shyama menon
P Padmarajan – remembering the master storyteller
Published January 24, 2011 | 
Yet another year gone by when Malayalees lament the demise of, the master storyteller that was, P Padmarajan. Twenty long years and yet Malayalam cinema still awaits a director of that calibre who could reach out to the masses at all levels with his story, direction, sense of music, romance and even sexuality of the Malayalee with finesse.
Connecting with all kinds of people with films on themes like love (Innale), incest in (Nammukku paarkkaan muthiri thoppukal), lesbian love and friendship (Deshaadanakili karayarilla), life in a brothel and with (Arappettakettiya gramathil), man in love with two women (Thoovaanathumbikal) was done with a style that appealed to both the young and old.
Music has always worked for each and every Padmarajan movie and his last movie Njan Gandharavan was no different in this either. Finding unusual themes, unexpected endings were also his forte and what elevated his films onto different strata to the viewer.
So was he a better storyteller or a director; and does it matter… for his films took mainstream Malayalam cinema onto new heights and its not often that a writer comes along who has film-making capabilities to picturise the story he unravells with the same effect on celluloid.
Here is an excerpt from the personal post on Padmarajan Unni R Nair did last year in this blog…
For me, Padmarajan is simply one of the best that we have had in Malayalam Cinema, a man who went beyond the classifications of art-house and commercial cinema and who successfully merged all these different strands of cinema and who gave a well edited action flick too in ‘Season’, a film that can teach many a lesson to those who still stumble at making action films.
Well, I’d love to spend a few moments relishing memories of the many Padmarajan movies that had made me so passionate about films. The late KPAC Azeez jumping out of the boat all determined to take revenge on the man who had been a witness to his crimes (‘Peruvazhiyambalam‘), the poor desperate grandfather (played by Thilakan) who is all shattered after his young grandson had gone missing in the sea (‘Moonnaam Pakkam‘), the young Jayaram in ‘Innale‘ who wishes and prays earnestly that his new-found lover (played by Shobhana), who has been suffering from Amnesia, doesn’t get back her memories and recognise her husband (played by Suresh Gopi), the village wrestler (played by Rasheed) who is rather indifferent towards his wife and her needs (‘Oridathoru Phayalwan‘) – these and many other scenes from Padmarajan films just scroll on and on in my memory while I hear my heart sob and pay heartfelt tributes to the ‘Gandharvan’ who left us nineteen years ago, an untimely death that shattered us all to a great extent. I know that some of our scribes will be getting ready with write-ups and memoirs for tomorrow and some of our papers may devote some space for the versatile writer-filmmaker.
Well, this is my personal tribute to Padmarajan, the man who made me love films, the man who made me love myself and have a passion for life.
Here I am again remembering P Padmarajan on his 20th death anniversary giving voice to a large number of people who took to Malayalam cinema thanks to the master storyteller.
This Christmas, dear fellow Keralites…
Published December 24, 2010 | 
This Christmas, dear fellow Keralites, especially those who guzzle down a lot of Rum Brandy and whisky (the preferred trio), this is a request…
While you go ‘hic …hic’ ‘slur..#@%@#%’ at your family, please remember Christmas is a spiritual time for many and you are not being spiritual with brandy in your belly. You lost the point my friend!
Learn social drinking dear macho Malayalee man – it’s a refined art that’s to be emulated, start today!
Please remember to spend the day with your wife and children and remember how you celebrated Christmas – the whole day and not just two hours of it.
Visiting family members does not mean just drinking buddies in the family, help the womenfolk, praise them or take them out for a movie – this is also a holiday well spent.
Today being Christmas Eve, please try not to go overboard queuing up to liquor shops all over the state, go home early and try not to be grumpy without your toddy.
For a state known for its protests, bandhs, hartals etc remember that your Kerala government wants you to drink as the treasury makes a tidy sum with each bottle you buy. So make a protest…
In fact, dear fellow Keralites, why not have a liquor-free Christmas, let’s face it you can’t stop with a sip, so abstinence is probably the way to go.
