Another 'Thuglak Reform' - Sun Films Removal from civilian Cars - Threat of 'Crackdown' ?

Sun Films on Cars - Crackdown Starts from May 19 !!!

Grabbed the newspaper today morning, to see myself staring to these lines on the front page. What are we trying to say by 'Crackdown Starts' ? Does this not show the sadist pleasure of the authorities to sit on the head of civilians ? Are there no lawyers out there who can file a PIL to make the authorities who still sit in ivory castles, to open their eyes to the realities ?

It is referred that " heinous crimes such as rape and dacoity are committed within cars that has sun films fitted ". Sounds so silly, and doesn’t it also read that since the law is unable to control crime on roads, something has to be done. Easier option is this.

Alternatively, if this is the way forward, what is next ?

Are we going to see helmets getting banned on Indian streets as criminals use it to hide their identity ? And, point is clear in this case too, where chain snatching by criminals with helmets-on, are getting reported more these days. So, shall we not do it ?

Next, to go to an extreme, since majority of the heinous crimes such as rape and women abuse are happening inside closed doors, will the law ask all citizens to make sure their home walls are made of transparent thickened glass? This helps because cops on rounds can peep into each house, to keep check on such crimes !

Now, let us come down to reality :

This judgment, which might be as per the Central Motor Vehicles Act, Rule 100 (2) talking about VLT not less than 70 per cent and on side windows not less than 50 per cent would conform to Indian Standards from year 1992. Come to 2012 now. Within these 10 years, the country has changed. We have commute time increased at least 10 folds, we have day temperature increased at least 10 degrees, we have traffic congestion increased at least 50 times.

Now, are we saying that, we go to road, and let the scorching sun come inside the car, all through the long wait in the bumper to bumper traffic ?

Now, are we saying that, anyone on road should be left to peep into the car and its privacy, where many of the school going kids will be having their breakfasts (again, in the interest of time, since in peak hours our city traffic is nothing more than 10 km/hr.), or nursing mothers could be even breast feeding ?

Now, are we going to fall prey to the traffic squad checks, where cops will be stopping almost all cars which have sun control films whether it is RTO approved or not, for verification. Nothing but, more time wasted on road ?

Well, will you let somebody or system play like this with our hard earned money and carefully preserved life? Question is what could be done..Answer seems to be absolutely nothing. Civilians are always the last line of living creatures and anything could be done to them.

Could the system 'crack down' Ajmal Kasab and fellow terrorists ? Could the system 'crack down'  scams (public money which they took in form of tax) and personal favors ? Could the system 'crack down' on at least one civic body or its contactor who digs out every other road which is worthy of driving ? Could the system 'crack down' on any of the crimes where netas are involved ?


But, now it is civilians, and 'crack down' will be immediate for sun films on cars. I am awaiting that 20th May will have a newspapers which will talk about 10L+ INR collected as fine on single day, 5K+ fined on day one etc.

Long live this system of hypocrisy !

Let us forget that

- There is only a negligible minority of criminals who are on road. The absolute majority is so called civilians who run for making their life
- If Criminals want cover, they can as well switch to a pick-up van or something, which can give the cover and there is no absolute necessity for a sun film tinted glass for them
- BMTC buses are plying with full body covered ads, and that is not sun films
- Law becomes toothless when the car belongs to a neta. Forget MP, MLA or MLC...I would be surprised to see if the law intends to stop even the cousin of a grandnephew of a corporator
- the side windows in most cars are not laminated, meaning shatter proof like our front windsheild.So, risk your eye sight since the law want to have cops peeping into your cars
- the vehicle will also be liable for seizure to ensure removal of the sun film on the spot, which is supposed to be done by an expert. if the windscreen gets scratches, it is civilian problem and not the system's


FootNote : I see a comment from a respected advocate from 'Alternate Law Forum' in the newspaper today, on this subject. One question : Sir, Is there no option in the law to get a review petition done, to get the civilians saved from this 'thuglak reform' ? I am sure, there will be thousands of civilians out here, who will thank you and remember you always. I am sure we can even pool-in, if this is expensive.

Finally, can the authorities learn from other states, who has announced that there won’t be any 'crack down' on this subject and it is left as recommendation ? Should you be digging deeper into the civilian wallet, to get more accounts filled with penalties collected on such fozzilized reforms?

Bangalore ranked best Indian city to live in :-)

Media reports late last week gave me this happy but bit surprising update - "Bangalore ranked best Indian city to live in". 

Not that I disagree with it or not that after living in Bangalore for more than a decade, I started disliking this place. I do love good old Bangalore, more than I had loved it earlier. What an incredible amount of progress has been made by us in the last two decades. But then, my question is, has the city become any better ? My point is also like someone else had told years back - " This City is what it is, only because our citizens are what they are. Nothing More, Nothing less" !

This newspaper article kept my mind clock-ticking, and is the reason for this blog post. I haven't travelled far and wide within India, but with the limited travel experiences and with the closeness I feel with Bangalore, if this is the 'Best Indian City to live in', then, we Indians must definitely start thinking !

The seed of my thoughts, is this article (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bangalore-ranked-best-city-to-live-in-india/207076-62-132.html) : Pipping the four metro cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the southern technology hub of Bangalore has emerged as the best Indian city to live in, a global survey said on Tuesday. Bangalore has been ranked as the best Indian city both in terms of quality of living and the personal safety standards.

Being Friday, I had a relaxed schedule (for a change), and I decided to drive today with my mobile phone camera on and handy, to see the lighter side of our city. Here I what I could see, to prove my point :

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8jMkAMbWnTuN2UyN2VlZjYtMjlkMC00ODM5LWIxY2YtNmE3ZTk0Zjk3ZjE2
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8jMkAMbWnTuOTk2MDNmM2UtMWU5Mi00YTNhLWJiZjgtZWJjYzZlM2FkYzhj

So, I would love to summarize once again : The best city is that which has the best man or woman: if it be a few ragged huts, it is still the best city as long as our citizens  are what they are. Maybe we can show government how to operate better, showing this survey result which had been yielded because of just having good people inspite of absolute negligence from the rulers !

Double Dip - RECESSION ?

NEWS UPDATE : Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced to call a controversial referendum on his country's $130 billion European bailout plan in early December, and caught European leaders completely off guard and scrambling for a response.Papandreou's stunning announcement that he would stage a referendum roiled world financial markets and threw into question an ambitious and costly European deal worked out in torturous negotiations a week ago. 

