Rural Revolution

daily labourers- the few old ones still available

Evening swim at Kollidam river near my village

I had been observing the changes during my pilgrimages to my village. But the transformation I saw this time was breath- taking and dramatic. It is nothing less than a Revolution; both physical and in the mind-set. Mobile fones, transporation and TV have changed the landscape and mindscap.
I saw this in my own village last week.
There are 100 mobile fones in my village of 160 households. The sheperd, casual labourer,the milkman, school students and the guy on the bullock cart carry them. Some of the fones are the latest versions with camera, music, video and can be used as torchlightalso. With my three-year old fone, I had to hide my backwardness, while the village kids impressed my with their versatility in use of multimedia facilities of their fones. When I was talking about my son in USA, my neighbour said let us talk to him. I was hesitant saying it would be expensive. But he did not care. He took the number from me and called my son in his fone and the whole gang around me spoke to him. The cost of the call to USA, he explained to me, was just three and half rupees ( 8 cents ) per minute. One of the lowest in the world !

I tried to show off my nano iPod. But there were no takers. The boy next door showed me his collection of 35 songs in his cellfone and showed me how he makes recording from the FM music channel of the TV.

Transportation has made people moving. During my time I had to walk 3 kms to school and a similiar distance to college. Now they go in buses, cycles, mopeds and motorcycles.

The TV has opened their eyes. I was taken by surprise when the boy from the the neighbourhood started discussing an NBA game. The TV ads have exposed the villagers to the whole world and to the latest fashions. No one was willing to hear my stories about America or Delhi !

My village as well as the others in the area have a problem now. There is a shortage of labour since many boys and girls from the traditional labour class are getting urban jobs. It is very difficult to get labour during peak seasons. The solution has started arriving with mechanisation. I used to do ploughing with bullock-drawn ploughs. Now most of the ploughing is with tractors. Machines are used for harvesting and are being introduced for transplantation.

In my trips in the past I used to impress my village folk about the world beyond them. This time I was the one who looked like a country bum among the villagers who knew more than me. I have come back impressed, educated and enlightened. I am now as optimistic about my village as I am about the urban youth who are becoming global players riding on the IT revolution.

Lonely Hearts - movie

I grabbed this DVD the moment I saw the name of John Travolta and Salma Hayek, both my favourite actors. Salma has, of course, acted as an evil femme fatale in this film. Both Salma and Travolta have become matching with the weight both have put on.

The story is about a conman Raymond Fernandez who responds to personal ads and cheats the lonely ladies and war widows, pretending to be a " Latin Lover". One of his victims, Martha Beck is smarter than him and they become partners in future crimes, she pretending to be his sister. She makes Raymond kill the victims, unable to tolerate relationship between her lover and the victims. Travolta as the detective Elmer goes after them successfully and get them convicted to electric chair.

This is based on a true story of the forties when over a dozen women were cheated and killed by the criminal duo.

Dreaming with ....Selena

I have been listening over and over to this song " Dreaming of you" by Selena, for the last one week. It has taken over my heart and soul. It is pure magic. The soft and sweet romantic voice of Selena mesmerises me. It puts a spell on me every time.

I start closing my eyes in the very opening of the song....

Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I'd stay up and think of you
And I'd wish on a star
That somewhere you are thinking of me too

I become ecstatic when she goes on to...

Ahhh...I can't stop dreaming of you
Ahhh...I can't stop dreamin

I am breathless when she lilts...
"I love you"... and goes for the kill with.. " How much i love you"

the friend whom i made listen said" velvet voice "- gracias


I have listened to her other songs. some interesting..others not so.
But this particular song is the most powerful one which lifts me up in the sky and let me fly to ..you know where..

And nostalgia or what the Brazilians call as " saudade" flares up when the mexican-american Selena murmurs in Spanish

no puedo dejar de pensar en ti
como te necesito
amor como te estranho


There are also two other songs in my nano iPod on Dreaming; one by Vanessa Williams and another by Sade.. both my favourites. But to make me dream.. they are no match for Selena with this particular magical song.

The song carried me to heights of passionate eloquence today morning when I gave a talk on the subject of "Dreaming with BRICs" by Goldman Sachs in the event organised by Assocham. Of course, skeptics say that Goldman Sachs has made Indians and Brazilians " daydream" with their report.

hmmm.... It is all dreaming for me...in the night .. and in the day too...