Note:
“For liquor worth ’100 sold, the income to the government is ’82. And during the fiscal ended this March, turnover for the corporation was ’5,539.85 crore”, says Sankar Reddy, KSBC Director, in this article.
Oh before I forget… Merry Christmas dear fellow Keralites, have a safe one…
Peace!
India Shining at the Commonwealth Games – A first-hand Report
Published October 13, 2010 | 
A first-hand report of the final day of the Athletics events at the Commonwealth Games, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi.
I was hoping to catch some Malayalee men and women do their best as Kerala has consistently sent women athletes for events. The stadium was packed except for a few stands kept reserved for probably the players and families. And those are the stands that come up empty on TV screen as they are right behind the medal-distribution podium.
Security was tight, only small purses allowed, no cameras, no bottles of perfumes, lotions, drinks , no food allowed in- not even water. All coins had to be put in a box for the Cancer patients. Next you get frisked and you had to show your ticket high to enter, and in the queue people come and ask you if you have extra tickets while you hold your much coveted ticket in fear! For a moment felt like Charlie with his golden ticket in the Roald Dahl book, I must admit.
On the field, it was action all around, on one side were the women Pole-vaulters and on the other the Javelin men. Two giant screens gave you the close-up look at all of them. The triple jumpers were practicing on the side and the overhead camera going to and fro. The thrown javelins were brought back by remote cars which kept all the kids in the crowd riveted with hopes of having a go at them.
Then the track events began – the 4×100 men and women’s event. Team India won the bronze, the women especially lost out the silver by a whisker. PT Usha was announced for the medal distribution and the crowd went into raptures clapping for her. She seemed serious when she handed the bronze medals, she touched the cheek of each athlete with what looked like a rap. We were discussing that she may have been unhappy with bronze and were giving the girls a tiny slap each. 
For Javelin, there were 4 Indian men and the crowd egged them on with chants and Kashinath Naik won bronze, again! Our triple jumper, Ranjit Maheshwari, was a crowd engager he asked the crowd to clap and we did each time, and he was in the running for silver throughout but finally had to settle for bronze, but with a new National Record!
The crowd was soon restless, all wanting to hear the National Anthem at least once and then the Women’s 4×400 began. It’s like the whole crowd wished together at the same time – and there it was, the Gold!!! The girls Sini Jose (Keralite), Ashwini Akkunji, Manjeet Kaur, and Mandeep Kaur were amazing they ran like there was no tomorrow. And the result… euphoria, screaming, jumping, all round exultation – Amazing experience!
For the National Anthem we were all singing as one and the Jaya hai Jaya hai Jaye hai bit was sung loudly with hands throwing victory punches in the air.
The only drawback was that we wanted to see Milkha Singh (who was seen congratulating the girls on the screen) or PT Usha give away the medals but instead, we had to suffer Suresh Kalmadi who did the honours. A lot of us were seen ranting but then the girls and their smiles and the joy took over.
India also beat England to enter hockey finals – Truly, a great sporting day for India and a long wait has ended since Milkha Singh won the 440 yards gold in 1958, so long ago! I certainly lucked out witnessing one of the best days for Kerala and for India in the CWG 2010.
Why I want the Commonwealth Games 2010 to fail!
Published September 23, 2010 | Blogging from Kerala one of the least corrupt states of India, where law and order is also one of the best, on the Commonwealth Games fiasco and the corruption at the highest echelons of power in Delhi is deeply saddening.
At the risk of sounding unpatriotic but being totally the opposite I say I want the Commonwealth Games 2010 to fail!
Simply because I’ve had enough with corruption, the buck stops here for me. Also because, if they pull it off, somehow, the public will forget yet again lulled into complacency with a bullish market and a fabulous growth trajectory. This cannot happen again period!
Even the rain gods concur as it continues to pour in Delhi seriously worrying the Games organisers. The CWG horror has brought out into the open our deepest shame – that of Corruption! As citizens we all know about it but to actually go through it at this mega scale is a different experience altogether.
