TV mania cripples the modern man no end

by R Swaminathan

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who immensely influenced political, sociological and educational thought centuries ago and is still remembered for his great saying, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains" might be tempted to revise his statement as " Man is born free but everywhere he is hooked to the idiot box." The TV mania has become such a great and universal affliction that it is time for the medical fraternity to find an easy way to wean people away from it.

TV has grown manifold in recent years with all latest features of interactive viewing all thanks to technological advances. In the beginning the transmission channel was only one and was on the air for a few hours in the evening. Now they are available 24X7 in several languages. It mesmerises people of all ages and convictions, achievements and avocations and corporate giants and almost every manufacturer or promoter of goods, services and activity is sure that the purchasing decision is made before the set and works on subtle ways of influencing the human mind.

Some in every home sit before the set right from the morning till midnight and even beyond that if they find the programme/s interesting, seeking to gratiate themselves through information or entertainment. Priorities of living are readjusted to keep eyes and ears glued to the TV shows. Early in the morning, channels have found that what interests many are religious topics and astrological predictions. Astrologers of all affiliations and calibre carefully predict what will happen for the viewer through the day, and those who get a warning sit through the following programmes on places of worship so that their nerves are soothened.

Later in the day, the housewives and senior citizens sit for melodious music , culinary coaching or serials that try to portray the reality in that house or neigbbourhood. Familiarity with the characters and sequences keep them bound to their chairs. They don't mind if their lunch is skipped or is bare and frugal. Reality shows and game shows have become immensely popular with housewives as well as growing children who are goaded to do something similar to the participants. "Strive hard, work better, you can do it," they are exhorted.

The reality shows make viewers sit at the edge of their seats as they appear to know answers for most of the questions people are struggling in the show to answer what with lifelines. There are occasions when they learn many things simple but wholly new to them. They share their conquests with their spouses returning late at night. When young kids perform like the professionals for winning huge prizes., the parents marvel at their feats and preach the lessons to those who happen to be their pupils.

Sports events like IPL or world cup matches are a big draw and are watched from start to finish. Two matches a day is not a big thing as seen recently.

Of course, the bread winner must be cursing himself after he came to see the electricity bill. This analysis will be incomplete if we don't mention the programmes by doctors of alternative systems of medicine answering people's phone-in questions and debates, and discussions on current topics or recent crimes. Who will find a cure for TV addicts? Are they are not contracting physical ailments and stunted mental growth due to this fixation? Or is this problem not a serious one as yet?

What the D-Day meant decades ago

The results day, then and now

By R Swaminathan

The public examination results day nowadays is total contrast to what is was in the 1960s and 1970s. The present generation which gets to know even all details of the marks in what is now called the plus-two examination almost immediately around 11 a.m, thanks to the mobile and internet revolution will be simply astonished to know the highlights of the day in those days. Newspapers will give the numbers of successful candidates in special suppliments which mostly would be printed in the afternoon and sold at a special price. There will almost a stampede when boys will run behind the hawkers carrying bundles in cycles or crowd the shops where the paper is sold.

The heroes of the day will be invariably the students who appeared for the examinations, and the parents will be home bound syaing all kinds of prayers. Usually, the boys will be on the streets while the girls (much fewer in number in those days as compared to boys) will wait at home for their brother or father to get the paper and see what happened to them. The boys will be with their companions (and even support the unlucky ones in their moment distress) and reach their home only hours later. The parents would have no phone or communication link in those days as very few people could afford to keep a telephone at home and they had to wait for hours to book a trunk call to share the good news with relatives in different/distant cities.

The newspapers used to have their quota of mistakes in proof reading, and the acts of commission and omission had a telling effect on the lives of some students who used to take the extreme step when they did not see their number. The results will be given in paragraphs with the full number given only at the beginning and where continuous numbers of candidates successful had to be revealed it would just say from this number to this number. When the word "to" is omitted in such cases it meant disaster for all the students in between those two numbers.