"The Hive" - novel of Camilo Jose Cela

I have just finished reading this english translation of the novel La Colmena by Camilo Jose Cela.
This is the first time I have read the book of Cela, the Spanish writer who got Nobel prize.

I started it about six months back and completed only now, although it is only about 250 pages.
The author took about five years to write it ! The story lends itself to leisurely reading. It centres around a cafe, where the characters come in midafternoon or early evening,sit around, meet others and reflect on their lives over cafe at Dona Rosa's Cafe Delicia.

The story has no big drama, suspence or memorable characters. It is like documentation of every day life of 160 ordinary characters such as an unemplyed youth, policeman, security guard, old men with young tastes and old ladies with older attitude in the city of Madrid. Cela himslef had written in his preface to the first edition "it is nothing other than a pale reflection, a humble shadow of everyday, harsh, profund and painful reality". In the aftermath of the second world war and in the middle of Franco's dictatorship, the Spaniards seem to have simply drifted along, without serious aspirations or motivations.

It is about lower middle class people and their struggle to survive. While the boys and men invent ways and means to acquire and keep up with lovers, the girls who are not luckey enough, take to the streets. The casual and easy approach of these characters to sex, partnership and fun reminded me of similiarities in Latin America.

The books of Cela were banned during Franco's dictatorship and this book was first published in Buenos Aires in 1951. Even there it had to go thorugh the censorship of Peronist dictatorship.

Volver - spanish film

This is the first ever film of the Spanish film maker and director Pedro Almodovar, I have seen.Volver in spanish means return. I expected it to be unconventional and art film type. But it was a pleasant surprise.The story flows smoothly without surrealism and or incomprehensible modernism. It is a normal film with a good storyline. The mother of Raimunda, who was believed to have died in a fire accident comes back ( volver) to attend to unfinished work including rapproachment with her daughter. The story brings out the conditions of women unlucky in marriage, daughter raped by father, aunts taking care of families, hardworking single mother and rural life in Spain. It is the women who dominate the film.There is humour, pathos and passion.

There is the old traditional Spain of superstitions and the new country with modern windmills. The windmills remind me of the story of Don Quixote, who is from La Mancha. Director Almodovar is also from the same place and this is where the story starts in the film.

Penelope Cruz, who has acted as Raimunda is brilliant. She exudes the charm and smile of the warm spanish culture. I also liked her acting as a Brazilian in the hollywood film " woman on top".

Ambassador's Cup Golf Tournament 31 March

Harinder Sikka of Nicholas Piramal Group organised this 2007 edition with great style. The tournament was given live coverage by Zee Business TV network. There were lots of goodies, plane tickets and prizes.
Although I did not win any trophy this year, I won two skins which got me a pair of footjoy golf shoes and a custom-fit Saville Row suit.... My score was 47 in the first nine and 38 in the second nine. Last year I played 82.

The tournament was held in JP Green in Greater Noida. The picture above is the par-3 fourth hole.

The prize distribution and dinner was held at the residence of Spanish ambassador Don Rafael Conde. Sikka had brought in a music and dance group from Srilanka, which gave a scintillating performance. The event was compered by Shivani who did a professional job with a sense of humour. The event was put together by Digraj Singh of Tiger sports marketing.

Besides Ambassadors, there were civil servants, businessmen and judges. Mr Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for defence was the chief guest.

In my group there was the Army chief Gen JJ Singh, the Chinese and Japanese Ambassadors. The Chinese Ambassador told me that 30 out of 58 diplomats in his embassy play golf. And they practice in the embassy compound, where they can hit upto 200 yards !. There are already 3000 golf courses in China. It is amazing the way the Chinese have caught up. Another few years.. and one should not be surpised to see Chinese world champions in golf !

I was asked to give a humorous speech to entertain the audience, which I did. I joked about diplomatic way of speaking and handling issues... I talked about Indian ambassadors and brought in Latin America in the jokes. I thought i would get away with my usual cultural shock to the audience with sexy jokes. Hmmm.. this time i got a cultural shock from some of the older members of the audience who found some of my humorous anecdotes too spicy.

