Timeline of My Mobile Phones

Nokia 1100 (2004): I remember my first mobile phone being this basic model, and during those days, were really happy even with models like this one. I have heard about people beginning their journey with mobile phones through Nokia 3310, but I never really came across that particular mobile during my 1100 days. My first mobile network connection was that of BPL Mobile Network, which had some nice offers for that time, and I had spent my time sending those forwarded SMS and usual simple games like Snake. Well, that felt like the luxury which I had never before, and that did take some effort to get this phone.

Nokia 3220 (2005): Well, Nokia 1100 was the basic mobile phone, and time was coming for the need for a certain replacement. After one year of usage, the phone was replaced by a mobile which looked stranger than most of the other phones which were popular during the time. When I bought this phone, nobody really had something like this – a weird mobile phone with lights on both sides, and these lights were blinking whenever a call came. Well, you won’t spend even a little bit of time trying to find this phone during a power cut, as it could be seen from anywhere at home. It was also my first camera phone.

Nokia 6600 (2006): The lightweight phone with LED lights lasted only an year for me, as it had its own limitations, and a phone with full multimedia facility was required. It was the phone which defeated all Sony Ericsson mobile phones which were in competition with Nokia during the time when Samsung was never really there. It was heavy and highly durable, and dropped on the ground never really hurt it in any way. With the Symbian Operating System, and so many options being possible, it had given me an advantage over almost every other phone out there in the hands of the other students.

Nokia N95 (2007): I never really had any problems with Nokia 6600 which was considered to mobile phone at a high level, but my cousin from United Kingdom gifted me a Nokia N95, and Nokia 6600 had to step away. This phone was a legend during the time, and with an amazing camera for the time, and with so many options, I was an immediate fan of the phone, which could match the digital cameras of the time. I would also consider it to be the best mobile phone I ever used in comparison to the contemporaries, and even though it stopped working a long time later, I have kept it with me as a memory.

Samsung Galaxy Star Duos and Samsung Galaxy S Duos (2011/12): These two phones came one after the other, and the second one came to me after my father bought a mobile phone, and he didn’t want to use it as it was too complicated with the Android system. Even though N95 was the phone which I used during my journeys to England, Scotland and Sri Lanka, these Samsung phones were part of my life in UC College, Aluva. They brought some fine pictures of the campus as I spent my time wandering through the green campus, especially the side of canteen and library, during the time of post graduation in English.

Asus Zenfone 5 and Asus Zenfone Max (2015/2017): The former became my first experience of buying a mobile phone online, and latter became my second phone to be bought online, the first one from Flipkart and the second one from Amazon. I loved both phones, as I have always been a fan of Asus. I also have an Asus laptop at home which has been working well for many years now, and another laptop from the same company which has served me for more than two years . If it was available in the local stores, I would have bought Asus again. It during the same time period that I bought a Swipe 3D tablet which is still working.

Samsung Galaxy J4+ and Samsung Galaxy A20S (2019/2020): I decided to shift to the local stores with my mobile buying procedure, as some extra service could be attained in that way. The former was bought because the Asus phone required more space, and it was also becoming slow, despite the huge battery giving the advantage. But with the COVID-19 crisis, online classes and webinars required better phone, bringing A20S to the picture. J4+ was becoming slow with bigger meetings, and thus, A20S, my current phone was bought during the COVID-19 lock-down, when mobile phone shops were allowed to open once in a week by the government.

<—Click here to go to the previous post.

<— Click here to go to the last film review.

***The images used in this blog post are from mobile sites use for blogging purpose only.

TeNy

Welcoming Simona II

It has been more than one year since Simona left us, and we have all missed her so much. It was the time when everyone felt that she was going to stay forever that she had to jump in front of a moving vehicle. You know that from the earlier posts, as well as the posts on my social media that Simona has left the big impact, that much of an impact which have spawned so many blog posts as well social media posts in a small amount of time, along with those photos which are so much in number, filling up the hard drive.

There is something about the one cat that was the favourite of everyone in the neighbourhood. Her impact was so much that people wanted to wait in the queue to feed her – everyone surely misses her on their legs; there is no longer the cute little kitty hug, or the attempt to get into the house before you do. She was the skilled warrior who were catching the squirrels and rats along with regular murder of spiders, cockroaches and lizards. There was also the rumour that she could catch a few snakes, but the same couldn’t be practiced without the presence of a real snake.

Hello, I am the new kitten who owns this house. Feed me cat-food and milk 😀

Maybe so many insects cursed her just within a small time period, that she has to leave us – it was into their rather peaceful world that she decided to keep wandering into, very often. She was one cat that changed the world, and for the last year, there have been almost no cat in the neighbourhood except for one or two wandering around very less, including one big cat with one eye. It seemed as if the place was cursed by the cats, for there were only stray dogs around.

It was during one of those days, on a rainy day, to be exact, that this little kitten made its entry, and there was certainly the music of the rain to provide it a dramatic entrance. It had no hesitation to become the star, making enough voice to gather all the attention. It surely needed a home, and more than that, it needed the food and some love. What more can a lonely kitten ask for, on a rainy day with stray dogs wandering all around? Not many other things were on its list for sure.

This is the special pose that we people from tiger family do; watch with attention 😀

We decided to keep feeding her, and she decided to stay at home, outside on the verandah, just inside the table which is there to keep the newspapers and the pieces of cloth to clean the car with. At times, the home is changed to under the car which is the second shelter, but it is not a permanent solution for her, as it is not there all the time. Staying within the limits of home, she would grow up, and lets see how long she decides to live in her new home, and whether there is a change of place coming up when the rain stops at some point. Well, we can’t call her by any other name except Simona, thus making her Simona II or Simona the Second.

Among the creatures that are given special attention, it is the cat that deserves the most, and you understand the same when you look into their eyes – they need you, despite being from the family of many tigers. There are the dogs getting all the attention from one side and the cows from another, which leaves the other creatures without hope. As you should have read about in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” – the same couldn’t get more correct than during these days.

Well, the world does change doesn’t it? Some animals do have the chance to reclaim their spots at some other point of time. Meanwhile, we see that the cats are the real lovers of home, and let them protect your home, because it belongs to them too. Maybe, they would just bless our world because sometimes you look into their eyes, and they just seem to say that we are blessed to have them in our lives. I wouldn’t disagree to the same, if it is exactly what they are thinking.

***The images used in this blog were taken by me on my Asus Zenfone 5 at home. As you read this, take time to read the reviews of the latest Hollywood flicks at your nearest theatres, The Mummy and Wonder Woman.

TeNy

What Happens in Life

Six months have passed and this is the half-time for the year 2016. Well, I found that out just two days ago. The last six months have been the fastest part of an year in my whole life. I feel that I missed most of the days during these months, and that there is the need to keep writing down these days so that it won’t give me the feeling that I missed some of these. I have never really known the existence of some of these days because time has taken off with some super-powered wings.

These days, I have been thinking that there are just two sides to everything, and when we have free-time, people are just bothered about it, and when we are so busy, people are just not happy about it. These days, most of my time is spent in the office or in the traffic, and people have been asking about what I have been doing to be so busy. Well, even when I was not working, I did keep myself busy. These days, as I have a job, I am busy without any need to keep myself so.