“We’re like that only”, the old guard say, but in states like Kerala we cannot agree, being a tourist paradise our state needs to catch up with the world and this has to stop.
With more news coming in on CWG and child labour issues all we can think of are a few questions no one asked when this whole thing began.
- Why did we bid for the game, again?
- Why wasn’t the private sector involved in it? Can’t imagine the difference a Ratan Tata or Vijay Mallya, Azim Premji or Infosys could have done!
- Why isn’t transparency in deals not enforced?
- How did we successfully host the Asian Games in 1982?
We also need to be asked before such huge events are taken up by the Indian government for it is our collective reputation that is at stake. I want change! Do you want the Games to fail?
Confessions of a not-so-traditional Keralite during Onam!
Published August 25, 2010 | Here goes… a few candid confessions from a not-so-traditional Keralite…
Even though I enjoy sadhyas I am yet to learn how to cook the entire spread and serve people for lunch. I get by with Onam kits or better still with invitations from great cooks like my aunts or mother.
I buy flowers, the ones that come from Tamil Nadu, for Onam, and as they are quite expensive I keep them packed neatly in a Tupperware container for the next day.
The flower-carpet centre flower I sometimes steal from gardens on the way-side and bolt without looking back… and that I think is traditional – pookallanmaar and pookallikal (flower thieves) are traditional.
Have never had Onathappan kept in the middle of the flower carpet, and not sure about the significance. Gulp!
I relate to the Maveli story more than the harvest significance of Onam, even though Maveli is a mythological figure of whom Amar Chitra Katha has a great comic about.
Growing up my mother and sisters were always making elaborate pookkalams and we did have shankupushapam, chembarathi, nanyaarvattam (indigenous flowers) and ferns to our pookkalam. The flower carpets looked very much from Kerala and not the market fare from Tamil Nadu. Ah nostalgia!
However, I do know certain things only a traditional Keralite knows:
I do know that inji thaiyiru (raw ginger curry in curd) is equivalent to a 1000 curries, so it’s always on the menu for me.
Also kurukkukaalan (coconut curry with sour buttermilk) made during Onam gets tastier as the days go by.
Thumbapoovu (flower) used to be the traditional way one does pookkalam on Onam day (at least in my part of the state).
Onakodi or the new dress needs to be of that Kodi (off-white) colour traditionally, so yes a new mundu or set-mundu in cream colour is the traditional way to do it.
So, Onam has evolved from a harvest-mythological festival to being Kerala’s identity and cultural festival today. The Kerala tourism significance the festival has and the shopping fairs that play out have all but swallowed the traditional Onam. And perhaps it is the way to be… as tourism continues to bring in huge amount of money into the state and prompts a lot of us to ponder and wonder the significance, traditions and the not-so-traditional truths about our state festival.
Running commentary on Karmakerala Onam!
Published August 19, 2010 | 
As our Karmakerala office celebrates Onam with all PCs shut down or used as props for a large amount of flowers that are being readied for a giant Pookkalam at the entrance. The ceremonies start with the lighting of the lamp and good wishes all around.
All the ladies are busy checking their set-mundu or Kerala sari and helping each other pin jasmine flowers in their hair. The smell of jasmine fills the office, the ching-ching of glass bangles and giggles, dangling ear-rings that twinkle, traditional malas (necklaces) that dazzle as the cameras flash and even decorative bindis. And for a change no ‘tap-tap’ of the keyboards.
Let’s not forget the men-folk, most have dared to wear the mundu fastened safely with a belt to keep it in place. To go without a belt is a challenge few Malayalee men can meet these days (but not a challenge for our Scottish boss whose Mundu never falls even though he eschews a belt). Even the famous Malayalee mustache is fast disappearing with fancy beards taking over.
Festivity and fun in the air with a couple of performances and games getting ready. After all the preening and fun of the flower carpet and performances the sadhya will be relished as people are snapped eating from the banana leaf with hands. I’m sure there are some surprises ready to be sprung to add to the fun. Let me end with a resounding “‘Happy Onam” to all 
Kochi road rage disappears on Kozhikode roads
Published August 12, 2010 | I was in Kozhikode recently and couldn’t help compare traffic in Kochi and Calicut.
