Ideology through Society, Culture, Family and Sports

It was the month of July, 1997 when I first met Senthil - 23 years ago, approximately. We took a liking towards each other straightaway since both of us carried an air of innocence [or at least that's how it looked like at the beginning]. We sat on the same bench on most of the days, either Arun or me. The fibre framed glasses, chubby cheeks with a prominent dimple, a laughter that was extremely infectious - all of them flash in memory as if it was yesterday. Senthil didn't believe that he was made for computers and therefore he struggled right through the course. It's a huge credit to his determination that he completed his graduation in three years. He worked in a few places across different domains, but deep inside, he always wanted to be his own boss. He combined with a few friends of his at different junctures, initiated different types of businesses. Few succeeded many failed, very badly too. Someone with an impeccable fighting attitude, Senthil always shrug...

TrusTrace turned 3 a few weeks ago and this was to celebrate completion of yet another glorious year together. I don't remember after how many years I went for an official celebratory trip. Regardless of that, the wait is worth it. I write this as a dedication to people who joined the trip and the ones who couldn't. Kora, Kiruthiga, Loks, Kadhambari, Shameek - we missed you all.  " @channel We will leave from office tomorrow at 7.30. Please be on time." was the message from Keerthi on Friday. Sadly for her and us, the travels’ person was not part of the channel and was not listening. And that means only one thing - just like every other trip, the start was delayed, luckily by not that much.  We picked up Suresh and Thiru on way at Mettupalayam and shortly afterwards we took our first break. No idea what energised everyone, a hot seat got created and nobody was spared. I'm not sure how many of those stories were fabricated but the quicker they spoke about the...

At the beginning of May 2019, I was between jobs. On an advise from a well-wisher friend , I attended a Level 1 Table Tennis coaching certification, conducted at the YMCA, Alleppey . Shortly afterwards, I was allowed a chance to work as a part-time coach in the academy he runs . Having been involved in a lot of sports throughout my life, this is the opportunity I have been craving for. It hasn't been smooth sailing right through. I have found coaching beginners to be reasonably easy - for the simple reason, they listen. For someone who believes he is yet to acquire proven credentials on coaching, slightly advanced players pose a challenge. I had to become assertive to deal with everyone. I needed to change - I turned to books for help. I didn't spend time to arrive at a list of books I wanted to read. I chose something that was lying around - "Conquering the Mind" from Eknath Easwaran [had borrowed it from my brother in law , without really attempti...

This afternoon the news about the legendary playwright, Crazy Mohan passing away came through. Without really knowing him in person, it was shattering. I belong to an age where TV serials [not the everlasting ones we see today] that happen once a week were something we looked forward to with lot of eagerness. Here’s Crazy comes to my mind straightaway. We are referring to pre-youtube and only-Doordarshan days - therefore, we didn't get entertainment on demand. We had to wait and the waits were worthwhile every single time. A tired day’s work for Fathers, a poor day at school for children, Mothers in need of a break between all house chores - Crazy Mohan and his troupe's serials entertained all of them. That explains the nature of his humor - clean and open for all. His brother, Maadhu Balaji who took up various prominent roles in his plays, requires a mention here. In addition to serials and plays, Crazy Mohan is a well known script writer for Tamil movies. Being ...

Writing on behalf of my Father, Duraiswamy C Addressed to The Commissioner of Police, South Delhi Credits to  HC Sanjay Nagar, HC Rajiv Chander and HC Beejpal Many of us face few challenges while travelling from South India to North and vice versa. The languages we speak are totally different and that does have an impact on the way we look at each other. I want to narrate a trivial incident which made me believe these barriers are only self-constructed. They can be broken if we want to. On the 26th of Jan, 2019 - A friend and I were travelling to attend a wedding in Fatehabad. Not wanting to carry a heavy luggage, we deposited our bags in the Nizamuddin railway station cloak room and collected a receipt, which we promptly missed soon afterwards [and didn’t realise, of course]. During our return journey, we had to take a train to Bangalore at 8:45 PM, 28-Jan-2019. While attempting to collect our baggage at 7:30 PM, we realized the receipt was no more with us. We ...

(Read time - 5 mins) This quote isn’t directly related to what is going to be written in this passage. But it closely resembles another favourite quote of mine - You cannot keep repeating the same steps and expect different results . All of us complain about things going wrong every single day. But very few of us are prepared to get down, get our hands dirty and try to change things around. It's time we step out of the crowd and start considering every public problem as our own. How many times have we stopped at the white mark in traffic signals, while others happily move as close to the signal as possible while waiting? We will look foolish, but being rightful while looking foolish is alright. I was punched by a group of men once for failing to make way to their honk, while I waited for the signal to turn Green [BTM Signal, 16th Main, Bangalore]. I felt hurt but not ashamed - which I think should have happened to those men. When was the last time we questioned a nati...

28-Jan-2018: Around a fortnight ago, as I was taking a walk on the streets along with Hema [my wife], we met a girl selling story books and little toys. Neither will be of use to us, so we ignored. While we tried to move, all we heard from her was, "I'm hungry..I'm hungry.. please buy this, I'm hungry". Everyone of us is hungry at some point in time during the day, but being hungry without knowing where the next meal will come from, is a very tough situation to be in. From whatever I have seen in my life so far, I strongly feel that the pain nobody should go through, is the one induced by hunger. We asked her, "We really do not need the books, will it be OK if we buy you food?". She happily agreed. Coimbatore is known for the numerous bakeries and tea stalls you can find. She took us to one of those nearby and listed down what she needed. A veg puff, a pack each of chips and biscuits, accounting to 37 rupees. She gleefully thanked us. ...