Selective Amnesia There was a point to this. But I forgot.

Devices that need inventing

I might invent the following devices if I knew how. Since I don’t, let me at-least claim partial credit for them by throwing up the idea.

A wearable odometer/speedometer. One that measures your speed and the distance you’ve walked in the mornings.

A wrist-band shaped BP and Pulse monitor – to analyse tension levels while driving in the city of Chennai.

Heat-sensing shirts – the hotter it gets outside, the cooler it gets inside.

A door-knob/contact area cleaner – This is a complicated device, but I worked out the mechanics of it. Somebody do me a favour and build it please.
How the cleaner works is simple – it is a velcro/plastic strip that can be stuck to door knobs, toilet flushes and other points of contacts. Inside the said plastic strip is a small mica surface that is always kept hot (by some means). What this does is keep the plastic strip warm and therefore germ free. And prevents diseases from spreading.

Clever, ain’t I?

More on History

The thing about History, or with any obsession, is that it radically alters your perception of yourself. Or at the least, creates enough of a conflict in you. You end up unsure of where you stand in terms of your own viewpoints.

I have always prided myself on being so totally above such inane things as my “state-hood”, my identity as belonging to a particular community etc. I thought of myself as being beyond a Tamilian, an Indian etc. I didin’t believe in petty politics and regionalism and other such stuff that is the staple that the keepers of Indian bureaucracy hold dear.

But, the more I read on the history of the country, the more I read on the battles and the wars and the dealings that shaped the culture of the Tamil people, the more I read of the Kings and the chieftains, the tradesmen and generals of the tamil dynasties, the more I catch myself thinking of bringing back the “glory days”

I have always believed in Anarchy. Or rather, disbelieved in a governmental set-up. Though I didn’t know that Libertarianism existed as a term and a school of thought, I was still an active member of the group.
I still am. I firmly believe in free-markets, a total control of the self, and absolute freedom. I also don’t want any kind of government/central authority that tells me what is right and what is wrong. But I am now thinking that maybe, if one needs a central authority, why can’t it be a King. At-least, the said king would have had some sort of charisma, an aura that will be likeable.

I am really, really not sure of what my viewpoint is on major issues now. I guess I ought to stop reading books.

Which, I know for a fact, would be the killing of me.

Absence and deprivation

Sparrows, once a huge community in the city of Madras seem to be absolutely missing last few summers. I miss them.

The other genus I miss is something I am sure everyone of you folks miss too – A good magazine to read. I sorely need some reading material that is neither a political nor a niche magazine. Something more on the lines of a Man’s World or Esquire. God, I miss the old Reader’s Digest. Outlook is good only for the last two pages, India Today sits there, collecting dust, and the others are either too constipating, or too boring. I would give my soul to someone who can take a Man’s World and make it better.

On the other hand, there’s always a blog to turn too. Especially, this one. I can always pretend I am someone else and read my own posts. And enjoy the writing.

New Business Idea

Was wondering, is there merit in the idea of taking tourists to places of historic importance like Tanjavur etc. on a bike?

I am wondering if I can convince smebody to give me about 1.5 lakhs to buy two new bikes. The idea is that when you travel by car, you are more interested in the conversations that happen inside the car, rather than the scenery outside. On a bike, there’s just the two of us, and the thrill of being out in the open, the wind blowing in your face, and all that. And a bike beats being cooped up in a small cabin anyday.

How many of you folks wouldn’t mind travelling 300 kms a day on a bike?

A few things about history

I used to be fascinated by the History of Madras. I still am. I used to marvel at the dealings, the wars, the politics, the trade and the general goings on that shaped, sculpted and made Madras what it is.

I used to be fascinated to read of the building they builders of Madras built. I loved the way a city was carved out of just sand and water. Till I started reading up on the history of the state that Madras is capital of. And I am no more vowed by the British as I was. The struggles and the tribulations that created the Tamil culture. The dynasties and their contributions. The trade that made the Chettiars among the richest people even today.

The Cholas and the Pandyas and the Pallavas. The temples and forts they built. The alliances they forged and the power struggles that they had makes the British-French conflict look like sibling rivalry.
I now almost look down upon the British period of Madras. Yet, this is my city. This is the one city I shall never talk badly about, no matter what it deals me.
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The problem with historians is that they start looking for facts first and then formulate theories. I, on the other hand, formulate my theory first, the story, if you might, and then look for facts.
It is very difficult to look for artefacts from 300 years before, let alone 3000, and then deduce what they might mean and what stories they might tell. I, on the other hand, look for a believable story that conforms to known facts, and then look for the artefacts to corroborate my story. It is very easy to look for evidence once you suspect something.

In case I ever become a historian/cultural anthropologist, I think I will be quoted saying this.
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Vallam, Sadurangapattinam (Sadras), and Mahabalipuram. Three spots I visited a week back. I am yet to overcome the rock-cut temples in Vallam. So old, yet so neglected. Or is it so neglected because it is so old.

Sadras is about half-way to Pondicherry from Madras. Is a site of an old fort. Now in ruins, though an ASI property. Overlooking the sea, it must have seen quite a few things in its life. If only stones could speak.

Mahabalipuram. Everytime I go there, I see something new. Not always something I like though. Like a resort that’s way to close to the temple for comfort. But then, the market demands it, and therefore it is ok by me. But this trip I saw something new and something that I absolutely loved. Those treasures from the sea. Fascinating.