With The Fungus Gone.

We Met & Materialized @NITK

sudarshna kalyanraman — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:44:56 +0000

-The M&M tale

The story starts three and a half years ago on a day that none of us can now remember. Thirty of us brave, IIT flunked-AIEEE screwed -almost 18 some things stepped onto the hallowed portals of NITK united in the cluelessness we shared about our branch .Three years witnessed some of us leave seeking greener pastures, a few just staged an act of disappearance and only 25 metamorphosed to speak of a journey that defined the meta batch of 2005-09.
Third semester: Fledglings
Saw us enter the department .Pramod finally found his place in geek haven ECE and Darshan left us for Chemical. The rest of us were force- initiated into the system of compulsory electives and less credits for more hour concept that would remain our branch’s USP till the end. The first grand event of the semester, a fiercely fought CR election was won by Shatman where he managed all the 7 votes from the girls. He showed his loyalty by ‘CR sitting’ only them leaving the rest of us, not-so –lucky ones to fend for ourselves. Machine design and its imported instructor Abraham John came along with a dose of factor of safety 75 and “You will not see this in any textbook” refrain. His abstract leanings and weird absenting patterns resulted in the junta struggling to pass the course. Hebbar tried teaching us BMS and Udupa regaled us with thermodynamics and temp zones in cigarette butts. And, both the professors competed with each other in setting papers we could not complete. The rest of the courses were pretty harmless. Meanwhile a much paid for branch freshers took place and the side effects featured a faculty boycott, a ‘cat’walk malfunction and a Kaptaan in depression. Rumors flew high when an ‘accidental rendezvous’ between KoSu, Hill Gal & Chintu in the loo was discovered. Speculation was soon laid to rest however, when the girls insisted that they had absolutely not seen a thing leaving behind an already much relieved Chintu and a disappointed class. The semester rolled on fast, resulting in a last minute rush to make the deadlines for workshop diary and assignment submissions. With Pramod gone and Kaptaan in what he believed was emotional turbulence , his ‘good’ friend took over the topper’s reins and held onto it till the last sem.The semester ended on a high note with all of us escaping machine design unscathed.
Fourth semester: Lost in Transition
Fresh from a month of winter break we were pushed headlong into PPR’s physical metallurgy. By far one of the courses meriting a ‘YES’ to ‘is it one of the five best courses you have had?’, question in the feedback form, it would make sure we are never able to escape dislocation loops for the rest of our B.Tech lives. Jaggu followed suit with an equally good course in XEM and affected us with his genuine warmth. However the semester shall be remembered for featuring the first of the two infamous run-ins with UBK. His phase diagrams became a dreaded affair with people being robbed of sleep and grades equally over it. The sem also saw ‘Abhishek’ Tutorials and its co-concern ‘Brindha Tutorials’ in the GB , firmly established saving us stationary and note taking for the next 2 years. These two shall be the reason why the rest of us shall inch towards a B.Tech degree. Reddy made all the effort into mass bunking truly worth by conjuring a grading system that did not curve below a BB. However, Chintu and Verma for some Reddy known mystique were tricked out of it despite a word to word micro reproduction of Ray, Sridhar & Abraham. Not the one to be left behind, Verma discovered life at ISTE and took up metallurgy as a recreational course.
This semester is special because Akhil & Anil still made celebrity appearances, Rahul still remembered the way to the department and the first benches actually had people occupying them.
Memorable Moments
Satya, every time he saw a girl in class, “Can I have some water plz?”
AbJohn to KoSu, “You are just like my daughter!” Replying to a doubt on rivets.
Srini to Chintu,” You do not know Chitragupta, What a Vichitra Gupta I say!”