In Kochi the roads are bigger than the ones in Calicut, no doubts there, and people tend to know road etiquette more than in Calicut. I know this is strange for a Kochiite – who is already showing signs of road rage reading this. But this is true!
In Calicut you find that no one follows any rules except when a traffic cop is around. And the best part about Calicut is that there’s not much of road rage, so pedestrians cross the road as and when they please and the motorist lets them go by quite unaffected most of the time.
The same situation in Kochi would have led to a cacophony of protests with cars honking, bikes revving, swears and cussing, all coming from all directions.
But in Calicut, even in Palayam Junction you find the lungi-clad men crossing the road to Moideen Palli (mosque) with not a care in this world. The motorist seems to know there’s this guy running to the mosque before the ‘Baanguvili‘. He patiently lets the man cross, allows a few bikewallahs to go ahead like he has all the time in the world.
It was amazing to observe this and even at lunch time, no one was in a mad rush there. I took a cue from them and followed what they did and allowed all to pass and for a change it felt good!
But then Calicut takes life at a slower pace, go by Mananchira Square on any weekday during working hours and you find scores of people sitting and talking on the grass. It makes you wonder how they survive? They show no sign of worries of work and other tensions and are busy talking politics or making plans, (no idea really), but it is a sight to see!
So while it pays to be a bully on Kochi roads it’s a joy to be a docile driver in Calicut and experience a tolerance that is liberating and refreshing.
'Aye autokaari'- A slice of new Kerala life!
Published July 9, 2010 | 
This afternoon on my way home for lunch I was pleasantly surprised when I waved towards an autorickshaw. Out popped a smiling face, bindi and all wearing Khaki uniform over her kurta-salwar. I was immediately curious about her life as an auto driver in Kochi and she assured me things were going very well!
Meet Sumitra, part of a growing band of women foraying into male bastions in Kochi. She owns her own autorickshaw and has been cruising the streets for over a month now. And the best part is that she lives close to our Karmakerala office. Sumitra’s husband owns a goods carrier autorickshaw which is called a petti-auto in Kerala. Great to see women out earning their living in petrol filling stations, mall parking lots and driving autoricks for hire.
Catch Sumitra during the day on Kochi roads, she heads home by 6 PM. I hope to run into her again as I dash in and out of the office.
Kerala football fever and err… Communism
Published July 7, 2010 | Kerala and West Bengal, the football crazy states of India are having a great time with the FIFA world cup getting to its final stages. Even the hilarious ‘Laka Laka’ Mallu song on YouTube has caught the national spotlight! The state rooted for Brazil and Argentina with fan clubs watching it here like they are cheering for India. Somehow with football Kerala gets more affected than even cricket, the national religion.
Coming from Calicut, I remember watching Nehru Trophy matches at the Stadium Ground. The ruckus they created, the collective groans and cheers are to be seen to be believed. Malabar people come out with vigour when they watch football and everyone’s an expert, I have heard shouts like, ‘attack the goalie’, or ‘poke his eyes out’, ‘change that guy‘ – rants’ being made with murderous looks. Ha ha!
Sitting in Kochi now I miss the spectacle being played out at the numerous cafes, clubs, and reading rooms in Calicut. They know all the details of scores of yore, lost chances and tactics and argue at the drop of a hat and even place bets. Scuffles were also common among friends during matches of opposing teams. Such drama hardly happens for cricket matches in Kerala, though with IPL Kochi team in the fray now, there is scope for similar stuff.
However, taking up causes far, far away has not been new for Kerala; Communism has seen Keralites and Bengalis shouting slogans for Cuba, Korea, Russia and even China. Even President Bush had been a popular effigy being burnt on the Kerala coast. Strange are the dynamics of this connection but then like football, we also tend to obsess about certain ideologies even if they don’t seem feasible these days. Keralites with communist leanings will speak of the life and times of Che Guevera, Karl Marx, Lenin, Castro and the like with ease.
