The Hammer, the Sickle & the Trident.

If someone asks me that what is the distance from God's own country to  the Godforsaken country, I would promptly answer that it is the width of the river of blood of 969 people hacked to death since 1946 in Kerala over political issues. 

Kerala had always been a politically sensitive state thanks to high levels of literacy, a diverse population of varying religions and ideologies. We have kids who adore Che Guvera and Veer Savarkar, literature that praises Saddam and Stalin, educational institutions sworn to political parties and hordes of men ready to die for their cause. Kerala is a unique mix where you find intellectual’s turns to goons and the goons are often Phd holders. Yes we are a real nut case as Swami Vivekananda once observed.

Kannur, a northern district of Kerala first made its appearance in the annuals of history as the bastion of Pazhyi Raja, the chieftain who waged a guerrilla war against the British rule. Kannur has a history of martial prowess and is still glorified with display of Theyyam, training in kalaripayittu and occasionally fatal violence. The early struggles in the history of district was between the goons of the landlords and first generation communists. After the fall of feudalism, the struggle shifted to beedi (country cigarette) factories where the cooperative factories run by the communist trade unions clashed with the workers of private companies. Many of these private workers were immigrants from the neighboring state of Karnataka where right wing Jana Sangh, a precursor of the BJP was strong. The state of emergency in 1975 fueled both communist as well as the Sangh growth in Kerala as both of them worked actively but independently against it. The upper cast Hindu gravitated towards the RSS fold while the middle level Ezhavas flocked to the communist side. With the conclusion emergency, both the groups had established fortified (figure of speech) villages and shakas (basic unit of RSS functionaries) where arms, ammunition and men to wield them were plenty.

Kannur is home to several stalwarts of the communist party including AK Goplan, EK Nayanar and Pinarayi Vijayan. Meanwhile the serene Payyambalam beach in Kannur is the final resting place of many leaders of the state and all of this made the district the de facto Mecca of Indian Communists. The growth of right wing RSS whose ideologies are polar opposite to the commies was initially an irritation, then a menace and recently a threat for the CPI(M). Aggressive campaigning and increase in number of shakas with the dominance of Sangh affiliated parties elsewhere in India resulted the increase in electoral capital of BJP in the state.

Let us ask a nonpolitical, everyman in Kerala a question.

“Who did you vote for and why?”

“The congress, because there will be less violence”

People prefer a party notorious of corruption, nepotism and scandals over viable alternatives. Why?

Records show that of the 96 political killings recorded in Kannur since January 1995, 42 were victims affiliated to the BJP-RSS and 40 were from the CPI(M). Yes there is violence from other parties in the state too but a tit for tat coffin count is often seen between the game of deaths played by the Communist and their Sangh rivals. One group wants to consolidate their power while the other attempts to wrench it away. In the recent election trends, it was seen that the opposition UDF headed by the Congress is on a decline while the LDF throned by CPI(M) holds hegemony against an rapidly rising BJP which leads the NDA. The generous support offered by the central government and out of state players gives fuel for the BJP to push its agenda in the state and have succeeded in placing themselves in a firm position. They managed to win a seat at the state assemble after 60 years and came up close second in several places and also in the local elections at the state capital BJP emerged as the primary opposition. 

The CPI(M) though the strongest party in the state began to feel the heat at their heels and initated counter measures to check this growth of BJP. The right wing on the other hand pushed hard to make space for their roots to run deep and once the unstoppable force met the immovable wall, violence erupted.

It is said that in politics, power is supreme and there is no limit for the measures one could take to grab that power. Killings and revenge killings forms the ultimate atrocity perpetuated by political parties to achieve this goal. Kerala is not the first place in the world to witness political murders and will definitely not be the last yet what is most disturbing is that this fatal wastage of human lives is happening in the most developed, literate and en-lighted society in India.

In war, it is always the pawns that get slaughtered en mass while the dukes and kings live in relative comfort. In this new age political battle the losers are almost always the foot soldiers of the respective parties who hail from low income, socially backward and often broken families while the leaders and their families lives in safety and comfort. In few occasions, attacks have happened on leaders too but they are statically few. The people who perpetuates violence too are of the same back ground and in many events the murderer in a crime becomes the victim in the next and the cycle goes on.  These political vendettas once endemic to Kannur district now have sprouted to many including the capital district of Trivandrum.