Fifth semester: Dog Days
A summer later and a year less wise we entered by far the toughest semester in three years. We were introduced to daily questions, ppts, leave letters and AOS. The junta faithfully turned up for his classes preferring to tackle polymer bonds than leave of absence excuses.KNP finally debunked the credit for hour myth with seven hour long marathon sessions. However his penchant for black clothing and teeth flashing seemed to mesmerize the girls with side effects ranging from temporary memory loss to motion freezing. Srini’s much anticipated re-entry turned out to be a dud when he set us on reproduce-whole book assignment sprees. Nesargi won the CR elections by popular vote and led us onto the glorious path of postponing every test, assignment and record submission. Satya put that to the ultimate test by bunking Srini’s end sem paper. An attempt to save the plummeting grades saw us celebrate teacher’s day. The desired outcome is yet to be witnessed.AOS redeemed himself with good grades and we pushed ourselves into another semester.

Sixth Semester: Pre-Placement Glory
Began with two weeks of meager attendance, portending the days to come. Our second of the humanities elective in common with Chem handled by a first time cute-in 3 yrs-AL seemed to make all the writing and first hours worth it. Verma went as far as learning the only piece of paper he did in college-her bio data. We also went on a MEA trip to Pilikula and KIOCL.The class had mass transitioned to the back benches much to the irritation of its faithful and privileged occupants-Baba, Sudhir, Sam and Rahul. Shatman by now added ‘U stare, I punch’ title to his name and Chintu all together changed his to VJ. Time hand outs, Vocab cards and Barron’s were whipped out.Kini smashed GATE at AIR 20 making us all proud. Nesargi & James became the PCs. We departed anxiously conscious of the placement season to come. Little did we know….
Memorable Moments
Srini’s take on American all gender dormitory system, “these guys think they can conquer biology, I say! If we follow that in NITK we must build a separate hostel.”
Srini again to a beleaguered Kaptaan,” Whats the use of preface…aaaa? Whats the use of your face?”
AOS to Harsh, “That line in your ppt is wrong.”Harsh slowly in reply, “It can be like that also or how you say also, it depends.”
Sam while filling eco feedback forms,”Whats the best part of the course? It’s her da… the lecturer.”
Seventh Semester: When Recession hit hard
The placements lead to a wardrobe change with the emergence of young men in washed-pressed & shared in rotation basis formals and that helped Madhav finally look in place. This semester taught us the meaning of recession, lay off and no vacancy clearly if ever there had been any doubt. With the placements bleak throughout, TSu & Brindha managed IOCL, Basava & Madhav NMPD, Harsh & Bapin JSW, Shatman landed ZS and MuSigma got Nesargi. KoSu, Kaptaan, Satya, Nandu & Hill Gal, all got Accenture and James IGate. Foundry Lab sought to enliven our sagging spirits by requiring us to wallow in dirt and model with mud and submit records. With a lab so wonderful KNP was perplexed why students periodically disappeared .UBK came and finished the semester with literally a shattering effect when his window revealed a long crack. An outpouring of final year sentiment saw us head towards a class treat for the first time in three years leading to a Basava’s day out. He made full use of the opportunity by taking us to the cleaners and short fusing Kaptaan. Every one stuck to the binary system of attendance faithfully and life moved on .Harsh truly made us proud when in an attempt to placate the SE lady he prostrated to postpone a five mark test. However the episode had an anti-climatic ending when Sam came, smiled and ShE relented. The semester ended and brought us to the last three and a half months of college.
The curious case of the eighth semester
Finally electives dropped their compulsory tag and we heaved a long in due sigh of relief. With companies having completely disappeared there was nothing left to do than bask in the final days of college life. This materialized into a class trip to Coorg. The trip while special for a lot of reasons shall be remembered for Rahul’s wonderful hospitality, Dips’ larger-than-life enthusiasm, Harsh’s crooning skills and Basava’s parting ability. Kadbu almost lost us the bus over a cup of coffee and lava braved the mighty Kodavu Hills on bare foot. Meanwhile Engi euphoria spilled onto our department too with Kaptaan wriggling out to be the Con and Verma lived his dream by becoming the face of Engi.
The rest of us chug along appearing for seminars or an occasional class. With less than a month to go, a few of us await admits, some gate ranks and others better jobs. The four years in college have been special. In retro we are grateful to the Khaitan standing fan that was the cynosure of all our attention and made the classes bearable. The batch of 2005-09 shall also be known as the batch of deliberations. We knew the art of it well, the reason why we churned out one Verma, one Kaptaan, a hundred discussions and along the way managed to earn ourselves a B.Tech degree. The above diary is an account of the journey we shared as a class of 27 -2 , sometimes we took it with a pinch of salt, other times polished till our hands ached and yet all along the way were part of a one memorable journey that we started together but end on 25 different notes.
The Players
Shatman-Shamanth, KoSu-Sudarshna, Hil Gal-Isha, Chintu a.k.a VJ-Vikram, Rahul Raj, Rahul Nesargi , Harsh, Satya, Verma, Kaptaan-Abhishek, ‘good’ friend-Brindha,Tsu-Suhani,Kadbu-Jeevitha,Lava-Lavanya,Dips-Deepa,Sam-Sameer,Nandu-Nandwana,Aditya Joseph James, Madhav, Sunny, Baba-Anil Babu, Sudhir Pawsakar, Anoop Kini, Bapin, Basava-Bharath

