The Rajagirian Opportunity

While looking for the available options for higher studies, many people are not aware of this advanced progeny of the educational institutions under the Rajagiri brand which needs no introduction in the field of education. I would remember this particular group of institutions to be among my favourite choices to learn and improve my skills. The strength of the brand comes as no surprise for Keralites, as everyone know s about the quality. Among the institutions, this newer college has covered some fine ground. Rajagiri Viswajyothi College has the following courses – BA English (Literature, Communication and Journalism), BBA, BCA, BSc Psychology and B.Com (Model I Finance and Taxation, Model II Finance and Taxation and Model II Logistics Management).

It is surprising that many people choose not to go for such degrees in our lands, and instead choose to go abroad. I would not say that it is a bad choice, but the choices in front of us right here also needs our attention. Courses like BA English with three mains could prove to be something special in the career with the right kind of training and some genuine interest in the field. Psychology and Computer Application have been only gaining more supporters among a new generation of students as well as their parents. We are never really short of the opportunities if we look at them. Still, some of us might not have the eyes to see, or are fed up with the system. But if everyone leaves while looking for the green grass on the other side, who can make the difference here?

Leaving the world we know for another always feel like a better choice, as we have been hearing stories about the stylish life there. The YouTube videos and Instagram reels would seem to point to the same, but just going for such an option by hearing or seeing the life of others would feel ridiculous. It is significant to remember that they are not us, and the experience would remain different for everyone, even when the situation and environment is the same. This is why learning from an institution which is run by experienced hands like Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) father remain an interesting choice. They are the largest such congregation in the Syro-Malabar Church, and their experience knows no limits.

CMI fathers manage about 500 institutions including schools, colleges and hospitals. Sacred Heart College at Thevara and Rajagiri School of Social Sciences at Kalamassery have remained in our hearts for a long period of time. Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology at Kakkanad had gained the upper-hand from the time when Engineering and its subdivisions had become the trend, and Rajagiri College of Management and Applied Sciences at the same area had gained further strength with its courses. Rajagiri School of Kalamassery and Vsiwajyothi School of Angamaly have their status among the best of the district. Rajagiri Hospital remains the one place where many of us would trust for different ailments.

The popularity and trust which the brand has gained through the ages would have no match in this part of Kerala. Rajagiri Viswajyothi College which is shortened as RVCAS, the newer educational institution, is located at Vengoor, about seven kilometres from Kuruppampady, and located on the Aluva-Munnar road. It is also located just eleven kilometres from the nearest muncipality of Perumbavoor and twenty one kilometres from the next closest town on the other side, Kothamangalam. Also at twenty three kilometres from both Angamaly and Muvattupuzha, the college has good access to all these towns.

Since its inception in 2014, RVCAS has come a long way with a grand improvement which can be seen in the academics as much as the infrastructure. Those who have witnessed the steady growth of the institution will find this as a magnificent achievement during these years. Located twenty three kilometres from the nearest railway station at Angamaly and twenty one kilometres from Cochin Airport, the college is easily accessible as it has been with road transport. The college itself is located a place of beauty, the village of Vengoor. The college’s location within a green world is a beautiful sight to behold.

The much visited tourist destination, Paniyeli-Poru is also close to the college, and it has been a favourite destination among the eco-tourism destinations of South India. The green campus is a reminder of the beauty which can be seen around it, with the serene village having a beautiful church at its centre – Mar Kauma Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church. The experienced teachers have made the progress of academics easier and the hostel facility as well as the college bus service has added well to the accessibility factor. The college has always strived for more, and there has been no going back as far as progress is concerned.

Visit the Website: http://rajagiriviswajyothi.org

Visit the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/rajagiriperumbavoor

Mail to: admissions@rajagiriviswajyothi.org

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TeNy

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The Venice of the East

Aleppey or Alappuzha has served as the Venice of the East since it was given that name by George Curzon, Viceroy of India – it is a name that has well-suited the place. With Vembanad Lake, the longest lake in the whole of India, as well as the largest lake serving the state of Kerala, the status of the location can only be further justified. There are so many houseboats in the backwaters and some beautiful beaches which serve Alappuzha, making it a favourite destination for many. It is a location which I have visited multiple times, and there was a new journey to support the same again. Well, most tourists who visit Kerala, especially Kochi do add Aleppey to their list of places to watch.

The Venice of the East has maintained and lived up to that title, a realization which has elevated the status of Aleppey among the tourist destinations of South India. A vast network of rivers and canals has served the town really well. This journey to Aleppey can be combined with a straight trip from Fort Cochin on one side, stretching through the model tourism village of Kumbalangi and going further to reach the place past Andhakaranaazhi, another beach of interest. Some of the snaps from the last journey in that direction can be seen shared below. It was a one-day journey which took the route through Vyttila, Maradu and Cherthala, even though a tour from other directions including Kumbalangi would also be that interesting.

There is always enough of houseboats that we see around.

You see one of the houseboats and then you see many more.

There are always some houseboats which catch attention more.

You see those houseboats from a long distance away with beauty.

Like they say, you choose your destiny, or rather the houseboats.

Walk through the path that lead to the right houseboat.

The sunsets never get less beautiful around here.

The octopus sculpture made out of plastic waste on the beach.

Decommissioned Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T-81 on display.

The lighthouses are always there to keep us interested.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during the last trip to Aleppey.

TeNy

Trivandrum: A Quick Return

I have been to Trivandrum multiple times. The first time goes a long time back, and the most recent one was related to the Airtel 4G launch some time ago. The last journey has been different as the motive was to visit the University of Kerala as part of my PhD studies. As a research scholar, this happens to be one of those interesting library visits, which includes the time spent in the National Library of Kolkata, British Council Library of Kolkata, Calicut University Library of Kozhikode and Kannur University Library of Cannanore. This was not really a visit as a tourist, which means that there were not many places visited, and not that many photos taken. After all, we just cannot have them all during a trip, if there is a specific focus. But during my early journeys, I have visited a lot of tourist attractions in Trivandrum.

This is also my first journey to Trivandrum during which I was driving the car all the way; this makes the journey much different – we took the Perumbavoor-Ramapuram-Palai-Ponkunnam-Ranni route as the route was comfortable to travel. There was always one Indian Coffee House on the way to take a break. If you are a tourist, you know that there are many options in Trivandrum from those churches and temples to the beaches which have remained the classic destinations for such a long time. Kovalam Beach and Padmanabhaswamy Temple have been there as the first priorities for an eternity. On the way to Trivandrum, you are sure to find Jatayu Earth’s Center on the way, where we didn’t stop as there was a certain shortage of time. There was also Museum of the Word, a Bible Museum showing on the map available with a diversion. Well, there is so much more to be seen in Trivandrum and on the way back, but that would be left for another day.

University of Kerala has one peaceful library.

Madre De Deus Church (Vettucaud Church) is legendary.

St. Mary Queen of Peace Basilica of Palayam enlightens.

Palayam Juma Masjid is a place frequenting the films.

St. Joseph’s Metropolitan Cathedral features in many movies too.

A beachside church has remained a thing of beauty.

