Tomichan Matheikal's blog

As Mr Narendra Modi completes 75, let me extend heartiest greetings from a faithful critic of his. May he live long and work for a better India, at least better than what he has made of it in the last decade. It is a different matter that he expelled many of his partymen at the age of 75 from active life. The leader of the RSS, the organisation that shaped Modi’s ideology, reminded Modi a few weeks back that “When you turn 75, it means you should stop now and make way for others.” Of course, we know that Modi won’t listen to anyone simply because he doesn’t consider anyone worthy of giving him counsel. I can write a voluminous book on how Modi could (and should) change himself on his 75 th birthday so that the nation will change itself revolutionarily. As a fatalist, however, I desist from doing anything of the sort and console myself that Modi ji is part of India’s current destiny. When the Saturn changes its position in the cosmic setup, India’s destiny will alter too. Wait for tha...

I’ve been a bit out of sorts lately. I couldn’t do anything properly. Not even reading. My blogging met with unusual intervals and I ascribed that to writer’s block though my heart said it wasn’t. The whole mood changed today, a few minutes back. Life is so simple, sometimes. My car’s music system had stopped functioning a few weeks back. I gave my car for an earlier-than-usual service because driving had felt as dull as a movie without dialogue or food without salt ever since the music system went silent. The car was serviced but the music didn’t turn on. “You’ll have to change the speakers,” the service mechanic said. I managed to find time this morning to get the speakers changed. And my life changed radically. Happiness is so simple an affair. The young boy who was replacing the speakers turned on the stereo system as he was working and the song that came instantly was from a Malayalam movie of 1989. Let me give the link to the song and the scene in the movie below. I’m sur...

Illustration by Copilot Designer Why did India agree to play Pakistan at all if the animosity runs so deep that Indian players could not even extend the customary handshake: a simple ritual that embodies the very essence of sportsmanship? Cricket is not war, in the first place. When a nation turns a game into a war, it does not defeat its rival; it only wages war on its own culture, poisoning its acclaimed greatness. India which claims to be Viswaguru , the world’s Guru, is degenerating itself day after day with mounting hatred against everyone who is not Hindu. How can we forget what India did to a young cricket player named Mohammed Siraj , especially in this context? In the recent test series against England, India achieved an unexpected draw because of Siraj. 1113 balls and 23 wickets. He was instrumental in India’s series-levelling victory in the final Test at the Oval and was declared the Player of the Match. But India did not celebrate him. Instead, it mocked him for his o...

Book Discussion An Introductory Note : This is not a book review but a reflection on one of the many themes in The Infatuations , novel by Javier Marias. If you have any intention of reading the novel, please be forewarned that this post contains spoilers. For my review of the book, without spoilers, read an earlier post: The Infatuations (2013). D eath can reshape the reality for the survivors of the departed. For example, a man’s death can entirely alter the lives of his surviving family members: his wife and children, particularly. That sounds like a cliché. Javier Marias’ novel, The Infatuations , shows us that death can alter a lot more; it can reshape meanings, relationships, and even morality of the people affected by the death. Miguel Deverne is killed by an abnormal man right in the beginning of the novel. It seems like an accidental killing. But it isn’t. There are more people than the apparently insane killer involved in the crime and there are motives which are di...