There is something about starting from the city in a long-distance bus, and after one and half hours of traveling, you are still in that city. At the same time, you have traveled through so many pot-holes that you will feel that it is the time to retire. Meanwhile, the rain keeps coming down so hard that you have to keep the shutter down and be denied the view outside. To add to that, there is more water in the pot-holes than in the canal that runs in front of our home.

But things do keep happening, and leaving the confidential information aside, there has been the presence of a new car. Yes, finally got to my first sedan and the very first diesel car – this is also the first time I have gone for red. There has been a lot of traveling after that, even though the only day that I get to travel is a Sunday, with six working days on my list. As Id-Ul-Fitr was there, that came as some relief, and the next relief is to be on the Independence Day next month, and the month after that, Onam.

The number of movies I have watched at the theatres in the last six months is also at an all-time low for the last few years, as the movie count got stuck at seventeen instead of the fifty which I was planning to complete. The journey of the day that lasts from early morning to night has taken the movie time too, and I wouldn’t dare to remember the last time I watched the television – but that is really a good thing though; there was never something that good on the idiot box.

I have had good time with work, but things before and after work has been pretty much the trouble. There is that list of things which are to be done otherwise, and there are those extra things which are to be there as part of the contribution from others. Just now, I have managed to sneak in and get a stereo and the nitrogen filling for the car. The rain has made sure that I will have all the exercise I need with washing the car.

Maybe something interesting will come up in life outside work too! As some people say, there should be the right time for all of these; twists happen as they have occured on many occasions in my life. There have been a few interesting movies which I watched in the bus and reviewed though, including Kill Command, Deadpool, The Witch, The Boy, The Visit, Brooklyn, Sinister II, Knock Knock, The Vatican Tapes, Wrecker, Victor Frankenstein and Inside Out.

***The images used in this blog post were taken on my Asus Zenfone 5.

TeNy

RIP: Simona the Kitty

I had been looking forward to post this one, but as most of my friends here are friends with me on Facebook or is in contact with one person or the other who is friends with me, I thought they knew. But the news about Simona’s death had to be told, at least for the people who don’t yet know about the same. It happened on a terrible night, when she jumped in front of a vehicle which was passing through the road in front of our gate. We have been missing her a lot, especially from a few days after the event; the absence was really felt!

Here are a few of my favourite photos of her from the past which you might have seen in this blog; I have kept them separately…

TeNy

Birthday and the Conclave

March 12th is my birthday, and there are lots of facts which are related to this particular day. I have never been that much fond of celebrating this day, even though when the friends were there, it was kind of different – giving and taking those treats were essential things. It had become a tradition to celebrate the birthdays more than the rest of the celebrations. But things did change, and I was back to my normal situation, of not celebrating anything – celebrations did leave me, and I was a lot happy to skip them all.

But sometimes, the birthdays become more than just birthdays – it will have other memories and special things happening on the day which will make it the memorable day, but not directly related to being the day on which you were born. There is something special about this year’s birthday – it will be the first birthday of me on which I will be working; the first time on a birthday that actually have a job; it has a special status in that case, but there is something about the last year’s birthday too.

The last year’s birthday had me at three different cities – in the morning, I was at Cochin, at noon, I was at Mumbai and in the evening, I was at Delhi – well, that was surely a different day for me. Usually, it was like, each and every day, I am either at home or at the theatre watching a movie. This one special advantage of not going directly to a city – well, I had so much to spare at that time, and so this kind of journey was not going to waste my time! The return was through Bangalore for some change.

That was what happened on March 12th last year, and then the big moments were to be on the next few days. It was about attending the India Today Conclave at Delhi, and it was what I was there for, even though visiting Delhi for the first time was also a priority. After winning the contest, I found myself at Taj Palace, and right there in the hall to listen to those eminent personalities. I also found my new friends there, my co-winners and delegates – Arvind Passey, Shoma Abhyankar, Shreya Das and Yogita Aggarwal.

When a day has Sachin Tendulkar in the beginning, you know how awesome it can become. There were people like Katrina Kaif, Lisay Haydon, Chetan Bhagat, our honourable central ministers and others on that wonderful first day. On the second day, there were Viswanathan Anand, Ranveer Singh, the ambassadors to India, Shobhaa De and the others, along with the Chief Ministers of a number of states – and when everything ends, you are not happy that it ended, but you can’t wait to travel through Delhi!

The memories stay so well that I often wonder if this is my birthday or the conclave anniversary; a few things are a lot meaningful than the rest, and it changes according to the person; for not everyone thinks the same about their own lives. Maybe I was never really going to think about it as my birthday and as the reminder of myself getting older; it was going to be remembered for my big journey rather than anything else. I didn’t think that much in that way at that time, but now I feel that it might have been the biggest moment of my life, and nothing bigger is to come; especially related to writing.

There are more facts about the same – I have never seen a Malayalam writer this close, but Chetan Bhagat was right there; I have never seen a Kerala cricketer close enough in my life, but I have seen and heard Sachin Tendulkar speaking in that hall; I have never seen a Malayalam movie star in my life, but I have seen and listened to Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif and Lisa Haydon – I consider that surprising, but it is something that I am a lot happy about. I guess that some things just happen in life, and there are others which will never occur.

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me during the 2015 India Today Conclave at Delhi.

TeNy

UCC: All that is Fantastico

I have watched many movies which are based on campus life, including Classmates, Niram, Doctor Love, Nammal and more, but never did I thought that my post graduation time will be the best years of my life. Yes, there has been problems here are there, but all of them have only contributed to making me a better person, and there was the chance to go through all the literature, which is why I consider the two years as among the best of life, and remain as my strongest memories; UCC is the fantastico of my education.

This memory is all about UC College or Union Christian College. The history of UC College’s history goes back to 1921, when it came to existence as a result of co-operation between four major church denominations in Kerala, the Church of South India, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church. Earlier affiliated to The Travancore University and now affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University at Kottayam, UC is a very much reputed college.

UC College has been one of the few things which continues to represent the town of Aluva, along with the Marthanda Varma Bridge, the Federal Bank HO, the Shivarathri Manappuram, the Advaita Ashram and Mangalapuzha Seminary. Located about four to five kilometres from the main town area, UC College is one the best known education institutions in Kerala, and among the colleges in Ernakulam district close enough to Cochin, it has been traditionally the most popular.

The college was also like three and half kilometres from my home at that time, a distance which I could reduce by a few metres if I had chosen to walk by taking a few shortcuts through a world without traffic. So, UC College was always going to be the right choice for me to go for MA English. So, the fact that I could get admission there on merit itself was more than just another happy moment for me. But I wasn’t sure about my future even then, and I could never be clear about what was to happen there, being the big cynic.

But the college which you have seen in the movie Premam was not just another educational institution for me. UC College has been the source of nostalgia, something that still stays, unlike the rest of the insitutions – in the case of all the others, the memories have clearly disappeared. From the canteen to the library, and through each building there, stretching around the green campus which has so many trees and old structures, each corner of the college is still alive in my mind. It feels so good to reach the campus early morning, and walk through this green universe. There is the need to arrive early and leave late considering how refreshing the campus is.

The days were fantastic, even though I understood that they were so when it was coming to a finish. I didn’t feel that it was going to be this good when I began, but things only got better. As the second year started, life had become so much closer to literature, and Film Studies was also a paper waiting to come to light. The whole department had become even more friendly, and even getting permission to go to the canteen and have a cup of tea was so easy. I could never study at an institution which had friendly teachers earlier, but UC College was an exception. Most of the school teachers have been demons for me as I remember.

