calls it 'Fuzzy logic' wash.
The less written about it the better.But still I want to let you know.It will be short but not sweet for me.
Here is it. Kochappan spoke without even wishing me and he spoke thus.
''Once upon a time, Aniyan, there were these friends; one turkey and a bull. The turkey had a desire to climb a huge tall tree perch there and see the world from top.
The turkey told the bull one day ''I have great desire to go up and perch on the top but I don't have the energy to do it''.
''You nibble bit of my droppings every day. It has got nutrients and will give you enough energy
to fly up and rest on top'' said the bull.
The turkey started eating the dung of the bull every day and found that it could reach branches higher up as days passed by.And finally after two weeks of this routine the turkey reached the top most branch and perched there happily.But it's happiness was short lived. A farmer spotted the turkey on top of the tree and shot it down.'' Kochappan paused, looked straight at me, and then added with reference to my creative attempt of correcting The Hindu article.
''Bullshit can take one to the top, but it won't keep one there for long''.
Grouch Marx had told somebody once '' I never forget a face, but in your case I will make an exception.'' Kochappan didn't say it to me. But the look on his face said it all.
The remnants of Aniyan stood there like the city of Baghdad bathed in the moonlight ; demolished,plundered,savaged;not by Bush of US ofA but by Kochappan 'The demolisher'
Monday, August 18, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Kochappan,Bradd Pitt and ' The Hindu'.
The sky was overcast throughout the day. At 7.30 in the evening it started to rain. I was in an auto to Kochapp's place. I reviewed the happenings after I met him last.
I spoke to Gopal alias Kovalannan ( in Trivandrum style) about improving my writing skills to impress Kochappan. I was bent on impressing Kochapps ; as bent as the the 14th bent in the Mettupalayam-Ootty ghat route.One of the suggestions given was to make some changes and improve the writing of articles in the English dailies like The Hindu or Indian Express. This evening I was going prepared.
The TV serial actor Soman died in a bus accident at Alleppy. I mentioned about the news in the papers. He nodded his head and said that he had also read about it.
'The Hindu has not reported it correctly'' I said with confidence ; with the same confidence as Advaniji on the day of no confidence motion.
''correctly.?'' he asked. '' What is wrong.?''
'' Twelve dead in a bus accident.Seventy three injured.
Among the dead is the famous serial actor Soman.' was the headline. such a known actor and a casual mention? That's wrong'' I answered.
'' This headline can be in many styles'' kochappan said.
As usual he had a large peg of fresh air and wore the look of a scholar and continued '' One is the
type you mentioned the others could be
' Major bus accident in Alleppy
Twelve dead and seventy injured.Among the dead is the famous serial actor Soman'
' Soman famous serial actor dies in an accident.
Twelve dead, seventy injured'
' Private superfast crashes against a tree
Twelve people including serial actor dead
Brake failure is reported to be the cause'
Kochapps paused again for a large and having satisfied himself continued
'' The number of people dead is the main point in the 'The Hindu' headline
In the second the stress is on the place, Alleppy , where the accident took place. Importance is given to one of the dead, like the actor in the third one, and the type and cause of the accident is given prominence in the fourth one. All are correct. It depends on the news and the factor which a paper values that decides the style of title. The Hindu never errs, aniyan, it never does'' he concluded and had another large. If the 'larges' he had were what others have he would have been flat out on the floor. But he stood erect like the 'Statue of Liberty' ; if you have any prejudice against the a fore mentioned statue I would suggest the 'Eiffel Tower'.
We Menons donot take setbacks lying down. I had another ace up my sleeve. I took that out; a paperclip from The Hindu of Monday the 14th July. Gave it to him. He read it aloud.
' Twins for Angelina Jolie'
Oscar award winner Angelina has given birth to twins on saturday evening at the Lenval waterfront hospital ..... . The Actor Bradd Pitt, the twins father, was believed to be at her side'
''If I were a reporter for The Hindu I would have made a correction.'' I told Kochapps point blank.
''Like what'' he, with raised eye brows.
I followed the suit. I with my raised eyebrows, not as bushy as his, yet. ''The verb is placed wrongly. It should have been 'The Actor Bradd Pitt , believed to be the twins father,was at her side'.
Have seen people freezing or frozen ?. You should have seen Kochapps. He froze. he was a block of hard ice. Few moments passed. The room was hot . The placement of the verb as I did , took him by shock. He never thought I could be this creative. He started melting. He transformed from a frozen block to small pool of cold water.
Today he did not walk to his bedroom.He flowed like a small rivulet ; leaving a wet trail on the vitrified tile floor.
I sat back happy and contented; probably like Bradd Pitt believed to be the father of Angelina's twins !!
I spoke to Gopal alias Kovalannan ( in Trivandrum style) about improving my writing skills to impress Kochappan. I was bent on impressing Kochapps ; as bent as the the 14th bent in the Mettupalayam-Ootty ghat route.One of the suggestions given was to make some changes and improve the writing of articles in the English dailies like The Hindu or Indian Express. This evening I was going prepared.
