Oman Diary – Coming Soon

FIVE DAYS BEFORE EID

In this blog, I have chronicled our life in Sohar. the chronicle begins with the day we visited Lulu and ends with the day Oman celebrated Id. I was still using crutches and walker. 5 days of our life were recorded in X1 Office Word and later on complied together for this blog.

17-09-09

I decided to chronicle the daily events of my life. After a gap of 5 days I finally ventured out to the shopping area. I didn't get out of the car; I sat inside and watched the crowd and the activities. There were lots of things to watch. Families flocking towards Lulu to do Ramadan shopping. Shincy went inside to buy things for the household. Me and Saed sat and watched the world moving by. It was a boring thing to do, but I was helpless. One thing I was preoccupied with was watching different types of cars - from Toyota to Audi. It was an interesting exercise especially after the prolonged stay at home. Today Anjali shifted to a new flat somewhere near Indian school. We never had a hand in glove existence but she leaves behind a miniscule sense of emptiness.

18-09-09

Sheetal's visit. After a year long time some relatives visited our home. Sheetal, Rakesh, Ryan and their friend Shony and family. They were enroute to Muscat and they took a pit stop here. We had prepared food and a Kerala delicacy called pazham porichuthu. We tried our best to make them comfortable. They were bit surprised by our 'overflowing hospitality'. After our guests left us, me and Shincy were occupied with updating our Orkut profile. We added some new photos into our albums and created some new albums.

19-09-09

Today was an uneventful day. Shincy washed lots of clothes and she cooked lunch. For dinner we plan to eat some fruits and the local bread called khoobs. Did multiviewing of three Malayalam movies. Not even one was riveting. Six more days for the college to reopen. Time to relax and make the right moves. After taking bath in the evening I started watching the movie - Ruins in HBO. After sometime Shine also joined me. We were bit shaken by the man eating creeper plants. We found redemption through Shrek 3 and slept.

20-09-09

The day was quite uneventful because we got up late. We had some brunch watching the repeat telecast of Ruins. We had some discussion over the creepy situation especially the carnivorous creepers. The day passed away just like. I played for sometime and Uma aunty came in that time to exchange some pleasantries. After prayer and supper we sat watching TV and got hooked to this Malayalam movie - Mattoral (another person) starring Karamana, Mammoty, Urvasi and Seema. The movie explored marital bonds in bold way. We slept like two babies after watching that. Time was 3:00 am.

21-09-09

Today is Eid. Saed came in the morning to give Omani bread and beef stew. After that Mohammed came with chicken rice, sweet and beef fry. We didn't cook anything. As usual got up very late. Evening Uma aunty invited us to join them for a ride. It was a blessing for both of us since we could take in some fresh air. Shincy did some essential shopping. Our Tamil neighbours paid a visit for the first time.

Dr. V. J. Mathew – An Obituary

A few days back Dr V. J passed away. A name that was quite popular in Loyola college, Chennai, for 25 years. He retired from Loyola as the HOD of the English Department and became the co-ordinator of the Self-financed English Department. Then after two years of service he took up the post of Principal of Mar Gregorias College, Chennai. He was involved with AIMS personality development program developed by Sunny Tharappan. He was an avid reader. He liked to walk and talk. He was an excellent teacher. He was a prolific orator.He was my teacher. He made me – He made me discover the student within me. He made me discover the writer in me. He made me discover the teacher in me, He made me to discover the reader in me, He made me to discover the rebel within me. Sir, I will miss you like anything, I love you and may your soul rest  in peace.

Eleven years back, me and my father stood outside the English Department of  Loyola college. We were there waiting for the HOD to get take the entrance exam for admission into the Master’s program. The office assistant, Stella, made us sit and asked us to wait. After some minutes Dr VJ walked into the room. He was wearing a white corduroy and a printed shirt with large collars. He had a silver watch on his wrist and he was wearing classes. He gave me the question paper and asked me to sit in one corner and write. The next day I became a Loyalite. the day also marked my association with Dr. VJ. In our time table he was known as VJM. He taught us PD in the first semester. Then Chaucer, Phonetics, and British poetry in the consecutive semesters . His classes were a heady mixture of info and entertainment. He had his own unique style of handling English Literature. He was also known for his VJ jokes which used to appear in the department newsletter. Sample this:

Son: Dad, which one is more intoxicating?  whisky or brandy

Father: Neither of them, it is Lewinsky…

His classes were never missed and I used to worship him from a distance. We both had a commonality in our names. He was targeted many times for his Malayali roots. I remember that even I was targeted for possessing the same name. Sir,I am so proud that i have your name. It was through him that I received a letter for my first job which i didn’t take up.  the strange is that he is the one who informed me about the opportunity in Nepal and he is the one who dissuaded me from going there. I am sure that he was watching me from a distance maybe he didn’t want to openly show his concern for me fearing a local backlash.