There is the eternity of serenity in these places of worship.

Some places of worship are not to be avoided during any trip.

Why wouldn’t one visit the Indian Coffee House even when there is a choice?

God faces the tides; the eternity of the sea and its waves.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during the last trip to Trivandrum.

TeNy

The World of Biennale

The exhibition of art at Kochi Biennale has always been something that interested us. The largest art exhibition in the nation has never ceased to draw people from not just Kochi or all around the state, but also from different parts of the nation and the world. We have had our journeys to biennale before, and people around Cochin have surely considered it to be a very significant event, something which happens with the Cochin Carnival at times, bringing an even bigger crowd to the area. Fort Cochin has remained the area of such cultural significance which cannot be matched with any other place.

The exhibition continues to be set in areas across Cochin, while using existing galleries, halls, and installations in public spaces, heritage buildings and abandoned structures. Ever since beginning on 12th December 2012, the popularity of the exhibition has only increased, despite the price of the tickets reaching a new high. The cost of the entry has now reached Rs. 150 from the early Rs. 50 which prevailed during the early times of the exhibition. As Fort Cochin is a destination of interest at all times, visiting the main locations of biennale remains a priority for the tourists.

A little bit of environment catches in with biennale every time.

Some scenes at the exhibition is worth being in the camera.

The Aspinwall House serves among the best destinations too.

There are always enough exhibits to explore at the biennale.

The Aspinwall House itself is a place which requires exhibition.

You look at the boats and the backwaters which lies in front of you.

And there is also the cafe, even though expensive and crowded.

There is also the option to travel on the boat towards other areas.

There is also that nice little biennale shop, even though it is expensive.

The old Mattancherry Bridge, also known as the Harbour bridge.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during the visit to the last biennale at Fort Cochin.

TeNy

Grand Malayattoor Carnival

The mega carnival at Malayattoor set around one of the largest human made fresh water lakes in the Asian Continent is an attraction like no other. This is one other carnival which reminds us of the the Cochin Carnival. This seven day long festival with thousands illuminated stars spread around 110 acres of a lake begins with Christmas and ends with the New Year. This pool is a thing of beauty even without the stars, and it is a celebration like no other, with the crowd increasing further after the corona virus pandemic break. This event, just like Cochin Carnival, includes the burning of Santa Claus in the end.

Malayattoor is a place which was blessed by the work of St. Thomas the apostle who remains the central figure of this particular village community which consists of a large number of churches. Saint Thomas Church at the top of the hill has remained one of the most visited pilgrim centres of the area. As Cochin International Airport is less than twenty kilometres from here. The nearest towns are Angamaly and Perumbavoor which serves the village well, along with Kalady, the birthplace of Adi Sankara. Kanjoor, the nearby town is known for St. Mary’s Forane Church, another popular pilgrim centre.

The beautiful decorations of the lake keeps us interested.

Ferris wheel is the amusement ride that we shall have at all carnivals.

You see the stars, and you see thousands of them here.

The huge star and the even bigger Santa Claus remain charming.

You can keep walking around the lake to enjoy the illuminations and shops.

The number of people who visit the area in the evening is enormous.

The Christmas spirit remains there with the stars hanging around.

The pirate ship which swings back and forth would also be there.

The walk with water on both sides of the road makes a beautiful sight.

The lake and the forest – nature has blessed Malayattoor well enough.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during the visit to the carnival at Malayattoor.

TeNy

Calicut: University and Others

This would be my third journey to Calicut by car, even though there were a few train journeys before that. The first one was the longest one, with a Kannur-Wayanad combination added to the trip. The second one was a direct trip to Calicut. If I am asked about which side of Kerala would I go from the centre, I would go North, to Calicut side. Well, food is one major reason for that. Otherwise, there are also others contributing to the same. Calicut’s Hilite Mall is my favourite mall from anywhere in South India. People would have wanted it to be Lulu Mall, but this one feels more like a divergent place. There are the best shops with fine offers, and the food, once again, is so good. Well, my next favourite malls are also Shobha City Mall of Thrissur and Centre Square Mall of Cochin – not the ones most people would have guessed.

This particular journey was meant to be about visiting Calicut University library rather than anything else. I visited the library for collecting some material for my research, and it seemed to be the better option in comparison with the other university libraries in Kerala, and going outside the state seemed to be difficult, considering the fact that there were too many Corona virus based restrictions at that time. So, this journey to library was made into a combination of different things – we wandered through the city, visited two beaches, and one mall – we were thinking about adding another mall to the list, but Hilite Mall was too good, and we really had to keep visiting it again. We had food from some more interesting places, and then decided to come back. We shall return to this side to visit the remaining beaches and a few historical places on the list.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during the last trip to Calicut/Kozhikode.

TeNy

Thanjavur: Cholas and TTDC

We have been to Thanjavur multiple times, and the last one was in 2010, when we stopped on the way back from Velankanni – we had booked an a/c bus which had too much of air conditioning, leading us to choose the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses on the way back – then we had stopped at Thanjavur to visit the temple and then stayed in Trichy. But the new situation was different, as we were traveling in Tata Tigor, and the location chosen to stay was TTDC Hotel Tamil Nadu in Thanjavur. Unlike their counterpart in Kerala, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation provides some fine facilities at a cheaper rate, and the free breakfast in the morning is just perfect. We have stayed in their Hotel Tamil Nadu at Kodaikanal and Yercaud before, and they had also proven to be some fine choices. But their hotel at Thanjavur is even better, as it is a very old building converted into hotel, providing the beauty of architecture along with the bigger rooms and a lot of space to walk around and also to park the vehicles. I would suggest that those who are traveling to Velankanni can also stay here, to travel early morning and return here.

Thanjavur is located ninety kilometres from Velankanni and sixty kilometres from Trichy, making it a fine space in between. When we stay here, the one place which we cannot miss is Brihadisvara Temple which is part of the Great Living Chola Temples, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The architectural marvel from the times of Chola Empire never really gets old, and provides the feeling out of this world – a perfect place to spend the evenings, as we witness the grandeur of an empire which needs to be considered among the greatest of the world. If you can travel some more distance, there are two other similar temples which can also be visited, but this one in Thanjavur city remains the best known work of architecture. Then we also visited Sacred Heart Cathedral, a lovely church located in the heart of the lovely city. We also found a favourite in Shri Dhivyam Sweets and Snacks, with Arya Bhavan vegetarian restaurant on the next floor, both serving as fine examples of quality. It is a fine place to buy some sweets to take home. Despite the posh looks, it is not that expensive a place either.

TTDC Hotel Tamil Nadu is where we would stay whenever it is possible for us.

This TTDC hotel scores with the food & the looks both from outside & inside.

Thanjavur is one nice place which combines different elements for you to love.

You would never want to miss the Great Living Chola Temples in life.

Spending an evening with spirituality and history combined into one will be special.

There are not many UNESCO World Heritage Sites that provides such beauty.

Brihadishvara Temple, also known as Thanjai Periya Kovil is one of its kind.

Sacred Heart Cathedral of Thanjavur is a peaceful place of divine worship.