The TV serial actor Soman died in a bus accident at Alleppy. I mentioned about the news in the papers. He nodded his head and said that he had also read about it.
'The Hindu has not reported it correctly'' I said with confidence ; with the same confidence as Advaniji on the day of no confidence motion.
''correctly.?'' he asked. '' What is wrong.?''
'' Twelve dead in a bus accident.Seventy three injured.
Among the dead is the famous serial actor Soman.' was the headline. such a known actor and a casual mention? That's wrong'' I answered.
'' This headline can be in many styles'' kochappan said.
As usual he had a large peg of fresh air and wore the look of a scholar and continued '' One is the
type you mentioned the others could be
' Major bus accident in Alleppy
Twelve dead and seventy injured.Among the dead is the famous serial actor Soman'
' Soman famous serial actor dies in an accident.
Twelve dead, seventy injured'
' Private superfast crashes against a tree
Twelve people including serial actor dead
Brake failure is reported to be the cause'
Kochapps paused again for a large and having satisfied himself continued
'' The number of people dead is the main point in the 'The Hindu' headline
In the second the stress is on the place, Alleppy , where the accident took place. Importance is given to one of the dead, like the actor in the third one, and the type and cause of the accident is given prominence in the fourth one. All are correct. It depends on the news and the factor which a paper values that decides the style of title. The Hindu never errs, aniyan, it never does'' he concluded and had another large. If the 'larges' he had were what others have he would have been flat out on the floor. But he stood erect like the 'Statue of Liberty' ; if you have any prejudice against the a fore mentioned statue I would suggest the 'Eiffel Tower'.
We Menons donot take setbacks lying down. I had another ace up my sleeve. I took that out; a paperclip from The Hindu of Monday the 14th July. Gave it to him. He read it aloud.
' Twins for Angelina Jolie'
Oscar award winner Angelina has given birth to twins on saturday evening at the Lenval waterfront hospital ..... . The Actor Bradd Pitt, the twins father, was believed to be at her side'
''If I were a reporter for The Hindu I would have made a correction.'' I told Kochapps point blank.
''Like what'' he, with raised eye brows.
I followed the suit. I with my raised eyebrows, not as bushy as his, yet. ''The verb is placed wrongly. It should have been 'The Actor Bradd Pitt , believed to be the twins father,was at her side'.
Have seen people freezing or frozen ?. You should have seen Kochapps. He froze. he was a block of hard ice. Few moments passed. The room was hot . The placement of the verb as I did , took him by shock. He never thought I could be this creative. He started melting. He transformed from a frozen block to small pool of cold water.
Today he did not walk to his bedroom.He flowed like a small rivulet ; leaving a wet trail on the vitrified tile floor.
I sat back happy and contented; probably like Bradd Pitt believed to be the father of Angelina's twins !!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Kochappan the critic.
Kochappan quoted.
When he wants to drive home, he drives like anybody else, but when he wants to drive home a point, he quotes;that's what he did. we were having dinner in 'The Renaissance' at Kochi . He was at kochi on a holiday.
'' You have been writing for some time now'' he said.'' I have not made any comments about your writing or style of speaking in English till now, have I?.''
''No'' quoth I ; earnestly.
'' First of all please understand that by using high sounding words like 'quoth, loath, or both you won't become a good writer''.
He quoted Eleanor Roosevelt. '' One's philosophy is not best expressed in words, it's expressed in the choices one makes.. . In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.And the choices we make are our responsibility'. Have you heard this before?''. He asked me.
'' The name sounds familiar but Iam not able to place him exactly'' I replied.He gave me a look like the one Manmohan singh gave to Prakash Karat when the latter went to tell him that his party will not accept the 123 Agreement ; in utter disbelief and desperation. After taking few minutes and two swallows of white wine he asked me '' You know why I quoted those words'' .
''No'' I replied.
'' Like Roosevelt said your writing is not best expressed in words especially in English and the choices of your style is atrocious.''
At the cost of repetition, for your awareness, I should say that we Menons, esp the fragile ones like me, don't like being put down, even by other Menons. I kept a sullen face; like Thilakan when he was told that he is not getting the 'Bharath award for the best actor this year.
Kochappan continued.He does it without much prompting.
'' We were coming from Kottayam to Kochi once and you took a wrong turn somewhere. You stopped the car and asked a pedestrian the way to Main central road to proceed to Kochi. Instead of telling him that you have lost your way and asking the way to M.C.Road do you remember what you spoke to him.?''
'' No'' replied I.
'' This was your talk with him'' he quoted me this time. You beckoned him and said '' To put it to you in short, this man and I started from Kottayam at twilight. Having motored down slowly, we, to our dismay found that darkness has overtaken us, and lost direction.Could you please enlighten us on our present position in relation to M.C.Road which will take us to Kochi, from where if you travel 75 kms you will reach Thrissur which is the place through which you go to Guruvayoor .'' He stopped quoting me and continued.