A ``no'' vote in the referendum would have enormous consequences not just for Greece but for the rest of Europe. It could lead to a disorderly Greek default, force Greece out of the 17-nation eurozone, topple many fragile European banks and send the global economy spinning back into recession. 

Playing hardball, eurozone officials said an (euro) 8 billion ($11 billion) loan that Greece needs within weeks to avoid bankruptcy was conditional on Greece backing the latest rescue deal....blah, blah

FOOTNOTE : Is it enough living through these theories of speculations, fearful days on repeated recessions, even the day's weather affecting the fuel prices in the country etc etc....

Why cant we simply go back to age old theory of earning-to-spend and supply-demand equation, to forget what a bail-out or globalization strategy mean ?

The Strange Power of People

It had been a while since I sat to key-in my thoughts for the blog and I am definitely not happy about the same. It just happened so, where my mind went clock-ticking with a buffer-overflow of many things and I had to keep myself out of these little things I love to do, through these days. Not that I am promising to be a regular on my favorite blog table, but I promise to be better for sure.

Enough with the prelude and this time around I want to share an account of one of the very best experiences I have had in my life. I would like to describe it as ‘the strange power of people’ and it just means talking about those intense, colorful, passionate, fun-filled, humbling , inspiring and cherished one and a half days I had, few weeks back.

It all started with a visit to my elder brother’s place where we got an invite for a first Holy Communion function, from Chechi’s brother. It was just another invitation for a family function and since I had missed couple of them earlier I made up my mind to make for this one. Off-late I have become a person who avoids big gatherings of relatives, as much as possible, since I had found it disgusting to see all those elders trying to poke their nose into anything and everything in my life. Moreover, being the un-disputed title-holder of being the most outspoken, insensitive and irreverent one in the family circle, I seriously enjoyed being only in smaller and closer groups. Above all, for me being consciously away from big gatherings, my family had started losing all those fun times and it made me decide to attend this event for sure.

Then came this day, and I could see myself stepping into a much different world all together. Chechi’s family was BIG…and I mean it. Big with a capital B, I & G. They were six siblings and I knew about it. But, a house with all of them, their kids (teens to toddlers) and cousins were little different than my expectation. Now, to talk about my expectation: My grandfather too had seven kids and my father happened to be the youngest of the lot. All through my childhood, whenever we had family re-unions, I felt about the same as more a convention than a reunion. Being one of the youngest of the big group of kids, I felt about the big-bully elder brothers and mommy-ish elder sisters as more trouble than good. The last thing I wanted was to have a house full of people who take turn to make you obey to their commands. To be frank, I loved only very few of them, by my heart & therefore, here I am, one of the stand-out disobedient in the entire family of second generation! Now, back to present. I set my foot inside to a home where all (yes, I mean all. Right from the parents, the siblings, their spouses and all kids) we seated in a big hall to have food. It reminded me of the big fat greek wedding and my mind aimlessly wandered to those family reunions of my childhood. We never had eaten together. My grandfather always ate at his regular time and no one dared go and trouble him. My parents, uncles and aunts ate at their own sweet time and we (the smaller kids) were fed as a group at the table by our own mothers or one of those mommy-ish sisters or aunts. I don’t count it as a difference of culture. But more that it was the norm of those years. Even family relations were kept with definite honor and pride. One will never crack an adult joke to your uncle and it was treated as a mandate of treasured culture. I still see that my dad’s voice become softer (and sometimes he even gets up from the seat) when his eldest brother is on phone. Not, that the current generation has lost the sheen of all good things in life. My point is that, we have learnt to express love more evidently. And, according to me, this had made all the difference.

Now, I was in this world. It seemed really magical for me. Festivity was all in the air. Lot of cheer, music, laughter, fun and love was all around. And, moreover never even once did I feel that I am not one among this big grouping of siblings. All of them were just brothers, sisters and kids than being different individuals themselves. Even though I do admit that I have more brothers and sisters in my life, my parents had only two children; me and my brother. I love to put it this way as I am a person who believes that being a sibling is more than just being born to the same parents. I don’t want to get diverted in my thoughts here and hence let me speak about how it feel to have a sibling. It is always wonderful to be together. On a lighter side, If I had been alone in my growing years, I would not have got the chance to beat-up my brother. I would have had things go my way more times than naught. I would not have had to contend for time doing the many things that we used to do to occupy our time. However, as much as I used to consider this as childhood fun, the reality is that I would not be who I am today without him. I always thank god for having given such a wonderful brother for me. Also I had not been so supportive of the bigger count (like seven or six) ; courtesy my experiences with my uncles and aunts.

And, here I see the picture all different. The boundlessly varied feelings, those small bursts of laughter which had travelled miles altogether to meet each other, the special bonds between the next generation of kids, all were different. A realization of that much needed care and warmth that we all feel in this faster world of today, flashed in my mind and I learned through my experience of those moments that the best thing we can give to ourselves in this life of rat race is to spend time with our family.

In fact, I would probably only vaguely remember parts of my childhood if it weren’t for my brother. Now, here I see a multitude of this feeling. There are brothers and sisters all around. There are nephews and nieces all around. May be because of this century and because of the more free world around us, I couldn’t see any big-bully brother of mommy-ish sister who were trying to execute commands on the younger lot. My daughter, who is just over one, had been playing with the eldest couple from Mumbai and with their kids (again the eldest among the cousins) and also with the little sweet-heart who was very much a centre of cheer and exuberance. I see here, that generations are enjoying the moments of togetherness. Maybe all do realize that from the very next day of week, this will fall back as a beautiful memory and the world around will change us back to the seasoned traveler. There were no highs and lows in these days, there were no you and me and it was like a picture perfect time of re-union. I think the difference is not just because of the generation change, but also mainly due to the expression of care and warmth which our generation has learnt to practice. I always felt that our previous generation had been misers when it came to expressing love and we have changed for good. A simple example would be that we were never permitted to draw on walls but now, we do enjoy drawing on the walls with our kids. A simple, but much welcome change in our way of looking at life.

While I drove back to the city and during all these days while I had been thinking about these beautiful days, I felt happy to have joined this blessed family’s get together. I re-iterated in my thoughts that the bond between siblings is the most enduring bond that we can experience, the bond which may not be as demanding and critical as that of our parents, children or spouse and this is potentially the longest relationship we will ever have in life. But, the bond that is shared with our siblings helps us to determine the quality of bond we will experience with our other relationships in life. In this world of ‘no time’ to ‘stand and stare’, I think the biggest blessing one can receive from God is to have a wonderful family who can be together in simple moments of life. Moreover, I stand corrected, the bigger the family is, bigger is the love and warmth around and bigger is the blessings in life!!