Steven Paul Jobs- the man who gave a new pride to ‘i’

sudarshna kalyanraman — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:54:11 +0000

There has been a spontaneos outpouring of grief that has overwhelmed both the real and the cyber world alike.No one seemed to have gotten enough of being shocked at this untimely death. Since Princess Di’s death the world has not been united in a global outpouring of grief.Its unlikely that any of the CEOs of Steve’s generation will be able to achieve even half as much adulation as he has.
I have been following Jobs for ten years almost. I remember, that the first time I saw his picture in a newspaper I found him then, as I always have as particularly handsome.But good looks and a sharp wit are not uncommon traits. He was different. He was a man who created a reality distortion and made consumers pay often unjustified premium for his products,that too religiously. Curious isn’t it?
The phenomenon called Jobs is hard to explain. A classic example of a HBR HR case and is bound to be quoted for years to come. People have speculated on Apple’s shares and the state of the company post Jobs. Some have argued that it would be irrational for markets to react to Jobs’ death. After all , the fundamentals remain the same, dont they? Jobs has luckily, chosen a good moment to leave the company when it seems to be at its strongest. There is time to re-organize.I doubt if Apple will ever be the same without Jobs.I remember reading a HBR article on how successful CEOs have been able to turn companies around while similar ones with less able leadership sank.If that article is half true,boy Apple is in a spot of bother.
The phenomenon has been confounding. No where else in recent history would you see the consumers strongly associating a brand with its founder.It has been a careful construction from Jobs’ part. People often credit Jobs for being a visionary ,perhaps he was but most definitely he was the biggest marketer of our times. Jobs had once been thrown out and would have never wanted that to repeat.The best way to ensure that would be to tie yourself irreversibly with the fortunes of the company and vice versa. Hence he identified a latent talent, often positioned himself and Apple as an iconoclast or maverick. Thus, while Apple was advertised to be different ,Steve often projected himself as maverick.His famous quote being Why be a navy officer when you can be a pirate?
The products were predominantly in one colour-white and they were associated with one letter i. It’s a repeated construction in the consumers’ mind of something special and unique. It was reinforced every time the pattern repeated. Curiously Jobs would wear Black in all his product introductions and would appear dressed similarly year on year. It only helped that he made some really cool products and was himself gifted with extra ordinary charisma and showmanship.Jobs also closely guarded his personal space much like the products he launched.Now,it seems that he has been struggling for the past couple of years.Jobs and Apple had consciously mirrored each other,leveraging their spaces manifold.So,every time you picked an Apple product you unconsciously associated with Jobs.R.I.P

How I keepeth my Dolls

sudarshna kalyanraman — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:29:49 +0000

