Tomichan Matheikal's blog

“Why did these bastards bring you to me” asked Pontius Pilate. “Because Herod wants to fuck his brother’s wife,” said Jesus. “You are questioning the authority,;  Herod is my man though he is a Jew,” said Pilate. “The only authority is the one that comes from the author, the conscience,” said Jesus. “Conscience!” exclaimed Pilate.  “I can buy it from Caesar.   And the price is as cheap as that dirty beard of yours.” “What’s your problem?” asked Jesus.  “Is it my beard or is it my truth?” “What is truth?” asked Pilate. Jesus said, “Condemn me to the cross.”

This little beetle (or whatever creature it is) sitting on a yam ( chembu , in Malayalam) leaf looked helpless.  As I closed in on it with my camera, it seemed to want to run away but couldn't.  I couldn't help imagining myself in its place. Red ants don't like to be disturbed.  They attack you with all their life if you disturb them.  But I didn't disturb them...  I hope you can see them sitting on the coco shell.  They were building a sweet little nest on the seed without realising that the farmer would soon come and pluck away the coco. Chembu and coco have value in the market.  Beetles and ants are like me and most people: little creatures at the mercy of the big ones. 

Kerala usually gives me fantastic pictures.  This time, however, my visit was too brief - just two days - to go shooting pictures.  These chillies fascinated me. They grew in a place where one wouldn't expect them.  But that's Kerala: it throws the unexpected on your face. 

The traffic crawled at snail’s pace.  Maybe, some politician or baba or such VIP was passing and there were security barricades somewhere… VIP security inevitably means insecurity for the aam aadmi .   One man’s security is another man’s insecurity, in the words of antediluvian wisdom. Poet was on his old scooter whose expiry date had elapsed long ago.  He became weary of the honking from behind; he felt insecure, in other words.  So he pulled his scooter to the brambles on the side of the road and waved his hand to the honking driver to indicate ‘Go ahead.’  The car of the honker overtook Poet’s scooter. “Don’t Honk.”  Poet could read the poster with big letters stuck on the rear of the car.  “Kute bhi nahin...”  The poster went on to admonish: “Even dogs do not bark without a reason.”

I loved the following video, a link to which was posted as a comment to my last blog.  I felt the urge to bring it forward from the comment box to the mainland.  So I'm posting it here. Gaaon Chhodab Nahin Do watch it, if you can spare 5 minutes.

How much land does a man need?  is a short story by the classical Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy.  The story highlights human greed. Pahom, the protagonist, is a peasant.  He thinks that more land means more happiness for a peasant.  But how much land does a peasant need?  Making the question more general, how much wealth does a person need? This is the question that Tolstoy answers in his story.  Using all his savings as well as selling his colt and a sizeable share of his bees, hiring out his son, taking advance wages and borrowing from his brother-in-law, Pahom collects enough money to buy more land thinking he would be happier.  In fact, he became contented with all the vast acres he possessed.  But human nature is seldom contented.  It always wants what it does not have.  [Leave out exceptions like saints (extinct species) and lunatics.]  Pahom learns about a place where a Commune gives 25 acres of land free to every individual and more if he/she wanted to buy.  He

One of the phone calls that greeted me this New Year’s Day drove me to some serious contemplation.  The friend quoted the example of Galileo who retracted his scientific theory before the religious Inquisitors and later explained his action: “Science doesn’t need martyrs.” My meditation led me to the notion of freedom provided by the 17 th century philosopher, Spinoza.  He argued that we were not totally free.  We are controlled by certain inescapable laws of nature as well as our genetic makeup.  Evil is also an essential part of nature.  “The evil which ensues from evil deeds is not therefore less to be feared because it comes of necessity;” said Spinoza, “whether our actions are free or not, our motives still are hope and fear.” Hope for a better future; fear about the present situation.  The martyr is not afraid for himself; his fear is about the future of the society.  Martyrdom need not be a virtue. To be really great is not to be placed above humanity, ruling