The regular newspaper of the next morning sometimes used to issue a corrigendum for the errors of the special issue, setting the record straight as it were. By that time many a parent would have thrashed up the ward in public. Another special feature of the newspapers carrying the results was that they would have numerous advertisements put out by leading tutorials like Minerva Tutorials and Tiruchi Tutorials telling the failed candidates (more specifically their parents), “Don't grieve, there is September.” In those days supplementary examinations used to be held in September for the failed candidates to sit again for an examination in all subjects. In the later years, a scheme was introduced to allow examination only in failed subjects and to award a “pass” to those who were not keen on further study. Such students would not be admitted in the next class which was called Pre-University Course (PUC). There was no provision for retotalling or revaluation for a fee like now.

The failure implied a shock of their life for both the parents and students because those who sat for the examination in September stood lesser chance of admission in PUC the next year. One was not sure if one could /would clear the papers in the second attempt. There used to be some who would take several attempts to emerge successful in the SSLC exam. Worried parents would rush to the famous tutorials to ensure their ward passed with good marks in the next examination. The newspaper advertisements will proclaim that admission to the tutorial would mean “100 per cent pass” or “ definite success,” etc. Some used to move to other streams like Bombay Matric and Banaras Matric or Andhra Matric which the students and parents thought could be cleared more easily. The tutorials would specialise in coaching students for these types of matric examinations. They would have special classrooms or special hours for ladies (girls sometimes used to be overaged to be called so)! The coaching will be mostly by retired teachers.

Now we find girls outshining boys in marks as well as ranks year after year. The statement of this gender performance has more or less become a cliché now as in the case of elections when news headlines proclaim “Women voters outnumbered men” in some booths. There was no ranking subject wise or language wise in those days. In the later years some newspaper gave importance to the examination by awarding cash prizes to the toppers. Now we see every newspaper going after the toppers and their families and reporting the success story and the aspiration catalogue. It was difficult to know or even reach the top rankers. A few days after the results are announced, people would make a beeline to places like Tirupathi and Palani to thank the God/s for their spectacular or miraculous success.

There was a time when newspaper sub-editors and reporters had the privilege of getting to know the results in advance. In the days of the letter press, the results in hard copy would be made available to newspapers to get the text /numbers composed, (proof-read, this is more important) and then release them after the embargo is lifted. When the computer printouts started appearing, printouts in book form were given to the press and those close to the press would give the numbers in person or over phone to know the result a little earlier than others. That newspaper men were a respected lot in the season. Then came the floppy or disc. With the advent of the internet and websites, you get to see all information on your PC and IITs have started even posting the key and answered receipts after valuation on the net for the student to know how he has performed and how he has been valued. Thus there is a world of difference in knowing the examination results between then and now.

(Read a shorter version in the New Indian Express today)

Coriander Aroma Goes Missing in Kitchens

By R Swaminathan

The New Indian Express, Mindspace page, May 19, 2012

The day’s routine is becoming increasingly difficult for the bread winner, the male, as well as the homemaker if either of them is forced to visit the nearby vegetable vendor. Not that they have to plan their requirements well ahead if both are working. They are most of the time in for shock as the items they think they have to acquire for their routine and special preparations (to please guests or deities on special occasions) are just not available. The problem is not that of availability but that they are not available for the notes in one’s wallet. Haggling over this essential ingredient is nowadays a common sight. Coriander leaves, known as Pachai Kothamalli, find a special place in south Indian homes and they play a significant role both in traditional and north Indian cuisines, for  flavour and medicinal properties.

Cookery book writers don’t fail to mention this for garnishing just about any other dish. A few days ago coriander leaves became as important as gold because they just disappeared from the handcarts of street vendors and in Chennai retail chain stores a small bunch (small in this case would be a gross understatement) was being quoted at `15 (weighing just 35 grams). None could be blamed for pinching themselves as here is an item that not long ago used to be given free of cost along with other curry leaves by vegetable vendors. It was more like the free soap one got on buying a costly shampoo.

