Chiseled Space

Chokers No More

2006-03-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

After more than a decade of consistent catipulation at the last moment, yesterday the 'chokers' reached out for an oxygen cylinder and banged it on their opponent's head. The Aussies, after being caught resting on their fat asses (one could not blame them, after scoring a mammoth 434 in 50 overs), were left with egg on thier faces.

Now, I was never a big fan of the South African team - they'd throw it all away, and then moan and groan about how Lady Luck always forsook them. Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles, mate (as the Aussies would say).

But yesterday, the SA team made an emphatic statement. That they were not willing to roll over and play dead any longer. It's high time I guess. I dunno if you can keep this up (most probably the Aussies will hammer your asses to the wall during the Test matches), but I sure hope you can !!

Smiling Assassin 'Strikes'

2006-03-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

the ball cleanly, for a change. It's been a long 8 years for this half-century, mate.

Now, he is what I call a fighter - exemplifies the never-say-die attitude that I wish every other member of the team had. Kudos to you, Kumble-ji.

The Countdown Begins

2006-03-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

It is March 01 - finally. Just 15 more days before I leave for India. Its been almost 2 years, darn it !! Yippee !!!!!

Arrey-O-Samba

2006-02-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

There's a saying in Malayalam: 'pottan dushtande phalam cheyyum'. Roughly translated, it means that an imbecile can inflict the same amount of damage an evil person can (pottan=idiot/imbecile, dushtan=evil person, phalam=result/effect). I'd say that recent events have proved this one right, definitely. Anyway, I always knew that our proverb-makers knew what they were taking about !!

With all the protests and stuff, with slogans hailing Bush to be the worst villain to hit India since Gabbar Singh, Bush's visit to India should be interesting, to say the least.

Bird-Flu Reloaded

2006-02-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

No Love Lost

2006-02-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

Its that time of the year again. Apparently, mistletoe brings out the worst in the saffron brigade - burning cards, destructing public property and harassing lovelorn couples (I have a particular sympathy toward them!).

Well, this year there is a new twist. Apparently one half of the split-at-the-umbilical-cord Shiv-Sena supports the celebration of Valentines Day, and is gung-ho about it - even giving tips, for chrissakes! Wonders will never cease. What will we have next - Bal Thakeray preaching Hindu-Muslim bhai-bhai ?

Bollywood and Comics

2006-02-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

What relation, you might wonder. Plenty - for instance, two of the most popular movies of recent times - Lagaan and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai were inspired by the Asterix series and the Archie series respectively.

The 'Hey Ram' Debate

2006-02-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

The debate continues: were 'Hey Ram' Gandhiji's last words or not? Ex-assistants and grandchildren continue to battle it out.

Boban & Molly

2006-01-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

There was William Brown (read a William book online here), and then there was Dennis The Menace.

But before them, there were Boban & Molly (chronology purely in terms of my discovery of these literary characters). In terms of pure cheek and ability to create unprecedented mayhem, these Mallu kids beat their American and British counterparts hollow. Every character in this series was just fantastic - be it the Panchayat President or the 'hip' Appi Hippie (what a name!).

The cartoonist - affectionately known as Toms - wove stories (dealing with, and satiring contemporary issues) around the daily adventures of these two endearing kids. Be it their exasperated mom who had to deal with the daily load-shedding & non-availability of gas cylinders in addition to the pesky kids, or the ever-busy-but-jobless Panchayat President constantly poring over the newspaper sitting at the teashop, each personality was artfully shaped. Apparently, the whole series was based on characters the author had observed (the real Boban and Molly were not even related, I remember reading off an interview of the cartoonist). All these characters were some of the first I ever tried to draw, and so I was delighted when I discovered some online strips by accident - I simply had to draw them and dedicate a whole post to them.

There were a lot of plans to make a movie on these characters - for once, good sense prevailed and they decided not to. Thank god for small mercies !!

Elephants and Swimming Pools

2006-01-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Q: Why are elephants not allowed in swimming pools ?
A: Because...they might let down their trunks.

Heh Heh Heh !

Happy Pongal

2006-01-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Pongal, folks !!

Appraisals

2006-01-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

All appraisals follow pretty much the same format, I guess - be they in IT or otherwise !!

Great PJ

2006-01-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

Banta Singh (pls note: this is NOT a Sardar joke) is invited for dinner at a colleague's place. One of the entre'es is pav-bhaji. As a hungry Banta picks up the first piece of pav, he notices that there is a word inscribed below the pav: jannat.

