The Cyber Communist

Thaniyan sat there in the bench at Kuttappan's Kallu shop thinking deeply. Looking at the news paper once in a while, then looking down, at times looking up at the roof. Something was disturbing him. He ordered a bottle of Kallu.

After downing two glasses , his mouth was open. He was open.

"Julian Assange" he shouted.

What is that? some one asked from behind.

Read this... he passed the news paper to the person behind the question...

He read it aloud...

"Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion..."

But this man was in the watch list of governments around the world for releasing thousands of US diplomatic cables. ? So is this arrest really for what is charged?
Samikkutty asked

Read further. Thaniyan retorted

"The Swedish Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for Julian Assange. The head of communications, said there are two separate allegations from two women - one of rape and one of molestation. Both women reportedly say that what started as consensual sex became non-consensual."

With that Gopalettan began to laugh convulsively. he could not stop laughing. His humor sensor was the most sensitive in the whole village.

One by one everybody joined the laugh , and soon the whole shop was laughing at the reason for an arrest which has global attention. A reason for a reason. A reason with a lot of laughing potential. The ultra busy - serious looking - non-breathing crowd of modern world needs such reasons to keep themselves healthy. Anyway a laugh can't hurt unless it is aimed derisively at a single individual.

With great difficulty Gopalettan stopped his laugh and said

Here the mans universal weakness of not able to stop what he has started constituted crime.

He again laughed in chorus with others in the shop. This time with more power. There was unity in that laugh. It came directly from their hearts. These kind of laughs may have the ability to topple governments.

Even though Kuttappan was slightly worried that his shop's roof may not be able to contain such powerful laughter, he too could not control his laugh.... Let the roof fly.. he thought.. and enjoyed every bit of the narcotic effects of a blissful laugh.

For everyone in that shop the law was getting too complicated. They ordered more bottles.

Why can't they arrest him for espionage.

May be there are legal complications as his case involves multiple countries with conflicting law.

Now what?

Well, we have to wait and see.

Samikkutty is a very active communist and can influence his local party leaders into picking up the Wikileaks issue. Any way Communist party is starving for issues now and they desperately need one so that they can agitate, strike, make martyrs and live their life like a real communist.

Narayanan did not like Wiki leaks because he believed leaking documents is not good.

Samikkutty explained him.

If there is a hole , there will be leak.

It is the Government's duty to patch the hole. Just because it landed in Julian's hand we came to know about it. It could have reached wrong hands in any given wrong time. These are the Governments that we trust and so we elect, but they are not doing their job. To make matters worse they arrested the guy and charged him with a funny crime. It's such a shame.

While discussions continued something was taking shape in Samikkuty's mind. He had plans for Julian Assange.

At 12 midnight sharp the shop closed and everybody headed home. On the way Kuttappan was calculating the day's earnings.

200 plates of fried sardines, 320 bottles of Kallu, all in the name of Wikileaks.
with a sly smile Kuttappan realized that his business also has some dependency on international affairs.

The next day world woke to a different kind of strike. A group of communists sat on the shores of the Arabian Sea looking westwards laughing - Samikutty had insisted on a non-violent method - They laughed like there is no tomorrow. The celebration of laughter lasted about 1 hour.

Many suffered muscle cramps during the event and had to be hospitalized. Local news papers called it "The beginning of a new era of Cyber Communism". "It will start from where Marx and Lenin failed".

It was something beyond comprehension for the rival party members . Their news paper just said what they saw.

"Group of men laughing at the roaring sea...."

The Oiling of Kerala

Kerala was full of coconut trees few years ago, but now not many of them remain. What happened to these coconut trees?

Keralites respected coconut trees not only because these trees are taller than them, but for many things that it provides - the coconut oil they used for cooking, coconut leaves to thatch their roofs and make baskets and umbrellas, coconut shell as fuel for cooking, and the fibers for making coir - the tree itself can be used in construction. Coconut oil is a natural hair oil that gives the malayalee girls the malayalee scent. Above all, the local bars called Kallu Shops in Kerala serve coconut toddy ( a beverage taken from coconut trees). The name Kerala itself is derived from the word Kera that means coconut.

