The Bollywood of Childhood

You can never forget Bollywood of 1990s. There were some of your childhood movies right there. Those films became your favourites quick enough, and after watching them on a VCP or VCR, you felt so good. To get those video cassettes, you had to wait for such a long time, and once you get the film you have been looking for, it was the best feeling. Finding Hindi movies was a process which was achieved by watching Chitrahaar, just like the Malayalam movies came in Chitrageetham. Those movies with good songs always had an advantage, just like the favourite actors and actresses attract us to the cinema. The following were my favourites of the time.

1. Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995): I had to start with Sabse Bada Khiladi, one of those movies which I watched at the ancestral home. It is to be noted that I never liked those over hyped romantic movies of Bollywood. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge was never my kind of movie, and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai never came close to being an interesting flick. Akshay Kumar movies were my type then, and this one in particular was always in my mind. It proved to be one effective thriller then, and I wouldn’t think otherwise even now. “Bholi Bhaali Ladki” is a favourite even now, and the action hero whom we knew the best was Akshay Kumar, and this one was a perfect khiladi.

2. Gupt (1997): It took me about two years to watch Gupt, because from the songs, it feels that the movie is a love triangle – one of the best suspense thrillers of all-time was thus misunderstood with its songs. But this turned out to be an all-round film at that time. It was a romantic suspense thriller with comedy also present there. The stylish movie has so many songs which we still listen to, and none of the new Bollywood songs could match this one with music. Bobby Deol was one stylish action star at that time, as we can see from this movie, even though Soldier might be the movie which gave him that title with clarity – that one was also the first movie I watched with him in the lead.

3. Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996): I was a big WWF fan at that time, and when the Undertaker was coming to Bollywood, even though it was the imposter version and nor Mark William Calaway who performed in wrestling as the “dead man walking”, one could only get more interested than ever. Another wrestler, Crush was also features in this movie which had a lot of action going on at all times. Even though it was quite a long movie, it was never boring, and you are always waiting for the Undertaker to come to fight. It was one of those movies which decided to think beyond the usual limitations, and among the Khiladi movies of Akshay Kumar, it does have a special place.

4. Soldier (1998): Preity Zinta had already made her film debut in a supporting role in Dil Se, and “Jiya Jale Jaan Jale” was one of the most popular songs with its Malayalam words. But Soldier was her debut as the leading actress, and this heroine was one which everybody loved from this action thriller. Bobby Deol further established him as the action hero, and the film had so many lovely songs. There was no part of this music which we didn’t love. This movie was also remade into different languages, and a Tamil version actually released more than ten years later, asserting the film’s worthiness. The song “Soldier soldier” still remains in the USB in my car.

5. Khiladi (1992): From this movie onwards, we have known Akshay Kumar with the film’s title, and so many movies with the name “khiladi” in the title have followed, but nothing after Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi maintained that quality and essence. Still, Khiladi was one of the real thrillers of the time. There were some good songs, and even though a thriller, there was a funny side, with Johny Lever coming out of nowhere to deliver the best of them. There is also a fine twist coming in the end, and you need to be ready for the same. Even if you watch this movie now, it can still make that fine impact. If a good movie can be made with the name “khiladi” in the title, it would be an interesting watch.

6. Baazi (1995), Damini (1993) and Angrakshak (1995): Aamir Khan takes us into the action thriller genre nicely with Baazi, and Mamta Kulkarni is once again in one, like in Sabse Bada Khiladi which released in the same year. It does have elements from Die Hard, but it was indeed working very well. At the same time, Damini is one of the best movies with the leading actress having the much needed significance. Meenakshi Seshadri does a perfect job there, and the dialogues of Sunny Deol in the courtroom are to be remembered. Angrakshak is another movie that comes to the mind, and the political side of this particular film with Sunny Deol in the lead, is relevant even today.

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***The images used in the blog post are from the respective films on bookmyshow and youtube used for supporting this particular post on the blog only.