After Masters I joined MCC for my M.Phil and even that time I remember the letter of reference that he had given to Prof. Vishnu Bhatt. It was like our bond was extending even beyond the 100 acre Loyola campus. When I got through my UGC exam I had applied for the post in Loyola and even there, he were present as the HOD of the newly formed SFS English department. I thus became a teacher with his blessings. Sir, I am so happy and i feel blessed that I started my career with you. I remember my first class and how you asked me about the experience after the class. I was amused by the way he used to gel with the young and the old alike.Che, Sugnathi and me were the Young Turks and Prof Arockia Dass and Jeyadoss - the old army. Che and me had numerous discussions with him in the canteen. He was specially interested in the author Fritjof Capra and his book – The Tao of Physics. Che and me, one day took him to watch the movie – A Beautiful Mind. He was so excited about the event. I remember how tensed he was when his brand new Santro hit a tree and had a dent. he was upset for some days. Dr VJ used to be upset for even small things. Maybe he was a sensitive being ( Just like me)

Once i joined MCC as a teacher, I used to visit him at home. We used to go for short walks which sometimes ended near the church. He used to talk about his daughter who got settled in the US and how he loved her. He told me in a funny how she forced him to watch movies related to American style wedding when he visited her for the marriage.His second daughter was more like him – especially when it came to reading. I had befriended many books through him during these home visits. Da Vinci Code was one among them.

I am missing a good friend, a great teacher and moreover a good human being… and i know that i am not the only one…

the weekend post

hoolala
just checking my new window. 

What’s in a Name?

The inspiration behind this blog came from the noise that my female colleagues create in the office room. They are both away from their homes and they have this special knack to refer to their kids and spouse using different names. Some words are charged and may cause some shock waves in the listener's heart. Anyway this made me think about this whole idea of naming people. Being a student of literature it will be easy for me to talk about the signifier/signified/the significant other and the act of labelling. But I feel there is more to it.

Naming is an act of description. In the Indian context a child is born with different names. His face will give him a name. His nose will give him a name. His smile will bestow a name on him. His gait will give him a name. The planetary influences will give him a name. The list is really endless. Two names will remain with him/her forever i.e. Pet name and his official name. Some of the common pet names found in India are - chintu, chikku, unni, and mani. Even here the list is endless. The official name is the name is the one found in your educational certificates and official documents like passport. This name is chosen with much care and deliberation. Usually the letters from the parental names are combined to make the name. Parents will spend many sleepless nights making these names. Sometimes they do get some lovely names but most often they don’t. Sometimes names of dead ancestors or family names are also added to main name. So a typical Indian name will have a First name, a Middle name and a Surname. Apart from this the name will also carry initials.

Being a Christian I got three names with me. One is my pet name (Kunjumon) which is still the name with which my parents and relatives address me. The official name is Premjith Mathew. I shortened that name into Prem. Now my-in-laws refer to me as Prem. In the church records I am known Joseph. I did have some nicknames with me – the one which I still remember is Valdo. Even my spectacles earned me a name – Kannadi. But these days I have acquired a new name- Baby face.

My name official name is bit strange and different from others. Premjith – it looks like a North Indian name. I still don’t know how my parents managed to conjure up this name.

Whenever I watch movies depicting the Red Indians in USA. I am fascinated by their names. In movies like Hidalgo, Spirit – The Stallion of the Cimarron, Dancing with the Wolves and Apocalypto we can learn a lot about the Red Indian life style and their act of naming. The Red Indian names are usually lengthy and explain a lot about one main characteristic trait of the individual. Their names will be like this – Eagle of the Sun, One who yawns, He who combs, One that walks on four claws, He makes noise. Their names are really interesting but I doubt whether they really call themselves like this today.

In India, I feel nothing is left without a name. Vehicles are named, animals are named and even trees are named. Indian cinema industry to a certain extent thrives on this naming business. The movie names are only chosen after astrological consultations. It is quite common for celebrities to change their names according to the numerological patterns so that it will bring good luck and charm.

the new window for my words

this is again a new experience
long way to go
good luck to myself