We were a coconut society that had lots of sentiments around coconut. In temples devotees would throw the coconut on a designated stone and see how it breaks open. If it splits in to two equal halves then your future is bright. Otherwise you have a stumbling block somewhere. ( people who are skilled in breaking coconuts are always confident about their future. It is an essential skill for anyone who want a bright future, education can wait ).

Then why one day the coconut heart-ed farmers started felling all their coconut trees and planted rubber instead?

That evening at Kuttappan's Kallu Shop, coconut became a subject of interest. What happened to the coconut prices? why did that fall? Every one was looking at each other for an answer. Most of them suspected a foul play by some multinational, but who and how?

Coconut oil ain't good for your heart. You'll die in your sleep... The young guy in the corner said after downing 2 glasses of Kallu

who says?

The Docs, the government officials, educated fellas, everybody..

How many here in our village died in their sleep because of heart attack?

None.

Then how can they say that it causes heart disease?

No answer...

That question was repeated for the benefit of Sekaran Master - for Malayalees the word Master means "a male school teacher" - who just entered the shop.

After ordering a bottle of Kallu, he said in a rather loud voice.

It's a Scam!

Scam?

Yes, by the American Vegetable Oil Industry. They demonized animal fats, butter and other fatty oils like coconut oil saying that the saturated fats in them will cause heart disease, to sell their vegetable oil products like Margarine, even-though there was no real proof for this.

Though later it was found that the trans-fats contained in Margarine would cause more harm than the natural saturated fats, the whole world had changed their diet by then making themselves prone to many diseases. The saturated fats in natural sources like butter, animal fats and coconut oil are required to build cholesterol in our body. Cholesterol is not bad, it is part of your immune system. Some say that the LDL cholesterol is bad and HDL cholesterol is good, but there is no proof good enough to believe it yet. Both of them are part of our system and just the cholesterol doesn't cause heart attacks (MI).

Recently I came across an article named "The Oiling of America" by Enig and Fallon that was published in Nexus magazine few years ago. It is available for download at - http://www.nexusmagazine.com. It is also available at Amazon as a DVD. The DVD is more interesting than a SCI-FI movie. It goes in to the details of the scam and reaches a logical conclusion that makes a lot of sense.

Sekaran Master stopped, had one glass of Kallu and then asked a question.

"If coconut oil is causing heart attacks now, why wasn't it causing it before ?" 20 or 30 years back we didn't even know that there is something called heart attack, but we have been using coconut oil since time immemorial.

Then why did people believe that theory ?

Again no one answered that question.

People are vulnerable... before Madhavan believes something he checks with his neighbors Raman and Raghu. If they beleived it he would also believe it. Before Raman and Raghu could believe it, Chandhu must believe it. So if some one can make Chandu believe something then they got four hard core believers. That is mass psychology. No one would take the pains to ask questions or find the truth... Our society is pathetically vulnerable and that is the reason why these political parties still exist to cheat the very own people who vote them.

What is our health department doing, why don't they educate people? Kesavan wanted to know

2 more glasses of Kallu and Master continued.

Health care system in many Governments are controlled by the drug & food industry. Don't trust them.

How many drugs had been withdrawn because of serious side effects, after it has been in use for many years ? what does that tell you?

All started to attend to their glasses while brooding on that question. It was evident that the Kallu started kindling their coconut sentiments.

All these studies are just to show the world that what they have in mind is true. The fact is that you can prove any nonsense in a thousand ways, like lawyers do.

I used to sing lullabies to put my baby in to sleep and noticed that with some songs he sleeps faster and with some others he gets distracted. Naturally I got in to conclusion that he is sensitive to the type of songs and tunes. Later I found that he likes semiclassical and classical music than others. I was also able to figure out his favorite songs. Mind you, my son was just 5 months old.