Blood Diamond - movie

I saw this film yesterday, on the recommendation of a soul mate. The movie stirs the soul and touches the heart. It is difficult to get over the tragedy of brutalisation and traumatisation of some of the African societies, portrayed in the film. Diamonds which adorn the wedding rings symbolising union of people have been a curse of death and destruction in some African countries. Instead of adding wealth, diamond resources have made countries poor and miserable. Sierra Leone, Angola and some other African countries have paid a heavy price in lives for possession of diamonds.It is heartening to know that the world has taken a stand against blood diamonds.

Leonardo Di Caprio has acted as Danny Archer, the Rhodesian mercenary who is a diamond smuggler. Djimon Hounsou (he is from Benin) has acted superbly as Solomon Vandy whose dream to educate his son to become a doctor is shattered by the outbreak of civil war. His family is separated and his son is taken away by the rebels who train him to become a killer soldier. Solomon is forced to work in a diamond mine by the rebels. He finds a large pink diamond and manages to hide it by burying it in the bush. Archer comes to know about it and persuades him to take him to the diamond, promising him to reunite him with his family. The duo is given some help by an American journalist who is trying to uncover the story of diamond smuggling.

The movie is a wake up call for Africa, some parts of which are still mired in civil war. Even the mercenary Archer says at one point " God has left Africa long back". His cynical remark TIA... This Is Africa perhaps sum up the tragic situation.

skiing in New York

I made use of my transit halt in Newyork on 20 February and the unusually cold weather and excessive snowing to indulge in my most favourite passion...skiing. This was in the Camelback ski resort in Poconos area in Pennsylvania, fifty miles from NewYork city, where I used to go when I was posted there.

It was a thrilling experience. Although my last skiing was six years back in 2000 in valle nevado, Chile, i still retained the skill and was able to move confidently. I did even the half- pipe slope.

The day was perfect. After the heavy snowfall in the days before my arrival, there was plenty of powder. I loved every moment on the skis.

Breathing the pure air of the white snow ..

Drinking Hot chocolate in the cold weather ..

Following the laughter and scream of the little kids who know no fear..

Going up the lift and coming down on the slopes like kids..

the thrill of moving fast..

the fear of falling down..

hmm... It was one of the best days of my life.

Blue Butterfly - Canadian movie

I chose to see the movie "Blue Butterfly" , from the Air India collection, simply because of its name. Blue is my favourite colour and butterfly is a fascinating and colurful creature appealing to my imagination. But the movie turned out to be more than these. It was inspiring and moving.

The story is about a ten year old boy Pete, who is given just a few months more to live by the doctors after diagnosing brain tumour. He is confined to the wheel chair.Pete is an amateur insect collector and admirer of Alan Osborne, a famous entomologist. Pete is taken up by Osborne's description of Blue Butterfly- mariposa azul-from Central and south america, as having magical powers. Pete wants to catch one before his death. He and his single mother approach Osborne , who says that the season is over and he has no time to take the boy to the jungle. But he relents after hearing about the terminal illness. Osborne takes Pete on his shoulders through the tropical rain forests of Costa Rica. The journey of adventure and fulfillment makes the boy recover miraculously and he starts walking.

Osborne is commited to the world of insects and is uncomfortable with the humans. He cannot handle kids and is rude and blunt in his interactions. But his space is entered by the young boy who reconnects Osborne to the human world of emotions and feelings.

The movie is touching. It is about hope and dreams. Catching the blue butterfly is a metaphor for pursuit of life, ....passionate pursuit of dreams. The dream and belief gives magical powers to oneself to achieve the impossible and overcome challenges. I was specially touched by the little costa rican indigenous girl ( Marianella) who tells Pete " you are a blue butterfly.. I am also.. everything and everyone is a blue butterfly".


I liked the smooth and pleasant flow of the film. No big drama or make-believe. It goes like a children's story but with a strong message.

This is based on a true story.

This is a canadian film released in 2004 and directed by Lea Pool. William Hurt has acted as Osborne, Pascal Bussiers as Teresa and Marc Donato as Pete.