It is an incredible thing to be able to be there for a sibling in their time of need. It is all the more incredible to be able to celebrate the joys in the lives of your siblings: graduations, weddings, and the birth of children, communions are joyous times in the life of the family that brings you closer together. Siblings are a part of us. If we allow them to continue to be a part of our life, they can be an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and a conscience that knows us almost as well as we know ourselves.

So, can we afford to stand and meet our Brother or Sister, at every turn of our life’s journey? If yes, I think we are making a definite difference to the life of people around us. The more is the love around us. The more is the happiness inside us. Next question is, will we be able to hand over this warmth of togetherness to the next generation? We better be, or we will lose a generation! Kendall Hailey had put it right “The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you"

Christian Churches today & Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church

While observed in a much wider concept, there are basically 3 types of Christian churches. Orthodox, Catholic and Protestants. Roman Catholicism is a medieval modification of the original Orthodoxy of the Church in Western Europe, and Protestantism is a later attempt to return to the original Faith. But the Reformation did not go far enough. In a nut shell, Catholics added on to the faith, Protestants deleted from the faith and Orthodox kept the faith.

Names like Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox etc. are all names for one and the same Church with one and the same faith and practice. Of course within these churches there are cultural differences which do not touch the essence of the faith as such.

The foundations of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch can be traced back to the very dawn of Christianity. The Church justifiably prides itself as being one of the earliest established apostolic churches. It was in Antioch, that the followers of Jesus were called Christians as we are told in the New Testament of holy Bible, "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." (Acts 11:26).

According to ecclesiastical tradition, the Church of Antioch is the second established church in Christendom after Jerusalem, and the prominence of its Apostolic See is well documented. In his Chronicon (I, 2), the historian Eusebius of Caesarea tells us that St. Peter the Prince Apostle established a bishopric in Antioch and became its first bishop. The See of Antioch continues to flourish till our day, with His Holiness Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I, being the 122nd in the line of legitimate patriarchs starting from St.Peter, the leader of Apostles of Christ.

In 1665, the Antiochian church came into contact with the ancient church of St Thomas Christians in India, and the West Syrian liturgy was thus introduced to the Christians in South India. Point to be noted here is that Apostle Thomas never established a see in India, ie no bishophoric was created, but only had spread the word of Jesus. Though the Syrian church now is vastly reduced in number because of Muslim domination, it has a considerable diaspora in India, US, Australia and Europe.

Similarly the Coptic Orthodox Church traces its history back to St Mark, who founded the church in Egypt. It is associated with the ancient Egyptian patriarchate of Alexandria of the Roman empire. The Coptic church has a significant diaspora in North America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. The Armenian Orthodox Church traditionally attributes the beginning to the preaching of St Thaddeus and St Bartholomew and associated patriarchate of Constantinople...and so on

Establishment of Christianity in India and The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India

There is a general presumption that St. Thomas, a Jew himself by birth, may have visited India in search of Jews settled here. Middle East countries and Kerala had trade relations during the early centuries and all the evidences, acknowledged by all the historians’ points to the fact that the Jewish settlers existed in Cragnanore even before the Christian era. So it is very clear that there was a sea route to Kerala coast in those days and St. Thomas traveled to Cragnanore through this. As mentioned earlier, there was a flourishing colony of Jews in Muziris (Cragnanore, Kerala). These Jews are said to have arrived with King Solomon's first fleet. Anyhow as a result of the Apostle's mission, many, other than the Jews also accepted Christianity. Most of the local converts were said to be from higher castes and this helped St. Thomas to preach the Holy Gospel without much opposition, in a later stage. Besides, he is believed to have founded Christian congregations (churches) at Maliankara, Paloor, Kottaikkavu (North Paravur), Chayal (Nilakkal), Niranam, Kollam and Gokamangalam.

In the course of time the infant Church established by St.Thomas is supposed to have been weakened. The community had to pass through many an obstruction, main reason being the “lack of ecclesiastical assistance”. During the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd centuries, there were no priests here and the Christian population had been like a fold without a Shepherd. According to History, Christianity in Kerala got re-organized and prospered with the arrival of Knai Thoma from Syria in AD 345, which happens to be the first known colonization of Syrian Christians and as a result, the Christians of Malankara (Kerala) came to be known as Syrian Christians, as they received the Apostolic benediction from the Syrian Patriarchate and thus started to use the liturgy of the Holy Syrian Church of Antioch.

Why Indian Church came under the Patriarch of Antioch?

In earlier days Roman Officials persecuted many of the Christian fathers. By the beginning of the 4^th century, with the conversion of the then Roman Emperor 'Constantine', Christianity became the official religion of the Empire. In AD 325 on the request of the Church fathers, the Emperor convened a Synod of the entire Christian community at ‘Nicea’ and a general norm for the administration of the whole of Christianity was formulated. Accordingly, the entire Christian Community all over the world formed as three distinct groups and each group came under the authority of the three Patriarchates then in existence, namely Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. (Later in AD 381, as per the decision of the 2nd Universal Holy Synod convened by the Empire Constantinople Patriarchate was also established). As per the decision of the Synod, the Eastern hemisphere, which included Indian Sub-continent, continued to be under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch. A Persian bishop by name Yohannan is said to have represented India in that Synod, the veracity of which is evident from his signature in the Nicea Synod. Nicene Creed was formulated in this Synod and I will write about the holy Synods later when I speak of Catholic Church and Orthodox Church parting ways.

Establishment of the Catholicate of East in India

Though the Christian Church in Persian empire was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch from its beginning, in due course it become impossible for the Church members to go to Antioch and receive ordination due to geographical & political reasons (ie political barriers between the Persian and Roman Empires and the bitter rivalry). Under the circumstance, the Patriarch of Antioch used to appoint an Archbishop entitled CATHOLICOSE (meaning ‘General Primate’) in Selucia (Persian Capital) to administer the Eastern Dioceses beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire. The second universal Holy Synod held at Constantinople in AD 381 (Canon 2), reconfirmed the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch over the Catholicose. Even before the primates of the Church adopted this title, it existed in the Roman Empire where its Government representative who was in charge of a large area was called as ‘Catholicose’. Now the primates of the Orthodox Churches in Armenia, Georgia, India etc use the title ‘Catholicose’.