Little Nappinai was running down the street ,she was getting late and darkness was already setting in. If she didn’t hurry up Amma would get worried and would send thatha to find her,who in turn will get all anxious and ordain that she should not go alone again.Not that she was afraid of that.She had always got her way and thatha was so patient and never got angry.She was stubborn and wasn’t she the only child? thatha’s pet?Thinking thus she adjusted her specs and smiled at the smell of sundal that Lalitha mami had made which still lingered in her fingers.The sundal had been good. Her favorite kadalai parrupu.While she was thinking thus she tripped on the wretched stone outside Nalini aunty’s home.Her saree which her mother had wrapped around her in a Gujrati style was slightly in disarray.Already the front had flecks of coconut flakes that had been used to garnish the sundal she had before.She hastily dusted them off. This was no ordinary saree.It was amma’s wedding reception pattu saree. Beautiful parrot green with pink border. This garment was not to be taken carelessly.Now .she had made a mess of it.She will quietly get out of the saree and change before her mother notices when she returns home. She knew amma would be busy with other guests.She would not tell her and feign ignorance.Perhaps she can dump it behind the almirah in thatha’s room.
Nappinai had been a good girl today. She had diligently visited all homes she was asked to that day.Now it was time to return home after Nalini aunty’s. Besides,her friends had said they would visit her home this evening.Also wasn’t she needed when the mangalam would be sung at the end of the evening? She always loved this time of the year when young girls like her were given all the importance.Each one was treated like a little princess.Pondering thus she had now reached the doorstep of Nalini aunty’s who was now yelling for her to come in. Vaa vaa ,amma anupinangala? Aamaam aunty she said feeling a little uncomfortable. She all of sudden felt uncomfortable in that saree for Nalini aunty’s eldest son was snickering at her saree and calling her a iyer maami.Stupid fellow she thought she was not even iyer, was an iyengar and then got angry at her mother.Why cant she skip around in frocks? why be dressed in a saree? Thank God it had been the Gujrati one today.The madisar was when she would get the maximum comments.She turned and glared at him through her round specs. By now Nalini aunty had sensed the reddening of the face and said,Avan chumma valayadraan ,seriousa eduthukadha in that quintessential Madras way of mixing english words with tamil.A colonial relic but also what made the language of the place famous and infamous.By now he held out a five star in truce. She ignored and turned to Nalini aunty who took it form her son and gave her. Now the chocolate had been given and that moron had been put in place she took out the kumkuma chimizhl and said to Nalini aunty,“engathla golu vechiruku vethla paaku eduthuka vaango.” With that she heaved a sigh and skipped out, her dolls were waiting for her she must hurry…

Sticky Wickets -Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

sudarshna kalyanraman — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:41:13 +0000