***These are taken from childhood memory, and therefore, none of these films might feel the same if I watch them again now.

TeNy

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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.

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

TeNy

UT99: Gaming Nostalgia

Unreal Tournament, with the original one often known along with the year 1999 or with the Game of the Year Edition addition to name (UT99 or UT:GOTY) was one game which changed our gaming concepts, a very long time ago. Coming from Epic Games and Digital Extremes, this was the second release from the franchise, and managed to make all the impact by revolutionizing the gaming idea with its arena first-person shooter mode which involved playing against computer as well as other human players in multiplayer mode. I remember this game as the first one which I played online with friends during the early years of the new century.

The game’s domination mode which involved the capturing of control points and defending them, was my favourite during the time. During the lock-down period, I did spend enough time playing the game through LAN, along with Age of Empires 2: Conquerors and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. It was a nice refreshing of those good old days for me. I would play Unreal Tournament’s original version any time again, and Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004 which came after this game were not that effective in comparison, which makes this version the one game which I might never forget. Remember that there is also a fine background story to this adventure which involved a lot of shooting. There is nothing that matches a perfect head-shot with a sniper rifle or the heated shrapnel launched by a Flak Cannon.

This pyramid level arena has us fighting for our lives in space.

A Gothic model of an arena will have us fighting hard.

A graveyard level is special for Halloween and the inner horror.

The level set on a galleon had some fine moments with visuals.

Sometimes, a few head-shots which a sniper proves to be the best.

This arena map called DM-Hyperblast has been a crowd favourite.

This is an arena which reminds one of hell & those Doom games.

Nothing suits Unreal Tournament 99 like the blood-red colour.

Another level in space means another chance for defying gravity.

DM-Morpheus map is the arena of suicides by falling into space.

***All images are from my game-play with Unreal Tournament much earlier.

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TeNy

For they are Fantastico!

Here is another list on the Fantastico entertainer movies from the last century which had to be shared. The titles are not arranged in any particular order.

Vadakkunokkiyantram (1989), Aanaval Mothiram (1991), Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala (1998)
Director: Sreenivasan (1, 3), G. S. Vijayan (2)
Cast: Sreenivasan, Innocent (1, 3), Mamukkoya (1, 3), Nedumudi Venu (1, 3)
Sreenivasan plays three of the most memorable characters in these movies, Thalathil Dineshan who is always doubtful about his wife, James Pallithara who wrongly thinks that he has a fatal disease and the confused Vijayan who is an irresponsible husband. He plays these three roles to perfection, and I will always remember these three lead roles from him. Aanaval Mothiram was remade in Hindi as Gambler and in Tamil as Ragalaipuram. Sangita’s role in Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala is the one role for which she is most remembered. Vadakkunokkiyantram is considered as a comedy classic. Watching these three movies on a day will be perfect!

Devasuram (1993)
Director: I. V. Sasi
Cast: Mohanlal, Revathi, Innocent, Napolean
There are many movies taken in this particular style including its own sequel called Ravanaprabhu, but nothing matches Devasuram. Inspired by a real-life person, the movie has Mohanlal playing the protagonist with negative shades. All the other movies which followed this kind of pattern including the very successful Aaraam Thampuran and Narasimham are not match to this one. The character is “Mangalassery Neelakantan” is forever, no matter who all new protagonists come up with a similar situation – the legacy is something which cannot be inherited no matter how many similar movies are made or how many sequels are made in this model.

Chamayam (1993)
Director: Bharathan
Cast: Manoj K. Jayan, Sithara, Murali, Ranjitha
Telling the story of a fisherman who is also a stage actor during their free-time, the movie gets to the next level as he decides to take another man as the new hero, but there is the need to teach him how to perform – but he realizes that there is a lot of potential in the newly found actor. With some amazing performances from Manoj K. Jayan and Murali on and off the stage, and supported by some beautiful songs which are among the best, Chamayam works incredibly well. This is also the one role for which Sithara is remembered in the Malayalam movie industry more than any other. The movie works on two levels, the life of people and the life as part of drama on the stage.

Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1998) and Jagratha (1989)
Director: K. Madhu
Cast: Mammootty, Jagathy Sreekumar, Mukesh, Sukumaran
These are the first two movies in the series of CBI investigative thrillers having Mammootty as the intelligent CBI officer Sethurama Iyer. Even though two other movies released in this century in the form of Sethurama Iyer CBI and Nerariyan CBI, these two are undoubtedly of higher quality, and undoubtedly the best among them all. There are not many entertainers which could manage to entertain without songs, and these two happened to be different in that case too. I have enjoyed these movies a lot, and I hope for more intelligent works to come up in the series, and I wish for it to go through the path of the first two movies rather than those which followed.

Kireedam (1989) and Chenkol (1993)
Director: Sibi Malayil
Cast: Mohanlal, Thilakan, Mohan Raj, Cochin Haneefa
Kireedam was a movie which was different, because it was rather realistic with its major life-changing incident. Most of the times, a person who would be in the shoes of the protagonist Sethumadhavan will go through a different kind of exaggerated action-filled life, but not in this case. It was remade in Hindi as Gardish, in Kannada as Modada Mareyalli and with the same name in Tamil. I was surprised to read that the ending of the movie was changed from that realistic tragedy to a happier one in the Tamil version. The ending of the two movies, Kireedam and Chenkol were among the best things about the movie, which is why you will need to watch the original as well as its sequel.

Kottayam Kunjachan (1990)
Director: T. S. Suresh Babu
Cast: Mammootty, Ranjini, Innocent, Babu Antony
Mammootty who plays Kottayam Kunjachan completely steals this one. He has performed in this kind of roles and with this particular slang in other movies, but nothing like his work in this comedy movie. There are lots of funny moments in this movie, and the most memorable ones are the pennu kaanal scene and the driving school inauguration scene. The movie also develops interesting sub-plots as it progresses. This can be considered as one of the best comedy flicks of Mammootty all-time. There is also a nice list of supporting cast here including Innocent and Sukumaran, plus the main villain who is Babu Antony. This makes one funny and memorable character here.

Moonnam Mura (1988) and Douthyam (1989)
Director: K. Madhu (1) and P. Anil (2)
Cast: Mohan Lal, Suresh Gopi, Babu Antony, Vijayaraghavan.
Douthyam was one of those movies which became a lot like our own Rambo around here. Mohanlal plays Captain Roy Jacob Thomas who has to return to the most dangerous of action to save his own colleagues who were captured terrorists deep inside a forest. Moonnam Mura has Mohanlal again as Ali Imran, a former police officer who has to return to action to save a group of people kept captive by terrorists. I have had a similar effect with both of these movies, and it is not only Mohanlal who is there in both of these engaging thrillers, as Suresh Gopi, Babu Antony and Vijayaraghavan are also the common factors. The 1988 movie even had a Telugu remake by the name Magaadu.

***And you know that there are more!

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

What Follows with Fantastico

Here is another list of more Fantastico entertainer movies from the last century which needed to be shared here. The titles are not brought here in any particular order.

Sandesham (1991)
Director: Sathyan Anthikkad
Cast: Jayaram, Sreenivasan, Thilakan, Maathu
This movie can be considered as one of the smartest satires of all-time. With Jayaram and Sreenivasan in the lead and being part of two of the major parties of Kerala, this political satire makes use of the available elements really well. Most of the dialogues in this movie are used even now, and in some cases we see the reflection of the same even during these days. Political satire is not the easy genre to deal with, and there haven’t been many successful ones; even the success stories don’t deal with full time satirical take. This is where this movie is different.

Summer in Bethlehem (1998)
Director: Sibi Malayil
Cast: Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Manju Warrier, Kalabhavan Mani
One of the best drama movies of its time comes in the form of Summer in Bethlehem. The usual drama movies have been going through the same path, but this one happens to be different; I would also consider this one as the best family drama performance from Suresh Gopi who was not really known for such roles after getting into the action genre and doing the police role consistently. Along with some fine support from Jayaram, there is also one of the best guest roles ever from Mohanlal. This is also Manju Warrier’s best roles ever in more than one way.

