COURT VERDICTS A CONSPIRACY?

"It is a conspiracy", "I am victimized", “to eliminate me from politics”, these are usual expressions of politicians when court verdicts go against them. Does it mean that the courts are party to the conspiracy?

Court verdicts cannot be conspiracy or victimisation. Their detractors might have conspired to bring it before the court. In the court they had defended the case. They should have proved the conspiracy theory before the courts.  Courts pronounce judgments after weighing the evidence.Then how can they say like this once the judgement comes out??

PILGRIMS' PROGRESS

  Sabarimala is the abode of 'Lord Ayyappa' visited by millions, and overcrowded during 'Mandala-Makaravilakku' season. Widening of the 'pathinettampadi'(18 holy steps) and 'sreekovil' door is not the soulution. If that is the case, it will be more easy that 'Lord Ayyappa' is kept in the open atop a tall pedastal and steps constructed all around so that thousands can get darshan in one minute!

  Pilgrims visit there knowing well the difficulties to reach the sanctum-sanctorum and they like to have 'darshan' of 'Bhagavan' in the present set-up. Reformists may call it foolish or meaningless but one should remember that the whole thing moves around the 'belief' that 'Lord Ayyappa' is there at Sabarimala and hence the devotees have every right to stick to the old rituals and the narrow '18 steps' and sreekovil door.

   Using Sabarimala as a means to make money by the Deveswaom Board and its officials and politicians is the basic reason for the inhuman conditions prevailing there. The motto of the Devaswom is to make money and inroder to achieve it they exploit and fleece the innocent devotees. Once they think about the devotees and forget the share of the loot and implement the following welfare measures the whole situation will change.

1. Allow entry only through Pathinettampadi.

2. Stop the 'darshan' given by Thanthri and Melshanthi.

3.Supply free food to all and remove all kinds of shops/stalls from Pamba,on trekking path and  at Sannidhanam.

4.Swami Ayyappan road to be developed for exclusive return journey.

5.Dismantle the aravana and appam plant from Sannidhanam and install at Nilackal and supply aravana at Nilackal and Pamba only.

6.Stop padipooja of devotees.

7.Develop Nilackal as the base camp.

WORLD CUP FRENZY

Soccer fans the world over had sumptuous feast for the last one month with 32 teams and 64 intensely played matches. The curtain came down on the World Cup on Sunday night with Spain winning the coveted World Cup. Football- a real entertaining game, fast and thrilling, loved by almost all. And Shakira was so enchanting and captivating still haunting with her Waka Waka.

World cup fever caught Kerala also. Not the ordinary fever but the fierce variety. Made people delirious. They put huge flex boards and banners of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Germany teams and big cut-outs of Messy and others. Made mock world cup matches with celebrities kicking off. People were mad after world cup. Media did their part by sending reporters all over Kerala to get live coverage of football celebrations giving maximum propaganda.

Don’t blame media. Publicity is their bread. But what about the hysteria people have shown? India was nowhere near the doorstep of the world cup. Pathetically failed to cross even the round 1 qualifying match! What difference it would have made for us if Brazil won the cup in the place of Spain or if Holland won? Nothing. Is it not like crying for USA or China to win gold in the Olympics? So the frenzy we saw in Kerala was nothing but hypocrisy and an act of escapism.

MILMA- ATM

Milma is introducing milk vending machines in the line of ATM. You swipe a card and there comes out milk pouches. Milk was sold in the conventional glass bottles earlier and with the advent of Milma, plastic pouches came into existence in the name of convenience. Over the years the empty milk pouches invaded every inch of Kerala posing a threat to the ecology.

Now Milma is coming out with vending machines they can do away with these pouches to a great extend and restrict the plastic menace if some changes are made in their idea. Machines dispensing milk directly the customers’ containers can be installed. This method was successfully run by Mother Dairy years back in Delhi, by dispensing half litre chilled milk for a token. As these machines are to be kept in flat complexes and residential complexes, carrying own containers will not be inconvenient for the consumers, like going to the milkman’s house with utensils to collect milk in the olden days. Milma can also think of dispensing milk in old type reusable glass bottles through the machines. Now Milma is spending money in a large way to introduce ATM machines it is time for them to think of these two methods.

HARTHAL - PETROL 15/10

The very thought of harthal makes nausea. But there is another harthal imposed on Kerala on 5th July. Second in row in a weeks’ time. Both for the same reason- Petrol price hike. Success of harthal depends on 3 factors-Official sponsorship, Political patronage and third Publicity by media. A local harthal called for Thiruvananthapuram district on 1st July was a flop as none of these factors helped them and life was absolutely normal that day.

We cannot expect such luck in the next harthal on 5th July as all these three factors are very much active already. So it is now for the people to act and resist harthals. First thing is to change our mindset of celebrating harthals. Avoid thronging at the wineshops and chicken shops on harthal eve for distress purchase of wine and meat. Let there be no advance preparation for harthal. Let it be like any other day. If possible reach workplace. If the harthal supporters are so adamant in preventing you in reaching office,declare the next holiday as a wroking day and work to compensate the lost harthal day. Let the shops open immediately at the closing of harthal. Let us request media not to give wide publicity to harthal. Talk everywhere against harthal and create awareness among people about the evils of harthal and how it destroys our country.Things will definitely change in the near future.

A Name for Harthal

Harthals are quite frequent that one forgets when it was held and what for it was done. So let us start naming it like the latest trend in cyclones. First cyclone this year  was 'Laila' named by Pakistan  and second 'Phet' named by Myanmar. Similarly let this harthal be “PETROL 15/10” (15 denotes the number of harthal and 10 year 2010) and from next harthal onwards chance to be given to each party in rotation to suggest names.