உண்மையான ஹீரோக்களைக் கண்டறிவோம்.

"மரணம் என் வாழ்வின் வாசற்கதவைத் தட்டுவது என் காதில் கேட்கிறது.  என் மனம் எல்லையற்ற பெருவெளியை நோக்கிப் பறக்கத் தொடங்கிவிட்டது. விழி மூடும் இந்த மரணப் பொழுதில் என் நண்பர்களிடம் ஒன்றை மட்டும் என் நினைவாக விட்டுச் செல்கிறேன்.  அதுதான் 'சுதந்திர இந்தியா' என்ற என் பொற்கனவு.  தோழர்களே, இந்தக் கனவை நனவாக்க, நம் லட்சியத்தை முன்னெடுத்துச் செல்லுங்கள்" என்று தன் மரண வாக்குமோலத்தை எழுதி வைத்துவிட்டு தன்னுடைய 37ம் வயதில் வாழ்வை முடித்துக் கொண்டு, இன்றும் நம்மோடு வாழ்ந்து கொண்டிருப்பவர் சுதந்திரப் போராட்டத் தியாகி சூர்யா சென்.

இந்தியாவின் ஒருங்கிணைந்த பகுதியாக இருந்த வங்காளத்தின் துறமுக நகரம் சிட்டகாங்கில் பிறந்த மாவீரன் சூர்யா சென். 'யுகாந்தர்' எனும் புரட்சிப் படையை நிறுவி, வெள்ளையருக்கு எதிராக கொரில்லாப் போர் நடத்தி, அஸ்ஸாம்-பெங்கால் ரயில்வே கருவூலத்தைச் சூறையாடி, பிரிட்டிஷ் அரசின் மிகப் பெரிய ஆயுதக் கிடங்கைக் கைப்பற்றி, கொளுத்திச் சாம்பலாக்கிய புரட்சி வீரன் சூர்யா சென்.

அதற்காக அவருக்குப் பிரிட்டிஷ் ஏகாதிபத்திய அரசு வழங்கிய தண்டனை என்ன தெரியுமா? தூக்குத் தண்டனை.  சாதாரண தூக்குத் தண்டனையா? மனிதகுலம் வெட்கப்பட வேண்டிய சித்திரவதையான தூக்குத் தண்டனை.  தூக்கு மேடை ஏறுவதற்கு முன்பு சூர்யா சென்னின் பற்கள் அனைத்தும் சுத்தியல் கொண்டு உடைக்கப்பட்டன. விரல்களிலிருந்து நகங்கள் சதையோடு பிடுங்கி வீசப்பட்டன.   அவ்வீரனின் ஒவ்வொரு மூட்டு இணைப்பும் முறிக்கப்பட்டன.  முற்றிலும் நினைவு தவறிய நிலையில் தூக்கிலிடப்பட்ட அந்த மாபெரும் வீரனின் உடல் வங்கக்கடலில் வீசியெறியப்பட்டது."

நன்றி: தினமணி கதிர், 03.06.2012.

Who is Guilty, my dear Vikramaditya?

A couple of years back, a Techie was arrested in Bangalore.  Charge:  Premeditated murder of his wife of just a few months.  This is how it happened.

The techie, belonging to an orthodox family, married a girl from Chennai.  The Techie was also a Tamil, working in Bangalore, and his package was Rs.24,00,000/- per annum.  The couple started their life on a very happy note.  Mother-in-law showered so much love and affection on the girl that the girl wanted mother-in-law to stay with them but she gently refused in order not to disturb their happiness and privacy.  On that fateful day, the girl was talking over phone to her parents – She was all praise for her mother-in-law, when the Calling bell rang.  She cut the phone saying she would call back. That was around 1130am.  At around 0730pm, the girl’s parents got a call from their son-in-law, the techie, saying the girl was killed by robbers.  The parents immediately started to Bangalore by Road.  By the time they reached their house, the body was taken for Post-mortem and the whole family was grief-stricken.  The girl’s parents did not know whether to control themselves or console the inconsolable son-in-law or the crying mother-in-law.  The girl was hit with a strong wooden pole behind the head and there were traces of chilli powder on her face.  Her Mangal-sutra was missing along with some other bangles and jewels.