The advantage of having friendly teachers is that you will have a better interest in the subjects which they are teaching, and you never hesitate to ask the questions. Throughout my studies, until joining UC College, I had only one or two of such friendly teachers, but thankfully that changed with the MA English adventure. I remember the opportunities to attend the seminars at different colleges and the chance to be part of many quiz programmes in Central Kerala along with winning a few! One of those wins are still shown there on the official website of the college, and that still feels happy and extra fantastico! 😀 You can see it here

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me during my MA English course there.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

TeNy

Did I Really Do It?

It has been some years, but it feels like an eternity. I don’t really remember those days at all. Did they really happen or were they just dreams? I do have the certificate and the mark list; so it should have happened at some point of life. I have only some recollection of the same, but it seems like I did do it. There will be doubts if it is really a useful thing, but I guess I did it at that time. Sometimes I wonder if it was ever supposed to bring something better in mortal life or monetary benefits; I guess it wasn’t on the list.

Yes, I am talking about the MA English Language and Literature course. It was only a few days ago that I found and looked at the syllabus of the course, and that made me wonder if it was me who really studied that course and wrote those exams for that MA English First Class (read as the BCom First Class which was mentioned in the movie, Naadodikkaattu). I actually remember very less from the course and a lot of these papers in the syllabus stare at me as if I am a stranger. The syllabus itself seems to wonder if it had ever seen me before, but I will show this one the degree certificate! I will just go through what used to be that syllabus and see if we remember each other enough in the end.

I will miss this classroom all the time, no matter where I visit in my life!

I dig deep into the memories, and I remember those earlier works like The Canterbury Tales, Utopia, Doctor Faustus, Paradise Lost, Pilgrim’s Progress, The Way of the World and all that we studied, but there were the two papers which followed, and those were Phonetics and Literary Criticism. I remember being shocked at the subjects which were part of these papers.

Vampire Owl: What do you mean?

Vampire Bat: Biographia Literaria, The Language of Paradox and others.

Vampire Owl: Okay, whatever.

In the case of Phonetics, I felt that I was going straight to hell. But I still passed, and scored well there, and that was a confident booster. I still believe that words should be spoken like we want to and not according to the Phonetics side – that will be Indian English 😀

These days, when I look at these papers, I am only going to be more and more shocked. I really wanted to use what I studied in life because I managed to pass, but such an opportunity was never to come. While my earlier talk was about the first semester, here I remember that the second one was much smoother, and I remember the second semester as a rather easier one; I was more comfortable with the class and the college, and the seniors were close; the papers were smooth and Linguistics remained the only problem there. But with more focus on that, I could do it better than I did in the case of Phonetics.

I remember that the first semester of the next year, and this third semester of the course had two big troubles; one being the Literary Theory – I was absolutely uninterested in this, but I had good teachers. The classes turned out to be better than expected and something in the internet surely helped. Nature of the Linguistic Sign? The Metaphoric and Metonymic Poles? The Death of the Author? The Critic as Host? And whatever came after that, I don’t remember much of it, and I am not that disappointed about my short memory here. I will keep the memories of my college instead of that, the greenery and everything else. Those sights will surely bring more of the memories back to me.

The greenery at college is inspirational, but the theories are surely not.

The second big trouble was this paper called Politics of Narration, about the aspects on fictional and non-fictional expression in narratives. Even though this was a twisted paper, the scores came good just like Literary Theory. Another thing about this paper is that the talks and discussions related to this paper has helped me in improving my writing. Along with the same, there were a few interesting works of fiction with this paper. Women and Literature along with Writings of the Public Domain were partly bad for me! But the fiction and some interesting ideas saved the day most of the time. I still wish I could go forward with life as the MA English graduate, but that option is the jobless one.

Film Studies was the strangest paper for me; one one side, there were those movie which we surely had to watch, and there was the need to write critical appreciation of movies. This side was pretty much okay for me, and by the end of this paper, I was ready to start the blog, Movies of the Soul. The review of Celluloid at the blog is the same which I submitted for the assignment, with slight changes. But it took me a long time to recover from the theories which were related to movies; those were the difficult ones for me, and I shall not name them – but the memories are coming back to me; now I realize that I had learnt them all, and they are stored somewhere in my memory 😀

Now I am sure and I remember that I am MA English First Class from Mahatma Gandhi University and jobless 😦
Check this video of the BCom First Class version from the movie Naadodikkaattu 😛

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me at Union Christian College, Aluva.

Btw, check out for my favourite movies from the year 2015.

TeNy

The Tales of 2015

Another year is coming to an end, and 2015 has been a different year – all years have been different frome each other, even though nothing huge happens with life, and whatever happens, things just go back to nothingness which has been part of my life. 2015 will also have its own tales which the year doesn’t want to share with 2014 or 2016. There will be something different each and every time making the years not the same. It was better defined when we were in school or college as each year had something special; but now we have to think more to find those events.

Maybe the best or the worst of the year are yet to happen, but as of now, the best moment was winning the passes for the India Today Conclave at Delhi with BlogAdda. It should be my best win ever at any stage, and that happened with the post The Vision of a Lost Bat. I did go to attend the conclave where the main talkers were Sachin Tendulkar, Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif, Lisa Haydon, Viswanathan Anand, Chetan Bhagat and others. It was a great experience for me and it also made sure that I should blog more, and I would credit BlogAdda for that motivation to write more.

Well, I have written at least one post on every day of this year in this year, and I am still continuing that trend which I hope that I never have to stop soon. 2015 also had many other contest wins for me, and I would call it a rich year which has inspired me to write more and more. 2015 has made me realize that I should do many things, but the one thing that I should always do is to blog, which is why I bought the domain for Movies of the Soul, about which I feel very good. Until 2014, I was only a blogger who wrote something when I had time, but now I find time for writing each and every day, and I shall carry this over to the next year.

Life just keeps hitting the rocks, doesn’t it? But there is always hope.

But there is one big New Year resolution which I really need to make with 2016 right around the corner. In 2014, I fell short of watching 100 movies in the theatres with the final count at 89, and this year, it is at 81 so far, and it seems to be all prepared to end before touching the nineties too. So, in 2016, I want to get it to one hundred movies like I watched 109 of them at the theatres in 2013. I need to take the pledge to be more consistent with this; the problem with this year was that we shifted home and I prepared for some of the PSC examinations. But now I believe that I should keep my movie world alive with the rest too!

I also hope to get a job next year, and it has been the Mission Impossible for me this year. I had sent a huge number of resumes this year at various e-mails, but only a few of them replied and only an even lesser number gave me an appointment. It is a hope which I really need to provide the wings because the relatives are becoming more and more violent every day – the salaries of the cousins are getting higher and they are getting married to rich people which brings a lot of contempt on me. I really need to get somewhere to come up with a direct reply.

Somehow, this relative problem has to be dealt with – we call it The Relative-IT Theory about which I have already written a long time ago. Surrounded by the relatives who are always trying to boast about the salaries and bank balance of their children along with the acres of land and the properties which the children’s off-springs own, will only get worse next year. They will get richer and I will get older in 2016, and so the only precaution to be taken here is to be prepared for those words of vanity, but try to avoid them as much as possible. I have also prepared a few dialogues in case of an emergency situation.