'' If he were more muscular he would have changed your shape and thereby your destiny also.''
Very rarely does one get reviews from him ; so I listened.
''You claim that you can write copy for advertisements. You are not bad. But there again lack of
skill is evident. You wrote a slogan for that Flying club starting it's operations at Kochi.
' To All Trainee Pilots ! Our new crash course will qualify you for your flying licence in just two months' . Will any body join a pilot training where crash courses are offered.?'' He paused for a moment or so and reflected.
Except from a small location on the surface of his head wherefrom the light reflects a little during a sunny day, he doesn't reflect in the literal sense.
He continued '' You, like most of the Keralites have a feeling that you know everything when you know a little. You try to show off.'' His voice became thick and accusing.
'' When you told me that your building contractor has a habit of telling lies I suggested to you to tell him straight that he is lying. How did you tell him that?.''
'' I told him straight that he has a habit of falling into the error of 'terminological inexactitude'.''
He turned red like Brinda karat on learning about 123 agreement. ''You expect him to refer your words to Ms Rosemary ,HOD, Communicative English, of Rajagiri Institute of Management studies and understand what you meant.''
The lights in the restaurant were being dimmed. Most of the guests had left. Kochappan had the last scoop of the dessert and looked up.I was put down so badly by him that I had difficulty in collecting my fragments from under the table, and the floor, and putting it together to resurrect myself.
''Are you hurt by my comments.?'' he asked me sincerely. I forced a smile but answered equally sincerely.'' No. I want to improve and I will.''
The car carrying him to the airport receded from my vision. I turned into the lane in which I live. Few rain drops fell on me; the first few announcing the arrival of the monsoon.
My friendship with Kochappan is not founded in business but his business of advising me is founded on friendship. I have to go by it.
It's almost three in the morning.
'Three'oclock is too late or too early to start anything you want to do' said Sartre.
I agree with him.
I stretched on the bed. Ran the conversation back and forth until gradually sleep reduced me to nonexistance.
Menon ( aniyan )
When he wants to drive home, he drives like anybody else, but when he wants to drive home a point, he quotes;that's what he did. we were having dinner in 'The Renaissance' at Kochi . He was at kochi on a holiday.
'' You have been writing for some time now'' he said.'' I have not made any comments about your writing or style of speaking in English till now, have I?.''
''No'' quoth I ; earnestly.
'' First of all please understand that by using high sounding words like 'quoth, loath, or both you won't become a good writer''.
He quoted Eleanor Roosevelt. '' One's philosophy is not best expressed in words, it's expressed in the choices one makes.. . In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.And the choices we make are our responsibility'. Have you heard this before?''. He asked me.
'' The name sounds familiar but Iam not able to place him exactly'' I replied.He gave me a look like the one Manmohan singh gave to Prakash Karat when the latter went to tell him that his party will not accept the 123 Agreement ; in utter disbelief and desperation. After taking few minutes and two swallows of white wine he asked me '' You know why I quoted those words'' .
''No'' I replied.
'' Like Roosevelt said your writing is not best expressed in words especially in English and the choices of your style is atrocious.''
At the cost of repetition, for your awareness, I should say that we Menons, esp the fragile ones like me, don't like being put down, even by other Menons. I kept a sullen face; like Thilakan when he was told that he is not getting the 'Bharath award for the best actor this year.
Kochappan continued.He does it without much prompting.
'' We were coming from Kottayam to Kochi once and you took a wrong turn somewhere. You stopped the car and asked a pedestrian the way to Main central road to proceed to Kochi. Instead of telling him that you have lost your way and asking the way to M.C.Road do you remember what you spoke to him.?''
'' No'' replied I.
'' This was your talk with him'' he quoted me this time. You beckoned him and said '' To put it to you in short, this man and I started from Kottayam at twilight. Having motored down slowly, we, to our dismay found that darkness has overtaken us, and lost direction.Could you please enlighten us on our present position in relation to M.C.Road which will take us to Kochi, from where if you travel 75 kms you will reach Thrissur which is the place through which you go to Guruvayoor .'' He stopped quoting me and continued.
'' If he were more muscular he would have changed your shape and thereby your destiny also.''
Very rarely does one get reviews from him ; so I listened.
''You claim that you can write copy for advertisements. You are not bad. But there again lack of
skill is evident. You wrote a slogan for that Flying club starting it's operations at Kochi.
' To All Trainee Pilots ! Our new crash course will qualify you for your flying licence in just two months' . Will any body join a pilot training where crash courses are offered.?'' He paused for a moment or so and reflected.
Except from a small location on the surface of his head wherefrom the light reflects a little during a sunny day, he doesn't reflect in the literal sense.
He continued '' You, like most of the Keralites have a feeling that you know everything when you know a little. You try to show off.'' His voice became thick and accusing.
'' When you told me that your building contractor has a habit of telling lies I suggested to you to tell him straight that he is lying. How did you tell him that?.''
'' I told him straight that he has a habit of falling into the error of 'terminological inexactitude'.''