I believe I would be widely hated for writing this post and people would not believe that I am also a great fan of Sachin even if I bother to reiterate repeatedly.Hence, I shall not make that point beyond this.
We as a nation are passionate about cricket but when it comes to Sachin we are hysterics. We throw reason,tolerance and sportsmanship out of the window. I am referring to the widespread furore that Akthar’s comments in his book,Controversially Yours, have created. Akthar is not the first one to be rebuked and made into a villain because he has dared suggest that Sachin is not perfect all the time. Before him many others have been victims of this syndrome.Sanjay Manjarekar in 2006, when he alleged that Sachin may have been faking injuries and then again in 2008 when he claimed his non-performance at the top order was hurting India in ODI. People lashed out against Manjarekar and called him sour grapes. Because Sachin is not only great but no can dare to cast aspersion of humane frailties against him, there have been other such incidents too. Mike denness was perhaps the greatest victim of witch hunting when he accused Sachin with tampering the ball.Technically Mike was right.Cleaning the seam as camera footage seemed to suggest can tantamount to ball tampering. We then of course suggested racial discrimination. Perhaps both the above incidents were in bad taste and Tendulkar’s detractors were wrong mostly. But the below three simply astound me.
Tendullkar had applied for a tax exemption for the Ferrari that had been gifted to him . It was bad enough he applied for one and even worse that fans came out in support of him! Geoffrey Boycott recently made that Himalayan blunder of reminding viewers that Sachin has not scored a century at Lord’s. Harsha Bhogale snapped that it was Lord’s loss, at the end of the series we know who was left red-faced.
Perhaps the most ludicrous of these incidents is the recent one against Akthar. He suggested that Sachin was trembling against him in one of the matches. So what? the best of the players do. May be sachin did. Even our Mythological heroes ,Gods and Goddesses can have moments of self doubt but Sachin can’t! we can digest that Lord Ram had to tell Adityahridyam to win over Raavan, we can also believe that Arjun doubted if he could win Karna.You may tell you are an atheist so let me then remind you of seeing Wasim Akram trembling against Sachin when the latter took him out to cleaners against Pakistan in the 2003 world cup. If my memory serves me right didnt the same akthar come out and tell he was afraid to bowl to sachin that day after being hit for a first ball six.It happens to the best of players. But, no.. its impossible to believe that Sachin could have had a bad day for his fans! Akthar is no joke he has troubled enough batsmen to be qualified enough to comment.We as a nation have become increasingly intolerant .Sachin’s greatness will not be reduced if he was found trembling against Akthar or if Akthar falsely claimed so. Ofourse Akthar wants to sell a book and he would mention any claims to victory he had over the prized wicket of Sachin.Perhaps the west has been more tolerant of its super stars who have been a little less than perfect. Mike Tyson. Diego Maradona and George Best are a case in point. But as Indians we risk reducing our greatest sporting heroes to caricatures by simply refusing to tolerate anything against them! Rajiv Shukla’s demand for an apology reminds me of Tiwari’s rant gainst Katrina .Her fault had been to remind the nation that she is not the only half Indian-half European around. She was factually and technically correct. After so much intolerance for such small issues we have the audacity to complain riots happen, funny isn’t it?

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara-A Movie Review

sudarshna kalyanraman — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:13:48 +0000

Zoya Akthar churns her next film out with ZNMD after the subtle yet delightful Luck by Chance. ZNMD is the kind of film that was in vogue before Salman highjacked it all with his Dabangg act.So she has a wonderful star cast,I mean you cant make it hotter than this with Hrithik Roshan,Abhay Deol and Farhan Akthar. I must confess that it was only the male star cast that made me watch the film. And you throw in Katrina Kaif, you have the most visually appealing star cast in recent times.So,its a coming of age film just like her brother did DCH those ten years ago. While Farhan’s protagonists were content to discover themselves in the city of Mumbai his sister’s travel all the way to Spain.At this point I must mention that the background is breathtaking and that alone is worth all your money.
So what about the story? Its a cliche. You have three very handsome,rich,uber cool and talented men ,all in their early thirties I presume who start on a road trip in Spain to conquer their fears and discover their life. I mean who else apart from these guys are poised to do this? So the money minded Financial trader played unconvincingly by Hrithik Roshan realises that life is not all money after diving into the depths of the sea. And then we have our every girl must have character in Abhay Deol who decides his engagement was a mistake after facing raging bulls in Spain’s bull fight. And then we have the best character of the three played by Farhan Akthar as the creative,funny yet brooding Imran who lets the hurt on his mother being forsaken by his biological father go after diving from a height of 1500 metres.
If you were to rewind,the characters are not much different from DCH. Hrithik’s is a more sensible version of Amir Khan. Farhan’s is in sync with Akshaye and Abhay’s is unfortunately not fleshed out properly. If you had everything like Zoya’s characters do you will sit and ponder about life and pay through your nose to discover yourself amidst the beauty of Spain. But,if you are middle class Indian where even trying to get a window seat in a bus without being hassled is a struggle, you will not relate to this most probably. this is a more subtle and more glamorous version of DCH. It tells you live every moment as if its your last. Be sensitized who knows,you may not get this life once more.Fair enough but a tad disappointing from a director who had promised so much more with her debut.But do watch the movie ..its a visual treat nevertheless.

