Kelviyin Nayagiye....

Yaaravadhu client site pona piragu interview attend panvangala? Adhuvum adhe client-kaga? Indha ulaga maha kodumai ellam enaku mattumdhan nadakum!

As I had mentioned earlier, inga enaku theriyadha oru domain-kulla vittutanga...and I had attended the interview, eppadiyo ulla vanten. Seri-nu konja naal andha domain therinja madhiri scene pottundha...there is this mail from the account manager to the customer saying Usha idhu (another role) kooda panva, avalai eduthukonga-ntu!! ada paavingala! Naan nimmadhiya irukardu pidikave pidikadha ungaluku?

And these folks have been searching a person for that role for long, and en podhadha neram correct-a indha varam regional manager vantan, that too right next to me! So no blog visits and that apart, ennai kettan "I heard that you are from this group, or is it a rumor?" Adhu rumor illada rasa, ulnaatu sadhi-nu ninaichitte "yeah yeah, correct"-ntu solliten. Then came the shock - I had to attend interview for this-nu! Ippodhane 1 mth munnadi padichen, adhukulla thirumbi padikanuma-nu ore sogam enaku.

Ok, lets get it over with-ntu I started collecting info on what they needed, and as expected, enaku theriyadha athanaiyum list-la irundhudhu..kadane-ntu when I was preparing, there was this party where that regional manager, having got drunk, told me there are 3 interviews! I was shell-shocked, ennai enna recruit-a panna poreenga? Ada paavis, enya ennai ippadilam paduthareenga?

The 1st got over y'day morning, edho university student madhiri presentation koduka sonnanga, aduthadhu oruthan US-lerndhu nadu rathri-la call pannan, and iniku innoruthan pannan - indha last dhan sema kaduppu, it had absolutely no relevance to the profile they are looking at me for, and adhe interview attend pannidhan indha idathuke naan vandhen! And adhai vida kodumai enna-na, given my excellent memory capabilities and capacities and cavities, naan padicha ellathaiyum 1 mth-la marandhutten! So eventually I wasnt prepared for what that guy was asking. So ennamo badhil solliruken, and it is already eod Friday..so result theriya vaippilla. Aana this thing means a lot to my company's revenue :( so sodhappinen-na manam pogum..

Kodumai-la? Adhu en enaku theriyadha vishayathulaye interview edukaranga ennai? And why is it that I attend interviews half the days in a year?

Adhanda Idhanda Indian doctor naandhanda!!!

Ok, indha post-oda main reason pona post-ku vandha comments dhan. Some of the comments sounded like we dont have a proper system in place in India, adhu unmaidhan but namma oorlayum sila pala nalla doctors irukanga. And that is one of the reasons, I dont agree that India-la mothame corrupted unsystematic approach-ntu.

A few years ago, when I was in college and also doing my NIIT, ennoda Amma-va en scooty-la ethikittu NIIT ponen. My college was in AnnaNagar and NIIT was in Parrys (aama, naan 3 different parts of Chennai college days-la connect pannindhen :))). Thirumba varumpodhu we were conversing and at some junction she said "Parthu Usha, oruthan vengama side-lerndhu varan". I avoided that person and oru 20 metres poirupen, ennada pinnadi weight-um therila, kuralum kanume-nu thirumbi partha...en Amma-va kanom!!

Padhari adichutu, I stopped my scooty and turned back to find my Mom lying on the road near the platform. She had fallen down, and being hit by the platform, had become unconscious. Eppadi vizhundanga-nu therila, but anyways, I gathered my senses and arranged for an auto to take her to the nearest hospital, which happened to be Kilpauk medical hospital. Enaku slight-a hesitation irundhadhu, ennada inga vandhirukome-nu, but well, I didnt have a choice and I admitted her there.

Scan pannanga, X-Ray eduthanga to check her head injury and she was taken on a mobile stretcher to another room where she was treated by a doc. And a few minutes later, she regained consciousness much to my relief and asked me "En inga vandhen?"...I could barely suppress my apprehension that she'd ask who I am, but ok, avanga kekkala. Appuram doc kitta pesinen, and he asked me to admit her in a private hospital and that the preliminary treatment has been taken care of.

