Tomichan Matheikal's blog

Satchidanandan We are living in coffins, according to prominent bilingual Indian poet K Satchidanandan, former secretary of Sahitya Akademi. His recent poem (in Malayalam) titled ‘Man who lives in a coffin’ is the monologue of a man who is shut in a coffin that has a hole which lets in air for him to breathe. He can see a blade of grass or a flower when he looks out through that hole. Occasionally he hears the chirp of a bird or the cry of a calf. He is habituated to lying in the coffin. Even if someone opens the coffin he is not sure whether he will be able to walk outside. He has learnt certain discipline lying in there. He doesn’t know who lies in the coffin next to his. They say that all the coffins together form a nation. [Who are ‘they’? The poet doesn’t tell us.] The man in the coffin can hear one person walking outside. That person carries a painting brush. The man in the coffin can hear that person with brush chanting ‘saffron, saffron.’ With the brush he writes “Vande Matar

The Vallarpadam Basilica The history of Christianity in Kerala goes back to the first century CE. It is believed that Saint Thomas, disciple of Jesus, arrived at Kodungallur (Muziris) in CE 52. That is credible since we have historical evidence of the trade relations between Rome and Muziris in those days. It is possible that one of those trade-ships carried Thomas too. The Christianity that existed in Kerala in those days was not quite different from the Hinduism in the state, according to many historians. There were many rituals and practices common to both. That is natural since no people will cut off their religious roots altogether when they convert from one religion to another. Saint George of Puthuppally and the goddess Kali of the same place were believed to be brother and sister in the olden Kerala. It was believed that Kali drank the blood of the sacrificial animals and gave the flesh to George. Kali wanted only the blood. George, being from the West, relished the flesh

Image from News18 They graduated from wayside lynching to the bulldozer. It was also a shift from crimes committed by apparent rogues to acts of state terrorism. The shift was rather quick. And the progress isn’t going to stop with the bulldozer. Agnipath is the next step. None of these is meant for the resolution of any conflict. They are all convenient and effective tools wielded by certain leaders to gain political mileage. The bulldozer is used apparently for targeting lawbreakers. The lynchers also claimed that they were targeting lawbreakers. What the Agniveers, when released countrywide after the stipulated four years, will do is anybody’s guess and this post will articulate that guess in a little while. The targets of lynching and the bulldozer have mostly been Muslims. Muslims are perceived as the ultimate enemies of proposed Hindu Rashtra. The Hindu vengeance against Muslims has been accruing for centuries. The Hindu battle cry is against Babur and Aurangzeb as much as

My association with the ICICI Bank goes back by about twenty years when I opened my account at their Saket branch in Delhi. The first thing that struck me about the bank was the suave and deferential ways of the staff which was a stark contrast to what I was used to in the other two banks which I was compelled to associate myself with. The Punjab National Bank which had my salary account was an utter disaster with its rude and listless staff. The State Bank of India which held my PPF account was the pinnacle of inefficiecy. ICICI came as a pleasant and welcome contrast. However, that bank too underwent an evolution in the wrong direction as time went. When the number of clients rose and the workload became heavy, the gentleness of the staff was the first casualty. Nevertheless, the bank remained far superior to the other two. When I shifted to Kerala I transferred my account to the branch in my hometown. Here the staff were exquisite. But I hardly had to visit the branch because I

Book Review I chose to read this book precisely because I am one of its target readers, a retired person. Though I crossed the conventional age for retirement two years ago, I continue to do the same job (teaching) with renewed enthusiasm and hence don’t feel like a retired person at all. But I know I will have to face the starkness sooner than later. It won’t be hard because I love reading, writing and travelling. Neerja Bhatnagar’s book is a forbearing companion to all the retired people who may wish to know certain things like how to make the retired life happier and healthier. What is more important than being happy and healthy especially in one’s retired life? This book offers valuable tips and more. It goes beyond and helps one with certain financial matters too. Right in the beginning of the book, just after the introductory chapter titled ‘Retirement – A Shock?’, the question is put to the reader: How to be happy? (chapter 2). For a person who is contented and happy (li

  Celebration of Diwali at Mahdi Bagh Media Watch The latest edition of The Week brings us a delightful article titled ‘Harmony has a home’ written by Sravani Sarkar. It tells us about “India’s smallest known religious sect (that) has set a unique example of peaceful, disciplined living.” The Mahdi Bagh Institution is a tiny community of progressive Muslims who belong to the Atba-e-Malak Badar, the smallest known religious sect in India. The Week focuses on the Nagpur settlement of this community though they have branches in Ujjain, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad as well as California and Sharjah. They are essentially Muslims but with some differences. They believe that salvation is possible only through the daee , the community’s infallible spiritual master. The Mahdi Bagh Institution in Nagpur is spread over 25 acres. Each family has a separate residence. But there are no boundary walls between them. The houses are never locked. It is like a private township with its own traffic