Mumbai

sudarshna kalyanraman — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:11:04 +0000

Every new city you visit is exciting ,new people to meet,new language to learn,new cuisines to try out and new places to shop in.Mumbai is of course the piece de resistance. eulogised in thousands of movies,the city of Mahalakshmi,of Sachin Tendulkar,of the underworld,of Kamathipura,of dharavi,of Ambanis,of Bollywood and ..of Dalal Street. Its a city with a long and often stark history,the Indian city of dreams,of glamour,of crime but last of all as I have come to realize of life itself.Many people are excited by the clubbing,the places to hang out ,the binging and the thrills of Mumbai.the outward sheen.But the city reminds me of a spider constantly spinning the web,unmindful of anything else,untiring to earn out a living. The city embodies the struggle to earn a livelihood, From the hawkers and beggars on the roadside,to the swank bankers I see everyday to the funky artistes who roam about with a camera or a book, everyone traveling his own trajectory. Their only common link being the ity itself. Its often the silent player giving you enough and more to keep you happy but as I suspect stopping short of making you feel contented.Its the city of largess too. Yet its the most beautiful city I have seen. I am not here speaking of Marine drive or the Bandra Worli sea link ,thats beautiful yes but its a beauty thats not visible but one that sinks in. From the buffaloes that roam,to the sheer montrosity of dharavi to the old world charm of the Fort area to the poshness of Nariman theres an irony and like a perfectly designed mosaic they all fall into place to paint the most beautiful canvas I have seen.
Mumbai is the common man’s love,she’s the artiste’s muse ,the hawker’s chai and to me she’s a toast to life.The spirit of the city is what makes it stand out and you dont need your clubs,bars,restuarants and shopping malls for that.I suspect even without them she’ll just do as fine .

A delightful little rascal this one is -The White Tiger (by Aravind Adiga)

sudarshna kalyanraman — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:13:55 +0000

A White tiger is an animal that’s passionately hated or loved ,I mean the white thing with all the black stripes running across is sure to get noticed .The book by Mr Adiga is no different.theres nothing novel about the theme ,not an ounce of respect in it for anyone and boy, it churns the entrails of the upper middle class-rich Indian with its tales of darkness and spits it right out on your face.
Almost like Smack, spit and there, you take it types. Adiga for some queer reason rings in the memories of yet another wonderful book by an often moronic author-Salman Rushdie & his Midnight Children.
so why do people hate The White Tiger so much? some feel it takes India back by a good four decades and panders to the Western stereotypes its the whole Slumdog Millionaire argument again. Guys wake up ,I mean Adiga is not writing a document on India Shining and for heavens’ sake we are not China to construct images of our country in the minds of the westerners.Seriously theres not a single aspect in the book you can point your finger at and tell ,Oh that never happens here.Now as I liberally borrow from the author himself the solution lies in acknowledging and integrating the light and dark Indias. Many people think that’s a pacifist tale,like the agnostics, not strong enough to take a stance.but i believe India is not a debate to take sides and the bundle of contradictions that she’s exasperatingly and often wondrously turning out to be will have to be soon undone.
this book is brilliant not because of its scathing portrayal of India, far from it.I dont even agree with Adiga on a few occasions, Adiga’s book is not the suave gourmet with almost there spices and not enough to fill your stomach types, its more like the pani puri from the road side wallah that tastes wonderful and is most definitely going to make you fart bad and run an upset stomach.take with a pinch of salt but delight in its audacity of the pungent taste.The book is a delight for the way its written. Brilliantly cynical to the point of mocking everything-that innate Indian trait is seen here at its best. Its only at the end when he rants of on Balram Halwai’s attempt at reconciliation that he becomes boring but then that’s pardonable.so balram halwai mocks caste,creed,class,our Government,policies,past, why he mocks even our notion of the family and what a berating it is!
here are few particularly vicious ones:
1.Nonsense.The greatest thing to come out of this country in ten thousand years is the Rooster Coop.
2.there are three main diseases of this country typhoid,cholera and election fever. the last one is the worst;it makes people talk and talk about things that they have no say in.
3.(money embezzled) and transferred that money into a bank account in a small ,beautiful country in Europe full of white people and black money.
I could go on and on. This book is to be enjoyed for the style of writing,the savage wit,the caustic cynicism and the myriad images it churns out (who cares if all of which Adiga says is right or not ? when he’s so ruddy brilliant with his discerning remarks). So as Balram Halwai would tell you read it only if you can stomach the smell of the armpits, else stay away!

