In Defence of Ranjini Haridas

Ranjini Haridas is now a fixed part of our lives thanks to Idea Star Singer in Asianet. In the evening we hear the familiar voice shouting "Aideeyaah Staaa Singaahhh" and immediately chairs are re-arranged, snacks are opened, phones are put in silent modes and we are glued to our television sets. The programme is watched by young and old alike. And no sooner than Ranjini's face appear snorts, smirks and comments are heard, mostly in a negative sense.

In my home, my father and I get into a regular argument over Ranjini Haridas. Whenever Ranjini Haridas appears with her trademark laughter or colourful dresses my father passes the invariable comment "ho!...ivale sahikkan patoola!" Now this is a comment I have heard in various homes (in varied versions) and mostly from members of the older generation, both male and female. Though everyone sits open-mouthed whenever she says something once the commercial break comes, everyone rubs her off saying she is insufferable. Now coming from the older generation this is understandable. But I'm at a loss when my contemporaries too share the same opinion. In their opinion she is vain, proud and "athra sheriyalla". Talks about some snappy photos doing the rounds in the internet.

So we arrive at the common conclusion - Ranjini Haridas is a bad influence on the younger generation, especially "our daughters". Because the most common argument we hear when we try to defend her is "would you allow your daughter or sister to dress or talk like that??"

Now let me state my frank opinion and may I be crucified for telling the truth - Ranjini Haridas is a great anchor or comperer, whatever word you chose. She revolutionised TV anchoring in a way like never before. So much so that every new anchor is now compared to her and evaluated as better or worse than or "just like" Ranjini Haridas.

Not to forget stage shows. I happened to work backstage for a couple of mega shows and saw the live work of a couple of comperers, including Ranjini Haridas. And I must say she is quite a phenomenon. I never saw her throw a tantrum or make a fuss. She was composed and confident. And compare this to other anchors. Even unknown ones throw quite a fit if they don't get their diet colas on time.

Once I remember there were two female anchors who were with us from the morning of the event, script in hand and practising their lines in the suite of a five star hotel. But when the show started they were still stumbling over their lines and that too with the script in their hands. Compare this to Ranjini Haridas who on one occasion got lost in the traffic and arrived just minutes before the inauguration of the show. She had her makeup done right at the backstage, asked for the script, which I handed over to her. She glanced at them for a few seconds before going on stage and making a grand entrance. She was electrifying even without carrying the written script with her. Now that is a good comperer. That was the day I started developing a respect for her. As a comperer, mind you. Her personal life doesn't concern me. And it shouldn't concern you.

I also remember another small incident during another stage show. Ranjini Haridas started to walk off backstage when one of the organizers, a political leader in his own right, jumped up and asked her where she was going (you know how politicians are paranoid. Maybe he thought she was walking off the show) and she coolly replied "To urinate" ("moothramozhikkan"). The leader looked shocked as if the thought that women could urinate never crossed his mind. The fact was Ranjini Haridas didn't show the pseudo modesty associated with women in such matters ("uh...I...mm...just ...uh...wanted to go to the...mmm...bathroom"). Bold. That is the one word to describe Ranjini Haridas.

Coming to her dresses. I find that more often than not, her costumes are graceful and in good taste. I simply don't understand why people go so gaga over it.You know how modern dresses are associated with evil women in Kerala. Just check the other TV programmes or Malayalam movies. If there is a villainess, she is bound to be dressed in modern clothes. The "pathivritha" Malayalee woman always wears saree. Frankly Ranjini Haridas doesn't have a sexy figure. Atleast not in the traditional Malayali sort of way. Which is probably why she doesn't appear vulgar. Supposedly the traditional beautiful Malayalee girl should be voluptuous. Curved and rounded. For such a girl some of those costumes might look vulgar. But not on Ranjini Haridas. They look perfect on her.

A slight diversion. More on sarees. Personally I'm not a big fan of sarees. Sarees help women to cover up their increasing weight and waistline. If most women wore jeans or other modern dresses, they would have to be more conscious about their figures. This in turn would prompt them to check their lifestyles and diet, thus changing them into healthy people. You see its not just about having sexy bodies. It is about having healthy bodies. Sarees are the greatest threat to a woman's healthy lifestyle in Kerala. And so women who wear modern dresses, like Ranjini Haridas, being crucified is something I cannot digest. The court verdict banning women who wear sarees from pillion riding in bikes should be enforced immediately.

And then her laughter. The way Ranjini Haridas laughs also draw much derision because it is not the traditional hesitant smile expected from a Malayalee woman. Malayalee 'mankas' should cover half their faces while laughing or atleast laugh only modestly, and if possible slightly bow down their faces or give sly looks to the men appreciating her laugh. Not the open-mouthed laughter (a symbol that it comes straight from the heart) that Ranjini Haridas gives.