Now the bunches of these leaves are not only expensive but contain fewer stems and leaves. At the rate at which the prices of curry leaves and coriander leaves are skyrocketing soon they will vanish from the kitchen table. Like tamarind paste or tomato puree, we can’t just think of alternative options for coriander leaves because the green leaves add to the beauty of the preparation and the aroma will disappear the moment it is turned into a concentrate.

There used to be good times when thick and big bundles of coriander leaves used to be dumped into the  buyer’s hands at the rate of `10 for three bundles. Of course, it was a different story that most of the buy would rot the next day given the weather conditions and excess of moisture. Vendors often pushed these leaves to get rid of them before shutting shop for the day much like flower vendors who quote exorbitant rates in the morning and resort to a firesale in the evening. 

Whatever be the case, it is unimaginable to think of a meal without the pinching-pleasant aroma of kothamalli hitting one’s senses and alerting all the olfactory nerves. For these leaves to continue to be a part of our cuisines it is important that their prices hit terra firma rather than floating among the summer clouds.

the great grandson of the day

Dear friends, you will be wondering how we spent 11 a.m. to 1 p m today. Mom's day became a grandson's day for a few hours in our house.

i had no calls on my mobile in the morning. that is the usual practice or trend. i had put my mobile for charging last night. suddenly i remembered to disconnect and keep it ready for my office. this i did at 11 a.m. i did not find the mobile on the table. deci...ded to give a call using the landline. dialled a wrong number. for a moment thought the cell has
reached some other hands. then my son called . the mobile started ringing but the volume was feeble.
we traced it to the speaker of the sound system. shreyas had disconnected the phone mounting the diwan and a stool to reach the table. he had put the mobile into the hole of the hoofer speaker of our panasonic system. the ringing osund came from inside. we tilted the speaker in all directions only to see the mobile travelling inside but never coming out.
i disconnected the speaker and tried all possible tricks in another room.. but of no avail. tried using all available screw drivers. nothing was fitting because the screws behind the box were star type. I got one from my neighbour but it had a blunt head. then my son reminded me of a screw driver set he had given me long ago of a foreign make. i could not find the suitable one.
he did and opened the speaker rear end with the help of his wife. at last, the mobile was taken out. by that time two hours had gone. My son had to leave his biriyani and come to help me. My wife decided this morning that he cook his favourite biriyani on mom's day for all of us. My wife had to give the finishing touches because he rushed to my screams for help to take my mobile out for the day. finally, the mobile was retrieved from the speaker.
only yesterday i was telling my friend about the cat in the sombu story ( R K Lakman's).
this is another type in this century. enjoy the company of kids. but better give no mobiles to kids and also no crisp notes (as visitor). you never know how they will handle
them. also avoid using the mobile in trains when u travel with open windows. You have a chance of the instrument going out into the open when the small one gets angry or his impulse is thwarted. so at least for me, my grandson was in the limelight and not any mom in the house today.

Differences over demands keep VIP hostage

Differences over demands keep VIP hostage (TNIE, May 8, 2012, Mindspace page 8)

By R Swaminathan

When I switched  on the TV early this morning there was a news flash that our governor had been kidnapped to the Chaoist Land somewhere in the wild west and negotiations are expected soon. Within an hour details began emerging that two negotiators have been named and are on their way to the spot where the VIP was being held. Naturally, they should have been taken by a copter because of the risk involved in delaying the relief work.


The negotiators got a warm welcome in the Chaoist Land and immediately sought to know the demands of the kidnappers. The list was long and one of them  agreed to mention only a few because of poor tower connection. They wanted crores of money in foreign currency (for what purpose, God knows?) and lorryloads of drinking water as drought had set in due to summer and confectionery items manufactured in the last two months.

The negotiators told them immediately that it was difficult to get these. It was required to get RBI permission for the foreign currency and those who had it in their trunks would not come forward to give any now even in this emergency. Drinking water is what is already scarce in our country and making it available cannot be discussed. About confectionery items of recent origin, it was difficult to get them even in the biggest malls which stock heavily and naturally for a longer time to decorate their gaping shelves and impress their customers.