The Bishop/Catholicose of Seleucia acted as the deputy of the Patriarch of Antioch, in the Persian Empire, with some exclusive privileges to consecrate bishops on behalf of the Patriarch. Hence the Church in India continued to be under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch, and his subordinate 'Catholicose' of the East.

As the enmity between the empires increased, the leaders of the Church in Persia found it nearly impossible to continue ecclesiastical commune with the universal church. Meanwhile some in the Catholicate of Persia found it more convenient to adopt the Nestorian Christology (a heresy) which was earlier officially dejected by the universal Christian councils for its remarks on the Mother of God; thus they tried to convince the Persian rulers that they distance themselves from the mother Church and also the Roman Empire. By this act, the Christians in Persia who accepted Nestorian Christology could easily win the favour of the Persian rulers while those of non-Nestorian faith suffered severe persecution. As the office of the Catholicate fall into heresy, the Orthodox faithful were wandering in wilderness. The Catholicose of Seleucia meanwhile took over the title 'Patriarch', thus trying to be equal in status with the Patriarch of Antioch. This history is repeated now in the form of Indian Orthodox Church (the Orthodox faction who fights with us day and night) with HQ at Kottayam, Kerala.

A few decades later the Orthodox wing of the Church in Persia (non-Nestorian) that continued to be under the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch & all the East, got reorganized under our Patriarch, St. Ya`qub Burdono and installed St. Ahudemmeh as 'The Great Metropolitan of the East', but he too experienced it difficult to discharge his ecclesiastical duties smoothly. However by the 7th century the situation changed for better which finally led to the formation of an office of the 'Maphrianate of the East’ at Tigrit (Tagrit). ‘Maphrian’ (Maphriyono) is derived from the Syriac word afri which means “to make fruitful’. Later the centre of the Maphrianate was shifted to St.Mathew’s Dayro in the city of Mosul in Iraq and continued there till the middle of 19<sup>th</sup> century. In 1860 the office of Maphrianate was abolished as per the decision of the Syrian Orthodox Church Synod held at Deyrul'alZafran Monastery (Kurkumo Dayro) under Patriarch Ignatius Ya`qub II. The same was re-established in India in 1964 by the Universal Synod held in Kerala, presided by Patriarch Mor Ignatius Ya`qub III. (Yeldo Bava of Kothamangalam was one among our Maphrians)

In 2002 the office of the Maphrianate was renamed as ‘Catholicose of East’ in accordance with its actual jurisdiction. Present headquarters of this ancient Maphrianate/Catholicate of the Syrian Orthodox Church is at Puthencuriz, Cochin, with Catholicose Mor Baselios Thomas I as the Chief of the Church in India.

As of now :

Patriarch of Antioch and all the East (Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church) : His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka 1 Iwas

Catholicose of East (Head of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India) :His Beatitude Aboon Mor Baselius Thomas 1

Until the 15 century the Malankara Church was within the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch. This is authenticated in the Travancore State Manual as also in other books, such as that authored by the protestant historian Huff. Unfortunately, falling prey to some Indian Orthodox Church propaganda to promote their own history and also to disseminate some vested interests, some in Malankara recently are propagating a new version that the Malankara Church had connections only with the Persian Nestorian Church till the 17th century. But all the circumstantial evidences and history proves otherwise.

As for the 12th century, there is an authoritative record now safely maintained at Cambridge University, which clearly indicates the ties of Malankara Church with that of the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch in the period. This is the Bible written in Estrangela script during the time of the great Patriarch Michael (1199). This book, which was in Malankara from the 13th century, was presented to Dr. Claudius Buchannan, one of the earliest protestant missionaries who came to Kerala in 1807, by the then Malankara Metropolitan Mor Dionysius the Great.

Introduction of Roman Catholic faith in Malankara - first split in Malankara Church

The Roman Catholic faith started to have its foothold in Malankara with the arrival of Vasco De Gama, the famous Portuguese sailor in 1498. Initially the Portuguese Priests concentrated on the poor people living on the sea coast of Kerala and Goa and converted many to the Latin Catholic faith. But later they tried to introduce their faith among the Syrian Christians of Kerala.

On June 20, 1599 the Roman Catholic Archbishop Menezes, with the help of local rulers, convened the historical Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor) and thereafter started forcibly converting the Syrian churches as Latin, burned all the historical documents, and thereby terrified the Syrian Christians. Finally in response to the continuous appeal of the Thomas Arkadiyakon (archdeacon), who was then giving leadership to Malankara Church; from the Patriarchate of Antioch came Mor Ignatius Ahattula in 1653. The tradition is that the Portuguese arrested him, tied him up and cast him in the Ocean. Consequently, the Syrian Christians get agitated and as a result, a large gathering of about 25,000 assembled at Mattancherry and took Oath at 'Koonan Cross' which happens to be known as the historical 'Koonam Kurisu Sathayam' in 1653 and declared that they and their future generations will ever be loyal to the throne of Antioch and also vowed to fight against the atrocities of the Roman/Latin Catholics.

The Malankara Church sent request to the Patriarch of Antioch again and in 1665 Saint Gregorios of Jerusalem was deputed to Malankara. The link between Malankara and Antioch that was broken and remained separated for about 150 years was re-established with the arrival of this holy father. Saint Gregorios ordained, Arakadiyakon as Bishop who assumed charge as MarThoma I. And while one group moved away as Roman Catholic Church ,others in  Malankara Church remained as integral part of the Syrian Orthodox Church, adopting its rituals, rites and liturgy as before.

Protestant faith in Malankara - second major split in Malankara Church

With the establishment of British East India Company, missionaries from Britain started their work in India. These missionaries gradually tried to control the Syrian Orthodox Church, by introducing their reformed teachings. In spite of the interference of powerful agents of the British Government, the Malankara Church rejected the western influence and stuck to its connections with the Holy See of Antioch. Thereafter the Syrian Church in Malankara had to face a series of internal dissensions.

It was around that time, Palakunnath Abraham Malpan, a prominent priest of Malankara Church sided with the European missionaries and modified the liturgy to suit the Protestant views. Later his nephew, Deacon Mathews, went to the Patriarchate and producing a false record, which showed the authorization of Malankara Syrian Church, get ordained himself as Mor Athanasius. After Palakunnath Mor Athanasius returned to Malankara, the Association of representatives came to know about the malicious act of Mor Athanasius, so they wrote to the Patriarch about the Protestant inclinations of Mor Athanasius. The Patriarch felt very sad on being cheated, and consequently he send a representative, Mor Kurilose Yuyakkim on the request of Malankara Syrian Church and excommunicated Mor Athanasius of Palakunnath. But with the help of British authorities, Mor Athanasius was able to move freely and majority of the Church properties and most of the parishes in Kottayam and its southern belt and parts of Kunnamkulam, came under him.