Kilambumpodhu naan usual procedure dhane-ntu, avarkitta unga fees enna-nu ketten...avlodhan!! Pottu midhi midhi-nu midhichuttaru, "enma neenga educated dhane (aamama, college padikarenla), oru govt hospital vandhu panam tharenreengale, arivilla ungaluku?"-ntaru! "Illa sir, normal-a doctor fees...", "Naan kettena? velila enna ezhudhiruku? Free medication-ntudhane? (and suddenly growing suspicious) vera yaravadhu inga kettangala?" I had to hastily hide the fact that the maid and the stretcher-guy had asked for money, "Illa illa, theriyama panten, sorry"-ntu escape aayiten. And then I took my mother to Apollo hospital and admitted her, and then called up my dad..adhellam vera kadhai.

But the point here is that, India isnt 100% corrupted that we are completely hopeless in India when it comes to hospitals. And since then, I have never been able to accept if someone says negatively, enna college padikumpodhu manasula padhinju pochu parunga.

Hello Doctor, heart weak-ache...

Ennala mudiyala indha oorla, seriya manga oor-a iruku!

Visualize yourself in India - home sweet home - oru chinna kaichal varudhu, udane next street doctor kitta poi oru 4 mathrai illa 1 injection...what an easy life!

Indha oor ennada-na, if you want to go to a General Practitioner, fix an appointment..now, that looks fine, doesn't it? Inga oru chinna caveat - you will have to register with the doctor first, and then only can you get appointments with him.

Register panradhellam avalo easy-ntu ninaika vendam, for that you will have to first search in the NHS website for all the clinics that are in your locality, and then call up each clinic and ask them if they are willing to take you. Yes - patients eduthukaroma-nradhu avangaloda prerogative. They can say no, if they are already loaded with patients, or if your area does not come under their coverage! Dada concept madhiri therila? Ivanga ellam area pirichipangalam, naama area thandi kettutom-na "mudiyadhu, adhu namma area illa"-nduvangalam!!

Naan iniku eppadiyavadhu clinic registration mudichudanum-nu NHS site ponen, and searched for clinics in my area. Found only 2 clinics, of which one was a diabetic/mother-baby/ante-netal clinic, and the other looked fine for my reqts..seridhan-nu call pannen:

Operator: Hello
Me: Hi, I am Usha and I stay in Ipswich, and I wanted to know if you are taking in new patients (kodumai-la, edho yarayavadhu recruit panreengala-nu kekara madhiri illa?)
Operator: Which street do you stay in?
Me: XYZ Street (kashtapattu puriya vachen avangaluku)
Operator: Give me a moment - ding ding ding - sorry, your street is not covered by us
Me: ?!! (irukardhe onnu, mudiyadhu-nta naan ena panradhu?) Well..ok, thankyou.

Next, I placed a call to PCT (Primary Care trust) in my locality to ask for a clinic, and a lady there gave me a clinic's number on getting my postcode.

Operator: Hello
Me: (Fastly repeating what I said earlier)
Operator: We dont cover that area, I'll give you number, call them up, bye (dok!)

Seri-nu andha number call panninen, looks like that was some organization helping the residents to locate clinics (but adhane PCT? therila!), and avanga innum 2 clinic numbers koduthanga.

Angayum call pannen, and repeated the same stuff, and fortunately the lady said they do take in patients from my area. Appada-nu moochu vidaren...and she says, "but we cant give you an appointment until 6th April"..I was thinking this was some medical appointment, and I asked her if I shouldnt be registering first for which she replied, "Adhukudhan kannu appointment"!!

Ada paavingala, registration-ke oru appointment, adhuvum adutha masam!!

Ennada, polladha license...

Yaaravadhu engayavadhu TV license pathi kelvipatrukeengala? US/Afghan/Singapore/inna pira naatu makkale, TV license unga oorla iruka? India-la kidayadhu-nu enake theriyum...

Indha maaperum UK maaganathula, you need to pay TV license fee annually if you own a TV! TV vilaye 60 pound, aana license 150 pound-am! Edho pazhamozhi solvangale...well I dont remember it, it eludes my memory, but ungaluku therinjadhu-na comment section-la vidunga.

But enaku indha concept puriyala - four-wheeler otta theriyum-nradhuku adayalam four-wheeler license, two-wheeler otta theriyum-ku adayalam two-wheeler license...but TV license? TV parka theriyum-na? Ada shop-keeper license protocol consider panna kooda reason puriya mattengudhe!!