My theory was established and my singing his favorite songs continued for months together till I noticed one day the way my wife puts him to sleep.
She would place him in the swing just the way I do, and instead of singing she would make phone calls while swinging him, because that is the only time she gets to make calls. To my surprise I noticed that the baby was sleeping faster than when I put him to sleep.

So my study was flawed and while doing the study I forgot the underlying fact that a sleepy baby will sleep on it's own however hard you try to stop him and also I haven't seen anyone sleeping in Jesudas' music concert.

I still continue to sing to him because I do not have a proof against it yet. May be music helps him to sleep better. who knows?

But in the case of "butter-coconut oil" theory, people bought that story without a second thought, because the authorities and media scared the heart out of them. We are a very vulnerable nation.. world rather.

After all, coconut is not just another nut around the corner. It will take science a 100 more years of study before they can figure out that Malayalees' genetic code is written in coconut oil base.

By this time Master had finished 100 bottles of Kallu and ordered bottle number 101

All this happened in America.. why did it affect us. Samikkuty had to ask

That is what is Globalization. It makes sure that when things go wrong in the USA, it goes wrong every where.

The shop keeper kuttappan signaled that he is too late. Everyone suddenly realized that it is half past midnight. They were deeply in to the subject and did not want to go home without finishing it. Three of them left saying various reasons and the rest continued their conversation making kuttappan restless.

Kuttappan had to get home before midnight, his wife would be angry otherwise. When she is angry she would stop talking for days together. She would do everything else as usual, like cooking the meal and serving him, making the bed, tending the cow etc etc. except talking. Kuttappan can't tolerate that, he will have to do lot of stuff to get her back talking again.

Coconut trees still stand tall in Kerala like a movie hero who had to vindicate his innocence against many false accusations. While the court proceedings are still on we will pray for his acquittal.

Master finished both his speech and the last bottle.

The conversation at the shop ended at 3AM in the morning and everyone there was convinced about the goodness of the coconut and the coconut oil ( no one had to convince them about the coconut toddy, they could feel it in their veins.)

Kuttapan closed the shop in a flash and ran. Tonight she would be angry and he doesn't know how to solve that issue. Probably he could have asked Master, how to deal with it, but now it is too late and master would be half way home.

Why is she doing this? Probably the influence of Gandhi ? Must be.

All the way home he cursed Gandhi for inventing homely delicate war strategies for lovable females.

Earth Hour

Come 8:30 PM tonight, almost 120 countries will go darker to participate in the "Earth hour" organized by World Wildlife Fund. All possible lights will be switched-off for one hour to save the world.

Away from the clamor of the world, knowingly or unknowingly Kerala too will be taking part in the move. For us this happens almost every day not only for one hour, for hours together there wouldn't be electricity and some times that will extend to days, thanks to the inefficiency of "Kerala State Electricity Board" (KSEB).

We can live without electricity for ever, the general notion is that if there is electricity it's good and if it is not there , no problems .. life still goes on..

Many of us have a good supply of candles and kerosene lamps apart from the battery operated "Emergency Lamps" and house hold generators. Achuthan and Ramachandran have "Gobar Gas Plant" also at home. In villages we are very confident that we can live without any problems completely detached from the world, well, we are almost.

Tonight is nothing special for us as we contribute every day to the "Earth hour" in many ways. The most prominent one is that the industrial pollution is very less as there are not many industries in Kerala, thanks to the communists.

Just about 5 KM away from my house there stood a big factory once up on a time - Gwalior Rayons , notorious for polluting Chaliyar river - which was closed down a few years back because of an employee strike.