The cathedral is at a main area of the city & has people praying inside most of the time.

This proved to a perfect place for sweets & snacks, with also a vegetarian restaurant.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during my visit to Thanjavur.

TeNy

District 13: Kannur Shores

I had my second visit to the thirteenth district of Kerala, Kannur recently. The summer in the busy town as well as the district in total felt very much hotter than what we had in the central districts of Kerala. Well, we used to complain about the heat then, and this felt more like in proximity to the sun than anything else. The journey was also very much difficult after Thrissur as the roads became narrower and with the drivers being more careless; it seems to be getting widened with more bypass paths though – the buses were more terrifying out there as we came across them; we feel that we have to move away from its path or die. But it is indeed a beautiful district, especially with the beaches which are much cleaner than what we have in the central of southern side. There seems to be poetry in the seas out there, and we enjoy the less polluted world out there.

Kannur has the beautiful town of Thalassery, which catches our attention, even though the roads are too narrow – same is the case of Mahe which is officially the part of Pondicherry even though within Kerala’s geography. Muzhappilangad Beach is among the best drive-in beaches which you will see anywhere in the continent, and there are so many other beaches to remember. St. Angelo Fort is a very well preserved Portuguese fort which provides a beautiful view of the sea in serenity. There is a lot to see with the fort too. Holy Trinity Cathedral also happened to be a lovely sight. For more of spirituality, you can travel to the Parassini Madappura Sree Muthappan Temple. There are some fine Indian Coffee Houses located in the area too. Parassinikadavu also has its own interesting Snake Park. The malls in the area are smaller, but still good enough for some random shopping.

Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach – nothing better for Tata Tigor.

You continue to visit the libraries, this time at Kannur University.

Holy Trinity Cathedral serves the spirituality well.

Tata Tigor has its first visit to any fort anywhere.

St Angelo Fort is surely among the best 3 forts of Kerala.

How many battleships has this particular cannon struck?

You look beyond the borders of the Kerala lands.

The view from the top of the fort is good enough for a soldier.

Kannur is a place which can easily be proud of its history.

Indian Coffee House never losses its charm.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during the last trip to Kannur/Cannanore.

TeNy

Kolkata: Joy and Nostalgia

After the COVID-19 pandemic, our first grand trip was to Kolkata, and it was also the first journey by airplane – each and every other trip was by car, as we were not sure about traveling somewhere in public with the corona virus around. We did feel that the flight was also going to be difficult with the restrictions around, but thankfully, Kerala and West Bengal didn’t have problems with accepting travelers from the other. The basic motive of this journey was to visit the National Library of India, the largest of its kind in India, so that I could find some material for my research. It did turn out well, as we could get a membership online and use the reading room as much as we needed. The library is a beautiful structure in huge green compound. There is a huge collection of books, and I am sure that I wouldn’t find anything so well-maintained anywhere else. Indian Coffee House of Kolkata could have been better if people wouldn’t smoke in there, and if they had tea like those in Kerala.

The other journeys were to Victoria Memorial and Mother House, both I am visiting for third time – never to be missed while traveling to the city. We also chose to visit the British Council Library which felt so small in comparison to the National Library, and also the Kolkata Book Fair which didn’t seem to have enough English book, but seemed like a nice place to wander – too crowded though. St Paul’s Cathedral was undergoing renovation, but remained as beautiful as usual. Another visit for a show in Birla Planetarium also followed. The South Park Street Cemetery became my third favourite cemetery after the ones in Bradford and Glasgow. We also visited three malls, City Centre Salt Lake, Forum Courtyard and Quest Mall. It was very quick a journey, as we did all of these in just a week and rushed back home. Yet, any time spent in Kolkata brings happiness, as it is indeed the City of Joy. I will still miss the trams as we couldn’t find them in the areas we visited.

National Library of India. The library of the life-time.

All the time, you visit Indian Coffee House for no reason.

Quest Mall is among my favourite malls, all-time.

St Paul’s Cathedral in the evening is lovely Gothic.

This one had fascinated my as a little kid long ago.

There is no end to a cemetery love that goes on.

I have always preferred Victoria Memorial to Taj Mahal.

Mother House has been a place of blessing for long.

The mall is lovely, but needs a food court with options.

Tea in a pot is something that we need here too.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during my visit to Kolkata.

TeNy

Velankanni: Longest Car Trip

This is not our first journey to Velankanni, as we had been to the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health the last time in 2010. But this is the first time that we are traveling in that direction by car. Tata Tigor was ready for the most distant location from its origins, and the journey was a memorable one. We took the journey in two different routes – on the way there, we went through the Palakkad-Coimbatore-Karur-Trichy route and while returning, we took the Trichy-Dindigul-Pollachi-Nenmara route, and I would suggest that traveling through the return route, but avoiding Nemara would be the right choice, for traveling from Trichy to Pollachi is joyful. While getting to Velankanni, the route through Mannargudi was better than the shorter Nagappattinam route, which was undergoing repair. Well, we reached Velankanni at a time when there less visitors. There are times when so many people go to the pilgrimage site, and there is rarely even the space to pray in peace.

The better roads in Tamil Nadu made sure that the journey was not troublesome, and only a few areas were troublesome for the vehicle’s suspension. I don’t remember much about that earlier journey to the sacred place, but it didn’t feel like something that far away from memory; yet the place has changed in twelve years. Velankanni is part of Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation, which means that we have hope for the place to feel better. We prayed in the Lourdes of the East, and hoped for the best, as we live in an uncertain world. These are the times when life in this world seems irrelevant, and therefore, such spiritual journeys seem to be the need. Among the requirements to survive in this world, the connection to the other world becomes more important than ever. This trip has been pending for a long time, and the completion of this one provides more confidence and self-belief.

The trip anywhere would require a Tata Tigor and the usual food.

There is something about visiting Velankanni that never leaves us.

The beauty of the basilica will continue to enchant us.

The basilica has been visited by all of us for such a long time.

There is always something about the prayers and penance around here.

You keep looking towards divinity for the spiritual guidance.

Resting at places of divinity has never ceased to bring blessings.

The shrine of the old times continues to be a place of faith and belief.

You look up to God and hope for redemption in a world of chaos and hatred.

No journey is complete without Tata Tigor stopping by the side of highway for tea.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during my visit to Velankanni.

TeNy

Yercaud: Vagamon’s Twin

There are many interesting hill stations in South India, and among them, we have Yercaud, the less visited and lesser known one in comparison to the others of the same kind. With Ooty and Kodaikanal being the better placed attractions, and also with a cooler climate, this place has gone unnoticed by many nature enthusiasts. If we look at the climate there, the two places in Kerala which can be compared to it are Vagamon and Kumily. The place is located about thirty kilometres from Salem, to which a journey from Coimbatore is remarkable, considering the quality of the roads. We did think about going to Valparai, another hill station with a similar climate, but this one was preferred due to the roads. You can always trust Tamil Nadu with their roads, as they are as good as you will find anywhere else in the South. Well, always choose the less travelled good roads.