And yeah, naama selavu panni oru veedu kattina appuram kooda namma veetukulla oru wall ezhupanum-na permit apply panni, inspection nadandhu, approval vanginadhan wall ezhupa mudiyumam! Idhu enna aniyayama iruku? Namma oorla vitruvoma indha madhiri rule potta? Mudhalla oru 4-5 kutti murpoku/pirpokku/purambokku ani ellam onna serndhu kathuvanga, koodave edhir katchi porattam panvanga...ada idhayum meeri rule pottuta irukave irukanga govt. officers...koduthura mattom gifts ellam?!

Ennavo ponga, kali kaalam..

Edhukku pondatti ennai suthi vappati....

Nethu I was reading a book that revolves around Napoleon's second wife Marie Louise..hey, no! this is not a review at all! Oru normal reader-ku (adhavadhu ennai madhiri pamara human-ku) enna impression varudhu andha kadhai padicha udane-nradhudhan theme.

Mudhalla indha Marie & her royal family (Austrian Emperor kudumbam) chinna vayasula Napoleon-a bayangarama hate panranga, coz he invaded almost all kingdoms being a non royal-descendant. But when she is around 19, she is forced to marry Napoleon due to political reasons by her family. Inga oru super news, Napoleon mudhal wife-a thalli vachudarar coz she hasn't given him a kid in 19 years of their relationship and he knows that he isn't impotent coz his mistress has given him a kid! Namma Marie-um kalyanam pannikaranga. Appuram avanai meet panni first night mudinjavudane love panna arambichuduvanga, and this happens in 1 day! Apparently, andha kalathula ellam people can marry each other in register offices being in different locations (enna vasadhi parunga).

Avar nalla parthukarar Marie-a, she is happy and eventually bears a kid for him. Seri idhellam normal matter. Konja naal-la, Napoleon has to go for war with Russia..European Alliance form aagudhu, and despite Marie's pleas with her dad, avarum edhiri-a join pannidarar. Napoleon loses in the war and is banished to Elba. Marie kannapinna-nu feel pannuvanga, 'ayyo purushan enna panvar andha rocky island-la naan illama' appadintellam azhuvanga, but she is forced to come back to her father's palace with her kid inspite of her insistence on going to Napoleon.

Now, the European parties contemplate on making her the Duchess of Parma. Ivangalum adhu nadandhutta Napoleon-a frequent-a meet panlam coz of the location-nu sandosha padaranga. Meanwhile, she is suffering from Rheumatism and is asked by the physician to go to Aix for bathing in the medicinal waters there. Her dad sends her there with a one-eyed Count, Neipperg. Ivanga daily Napoleon pathi pesuvanga, aana avan kandukka mattan coz he has been instucted by the king to make her forget Napoleon. But he entertains her well and is considerate to her, so ammani-um impress ayiduvanga. At this point, she receives a letter from Napoleon asking her to come to him, she replies saying she isnt allowed and it might not be safe and he sends another letter hotly that he would abduct her and the kid if she does not meet him. Ingadhan madam manasu maridaranga, ennada ippadilam pesarane ivan-tu avanga love sethu poidumam! Theriyama dhan kekkaren, husband-wife kulla sandaiye varadha? Avan emotions purinjikalam illaya ivanga? Anyways, next few days she hears that he has brought back his mistress and her kid to live with him. Avlodhan, love ellam evaporated (this reason is atleast better than the earlier one).

At this juncture, ivangadhan already impress ayidaranga illaya Neipperg mela, rendu perum oru mazhai naal-la maja panidaranga, and become ardent lovers. There is a beautiful statement here - naan abstracted-a tharen - "She knew that Neipperg can never be her husband, but only her lover. Her strong Catholic beliefs denied the prospect of a divorce" - Aama, Catholic beliefs lover mattum vachikalam solludho? Ennanga idhu aniyayama iruku? Ishtathuku religion-a tweak panni use pannikaranga? Napoleon ennada-na anga maja panraru, ivanga inga maja panranga...what is family concept here? And this is the same conventional European community, or so I had been believing!