Speech to MBA graduate students at FMS Delhi 25 january 2007

The topic of the talk was " India Inc going global". Audience- MBA graduate students of the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University. The substance of the talk was by and large same as that of the talk I gave to the MBA students of Bharatidasan University on 22 November. But this time I highlighted the young human resource asset of India in the new emerging Knowledge based economy, which gives a competitive edge to Indian business going global. The other two competitive edges are: first-walmart effect- Indian companies get a solid foundation of competence in the large volume market of India in which they are under pressure to deliver products and services at the lowest cost and second- globalisation which gives opportunities to those who are faster and smarter,while it becomes a challenge to the slower and less smart. The new mindset of the young Indians who have a hunger for success and achievement with a new confidence and optimism make India a winner in globalisation.

I talked about the new corporate culture and ethics being imbibed by the young and impressionable professionals in the Indian IT companies who play straight and do things correctly and properly. In the process of servicing and adding value to the best global companies in the world, the Indian IT companies are adopting the best practices of the best corporates and are establishing a reputation globally.

I also spoke of Economic diplomacy through which diplomats facilitate and promote India's enegagement with the global business.

Prof Singla, who has a formidable combination of BE, MBA and PhD and had at one time worked with TCS introduced me to the audience. According to him FMS is among the best management Instituitions of India. fifty percent of the students have work experience while over 80 percent are engineers. Mr Jagtar Singh of TCS, who took the initiative in arranging the lecture, is an alumnus of FMS.

Speech on South- South Cooperation 15 January 2007

The Consultancy Development Centre of India had organised a two day congress on "Consultancy and services- global market" at India habitat centre on 15-16 Jnauary 2007. I was invited to speak at the session on South-south cooperation on 15th.

I modified the subject to south-south partnership for 2 reasons. first, cooperation sounds idealistic, moralistic and one risks being labelled as an idealist or hypocrite. Secondly, cooperation has governmental altruistic connotation. In my view, government is only one of the players in the south-south interaction. The others are business and civil society. When all these three become stake holders, the south-south partnership becomes sustainable and win-win for all involved.

South-south partnership is no longer a rhetoric or slogan. It has become a quiet reality with another name ie regional integration. I gave the example of how Brazil and Argentina who were rivals like India and pakistan have now become partners in the framework of Mercosur. Today Argentina does more trade with saopaulo state than with USA. They have free movement of goods, services, capital and people. The Argentinian and brazilian people, business and governments have mutual stake in the prosperity of each other and they have a durable partnership. Same is the case in Andean group, central american group and caricom. The west Indies cricket team and the university of west indies are shining examples of south -south partnership.

The s-s partnership has helped the latin americans get over past conflicts and has reinforced the stability and growth of each other and given collective strength.

Then I spoke about the development partnership programme of Government of India which gives ITEC scholarships, aid projects, lines of credit and promote trade with other south countries through FTA and PTA.

Indian cos have been adding value to other countries. eg Kirloskar has contributed to agricultural production of Laos, TCS - to human resource development of uruguay, chile and brasil, Ranbaxy - to reduction of cost of health care in Brazil and Mittal, Jindal and Essar- to manufacturing in Trinidad and Bolivia.

India- Brazil- South Africa ( IBSA), the new cafe con leche ( coffee with milk ) alliance is a promising south-south partnership.

The session was cochaired by the ambassador of dominican republic and Mr Ghosh CMD of Consulting Engineers ltd. There was a speaker form pakistan and another from malaysia.

Speech at the Bharatidasan Institute of Management- 22 November 2006

The topic was " Indian business going global". Audience 120 first year MBA students of the Bharatidasan Inst of Management at Trichy. Dr Sankaran, the Director was present. The event was held thanx to the initiative of Friend Ravichandran of Chennai.

The Institute has a niche in the B-school circles. All of its students get placement thru campus recruitment. During interaction I found the students as bright, knowledgeable and mature. 90 percent have engineering degrees and fity percent have work experience.

