SELFIE

I have taken selfies before the word ‘selfie’ came into existence. Long ago I used to travel a lot. When I saw buildings or places that I liked, I took photos. Sometimes I held the camera in front of me when I took the photos, maybe to prove that I was there. When I got the film developed and photos printed, I noticed that my face occupied a large part of the photo, since the camera was closer to me. I soon realised that the building or place would look better without my face in there.

Today many people take selfies. Even Prime Ministers and Presidents do it. Cell phones are specially designed to take selfies and accessories like selfie sticks are widely used. It seems like people are self obsessed. India has the largest number of selfie deaths in the world. Young people take selfies in dangerous places and get killed. Sometimes they stand on a railway track in front of an approaching train to take a selfie and before they know it the train runs over them. Some stand at the edge of a cliff to take a selfie and fall off. There are others who take selfies near wild animals. It seems the number of ‘Likes’ they get when they post it on social media motivates them to take dangerous selfies.

Then there are people who take selfies at the site of an accident or terrorist attack. Some of them even smile while doing so. I hope the selfie is just a passing fad.

PWD REST HOUSE

PWD Rest House, Kollam

US ELECTION - 2016

I remember watching the first Republican Primary Debate. There were so many candidates. I looked at all of them before they started speaking and thought that Rand Paul looked better than the others. When they started speaking I liked Rand Paul because he said he will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. People started calling him an isolationist and he lost support and had to drop out early.

I knew Donald Trump would be the centre of attraction because he is some sort of a celebrity. I liked the fact that he had a similar view regarding intervention in other countries. He said there will be no more ‘regime change’, that he would not topple the governments in other countries. I read his book ‘The Art of the Deal’. In it he says he makes controversial statements just to get into the news. It is a strategy. He sees it as free advertisement. He says even bad publicity is good because people come to know about you. He had to spend much less on his campaign because of all the free publicity. He played the media and hogged the limelight. He could brand his opponents ‘Lyin’ Ted’, ‘Crooked Hilary’ etc but none of them could brand him. The media were totally biased against him and lost all credibility. They seemed to think that their experts are the only ones who understand what happens in a debate and that the people have to accept their decision on who won the debate. People have brains, they can watch a debate and understand what the candidates say and decide who won. They don’t need any experts to decide for them.

People usually think about their own interests. If I was an illegal immigrant in the US, I would support Clinton because I would not want to be deported. If I was an American who lost a job because manufacturing went overseas, I would support Trump because he says he is going to bring those jobs back. Since I do not live in the US, the issues there do not concern me. The issue that bothers me the most is the war in Syria. The West armed the rebels and created a civil war there. So many people are dead, injured, homeless and fleeing the country. Clinton’s plan for Syria was to take on Russia, the Syrian government and ISIS. Trump’s plan was to work with Russia and the Syrian government to defeat ISIS. Trump’s plan is better. Some European governments are now trying to convince him not to work with Russia. That would only prolong the war.

Trump’s victory was a surprise for many people. Nobody knows what kind of a President he will be. Only time will tell.

DISTRICT CO-OPERATIVE BANK

District Co-operative Bank, Kollam

DIET IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EXERCISE

I once read an article about losing weight. I am not fat and losing weight is the last thing on my mind but I found it to be interesting. It says that if you are planning to lose weight your diet is more important than the exercises you do. If you are careful about what you eat and how much you eat, you can easily lose some weight. Otherwise, all the exercise in the world is not going to help you.

A few years ago I had a blood test and my doctor said that my blood sugar was slightly above normal. He told me that I need not take any medicine but that I should reduce my consumption of sugar. That day I started drinking my tea without sugar. I did not make any other major changes. I do some exercises but not every day.

Later on, I fell sick one day. I had a fever and body ache which also meant that I could not do any exercises. A few days later I felt uneasy and checked my blood sugar. I found that it had increased. In those days I used to have corn flakes for breakfast and rice for lunch. I stopped both and had something made of wheat instead. I was surprised to find that my blood sugar was back to normal after I made the change. Most people in South India eat rice for lunch every day, but I don’t anymore. I realised that diet does play a major part in our health.

JACOB BATTERIES

Jacob Batteries, Kollam

MY FIRST DIGITAL CAMERA

I bought my first digital camera about ten years ago. It was a compact digital camera, making it convenient to carry. I used it a few times and then left it inside a bag. Many months later I wanted to use it again and took it from the bag. I tried to switch it on but it did not work. I noticed that the battery enclosure was slightly open. I checked the battery and found it to be leaking. It was not old enough to be leaking. The summer heat may have caused it to leak and the fact that I left it inside a bag did not help matters. I replaced the battery with new ones but the camera still did not work. The battery must have leaked into the camera and damaged it internally. Moreover, I could not close the battery enclosure properly anymore. I think the battery not only leaked but also expanded forcing the battery enclosure to open and damage it too. I felt sad since I had used the camera only a few times. I also felt lucky since it was not a very expensive camera. If I had bought an expensive camera the loss would have been so much more.
Later on, I bought another camera and now whenever I finish taking photos I remove the battery.

CRAVEN LMS HIGH SCHOOL

Craven LMS High School, Kollam

DUMPLING

When we were children my father sometimes bought street food from the hawkers. One day he brought home some dumplings. There were two types. The big ones had a sweet filling and the small ones had a meat filling. My mother opened one of the small ones before giving it to us. We were shocked to find a dead insect inside. I don’t know how it got in there. It may have fallen in accidentally while the meat filling was being prepared. That day we threw away all the small ones but we ate the big ones with the sweet filling.

After that incident I am careful when I eat something with a filling. I usually check what is inside before I eat it.