She gets the duchy of Parma eventually, and goes there with Neipperg. Thirumba pregnant aaranga, but she isnt shy to show the world that she and Neipperg have an affair! They marry after Napoleon dies, but that marriage is not something that would be accepted by law. Rendu pasanga avanuku koduthutu, avan sethappuram she marries yet another person with the protocol called "Secret marriage of convenience". She dies around 1859 at the age of 52-54 doing some social service during the waning years of her life. Ippadi mudiyudhu kadhai. Years ellam thappa kooda irukalam, enaku memory romba weak :D

Now, I am not criticizing anyone marrying twice or thrice, that depends on situation and emotions. But let them divorce the current spouse and love/marry someone else..but what is the point in the co-existence of lover and husband and the conflicting religious beliefs? Nalla kodumaingov idhu!!

Naadu, adhai naadu..

Naama ennadhan ooru vittu ooru vandhalum, there are instances where you'd need to turn to your country in its different representations. Last week, enakum adhe madhiri oru situation..I had to send a legal document back to Chennai, and adhuku embassy seal venum as an alternative to 100Rs stamp paper-ntanga..

Naanum surusuruppa net-la thedi, anga inga kettu, Indian embassy-ku madhiyam poi ninna CLOSED-nu oru sign..apparently consular service is only till 12:00! (Adhuku edhuku net-la 1745 hrs-nu lord madhiri podanum? Hmpff!!) And inga irukara velai vaasi-la - train faredhan solren - thirumba thirumba varardhu enna easy-a? kaduppagi next day kaalailaye poiten.

Eppovavadhu TV-la oru disaster-struck village/town/city famine relief-kaga helicopters or NGO aided relief operations varumpodhu adichu pidichu nikkardha pathirukeengala? If you had, you can visualize it, if not, pls visit the Indian Embassy. Inga token system dhan, aana for god-knows-what-reason, ellarum alai modhittu counter-la queue-la nikkaranga! Adhan token vachu koopidarangale, adhuku edhuku Queue? And andha counter-la iruka jeevan, even before someone can reach the counter, calls the next number! En number-a call pannar, and inspite of seeing me stumbling through the crowd, romba eager-a adutha number-a koopidarar andha dheiva piravi!!

Viduvena naan (en lead mugam kanla theriyudhe!) I went up to him only to know that I required a photocopy of doc and passport (idhai net-la pottu tholaicha ennavam?! and I learnt that lot of people had gone for the same reason! Vega vegama poi photocopy eduthutu vandha, melum crowd..and yet another queue for the photocopy-folks had formed :)) Anyways, adichu pidichu counter reach panni pay panna...evening vaa-ntar andha mahanubavar! (Varumpodhu I had denied a day pass which would have costed only 20 pence extra as against £6 it was going to cost me for another trip :( Pennywise and Pound foolish?) So then I returned to work much to the awaiting of the rest for a team lunch..

Adhu oru kodumai, Japanese restaurant kootitu poi everyone had a good lunch except me, ennala sapda kooda mudeela and everyone was teasing me saying their lunch was good..I could only say "very interesting lunch" when the client-manager asked me - Pinna onnume puriyadha oru lunch interesting dhane?!

And like all is well that ends well, I went to the embassy in the evening and got my document - adhu onnudhan last week urupadiya nadandadhu!

Kannai kasakum sooriyano RED Red red...

England veedellam RED Red red...
England makkal skinellam RED Red red...

ok, am not going to continue on this...aana something that strikes me unique here is that almost 98% veedu red color-ladhan iruku. Nethu naan vandha cab-la oru thatha-dhan driver, so I asked him..

Me: How come all the houses here are red?
Thatha: Well...it is made of red brick (hayyyo (Vaali Ajith's tone)!! appadiya!! adhu eppadi enaku theriyama pochu?? Grrrr)
Thatha: (apparently understanding my expression) that is the way it has been..the other color bricks are expensive
Me: ("Paint" appadinra vasthu kelvi patrukeengala eppovavadhu?) Well, we paint our houses, and we use the house color as an identification when we give directions. But all houses here look the same, so how do you manage?
Thatha: (laughing) We are used to it.

Ippadiye conversation pochu, but I am still surprised at how these people maintain the same standards (good or bad-nradhu enaku theriyadhu). Almost ella veedume red with its brick pattern showing out. And ovvoru veetukum suthama difference-e puriya mattengudhu enaku :( Enna veedu katranga..and I have not seen a single architected house here!