I elaborated the following points:

-This year outward FDI is more than inward FDI.
-India is a capital deficit country. Interest rates in India higher than international rates.
- Essar investment in Trinidad is an interesting example. Basic logic for investment in Tinidad is availability of abundant and inexpensive gas. iron ore will come from some other country in the region. market principally USA. capital will be from international banks. technology might be foreign. So what goes from India?
-Indian bz going global is not just a matter of market or money. It is fundamentally a new mindset.
-After having been conquered, colonised and ruled by foreigners in the last seven hundred years Indians have now got the confidence to conquer the world. Mittal being the richest in UK is the sweet revenge for East India company .
-It is the IT cos which started the new phenomenon of going global, establishing a new paradigm and benchmark.
-Thanx to IT Indian is being recognised and respected in the world
-IT opened the doors to others such as pharma, manufacturing and mining . There is need for Indian cos to acquire foreign assets in energy, agribz and forestry.
-prospects for the Indianisation of global bz good based on two fundamentals: The large and growingIndian economy and market give a walmart advantage to Indian cos. The abundant young and skilled Indian human resources will be an advantage vis-a-vis the ageing developed societies facing skill shortages.
-Economic Diplomacy will bring value addition to the Indian bz going global through facilitation and promotion.

Speech to Poondi college students 21 November 2006

The topic was " Poondi to Punta Arenas" The audience was about 300 plus students of second year post graduation and faculty. The objective of the speech was to inspire the students from this rural college,where I had graduated.

I spoke about the challenges I had faced and the opportunities opening up for the students in the 21st century.

My first challenge was linguistic. After having studied in Tamil medium in the school, I had problems in the English medium college. The second challenge was agricultural. My family wanted me to be a farmer and did not see the use of college education. The third was cultural challenge. I had developed inferiority complex in the college with my village background After joining the Foreign service, I faced cultural challenges in adopting to the high profile diplomatic world. Latin America had challenged me culturally when I was posted there. I have been able to overcome these, regain self-confidence and be myself after my Latin America experience.

I was able to realise my dream of travelling to the farthest place ( Punta Arenas ) because I was lucky to find the college so close to my village. If it was not for that, I would not have gone to a college.

The youth of today are lucky to have before them a new era, new india and a new world and exciting times ahead. The new era of information and knowledge society has empowered the youth. Through computer and IT they can connect, communicate, collaborate and compete with the world. The new India is emerging as an economic power and indian business is going global. Indians have gained global recognition and admiration, thanx to the IT success.The globalising world is an opportunity to the young Indians in India as well as in the developed world which is becoming old and will face shortage of skilled human resources.

I advised the students to keep up the hunger for sucess and thirst for knowledge. They also need to have some imagination and craziness to keep them flying above the reality which could be daunting and discouraging.I narrated many stories and jokes and kept them animated

empowerment of rural women

During the visit to my village last week, I saw for myself the evidence of effective empowerment of women. My niece Punita, age 28 has been elected as the president of Panchayat board of Karaimeendarkottai village. This was incredible since i had always known her as a shy and simple rustic girl. Now she is totally transformed. She has become a confident, assertive and ambitious leader. There is a new glint in her eyes and grit in her approach. She told me about her priority to improve the village water supply system. She has ordered the village clerk that bulbs should be replaced immediately when they fuse out. She said proudly that in the last one month of her presidency the village looks bright whereas it used to be dark earlier. She talked about her responsibility to the voters who have placed confidence in her ability to deliver.

What is more important is that she has managed to overcome in two months the rigid caste system which has stayed for over two thousand years. Until the elections, she had never set foot in the harijan street. But during the campaign, she visited every harijan house and requested them individually for votes. She now sits with the three Harijan members in the Board meetings.

Punita talks proudly about the close contest in which she won with 44 votes margin unseating a family which was controlling the Panchayat for the last three decades. She is conscious of the potential troubles the defeated party will cause for her and her family. But she is prepared and brave. She is also realistic that her husband would interfere with her work and use her position to do his own things.

Punita is the beneficiary of the new Panchayat System in which some panchayat presidencies are reserved for women.

But there is a downside to the victory of Punita. She has spent 1.5 lakhs of rupees in the campaign of which half is debt. How does she repay the debt? There is no salary or legitimate income. She gets only a honorarium of 500 rupees. She has been advised that she should get commission from the contracts. She will lose her innocence and enter into the world of corruption !

Another sign of the emergence of women power was in my college at Poondi, which has now opened its doors for women students. There are ten girls from my village and 18 from my neighbouring village studying in the college now. This includes my other niece, Anita, who wants to study computer science.These girls after college studies are not going to stay at the staus quo home. They would seek changes and progress. They would become the leaders of emancipation for a better future for their children, families and the villages.