So that is what I have to say in the defence of Ranjini Haridas. She is unconventional and modern. She is skilled and has a gift. She is tremendously bold without having to consciously prove it. I would not go so far as to state that she is the face of the changing Malayalee woman. But I wouldn't mind if she were. Ranjini Haridas is an icon of the modern Keralite women, who wear modern clothes and are bold and independent, and have to pay the price of being demonised for it.

I urge you to consider all the above before you pass judgement on her.
That's all, your Honour.


PS - And I'm not a feminist. If at all I have been accused of being anything, it is of being a male chauvinist. I just like Ranjini Haridas. That's all.

Cheers!

India not yet ready for permanent UN seat

India has been clamoring for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council – to join ranks with the five 'major powers' viz. US, UK, Russia, France and China. But as an Indian, and a proud one, I believe that India is not yet ready to take on that role. We should instead focus on our domestic affairs and set our house in order before taking on the role of the world police.

And I’m not just referring to the recent wave of appalling corruption deals that have come in the spotlight.

We have a lot of internal issues to resolve. Starting with Kasmir, a nuclear flashpoint, and border disputes with China we are also under a major Maoist menace. These are in addition to the threat of terrorists based from Pakistan.

On the international relations front we have an ambiguous stand on many issues. The current issue with Iran, for example. We stopped payment to Iran for oil, citing UN sanctions, and Iran responded by refusing to sell oil to us. We immediately had to backtrack.

We are a relatively young nation. We have time to take on a major global role. Our leaders are unfortunately obsessed with the term ‘global power’ using it in every other context to say we have become one. Two recent examples were the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony and the visit of US President Barack Obama. All our leaders who made a speech were seen saying “now India has become a global power, we have proved it to the whole world”, and so on. Who we really need to prove it to are the common people of our country and not any Western political leaders.

We need to prove that we are a ‘great power’ to the millions of people who struggle with poverty inside our country. Our leaders should focus within our country first and foremost. Of course we cannot live in isolation and issues all around the globe affect our economy, politics and decisions. But, the thing to remember is only if we have a great democracy, great political leaders and greater vision and greater integration, will we become a truly great nation.

We can prove it to the world later after we have proved it ourselves first.

എന്‍ഡോസള്‍ഫാന്‍ എന്ന ഭീകരത

ഡിസംബര്‍ 26 നു പുറത്തിറങ്ങിയ മാതൃഭൂമി ആഴ്ചപതിപ്പിന്റെ പ്രത്യേക എഡിഷന്‍ എന്‍ഡോസള്‍ഫാന്‍ ദുരിതം അനുഭവിക്കുന്നവരുടെ ചിത്രങ്ങളും വാര്‍ത്തകളും മാത്രം ഉള്‍കൊള്ളിച്ചുള്ളതാണ്. ഒറ്റനോട്ടത്തില്‍ അറപ്പുളവാക്കുന്ന ചിത്രങ്ങള്‍. വീണ്ടും നോക്കുമ്പോള്‍ നമ്മളില്‍ ദൈന്യതയും അനുകമ്പയും ഒടുവില്‍ രോഷവുമുണര്‍ത്തുന്ന ചിത്രങ്ങള്‍.


മാധ്യമങ്ങള്‍ വഴി നമുക്ക് പരിചിതമാണ് എന്‍ഡോസള്‍ഫാന്‍ എന്ന കീടനാശിനിയും അവ കേരളത്തിന്റെ വടക്കന്‍ മേഖലയില്‍, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് കാസര്‍ഗോഡ്‌ ജില്ലയില്‍, മനുഷ്യനും പ്രകൃതിക്കും വരുത്തിവച്ച വിപത്തും. എന്നാല്‍ യഥാര്‍ത്ഥത്തില്‍ ഈ പ്രശ്നം എത്രത്തോളം ഗുരുതരമാണെന്ന് നമുക്ക് വ്യക്തമായ ധാരണയുണ്ടോ? സമീപകാലത്ത് എന്‍ഡോസള്‍ഫാനെപറ്റി എഴുതേണ്ടി വന്നപ്പോഴാണ് ഇതിനെപറ്റിയുള്ള എന്റെ അറിവ് എത്രത്തോളം പരിമിതമാണെന്നു ഞാന്‍ മനസിലാക്കിയത്.