Do you know your Dr.Swamy?

sudarshna kalyanraman — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 07:05:36 +0000

the recent uproar in the 2 G spectrum allocation that led to the Supreme Court pulling up the PM,the parliament being stalled for days and the icing on the cake A.Raja’s resignation is not the result of the yes-men CBI’s for a change unbiased investigation or of some brilliant sting by a daring newspaper,it was not even due to the opposition,it was the result of an interest litigation filed by one man-Dr.Subramaniam Swamy.
Who is this Swamy ? once I remember after the BJP government fell due to no confidence motion,the Tamil weekly magazine by its editor Cho.Ramaswamy carried a cartoon that read ‘Subramaniam Swamy umai maranden’ a pun on a devotion song that roughly translates into oh Swamy(also means God)!,I forgot you(resulting in the downfall).I am not going to delve deep into his biography,you can read it from – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subramanian_Swamy.What I am going to be doing is highlight some of the most important achievements of Swamy.
There are two things you need to know about him 1)he is a Genius and I mean it in every sense of the word 2) he is a crusader,a fighter and the kind who wins his battles mostly.
he is a renowned economist and an alumnus cum professor cum visiting professor of Harvard.He is the student of Nobel laureates Kuznets and Samuelson. His paper on index number theory with the latter is considered seminal and path breaking.he is deemed an authority in India-China relationships & economy and the Chinese economy in particular. He is fluent in Mandarin.he was a vocal anti-emergency advocate and escaped the hawk like late Gandhi by a story that’s almost legendary now.Its believed that Mrs Gandhi,baying for his blood asked the then US president Regan to hand him over. However this drew such a huge outcry from the academic community in US that Swamy,who was then teaching at Harvard garnered significant support from his colleagues. A petition signed by nobel laureates and other professors of the Ivy League was sent strongly condemning the emergency in India and Mrs Gandhi. Needless to say,Gandhi never lay her hands on him.
the TANSI case that nailed Jayalalitha was also a result of the PIL filed by him.Its historical in the sense that Jayalalitha till then had escaped every corruption case filed against her .When the case was filed and she was still in power she was quizzed on Swamy and she relied in her characteristic vain arrogance-Swamy has met his Waterloo in me’ to which he is said to have replied,’I will send her to the loo without water in prison,’which he did !
It’s also the result of his PIL that stopped the Ram Sethu from being destroyed due to the drilling for Sethu Samudram. He is a vocal critic of the LTTE and has repeatedly called for its ban.It was also the result of Swamy’s letter to the then President of India ,Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on the issue of reciprocity that led to the complications in Sonia Gandhi from ascending the PM’s chair.
His critics have pointed out his vitriolic campaign against Sonia Gandhi.his claims remain unproven and largely far-fetched and often personally slanderous against Sonia.However she has chosen to maintain silence on this issue. He is also a supporter of right-wing Hindu politics.Despite these shortcomings his achievements remain remarkable and his PILs have been eye openers.
Swamy is like the sage Narad often, generally good comes from the mess he creates !

Image is sourced from :http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ8DslnhEReqybv3wrUy2bHLzyumfhCIu4y8Jw67mpdmhU0IxH8Jg

Kamal Hassan- a maverick and a genius of an artiste!

sudarshna kalyanraman — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:39:01 +0000