It was then, at a Malankara Church meeting held in 1872 under the leadership of Ramban Geevarghese (St. Gregorios of Parumala), requested for the immediate help of the Patriarch of Antioch, to save it from the serious crisis. Consequently, in 1875, Patriarch Ignatius Peter III (IV), in spite of his old age traveled to India. Just before reaching Malankara, the Patriarch went to England and convinced the British authorities about the real problems pertaining in the Malankara Church and on being convinced, the British authorities in England, gave orders to the British government in Kerala, to not interfere in the internal matters of Malankara Church. On reaching Malankara, in August 1876, a Synod was held at Mulunthuruthy and at that historical meeting, with almost all the representatives of Malankara Church, decided in favour of the decision of the Patriarch. Saint Gregorios (Parumala) who was then a Ramban, was the personal secretary of the Patriarch and it was with his help the draft for the 'Mulunthuruthy Synod' was formulated. The historical 'Mulunthuruthy Padiyola' adopted at the Synod, besides explaining about the history of Malankara Church since its evolution, once again recalled the services of the great See of Antioch and thanked the Patriarch for his sincere efforts that helped to continue the ancient true faith of the Malankara Church.

Later the Malankara Jacobite (named accordingly after Saint Jacob Burdano of our church) Syrian community won the litigation that continued in the local courts and 'Mor Dionysius V' was accepted as the legitimate head of the Malankara Church under the Holy See of Antioch.

This finally resulted in the separation of a group of people with protestant views under the leadership of Mor Athanasius Thomas, the cousin of Mor Athanasius Mathews who was earlier excommunicated by the Malankara Church and they organized themselves as Marthoma Syrian Church of Malabar. The Marthoma Church of today is facing an identity crisis of whether they belong to Protestant side or Orthodox side. In WCC (World Council of Churches) their representatives are seated along with our bishops and in general public, they puts on the mask of being a protestant church..I should say, it is a cross-breed.

Formation of Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) - The third major split in the Malankara Church

In 1902, the Holy Episcopal Synod of Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, selected two Metropolitan-designates and in 1908 they were ordained as Mor Kurilose Paulose (Kochuparambil) and Mor Dionysius Geevarghese (Wattesseril) by the Patriarch of Antioch Mor Ignatius Abded'Aloho II. The next year the Malankara Metropolitan Pulikottil Mor Dionysius V,  died and in his position the newly ordained Metropolitan Mor Dionysius Wattesseril was instituted with the title 'Mor Dionysius VI'. But unfortunately within a short period, the new Malankara Metropolitan trustee Mor Dionysius VI had differences of opinion (all in search for power and money) with his co-trustees and within a short time, this conflict become so serious, and thus started challenging the age old relationship, that the Malankara Church have with the Patriarchal See of Antioch.

Finally in 1911, when Wattasseril Mor Dionysius VI started to defy even the orders of his spiritual supreme, the Patriarch Mor Ignatius Abed'Aloho II, the bishop was excommunicated. A year later in 1912, Wattesseril Mor Dionysius managed to bring to Kerala, Abdul Mesiha, a former Patriarch who was dethroned by the Holy Synod because of his un-canonical practices and get ordained as Catholicose for his group (the later IOC) after establishing a new catholicate in Kottayam. The Syrian Christians argued that a important order like the Catholicate that was abolished in 1865 as per the decision of a Holy synod, can be reinstated only through another Episcopal Synod and above all in this particular issue the Abdul Mesiha who was supposed to be ordained a Catholicose in Kerala was an un-canonical Patriarch, dethroned by a Synod.

The fact that Abdul Mesiha was not a Patriarch is strengthened with further evidences, when it is considered that Wattasseril Mar Dionysius went to Patrirach Mor Abded'Aloho (Abdulla) II for his ordination as Metropolitan, who had succeeded Abdul Mesiha, although Abdul Mesiha was living there at that time. If Abdul Mesiha was the canonical Patriarch, as claimed by the Methran group, then why did Wattasseril Mor Dionysius, the father of the Methran group went to Patriarch Abded'Aloho II, the successor to Abdul Mesiha to get ordained, is very mysterious. This was the contention of the Jacobite Syrians.

This led to the Formation of two groups , one led by the Wattasseril called as 'Methran Kakshi' (Bishop's Party) and the those who continued to be faithful to the Holy throne of Antioch were mentioned as 'Bava Kakshi' (Patriarch's Party). While the 'Bava Kakshi' continued to be known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, the 'Methran Kakshi' by the middle of 1920's adopted the name first as 'Orthodox Syrian Church of Malabar' and then 'Orthodox Syrian Church' after the adoption of a constitution in 1934, for their group. They are now known as 'Indian Orthodox Church' in all its publications (and still 'Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church' inside Indian courts as cases are still pending)

Then onwards, the Syrian Jacobite Christians were fighting for existence in a game where money, man and manipulations came into picture as the IOC had prominent figures and a puppet newspaper in their hand, Malayala Manorama. To be in tune with the time, in 2002,new constitution was formulated for the Syrian Christians of Malankara and the name Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church (JSOC) was officially accepted.IOC and JSOC are no more factions of the same church, but essentially two different churches from 2002.

Conclusion

The Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, though in its long history, had to put up with stiff challenge, trials and tribulations. By God's grace, even now it continues to, practice the true Apostolic faith taught by Prince Apostle Peter and its Holy fathers and be a part of the ancient Universal Syriac Orthodox Church with its distinct identity.

Foot Note:

The total Christian population in kerala as per last available census data, is over 60 lakhs. Even though there was no head count denomination wise, unofficially the denomination wise population of Christians in kerala brought out by a study conducted by a catholic foundation is as below.

Catholics(all including reeth)              -           30.4 lakhs

Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church      -           11.2 lakhs

Indian Orthodox Church                    -           08.4 lakhs

Marthoma Syrian Church                    -           04.2 lakhs

C S I                                                    -           03.8 lakhs

Others                                                 -           05.5 lakhs

( ie, new age churches like IPC, Bretheren etc..upto some new church formed yesterday )

Santa Claus - The good cheer of Christmas...!!