കാല്‍നൂറ്റാണ്ട് മുമ്പ് കശുവണ്ടി തോട്ടങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മുകളില്‍ ഹെലികോപ്ടറുകളില്‍ നടത്തിയ എന്‍ഡോസള്‍ഫാന്‍ ഏരിയല്‍ സ്പ്രേയിംഗ് അന്നാട്ടുകാര്‍ക്ക് ഒരത്ഭുതക്കാഴ്ചയായിരുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ അവ അവശേഷിപ്പിച്ചതോ ലോകത്തെ മുഴുവന്‍ നടുക്കുന്ന ദുരിതക്കാഴ്ചകളും. വായുവും മണ്ണും ജലവും മാത്രമല്ല അമ്മയുടെ മുലപ്പാല്‍ പോലും വിഷലിപ്തമായ ഭീകരാവസ്ഥ. ബുദ്ധിമാന്ദ്യം, അംഗവൈകല്യം, ക്ഷയരോഗം, അപസ്മാരം, ചര്‍മ്മരോഗം, വന്ധ്യത തുടങ്ങി തീരാവ്യഥകളായി മാറുന്ന അസുഖങ്ങളുടെ പിടിയിലമര്‍ന്നുപോയ ഒരു തലമുറ ഈ നാട്ടില്‍ ജീവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. ഇവര്‍ക്ക് മതിയായ നഷ്ടപരിഹാരം ലഭിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. ഇവരുടെ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ വിശദമായി പഠനവിധേയമായിട്ടില്ല. ഇവരുടെ പുനരധിവാസം ചര്‍ച്ചചെയ്യപ്പെട്ടിട്ടില്ല. ഈ കൊടുംക്രൂരതയുടെ കുറ്റക്കാരെ കണ്ടുപിടിച്ചു ശിക്ഷിക്കാന്‍ പ്രാരംഭനടപടികള്‍പോലും എടുത്തിട്ടില്ല.

ആകാശത്ത് വട്ടമിട്ടുപറന്ന ഇരുമ്പുപക്ഷിയെക്കാണാന്‍ പുല്‍മേടുകളിലും പുഴയോരങ്ങളിലും ആരവങ്ങളോടെ ചിരിച്ചും കളിച്ചും ഓടിനടന്ന ബാല്യങ്ങളുടെ ഇന്നത്തെ ചിത്രം - ഓര്‍മ്മയായി നിലവിളക്കിനു മുന്‍പിലും, മനോരോഗത്തിന്റെയും ശാരീരികവൈകല്യങ്ങളുടെയും ദൈന്യതയാര്‍ന്ന നിഴലുകളായും മാത്രം അവശേഷിക്കുന്നു. ആ ചിത്രം നമ്മുടെ സുഖനിദ്രയെയും മനഃസാക്ഷിയെയും നിരന്തരം അലോസരപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു.

Everything is good

I recently witnessed a dance programme by the 9 year old daughter of a colleague.

When I returned my friends asked me “How was it?”
“Great“, I said “wonderful performance”.

And I stopped at that. In reality the show was horrible. The poor girl lost her balance, forgot her steps and stopped to stare at her teacher at the side of the stage a hundred times. So why did I say it was a great performance? It wasn’t in deference to my friend. It was in respect to that poor girl who had probably spent a couple of years and many hundred hours training and sweating for this one performance. Who am I to sit back and proclaim that it was bad especially since I am not a connoisseur of classical dance?

I have the same attitude to movies as well. A couple of friends have berated me for leading them to bad movies since when they asked my opinion of certain movies I answered “Great…wonderful movie.” And they found it bad. I myself had found it bad. But then who am I to pronounce judgments? The director, actors and others spent numerous hours and days to finish this ‘art’ product.

And what about the poor producer? He spends millions of rupees to entertain us. We spend a meager fifty rupees to watch a movie and then proclaim it “bad”! The injustice of it!

This is why I keep saying everything is good. Be a good sport and show your sunny side people!

Oh, and by the way, if anyone asks you about this article… don’t hesitate to say “Great…it’s wonderful!”

Cheers!

Political clout of Indian army

As Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan gets ready to resign over the controversy of allotment of flats in Mumbai meant for the widows of Kargil heroes to unauthorized people, questions arise regarding the factors that led to him being abandoned by his party leadership.

Certainly this is a face saving exercise by the Indian National Congress to ride against the wave of public resentment. But corruption by political leaders is nothing new in our country. The recent Commonwealth Games scam shamed us in front of the entire world but no action has been taken against any one as such, no one has been asked to resign. So could there be other factors for the immediate action against Ashok Chavan?

Like the political clout of the Indian Army, for instance?

Unlike many third world countries the Indian military has always shown an aversion to direct meddling in the internal political scenario of the nation. This is not to say that the army has no say at all or has not influenced major decisions over the past few decades. Indeed no country can afford to deny the army think-tank a major role in the process of nation building.

In India controversy still abounds over the decisions made during the 1971 India –Pak war and the liberation of Bangladesh. Many former military personnel have argued that the decision of the Indian army to march to Dhaka was a purely military one and the political leadership only came to know about it later.

There is every reason to believe that the immediate action against Ashok Chavan could have been at the insistence of the army brass. Corruption in the name of Kargil martyrs is bound to make a soldier’s blood boil, even more than ours.