So, here I’m left wondering did the football craze come years ago through Communism to the state. Hmm! If you are living in Kerala, there comes a time when you think- ‘Am I communist?‘ Nowadays it’s a mere thought, though it probably was a phase in a person’s life decades ago and a way of life much earlier. Like the Latin American countries with their Communism and their football craze, did football come to us in Kerala the communist way? Whatever be the reason for the football craze, even if communism doesn’t stay football is too deep-rooted in Kerala to fizzle out.
This Sunday like most people, I too am ready for the match on the big screen with a lot of crazy football fans. Food and drinks to flow; along with agonies and ecstasies. Though Brazil and Argentina have been routed out, the state seems to be coming together for Spain and The Netherlands. There is a delightful polarizing happening, bets being placed and Twitter tweets all playing a part to build up the excitement. Did I mention the number of LCD TVs being bought? Sony had a unique free World Cup replica football offer on. Paul, the Oracle octopus, is being discussed at length as well!
Kerala is ready, and nothing beats the joy of a sport, it’s a pure joy that’s frankly like no other! So, who are you supporting?
Mohanlal turns 50- wishes to the roles that made the man
Published May 21, 2010 | 
Mohanlal turn 50 and like most people who like filmstars I too tend to like him for the roles he enacted – the characters that still remain etched in our minds. So, let me wish a “Happy birthday” to…
Dasan of Naadodikaattu who kept us smiling, the lovable Sunny of ‘Sukhamo Devi, the guide Joji of Kilukkam, the Peter Pan father of Dasharadham, the hapless brother in Bharatham, and the Uncle Bun who delighted children everywhere.
I think of the romantic roles he played and wish Jayakrishnan of Toovanathumbikal, Sunny of Namukku Paarkkan munthirithoppukal, the double roles in Mayamayooram, the persistent lover in Vandanam, the voice over the phone in Onnu muthal poojyam vare, the boyfriend in Kaattathe kilikoodu and Manickan of Thenmavin Kombathu.
Best wishes to the ‘friend’ in Nokkettha doorathu kannumnattu, the eccentric doc in Manichitrathaazhu, the singing His Highness Abdullah, the guilt-ridden doc in ‘Amritham gamaya‘, the husband shirking his juvenile lover role in Midhunam, and the contractor in Vellaanakalude naadu.
Not to forget the much-hated villains in Manjil Virinja pookkal and Uyarangalil, the flirtatious singer and later the cursed son in Paadamudra (with a huge mole on their faces), and the alocholic artist in Kamaladhalam, the plotting Krishnamoorthy in Vietnam Colony, the taunting Aaram Thamburan, and the mad-naughty patient in Thalavattam (which ranks as high as ‘One Flew over the Cuckoos’ Nest” in my mind).
Many happy returns to the imposter Ghurka in Gandhinagar Second Street, Rajavinde Makan – the underworld prince and TP Balagopalan MA, the bus owner in Varavelppu, the Kathakali dancer in Rangam and Vanaprastham, the communist Nettoor Stephen in Lal Salaam, the brat Neelan in Devaasuram, the forced ‘gunda’ in Kireedom and the black magician caught in his own maya in Sreekrishna Parunthu.
Best wishes also to the police officer in Company and MGR in Iruvar in Hindi and Tamil respectively.
I may have missed many, but, yes, Mohanlal’s roles, the ease at which he handled them has endeared us all to the man. I have seen him at shootings at close quarters and have seen even the most reclusive of people take time out of their lives to have a peep at him.
I somehow feel a ‘disconnect’ with the roles he plays now, I can’t think of any new characters that he has portrayed. So yes he remains a much younger man in my mind, one I have been seeing as I grew up. Clearly, today I felt the need to celebrate the actor Lal who has managed to stay in our hearts.
‘Happy 50th’ from all at Karmakerala and here’s wishing you find better roles and that you slim down and give the young brigade a run for their money!