Was
eating at a hotel recently at a far off place from my hometown. Mom and dad
were giving constant instructions on how to eat and what not to order at the
table because we were dining with a hi-fi family, relative to our friends. I
have the habit of pouring the entire sambhar and chutney into the
plate before starting. But that was not to happen on that particular day. I didn’t
protest because that would’ve created a scene there. But, this raises a
fundamental question. Why do we lose our originality in the name of social
conduct and congeniality?
I see
my college mates saying, “Macha.. Chennai maadhiri varuma? Chancey illa…
Enga oorum dhaan iruke??” I mean no offence but Chennai is a fucking
developed city in terms of technology containing negligible quantity of
humanity and helping tendency. If one starts telling Chennai is awesome, it
becomes a disease. There may be posh five star hotels, luxurious malls and
multiplexes in every street. But can you get at least ten successive homes with
gardens at the backyard? Can you find someone who rents his cylinder for a
neighbor at times of need though the giver may also have his own set of
problems? (You know how many days it takes to book and get a cooking cylinder
in the present scenario) Now, think of this deeply and answer. Is Chennai
better than your hometown? So, always feel proud about your roots.
Next
thing is the movie scenario. I see people lamenting that Kollywood doesn’t get
quality movies like English or Korea. My reply to this allegation in one word
would be “ABSURD”. Firstly, we people have grown up seeing movies of our native
languages right from birth. How does this sudden hatred come after getting into
college or whatever? Watching 10 movies from Malayalam, Hindi and English and
generalizing that they are better than Tamil cinema is insane. We get to watch
only the filtered, good quality movies from the other languages because critics
and media report on them continuously. Each and every language has movies
without logic being released every now and then.
I see,
in my day – to – day surfing, people complaining nobody can come near
Christopher Nolan or Steven Spielberg. It may or may not be true. But, we have
our own tradition, a heritage that has been associated with us for ages. A
movie is complete only when it touches upon the story of the location and
people about which it speaks. For example, Aravaan depicted the life of
Kalvaargal; Naan Kadavul illustrated the Aghoris. It all lies in our
thought process. We’ve constantly been fed by our peers and mates that speaking
highly of English movies would make us superior. I bet people who regard movies
like Castaway and Schindler’s List and say that Hollywood is
Heaven might not have watched Mahanadhi or Pithamagan or Dhevarmagan. Be proud of our
culture, our cinema. After all, whether you like it or not, we’ve been born in
this land. At least, don’t degrade its pride.
Coming
to music, it is a universal language. Hearing heavy metal is not a sin but
telling that you don’t hear Tamil music with a sarcastic smile is blasphemy.
Many keep on mocking at the Carnatic music, making fun of the ghamakas and
alapanas. To them, I ask a simple question. How did you start liking
metal and rock? You started hearing, reheard the same genre several times until
you really fell in love with it. So, let the same be the case with the classical
also. Give priority to Aruna Sairam, Sanjay Subramaniam or at
least Shankar Mahadevan and Naresh
Iyer before going towards Akon, Pitbull and Justin Bieber.
If
you feel like eating Thayir Vadai, don’t hesitate to do that even in a
rich hotel. It’s your mouth, your digestive tract and your fucking choice.
Never give a second thought to choose your first love. I may be writing
in English, but my thought goes out for my native language. Whatever resume I
fill, I always like to write Tamil first in the ‘Languages Known’
column.
Be
proud of your roots; let your body and mind get energized on the thought of
being original and honest. And, do never fake your identity for anybody’ sake
at any cost. For me, Thamizhan Endru Solladaa!! Thalai Nimirndhu Nilladaa!!