With these facts in mind, here's the crucial question:

What is the name of Banta's professor ?

The name of Banta' professor is 'ishq ki chaav'.

For, haven't you heard of :

Jinke 'sir' ho ishq ki chaav,
Paav ke neeche jannat hogi !!!

ROTFL :))

Interesting 2005

2006-01-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

With the rise of the teen-icon Sania, the fall of the Laloo regime, the tottering Ganguly and the 'mythical' Mallika, the only 'normal' thing that happened in 2005 was the sizzling launch of the latest Harry Potter (both the book and the movie).

Just goes on to prove that muggles will be muggles, after all !!!

Loser of the Year

2005-12-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

There are several, to be honest. But no one person has kissed the canvas as many times this year.

Here's presenting Mr. Loser 2005, who with his Jinnah remarks, his subsequent indignant resignation and his shame-faced withdrawal of the resignation exemplified the foot-in-mouth syndrome. The recent sting operations have thrown even more egg on his face.

Will he last the distance ? Only 2006 will tell.

AB Bas !!!

2005-12-23T06:48:00.000-08:00

I am sick of seeing AB in every mindless movie and advertisement that is being churned out - not to mention the hoardings, commentaries, MTV videos, item numbers, KBC. And then we have all the Bachchan wannabes - sporting the ridiculous beard, and trying hard to imitate the baritone.

AB, dude, take a break, and exercise some restraint !! All that's missing is a diaper ad from you, for chrissakes !!!

A Cindrella Story

2005-12-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

A good PJ on the Cinderella fairy tale:

Why was Cinderella a bad soccer player ?

Because.. (a) she lost her shoe, (b) she ran away from the ball, and (c) her coach was a damn pumpkin !!

Kaliya Mardan

2005-12-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

I guess, the story of Kaliya Mardan needs no re-telling; it is probably one of the most popular bedtime-stories in India.

I read an interesting variant of this story, though - that the Naga Panchami festival is also associated with the Kaliya Mardan legend. In this variant, instead of the exciting-fight version that I have heard, the serpent quickly realizes that it is no match for the might of Lord Krishna, and begs for forgiveness. Krishna pardons Kaliya, and after elciting a promise that it would not harm anything hereafter, lets the serpent back into the Yamuna river.

Strange how many legends we have, and how they are all interlaced together. I mean, I realized very recently that Diwali is celebrated in honor of Lord Rama as well as Lord Krishna - amazing, I thought ! But, more about that later.

The Legend of Onam

2005-12-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

The title sorta sounds like those wierd essays we used to get during our exams in school - 'write 5 sentences about your favourite festival (with appropriate title)'. I always used to wonder - why 5, and not 3, or 7 !!

Onam is the festival celebrated in Kerala, by all and sundry, in honor of the famous demon-king Mahabali. Apparently, Mahabali was the greatest king Kerala had ever seen. What's more, he was neither a Commie nor a Congressman. So the gods got all worked up, and decided that the demon-king had got too big for his boots. They dispatched Lord Vishnu, the master of disguises, who donned his Appu-Raja makeup to become the Vamana incarnation, to get rid of the unsuspecting king.

The king welcomed the dwarfish Brahmin into his palace, and made rash promises. Vamana i.e. Lord Vishnu grabbed the opportunity with both hands, and asked for 3 footsteps of land. When the bewildered Mahabali agreed, Vamana prompty covered all of the Earth and the heavens with his first two steps (the legend goes that during the second step, Lord Brahma cleaned Vamana's foot using the brass jug, and this is how the Ganges river originated).

The king, however, was an honorable man, and he offered his own head for Vamana to claim. Vamana pushed Mahabali to the underworld (patalam) with his third step. However, Lord Vishnu must have felt an iota of compassion for the injustice being meted out to the hapless king, and hence he granted Mahabali the right to visit his beloved kingdom once every year. This day is celebrated as Onam in Kerala.

The picture above shows a typical caricature of Mahabali (or Maveli, as he is more popularly called), with the paunch and the umbrella, as looks over the prosperous (??!!) Kerala.

Introduction

2005-12-20T06:03:00.000-08:00

All the stuff I draw - festivals, mythological figures, caricatures etc - will be posted here. Too much of my stuff has got lost in the past; hopefully, during my next trip to India, I will be able to scan whatever is left and upload them as well !!!