So, you are on this boat to 2016 – lets go through the troubles.

The biggest hope is to become a better person than I am now; but that is going to be complicated because when I get older, I don’t get any stronger. Still, I hope that the upcoming year will bring something better. We have thought in a similar manner about other years too, but this time, Lets think that 2016 is going to be different. Maybe we can take life as one year at a time. The world might be the same anyway, but we can change and above all, we can hope. After all, it is something which costs nothing. May the year 2016 be better than 2015, and lets wish for the best to happen!

I’m sharing my #TalesOf2015 with BlogAdda.

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

TeNy

Finding Some Fun

There is nothing much going on in our universe except for the repetitive stuff that eats our brain parts every day, and society support the same. We are expected to be the machine-like humanoids who get a job and be married in the next few years after finishing studies, but when we try to do that, the firms will only ask for experience and deny us opportunities. It is a continuous process of not getting a job and the only thing that we can take home is more and more dosage of rejection. The positive side rarely makes a visit, and the scope for happiness is very less.

Often, we feel that there is no point in life and death is the only relief. During these boring days, finding some fun becomes rather easy only when related to movies – there is nothing much otherwise. As movies provide the much needed escapism from this meaningless universe which has nothing much for us, we get closer to the flicks and its characters. This is where the HP Starwars: Special Edition Notebook becomes a significant force in leading us into this fun which has been lost to modernity and its busy world, which has no place for you if you are true; unless you #AwakenYourForce.

When I was a child, I always wanted to have a Star Wars wallpaper, but those were the days without internet and wallpapers were not easy to find. Still, I managed to find some Jedi inspiration through the computer games related to the movie. This inspiration has always made me think more about space and all which came with it; as I had no blog at that time, I used to write stories and put them in the trash can. They were all lost, but this has played a major role in my blog becoming what it is now.

Star Wars: Dark Forces was a big game for me at that time, and its sequel provided the same effect. The demo version which were available with the computer magazines played a major role in inspiring the gamer in me, and along with the games like Unreal Tournament, made me the FPS game lover. Then there was Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds which came up as the replacement when I was playing too much of Age of Empires 2, and that took over the RTS genre for me, taking the interests in strategy games to another level. That kept the other side of inspiration going.

Star Wars have also inspired me to watch more movies, and it was the simple reflection of science fiction at that time – I had known no Star Trek at that time, and other movies based on space were also unknown. It should also be the first science fiction movie which I watched, and that was on cassette – when Starship Troopers arrived for me, it was on the CD. Star Wars was always there though, and the unknown lady of that time, Carrie Fisher was a big favourite. That music from the movie franchise kept ringing in my ears for a very long time, and it still continues.

So, the HP Starwars: Special Edition Notebook which is pre-loaded with everything required for the fans becomes the symbol of nostalgia and the return of inspiration. There is one command centre icon here which will help one to access everything related to Star Wars which goes through two centuries. There are wallpapers, behind the scenes shots, concept art, illustrated art and all which takes us back to those early days of Star Wars until now. Screensavers and sound schemes related to the movie are those which we really wanted during our childhood – there is the need for a time machine here.

Then there is that special font which will bring that special galactic feeling. All these will only prove interesting before and after watching the new release – Star Wars: The Force Awakens which is preparing to make its arrival grand. If you have had a look at the gadget, it does have a special look which makes it look like something else. There are those designs on it, and the red backlight on the keys will only add to the variety present there. This is the kind of thing that we should have had when we were kids, but it is never too late to have a Star Wars themed notebook as you #AwakenYourForce. This is where you search for more related to the same: www.hpshopping.in/starwars

***The image used in this blog post is from the Official Facebook Page of HP India.

TeNy

The Full Nostalgia Post

This one is a very personal post from the memories. Nostalgia always has some special space in our world, and a few things have more special place. There are a few things which comes to my mind when talking about nostalgia. These have had special spots in my mind for a very long time. I would like to start this post with my first laptop, an Acer which is still the costliest laptop which I ever had. Three laptops came after this one, from Lenovo, Asus and Dell, but this one continues to be the first image to come to mind when someone talks about laptop.

Nostalgia has its place among pets too, and there is one cat at my aunty’s house who is a cause of nostalgia. Now, even the age of this cat’s son has passed, but this one is my favourite among all cats before Simona. She was the official cool cat of that time, and she was almost everywhere. We couldn’t keep a cat at home during those times as it was a flat where we lived, but this one helped. Cats were needed and here was one.

This floral carpet, the pookkalam made for Onam is another special one. We had these at our flat every year, and this was the one which looked special. It was all about flower designs in different shapes until then, but this one was the big Kathakali face, and so I remember this one a lot. Every year, I looked to see if the face came back, but this was the only time.

I have had a unicorn loving childhood, and so buying a Honda Unicorn was a necessity for me. I tried hard to sell the existing TVS Centra and buy this one. So, Honda Unicorn made it to our home on a special day, and that began a large number of journeys and the exploration of the town as well as the city of Cochin like never before. It became a connection between us friends, and this became our official youth transportation, mostly for having food 😀

Then there is the old church – it has been part of my long stay at one town. I was a regular visitor to this church for years, and even now I see the structure when I go through the particular town. But the truth remains that this is the church which I visited less despite it being my parish. It seems that I have a certain liking for all churches other than my parish church. So, I have visited the church less, and so I started missing this church very early 😀

The great TATA Indica has been the car which I had driven the most, a record which is now broken by the current Chevrolet Beat. This car has gone to a lot of places, as we traveled to many corners of the central Kerala and a little bit to the South. Beat has covered almost the whole of Kerala, but this Indica used to be a big travel inspiration. It didn’t even have the stereo; dad hated music and I had to use the mobile music 😀

Then there is the most beautiful thing among them all, the desktop computer – it is something which can’t be seen at any of my friends’ home these days and I miss this thing. There was the joystick, the webcam, the speakers, the landline, the UPS, the headphone, the modem, the caller id and even that old Nokia 6600 – also see the number of wires. This was taken after I bought an extra special graphics card for being the great gamer – those days were so grand; there were those games which kept the happiness factor high 😀

***All the images used in this blog post were taken by me only on my cameras and mobiles of those times. ***We go through more bikes, cars, laptops and many other things which are more modern, but something from the past stays 🙂

TeNy

Queen of the Arabian Sea

Kochi, or Cochin, known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, is the city which has driven me forward throughout my life. Yes, we use both names for the city; Cochin and Kochi are used like we wish to! I have always lived less than fifty kilometres from the city, except when I had those trips which lasted not more than one or two months. I believe that this will also be the city which will drive me towards my desires and destinations in life. My mother’s place is located on the other side of the city and so I have traveled through Kochi a lot during my childhood, and later, the malls and multiplexes increased the number of city visits.

The fishing boats with the old bridge of Cochin on the background.

We used to love going on a drive through the city later in the night, and have food at some special places there. The traffic would be so less at that time. We enjoyed spending our time at the beaches as well as the Marine Drive during our early college life. During those times, there were multiplexes were only on waiting list as the malls were absent, and we frequented the local theatres and had fun there. We also had those historical tourist destinations of Fort Cochin making the place the one choice of antiquity – it was one design of Cochin for us, and now there is more of that design. We always considered Cochin as a city #madeofgreat.

Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica at Fort Cochin is an architectural beauty of great historical, religious and spiritual significance. You can also see the Jewish Synagogue which is considered as the oldest of its kind at this part of the world. The Mattancherry Palace will let you through another journey through the history of Kerala, surrounded by temples. There is also a beautiful Jain Temple. There is also the Dutch Cemetery. Saint Francis Church, the oldest European Church in India is also located at Fort Cochin. The Koonankurishu Church where the famous Coonan Cross Oath against the Portuguese domination took place among the native Christians of Kerala is located around Mattanchery area. You should also add Kumbalangy model tourism village to your journey as you have peace within the extended city!

Santa Cruz Basilica – a beautiful structure that you wouldn’t want to miss.

Meanwhile, the Kochi International Marina is the only marina in India. Pallipuram Fort built by the Portuguese is the oldest existing European fort in India; it was last owned by the Kingdom of Travancore. There is also the largest archaeological museum in Kerala, the Tripunithura Hill Palace. So many beaches are around from the Fort Cochin beach to the Puthuvype, Cherai and Munambam beaches. You see that there is history and there is the beauty of nature along with the newly arrived modernity – it is the right mixture in the design which you won’t fail to notice. Another nice mixture happens with the religious population which is like not many other cities can boast about.

Kochi has also been a city which has connected us friends coming from different suburbs, towns and villages around the place. Even now, it is where a lot of old friends arrive and we meet up there; the change in the design is with the malls though, with six malls around, and five of them having the multiplex option, Lulu being the largest mall in India. Connecting with the old friends over some food and movie has only managed to get things better. Kochi is well-connected to the towns around, and the bus option is easy, with the Kochi Metro Rail coming up, about to make things even more amazing.

The Chinese fishing nets – always part of Cochin and all its islands.

Along with having connectivity through rail, air, water and the National Highway, Kochi’s location right at the centre of Kerala makes it easier for people from all around. The significance of Kochi has only been increasing at a steady rate throughout the the last few years. The Cochin International Airport is the largest and the busiest airport in Kerala it is also the fourth busiest airport in India according to the international passenger traffic recorded. It is also world’s first completely solar energy powered airport. Meanwhile, Cochin Port, has the largest container trans-shipment facility in India.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the home of Kerala Blasters and former home of Kochi Tuskers Kerala is one amazing place to spend some great time during a football match; you will see the love for football like nowhere else. There is one thing about which you can be more certain than many other things, and it is about the beauty of the backwaters of Kochi – it will be an instant hit going right into the soul, even more than those lovely beaches. Kochi also has some amazing food with a lot of variety, and it is up-to you to decide what drives you to connect with the grand design of Kochi. Maybe it can be the Kochi-Muziris Biennale with all the brilliant art on display?

A quote which I found interesting during the Kochi Biennale visit 🙂

What about your favourite city? Is it also made of great things, driving you through its design and having a certain connection to your soul? http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310 camera.

TeNy

Day of the Fire-starter

The title refers to Sunday, and it has been the special day, the one holiday at the end of the week which everyone has been waiting for. Throughout our lives, we have prayed for Sunday to come earlier, especially during the school and college days – Saturdays were mostly holidays, but the threat of the arrival of special classes was eternally present. So, Sunday was the one safe day, and it was the day on which the plans could be made without thinking too much about what else could happen on the day. A nice Sunday treat makes a better Monday!

Plan A: The movie :: Watching a movie is always the best choice. Even as I watch one movie on Friday or the first day of its release itself, there are always more movies around here to give a try. Sunday movie watching program means that there will be also another person to accompany you. Well, it is needed for me because not everyone is that jobless as I am. I try to leave the more family-oriented movie for the Sunday if I go with parents or relatives; otherwise I leave the more fun movie for later, watching the lesser known movie on the first of day of release.

Plan B: The mall :: The malls came here quite late, but the biggest mall in India did come to Kochi in the form of Lulu Mall. With a total of six malls in the city area itself, we are provided with the option to spend the Sundays there in peace. Five out of the six malls actually have the movie option with the multiplexes too. So, it is only fair to spend some time there and the movie option can also add to it. The option of watching three or four movies on one day itself is also there in these malls considering the number of screens available.

A shot on one of the early days of Lulu Mall; isn’t this a nice weekend choice?

Plan C: The beach :: Kochi has no shortage of beaches, as the new tourism initiatives have made it better. A day at the beach will be another nice option, even though the rush will be higher at those more popular beaches like Fort Cochin and Cherai, but then we have those smaller and lesser known beaches which can give us the peaceful experience. I used to try this beach option very often when the friends were around the city, but not that much anymore with almost all of them working far away.

Plan D: The nature :: The closest destinations in the heart of nature includes Paniyeli Poru, Bhoothathankettu, Ezhattumugham, Thommankuthu and many others. As Kerala is blessed with such natural beauty, there is no need to travel much, with beautiful locations exist near and around the river Periyar, the state’s longest river. We friends used to go to some of these places on every Sunday – those were some wonderful days, which can be brought back at some point of time, I hope.

We go through places like this, and we wonder why not choose nature right away?

Plan E: The relations :: There are the relatives who join us on a nice Sunday, but that situation has been brought down a lot to very less impact these days in our case. Not many relatives remain around here, and I am sure that I can find more relatives at Bangalore than in our district. But it wasn’t the case until a few years ago. The relatives were here and we could go to places with them. Nowadays, we still go to their houses at times, only two find the parents there who await the arrival of their children some day!

Plan Z: Home sweet home :: We call it Plan Z because it is the last plan. But it has been a usual plan for me during the last few months. There are not many friends left to go out with, and most of the time, the number remains a zero. So, the “home sweet home” option usually becomes the right choice. It is still a nice option to spend some time home with parents and the pet. After all, there is no other place like home, and there will be some nice movies on the television which can be watched together.

The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

TeNy

On One Old Friend

We come across so many people throughout our lives, and most of them vanish from our memories leaving no trace. A few others come, stay and then go. Then there are others whom we want to stay, but they are never even close to being there. While, it is easy to forget people, there are a few who keep coming to the mind. There was one such friend whom I met again after sixteen years, but here, I am going to talk about someone whom I knew until eight years ago who is #madeofgreat.

I have had a number of such friends whom I met after so many years, but this one is special even though I haven’t met him after he moved from his home and ceased being my neighbour. It has been a long time, but he is going to be chosen here because he is not just #madeofgreat as I would write about it, as he has already proven it. He proved it once, twice and then again for the third time this year. So, no talk about #madeofgreat is complete for me without bringing something about him.

He was my senior by a few years, and he studied the same course which I started, but never finished. I had to skip my course and choose another one while he completed his own. We used to play a number of computer games together, and he was always interested in finding new ways to solve the puzzles in the games – Prince of Persia and Need For Speed were the games of that time, but the former was the one which I have always seen him playing. He could always find a way through the puzzles then.

It was when I returned from the college in front of his house that I found him, and I was introduced into the game, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Not only was he good at finding a way, he was always looking to do something different. He had the ideas and he was always there to talk to others about doing things differently and that it was the right way. Most of us never really listened that much, but I knew that there was something in what he said. Even then, I was afraid to be branded different at that time.

