Adieu 2008

2008 on a closing note…. In fact I was trying to do a rewind of the ‘eventful year’ that I had. It is almost messy... Uh! ya, I began my copy writing journey, actually that’s the most important one from 2008, the transformation of mine to a full time writer & my scuffle with keywords to make every website Google friendly ….. A handful of good works that I wrote for my company (a few boring ones too that I purposefully forget, ha ha ha!!!) & of course my musings that brought me some valuable comments about my writing.

Life in the city… a real make over; even my food habits have changed … samosa chats & pav bhajis infiltrated in to my menu… hmm!!! they are yummy (thanks to 'S').

....but still not successful in acquiring the vanity of the metro, may be next year !

….hostels and the stinking back biting stories …god! really bad time that was, but got some lessons for a safer metro life....

My joyful days in the previous office… sudden transfer to an entirely new ambiance…

‘J’ quarreled again, really serious this time, has been on a silent mode since then…

My reading habit getting corroded day by day. Actually I have a new hobby now, to find out how to sleep late & sleep more, which has produced instantaneous results in the form of small under eye bags.

The tumultuous year has given me a lot more, but as I said, it’s too much messy to recollect every bright and dark ones....A routine tour, but a bit cheerless towards the end...

But me signing off in hope, Wishing all of happy and prosperous 2009.

Will come back soon with more musings.

Agonies Unsaid

We had been to the temple yesterday to give our annual offerings and took a handful of jaggery with us, as we knew very well that our Balakrishnan (Hey! It’s the elephant in our temple) likes jaggery. After the ceremony, as I was about to take the jaggery to give him, a lady (guess she is the sweeper of the temple) came hurriedly and took it away. I told her that it was for the elephant, but she skipped, giving a lame excuse .The jaggery might have been sold for a lesser price than what I indented.

Tears rolled down my eyes as I saw him leaving the temple, in to the hot sun, with his aching legs, and those stout pot bellied priests on his top. His legs were cross chained…

Guys, are gods really adamant that they need an elephant safari, to bless the devotees? Or are the priests enjoying an elephant ride in the name of gods or is it a version of sadism? This is really a perplexing subject that I have been thinking right from my childhood. If gods are not obstinate about the need of an elephant, why should that poor animal be kept chained in temples, to endure all the pains? I write this with much anguish, as I always see the torture that has been inflicted upon the elephant in our temple. He is a true symbol of the endless agonies that the elephants in the temples of Kerala face.

Actually why do these elephants of Kerala go berserk often? Has anyone thought about this? The answer is quite simple. Long & exhausting walks along hot tarred roads or a standstill in the blazing sun for hours, irritating ornamental loads on the trunks along with the idols & priests on top, chains piercing fresh wounds on their feet, no proper food & water & the mahout's long spike ever set to pierce their raw flesh. Had a human being been put in chains like this, what would have happened? I am sure; he would go berserk killing others. Then why blame an elephant!

Even during the rest period many of them are denied good food, water & medicinal therapy, left to get mutilated in the enclosure of the mad crowd.

… yet they adorn our galas without any protest...