Chronicles of an Amateur

Respected Vijay Fans,
I guess you people will be overjoyed that your ilaya thalapathy has got a Doctorate. Maybe you will host functions, naah, festivals commemorating the same and pour milk on your thalapathy’s statue, posters, etc. But AFAIK, to get a doctorate, you must have done something remarkable/ exciting/ worthwhile in a field. It need not be ground breaking as such. But what exactly has he done other than acting in films befitting his stature, like Pokkiri, etc. If you take the case of Dr. Kamal Hassan, he has taken Tamil Cinema to World heights. His films like Anbe Sivam, Virumaandi, Hey Ram (I can go on), have been welcomed with open arms all over the world. Though he is considered a narcissist and a megalomaniac, he is one of the pioneers of Cinema and thus his doctorate is a well earned one. But Vijay?

If we analyse the career of Vijay, I guess we might find a teeny weeny reason for his doctorate. His initial years in Kodambakkam consisted mainly of soft porn movies like Naalaiya theerpu, etc where every movie had him frolicking with a bottom less girl, I mean, a girl wearing only a white/ yellow shirt, in a bath tub/ in the rain. There was no story. The later years saw a marked difference as far as the frolicking was concerned. It disappeared. Damil kalaachaaram requires the hero to be of noble stature, and he became a good Samaritan, spewing advice to his fans, by speaking to the camera directly. Advices about love and marriage were freely given. But the story? Barring a few movies, it was the same, a big ZERO. 4 dances, 1 dappanguthu, 3 fights…. Well, I guess I am not able to find out. His prowess doesn’t extend to the other departments also. Until now, he hasn’t directed/ written a movie. I do confess that he has acted well in some movies but does that make him a Doctor?

My only grouse is that, the people will come to a conclusion that these days, anyone can buy these doctorates. That just takes away the honor from the people who were awarded doctorates for their services alone and not for anything else.

Labels: WTF

He entered the platform, just as the train pulled in. He ran and stood by the coach he was supposed to travel in. He was by the window seat. “Oh Goody”, he thought and looked around. The train was beginning to get full. This was the ideal train to travel to Bangalore. He looked around at the sea of faces, trying to spot a familiar one. The seat next to him was empty.

“Aren’t you Ravi? I think I know you. You studied at Holy Cross, didn’t you? I was at ‘C’ section and you were in ‘A’ section, I believe? By the way, if you still can’t place me, I am Govind.” He strained his memory; he remembered the name but couldn’t place his face, definitely. But then, what the heck? He had company, and that was all that mattered. He would be able to pass the three hours satisfactorily.

He gave a sigh. That was a long time back. Now, all around him, people were busy with their mobiles; either talking or typing smses. He didn’t blame them. Technology had made the world a global village, true, but it had also created barriers around an individual. Every individual was an island now. Some years ago, you could have spotted a guy, who would have been your friend’s uncle, or your long lost classmate. But not now. People were scared to talk to strangers. He was beginning to dislike technology.

“Excuse me, but is this S4? I got in at the last moment, and so got into the wrong compartment at first.” He nodded as he looked up to see a PYT in her 20s. PYT as in Pretty Young Thing. She occupied the seat next to him. He debated as to whether he could ignite a conversation, but refrained. Though the prospect was enticing, he didn’t want to risk it. He did the next best thing, ala, getting his ipod out. “Oh, is that an ipod?” “Yep, a video ipod, in fact”, he replied. “Cool; nice thing to have when you don’t have a company. You can’t stop technology, huh? By the way, I am Anjani and I work at Infy, and you are?”

“Ravi, WIPRO. Say, you came alone?” he asked her. “Yeah, mom and dad are busy with their work schedule and in any case do you think that a girl can’t travel alone?” He didn’t reply immediately. He had ample time for that. Three hours to be exact, unless or otherwise, luck was on his side and the train got delayed :). No, he had gone back to his musings on technology. Hmmm… wasn’t he telling something about technology?? Oh yeah, he lllloooovvvveeeddd technology!! :)

Labels: Story

Many people have remarked that I blog repeatedly on marriages. My take is “why shouldn’t I??” All people know that a Marriage is the most sacred institution in the world. But its also the only institution you can enter without any hitches, like CAT, GRE, etc. Amma, Appa, and the supposedly lucky girl, I fervently hope that you guys are reading this. :) Speaking of marriages, the invites these days range from a full fledged brochure, to a simple and sweet card.

One invite that I had seen had full info about the family business. Not that I have anything against it, but then, I guess, my card will have my name, the name of the bride, location of the marriage and a message which says something like, “People who don’t come will get their asses whipped black and blue”

But the one that takes the cake is the limericks by the potential TRs, both male and female. I agree that it is a special occasion and (hopefully) it will occur only once. But playing a poet for that sake?? Hmmm…. Sample this, an invite that I got had something like,

“We are going to start this magical journey,
Where the actors are him and me…”

And something of that sort. Ok, I made that up, but then, I hope you get the gist. But then, time can change anything and maybe I will change my outlook and have some crap like this on my invite after all. If I have it my way, expect a card which will have the following:

“Its been a long time since we came of age,
So we thought, “heck, why not marriage?
We all need children, a boy and/ or a girl,
Tis the only way to make them, legal”

Cya for now.... taataa. For phirends reading this, please dont refrain from sending me your invites. They are always accepted!! ;)

Labels: Random....