He turned red like Brinda karat on learning about 123 agreement. ''You expect him to refer your words to Ms Rosemary ,HOD, Communicative English, of Rajagiri Institute of Management studies and understand what you meant.''
The lights in the restaurant were being dimmed. Most of the guests had left. Kochappan had the last scoop of the dessert and looked up.I was put down so badly by him that I had difficulty in collecting my fragments from under the table, and the floor, and putting it together to resurrect myself.
''Are you hurt by my comments.?'' he asked me sincerely. I forced a smile but answered equally sincerely.'' No. I want to improve and I will.''
The car carrying him to the airport receded from my vision. I turned into the lane in which I live. Few rain drops fell on me; the first few announcing the arrival of the monsoon.
My friendship with Kochappan is not founded in business but his business of advising me is founded on friendship. I have to go by it.
It's almost three in the morning.
'Three'oclock is too late or too early to start anything you want to do' said Sartre.
I agree with him.
I stretched on the bed. Ran the conversation back and forth until gradually sleep reduced me to nonexistance.
Menon ( aniyan )
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
In the 1940s a British traveller to Anholt, a small island fifty miles out in the Kattegat, between Denmark and Sweden, noticed some island children singing a piece.
' Jeck og Jill
vent op de hill
og Jell kom tombling down.'
This ditty had been brought to the island by occupying British soldiers during Napoleonic wars.
This rhyme has been in circuit for the 130 years or more.
This traveller would have heard the same nursery rhyme if he had walked through the Chittor road in Kochi from an old, but elegant building; the voice emanating from the throat and heart of Kochappan ; such was his learning and proficiency in English even those early days when English was all Latin and French to most of us.
On the morning of 2 July of 1881, President James Garfield accompanied by his secretary of state, James Blaine was passing through the Central station in Washington, DC, to spend a holiday in New Jersey, when Charles Guiteau, a lawyer, walked up to him and shot him point blank with a .44 calibre pistol. To provide some comfort for the ailing President the core of Naval Engineers was called in to provide a cooling device in his hospital room. They rigged up a large iron box filled it with ice, salt , water and Terry cot filters saturated with melting ice.
Iam not the president of a country nor is Kochappan member of that team who provided the President with melting ice. But whenever I had been deserted by words, thirsty for words , real thirsty, he had been providing me with words which could melt into a sentence and quench my thirst too.
He is the one who gave me the definition of 'Happiness' as 'Having a large , loving ,caring family in another city.'
'' In these days of sophistication and modernity'', he told me, ''things are not 'Stolen' but 'differently acquired' ''.
He told me that 'Abraham Lincoln was the greatest President of America' and not the
' greatest Precedent ' as I have been mentioning. He chided me once saying that Iam the reason for ' global warming.'
After having worked in the USA and UK ,he gave me some insight about those places.
''In U.S'' he told me once, ''dancing with a girl, mostly, is a perpendicular action of a horizontal desire''.
''The sun never sets in the British Empire because, even God doesn't trust an English man in darkness.'' he added. He does that often without any provocation; love for Arithmetics probably.
The only time he subtracts is when you ask him his age.
He pointed out the subtle difference between 'Desire ' and 'Wish' to me.
He told me that I have a 'desire' to write. Desire shows a strong intention to do something and it's normally within reach. 'Wish' is almost the same but gives a sense that it is un attainable. I 'wish' I could write, or sing etc.
He is the one who taught me that 'Log on' is not adding wood to the fire place, and that 'Hard drive' is not a trip through the MC road in Kerala. '' A Mouse pad, aniyan, is not where the mouse lives.'' he told me with patience.
Can I call up such a person and tell him '' Hai Iam aniyan. Long time no see''. That's why I haven't mentioned about him for the last two months. I was diffident to intrude.
One doesn't dare call him. The best one can do to catch his attention is to clear the throat. I did that. Having come to know that Kochappan is at Kochi I rang him up at his hotel and cleared my throat. He acknowledged my presence and told me that he would meet me soon.
His voice came to me over phone. Next, it would be him in person.
'If winter comes can spring be far behind?''.
Menon ( aniyan )
' Jeck og Jill
vent op de hill
og Jell kom tombling down.'
This ditty had been brought to the island by occupying British soldiers during Napoleonic wars.
This rhyme has been in circuit for the 130 years or more.
This traveller would have heard the same nursery rhyme if he had walked through the Chittor road in Kochi from an old, but elegant building; the voice emanating from the throat and heart of Kochappan ; such was his learning and proficiency in English even those early days when English was all Latin and French to most of us.
On the morning of 2 July of 1881, President James Garfield accompanied by his secretary of state, James Blaine was passing through the Central station in Washington, DC, to spend a holiday in New Jersey, when Charles Guiteau, a lawyer, walked up to him and shot him point blank with a .44 calibre pistol. To provide some comfort for the ailing President the core of Naval Engineers was called in to provide a cooling device in his hospital room. They rigged up a large iron box filled it with ice, salt , water and Terry cot filters saturated with melting ice.