Yercaud is well-known for Montfort School, its chapel and the Sacred Heart Church, but all of them were closed. The three lovely viewpoints are Gents’ Seat, Ladies’ Seat and Children’s Seat, all providing some fine views of the area around. Cauvery Peak, despite a long drive away, is a must visit for coffee lovers – they also have some activities of adventure and some history attached to it. The boating and park area is pretty good, and the lake in the middle of the town is a lovely thing of beauty. There is scarcity of big restaurants, and the Guru Restaurant turned out to be a favourite. We stayed at Hotel Tamil Nadu just like we did in Kodaikanal, and it turned out to be lovely option, very close to the boating and lake area, also providing some fine breakfast. Our journey was quick, and it was lovely. The place was not crowded at all, and that helped us to go through the whole hill station very quickly.

You have the wonderful roads and you love the 20 hair pins.

We loved the rowing boats over everything else.

Just cool enough on the lines of Vagamon in Kerala.

The hair pin roads can be seen from a distance here.

The misty, foggy world of Vagamon was missing here though.

There are always the signs of antiquity being seen around.

Cauvery Peak is a place of coffee, unlike the usual tea plantations.

It is calm, peaceful and without the crowd; so love the serenity.

I would always choose Hotel Tamil Nadu (TTDC) when available.

When roads are so good, why wouldn’t you choose to drive Tata Tigor?

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during my visit to Yercaud.

TeNy

Eternal Fall of Humanity

There is no limit to how deep a human can fall. The evil in a human being knows no boundaries. If Dante’s circles of hell were brought to Earth, there are so many people who can share the room with the devil. We have witnessed the shootings which have occurred in the United States of America, and it can be said with confidence that if such gun laws were passed in any part of the world, the result would be the same – such is the evil that humans come up with. If given an opportunity to murder another human being outside the laws, mankind will immediately know how to take a life effectively. There are no opportunists like humans, and everyone wants everything for themselves. This greed has run through their minds which have been devil’s lands.

We have seen the increase in crimes, especially murders in the last few years. Corona virus pandemic and the resulting lock-down can be blamed for the same, but the real credit goes to the true nature of humans. They just need a reason for the same. If humans had a choice, they would choose evil – it is always the easier option, and you don’t have to try that hard for the same. Yet, humans have the opportunity to be evil or pure evil, and most of them choose the second option as far as others don’t find out. For the same, cash is a major factor – earning a lot of money makes one confident enough to be evil, and as the character of a person is rarely considered while recruiting for a job. Most of the successful people in the world would find it easier to be evil, as they are in control.

You keep looking out for hope. Is it there to be seen?

There is too much of a control which the celebrities have over others. They surely have the influence, and they can also easily manipulate people into becoming mindless zombies. The same was reflected in the movie, Driving Licence – the tale which had an evil film star trying to be the demon of pride like no other. Even though there is no goodness or lack of pride on the other side, the celebrity here is pure evil. There are a number of Youtubers who seems to be trying the same with their newfound popularity, but you see that some of them with lesser viewers are even better than some of the celebrities – well, world is not fair; nepotism and lying will get you through every time. In the field of cinema, there will always be sons, daughters, nephews and nieces coming up instead of the outstanding actors and actress that we would expect.

It is difficult to live in this world, which has no point – the reason for existence itself has been missing for so long. You keep failing while trying to find a meaning. It doesn’t matter how hard you try, the world won’t get any better for you, if you stay close to truth and justice. The closer you are to pure good, the more difficult it will be for you – maybe, it will lead to your death. Humans will never feel the need for good leaders in politics either – well, politics has been all about selfishness, and there has been nothing for the people, of the people or by the people. Politics can bring a lot of money forever, like a government job in which one gets through with the help of a political party or reservations in the name of religion, community and caste. It is no wonder that people leave this part of the world too easily, and the leaving is felt more like a necessity.

We have been reduced to shadows against evil.

Why did humanity fall so deep into the well of greed and hatred? Where they always this evil? Well, they have held on to evil for very long, and they have inherited it from their predecessors. During the earlier times, there have been different explanations of evil in different parts of the world, but now, there are so many common things in evil, at least in the case of pure evil. Most of us witness too much of pure evil, and it is everywhere. In every corner, and at every turn of the road, you see the signs of the fall of humanity; the evil; the hopelessness; all the chaos – it would seem that there is no end to all of these. Human extinction seems to be the only hope, and whether religion or science causes the end of the world, we have to accept it, as faith, belief and hope have all gone the wrong way towards end, and you can only mourn them.

We can’t say that humans haven’t tried throughout the centuries – there were a few of them to be noted; even now, there is a small number of them who can make a difference like never before in history. But they will be stopped, detained or murdered, as they don’t have the power. We are left to choose from different types of evil, and there is the need for a careful analysis to find out the lesser of them – all the evil can be noted down here to know which is the worst among them. We are now left counting evil deeds, and that works as the exact opposite of hope. One day, these could be hunting grounds of the demons – maybe some aliens can serve as the same. Some of the most ruthless aliens like in Alien, Predator, The Tomorrow War and A Quiet Place can come in here. There is just too much of evil here, which should bring more of pure evil here.

I still wonder what we did to come to this terrible situation. Are we such terrible people? At which point did we fail? Evil was always there, and it has always found a way, but now we are so much at the limits, so much near the end. The basic evil nature is now not lagging behind with anything. You can always fight evil, but this pure evil which has embraced the world requires a better army to have a chance. The army requires love and compassion, but if the same is displayed, the pure evil side will lie, cheat, steal and murder like never before. I would let the aliens decide on this, and maybe when some creatures from other world arrives, we should support them instead of humans. There is nothing much for humans to do now, for it is out of their hands now. Maybe, doing nothing will serve everyone better and in a smarter way.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during some of the little journeys for the soul.

TeNy

Fear the Evil Humans

There has been the lack of interest in horror movies which is evident in the last few years. The Conjuring was a movie which brought the dying genre back into track, but as we look around, we see that the genre has come down in popularity by some distance. We remember having watched the old version of Evil Dead, as well as those other horror movies of that age which successfully scared almost everyone at that time. Now, the world has changed, and despite those spin-offs like The Nun, Annabelle and The Curse of La Llorna seemingly making some impact, horror has lost its strength, and the main reason behind that is a change in humanity’s alignment.

Humans have always been attracted to evil, but they have never been this much aligned to evil. We have come to a situation where the evil spirits and demons are not that scary as humans of this era. The more terrifying thing is that is as real as it can be, and we see such terrible actions of humans in news. Humanity has come to such a situation that if the demons try to haunt a random house, there is a chance that they will stop the same and go back to the other world, after understanding that they just cannot scare these people any more, as humans are more evil than any evil spirit could ever be. There is the strong evil spirit inside each and every human which is waiting to get out.

The light in humanity has been disappearing quickly. Is there still hope beyond?

No ghost has been that evil to its own kind like humans have been to its own kind. It is something which scares the demons, even those from straight out of hell’s deepest area. Demons have enjoyed a certain amount of universal brotherhood among them, and these actions of humans have made them question goodness and evil. They might be wondering about the factors which have led to humans being so evil – the first thought would be about the devil playing his part with his minions, but humans need to be already corrupt to fall into the trap set by the master of hell. It is like humans want to take over hell and the kingdom of the devil.