Ramji Rao Speaking (1989) and Mannar Mathai Speaking (1995)
Director: Siddique-Lal (1, 2), Mani C. Kappan (2)
Cast: Mukesh, Sai Kumar, Innocent, Vijayaraghavan
One of the funniest movies of its time, Ramji Rao Speaking was remade into Hindi as Hera Pheri. The team of Mukesh, Sai Kumar and Innocent are in full flow here, and there was even a very successful sequel made for this one by the name of Mannar Mathai Speaking which often has more fun than its predecessor. The dialogues from both movies are so much used these days, and it is safe to say that this has always been a movie which has been special with its comic side then, and continues to be the same even now. The third movie which released just two years couldn’t do that well though, and it is more due to the amazing quality of the first two flicks.

Lelam (1997)
Director: Joshiy
Cast: Suresh Gopi, M.G. Soman, Nandini, Spadikam George
Rivalries among families have always had something special if the whole thing was dealt with nicely. Lelam happens to be one of those movies which has things done very well. Suresh Gopi doesn’t go with the usual police role here, but Aanakattil Chackochi is one of his most remembered characters. In the last movie of M.G. Soman, there is a lot of drama with powerful as well as emotional dialogues, and there is also a good amount of action. Lelam is one of the movies which deal with a similar situation in its story, but among all those flicks, this happens to be the most popular and best known.

Minnaram (1994)
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Mohanlal, Shobana, Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar
This movie surely had the strength to appeal to the family audience as well as the youth. Minnaram doesn’t bring anything huge, but is still one of the most enjoyable drama flicks of its time, and the comedy sequences of the movie, especially those handled by Jagathy Sreekumar are extremely delightful – his role as Unnunni who always doubts his wife stands apart. The songs are really good, and the movie can also boast about having a huge support with its cast, as Sankaradi, Maniyanpillai Raju and Kuthiravattam Pappu are also part of some of the nice and funny moments here. Minnaram gets into the list of those simple, yet powerful fantastico movies.

Kilukkam (1991)
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Mohanlal, Revathy, Jagathy Sreekumar, Innocent
Winning five Kerala State Awards including the Best Actor Award for Mohanlal and the Second Best Actor Award for Jagathy Sreekumar, the movie was also supported by some fine songs. The comedy scenes in the movie are also considered among the best, with Mohanlal, Jagathy and Revathy contributing so well; Innocent’s comedt scenes are big ones too. It was remade in Telugu and Hindi, not living up-to the original, and its sequel Kilukkam Kilukilukkam also didn’t stand as it did nothing other than to bring shame on this fantastic comedy movie. At a point of time, Kilukkam was considered as the one fantastico movie with its extremely strong funny side. When you watch the movie, you will know that the success of Kilukkam is much deserved.

In Harihar Nagar (1990)
Director: Siddique-Lal
Cast: Mukesh, Jagadish, Siddique, Ashokan
Successfully using its cast and thriving in its comic side, In Harihar Nagar was a movie for the youth with all the comedy and addition of thrills in the end. The team of Mukesh, Siddique, Jagadish and Ashokan has been the factor which worked so well. Remade into Hindi as Dhol, the original has been the one top level comedy experience which also had two laugh riots in the form of successful movies, 2 Harihar Nagar and In Ghost House Inn. The comedies are kept simple with these movies, and the cast has been so much suitable for the situations. You have admire how they were created here.

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

Malayalam Movies: Fantastico List

Here I am going to write about those Malayalam movies from the last century which are my all-time favourites; in no particular order, but they are my most admired entertainers and they are fantastico!