Before I start of in earnest I want to clarify that this blog is not intended to compare or pit Kamal Hassan against Rajnikanth. I am fully aware of the kind of deep rivalry the two fan clubs have for each other. There is indeed no comparison as the two actors are like apples and oranges ,the only common point being they are actors.The other day I was watching manmadhanambu and could not help marvel at the talent Kamal is. I mean , that film may not do justice to his versatility but it did enough to remind how great this person is. I believe he is the greatest actor of Indian cinema today.Amitabh Bachchan is a legend yes, but I am sorry, he does not hold a candle to the variety of roles that Kamal has essayed.Like Rajni,Amitabh too is great and bigger than Kamal but as a star and not as an actor.Its my earnest opinion that had Kamal Hasan been in Hollywood we would have toasted him to be better than Al Pacino or Hoffman. Here is recounting some of his most memorable roles:
1. the Palghat Mani Iyer in Michael Madana Kama Rajan: the accent,the body language and the sheer contrast from the other 4 roles was stunning.I mean point out one actor in India who can do this better and still look as handsome as Kamal did.
2.Anbe Shivam: the limp,twitching of the lips and eye brows, the sheer intensity was amazing . Madhavan did well as the urban rookie to whom we could connect. One of the greatest gems that Tamil Audiences failed to recognize. turned out very popular in later years.
3.Nayagan: Time Magazine has placed it in its list of all time greatest movies. What more is left to be said.But the scene where he cries and the song thenpadi seemayile plays as the bg is unforgettable.
4.Hey Ram: hats off for the sheer audacity
5. Rangarajan Nambi, Dasavatharam: the dialogue where he says “…garvam thavirka sol,appadikuriyadhu rangarajan nambi yendru sol…” really stole the show from the rest of the 9 avatars.

6. Mahanadi: another great performance not to mention the heart wrenching story!
7.Devar Magan:RGV whats Rakt charitra? don’t waste your time or money next time, you will know why if you just borrow this Dvd.
8.avvai shanmukhi: inimitable!
there are many others,the space would fill up!but these remain my favorite.

The Year that was -2010

sudarshna kalyanraman — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 06:07:35 +0000

Hey guys wish you all a very happy ,prosperous and fulfilling new year 2011! I have been blogging infrequently in 2010 but hope to do better in 2011.
The past few days I have been watching a lot of these reviews and recaps.The media chose to dub the past year as one of scams ,the page 3 called it the year of big duds but I believe that the last year of the first decade post millennium was the one that defined change.It stood for the unravelling of all that we took for granted and in economics it marked a paradigm shift. All those who advocated a culture that’s spending heavy cannot now stop singing praises of the thrifty Germany and the saving Asians. Europe fell and boy what a fall it was! You see economists seldom understand whats going to happen given a set of circumstances partly because they assume all of us to be rational in their theories which behavioral economists will kindly point out that we are predictably crazy.So economists are much like astrologers and failure analysts ,in retrospection they work well but are unable to hit the nail where it matters most-the future. So 2010 saw the Euro take a mighty hit and the EU totter ,The US seems unwilling to overcome the slump and people are now debating on a double dip recession.The year was all about currencies and a purported currency war!it was also about new super powers,falling giants and protests.
2010 also saw in our nation the Ayodhya verdict being delivered,a plethora of scams and the dangerous ways of the UPA to own up to nothing and blame it all on a doubtful saffron terror nexus.it was also the year of Julian Assange the wikileaks’ editor ,the new age role model and maverick iconoclast. you can see why youth like him. but seriously I don’t believe he brought out anything that really shocked you out of your senses and the US decided to make a mountain of a mere irritant.
we saw the big ones come to our doorstep and the media had a field day in describing Obama’s visit as a mendicant come calling for jobs!A tad premature and overdone ofcourse. its also the year when everyone for a change wanted their one time nemesis US to interfere in their internal affairs because they realized that China is more scary and less trust worthy.
On a lighter note in football the world saw the order shaken up once again. for all those people who argued years ago that the European way, in particular the efficiency of the Germans and the English was the way to go and that beautiful play doesn’t win you matches are now left without a balm to lick their wounds.Tell them Iniesta from Spain and Messi from Barca its enough.haha revenge is sweet more so when its cold!and thats what 2010 is about changing power balances and new power houses.It has changed forever the world we knew and the one that oUr children would grow up in.