This human alignment to evil has been set by a generation of bad parenting and a flawed society which have preferred successful people over good humans. During the earlier times, being a man of goodness mattered, but not any more. You have to be rich and successful, and for the same, you have to lie, cheat and steal your way up the ladder. Fake advertisements and continuously lying salesmen have made sure that businesses thrive without ethics, while the new generation graduates and postgraduates depend on scores rather than anything else – you score well, maybe by cheating, and don’t go for values any more. You add some online apps to it, and you are completely done.

Humanity’s lights are not forever. They shall be gone soon enough.

The movement for being successful at any cost had started long before these apps started capitalizing on it. You have always been forced to become an engineer or doctor, and being a good human being hasn’t been the priority for some time. Getting married to a successful person or someone with a lot of assets was the priority over having a marriage alliance with a good person. Being a kind-hearted person will get you nowhere, and if you trust these humans rather too much, they will surely cheat you. Humans are not the species that you should trust with anything, as they have given up their goodness in favour of success, fame and money.

The youth going for easy money and becoming part of illegal activities is due to the pressure put on by the society, and with the evil always present in them, they often take this to a step higher. In the end, they find it easy to murder too. Society’s role should have been to transform a person into a good human being rather than a rich and successful one. But society has asked for financial success, and by doing the same, the inherent evil inside humans have become more active than ever. All the parents of this age are also focusing on the same, and have successfully contributed in making their sons and daughters, the evil human beings that the demons fear.

The world should have never been this competitive. Living in such a world itself is scary, and when you add all the evil to it, you are in a dark world with no hope. The idea that one only needs a lot of money by any means is scary enough, and so is the idea that anything is justified by a lot of cash. As long as parents and society will continue to ask too much from the younger generation without second thoughts, the world is going to further descend into evil and chaos. We have reached a situation where there cannot be a human who is not evil, and this journey towards hopelessness means that humans will replace the demons as the leading evil species, while demons will be known for compassion and love instead.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during some of the little journeys for the soul.

TeNy

The Myth of Good Human

A myth is supposed to be a traditional story, mostly concerning the early history of a group of people, which explains some natural happenings. It is supposed to be only partially true, or at times, completely false. But there is nothing more unnatural than the myth about a human being being good, for humanity’s inherent evil and their never ending greed makes sure that there can be no human being who can be honoured for their good deeds. Maybe, it was not the case a few decades ago, as even between those wars and acts of oppression, there was kindness. But now, humanity is too materialistic to be classified into the spectrum of good, as the tendency to be evil is more than ever.

Humans are simply not motivated to be good anymore. A few decades ago, religion was a fine inspiration, and people believed that goodness will be rewarded and deeds of evil will bring terrible punishments. Now, religion is not of that strength any more, and the only place where it gets stronger is in the field of politics. All politicians make use of religion in one way or the other, and some of the religious leaders are not less than politicians. Religion has always been used as part of politics, but never like it is now, dividing people, and forcing them to be evil in the name of God. Well, when someone does evil in the name of God, the person should be serving the devil instead.

The good human is a mythological creature who is supposed to hide in the fog.

The only motivation seems to be money. It is such a huge motivator that people are even ready to die for it. People are forced to be like this from early childhood itself. There are so many online teaching apps which force students to be money and career oriented, without values. We are now provided with a generation that thinks that money, fame and career growth are everything, and this training is going to bring us an even more terrifying generation sooner or later. Nowadays, students are forced into studies as if it is the only thing that matters, and for other programmes, they are given a chance only to gain the first place. Being ranked first matters so much these days.

The motivational speakers are always trying to make you successful, but the stories of inspiration are rooted in money for most of the time, and it never gets going for most of the people. The path to be travelled are not the same for everyone, and not everyone is looking for money. Well, the people who are close to goodness are never really the successful people, and they cannot get too rich either. In this world, when you are too empathetic and as you are not that prepared to move through the evil path, you will be at loss. Most of the good people in this world are left with no hope due to the same reason. This is not a world for the good people, which is why the idea of the good human being has turned into a myth, with most of them becoming extinct.

Yet, people take the evil lightly if you have a lot of money. There are not many things which the celebrities cannot do. There are always the fans who support them without second thoughts. For these people their role model cannot be evil at all. If the celebrity is also an actor or actress, the person will find it easier to hide the evil. Being a successful person by any way is a fine step towards declaring one to be perfect. There are so many Youtube influencers who have recently been part of controversy – they are also celebrities, and making money through videos have been easy these days, but they only cater to a certain group of people. The others who are part of films and cricket – nothing matches them in their popularity and fanfare.

An exploration into the myth about good humans is a difficult task, which is why I am not going to talk about those rare men and women from the past who can only be declared as reflections of goodness. We cannot live in the past any more, even though it does come back to us. We have to look forward to the future, and hope that there can be some instances of the myth becoming true. We can keep looking, but it saddens me to see that the myth remains the myth, and wherever I look, I can see only those cruel men and women who are looking only at money, fame and career. I wish to see a few people who were focused on the beautiful qualities of being human, but I am disappointed at every moment.

You can look for the good humans in the clouds, but it remains a tough job.

We see grand places of worship being built when people struggle from the Corona virus pandemic – but we remember that it is up to the government to do more. And will the rich care for the poor? We see that there are skyscrapers being built during these times too, and those serve as the reflections of the myth of good humans, for going for so much more during these bleak times is nothing less than evil. The mind of humans have been set into a materialistic tone, and I would hope that the world would change, with humans caring for each other. But that would be hoping against all hope. During these days when murders, frauds and other crimes are increasing, I will not be a man of hope.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during one of the little journeys for the soul.

TeNy

Happiness as a Clear Lie

I have heard that some of the motivational speakers do speak a lot about happiness. I haven’t been happy about that, and the same has taken away a little bit more of my own happiness too. There have been so many people quoting that happiness comes from within, and each person is responsible for creating one’s own happiness. Well, if that was supposed to be the case, human beings had to live in their own bubbles from the beginning to the end, without contacting anyone else. Each human being should not be talking to other people at all, and got to mind his own business after being locked up at home, with all the necessary things delivered to the house.

Can humans live like that forever? Most of us introverts would prefer that, but it is certainly not possible. It would be possible if there was an apocalypse and everyone else had changed into brain-eating zombies or blood-sucking vampires – but in that case too, you would be dead too early. Happiness is not something which is created in a room, and if someone says the same after the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even a dumber statement. When so many people struggled due to Corona virus, and with the crime and violence increasing, how can people still continue to believe that a person can be responsible for one’s own happiness? It feels rather cruel.

We are volcanoes with lava of sadness, that won’t come out as boys don’t cry.

People who are able to come up with this kind of statements seem to be those well-settled men and women with high paying jobs and lots of assets already. These are the kind of people who resemble the celebrities who asked everyone to stay at home and enjoy, because they have such huge houses and a lot of money stockpiled. These are the kind of people who have somehow managed to find the easy way into their jobs and lots of money, because of which they are not able to understand the reason behind the abiding sadness among the people around, who have their own struggles in life related to jobs, money and certain family problems.