This is progress and indeed the beginning of a rural revolution !

Upcoming Speeches- December-February

I have been invited to give a speech on 21 December at my alma mater, Poondi Pushpam college. The audience will be about 200 post graduate students and faculty.
The title of my talk will be "Poondi to Punta Arenas", the same topic on which i wrote an article for the college magazine. I will talk about the challenges of growing up in a village and the opportunities for the gennext.

On 22 December I will give a talk at the Bharatidhasan Insitute of Management, Trichy. My topic before the MBA graduate students is " India Inc going global". I will talk about the value addition to this pheneomenon by the Economic Diplomacy. Indian bz going global is not just about business or market or money. It is about mind. It is a statement of the new mindset of Indian bzmen and the arrival of the new india in the globalising world.

On 22 January, I will give a talk at the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University. The theme will be on the globalising Indian business

On 23 February, I have been invited by the Amity Business School to give a talk on Latin America.

I look forward to the speech opportunities, since they open the tap of creativity and excite the faculty of imagination. Talking especially before the young people, getting their attention, capturing their imagination, making them laugh, provoking them to think and shocking them with Latino stories and jokes is great fun.

The Inheritance of Loss - book by Kiran Desai

This Booker Prize winning novel puts together the story of three typical Indian characters: Patel, a retired judge and settled in Kalimpong with his dog and servant; Sai, his grand daughter, the convent-educated girl who comes to live with him and falls in love with Gyan the Nepali; and Biju the son of the servant who goes to United States, struggles there and comes back disillusioned. The three main characters have one thing in common. They are misfits in the place they live. The judge, after his British education and Colonial service becomes unIndian, after having alienated himself consciously from native Indians. The convent-educated girl and the rich retirees inKalimpong are foreigners, talking a foreign language and living in another world amidst the poverty and backwardness of Kalimpong. Biju is a misfit in USA caught between the illegal immigrants who confuse him and the Americans whom he does not understand.

The dilemma and internal conflicts of westernised Indians in India caught between the Gymkhana club culture and the poor folk who steal the dog of Patel is a continuing reality. The story of Gorkhaland struggle in the region which disrupts the life of all the characters is a reflection of what one sees in the television news in India day after day. I do not remember watching Indian TV news without strikes, agitations, burning of buses, demonstrations, clash with police, insurgencies, problems of Kashmiris, Maoists, Dalits, Muslims and political party workers. What Naipaul calls as the land of million mutinies ! Disruption goes on every day in some part of India or other in the name of religion, language, region, caste and culture.

Kiran Desai's story-telling is natural and her characters are unforgettable. In the clash of cultures in Kalimpong she lets even love end up unromantically after confusing and contradictory emotions which collide innocently and unintentionally. The India, which comes out from the novel is the unvarnished,uninterpreted and unromantic country of dilemmas and contradictions for the Indians who outgrow India.

Only an Indian could fully understood and appreciate the novel with its typically Indian situations, language and even jokes. It is, therefore, interesting that the Booker prize selectors had chosen this for the international audience. May be the world is trying to understand the India of what it actually is, rather than for the BPOs and IT strength ! Why not? We, in India have been reading and understanding the local cultures and customs of England, Europe and USA.

It is amazing that Kiran Desai has captured the Indian spirit and struggle although she has been living in England and USA since the age of 14. And she is said to be the youngest woman writer to win the Booker at the age of 35.

I was disappointed with the " Goddess of small things" for which Arundati Roy got the same Booker prize. Her book did not appeal to me at all. That is why I started reading Kiran Desai with skepticism. Kiran Desai deserves the prize and she is promising.

Brokeback mountain- movie

I watched this gay cowboy film last weekend.
It is an interesting story of two cowboys who get to work together during a summer as sheepherders in the Brokeback mountain area. In the isolated and pristine Brokeback mountain area, they have only the company of each other apart from the sheep and mountain. Their interaction with each other becomes intimate and they fall in love with each other. But after this unusual and new experience, they go back to normal life of marriage and children. But then the love born in the mountains come back to draw them together. The wife of one of them discovers and divorces him. The other one who is more passionate gets frustrated by the inadequate response of the partner and dies young.
The director Ang Lee has handled the story delicately and sensibly and succeeded in making it as romantic and natural. The scenes of the mountains, meadows and streams of Brokeback mountain are spectacular.