Nadodikkattu (1987), Pattanapravesham (1988) and Akkare Akkare Akkare (1990)
Directors: Sathyan Anthikkad (1, 2) and Priyadarshan (3)
Cast: Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Thilakan, Innocent
The best comedy trilogy is here in the form of these three movies which compete which each other to tell us which one has the best lines and provides the most fun. It tells the adventures of Dasan and Vjayan, two jobless people who become CIDs and solves the cases by luck. From the “B.Com First Class” and “Great professional killer Pavanayi” dialogues to the “both having the same kind of voice” and “corpse markings” in the second and later to the big questions about “who is Paul Barber and where is the crown?” along with the “Akira Kurosawa trying to kill mosquitos” in the final movie, this one is a full laugh riot as a trilogy. There is always the need to watch them all, as this is the true fantastico trilogy!


Manichitrathazhu (1993)
Director: Fazil
Cast: Mohanlal, Shobana, Suresh Gopi, Innocent
There is no questioning this movies which has been remade into Hindi (Bhool Bhulaiyaa), Kannada (Apthamitra), Tamil (Chandramukhi) and Bengali (Rajmohol), all versions making fine impact. The Tamil version was also dubbed into Telugu and itt even had a spin-off named Geethanjali, but it couldn’t do that well due to the very high expectations. It is still considered as one of the best psychological horror films around, and it even had some comedy scenes which are remembered a lot. Shobana’s performance won her the National Award as well as the State Award for Best Actress. Well, you should have watched one of the remakes, so you will know the story – and the original is the best!

Dhruvam (1993)
Director: Joshiy
Cast: Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Vikram, Jayaram
If you see the cast of this movie, you will know the potential without even realizing anything more about it. This is a top thriller which everyone needs to watch. The movies which is loaded with beautiful songs, emotional strength and thrilling moments, has its share of powerful dialogues too. In Vikram’s first Malayalam cinema, this one has the protagonist Narasimhan looking for revenge against a dangerous criminal and wanted terrorist called Haider, but is unable to get to him. What follows are the plans brought forward by the man to have his revenge and how the antagonist tries to keep himself away from justice as well as the revenge-seeking Narasimhan.

Commissioner (1994)
Director: Shaji Kailas
Cast: Suresh Gopi, Ratheesh, Shobana, Vijayaraghavan
Known for its powerful dialogues which became part of every stage program, inspiring another successful sequel named Bharath Chandran I.P.S. eleven years after its release, Commissioner is that movie which brought Suresh Gopi to the role of a righteous police officer, a character which he played in many more movies to come. If I remember it correctly, this is the movie which brought him to the next level of superstar, and in school, a lot of kids were imitating his one particular dialogue in that movie; or rather two of them. This was next big thing for Suresh Gopi – Shaji Kails combination after Ekalavyan.

Yodha (1992)
Director: Sangeeth Sivan
Cast: Mohanlal, Madhoo, Jagathy Sreekumar, Urvashi
The idea to dismiss this one was an entertainer won’t be the smartest of plans, because Yodha is one movie which has a good plot, and its comedy scenes as well as songs are more than just favourites – they are everywhere; they have been so for more than twenty years, and it is the kind of popularity that this movie has managed. I watched this one for the first time as kid, and even now my opinion about the movie remains the same. It is that kind of an impact that this one has made, for people of all generations, and of all ages. With the A.R. Rahman touch in the songs, this one has the Mohanlal-Jagathy comedy combination at its best, and it is great fun to watch.

Ekalavyan (1993)
Director: Shaji Kailas
Cast: Suresh Gopi, Narendra Prasad, Geetha, Maathu
Suresh Gopi has one of his best police roles here, and Narendra Prasad comes in the role of one of the best antagonists played by him. Ekalavyan is often considered as one of the best police roles of Suresh Gopi, and the dialogues here are amazingly good. Suresh Gopi plays Madhavan, who goes on a mission to investigate into some murders and smuggling of narcotics in which a particular godman is involved. There are many things which will be brought to light, that can also deal with many influential businessmen, powerful politicians, and all. So, going through this investigation won’t be something that can be considered as a smooth one.

