Tomichan Matheikal's blog

Those who can afford it are leaving India.  According to a report by New World Wealth published in today’s Times of India , 4000 Indian millionaires chose to leave the country in 2015 and settle down elsewhere.  They are rich enough to abandon nationalism and embrace internationalism.  Source: TCN Cartoon The godman is missing from the cartoon because he is an internationalist! Nationalism is for those who can’t afford internationalism.  Those who can’t afford to leave the country will have to accept the laws and regulations about what to eat, what to speak, what to wear, etc from certain groups of people who have the support of the ruling party at the centre.  The report says that France witnessed the highest outflow and the reason is the religious tension in the country.  Other European countries such as Germany, Belgium, Sweden and UK are likely to face the problem of emigration because of religious reasons.  Perhaps, religion is the major villain in most countries w

Courtesy: The Indian Express Moving from Ghar Wapsi to Bharat Mata, Through Cow Protection and slaughter of men, The poet sought meaning Knowing rhyme there was none Rhythm there was none In spite of the umpteen slogans: Make in India Start-up India Digital India Democracy struggled for breath In the attenuated air in the Arunachal mountains, In the Devbhumi of the Garhwal Himalaya; And promised to die in Himachal and Manipur. “What is it that you want, Mother?” The poet asked Bharat Mata. And she said hiding the tears that welled up: “Azadi.  Azadi from my upholders.”

“We want to tell him (Rahul Gandhi) that we are honoured to be called followers of Savarkar…he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British. He jumped into the sea, escaping from the clutches of British soldiers and swam for 10 km, and fought for Independence.”  Amit Shah thundered while addressing a farmer’s rally in a Surat village .   This is yet another instance of his party’s relentless efforts at rewriting the history of India.  What kind of a person was this ‘Veer’ Savarkar in reality? Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was brought to the Cellular Jail in the Andamans in 1911 after his conviction for the murder of A.T.M. Jackson, Collector of Nashik district, who was "sympathetic towards Indian aspirations."  Within six months of his imprisonment, he submitted a petition for mercy to the British government in India.  In 1913, he submitted his second petition in which he wrote: " I am ready to serve the (British) Government in any capacity they like ... .

One of the most common responses of the BJP to criticism is to cite examples of similar deviation by the Congress.  For example, tell them that communal disharmony is on the rise after the party came to power and they will quickly cite the riots that followed Indira Gandhi’s assassination or other similar instances.  Tell them now that the imposition of President’s rule in Uttarakhand just a day prior to the scheduled trust vote is a cynical subversion of democracy and they will point to the imposition of Emergency by Indira Gandhi.  The BJP came to power promising us DIFFERENCE.  It promised us DEVELOPMENT.  It gave us dreams about a country that will fly on the wings of science and technology.  It promised us cleanliness.  We dreamt about RS 15 lakh in the accounts of each one of us, the black money brought back from wherever that is stashed away. While we dreamt, Vijay Mallya escaped with Rs 9000 crore from our banks! Nothing has changed, in fact.  As Arun Shourie, a

The movie, Fiddler on the Roof , is 45 years old.  Winner of three academy awards, the movie tells the story of a Jewish family in Russia of the early 20 th century.  The Tevye family is economically poor.  But Tevye is a god-fearing man.  He has a lot of questions to ask Yahweh but all in a childlike trust tinged with the adult’s irony.  He follows the rules and traditions of his orthodox religion as meticulously as he can.  When his daughters fall in love one by one against the tradition of their religion, Tevye is shocked initially but bows to the love that shines in the eyes of his daughters.  Finally, the family has to leave the place like the other Jews who are all evacuated.  One of the many evacuations that the Jews faced throughout their history which goes back to the biblical Exodus.  The eponymous Fiddler on the Roof is a symbol of the precarious situation of the Jews.  Perched perilously on the sloping roof, the fiddler has to produce his music which is his duty on

Book Review Title: The Blind Lady’s Descendants Author: Anees Salim Publisher: Penguin India 2015 Pages: 301 Price: Rs 399 A metaphorical blindness is part of most people’s lives.  We fail to see many things and hence live partial lives.  We make our lives as well as those of others miserable with our blindness.  Anees Salim’s novel which won the Raymond & Crossword award for fiction in 2014 explores the role played by blindness in the lives of a few individuals most of whom belong to the family of Hamsa and Asma.  The couple are not on talking terms for “eighteen years,” according to the mother.  When Amar, the youngest son and narrator of the novel, points out that he is only sixteen, Asma reduces it to fifteen and then to ten years when Amar refers to the child that was born a few years after him though it did not survive.  Dark humour spills out of every page of the book.  For example: How reckless Akmal was!  Sleeping with his mouth wide open righ

Fiction Warning: FOR ADULTS ONLY The beggar pulled him out of the rail track just in time.  As he fell on the side of the track, the train stormed past his ears like a bomb blast he had just missed. He stood up, brushed off the pain from some parts of his body, and blurted out to the beggar, “Fucker!” The beggar who had just picked up his one-string violin laughed as if he were Bhishma faced with Shikhandi .  Then he placed his violin on his shoulder and started playing a violent tune.  Almost like the Fiddler on the Roof .    “Why did you fuck my death?” he asked the beggar ignoring the enticement of his one-string music. The beggar grinned through the darkness of his mane and said, “It’s not your time, boss.  Give me the money for my next drink and wait for the next train.”  He stretched out his hand. “Fuck off!” he said. “Cliché,” said the beggar.  “Cliché.” “What?” “You are bored, aren’t you?  Bored of clichéd life?” He spat out another