Iam not the president of a country nor is Kochappan member of that team who provided the President with melting ice. But whenever I had been deserted by words, thirsty for words , real thirsty, he had been providing me with words which could melt into a sentence and quench my thirst too.
He is the one who gave me the definition of 'Happiness' as 'Having a large , loving ,caring family in another city.'
'' In these days of sophistication and modernity'', he told me, ''things are not 'Stolen' but 'differently acquired' ''.
He told me that 'Abraham Lincoln was the greatest President of America' and not the
' greatest Precedent ' as I have been mentioning. He chided me once saying that Iam the reason for ' global warming.'
After having worked in the USA and UK ,he gave me some insight about those places.
''In U.S'' he told me once, ''dancing with a girl, mostly, is a perpendicular action of a horizontal desire''.
''The sun never sets in the British Empire because, even God doesn't trust an English man in darkness.'' he added. He does that often without any provocation; love for Arithmetics probably.
The only time he subtracts is when you ask him his age.
He pointed out the subtle difference between 'Desire ' and 'Wish' to me.
He told me that I have a 'desire' to write. Desire shows a strong intention to do something and it's normally within reach. 'Wish' is almost the same but gives a sense that it is un attainable. I 'wish' I could write, or sing etc.
He is the one who taught me that 'Log on' is not adding wood to the fire place, and that 'Hard drive' is not a trip through the MC road in Kerala. '' A Mouse pad, aniyan, is not where the mouse lives.'' he told me with patience.
Can I call up such a person and tell him '' Hai Iam aniyan. Long time no see''. That's why I haven't mentioned about him for the last two months. I was diffident to intrude.
One doesn't dare call him. The best one can do to catch his attention is to clear the throat. I did that. Having come to know that Kochappan is at Kochi I rang him up at his hotel and cleared my throat. He acknowledged my presence and told me that he would meet me soon.
His voice came to me over phone. Next, it would be him in person.
'If winter comes can spring be far behind?''.
Menon ( aniyan )
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Sarkozy,Carla and Kochappan
Gentlemen ! ( even if you are not one please go ahead and read !)
My mind was not neither in e mail nor fe males for quite some time; to be precise for almost two months. It's an issue which has been of concern for the Govt of India and me. Believe me, it is such an issue.
Mr.Kochappan, whose wiser counsel I seek on such occasions of predicament was away in Kottayam.
I was lost without his guidance. I was standing at a place where 'Two roads diverged into the woods' and I had to choose the right one. The only other person who had faced a similar situation in his life could be the poet Robert Frost; no one else to my knowledge.
Sitaram Yechuri and Prakash karat had whisked Kochappan away to Kottayam to to reconcile the warring factions of Pinarayi and Achumama. Such is Kochappan's counselling capacity.
I got him over phone at Kottayam; trifle late at night. From his tone I guessed that he was nursing a drink; he nurses only a drink or two at night these days; nothing else; age is catching up.
'' Iam anxious, so is Manmohan Singh, and the Foreign Affairs ministry,'' I said.
'' Regarding what?'' His questioning skill was evident.
'' About the visit of the French Premier Sarkozy and his woman Carla to India'' I replied in one breath.
'' Don't beat around the bush as Jyothi Basu does on Capitalism and Communism'' Kochapps warned.
'' Manmohan Singh is happy about Sarkozy's visit to India, but the Foreign affairs ministry has reservations about his girl friend Carla acompanying him. She cannot be accorded an official welcome. Prime Ministers should not be allowed to visit India with their living-in girl friends.''
I paused for breath and continued. '' Even Clinton had the sense not to bring Monica with him when he came here. He came alone to India. May be Monica would have come separately. But never together. Sarkozy can come alone but not with Carla. If she desires so she should come separately not with him .'' I put across my points of view bluntly to Kochapps.
There was a pregnant silence. Kochappan by habit weighs options before giving opinions. While he was weighing I had another gulp of fresh air and waited for his verdict .
'' Aniyan, how can India ever tell Sarkozy that he and Carla should not come together. A s a boy friend and girl friend they can come together or separately. And Sarkozy cannot dictate when Carla should come; he can make attempts to make her come when he wants her to come or delay it or prevent it, but then it is not fully in his hands. You must understand that it is even beyond Carla to decide whether and when she should come. So I suggest you don't worry whether they come separately or together. It's a family matter. It's Physiological, Aniyan, it's Physiological'' He disconnected.
As it happens always I couldn't understand what has Physiology got to do with Carla and Sarkozy coming together at the same time.
I want clarification and will ask him when he returns from Kottayam; but then if he and Brinda Karat are coming together even that may not be possible!
menon ( aniyan )
My mind was not neither in e mail nor fe males for quite some time; to be precise for almost two months. It's an issue which has been of concern for the Govt of India and me. Believe me, it is such an issue.
Mr.Kochappan, whose wiser counsel I seek on such occasions of predicament was away in Kottayam.