When we hear "save the world" cries , we don't pay much attention as we can't do much about it since we are already Green. After gulping a bottle of "Kallu" - A wine taken from Palm trees , also called Palm Toddy - and lapping up the remains of a "sardine in chilly" Ragavettan said "Forget about saving the planet.. God will take care of that.. let us worry about our real problems.. Now who is paying for my drink?" Suddenly the lights went off, in the candle light somebody ordered one more bottle for him.

Ragavettan did not invent electricity, neither did he have any idea about how it works. He took an electric connection and bought four "Wipro" bulbs because his neighbors Velu and Chandu was having it and felt it very convenient. Now he is held accountable for melting snow in the faraway Antarctic. Even after 4 bottles of heavily fermented evening Kallu he did not understand why. Every one in shop was also clueless.

The discussions continued towards late night over several bottles of Kallu, till the shop keeper announced that it's time to close. Before staggering home they concluded that it is some foul-play by America without the knowledge of Obama. (From the corner of the shop some one murmured that WWF is Australian).

Tonight in their dreams they all will meet-up again in Antarctica to witness the melting snow...After that some of them would even reach the stratosphere to take a look at the depleting Ozone layer... That's the side effect of pure Palm Toddy... It will take you to places.

Evolution is natural and earth won't remain the same regardless of whatever we do. It has it's own destiny

Ayurveda in Kerala

Kerala could be the only place in India that kept its traditional medicine called Ayurveda through the British rule in Colonial India. The British denounced Ayurveda calling it a primitive treatment and did not encourage physicians who practiced it. That's one of the reasons why Ayurveda disappeared from India and people started switching to the new allopathic treatment, which showed immediate results.

There was a the story that my father told me about how Ayurveda survived in Kerala. It was about Triprangode Parameswaran Mooss a traditional Ayurveda physician curing a British bigwig who suffered from a chronic illness. The impressed Britisher awarded him with the first ever Vaidyaratanam - a certificate of merit for his services to humanity - and assured assistance to the development of Ayurveda. Following that tradition it was P.S Varier - another traditional Ayurveda physician - who turned around Ayurveda into what we see of it today. He founded a charitable institution named Kottakal Aryavaidya Sala in 1902, which is the main hub of Ayurveda in India today.

Even after the British left, allopathy flourished and became the new life style as people could get immediate results. Slowly Ayurveda practitioners reduced in numbers, as they did not get any attention.

As time passed, people started realizing that not every disease has a cure in Allopathy. The instant gratification that Allopathy offered, didn't last and it had it's side effects too. That's when they started taking refuge again in the hands of the old men who still practiced Ayurveda.

Now there are many collages in Kerala that teach Ayurveda, but the general feeling is that there is something lacking in this new age Ayurveda. Most of the treatment methods and medicinal compositions in Ayurveda were not written in any book, physicians handed over it to their heir by word of mouth, so most of it would have been lost by now. The physicians those days had some special diagnostic skills. They could diagnose a patient’s condition by their body odor, their pulse, and lots of other subtle aspects that a common man can't see. When they saw the patient they saw the whole being, not the just the area that was affected, treated the root cause and not just the symptoms. When you go to them with a back pain chances are that you will be given some kind of laxative for a week or two, before they start the treatment, as most of your sickness starts from your stomach and Ayurveda is holistic.

These traditional doctors did not transfer their knowledge until they found someone one who is capable enough to take it, so that they did not produce quacks like what our medical colleges do today. That said, nowadays there are many quacks who practice Ayurveda or it's derivatives all across the world. They set up Ayurvedic massage centers in tourist spots to trap people who had read about Ayurveda and want to give it a try. Don't go to these places to get your massage as it might do more harm than good. If you want to try Ayurveda, visit one of the established Ayurvedic hospitals and consult a qualified physician.

Even though Ayurveda may or may not have a treatment for all kinds of disease, there are certain fields that it is very effective and preferred over Allopathy. Orthopedics, Neurology and Dermatology are some examples, but for a viral attack or some disease that need immediate attention, you are better off with Allopathy.