One day, when I looked at his place, I found out that he had moved from there. I hadn’t seen him for a few days, and I realized that he had shifted home all of a sudden. Nobody really knew that he had shifted, and none of our mutual friends who were close to me had any idea. But years later, with a movie, I saw his name attached as the director. He had a name which was to be easily noticed, and his computer record was actually with me – so I knew that it was him and nobody else.

I went for the movie with one of our mutual friends who also hadn’t met the person for a very long time. We were actually surprised that he had such skills that we rarely noticed. The movie was a very nice debut for him as a director and it went on to become a hit, and that was only the beginning of his career which was only going to be better. I don’t know many other people who followed their passion and made it so big – he is indeed the person who is suitable for the tag #madeofgreat. I am sure that not a lot of people would have guessed and expected this, but he made his passion work so well.

Now, he is a well-known film director in the Malayalam movie industry, and has big hits under his name. I shall not name him though, as that would make people feel that I am inclined towards giving good opinions about his movies; but that is a wrong idea. I have never rated his movies that high or with prejudice – I have only given them as much as the experience has pushed me to provide and not based on who directed or acted in then. Well, I don’t even know if he will recognize me as of now, after so many years.

And here is a question: “What do you think of Tata Motors association with Lionel Messi?”

For more details about #madeofgreat, visit http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

TeNy

Discovering Greatness

Life is a complex thing; for it has too many people, and we forget most of them. The society will brand some people as undeniably #madeofgreat, but we needn’t always agree. We have our choices because the same person might not make that much of an impact in our lives. The one who is #madeofgreat is the kind of person who will leave the lasting impression on us rather than for everyone else. It is not related to what anyone else thinks, but linked with how we see it.

Greatness is measured by many things, but I am going to consider this one right from the heart. Going back in time, there was one person who has been a long time inspiration for me. The story goes right back to the early days of school, that feeling carrying over to the college and it is still there. We don’t always get along, and the differences are many, but the impression was made early and it stayed. Do not inform my sister about this though, because I intend to keep this secret from her not revealing that she is #madeofgreat.

I have always been trailing throughout my life, trying to catch up with her achievements. She always had more trophies and came up first in school while my rank has varied from one to eight with consistency only in being second in the class, which was the more regular position for me. But my mother was never really surprised about it, and she once told me that my sister achieved this much by working hard while what I have achieved is because I am more intelligent, and I trail because I am lazy one with hard work never being my fortress.

I was rather too lazy to climb the mountains. Never really made that effort.

Yes, as I spent my time playing cricket with a little football and wandering around on the bicycle, she worked hard with the studies. Her hard work inspired me a lot, but I was sure that I might work hard, but not that much in the studies. She also participated in dance programs and drama to win prizes while the closest I came in school was to become the fourth swordbearer of a king in a drama, and I worked hard to let everyone know that I was in the school drama.

The twist came when she decided to leave home to become a nun. Nobody really liked that decision, but she was not backing away from it. I wondered when I could make such strong decisions; I actually found it difficult to make the decision to play a slow full-toss on the leg-side or the off-side – my decision making has always been like that. I have never been really sure about things, but this decision taken by her would inspire me to make many strong decisions later, even though there has been nothing this big in my entire life so far.

I used to keep my problems alive until some solution came up; at times, I even celebrated my problems. But she was always someone who found her own solutions to problems and discovered her own path – she was the problem solver of Mathematics while I lived with language and literature; I had declared Mathematics my immortal nemesis and so decided to keep that impression away from my likes. My plans were different, and the ideas get wings whenever the impression made by her grand decision comes to my mind.

The lasting impression of decision making never really ended there, as she became an M.Com graduate, cleared NET, did Phd and works as a lecturer in a reputed government aided college. She went through a clear path, and with the special super power of hard work, made it to the safe side. I delayed it, but did become the post-graduate – her achievements have left the lasting impression, and so maybe I will also get through some of these. My hope has been that delay doesn’t always mean denial, and one day I will also be #madeofgreat.

And here is a question: “What do you think of Tata Motors association with Lionel Messi?”

For more details about #madeofgreat, visit http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

TeNy

The Lasting Impression

As we wander through the happy and sad corners of our mortal lives, there are many people who contribute in one way or the other. The number of such people will be very large, but there will be only a few people whose memories will last forever. It is a rare thing to find someone who is #madeofgreat, because not many people can belong to that category with ease. But some people and the memories about them are forever, and they will always be with us in one way or the other.

There was one such person, and he is also the first person who came to my mind when I first saw the hashtag and idea #madeofgreat. It is about that person who became the earliest brother figure, as he was one person whom I knew right from the earliest times as far as my memories go. Thinking about the elder brotherly figures, I can’t remember many who are not among my relatives, but when he comes to the mind, the strongest of my memories are right there, and they remain as strong as they have ever been.

This is my 400th post on this blog posted on the 493rd day of its existence, and I dedicate this one to that person who has been an inspiration to me for a very long time – Jean Mathew. I have mentioned him on a few of my posts on this blog earlier. He was the most hardworking and the smartest person I have ever known. He used to be my advisor for everything related to technology and I always took his advice whether I wanted to buy a new mobile, laptop, desktop or digital camera; he was an expert in such matters.

One of our earliest photos together, scanned from the old album collection.

During my Plus Two times with the Science-Computer branch, he was of great help, and he was a genius in matters related to technology. If I know something about computer, and related to the interest that I had in the same, I am always indebted to him. He was there to give the much needed advice during my early childhood entry into the world of computers. He was also my gaming guru, and I have always thought that he was the most intelligent and the one great expertise related to computers.

He was one person who was #madeofgreat, and I never had a doubt related to the same. He did prove the same when all odds were against him. He did fight hard throughout his life. It was while in the United States in 2008, working for IBS, that he was diagnosed with brain tumour. But facing the disease and going through the treatment with a positive outlook which I never had, he survived and managed to get better. His optimistic approach to life and belief in God had a positive influence on me too during those times.

There were some good times, but the disease showed signs of a relapse in 2011, and facing the tumour once again with a positive frame of mind, he left us for the better world on the third of March, 2013. He never complained, and he never lost hope. As he had gone for eternal sleep, I wondered how there will be no other person who was #madeofgreat like he lived his life, working hard, without complaints and always with hope and trust in this world as well as the other. His positive outlook has always made us closer to optimism.

There are stars which twinkle on the sky, and there are people #madeofgreat, like him, who will shine and twinkle in our minds forever. His amazing collection of brilliant photography and Bible Verses, both combined together, brought us hope, and he still comes to the mind and I often check his Facebook profile and blogs for those pictures and quotes. Times change and life moves forward, but a few things remain and a fewer number of people stay in our minds for eternity.

Cropped from his photo collections with inspirational Bible verses.

And here is a question: “What do you think of Tata Motors association with Lionel Messi?”

For more details about #madeofgreat, visit http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

TeNy

Destination: Impossible

My list of places to travel in this life has been a very long one. I have often thought about buying a new shelf to keep that list. The cities like Rome, Barcelona, Milan, Vienna, Florence, Lisbon, Venice and many others have been part of that list, along with a good number of Latin American nations. There have also been nations on the Eastern side of Asia and the South of Africa which have been in my list. But there is something about Eastern Europe and one nation in particular, which I wished to visit right from my childhood, even before I knew more about the nations, their geographical locations, capitals and the distance to be traveled from here.