The legal proceedings of such crimes often get entangled in red tape and drags into decades while the mob would have had their justice long before. The new case will then begin its tedious crawling through the slush of judiciary. It is just not enough to condemn when a violent act takes place and a wife becomes a widow or a son an orphan but definite steps must be taken to curb this cancer of political violence.

I for one recommend a dedicated task force selected from the state and central police force with both investigative and law and order divisions to act against political violence; under the control of the election commission. The election commission is a preferred head for this purpose as they are free from the interference of both state and central governments and also a division of court exclusively for political crimes. These measures will take much man power and will to achieve but keeping in mind that every life lost is a world collapsed, we the people inclusive of Commies, Sanghies and you Congies can build a better, safer tomorrow for us and our children.

Psss..... All images are random ones collected through a google search, the statistics are all adopted from various news articles including Indian Express, The Hindu and Times of India.

Psss 2... Commie - Communists; Sangi - RSS/BJP worker, Congi - Congress worker.

Pssss 3.... In retaliation to the North Indian media paining Kerala as a killing field (I am looking at you Republic & co) Malayalees have pulled up the statics which shows our murder and violence rate is very less compared to elsewhere in the country. Though I am glad to hear it, those small numbers in the list are lives ended, families shattered and dreams turned to ashes. With our level of social development, nothing but a new age Utopia must flourish here. 

Asura - Tale of the Vanquished : Review

One of the early memories of my child hood is reading Amar Chitra Katha. An illustrated comics which tells the stories of valor and righteousness and victory of good over evil. The makers of this comics found that Indian mythology is more profitable to market that various flying strong men who wear undies over pants in India. We read tales from Mahabharatha and Ravana, fashioned bows and arrows after our hero Ram & Arjun and shot them at imaginary Ravana or at our friends and siblings. The blockbuster TV shows of the 90's too were the stories of these two epics and all our festivals were in honor of these mythical heroes or if I may, the Gods. We did not even spare a moment to empathize with Duryodhanan who wanted to rule the land after his father or with Bali, who was sniped when battling his brother. We did hate Ravanan and his ferocious Asura followers without considering his insult when his assaulted and bleeding sister came wailing to the court. We loved the tall, fair, horse riding, soft speaking, hard hitting Devas and their chieftains. 

I consider these epics as excellent literature works that showed the rich imagination and forethought of the respective authors. To talk about a flying machine when you are busy hitting each other with a femur is an achievement by itself. Sometime down the lane someone took these books too seriously , incorporated religion and provided it with a Godly aura. Many interpretations of these epics exists but most of them are too much philosophical jargon which a mortal like me can't fathom.  Then came Anand Neelakandan's Asura - Tale of the vanquished.  

I had seen this book many time at stores, both online and on shelves and felt curious how can one justify arguably the most evil literary villain ever? The one who went on a rampage through all three worlds,  who shamelessly abducted another mans wife, have done atrocities against the pious and the godly men and even sent his son Indrajith to attack and sack the abode of Gods. Well Anand Neelakandan just humanizes Ravanan in the book. He speaks of Ravanan as a man who through hardships and effort rises to be the king of Lanka and launches a military campaign to subdue his quarrelsome neighbors. Ravana is painted as a man of many skills and even more faults. In my favourate, passage of the book, Mahabali, an exile Asura king tutoring Ravanan the need to forgo all his emotions, despair, prejudices and fears to conquer himself to be above human nature and be the greatest Emperor the world have seen and be the face that reflects all but shows nothing. Ravanan promptly replies that it is those emotions which makes a man and he would gladly live and die as a true man rather than hide behind an indifferent veil. He would proudly display all ten of those emotions which his mentor advised him to shun earning him the name Dashamukha.

The narration of the book is done from Ravanan's perspective and from that of Bhadra, a lowly foot soldier. I found Bhadra's character to be more compelling than Ravanans. In every other sword and sandal book I have read, foot soldiers just drink, rape, kill and be killed. But in this one, we see the life of a soldier and how the actions of high and mighty affect the peasants. We witness what drive the cowardly man to be a soldier, his family life and the turmoil he faces. Bhadra is a devoted follower of Ravanan but hates him with equal fervor throughout the book. The life of these two characters are intertwined and make the book a complex yet thoroughly entertaing one. Anand Neelaknadan has taken the epic, rotated it 180 and made a blockbuster out of it. He does capitalises on dormant Dravida (South Indian) emotions to sell the book and to strike a chord with his aimed readers. The book may be a bit uncomfortable to two group of people, one the ultra conservative Hindus and two the general population who doesn't belong to the Dravida family. If you could keep aside your prejudice and read the book with an open mind, you will agree with me as Anand Neelakandan is in par or a cut above Amish & co.