There are some doctors who combine Ayurveda and Allopathy in their treatment. Some doctors are qualified in both fields and can guide you on what line of treatment is good for your medical condition.

I wouldn't believe that Ayurveda is a result of study and experiments with herbal medicine on humans. How it happened is a mystery for me. A mystery that lead us to the sages of prehistoric India. How did the stone age man know what to eat and what not to eat? Who must have told him? Either god directly went in to those caves and whispered it in his ears or hid something somewhere in his genetic structure while in the creation. I put my money on the second possibility as I believe god is not the one who has plenty of time to visit every man and convince them with what is good and what is bad. If you have ever been in the marketing department of a budding healthcare product company, you know how difficult it is to convince a potential customer with the goodness of your product, more over how does the cave man know if it is the real God, if there is a God at all.

Ancient people had an innate awareness of what is edible and what is poisonous. The moment they touched a wild fruit they know how good it is for them, they felt it inside. Ever wondered why cats eat grass sometimes? How did they know that grass is good for them? If you have the habit of observing things around you, you must have noticed that the animals are more aware of their surroundings than us, because they aren't educated to forget about their innate qualities.

Along with civilization we lost all these qualities and started depending on books for knowledge, experimented to find what is good and what is bad. Slowly the medical science developed based on empirical methods.

There is one problem with these methods. We all know that science is still in a very immature stage. We have seen that many medicines were withdrawn from market when a serious side effect was identified after it was in use for several years. We were all happy being Guinea pigs of medical science. Our educated minds told us that is cool.

3 decades back, in a small village in Kerala, an year old boy was lying with part of his body paralyzed, abandoned by medical science, Polio was going to cripple him for the rest of his life. His father decided to take a chance with Ayurveda and took him to a Physician named Unni Varier of Coimbatore Pharmacy in Calicut. After one year of treatment, he was able to walk again. I believe in the power of Ayurveda, because that boy was myself.

Probably, through Allopathy and it's research we might be getting a perfect medical system after a thousand years, Then one old man of 1500 years will descend from the past, take a look at that and say, Oh boy this is what we had thrown away years back. This is called Ayurveda.

Let us wait for that day when we all could confidently and comfortably fall sick.

Gods Own Country

In a cold December morning at a teashop in a remote village, sat on wooden bench Gopalan Nair gulped some hot tea and started sucking on to his beedi while eagerly going through the newspaper headlines. “Clinton faces impeachment” he exclaimed unbelievably in a rather loud voice. Every head at the shop turned to him synchronously. That was the cue for him to go further in to the news. After taking a deep relaxing puff he flipped the butt to the mud road outside the shop and started reading aloud. The smoke was covering his face partially as he read and it felt like an incorporeal voice coming from the past as in one of those spooky movies. Everybody was in their own world as they listened. They tried to visualize America and its president in their naive minds. The land of sky scrapers ,luxurious life styles, free and scantly clad women ....... Toying with these international thoughts in mind they started to move to their work places where they put their unsophisticated intelligence to use.

That's a village in Kerala, a coastal strip far south of India. Kerala stand apart from other states in India in many ways. Literacy is one among them. Almost every single man and woman in Kerala is aware of what is going around the world. The advancement in literacy can be attributed to the communist movements in Kerala in early 90's. They went from home to home to teach people how to read and to teach them their rights.

Probably this awareness is the curse of Kerala too. It is very difficult to run a business there because of the employee unions. These corrupt union leaders want to virtually control everything to make their pockets fat and at the same time convincing poor people that “we exist to make your lives better and we sacrifice our lives for you”. They believe it and live in a dream that one day their political saviors will bring heavens in to their homes. They die waiting and their children would inherit that wait.

Like any other state in India, politically triggered communal violence are also not uncommon here. The fight between the ruling and opposition parties hampers the growth of the state.

Apart from this Kerala is a wonderful place to live in. All that you will ever want is available there except for the occasional power supply failures.