I know my friends who wish to travel and settle down in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, along with those who are already there. I am the first one to make this wish here, and I made it when I was in school, and nobody knew the name of even one Eastern European nation other than Russia. I wanted to travel to Romania. Some friends thought that I wanted to travel to Rome with its Colosseum and Vatican, but that was not my priority. I wanted to see the legend, the hero and the prince of darkness, or at least what remained of the myth and history.

I have loved almost everything I have known about Romania, the most recent love related to Simona Halep, the World No.2 in Women Singles Tennis; that even lead to our cat being named after her. Coming back to the love for Dracula, the first non-Malayalam horror novel which I have ever read, Carpathians had become a grand part of my perpetual endearment towards the unexplored side, something which was to be kept away – the kid who read horror is never the lovable kid, right? It was the time when I had to read the children’s books, and there I was, reading the horror novels.

“That kid who read horror novels” – not that much of a popular tag to have at the Municipal Library of a town; it was a fair title though. Then there were people who had the shocked expression seeing me with the horror novels. I was often called Dracula in the class and I loved it so much; as I soon asked to be called that name, my classmates realized that they couldn’t make fun of me by calling me Dracula and they decided to stop addressing me so. The horror always existed with me, and the genre grew, with horror movies and then reaching my final MA English and Literature project about Vampire as a Cultural Construct.

The Carpathian Mountains should be my place to begin. I should be there alone and be the Jonathon Harker of the time, and it is something which I owe that kid who read horror novels. The Bran Castle should be the big destination as the Dracula Castle, along with Poenari Castle and Hunyad Castle making sure that the legend is truthfully followed. I have always loved the castles even outside the horror stories, and with the myth connected here, you know which is the castle which I wish to visit long before any other. The Dracula Castle is like a holy site of myths for us!

Bucharest, the capital and largest city of Romania also needs to be visited. I have found a number of interesting buildings on the pages, most significant ones being Saint Spyridon the New Church, and the architectural beauty in right there with modernity as well as those with antiquity. Another city on the list is Iasi for the Metropolitan Cathedral there. Constanța, the port city where Simona Halep is from, also makes it to my list. The other cities include Timisoara, Ploiesti, Sibiu, Craiova, Brasov, Galați and Cluj-Napoca – you search for details about a city, and you end up wishing to visit them!

Well, it is clear that I have no job as I have been learning the names of cities. I wish that my MA thesis would come to its real end during a trip to Romania, or may be I could do a Ph.D thesis there on the same topic; the journey is a wish that is never to come true, and Romania is a dream destination which is never to be added to the “visited” list. This is one destination which seems necessary for my salvation, but it is also something which I have put on another list of many impossible things. Do I need to say those six impossible things before tea? May be I do.

***The image used in this blog post was taken by me on Samsung Galaxy A5.

TeNy

Of Malls and Movies

There is a duty that I have failed to do as someone who lives and wanders around Kochi. It was something that I should have done a long time ago, but when there was the need, I didn’t have this blog, but I have it now. It was on the week of my birthday two years ago that the largest mall in India opened at Edappally, Kochi. The year 2013 not only saw the opening of Lulu International Shopping Mall, but it also made sure that the PVR Cinemas made my movie experience a lot better. This memory is a tribute to the mall of Kochi.

I remember the first mall we have had as Bay Pride Mall. It was never really a complete mall, and never gave the experience of having the true mall experience. But it had the advantage of the nice surroundings. The location on the side of the Kochi Marine Drive makes sure that there is some nice view and chance for a peaceful walk in the evening. As I remember, there were some nice brands there and a food court inside. It was a small mall, but it was the first one, and the nice little memory.

But what brought the big change was Oberon Mall. It was the first mall to have cinema. The idea of multiplex came with this mall and it used to be the most popular destination for spending some time with friends. I remember that it was so difficult to get a seat at the food court there when it started for the first time. The food court is still among my favourites, especially the vegetarian food there, and I still choose the Cinemax there as it is a nice place to watch movies peacefully – PVR at Lulu has more rush.

A lovely morning at Oberon Mall when you go for an early movie 🙂

The presence of Lulu has decreased the rush in Oberon, and same is the case with Gold Souke Grande, the mall which followed Oberon as it started and came up with Q Cinemas as the next multiplex. Located closer to Vyttila, I remember the place as where we watched three movies continuously in a day, and the mall where we have some nice tea and puffs. It was also the first mall to have KFC, and it introduced the chain in Kerala. I have not noticed a Subway restaurant in a mall in Kerala before the shop opening here either.

Abad Nucleus Mall was the other one to come to existence. It is located further though, at Maradu, reached after crossing Vyttila from the city. We used to visit the food court there, and now, Pan Cinemas has opened there, increasing the options for watching movies. Still, the number of screens and movie options seem to be less there. I would guess that it would serve the people from the other side of the city better. I hope to make the first visit to that multiplex one day.

The Centre Square Mall is my personal favourite though. It opened after Lulu, and has certain advantages even though it is far away from my place. It is located right at the centre of the city, and has the largest multiplex in Kerala in the form of Cinepolis. There are eleven screens, which is two more than what we got at PVR Cinemas in Lulu. Three of them are actually VIP screens which provide better comfort at higher prices. The food court there also has a lot of variety, and all around the mall, there are local theatres outside too.

Even with other malls under construction, Lulu will always have a special place. Yes, it has too much rush, and sometimes parking is real pain. Along with being the largest and also having the first McDonalds in the state, PVR has served me more than any other theatre since starting my movie review blog. I have visited PVR sixty eight times to watch movies, having been to the mall more than a hundred times. We used to visit the McDonalds and KFC there a lot, and I will keep these strong with the memories of the other malls as none of the friends really remain in Kerala anymore.

A shot on one of the early days of Lulu Mall after the grand opening 🙂

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on Samsung Galaxy A5 and Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

TeNy

The Legend of Root Canal

It was in the year 2007 that I first heard about the great legend of root canal in detail. But it was already known from a time when the Vampire Team was actually having Pappaya Shake and Grape Juice in honour of Uncle Dracula’s birthday when a few mortals were talking about the same. The vampires had believed in immortality of fangs, but nothing about the same was said in the great vampire books. Fangs were never supposed to live forever and even immortals needed dentists to save the day.

Well, I might have heard something about it on a lot more occasions, but never really cared much. The realization that I need understand more about this legend came on the day before an exam. There is something between me and the exams, as the day before the written test always provided me something negative; may be we were never supposed to be together in a hall with question papers. The day before the examination is usually the day of big evil. It is an unpredictable day on which anything can happen, even if there is a harthal in store for the next day.

Evil has its way in darkness, but the first nemesis of my teeth was Chakka Varuthathu.

Evil comes in many forms, and it always finds a way, no matter what the environment is about. That time, the culprit was what we call Chakka Varuthathu, officially worthy of being called Fried Jackfruit Chips – it was one of our usual snacks with Banana Chips, Tapioca Chips and Potato Chips, used while watching strange movies, cheering for a team in cricket or football and even when watching cricket. But it was never known before that such things could break a piece of teeth into two like a solid hammer on a rock, but it was about this that you are going to read about.

I had one nice bite of the chips while reading a book, and the result was surely not awesome for me, but it assured me that dentist will get another opportunity to show his skills, and provide me with a taste of the legend about what the root canal therapy or what they officially called endodontic therapy, proving it to be true and worthy. A significant part of my last molar on the left lower level had fallen off with the filling which has been serving it for quite a long time. It meant that the legend had to proven true.