The Legend

Far up in the polar regions, amid the ice and snow, lives Santa Claus in a great house of many rooms crammed with things that will delight the hearts of children. He and his assistants are very busy during most of the year in his workshop, making nice toys for good little children all over the world. He sees, hears and knows all that the children do and say. He keeps a 'Book of Remembrance,' in which he records all their words and actions. As one popular song puts it, 'He sees you when you're sleeping, and he knows you when you're awake.'

"On Christmas eve Santa Claus comes down secretly from the sky in a sleigh, carrying a huge bag filled with many delightful gifts. His sleigh is drawn by swift reindeers that 'fly upon the wings of the wind' and 'ride upon the clouds.' Only those who wait and watch can ever see him. When he comes he brings gifts as rewards to all, good little children, so you must be good and obey your parents if you want Santa Claus to bring you something real nice."Thus goes the charming and harmless legend of Santa, the great friend and benefactor of every good child, an innocent fantasy, having a certain value in teaching small children to be obedient

History

In looking for the historical roots of Santa Claus, one must go very deep in the past. One discovers that Santa Claus as we know him is a combination of many different legends and mythical creatures.

The basis for the Christian-era Santa Claus is Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna (Izmir), in what is now Turkey. Nicholas lived in the 4th century A.D. He was very rich, generous, and loving toward children. Often he gave joy to poor children by throwing gifts in through their windows. The Orthodox Church later raised St. Nicholas, miracle worker, to a position of great esteem. It was in his honour that Russia's oldest church, for example, was built. For its part, the Roman Catholic Church honoured Nicholas as one who helped children and the poor. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of children and seafarers. His name day is December 6th.

In the Protestant areas of central and northern Germany, St. Nicholas later became known as der Weinachtsmann. In England he came to be called Father Christmas. St. Nicholas made his way to the United States with Dutch immigrants, and began to be referred to as Santa Claus.

It first appeared in  North American poetry and illustrations, Santa Claus, in his white beard, red jacket and pompom-topped cap, would sally forth on the night before Christmas in his sleigh, pulled by eight reindeer, and climb down chimneys to leave his gifts in stockings children set out on the fireplace's mantelpiece.

Children naturally wanted to know where Santa Claus actually came from. Where did he live when he wasn't delivering presents? Those questions gave rise to the legend that Santa Claus lived at the North Pole, where his Christmas-gift workshop was also located.

In 1823 in the poem "A Visit From Saint Nicholas" more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas" by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney.

The image of Santa Claus was further elaborated by illustrator Thomas Nast, who depicted a rotund Santa for Christmas issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s. Nast added such details as Santa's workshop at the North Pole and Santa's list of the good and bad children of the world. A human-sized version of Santa Claus, rather than the elf of Moore's poem, was depicted in a series of illustrations for Coca-Cola advertisements introduced in 1931. In modern versions of the Santa Claus legend, only his toy-shop workers are elves. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red and shiny nose, was invented in 1939 by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company.

In 1925, since grazing reindeer would not be possible at the North Pole, newspapers revealed that Santa Claus in fact lived in Finnish Lapland. "Uncle Markus", Markus Rautio, who compered the popular "Children's hour" on Finnish public radio, revealed the great secret for the first time in 1927: Santa Claus lives on Lapland's Korvatunturi - "Ear Fell" .The fell, which is situated directly on Finland's eastern frontier, somewhat resembles a hare's ears - which are in fact Santa Claus's ears, with which he listens to hear if the world's children are being nice.

Over the centuries, customs from different parts of the Northern Hemisphere thus came together and created the whole world's Santa Claus - the ageless, timeless, deathless white-bearded man who gives out gifts on Christmas and always returns to Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland.

Since the 1950s, Santa has happily sojourned at Napapiiri, near Rovaniemi, at times other than Christmas, to meet children and the young at heart. By 1985 his visits to Napapiiri had become so regular that he established his own Santa Claus Office there. He comes there every day of the year to hear what children want for Christmas and to talk with children who have arrived from around the world. Santa Claus Village is also the location of Santa's main Post Office, which receives children's letters from the four corners of the world.

Can the legend be ACCEPTED?

There are arguments that the belief is pagan and should not be accepted and entertained. The arguments become stronger when the interpreters describe this legend as an attempt by the  fallen mankind into changing "the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man”. But what I feel is Santa Claus, the smiling, generous, fictitious giver of good gifts , helps in learning the lesson of "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35) . Let the children (and the old ) give something for the furtherance of the Lord's work, and also give to others, preferably buying with their own money any gifts that they desire to give. This legend teaches them that they are to give unselfishly, without expecting anything in return. This will help to keep them from developing selfish and self-centered characters and will help them to learn the joy of giving to others and bringing blessings to them. What better example of the celebration of the Christmas spirit than a man, sainted, who gave everything to help his fellow man? St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, there's no doubt his gift keeps giving and living beyond time.

Another argument is that a child whom the parents had taught never to tell a lie becomes old enough to learn personally the truth and be amazed at the lies that his parents have told him about Santa Claus…!! And that he/she may get the feeling that they had deceived him. I find this argument senseless and baseless. By the time when the child understands this fantasy in its true sense, he/she will be mature enough to get hold of the good intentions hidden behind this harmless legend. The child will be happy to realize  that those gifts which he got for Christmas during his childhood were from his/her parents and that will only help to love both of them more and more. It can only lead to the strengthening of our family bonds. And what I feel is this is something that the spirit of Christmas is intended to do for all of us. It makes us remember that Christmas isn’t just a time to give gifts and decorate our home. It is a time to spend with our families, to love one another, and to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Also, this is the true meaning behind the legend of caring Santa.

With all these thoughts in mind, let us welcome another wonderful and meaningful Christmas season and wait for the visit of jovial, generous, fun-provoking Santa Claus.

Time Keeper

I always cherish the fond remembrances of my childhood days. We usually hear from all those renowned celebrities who give interviews in television, that they had a very colourful childhood which always had a mango orchard at the backyard of their house, lot of festivals, fun-filled days with lots and lots of cousins etc etc. My intention is not to question any of those recollections, but to stay with mine. I never had a house filled with cousins and never had such pampering during festivals. But, my childhood had been really good as far as I am concerned. If not a mango orchard, I too had the privilege of climbing atop all the known and unknown trees in our backyard to my heart’s content. As I had mentioned earlier, I stayed with my grandparents since my parents were away with their govt jobs. It was a world consisting of myself, my grandfather (an ex-service man from the royal british army) and my grandmother (a retd school teacher). Initially I did attribute both of their commitment to time to their oft-reminded professional lives, but soon did I realize that not just my grandparents, but the entire town was conspicuously serious about one thing, ie time.