After two days, the Police arrested the Techie for premeditated murder.  There were so many clues pointing to the complicity of the Techie.  The door was not forced open or broken.  Nobody had seen any outsiders coming or going out of the flat.  The murder had taken place between 1100 to 1300hrs, according to the Post-mortem report.  There were two cups on the Dining table and plastic containers of Coffee and Sugar were seen near the gas stove.  So the police had come to the conclusion that the visitor, who had rang the calling bell at around 1130am when the girl was talking to her parents over phone, must have been a known person.  Other rooms and almirahs were not all touched by the so called robbers.  Last, the police got the information only at 0830pm whereas the parents of the girl got the message got the message at 0730pm. 

The police asked the Techie why there was a delay of 1 hours between the two calls.  Techie told them he was confused and perplexed on seeing his wife killed by someone so he did not know what to do.  But the Police did not buy this theory.  After two days of the incident, they enquired the techie where was he on that day of the murder.  He promptly replied that he was at his office, which was around 20 Kms from the flat and he reached office by 1000hrs and came out of office only at 0600hrs.

Police went to his office for further inquiry.  In the office, they came to know that the entrance is having a CCTV camera and the recordings were kept in storage for a period of 1 month.  They called for the footages of the day of the murder.  The Techie entered into his office exactly at 0958hrs, as he had told the police.  When they fast-forwarded it, the footage also showed that the Techie left the office at 0600pm.  Suddenly one Police Officer got suspicious and wanted to see the entry and exit once again. Then the techie was caught.  The Techie entered into the Office wearing a light yellow color shirt but on exit he was wearing a Blue color shirt.  Then they patiently saw the whole recording.  Our Techie left the office at 1100hrs with the light yellow shirt and entered back with a Blue shirt at around 1300hrs.  When questioned by the Police with this evidence, he confessed to have committed the murder. 

But, what was the motive?

The Techie was in love with another lady, working in his same office, but his parents never approved of their love.  The lady in his office was so sincere in her love that she even got permission from her husband for their love and marriage afterwards.  Yes, the lady in his office was already married to someone else.  When the lady came to know about the marriage proposal, she got angry and protested to the Techie.  Our Techie, who is a decent. God-fearing, always-do-gooder, did not want to hurt anyone.  So, he told the lady that he would marry the girl from Chennai, and after sometime, he and the lady could get some on-shore assignment and settle at US, leaving the girl to her fate.  The lady also agreed to this proposal.

But immediately after the marriage, the girl’s parents wanted to register the marriage and include the name in the Passport, for which the Techie was not agreeing.  He postponed the registration telling various reasons.  By the time, the lady also got suspicious of his intentions and got pregnant through the Techie.  Then she threatened the Techie that if he got their marriage registered , then she will expose the whole truth to his family.

So the Techie decided to finish his wife and settle at US with the lady.  On that day, he came back home at around 1130hrs and when his surprised wife asked what’s the reason, he was reported to have told her some romantic reasons.  When he asked for some coffee, she went into the kitchen to make coffee when he threw chili powder on her face.  She was confused and thought it was some practical joke and went to the wash-basin to wash her face.  Suddenly the Techie hit her with a wooden pole from behind.  He was not experienced so it required a few more hits on the head.  When she fell down, he removed her jewels she was wearing and changed his blood-soaked shirt, hid it in the bed-room and locked the house and went back to office.

Now, the problem is who is at guilty.  The Techie who loved a lady who was already married, the parents who refused to accept the love affair of the son, the lady who deliberately got pregnant after the Techie’s marriage to threaten him into submission:  Who is guilty?

Psychologically speaking, we tend to cover-up the mistakes committed by our children: OK Don’t let others know this.  This breeds a mentality wherein children start to think that if it is a mistake, others should not know it.  As they grow, the belief changes into a pervert form:  If others don’t know, then it is not a mistake.

In this case, the Techie is not afraid of marrying a lady who was already married to someone else.  The only problem was he did not want his family and relatives to know about this.  The parents of the Techie did not admonish the Techie for loving a married lady, if at all they considered it to be a taboo, but did not want it to be known to others.  The lady did not bother about dismantling two marriages: One, her own and the other, the Techie’s.  All is fair in Love & War.  Is it so?