Spadikam (1995)
Director: Bhadran
Cast: Mohanlal, Thilakan, Urvashi, Spadikam George
Its main villain is known in real life by the name of the movie itself, and so there is no need to think twice about the impact created by this movie. It tells the story of a boy who has problems in Mathematics, but is good in other subjects; but his father who is a Maths teacher as well as the headmaster makes him fail in language exams; with this particular incident and frustrated of being compared to the students who are good in Maths, he leaves home only to return as a rowdy. The movie has the cult status, and I am sure that a lot of youngsters have faced the same problem in their lives, fighting the worst evil of all time, Mathematics. Mohanlal and Thilakan steals the show here.

The rest of the movies include Sandesham, Chamayam, Ramji Rao Speaking, Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, Irupatham Noottandu, Lelam, Rajavinte Makan, Kilukkam, Pathram, Crime File and many others during a golden age; they are all fantastico!

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

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

Photos from the Past

On this day which has me looking at the memories again, I will bring a few photos which reminds of a few things which I really miss these days. Some of them are clearly not going to come back, and the rest also might not return, and so I will post these pictures and keep thinking about it. We are planning to include a Vampire Butterfly for creating a Butterfly Effect and do what happened in the movie with the same name, but until then, we will keep this on the list of nostalgia.

1. The Random Search: There was always this random search as part of the continuous journeys. But it has completely disappeared right now. On the following image, you can see where we reached during one of our journeys with navigation using a printed map. It was the time when I had no internet connection on my mobile phone and there was also no Google Maps. Well, there was such a time, and it is good to remember.

2. The Legend of Kochi Tuskers Kerala: I will always miss Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the IPL. The games at Cochin were so much fun. I watched three matches of the IPL with seven different people. Out of the three, they only won one and that was against Kolkata Knight Riders. But it was good at that time. Nowadays, thinking about IPL itself gives a shock. Well, the past and the present are not even close in this case.

3. The Kochi Biennale Memories: There was that time when I visited Biennale four times during one season, and then there was the return of the Kochi Biennale two years which had me not visiting at all. I felt strange about it, but still couldn’t visit the program at all. Well, this is not the end, but for some reason, I doubt if I would visit it again. May be I am just doubting for no reason – may be there is a chance.

4. The Missing Ceylon Tea: During my visit to Sri Lanka, I bought a lot of packets of Ceylon Tea and distributed them among my friends. Well, what weighed more than the most of the other things during my return were those packets of tea. It is that tea world that I miss a lot! Yes, I have been to other places with a lot of tea after that, but nothing matched the tea at Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka.

5. The Cricket of the Past: I will define my lost love for cricket with just one picture. This was there at the Oberon Mall during the last Cricket World Cup, and despite not caring about cricket much these days, I wanted to think about some cricket. Yes, it was part of nostalgia, and this past will no longer come back. Considering the state of cricket these days, may be it is good to forget them all completely.

6. The Great Halloween Night: We have always loved those Halloween nights, because it was the time to get those costumes related to horror, get some collection and donate them to the poor. Yes, it was how our youth club used to work – not much during the other festivals or days of significance, but full power for the Halloween. Those were the funnier days, and we are glad that the horror was not contaminated 😛

***All photos used in this blog post were taken by me only.

TeNy

The College Days at UCC

This post is my entry for ‘My College Diary’ contest held by travel blog My Yatra Diary in collaboration with Collegedunia.com

There are not many memories that give me a better feeling than my days at Union Christian College, Aluva – where I attended for my MA English. I have been to other educational institutions for a longer period of time, but there was nothing like being in this college which had the most interesting days of my life. It was like each and every day was special, and had something new for me. I have always been a lazy person who hesitated to go for the classes, but everything changed and I came out of there as a different person.

I was always there to witness the beautiful rays of the sun, very early.