Now, coming to the thought which provoked me to sit and write. There was this strange sound which echoed in the whole locality, twice daily. While questioned, I was enlightened with the name of this sound – siren. Puzzled to the core, I always wanted to see this monster who used to cry twice every day, at the same time. Like we heard from John Wheeler that ‘time is what prevents everything from happening at once’, I had to wait for many many days to see this guy who always shouted, keeping an alarm. I never realized how many days, I had this question of ‘who’, but one day, I had the rare chance to see him. That day I had accompanied my grandfather to see some guy called ‘counsellor’ at the town’s municipal office. While we were there, this ‘siren’ fellow started shouting. And, it was like deafening! I knew he was somewhere near and ran out of the old big municipal building. Thus I had spotted him, on top of a small elevated column, rested a black coloured, stupid looking creature. Wow, I gasped, as this thing could make such big noise! Now, my question had been ‘why any of these guys never bothered to make this guy silent, even after he repeated his shrieks day after day, that too at the same time!!

Years passed and in the mean time I realized the soberness of this monster. I did realize that it was made to shout everyday at 10AM and 5PM, so that the small town people realize time. When I first heard about this, it didn’t make much sense to me. Why should somebody shout at all the people, that too twice daily, just for a time-check? As always, I accounted this also to the craziness of the older generation, who took things too much to heart. But, slowly, as I observed around me, I found the value of this time-keeper. Everyone in the town, seem to realize that it was start of day and end of day when they heard these ‘sirens’. We all rushed to school, if we hear the morning siren, since we were sure that we will miss the ‘assembly’ in case of any more delay en-route. Not that we had any special concern for the assembly, but if not present by then, what awaited ahead was a guided march to the head master’s room followed by forced apologies from all of us, culprits!

Leaving us, the children, insignificant lot, who doesn’t care about time, I saw the world around me, rushing at hearing the morning siren. Men and women flocked to offices, restaurant owner Pappu Pillai Chettan ensured that his ‘today’s special’ board is displayed outside prominently, Ice stick vendor Rajan made sure of his attendance in front of the school gate etc etc. And, come evening, the siren going aloud meant that our after-school play hours at the school compound was over. We all rushed back home and on the way I could see that the world too rushed to get back home. The only people who used to rush out from their homes were Madathil Swamy and Kochucherukkan. Swamy always rushed to our nearby temple since he is the priest and need to make arrangements for the evening deparadhana. Kochucherukkan (I still wonder how his parents named him so! My first memoris about him is with all white hair and he had grandchildren) had been the caretaker (kaikkaran) of our church and he need to open the church for evening prayers. The point here is, at the evening siren, while these two gentlemen rushed out from their homes, the entire remaining population of the town hurried to get back home. Wow, what an effect, this ‘siren’ guy had!!

Thereafter, everything was almost same routine. The entire town took bath, said their prayers at dusk, had early dinner and went to bed early. It looked to me as if the town always woke up early and awaited for the ‘siren’ to get busy for the day and longed for the ‘siren’ again to sound, to wind up the day. Everything was simple, everybody was un-sophisticated and it was calm and quiet life. People found time to stop and talk to the passerby’s, visit neighbours and celebrate together for all festivals. After all, I believed, all were disciplined and guided by the ‘Siren’ monster.

Now, years further, as I sit here in the hustle-bustle of the city, at the comfort of my home, enjoying a lazy weekend, I feel – we all miss this ‘siren’ in our life. While we are flooded with lot of time-keepers around us – timepiece, mobile phone reminders, outlook/lotus pop-ups – we miss a time-check which guides us. Which ask us to start the day, get busy and also to end the day and get back home. We miss that monster which makes the entire town busy and which makes them relaxed. What we are left with is only reminders, making us conscious even while sleeping, that something or other is awaiting to be completed. While our days extend further and further to make nights look like a wink, we forget the time-keepers. No, I am not going to the oft-repeated topic of city life chaos. Me too enjoy this flow of life in this modern world. But, deep inside me, there is still that small-towner who liked to avoid all this rush. Maybe, this inherent feeling is what making me to avoid my travels as far as possible from the ‘rush hour’, when everyone in the traffic is in standstill!!

FootNote : Sometime back, on one of my visits to my town, while driving past the municipal office, I looked for that old black coloured monster. Neither he was there nor the building remained the same as earlier. Maybe, he too would have realized that his voice no longer remained as a welcome time-check but could be a cranky disturbance in the flow of today’s life. And I understood the meaning within the quote - ‘The years teach much which the days never know’

Untying the Jugger‘Knots’

The chill has started setting in, with winter round the corner and many of us could agree that there is nothing better than to do on a cold winter day, than to be at home sipping fresh hot coffee. But life here, right in the silicon valley of India, is different. Summer or winter or rain, days here are of early morning alarms, quick sleepy breakfasts, a routinely quick good day smile to the family, traffic jams, white-khaki traffic policemen who make us think roads were never meant for commuters and its only their whole-heartedness which allows us to drive through the mess, adventure driving through the never ending road and bridge constructions, more traffic jams etc etc.

I always wonder why people are always in this mad rush as soon as they got out of bed in the morning. And, I found the answer very soon. The mysterious reason behind this strenuous and challenging hurriedness is nothing but a wish to clock! In much simpler terms, they all are fleeing to swipe-in and swipe-out and to make sure that x.yz hours precisely is recorded in their office, at any cost. Almost ninety percent of this festinating crowd belongs to the IT industry, the one industry which is gratuitously glorified, because of which an entire generation of this country is ‘branded with’ and is made to ‘pay for’. Having said this because the image made available for outsiders are that, this industry has people who belong to an alien world and they are fed with all the luxuries in life while the world outside suffers. So, everywhere you go, whether it’s to the local vegetable shop, the government offices, the meat stall, the newspaper man, the cobbler… irrespective of the place, the attitude is same. Everyone out there had a simple theory written on their face and talk - You belong to the alien IT world, then why can’t you just write-off a blank cheque for me. After all, we all belong to the working and struggling class and you belong to the pampered lot !! Alas, if only they had seen the life in this industry for one day.. This is the only prayer I always had.

Now, I have strayed off enough from what I had to say. Let me introduce myself. My name is immaterial but my existence is of great importance. I am a simple ‘neck-tie’. To make my point more clear, I think the best way is to quote from Chic Simple written by Michael Solomon, "They are not particularly comfortable. They always go out of style (or back in as soon as we have thrown them out). And they are not even practical. Yet the tie remains an essential part of a man's wardrobe because it unites all the elements of a man's outfit, giving him instant respectability and, above all, it is the ultimate symbol of individuality". And, this exactly, is the story I have to share.