I was lost without his guidance. I was standing at a place where 'Two roads diverged into the woods' and I had to choose the right one. The only other person who had faced a similar situation in his life could be the poet Robert Frost; no one else to my knowledge.
Sitaram Yechuri and Prakash karat had whisked Kochappan away to Kottayam to to reconcile the warring factions of Pinarayi and Achumama. Such is Kochappan's counselling capacity.
I got him over phone at Kottayam; trifle late at night. From his tone I guessed that he was nursing a drink; he nurses only a drink or two at night these days; nothing else; age is catching up.
'' Iam anxious, so is Manmohan Singh, and the Foreign Affairs ministry,'' I said.
'' Regarding what?'' His questioning skill was evident.
'' About the visit of the French Premier Sarkozy and his woman Carla to India'' I replied in one breath.
'' Don't beat around the bush as Jyothi Basu does on Capitalism and Communism'' Kochapps warned.
'' Manmohan Singh is happy about Sarkozy's visit to India, but the Foreign affairs ministry has reservations about his girl friend Carla acompanying him. She cannot be accorded an official welcome. Prime Ministers should not be allowed to visit India with their living-in girl friends.''
I paused for breath and continued. '' Even Clinton had the sense not to bring Monica with him when he came here. He came alone to India. May be Monica would have come separately. But never together. Sarkozy can come alone but not with Carla. If she desires so she should come separately not with him .'' I put across my points of view bluntly to Kochapps.
There was a pregnant silence. Kochappan by habit weighs options before giving opinions. While he was weighing I had another gulp of fresh air and waited for his verdict .
'' Aniyan, how can India ever tell Sarkozy that he and Carla should not come together. A s a boy friend and girl friend they can come together or separately. And Sarkozy cannot dictate when Carla should come; he can make attempts to make her come when he wants her to come or delay it or prevent it, but then it is not fully in his hands. You must understand that it is even beyond Carla to decide whether and when she should come. So I suggest you don't worry whether they come separately or together. It's a family matter. It's Physiological, Aniyan, it's Physiological'' He disconnected.
As it happens always I couldn't understand what has Physiology got to do with Carla and Sarkozy coming together at the same time.
I want clarification and will ask him when he returns from Kottayam; but then if he and Brinda Karat are coming together even that may not be possible!
menon ( aniyan )
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Kochappan, Karunakaran and Chicken shit.
The last I heard from him, he was in Sri Lanka. He had mentioned to me that he was released by the LTTE militants who had kept him captive,after he identified himself as 'The Kochappan' of Kochappan mails and the blog hero. The reason of his release, he secretly learnt, is their fear of his unleashing lessons in English, under captivity. They felt that they are better equipped to suffer the bombs dropped by the Lankan Airforce than suffering his lessons in English.
They don't know what they are missing !.
Keeping in line with his request for noting the important news items, and feeding him with that through Email, I had prepared the following news items and sent them for his nourishment,at his breakfast. Here are some of them with his responses & comments.
Nairobian Giant cobra - This is a new species of giant 'Spitting Cobra', about 2.5m long has enough venom to kill 20 people in one bite.The 'Naja Ashei species' is named after it's founder James Ashe, the owner of a Kenyan snake farm. It can be identified by it's 'black neck'.
Kochappan responded thus - This is no great discovery by the Kenyan. We have been having such cobras in India, particularly in Kerala, for years. They may be 5 to 6 ft long. They are found in different colours here, instead of black. They are seen in Tri colour, Red, Green and Saffron colours.They move around freely without any fear and pose as if they own the land.
They can spit poison and kill not just twenty but anything which comes across them.They 'hiss'
not from their hidings, but from the platforms through audio equipments, esp during the election season.
Doris Lessing, the British Novelist , Nobel Laureate in Literature - She could not attend the function but sent her lecture ' On not winning the Nobel Prize' which was read out by her British editor Nicholas Pearson.
Kochapps said - This is no big surprise news either. Salim - Javed had prepared a half an hour speech on 'Not winning the Nobel Prize' when their fiction 'DEEWAR' was rejected in the competition for Nobel. But then later on, the film made on this fiction won the 'Filmfare Award' and that went a long way in assuaging the hurt feelings of S&J . Even Vinayan, whose
' Vasanthiyum, Lakshmiyum pinne Janum' had the same fate. The Nobel committee, Vinyan says, had informed him that it's the length of the title that cost him the award.
Karunakaran's return to congress- After vociferously abusing Sonia Gandhi and her leadership the former CM of Kerala is now singing in her praise and is awaiting her permission to join congress.
I didn't get the return mail with his comments. He called me up to tell me about his return trip from Sri lanka.
After that talk I mentioned about the news about Karunakaran's request to Sonia Gandhi to take him back.
'Man is the only animal who blushes ; or needs to.' wrote Mark Twain.
''Karunakaran needs to'' said Kochappan.