Let us leave those people who choose the world of crime to make some easy money, and those who continuously lie, cheat and steal – they should be happy in their own way, as such terrible acts do provide them with enough money. But what about the common man who has been struggling to become successful in a straight path, but fails? Can be happy about failing again and again after working so hard? Can a person who is so much learned and extremely good in his subject be denied opportunities while those who know almost nothing gets a fine job, just because he is affiliated with a political party or can tell lies better than anyone else? How can a qualified man, an expert, be happy after knowing that?

The emotions rise and fall like certainty of tides, but melancholy remains.

How can a person who has lived a life of goodness and learning be happy as he understands that so many less qualified and fake-faced others have lied, cheated and stolen all the way up the ladder while he remains at the bottom? How can anyone look at the gap between the rich and poor be happy enough? With so many people taken right into poverty, and with all the wealth concentrating on a few, can anyone feel that this is a happy world of justice and love? How can anyone believe that the nation is developing with so many people forced to go through terror? How can one go on with life when you see that the best and the most lovable people whom he met are the unsuccessful people?

Well, the world doesn’t need unsuccessful people. It categorizes people according to how much they earn, and those without enough monthly earning are placed in a lower level. You can easily feel it from the way they talk. You can try to live a life doing good to others, but these are not the old times when acts of goodness counted – the people will look down upon you, and some people think that you can still create your own happiness? Do they think that happiness is two-minute noodles? When you feel that you are so much let down by the society, you would think about anything to make the depression go away, but you just cannot create happiness in there out of nothing.

What do these quote serve other than victim blaming? If we are depressed and cannot be happy, it is our own fault? The great poets were depressed enough, and never really came out of the feeling. If you are too rich, you can do a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and wander around different nations, but what will the common man do? Well, Bollywood provides too much for the capitalist class, and they also put the common man into the trap. The common man also thinks that traveling will make things better, but for that, you still need the cash. You save the money for traveling, and once the journey is done, you are unhappy again as you have no money. What all people do for the fake emotion, the lie which is happiness! The reminiscence! The melancholy! The loss of hope in life’s wasteland!

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during some of the little journeys for the soul.

TeNy

Dark Beauty of the Absurd

Most of us keep trying to find meaning in our lives. Some of us are Sisyphus, and the others Naranath Bhranthan. The former is cursed to roll a huge boulder all the way up a hill only for it to roll down as it neared the top, an action which is repeated for eternity. The latter would roll the huge boulders up the hill and lets them roll down back by himself, and it is a sight which he enjoys. From the Greek myth and from the Indian Keralite folklore, we have two characters who perform meaningless, irrelevant actions, which are repeated again and again, as people look at them with wonder, and many future writers would have them as part of their works.

These rocks have purpose. Death has purpose, but do we?

Sisyphus is someone who was punished to carry out the meaningless thing for eternity. Most of us are like that, because we are part of a thankless world filled with evil humans. We have to go on doing our meaningless work all the time until our drop of eternity, the life ends. Even when we often have the feeling that life is meaningless, there is nothing that we can do about it, for we are cursed and damned to live through this eternity which is called life, even though it is originally a journey towards death. We carry these huge burdens, and some of us become good enough to be called successful, but all is lost in the end. There can be no true meaning to these actions.

Naranath Branthan or the Madman of Naranam is another person who gets a huge boulder to roll all the way up, and then pushes it down. He has been called the mad man, but he is the man who realizes the uselessness of one’s actions. He is showing everyone around him that whatever they are doing is useless, but people only laugh at him and considers him as a crazy person who does meaningless things. People feel that what they are doing will matter, but the truth is that none of these are of significance, and at least the mad man knows that everything happens for no reason. What is the significance of a human being and his or her actions? Absolutely nothing.

We are all trying to find some meaning in life with our actions, but the realization that there is none won’t do us any good. This is the reason why people keep doing something or the other to forget the meaningless of existence. When life’s purpose is to exist until one dies, and death being the final destination, you cannot ask for too much in this life. The only hope is the afterlife, as people can do the good deeds and wish for a place in paradise. But in this materialistic world, people are only after money and fame, with no real act of kindness being performed on a regular basis. People have no compassion, and hatred has roots in the minds of people of this age.

Finding the silver lining in the cloud is a worthless task.

One might feel that the struggle itself is enough to make the life worth living, but this is not really a world which deserves us. It doesn’t matter how hard we try to make it a better place, the world will not change. The only option which is left for us to do nothing, or become as terrible as the world itself. Paulo Coelho, in his work had said that when you want something, universe will conspire to help you achieve it, a quote which is often used in different contexts without shame. Everyone knows that nobody will help you to achieve your dreams, and most people will only try to make it worse for you. The universe is like that, and this quote is another attempt to make us go for futile things.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had also come up with a similar quote earlier, but he lived during a time when there seemed to be immense possibilities – the present world is the most hopeless one, and any hope that this universe brings us is fake. One does keep wondering about how many more centuries will it take for humans to realize that none of these matters. One also has wonder how many days it will take for the humans to have their own pessimistic speakers to make people understand that none of these matters. There should be a time when all these motivational speakers turn pessimistic and inform people the truth, that there is no need for inspiration in a mundane world.

It is a bigger wonder that some people still feel that there is hope. The politicians know that there is none, which is why they try to make as much money as possible instead of just living with their already huge salary. They happily make life worse for the very people who elect them, and find happiness in such actions. The advertisements are where the celebrities tell lies about products after taking a huge amount of money, thus cheating their fans, while the salesmen continuously lies to sell their products. I would guess that at least these people know that there is no hope in this world, and therefore they should lie, cheat and steal till the end of their meaningless life, and it won’t matter to them if they are fried by the devil in the afterlife.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during some of the little journeys for the soul.

TeNy

Need for Human Extinction

There are two Russian movies which brought us so close to human extinction, and they have even left us with hope that it can still happen, as there is no total annihilation of the enemy or the possible enemy in the end of these movies. I have felt that Russian movies have managed to be better than their friends from Hollywood movies very often. Well, Hollywood did have its chance to bring us close to extinction while trying to find the secrets behind our origins, but it lost the opportunity with Prometheus which was one classic alien movie, and it could follow up with just Alien Covenant, something which couldn’t go through the same path, choosing the deviations instead.

The first among the two Russian movies is The Blackout, a film which reminds us of the new movies of Ridley Scott, but manages to make it more of an alien invasion on Earth, taking us close to that possible human extinction. But the opportunity is lost, even though the ending leaves a little bit of something for us to hope that humanity will slowly perish in the hands of aliens sooner or later. With most part of the world already done, just a few mistakes from humans can make sure that there is extinction. A few smarter moves from aliens earlier could have made things easier, but with a second part of this movie, we will be with less survivors, and maybe about ninety nine percent of humanity done.