Eight years have passed after that significant incident which saw the legend becoming true and myself choosing a steel coloured crown because I wanted to see it as a crown and not as another teeth. It needed to have something special because it lacked what the usual teeth had. It is my gift to that special teeth which is no more the teeth it used to be, as the soul has departed. I made that choice and it has stayed strong until now, and this time it was the upper molar, second one from the left which was going to suffer the same fate.

It is really bad to have anything too cold or hot these times, right? 😦

It was just another day, and it was the Guava which did the trick this time with its evil seeds infiltrating that one teeth and taking a part of it when retreating; some popcorn during a movie later contributed more, and then the later filling could also stay alive for just a few days only. The legend had to return again to save the day, and root canal was adviced even though a crown without a root canal might still be possible; but I was like, why take the risk when the condition of the tooth looks as if coffin is a nice choice.

So, I took the opportunity to unleash the legend on my teeth and now it is ready for the crown. This crown which is to become the armour of my teeth will save it against all signs of death and destruction. Yes, Lady Death can take me, but not my teeth, at least not as a whole. I will defend this well, as long as there are dental clinics and dentists in this world which provides so much of sweets and tough food to destroy my teeth. I should be friends with more dentists, and I am hoping to send a few more friend requests.

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Asus Zenfone 5.

TeNy

Truth Makes One Free

There are many types of truth in this world, and among them, the strongest ones might be the one which you want to hear and those which you want to avoid hearing at any cost. The strength of both of these lies in our perception of that truth. There are times when we can’t live with that truth, and at some other times, we can’t live without it. But knowing and accepting the truth is something that makes our lives better, most of the time. It makes us free, and often transforms us into better people.

I believed in God without the existentialist, absurdist, nihilist thoughts at that time – they came to me later with and after MA English. My thoughts about the world was not that complicated; I loved just the usual things and tried to stick with the crowd at that time. So, I wasn’t sure that I was there at the right place when I took the Commerce-Mathematics group for my Plus Two at a CBSE school, but still felt that God has put me at the right place, and if things needed to change, it will.

The clouds were always dark and strong over my head, but the rain mostly stayed away.

So, it was one of those days when I went to the school early morning at six when the school bus came to pick the sleepy me and bring me to the distant educational institution which had me in trouble. By that time, I had changed my stream and found that Commerce-Mathematics could never work even in the best scenario, and may be it can work with Commerce-Computer because Mathematics has always been the biggest evil of all times. But that didn’t do much good, because the true evil was something else.

Evil came in another form at that time, using the mask of Accountancy. I was sure that it sent me to sleep more than any other. Mathematics used to make me fall asleep, but it was in parts. This one actually sent me to sleep with such consistency that I have nightmares about this subject in the class. I used to say the definition of Accounting in sleep at that time, and still continues to remember that one particular definition. I wished that I could run away, but the school was located at some strange place from where there was no direct bus home.

The Accountancy teacher at that time knew that there was something wrong with me, and I was the one true zombie in the class while she was teaching, even though I never accepted that. I was determined to learn Accountancy by heart and not let it go, even though my habit of staying up late at night and leaving early for school had made Fried Rice out of my brain, and I was often the walking dead, and the feeling was very strong during the Accountancy classes.

My mother had asked me earlier to stop this meaningless program and return so that we can try at some State syllabus school which starts at 10 AM and also leave this Accountancy behind because she herself is unable to make me understand it despite working at a bank. But I decided to go on with the daily sleepy party until something which my Accountancy teacher said made a point in my zombified mind. I still can’t figure out most of it because I was sleepier than being cursed with sleep. It went through the fog of sleepiness and reached the core; #SachchiAdvice was there.

The journey of life continues, and there was that bridge which I always had to find.

She was sure that I didn’t like this at all; even though, there were others who scored lesser than me, it was only me who had absolutely no interest in this, and had come to sleep at class and then manage something to do just okay during the tests. My interest was at somewhere else, and I finally decided to get out of my sleepy school days and join another school with Science-Computer, but it was not my destination either. Still, I managed to survive there, and in the end, be the Plus Two graduate in science stream, and then later cut that connection too!

I am participating in the #SachchiAdvice Contest by MaxLife in Association with BlogAdda.

***The images used in this blog post were taken on my Sony Cybershot camera by me.

TeNy

The Twist of Fate

It was a long time ago that I had this doubt in choosing between English and History for graduation. The problem was that I liked both of the subjects almost equally, and couldn’t figure out a choice between them. I was also not confident about choosing between these two also because I was a very doubtful person, and wondered which of these would do me good and which one won’t be that good for me. There was not going to be much difference in the studies for me, but there was going to be certain change in the results.

I used to read both English Literature and History works, and so that was going to be a problem. So, I decided to ask a few people. The result was all on one side though, in favour of English. I tried tossing a coin, and even that showed English. Only the time spent in the games Age of Empires, Rise of Nations, Civilization and Caesar had me with another ideas. People were all so much in favour of English that I wondered why they hadn’t recommended Humanities to me for Plus Two. Still, I was closer to one of my two favourite courses then.

We need lighthouses in our lives to show where to go without hitting the rocks.

I was still going to tell these people when I joined and where, because letting too many people know things was the reason behind most of my problems. So, I called my friend who was studying outside Kerala, and as many of the others and almost every friend whom I had from school or neighbourhood, he was also going through Engineering. If he wasn’t going through that course, that would have been a surprise, because I have had the title of being the only one strange non-Engineer, non-Doctor person.

He told me to go on with English because he knew that I wrote something which none of my friends wanted to read or understand. I felt that it was a fair suggestion because I had often wondered what I wrote about and why. Choosing English could give me a better direction at that time. There was the need to read more and direct my writings better. So, choosing English was the right thing to do, and History could happen on another day. So, the friend went back to the procedure of collecting supplementary exams, and I made clear about the choice again.

During these days, I wonder about the decisions, but choosing English hasn’t really bothered me at all, even as I couldn’t find a job after that; it is just that the route doesn’t make me sad. It is something that I had wanted and with both the BA as well as the MA, I have never really felt any big trouble during the course. Even now, I find happiness in being MA English graduate rather than any other, and this also meant that I could study in the one college where I always wanted to study. It was the right choice; may be History would have done just okay, but the choice was still fine.

Choices do make things happen – what if we take that wrong turn instead?

But I did take my second degree in History too, and so it wasn’t really a loss even there. In the end, it was about which degree to come first and which one to follow. With nothing lost in the end, the #SachchiAdvice worked better because the language had given me more power, and I could use a good amount of this acquired strength while writing for the History exams too. History had also come as one of the extra subjects to study for the English graduation. So everything was related.

Nowadays, when I wonder what I should have done different or what I could have chosen in another way, this choice doesn’t come to the list of bad decisions, and it happens to be the #SachchiAdvice which has made things work. There is always the need for some confirmation related to the decisions from people we trust, and I haven’t been that good in making decisions. But here, the decision was the kind which still inspires me to write. I feel that if I was not MA English, I wouldn’t have even started a blog at WordPress.

I am participating in the #SachchiAdvice Contest by MaxLife in Association with BlogAdda.

***The images used on this blog post were taken by me only.

TeNy