'' I may not know much, but I know chicken shit from chicken salad'' Lyndon Johnson said that about Richard Nixon. Take it from me, Aniyan. Sonia Gandhi also ought to know that much''. These were last words of the day from Kochapps from Sri Lanka.
I am awaiting his arrival. I miss him; his words, and wisdom, very badly.
menon ( aniyan )
They don't know what they are missing !.
Keeping in line with his request for noting the important news items, and feeding him with that through Email, I had prepared the following news items and sent them for his nourishment,at his breakfast. Here are some of them with his responses & comments.
Nairobian Giant cobra - This is a new species of giant 'Spitting Cobra', about 2.5m long has enough venom to kill 20 people in one bite.The 'Naja Ashei species' is named after it's founder James Ashe, the owner of a Kenyan snake farm. It can be identified by it's 'black neck'.
Kochappan responded thus - This is no great discovery by the Kenyan. We have been having such cobras in India, particularly in Kerala, for years. They may be 5 to 6 ft long. They are found in different colours here, instead of black. They are seen in Tri colour, Red, Green and Saffron colours.They move around freely without any fear and pose as if they own the land.
They can spit poison and kill not just twenty but anything which comes across them.They 'hiss'
not from their hidings, but from the platforms through audio equipments, esp during the election season.
Doris Lessing, the British Novelist , Nobel Laureate in Literature - She could not attend the function but sent her lecture ' On not winning the Nobel Prize' which was read out by her British editor Nicholas Pearson.
Kochapps said - This is no big surprise news either. Salim - Javed had prepared a half an hour speech on 'Not winning the Nobel Prize' when their fiction 'DEEWAR' was rejected in the competition for Nobel. But then later on, the film made on this fiction won the 'Filmfare Award' and that went a long way in assuaging the hurt feelings of S&J . Even Vinayan, whose
' Vasanthiyum, Lakshmiyum pinne Janum' had the same fate. The Nobel committee, Vinyan says, had informed him that it's the length of the title that cost him the award.
Karunakaran's return to congress- After vociferously abusing Sonia Gandhi and her leadership the former CM of Kerala is now singing in her praise and is awaiting her permission to join congress.
I didn't get the return mail with his comments. He called me up to tell me about his return trip from Sri lanka.
After that talk I mentioned about the news about Karunakaran's request to Sonia Gandhi to take him back.
'Man is the only animal who blushes ; or needs to.' wrote Mark Twain.
''Karunakaran needs to'' said Kochappan.
'' I may not know much, but I know chicken shit from chicken salad'' Lyndon Johnson said that about Richard Nixon. Take it from me, Aniyan. Sonia Gandhi also ought to know that much''. These were last words of the day from Kochapps from Sri Lanka.
I am awaiting his arrival. I miss him; his words, and wisdom, very badly.
menon ( aniyan )
Monday, November 26, 2007
Abraham Lincoln, Gandhiji, and Kochappan.
'' I have done nothing to make any human being remember that I have lived. yet what I wish to live for is to connect my name with the events of my day and generation, to link my name with something which will be of interest to my fellow men.''
Abraham Lincoln ( 1809-1865 )
Kochappan used to quote this frequently, saying that the purpose of his life is also the same; to provide something of interest to his fellow men.
Steven Spielberg's movie "The Close Encounters of the Third kind" gives you an audio visual idea of three encounters with the UFOs (Un identified Flying Objects).
'Heard but never seen.'
'Heard and seen', and
'Coming in actual contact with the object'
Having had the fortune of having the close encounter of the third kind with Kochappan I have been at the receiving end of matters of interest from him.
Let me relate to you and provide you with some of them.
I sent him a mail of ' Heartfelt Congratulations' on his receiving 35th Anniversary Commemorative Award for Management Services from the ICRISAT, a UN organisation, at Sri Lanka two days back.
In reply, instead of thanking me for the message, he corrected my English and mentioned that
though 'Heartfelt' means sincere, it's normally used with sadness like 'Heartfelt' condolences,
and that I should have used the word 'Hearty' if I meant what I sent. This is what he wants to
provide people during his life time.
Many a time in my life have I got such invaluable guidance from him, a few of them I would like to relate to less fortunate people like you, who have not had the 3rd type of close encounter with him.
When I was infactuated with a young lass of surpassing beauty during my adolescence, he had warned me that though she is like 'pure snow' to look at she has a tendency to drift like snow, and that if she drifts like what she was doing then, she would end up like the 'Indian Railway' ; laid right across the country.
Once when I used the expression, 'I want to have the cake and eat it too', he admonished me by saying that I should have said 'I want to eat the cake and have it too' to mean what I really meant.
When I reminded him to put his 'best foot forward' when he was entering his newly built flat
at Hyderabad he asked me sarcastically whether he had the option of 'good' and 'better' foot to choose! Such is his brilliance!
In another occasion while travelling long distance by train he asked me ''If a turtle loses it's shell
is it naked or homeless?'' Another occasion when we were in his car he asked why one gets
'in' and 'out' of a car but gets 'on' and 'off' a bus. Questions of sheer brilliance which made me think.