It also shows the kind of wretched creatures that humans are. Humanity proves itself as the curse of the planet which only the aliens could cure. Humans in this movie are the type of creatures who are ready to get rid of the alien who had earlier helped them. Well, aliens do not know the humans well enough, do they? The truth is that nobody knows the true nature of humans who will do anything for their selfish needs from money to fame. The aliens never knew the immense possibilities in evil that the humans can come up with. All the vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons and witches have already categorized humans in their list of evil – not just random evil, but the purest form of evil, with no compassion to their fellow beings or other species.

The second one is Superdeep, a movie which finds the cure for human disease from underneath the surface. Milena Radulovic, the leading lady tries her best to make sure that the strange mold which has caused all the terror in the underground laboratory won’t reach the surface and infect humanity. But there is still a small amount of hope that it can still get to the Russian scientists, with its ending. The extinction here can be brought about by a kind of creature which grows inside people, and also seems to become one with the elements of nature, a seemingly perfect method to get the green nature to regain its power from the evil humans which kept torturing it for centuries.

It would benefit the world so much to have humans as part of the mold, as there would be no longer the greed, lust and other deadly sins on Earth. It is basically the easy way to clean Earth of its sins. If the evil humans continue to exist, they will torment the very small percent of good humans who are left on Earth while living to lie and cheat for money. Well, this is a materialistic world, and hatred comes naturally in it. The goodness is so less in this world that you can safely say that it doesn’t exist. There has to be forces strong enough to stop humans and bring the extinction – it doesn’t matter if it comes from underneath like in Superdeep, or from above, as in The Blackout.

Another Russian movie, Sputnik had a perfect creature to deal with humans, but that movie actually ended without leaving scope for a sequel. It was a monster which could have fared so well among the evil humans. One can only look on with wonder seeing all the quality that Russian films have brought for us. There is enough horror, science fiction, alien invasion, war, superhero stuff that stays so strong. A few years ago, I had the feeling that I would have to stick to the South Korean movies to bring that kind of a special quality, but these are really splendid. You can depend on these movies for quality entertainment.

Coming back to extinction, it is better for humans themselves as well as the other creatures of the planet to get rid of humanity. How many more years can one see the humans doing such evil to their fellow beings as well as other species? God wouldn’t want to have anything with humans anymore – such wretched are the people. The only reason why humans haven’t killed themselves yet is because they need some of their own kind for their own evil plans against the other groups. When all the other groups are done, they will start fighting between themselves. It will be a long process, and therefore I would call for a quicker extinction, whichever celestial being or subterranean monster can bring it.

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***The images used on this blog post are the posters of these movies, used to support this particular blog post only.

TeNy

End of Life’s Meaning

It shouldn’t really take much time to realize that life has no meaning at all. The fact that people take so much of time to understand the same is the strange thing about it. Those who proclaim that they have found meaning in life are either living in a fool’s paradise, or are trying to make fools out of people. People should have at least understood the same after the floods or the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no real purpose, and we are just existing through this world of chaos because we were born, and are doomed for an inferno in advance before we get to see the real heaven or hell. We are now facing the third wave of a pandemic, and even the government do not want to impose a lockdown and stop the spread anymore. Everyone is indeed tired, and the vaccine is as useless as it can get.

There will always be those fake motivational speakers who will try to say otherwise. These people will come up with the examples of people who have fought against all odds and succeeded. But the truth is that this is not motivating, but depressing – the fact that even these people succeeded while you didn’t leads to the realization that you are worthless, and maybe it is the time to end your life. This leads to you stop searching for those so called motivational people and start searching for methods to commit suicide. Well, you just cannot get better through the inspiration provided by the lives of others, as no two people live the same life – maybe it is true in the case of celebrities who all seems to go through the same lifestyle.

Motivational speakers can talk about light in the dark, but darkness covers them all.

You cannot connect the celebrities to the meaning of life, as there is nothing that they will provide as a positive thing. It is still a wonder to see that we have so many people following the lives of these celebrities – can they be saying truth at any moment? Will people believe in the advertisements which they are part of? Is Boost really the secret of the energy of any cricketer from Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli? Hasn’t their performances come down after beginning to appear in those advertisements? Does Amitabh Bachchan eat so many Cadbury’s Diary Milk chocolates at this age? Did Mahendra Singh Dhoni use that matrimony website to find the person to whom he got married? Is any Bollywood celebrity using the soaps which they are advertising?

These days, it is often about one celebrity child having a Youtube channel. It could have been tik-tok, but thankfully, that one was banned to get rid of some of the irritation. The son or daughter of the superstar who is going to be the next superstar will have a Youtube channel, and the person would talk about what happens at his house, what all plants and trees are there, how many cats and dogs are around, and how amazing the family is. Well, the fans are basically brainless, and they would want to watch all the rubbish which is provided by these people instead of looking for genuine people with content. There is always the easy way to glory, and it is achieved by birth – for everyone else, life doesn’t hold that many promises other than genuine absurdity.

Most of the paths are not to be trusted. They can have some bad effects on you.

The case of matrimonials has been strange for quite a long time. It has been more bourgeoisie than the celebrities themselves, as everyone belongs to the rich, aristocratic families which even seems to predate Jesus Christ. Everyone is fair, hardworking and god fearing, with the display pictures photoshopped with a certain amount of skill. One should not be confused about all these suicides and murders happening with husbands and wives, because they were never really meant to be together. They might have started an account at a matrimonial website before finding a random person there, or to avoid this, they might have eloped together. Well, nowadays there are more suicides in love marriages, and that trend has also started.

There are only a few people who can be really successful around here, if you have not studied a professional course. You need to somehow get a government job or jump into politics – both seems to be having more and more scope these days. The other chance for success is to get away from here – it seems that there are more people whom I know in Canada than around here. From the United States to the United Kingdom, and then from Australia to New Zealand, the new favourite place to go and settle down seems to be Canada. It might be easier to ask who is not in Canada these days. Well, where did the other countries go? Are they not interesting anymore?

Well, if I had to go somewhere, I would go to Sri Lanka, Bhutan or some other place which has the same amount of tranquility. I could choose one of the Eastern European countries – Romania, Estonia or the others. I find the busy world which is associated with those much loved countries to be something that will contribute to that absurdity. It is difficult to live in a world which focuses on the monetary benefits and swallows the happiness in return for such benefits. They say that this is a competitive world, but it is not the kind of world that I would appreciate. If you are rich, you can have a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a purely bourgeoisie concept, and otherwise, you can sit at home for most of the time, and hope for the expenses to come down. Lockdowns can do such favours, but the meaning of life is once again lost, as you journey towards the more meaningful death.

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***The images used on this blog post were taken by me on my Samsung mobile phone during one of the little journeys for the soul.

TeNy

A History of Our Cars

Ever since Ford had decided to stop its operations in India, I had wanted to get a new car, a sedan to replace my Ford Aspire. I never had any problem with Ford, as the service was really good, and I had driven the car more than any other. We had owned four cars after I learned to drive – Maruti Suzuki 800 (silver), Tata Indica (green), Chevrolet Beat (black) and Ford Aspire (red) as our primary cars, along with Maruti Suzuki Alto (blue) which served as the secondary car with Aspire. Among these cars, Ford Aspire is the one car which we used for the highest period of time (five years and four months), and was driven the most despite the presence of Alto as the secondary car (63000 km), and it was also our only diesel car. The two-wheelers were always there, and the last two were of Honda, but that is not something of relevance in this particular blog post. That would be another history which could be part of a smaller blog post in comparison to this one.