There is something about learning English Literature in one of the oldest and the most reputed colleges in Kerala. With a green campus full of trees and having a number of old buildings of antique value which takes us to world beyond the busy traffic right outside the gate, being at UC College is a privilege that I never thought I would have, and for the same, I would like to thank God as I could get the admission by merit itself without any trouble, and that is one miracle that stays on my list forever.

UCC on a rainy day while reading romantic poetry! Nostalgia strikes!

We had our classes right on the block on the back side of the oldest building around, surrounded by trees and having a shortcut to the canteen. The first thing we notice there being the lines from Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”, I entered the classroom with doubts about what was next in my life. I was quite late for post-graduation, as I had changed my graduation to Literature after having my way with Computer Application.

Now you know where I parked my car 😀 Loved parking it – was more like hiding it 😉

1. The Strangers’ Paradise: I entered this place, which was the paradise of strangers, a world which had students who had taken graduation from different colleges. There were eighteen including two of us boys, a number which decreased to thirteen by the final year. Most of them didn’t know each other, and what made me feel better was that nobody knew me at all. Being a stranger among strangers was fair, the right point to make an introduction. I could make the right impression, but still I ended up being just me, and thinking about it, that was the best thing that I did there – being myself.

That visual from our first year classroom and nearby; almost made me jump at times.

2. The Strength of Tea: The first thing I asked after getting there was about the canteen. Yes, the toilet and the library are significant, but there was the need for tea. Ever since finding the place, I was a regular visitor there, even meeting the teachers further there. It is the place which tells us that our teachers are awesome, over a cup of tea. We know our friends better at the canteen with the tea, and meet a lot more people there. We might still not know them directly, but it is a certainty that if we see them somewhere outside the college or on Facebook, we know who they are. I used to jump out of the classroom for the same reason, having a cup of tea between the hours.

Those steps under the chapel: a usual place, no matter what the time.

3. The Literary Power: The power of the library was clear right from the beginning, and I was clear about it before joining the college. We were blessed with a very old library which had a very good collection of literary works, but nothing new though. I used to make some frequent visits to library in the beginning, a habit which I somewhat abandoned as I could get the e-books in an easier way. But then, there was the idea of helping others to get the book – with canteen so close to the library, how could I not choose to go to the library? Cutlet and tea with books – a fair choice.

Those library cards on the final day of college – one last look as I left.

4. Seminars of the World: A habit which soon developed was to go for literature based seminars at different colleges. Even as there were some of us going in the beginning, soon there was the practice of going together or staying at home so that there would be no class. But soon, some of the studious girls would develop the practice of going to the college to listen to the lectures based on syllabus, and I had to go alone or in smaller groups. But we got the attendance, and the classes rarely mattered to me as I had enough material to go through. The journeys on a Chevrolet Beat also started with these, making my car a regular visitor to the college.

A little more of the natural beauty to make you miss the place more.

5. Change of Perspective: The first few months had us taking down lecture notes as well as those which are provided to us. Then the situation changes to just writing down some random things, pretending to write and finally ends up not writing anything at all. Yes, there are the studious girls who got to write them, but we are people of the last bench. We know that it is not by what is taught in the classes that we are redeemed when the examinations arrive. We know that we have to read, and not accepting whatever is taught in a class; that is about having one’s own perspective.

Another beautiful, rainy day on the campus inspiring poetry.

6. The Quiz Surprise: Even as the things were going okay, nothing really made an impact like this surprise. There was the inter-college quiz competition for which I was told to go, just because there was the shortage of willing people; that was a nice journey, with two teams of us participating in the same, and myself and my partner winning the second prize. That was quite a turning point, with myself going to more of the competitions, with different partners – that was the beginning of the next phase which came only in the final year. I admired the department for the support here, and those who accompanied me for the competitions.

A screenshot from the UC college website at that time.