CSI CHRIST CHURCH

CSI Christ Church, Kollam

WE ARE NOT HAPPY WITH YOUR WORK

I was teaching Physics at a Private School in India long ago. The School attached more importance to English, Maths and Science. Teachers who taught these subjects were paid better. Some teachers leave at the end of the academic year. So at the beginning of the next year they would recruit a few new teachers to take their place. One year they could not get a teacher for the local language. The post had a lower pay scale. A few days after the School reopened a suitable teacher was found but she was not willing to accept the lower pay scale. She insisted on being paid a better salary. Since they had no other option they hired her. She did a good job and everything went well.

A few months later a man came to the School looking for work. He was a local language teacher. The School management found him to be suitable and asked him whether he was willing to work for the lower pay scale that the post offered. He agreed. They asked him to report for duty a few days later.

Now they had to remove the lady who insisted on being paid a better salary. They could not tell her that they found someone who was willing to do the job at a lower salary. So they told her ‘We are not happy with your work. We have received many complaints about you. Students find it difficult to understand you.’ She was made to resign and the new man took her place.

CSI CONVENTION CENTRE

CSI Convention Centre, Kollam

STREETLIGHT

There was a boy who lived in a village in South India. His parents were poor. They could not afford to send him to a good school. He studied at a government school which provided education for poor children. Such schools usually have very little facilities.

There was no electricity in his house. At night his parents would light lamps to avoid being in the dark. The boy was preparing for the final examination. He found it difficult to study at night with the light provided by the lamps. So every night he would go out with his books and sit under a nearby streetlight to study.

After the exams, when the results were declared he was the top student in the state. People were surprised that a boy who studied under a streetlight had done so well. Many people came forward to help him. They promised to pay for his further studies. 

True Story

DANI MEDICALS

Dani Medicals, Kollam

BEAR SCARE

I remember watching the ‘German Circus’ in Singapore. I was about ten then. A bear was performing some tricks with a large ball. Suddenly it ran out and came near us. Everyone sitting near me ran away. Somehow I was not afraid and remained seated there. The bear came near me and then it stood up. It was big. By then a girl from the circus came running towards the bear and she managed to take it back.

I don’t know why I did not run away like the others seated near me. Maybe I was too young to realize the danger involved. Maybe I was brave or maybe I was stupid.I liked animals and thought that if we don’t hurt them, they wouldn’t hurt us.A circus bear would be tame. It is not likely to hurt people but faced with a similar situation today, I think I would move away.

SAS TRADING COMPANY

SAS Trading Company, Kollam

ONE DAY HERO, NEXT DAY ZERO

A man was sitting at a restaurant with his girlfriend. She was a foreigner. At the next table there were four young men. One of them made a remark that the man did not like. He got into an argument with them. Soon they started fighting. He was alone and there were four of them but they could not fight with him. They were beaten so badly that all four of them ran away. Those four young men did not know that the man had a black belt in karate.

Next day, the man was sitting at the same restaurant with his girlfriend. Those four young men came back with their friends. There were sixteen of them. All of them were armed with swords and knives. They stabbed him. They took him out to the road and cut him to pieces. They took the girl with them and all of them had their way with her.

(This happened in Pondicherry many years ago.)

ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH

Assembly of God Church, Kollam

CHILDREN WALK TO SCHOOL, CHILDREN RUN HOME

I once saw an advertisement in a magazine. It had two pictures. One picture showed young children walking to school. None of them looked happy. The other picture showed young children going home after school. They were all running and looked so happy. The caption read ‘Children walk to school, Children run home.’

I never hated school when I was young but I never liked it either. I was always looking forward to the holidays which were more enjoyable. It was only when I was about twelve that I started to enjoy going to school. It was not because the learning process suddenly became fun. It was because I had some friends then who I wanted to meet and have fun with. By then, I was also aware of the need for an education.

There is a need to make the learning process more fun for young children so that they can enjoy going to school.

UPASANA HOSPITAL

Upasana Hospital, Kollam

Upasana Hospital, Kollam

OPENING DOORS

I saw this in Dubai in 1985. I was outside a supermarket when I noticed a long car pull up. A man was driving the car and a woman was sitting beside him. They were expatriates from the west. He parked the car and got out. I was expecting her to come out too but she remained seated inside. He came over to her side and opened the door for her. She stepped out and he then closed the door. Both of them walked towards the entrance of the supermarket. He opened the door of the supermarket and held it open for her. She walked in and he followed her in.
He is certainly a rare man. They may be in the initial stage of a relationship. I wonder if he would do the same ten or twenty years later, if they are still together.

RAM KAMAL RESIDENCY

Hotel Ram Kamal Residency, Kollam

UPSET STOMACH

This happened in Maldives in 2005. Shortly after lunch I started feeling dizzy. I could not walk. My hands and legs were feeling weak. My mouth was getting dry. I thought that there was something seriously wrong with me. I called a friend who came over immediately. He asked me whether it could be due to an increase in blood pressure since I was taking a tablet for hypertension. I told him I wouldn’t know whether there was an increase or decrease in blood pressure. Suddenly I felt like throwing up and rushed to the bathroom. That’s when I realized that it could be due to an upset stomach. Another friend had called for a doctor who came over and checked my blood pressure and pulse. He told me that both were normal and that it was a good sign.

I was admitted to a health center and given a saline drip and a tablet and syrup for acidity. A few hours later I was normal again. I then thought about what I had for lunch that day. I had cooked some vegetables including potatoes and tomatoes in a pressure cooker to speed up the process. I think the vegetables were overcooked and that caused the problem. Till that day I thought an upset stomach was a minor problem. I never knew it could make a person feel so seriously ill.

GOOD YEAR

Goodyear, Shastri Junction, Kollam