Twenty years and two husbands ago....

Friends laugh when i quote this title of the song by Lee Ann Womack.
They jump quick to the conclusion- it should be a latina song.
I tell them if it is a latina it cannot be just only two...

The lyric and melody of this song has triggered one of my periodic seizures of sadness and melancholy. Blame it on the the double expresso of Barrista on a sunday afternoon after a golfless morning.Saddest thoughts ...threatening to spill over as sweetest songs?. The line that struck me is
"never let somebody that close". The beaten heart is more defensive, more alert and feels safe in solitude.

For a change, i said no to golf today and instead finished reading a book(review in my business blog)on ...what? Latin America..of course.

here is the full lyric.

"Looking in the bathroom mirror
Putting my make-up on
Maybeline can't hide the lines of time that's gone
Weighed 105 soaking wet
I'd knock him dead in that sundress
Had it all but just too young to know
But that was 20 years, 2 husbands ago

I remember when he took my hand and said I do
And the kitchen I was standing in when he said I'm through
I swore I'd never fall back in
Put my heart through that again
Never let somebody get that close
But that was 20 years, 2 husbands ago

Water under the bridge
I guess that's all life really is

Driving the kids to school today it occurred to me
With all the wrong turns that I've made
I'm right where I should be
But I go back there from time to time
Looking for that peace of mind
Find it's always just a dead end road
Yeah that was 20 years, 2 husbands ago

Water under the bridge
I guess that's all life really is

Looking in the bathroom mirror
Putting my make-up on"

can live without wisdom but not without cafe

On wednesday, the dentist pulled out my wisdom tooth and told me that in any case it was of no use. He assured me that i had not lost anything, except a useless part.

Then he came out with the killer advice. No hot coffee for the next 24 hours. oops.. this was going to be tough. So i had to forego this life saver and stimulant for 24 hours. It was the most miserable 24 hours of my life. Normally i begin the day with coffee first thing in the morning and get into my creative world of reading and writing. This sets the mood and agenda for the day. Without coffee i started the day yesterday totally disoriented and dispirited. Afternoon came and my longing increased. Evening became even more intolerable.

This 24 hours of misery made me introspect. And the truth hit me.

Not only did i not use my wisdom tooth, but I had also spent large part of my life without using wisdom itself. I had drifted foolishly for so many years. I had made so many mistakes big and small. I was unrealistic. I let my head down and let myself be lead by my heart. As Lee Ann Womack sings, " loving might be a mistake ..but it is worth making".

My life had been lead by illusions... stimulated by cafe. After a cup of the stimulant, my imagination soars. Inspiration flows. Creativity gets in. Dreams take wings. I am above the clouds. I travel to latin America. Reality disappears. Magical realism appears.

There is another side to this story. May be i would not have reached where I am, if I was realistic and had used my wisdom. I might have got stuck like a frog in the well of my village, like many of my friends, if i had analysed my situation realistically using my head. I let myself soar with my illusions foolishly and romantically. I remember carrying paddy bags but smiling with the poems of Keats and Wordsworth. Walking along the railtrack to my school and college, I was moved with the love poems of Bharatidasan. I was so full of illusions, romance and magical realism. As Womack sings" when you get a chance to sit it out or dance.. i hope you dance", I danced without knowing dance.

Good bye ..my wisdom tooth. Good day my cafe !

Last holiday - movie

I enjoyed this delightful hollywood film. Queen Latifa, who acts as Georgia Byrd is a sales clerk in a retail outlet for kitchen equipments. Her world comes crashing down when the Indian Dr Gupta diagnoses her with a fatal illness and gives her just three more weeks of life. So what does she do? She collects all her savings in cash and goes to a luxury resort in Europe to enjoy the last few days. She stays in a presidential suite, buys expensive dress, tries skiing and orders expensive food at the restaurant and the chef attends to her personally.

Then comes the fax saying that she was misdiagnosed, coinciding with the arrival of her boyfriend who proposes marriage and there is happy ending.

More of a bollywood story! but done in hollywood format and style. It is a comedy with some depth.