7. Political Extravaganza: Politics was banned for the first year I joined there as there were some bad incidents. But it came back with full power in the next year, with the Communist students wing SFI gaining most of the seats and the other Communist wing AISF coming so close. Congress’ KSU came right down and BJP’s ABVP managed one seat. It was not the result that caught my attention though, because it was the campaigning which has the beauty about it. There were thos nice artworks to support the parties as well as some cultural stuff. Who can forget those strikes which gave us more freedom?

A photo from the day before the election.

8. Before Final Destination: Then came the season of trouble; the time for the final exams followed by the time dedicated for the thesis. There were lot of turbulence out there, especially concerning the studious girls, worried about the marks as well as how their thesis will look for others; but the rest of us were pretty sure that they will score high as usual and were just making a scene to bother us – that ended well. Among this maddening crowd, the thesis progressed fine,, and I am glad to say that I enjoyed working on my topic, and the support from the English Department was splendid.

Those final days of thesis; had to be the techie again and be the helping hand.

If I have the opportunity to go through all these, I would be glad to – it is that kind of a feeling that this college has left me with. It is not that I have never thought about it, and taking another post graduation in History would have been a perfect choice. But considering the fact that the syllabus has changed and so has the new generation, I would just end up being an outdated man, not old enough and yet not working well with the younger generation. So, I shall happily hold on to these memories which remain special for me.

A few things the elections brought for the college; the area near the canteen.

Five bloggers I tag here are Namrata, Maniparna, Kokila, Rohit  and Nishi. I wish them best of luck 🙂
I also thank Sagarika for the tag 🙂 and My Yatra Diary for this opportunity.
*All the photos used here were taken on my former phone – Samsung Star Duos.

TeNy

Nostalgia: New Version

While we were shifting, I found something which was thought to be lost, a memory of something which goes back fourteen to fifteen years or so, and the one reason for which there will be more nostalgia than most of the things of that time. I wouldn’t call these toys, but the remnants of what used to be my little life which was lost, and even as it remains pretty much aimless, I find this discovery as a good omen.

It becomes only a necessity to dig up all of that nostalgia, as it is what defines us and makes us ponder about that past which has been lost and buried in a coffin under the soil of all that nonsense which we had to put into our heads. There is always the need for some of it to come alive – for we have none of them right now, as we move on through an artificial life, unlike what we know during our childhood days.

Remember the GI Joe Ads on Doordarshan, “Go GI Joe”? 😀

The first part of my nostalgia consists of those G.I. Joe action figures. Yes, now you know why I have been rating those two G.I. Joe movies, Rise of the Cobra and Retaliation very high – it comes from the childhood memories, of that world which had very high opinion of them right from the moment they replaced the toy cars which had replaced those cute little dolls themselves a lot earlier.

Introduced to me by my cousin brother, I had nine of those action figures from Hasbro. He was the expert right there. I always prefered the evil ones though, belonging to the side of the Cobra, as the soldiers looked too normal, and I was the fan of the Dracula lineage of vampires at that time too. Among the figures that I have, the only ones which I can recognize now are Storm Shadow and Cobra Commander, and as I don’t have the enclosing covers any more, I hope some of you can recognize these people for me.

The second part of my nostalgia goes back further into my childhood. It belongs completely to Hot Wheels, that little collection of cars which I had. Yes, there were others too, but Hot Wheels car completely took over my world with ease. There were not only cars, but also those trucks and buses which were small enough to run all the small paths that I managed to find at random places in my house.

Hot Wheels; they also had the Ads for us kids, right?

My favourites were those yellow truck, the blue truck and the yellow car. Forget the other things which form the background to those cars, as they are not part of this nostalgia stuff. I would be glad if you could tell the names of some of the models if you know any. I am looking forward to naming them any way. I have been searching for them in google with random information, but haven’t found success.

Did you have such toys which you still have in possession, or to be found somewhere in a store room of your house or the showcase? May be you can search and find them to bring yourself back to the past, and have some fun with the same along with immersing yourself in nostalgia. If you can find or remember something similar, do share it here. Until then, long live the G.I. Joe and Hot Wheels 😀

TeNy