He advised me not to 'assume' things in life because it will make an 'ass' of 'u' and 'me'.
To impress upon me the necessity to know about great people and their lives he used ask me questions about them. One late evening,while sitting and sipping a cup of tea in his balcony he asked whether I knew what one leg of Marilyn Monroe say to the other when she was dead and laid in the coffin. I couldn't give the answer. '' At last we are together''. He gave the answer himself.
'' Between you and me we have made lot of money'' ; before being buried, at the end of a long journey of life, that was what one leg of Marilyn in it's last conversation to other said; with a sigh of relief.''These might sound a bit lewd, indecent. But see the construction of the sentences
and the clarity of expression'' .He added.
Profound knowledge; that was what he was parting with .
He taught me that 'History' is about past and I need not say 'Past history', that I need not 'lift up' (because I cannot lift anything down) nor 'raise it up', he doesn't like getting 'free gifts' and 'advance warning' and that I should not ' mix things together' and that he won't 'repeat again' these lessons.
While on the topic of history he told me that they were called 'Romans' , because those people had the habit of roaming around.
I can go on with examples of his attempts to be of use to people. The one such saying of his which I still remember is the one he told me on the day of my marriage.
''Aniyan, a happiness of life is having a loving,caring, and close knit family; in another city''
That could be the reason why he goes on frequent tours to cities of Syria, Africa and SriLanka.
Like Gandhiji he practises what he preaches. Such is his greatness !!!
menon ( aniyan )
Abraham Lincoln ( 1809-1865 )
Kochappan used to quote this frequently, saying that the purpose of his life is also the same; to provide something of interest to his fellow men.
Steven Spielberg's movie "The Close Encounters of the Third kind" gives you an audio visual idea of three encounters with the UFOs (Un identified Flying Objects).
'Heard but never seen.'
'Heard and seen', and
'Coming in actual contact with the object'
Having had the fortune of having the close encounter of the third kind with Kochappan I have been at the receiving end of matters of interest from him.
Let me relate to you and provide you with some of them.
I sent him a mail of ' Heartfelt Congratulations' on his receiving 35th Anniversary Commemorative Award for Management Services from the ICRISAT, a UN organisation, at Sri Lanka two days back.
In reply, instead of thanking me for the message, he corrected my English and mentioned that
though 'Heartfelt' means sincere, it's normally used with sadness like 'Heartfelt' condolences,
and that I should have used the word 'Hearty' if I meant what I sent. This is what he wants to
provide people during his life time.
Many a time in my life have I got such invaluable guidance from him, a few of them I would like to relate to less fortunate people like you, who have not had the 3rd type of close encounter with him.
When I was infactuated with a young lass of surpassing beauty during my adolescence, he had warned me that though she is like 'pure snow' to look at she has a tendency to drift like snow, and that if she drifts like what she was doing then, she would end up like the 'Indian Railway' ; laid right across the country.
Once when I used the expression, 'I want to have the cake and eat it too', he admonished me by saying that I should have said 'I want to eat the cake and have it too' to mean what I really meant.
When I reminded him to put his 'best foot forward' when he was entering his newly built flat
at Hyderabad he asked me sarcastically whether he had the option of 'good' and 'better' foot to choose! Such is his brilliance!
In another occasion while travelling long distance by train he asked me ''If a turtle loses it's shell
is it naked or homeless?'' Another occasion when we were in his car he asked why one gets
'in' and 'out' of a car but gets 'on' and 'off' a bus. Questions of sheer brilliance which made me think.
He advised me not to 'assume' things in life because it will make an 'ass' of 'u' and 'me'.
To impress upon me the necessity to know about great people and their lives he used ask me questions about them. One late evening,while sitting and sipping a cup of tea in his balcony he asked whether I knew what one leg of Marilyn Monroe say to the other when she was dead and laid in the coffin. I couldn't give the answer. '' At last we are together''. He gave the answer himself.
'' Between you and me we have made lot of money'' ; before being buried, at the end of a long journey of life, that was what one leg of Marilyn in it's last conversation to other said; with a sigh of relief.''These might sound a bit lewd, indecent. But see the construction of the sentences
and the clarity of expression'' .He added.
Profound knowledge; that was what he was parting with .
He taught me that 'History' is about past and I need not say 'Past history', that I need not 'lift up' (because I cannot lift anything down) nor 'raise it up', he doesn't like getting 'free gifts' and 'advance warning' and that I should not ' mix things together' and that he won't 'repeat again' these lessons.
While on the topic of history he told me that they were called 'Romans' , because those people had the habit of roaming around.
I can go on with examples of his attempts to be of use to people. The one such saying of his which I still remember is the one he told me on the day of my marriage.
''Aniyan, a happiness of life is having a loving,caring, and close knit family; in another city''
That could be the reason why he goes on frequent tours to cities of Syria, Africa and SriLanka.
Like Gandhiji he practises what he preaches. Such is his greatness !!!
menon ( aniyan )
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