The negotiator thought it was his turn to offer what he could assure to the Chaoists. He said he would secure the biggest malls, government engineering colleges and super speciality hospitals. All in the near future. The Chaoist leader laughed and said : "Who wants your malls because we have no adequate population to register footfalls and claim a success in the market? We don't want the engineering colleges because we know what kind of products are turned out after four years of schoooolling. No to hospitals because you will build them today and tomorrow instal giant machines and equipment  and charge lakhs of rupees for diagnosis, dialysis and transplants of vital organs. The colleges attached to the hospitals will have plenty of seats for admission for our sons of the soil but each set will require Rs 20 lakhs in capitation fees."
The negotiator realised that time was running out and desperately asked the other side to come up with realistic demands to convey to the command centre. The Chaoist leader asked for metro trains to run long distances 60 or 70 feet below the ground. The metro stations will enable the setting up of their government under ground far from the range of intelligence operatives. He did not want Volvo buses or duronto trains running over the ground because he did not want to hear of casualties of his kin in unmanned level crossings. And reminded the urban visitor that Metro trains will not pollute the environment and destroy the flora and fauna close dear to their heart.

The negotiator as a digression asked the Chaoist why they were still in the food (arms) gathering stage instead of setting up processing centres and marketing strategies.

The Chaoist asked the negotiator to shut up: we know processing will invariably result in middlemen and commission ranging from 7.5 to 15 per cent. Marketing does not impress us because we believe in more demand and less supply whereas modern techniques work on the reverse principle.

The negotiator asked the leader how to find money for the rail projects. He suggested the setting up of a Tribal Infrastructure Development Authority and the creation of a special purpose vehicle for that. The negotiator could not cope with the pace of talks with the host and decided to leave the spot for consultations with his superiors.

The victim, our govenor, has to wait for at least 72 hours for the talks to resume. Let us hope for the best. The media need not worry about story for the page one and the package on the inside page giving reactions of the leader's families, inlaws and admirers, fans and partymen who have to come together minus their differences and simmering discontent.

A Life Full of Trash But no Cash

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A Life Full of Trash But no Cash



R Swaminathan



A search for a roof starts with a 2 BHK apartment to accommodate a nuclear family
and guests including parents; but a
few years later, the place seems to be uninhabitable, and a change becomes
absolutely necessary all because the
three-decade family has accumulated huge luggage that is mere junk. The electronic
waste problem is assuming
incredibly high proportions not only for the nation but also for the individual family.

The love for gadgets and appliances grows even as the family becomes bigger and
prosperous. Some of them become scrap
due to wear and tear and when spares are not available or when it cannot be
serviced. Sleeker models with latest
features replace the old faithfuls. Ask any couple who have lived in a metro for
over 10 years about the useless wares
they have with them. The list will invariably start with the mixie, followed by the
VCR and MP3 players, tape
recorder, two-in-one radio, transistors of various sizes, grinder (old stone model),
boxes of cassettes, etc.

No one wants to discard electronic waste perhaps because it will fetch a measly sum
when sold as scrap or because the
absence of it will leave an empty space on the shelves. Those who have become
computer savvy in recent times have
monitors lying packed in a corner, and even some peripherals quite obsolete now. The
LCD monitor and other hardware of
the PC will be new. Usually the first acquisition is a showpiece and the count of
junk starts from the portico and
extends all the way to the kitchen and balcony.

The kitchen loft is full with all the old utensils, given right from the time of
marriage (but never used), the old
water purifier (it is still there because you get only `1,000 and that too in
exchange for a new model costing about
`10,000), a vacuum cleaner from the '80s and a wooden crate or iron trunk full of
dolls (marriage sentiment again!).
Coming to the balcony, you find a heap of plastic trash of all hues and varieties
and empty containers of cosmetics
adorning the rack. Your heart breaks because you are offered just `2 per kilo for
the plastic and cassettes.

You end up calling the pest controller because of the legacy that is lying with you.
Anyone picking a quarrel with his
better half over things to get rid of is simply told he deserved to be dumped in the
Bay of Bengal. If you are a brave
heart, you will take a peek into her almirah full of clothes, most of them never
revealed to even the man of the house
because he would curtail further spending on those items.