The inherent message is clear – don’t touch the army.

.

The Latest Hot Celebrity in Town – 108 Ambulance

Last month during the Onam celebrations, in a colony near my home, a woman tried to commit suicide by jumping into a well. We managed to pull her out and somebody called the 108. Since it was a remote location the ambulance took some time to reach there. But once the siren started to reach us, all the people who had been dispersing immediately crowded back and the arrival of the 108 was greeted with much whistling and clapping! Children could be heard running and shouting “108 has come! 108 has come!” as if their favorite movie star had just walked into their homes. The paramedics and the driver were no doubt bewildered at the welcome they got. Older women crowded around them to ask their name and their homes. Someone even pinched the driver – maybe just to make sure that the famous 108 had truly arrived. The paramedics were frantically asking about the injured person and that is when we finally came to our senses and to our horror we found the woman lying abandoned in the mattress by the roadside where we had first laid her down. Once we got her into the ambulance there was a scramble for others to get in. One of our friends too got in the front. We asked “Why the hell are you going?” and he cheerily waved to us and said “I’m not going to miss this chance! It is now or never!” and we watched him with envy as he shook hands with the driver and posed for the guys to take photos in their mobiles. Usually a suicide attempt makes neighbours or relatives hesitant to accompany the victim to the hospital due to the police affairs and other complications that may arise. However with 108 that has changed too. People are fighting to get inside just to be able to say they have traveled in the 108.

The 108 ambulance is the latest talk of the town, having universally impressed everyone with their prompt and efficient service. It is the first time any city in Kerala has a systematic ERS - Emergency Response Service. 108 is a toll-free number, the biggest advantage, accessible from any landline or mobile. And it is absolutely free.

The loud siren has become a distinctive sign of the coming ambulance. And what a wonderful sight it is to behold, flashing all the colours - red, blue, orange – just like the arrival of a carnival.

The 108 has no doubt changed the face of medical response services. The waiting for an ill-equipped ambulance and the haranguing over the rate has all almost vanished. It is an initiative under Kerala Emergency Medical Services Project (KEMP) by the Kerala Government’s Health Department in association with the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM).

My house is located by the side of the by-pass road which is a preferred route for the 108 to the Medical College. The siren has become so familiar to us that even in our deepest sleep if a 108 passes through, we mumble “108!” and smile.

Santhigiri – nothing but business

All the media houses in the state were buzzing with huge pictures and news reports of the new Parnasala inaugurated at the Santhigiri Ashramam in Thiruvananthapuram the past week. Not a single of voice of dissent. No enquiries as to where they get so much money or influence.

“They tried to get American President Obama to inaugurate the thing”, a friend of mine who works there told me. A few years ago we would have laughed this off as a ridiculous comment. However, today it is evident that, this too is not impossible for them.

The name of Karunakara Guru has become as big as Mata Amritanandhamayi or Sai Baba. Rumours circulate about the divine powers he had. On the other side of the coin rumours are present too about his past, about how he was chased from his original village for immoral or illegal activities, and ended up here.

Anyway I used to visit the Ashramam when he was alive for the Annadanam – the free lunch they used to serve the general public on certain days (Well, back in those college days, we had an all-year-round list when free foodwould be given out anywhere in the district!). But, personally I think, it was ok when the guru was alive. People came to seek his blessings and we know the people have a tendency to seek blessings from godmen as a solution to all their problems.

Then he died. And Santhigiri started getting commercialized. Supposedly someone who completed his MBA and worked in US came to join the Ashramam and he spearheads the commercial activities. They have hundreds of industries going on in different locations. Whats wrong with that, some of you may ask. The thing is they are a charitable institution and they don’t have to pay tax. They have access to free money flow and they are above auditing. This virtually means they save crores on tax amount alone.

But more frightfully, they are buying up land by hundreds of acres in the surrounding areas. They are quickly developing a township with unaccounted money. In the blink of an eye, in the past few years, they had their own post office, petrol pumps, Medical College, a Panchayath ward exclusively for them – ‘them’ meaning people who may have come from any part of the state without proper identification and they are able to vote. This last issue is particularly causing concern because in a few years the entire area would be full of Santhigiri devotees who would be able to vote in all elections according to the orders issued by the Ashram authorities, thus creating a most powerful weapon – their own votebank.

I appreciate all the better initiatives taken by them – but remember they are not giving jobs to the public. And what goes inside the Ashram is a strictly guarded secret, strictly forbidden to outsider knowledge. And most worrisome is the lack of enquiring voices on the part of the media. Santhigiri Ashram needs to be audited (just like all the other godmen ashrams) and registered under the government as an industrial firm. Closing our eyes and blindly believing is easy – opening our eyes to see what is really happening is the difficult part.

P.S. - No, I don't have any proof to substantiate my claims... just like the claims about divinity and miracles.