But you should see the people, ellarum kozhuk mozhuk dhan. Australia-la kooda many ladies were slim, inga ella ladies-ume khushboo/Jyotika madhiridhan irukanga.

I'll get back with more, aana for now ennai aniyayathuku velai vangaranga :(( adhuvum ennai poi..

Suthi suthi vandheega...

Idhu enna oor-ne puriya mattengudhu...all I see are tall buildings crammed up in every little space you can get, and theru ellam edho oru periya maze madhiri set panni vachirukanga..No wonder the lady Rowling who wrote Harry Potter could think of all those mazes and magical portkeys for transportation! Inga irukara kuzhappamana roads-ku portkey irundhadhan destination poi sera mudiyum! Probably she had desired for such magical stuff, pavam, aasaiya ezhuthula kottitanga!

The first day to work, one of my colleagues had picked me up from the railway station..oh yeah, neenga edho UK trains ellam sophisticated-a on time-ku varum-nellam dont imagine, first day-ve aniyayathuku 30 minutes track repair, congestion adhu idhu-nu delay pantanunga :( Seri anyways, first day office-ku colleague help-oda poi serndhutten.

The second day station-lerndhu velila vandhen, and nethu avan sonnadhu kadhula replay aayitirundhadhu, 'It is very confusing, Usha, you'd get lost in this place..but dont worry, you'll soon get used to it' (Edhuku, tholainju poradhuka?), but that 'naan' factor convinced me saying I can find the correct route. Dinosaur-ku theriyuma Dosai perumai-nu sirichukitte velila vandhena...heart attack!! Ayyo! Indha idam naan nethu parkave illaye! Seri ok, memory-la slip aayirukum-ntu I proceeded only to find myself in a strange street..sema kulir vera. Eppadiyum tall building dhane, engayavadhu horizon-la theriyum-nu suthi partha ellame tall buildings!

After I had walked for some 20 mins, I realized I am going nowhere and started retracing my steps to the station and luckily adhu easy-a irundhadhu, it only needed a short memory retrace...appuram thirumba angerndhu started another search for my workplace..seri andha kadhaiyellam venda, but all I wanted was to reach my workplace fast coz of the kulir..when I eventually did, ennoda main 3 sensory organs were frozen that I was so scared that they might break!

Enna ooruda idhu!! Weather sariya illa, road kuzhappama iruku...and here I start rambling...

Sorgame endralum...

Ok, so here I am in London..avasaragadhi-la Saturday full-a lolo lolo-nu alainju shopping mudichu Forex mudichu ippadi evalavo mudichu Sunday kaalaila Chennai Aiport ponen. Ennoda mugathai parthutu Chennai to Dubai Business class-a upgrade panni koduthar anga irundha punniyavan, en-nu therila (oruvelai, indha moonji ellam endha kaalathula business class-la poga pogudhu-nra paridhabama irukalam) and so had an awesome journey in Emirates to Dubai (ennama kattirukanga airport..kalakkal airport adhu) and an awful journey from Dubai to London (crammed up in economy class)..Yeah Yeah puriyudhu, ennamo vazhkaila economy class-e parkadha range-ku pesaren-nu ninaikareenga-ntu. But you see, after having experienced Business class comfort, it was hard to experience economy class, so I ended up with a lot of pain at the end of the journey :(

London ennama kulirudhu...erkaneve sema cold, idhula it is so damn cold that even my thick jacket isnt able to protect me! Idhula naan irukara B&B lodge-la iruka patti vera nethum day-b4-y'dayvum pesi pesiye kodumai padutharanga...one time she talks about her husband going the wrong way, and the next time she talks about her relatives and the next to next time she talks about different cultures. Correct, ideally I should be happy about having a good conversationalist, adhukaga ovvoru thadavaiyum 1 hr nikka vachu kulir-la punishment kodutha Usha enna ava pavam?!

Inikudhan work-ku vandhen, aniyayam paarunga, I cant even check Yahoo mail!! Ella web-based email servers-um access denied!! What if I want to mail someone on non-offical and not to be official stuff? Akramama therila?? UK-ve ippadithanam!! Ennadhan irundhalum climate or official stuff, namma naadudhan best, what say?!