Our original idea was to keep on driving Ford as much as we could, but with the end of Ford India as a competitor in the Indian market made us think again about the same. There has been the spread of Corona virus, and Ford’s present situation also added to the disappointment. But the memories that Ford left for us are too many, from being the car of our wedding, and being the one vehicle which has traveled through eleven out of fourteen districts of Kerala, and three districts of Tamil Nadu, something not done before by the other cars before, which were all sold before reaching fifty thousand kilometres. At the expense of the two-wheelers, Ford Aspire became the most traveled vehicle of our home. With so many memories connected to it, finding its successor was going to be difficult, and it was a tough procedure to find a sedan that could replace the car that made the difference.

The chosen car, the one truly Indian automobile – Tata Tigor

The grand shortage of semiconductor chips was something which was heard in most of the car dealer shops. It seemed that the waiting time for the car was going to be endless, no matter from where we buy one. Red and blue were difficult colours to get, even though we only wanted those two, with others being too dull – unless it was black which always keeps a certain amount of class related to it. During these times, white seemed to be an easy colour to get, but we wouldn’t be persuaded to go for the same, as for us, it is a colourless thing. White has never been considered a colour as far as we were concerned, for it was the colour of the scratches and the work of the birds that wanted to have a say from the sky. If we were to buy a car, it had to be special and beautiful, and white never satisfied these conditions. If it was a printer, white was fine, and for everything else, we needed the colourful, not the dull.

Beyond this particular dull world where the white car is preferred, one had to make that choice, and it was stuck on a blue Tata Tigor. The only other place where the eyes had stuck for some time was a Hyundai Aura, but by the time it would have arrived in one of our favourite colours, we would have lost all interest in buying a car. It would have been a longer wait than what was seen in Ennu Ninte Moideen, and that was certainly not advisable – to add to it, I have never seen that car on the road. This made Tata Tigor the better option immediately, and it was also cheaper, and the Tata showroom was closer to home than any other. Tata Altroz was also considered as an option for some time, but we continued to wish for the sedan over the hatchback. The Altroz blue was also not that interesting in comparison, as it was too light for our liking. In comparison, Tigor seemed to score better – I would always prefer my car to be as dark as it can get.

Maruti Suzuki never came close to getting into our list of possibilities, and Honda came close with Amaze, but that was also dropped quick enough. Almost everyone you see has a Dzire or Baleno, but we wouldn’t be part of that. The Honda showroom nearby had closed, and the Mahindra showroom in the town had closed much earlier, and Verito had ceased to be an option early enough. We thought about Renault, but nobody knows which motor company is to leave next, and the Ford exit has left us as the doubtful ones – with Nissan, MG and Kia, we have to buy the bigger cars, and it is not something that we would prefer. Nissan Magnite was attractive with its price tag, but we couldn’t be sure about another foreign company either. A few years earlier, maybe buying a sedan would have been the one right choice for so many people, but not anymore. In the end, it was to be Tata, and also stick to the sedan when people were all buying the bigger ones, Nexon and Harrier.

With the 2018 Kerala floods and the later smaller floods, it seems that people are taking the bigger cars now to drive through the flooded streets, even though that doesn’t seem to have made much of a difference. Even 2021 hasn’t brought much of a change related to the strange and unpredictable behaviour of rain, as we keep looking at similar situations again and again. We have seen too much destruction of property with cars being a regular prey in many cases, and in most of the situations, there is only the change of location where destruction has affected people more than the other places. As more people also wanted to own private vehicles due to the Corona virus induced decrease in public transportation, we see more people buying smaller hatchback cars after somehow learning to drive. Women are also preferring those smaller cars, and therefore sedan with a longer tail is not of preference for most people around here – it is like either go for the big SUV-like thing or choose the hatchback version which doesn’t confuse you about the back.

There has been a fine increase in the number of Tata cars in the last few months as we look on the roads, and we were adding ourselves to that list of people. I have seen that more people are now preferring Tata, and I would have loved to see Mahindra with the smaller cars too. The variant which we decided to choose was the blue XZ Petrol version, as that seemed to have everything that was required. This one particular version was also easier to get, within a small amount of time. The next variant had more of what we didn’t need, and so making the choice was finally easier than we thought. The Tata dealer nearby, Sree Gokulam Motors also made sure that the whole procedure was easier, and we could come to the decision after checking both Tigor and Altroz. The dark blue colour of Tigor is different from the blue which our secondary vehicle Alto has, and the two blue cars make a nice view at our home. Our first trip with Tigor is yet to be finalized, even though we are making some small trips around here, and something bigger would come up soon.

Tata Tigor on one of its smaller trips which won’t qualify as a tour.

*** The photos of the car used in this blog post were taken on my Samsung Galaxy A20S, and all of these are of our new Tata Tigor XZ Blue.

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TeNy

The Highland Connection

Kerala has always had its natural beauty in its hills, as these are the more preferred destinations in comparison to the beaches during the days when temperature is higher than it used to be. Among all these options, the first choice would always be Munnar, followed by these two special places – Thekkady and Vagamon. Located forty two kilometres, and about one and half kilometres apart, these two were to be combined in our trip. Our original idea was to travel to Thekkady and return after spending some time there, but the tour was rather extended. These two have been among our most visited destinations, with Thekkady being a place visited even when we traveled to the Tamil Nadu side, even though Munnar comes first as the most traveled hill station of all time, but a journey there would have meant eighty six kilometres and three hours, and so Vagamon seemed to be the much better choice.

At Vagamon, we stayed at Chillax Vagamon this time, and it was a simple place very close to the town itself, and the main attraction was a swimming pool at the roof top. During our earlier trip, we had stayed at Fairmount Vagamon Resorts, which was located further away from the town, and had a better view of greenery. At Thekkady, we stayed in Crown Valley Resorts, which was a grand place, a four star hotel which provided some fine facilities. During an earlier trip, we had stayed at Hotel SN International, which was closer to the town. The idea about this journey was more about traveling all the way there, and staying there to enjoy the atmosphere, and sight-seeing was not part of the plan. Well, at times, you need these hill stations for just the same, and not more.

The journey towards the destination always matters.

Reached the Crown Valley Resort, and then I had to take online classes.

Ford Aspire resting at Crown Valley Resort makes a fine view.

Note the route between Thekkady and Vagamon which is one grand sight.

What lies between Thekkady and Vagamon is the treat for the eyes.

Vagamon has its cute little hills at all places for you to see and admire.

There is always the setting sun which has the hills and clouds to hide itself.

Vagamon, even though the smaller among the hill stations, has its special charm.

View of the rooftop swimming pool of Chillax provided something to cheer for.

Some greenery is always there to be seen, from different angles and spaces.

*All the above photos were taken by me during our earlier trip in March 2021.

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TeNy