"Ravana sees himself as the epitome of a complete human being; So, Rama may be seen as God but Ravana is the more complete man" - This is the one line that hooked me into the novel and I am glad that I read it.

Biting the Bullet

That sound; that damn sound. That's how it begins for most of us.

Motorcycling in India is broadly classified into two. The boys who ride plastics and men who ride the Bullet. This image was cultivated carefully by the Royal Enfield Company fanning masculinity as an equivalent of a huge monster that wakes up the neighborhood when it comes roaring in. Our superstars who rode it into battle the villains and the legend of how the Indian army ordered a batch of Bullets to patrol the Himalayan ridges eventually gave the bike a status of manhood.  

A typical bullet tripper

Then came the age of Indian trippers. Not the weed rolling, pot smoking type but the kind of leather clad guys who tie up huge bags, a couple of petrol cans and ride to the far corners of the country in seek of something. They invariably choose members of the RE stable, primary due to their seating comfort, high torque in low gears and most importantly because it looked cool. People frown at you if you ride into Spithi valley in a Splendor but on a Bullet you are one of the tribe. Bullet clubs popped up and soon the roads were choked with bullets. And the kind of morons^TM who swap a well-researched and built part of the bike like the silencer with the kind that deafens a rock because that makes you look hip.

No one popularized Bullet than Lalettan

A relative of mine, who lives nearby had a Bullet when I was in school. I used to wake up in the morning listening to his attempt to start the machine. Upon starting its roar used to give me goose bumps and when I ride my bicycle I used to imagine I was upon that magnificent machine. I tried my best to convince my dad to buy one but he progressed from Bajaj Chetak to Honda Activa to TVS Victor and then onward to four wheels.  Unlike me he was a practical man! My first chance to get my hands on a RE came in 2009 when I cleared my dental graduation. My parents have offered to buy me a bike and they were sure I would opt for a Bullet.

Real life cops with their ride

 Surprise! I went and bought a Yamaha FZ. I gave my reasons as it was economical, better engine, and less cost but the truth was that I was scared of riding the bullet. The guys I saw at that time riding the bullets were either policemen or the kind of people the policemen chases or occasionally chases the policemen. I being neither of them did not want that kind of albatross around my neck, hence a humble Yamaha.

Stuff the Army daredevils do with their Bullets

Couple years down the lane RE revamped their models, introduced the new efficient, economical and better constructed UCE engines. They boasted of the build quality of that of the Japanese plastics, the royalty of British heritage and as an icing on the cake RE was taken over by an Indian company. I am too much of a patriot and had grown some balls by that time so need to buy one ASAP. I began the war for a Bullet at home but my parents simply ignored me stating that I had my chance and I blew it, now if I want a Bullet make my own money and buy it. Well if I had my own money, why should I ask them? Indian parents logic!

The kind of shit I hates

It took me another 5 years to buy my dream bike. In 2016, I had saved enough money in between paying the education loans for a Bullet. As I always wanted I bought a silver Electra and fell in love with her at first sight. I call her 'The Spirit' and my wife suspects that she is more of a mistress than a motorcycle for me.  I give her regular baths, dusts her almost daily, services her on date and of recent my toddler son shows the equal or even increased vigor than me toward her. The service amounts are atrocious, the maintenance costly and the risk of stalling pretty high still every morning rain or shine, I take my time to caress her engine to start, enjoys my commutes to work and look forward during my job to ride her back. I know I am in love!

My Beauty

One year have passed, most of her rubber tubes have been replaced for failures of them means that I will be trapped on the road with an immovable behemoth. Yesterday I noticed the paint flaking off from the battery covers and rust creeping in under a few nuts and bolts. It’s just those wrinkles you get when you grow old, but on the bike all you need is to buy a new part and swap it. There as good as new. Whenever she refuses to start on a particularly cold morning, I just remember of the good time we had climbing up the misty hills of Idukky or burning the tarmac under a hot Tamil sun. I never swear at her but gently coax her to sputter and let her heart roar out her love to me. 

For another commute, for another adventure.

Stages of my life. Teenager to Colleger to a Bulleteer.