CHEESE AND CRACKERS

I have heard people say ‘It goes like cheese and crackers’ but I never thought about it. I usually had cheese with bread, rarely with crackers. I never compared it. Later on when I started comparing I realized there is a lot of difference. Cheese tastes so much better with crackers than with bread. Crackers are crispy and that could be the reason it tastes better with cheese. Now I usually have cheese with crackers, rarely with bread.

McDonald's

McDonald's, RP Mall, Kollam

HANDWRITING ANALYSIS

I once read a book on handwriting analysis. It says how the handwriting of a person can reveal some things about him. I can remember only three things now, probably because they seem to be true by my experience.

People who write slanting to the right are more emotional than rational. People who write slanting to the left are more rational than emotional. Those who write their words upright are balanced in their thoughts.

People who write with large spaces between words are not careful with money. Those who write their words close together are trying to save the paper and so would also try to save money.

People who underline their signature tend to think more about themselves and their own problems. Those who do not underline their signature tend to think about other people’s problems too and try to solve them. I have noticed many leaders do not underline their signature.

ASRAMAM JUNCTION

Asramam Junction, Kollam

SAVING A BIRD

When I was living in Africa a bird came into my room one day. It was a small blue colored bird. It must have come in through the door which was open. I kept the door open and tried to get it to fly out but it was trying to fly out through the window. The window had a net with openings too small for the bird to go through. I thought it would hurt itself and decided to catch it but was not successful. I then removed the bed sheet and tried to throw it over the bird. After a few tries, I got the bird under the bed sheet. I could see where the bird was by its movement under the bed sheet. I caught the bird and removed the bed sheet. I took it outside and released it. As it flew away, I felt I had done something good and was happy.

A few months later, another bird came into our office. It was a small green colored bird. A local managed to catch it. I thought he would release it outside but was surprised to see him pull out a few of its larger feathers. He did not want it to fly away. He then placed it inside his locker and closed it. I asked him what he was going to do with it. He said ‘We will eat it’.

LOUIS PHILIPPE

Louis Philippe, Kollam

ACTORS

I can enjoy watching a movie and I like some of the actors. It takes a lot of people to make a movie. The producer has to rely on the writer, director, photographer, musician, stuntmen etc. too. All of them have to work together to produce a good movie. Actors are talented people but then so are the others who are involved and they don’t seem to get the same respect or credit that actors do. Actors have a director telling them how to act and if they don’t do it well, there is a retake. The director has to direct all the actors, while each actor appears only in the relevant scene. Stuntmen usually do the stunts and actors take the credit for that too. There are a few actors who are also involved in producing, directing, writing etc. They are exceptional people. Most actors only act.

Actors are usually very rich and have big egos. Their lives are very different from that of the common man but when it comes to issues concerning the common man some of them seem to think that their opinion matters more than that of the common man. I don’t understand why people get excited when they see an actor. They don’t get excited when they see the other people who are involved in making a movie.

THE RAYMOND SHOP

The Raymond Shop, Kollam

GINGER TEA

Ginger Tea improves digestion, reduces flatulence and belching.To make ginger tea, take a small piece of ginger and peel it. Cut a few thin slices and immerse it in water. Boil the water for a few minutes and strain it. Add milk and sugar if required.

The way I make it is slightly different and easier. I just cut one thin slice of ginger and remove the skin. I put it in a cup and pour some hot water into the cup and stir it. My ginger tea is ready. I find it to be effective and usually have it after breakfast.

QRS

QRS, Kollam

YOU DON'T CHOOSE YOUR RELIGION

My first job was with a Company manufacturing Electronic Instruments. I was working at their Regional Office in South India. All my colleagues were Hindus. One day, I was sitting with four of my colleagues at a cafe having some tea. One of them started talking badly about Christians. He did not realise that I was there. Suddenly, when he noticed that I was there, he tried to change the way he was speaking. He said ‘I like Christians; it is the priests that I don’t like. They are converting our people.’ At that time another colleague said ‘You don’t choose your religion. If you are born in a Christian family, you would be a Christian. If you are born in a Hindu family, you would be a Hindu. If you are born in a Muslim family, you would be Muslim.’ I felt what he said was right. Most people accept the religion their parents follow. Some may become sceptical as they grow older but very few people change their religion.

M 21

M 21, Men's Shop, Kollam

POISON

A woman was sick and went to see a doctor. The doctor gave her some medicine. When she drank the medicine the next morning she collapsed and was paralyzed. Some of her relatives suspected that there was something wrong with the medicine. They took the medicine to the doctor and told him what happened. The doctor said he had been prescribing this medicine for many years and that there was nothing wrong with it. He said many people have been cured with this medicine. To prove that there was nothing wrong with the medicine he drank some of it. Soon afterwards he collapsed and was paralyzed. Police were informed and they sent the medicine for analysis. It was found to contain some poison. Investigations also revealed that the woman did not have a good relation with her husband. Police interrogated her husband and found that he had mixed some poison in her medicine to kill her. By the time the husband was arrested both the woman and doctor had died.

(True Story)

THE VAIDYA

The Vaidya, Kollam

HOMEWORK

I don’t remember getting any homework when I was a student at school. A geography teacher once gave us some work to do at home but he did not refer to it as homework. He said it was an assignment. The only other ‘homework’ I did was for Technical Drawing. It was actually class work but since the drawings took a lot of time to complete we could not finish it in class and had to continue with it at home. After returning home from school I would usually have some snacks and then I would be watching Television. Weekends were spent playing games. I studied at home only a few days before an examination.
Later on, when I spent many years in the teaching profession I never gave any homework to the students. I felt that all students do not have the same interests. I preferred that students spent more time on subjects that interests them instead of forcing them to spend time on subjects that do not interest them.
I have seen other teachers give homework to students. For young children homework usually becomes extra work for parents who end up helping their children. I think homework should not be allowed for children below ten years of age. I have seen some older students who do not do their own homework. Such students usually copy the homework done by other students.

HOTEL SHAH INTERNATIONAL

Hotel Shah International, Kollam

DOCTOR IS NOT AVAILABLE

Many years ago, I was working in a town near the east coast in India. One day I fell sick and wanted to see a doctor. My friends suggested that I go to a nearby hospital and they accompanied me. When we reached the hospital I looked at the list of doctors displayed near the reception. I wanted to see someone in General Medicine. I noticed that there were three doctors under General Medicine. One was a senior doctor with an MD and the other two were junior doctors with MBBS. I told the nurses at the reception that I wanted to see the senior doctor. They told me that he was not available. I asked them when he will be available. They said he would be back after about one hour. I said I will wait for him. I noticed that they were disturbed and looked at each other. Then they said that he was available and that I could go in and see him. I saw the doctor. He examined me, made a diagnosis and wrote a prescription. Before leaving I told him what happened at the reception. He seemed surprised but did not say anything.

Later on, when I thought about it, I realized that the nurses at the reception may have been trying to help the junior doctors. Most patients would prefer to see the senior doctor who was also more qualified and the junior doctors may have been getting very few patients.

PULIMOOTTIL SILKS

Pulimoottil Silks, Kollam