Long back, when I was born at Arvind mills and was tagged with the zodiac name, me too wanted to make my prints in this wonderful world. I too dreamt of being wrapped around the neck or shoulders of a high-flying executive, resting under the premium shirt’s collar and knotted at that throat which speaks about multibillion dollar deals. I felt exalted when I had been chosen among my friends and was gift wrapped and taken home by this wonderful lady who wanted to gift me to her husband. I felt the welcoming world around me while I was dreaming about my way to glory. The endless board room discussions which I will be part of; to get introduced to many foreign friends who will come being worn by their owners who wanted to discuss business deals with my man; to be friendly with all of them irrespective of them belonging to bow, ascot, bolo or clip-on families; to enjoy the climate and wind in all those foreign countries where my owner will wear me to…etc etc….

The next day, when I stood windsor knotted on his neck, at the grand entrance of this numbered biggest organization; I never realized that I was standing at the precipice of my life! As I walked in, I started to see this alien IT world, atleast for the neck-tie family. I could see all the sort of knots I could ever think of. Or, should I call that knots itself? Suddenly, I happened to see a cool guy flashing a colorful friend of mine. There was no knot at all; there was no case of ‘one end is longer than the other end’. This fellow didn’t wrap around the neck, but just fluxed around the collar, over the shoulder and stood strikingly at a filmy pose. The only parallel I can draw here is how Urmila Matondkar coils a saree upon herself in RGV films. Where, the saree is definitely present but conspicuously un-blocking the interesting views. Same here, the neo-windsor knotted tie just made some elegant curls and rested on the shirt, hardly making a presence. It didn’t take much time for me to understand the reason behind these fashion-istas. On the second week of my visit to office, I could sadly find myself being crumpled, crinkled and hunkered down into the darkness of the laptop bag’s side-pocket, as soon as the heavily guarded entrance is crossed. I just realized my role as a penalty-saver where a couple hundred bucks will be retained in the paycheck, if and only if I wrap myself around his shirt, whenever he crosses the entrance.

From then onwards, my life was mostly confined to the laptop bag, along with the power cable, longing for fresh air. The only relief I received had been for the two days in every week when I see the walk from parking-lot to entrance and way back. My most awaited day-out had been the wash I used to get from the lady of the house, once in every month. Even at this point, I am not sure why this guy always disagreed to his wife’s proposal of giving me a wash. But thankfully, in accordance with the general family rules of the human race, always the lady won, and I used to get my regular wash.

I should say, my life inside the bag had been fairly monotonous. But, soon did I find out that I was happy for the same. Once in a while when I get time talking to other friends who are worn by my man’s friends, while on our way to the machine-gun guarded entrance, I substantiated beyond doubt that mine was not the worst experience. I could see all sort of abuse to the ‘neck-tie’ community, which is instilled by the cruel human race. There were few of my friends who had become allergic to water and they will even bounce-off the rain drops falling on them by mistake. This had been a cultivated habit from the day they were first worn, deprived of the privilege of a wash in life, making perceptible presence right through the complete office hours, being dedicated corporate citizens, all through these many productive years. Maybe, it is my intuition, but I felt the piercing smell of these deos and perfumes are nothing but a pre-meditated effort to keep this natural tie-stink at bay.

To add, in summer, I could see my friends drenched in sweat, trying to drip through the shelby knots. I can hardly visualize people who can think of this as sexy as ‘tip-tip barsa paani’, while the world around realizes that we were not intended to make our appearances in tropical summer time. Right from the days of our ancestors, the steinkirks, stocks, solitaires and cravats, we were invited in-accordance with the weather. Even emperor Shih Huang Ti of China, your very neighbor, had considered us as an ultimate honour bestowed on his soldiers, and not a regular uniform material. Here, I continue to see my friends, tagged around for wiping the face after a sip of mid-day break coffee, carelessly hanging and made to dip into the grand gala festival lunch offered on special days in the cafeteria, wiping the sweat after a cycling tour to meet the friend sitting at the other end of the campus, peeping out of the shirt pocket while the men are seriously discussing business matters in conference rooms etc etc. To make a final remark, most of us never got the liberty to un-knot and knot again. The one knot which was made on day one, was retained till eternity, and it was just tightening and loosening around the neck which was the routine.

Today, I feel, is an important day of my life. I had the privilege of walking into the office hours again. I could hear many goodbye bids and I am surprised. It is evening and I am getting the privilege of getting un-knotted. Finally!! Out of the wrinkled days in the bag pocket, I suppose. But, oh no, you shouldn’t have done this to me! I am being thrown at this big entrance and I can see my man walking away from me. No, he is not looking back and hence this is not a mistake. I realize that I am still at the same old precipice of my life even though there is a deliberate push to make me fall. I lie here, in a box next to this entrance, thinking about my future.
Either I could make history and become the first public utility ‘neck-tie’ in the world, being used on a daily basis by people who forgot to get their own knots and still want to save the bucks. In this case, I will live the rest of my life in this box, making my entry and exit through the entrance, wrapped upon different necks. Else, I would be considered as yet another symbol of a reactive generation of the country and will be picked up by the security personnel today and will be thrown out to the free world outside, to be chewed by stray dogs and to be buried in the Bangalore dirt when the next rain pours down. Drowning all my sorrows. Here I am, awaiting my destiny..un-knotted !

FootNote :
A man was crawling through a desert and soon he was approached by another man who was riding on a camel so when that rider came near to him this man whispered through his parched lips “Please...Can you give me some water….”

The rider replied him that “I am sorry because I don’t have any water with me but I could sell you a neck tie”.

The crawling man again whispered “Necktie? But I need water! I am dying”

Again the riding man said “There are only four dollars a piece”.

The man replied “I need water”.

“Okay two for just seven dollars”.

The thirsty man exclaimed “Please…… I need water”.

“I don’t have any water I have only ties” said the salesman and headed off into a distance.
By this time the man lost all track of time because he was crawling through the desert for many days. With clothes tattered and skin peeling under the restless sun he soon came near a restaurant. With his last breathe of strength he staggered to the door and confronted the head waiter.

The dying man again pleaded “Water.. Can I get… water”?

The waiter replied to him “I am sorry sir; our dress code requires a NECK TIE”.