It is a naked truth that no family even cares to dispose of the inners and
undergarments, storing them for a rainy
day. So you can imagine why you have to look for a bigger place to live --- not
because your family has grown in size
but simply because there is no room to keep your trash. “What is this life if full
of trash but no scope to convert
into cash?”, I wrote a verse, reminded of the poem  Leisure by William Henry Davies.

A lurking danger in an ATM

A lurking danger in an ATM with glass panes above on the first floor.

There are a lot of freak accidents possible in Chennai and the threat can be lurking in maanja thread and even in a glass pane of a bank branch which houses an ATM on the ground floor. For example, we have the Indian Bank branch in Royapettah on Gaudiya Math Road. A few guys were waiting outside the Royapettah branch of Indian Bank on last Saturday (March 31, 2012) at 11 a.m. and there was a customer (a lady) spending unusually long time to do her work inside even as  the to-be victim of the day waited with two others on the road outside the ATM patiently for his turn. Suddenly, there was a sound signalling breaking of a glass pane. Pushed with great force, it sputtered and crashed on people below and injured only one person badly in the head.
A member of staff of the branch on the first floor pushed the window pane outside to let air in because there was a power cut at that time. The glass pane broke into small pieces quite unexpectedly and there was a shower of glass on those below including a member of stafff and a member of public. The bag the latter carried was filled with glass pieces of all sizes, all small ones only.Thank God.

The window glass pane which you see in IT companies on the sides to give a rich look broke into small pieces in the air and a shower hit the head of the member of public who started bleeding and crying for aid. Deep cuts in the head and bruises all over the body and blood gushing out of the head injuries prompted a bank staff to rush the victim to Isabel hospital for first aid and the bank shelled out nearly Rs 2000 to dress the wounds and for first aid. Two stitches were put to arrest the blood flow.The victim with blood gushing out was advised a shower in a nearby parlour or even a tonsure to get rid of possible glass pieces on the scalp by the duty doctor in the casualty department!

Tablets were prescribed for the victim who took an auto and returned home. He has been advised dressing on alternate days for ten days before the stitches are removed. Luckily, the glass pane broke into small pieces in the air before coming down. If it had come down as a small plate, the victim would have been no more to tell the story to any one.That the staff in the minor OT in the same hospital were very courteous during the first dressing is another positive story about people who vowed to serve patients.But on Wednesday when the victim went to the same Isabel hospital for a dressing of the wounds, he was kept waiting outside the mini operation theatre where all the rooms had been occupied by doctors to attend to their regular patients. As the ATM glass victim had no doctor connected with the treatment having been attended by the casualty ward duty doctor, he was made to wait indefinitely. He lost his patience after two hours and moved on to Ashwini Soundara Nursing Home on Kasturi Rangan Road where  he got the dressing down in five minutes for the same fee of Rs 50. When he went to the bank to look for the manager, he was not there and was still on leave. The staff who came with him to the hospital on Saturday was however there and was profusely thanked for the timely care he showed to the bleeding victim. The victim decided not to pester the bank further with bills for dressing or removing the sutures and his travel expenses any longer. He hoped to recover fully within a few days.

A piece of advice  here for banks: do not have glass panes which open outside just at the entrance to any ATM in front of the branch. Like Many other bank ATMs, this Royapettah Indian Bank ATM machine has also been badly positioned in the sense, there is no curtain or poster behind the glass and one can see the customer collecting all this money from the road. Ideally, many ATMs face the road and the customer draws money showing his back to those outside. This is absolutely safe for the public. Hope all banks will take proper steps to ensure total safety at the ATMs very soon.

Banks should not take on rent premises which have no setback space in the front and  locate an ATM there. The security person can become a casualty any day any time, and the cash in the branch may not be enough to compensate his poor family, due to the negligence of the bank staff impelled to open the window when there is a power failure.

Please write on your FB page hidden threats to citizens so that places which the people frequent are made safe from at least this angle, if not others about which read  now and then in the media.