Abetting Suicide

Techie gets 10 years RI for abetting wife's suicide. The Tiimes of India, Chennai, 02^nd June 2012, Page 3.

A man marries a woman, against his wishes and on the compulsion of his parents, lives with the woman for three days, but refuses to have any conjugal relations with her, confesses he has an affair with another woman, finally ends up in Jail when the woman commits suicide.

According to the newspaper, the letters written by the woman shows the mental torture she had undergone. The woman's father reportedly revealed that his daughter told him that her husband said he would be happy if she is dead the day before she committed suicide. Can it be the truth?

Let us suppose the following case: A man commits suicide, leaves behind a note saying his wife was having an affair with another man, refused to lead a normal family life with her husband, so he was forced to commit suicide. Will it be construed as abetting suicide by the wife?

First and foremost, the parents who got the man married to the woman against his wishes are the real culprits. Who will take them to task?

If refusal to perform the role of a husband is abetting suicide, who are to be held responsible and accountable for the suicides of thousands of poor farmers?

In the same page, there is another news “Man gets divorce for harassment by wife”. If such a person commits suicide, will the wife be held accountable? The husband in this case was put behind bars for 22 days on a false complaint given by the wife. Still she wanted to restore her conjugal rights. Why people are behaving like this?

A few days back, another news in the front page of TOI. Reasons for divorce: Wife cooking Mutton in Cooker instead of open pot. Husband refused to buy floral design water bottle for the child and insisted on using empty Coke bottle. These are just the tip of the ice-berg. Even at the cost of inviting the wrath of female-liberators, I would like to stress one point: The more the number of women are employed, the more the number of divorces. I am not saying that women should not be employed, but this feeling of self-sufficiency is the driving force behind most of the divorces. You may ask whether the wife has to endure all the torture of a husband and lead a silent life. I am not advocating the torture or even negligent attitude towards the family and wife by the husbands either.

Life is like a journey, where your spouse alone is going to be your partner till your destination, save a few years here and there. Once married, always married, to the same person. Its inseparable and irrevocable. Thats why our ancestors attached so much importance to the institution of marriage and it is considered the most sacred occasion in one's life. If problems arise between husband and wife, as normally would in any family, the elders are there to sort them out. Problems will be there everywhere. There will be problems in your office. When you decide to quit? Only when you have an opening elsewhere. In other words, the reverse is also true, that when you have an opening elsewhere, you can afford to create or invite problems in your current place. If you have problem with your neighbor, what will you do? If it is your own house, you try to get used to the problems. If such adjustments can happen with your neighbor, why not with your partner? The Divorce is the easy way out, not for the brave-hearted.

Gas Diesel Petrol -- On the Rise

The latest increase in the price of petrol has been the steepest so far. While it is a fact that the price of Oil is on the decline in the World market, $ is on the increase against the Indian Rupee.  So, whatever gain there is in the declining Oil price is offset by the increase in the rate of $.  It is also a mystery that when $ is on the decline against most of the World currencies, it is increasing only against the Indian Rupee. Economy apart, Chanakyan does not think that the government should subsidize the Gas, Diesel or Petrol.  But, that does not mean the increase is justified or inevitable.  The exorbitant tax on Petrol and Diesel is a source of revenue, which no Government would want us to know.  The rate of petrol is Rs.76.60/- out of which nearly half goes towards TAX.  It is legitimate for any Government to levy tax on any product being sold in the Country.  I am not arguing that the government  should abolish tax on Petrol altogether.  At the same time, the tax on Petrol should not be exploited by the government to cover its incompetence.

A person using a product or a service should pay for it, no doubt it.  However, it should also be seen that no person is paying more that the cost of the product or the service.  The concept of cross-subsidy is skewed in India.  The subsidy for Diesel is going waste when we have so many Sedans and High-end Cars running on  Diesel.  In the case of Gas also, I have no objection to the subsidy component completely eliminated for Gas or Diesel but it should be ensured that the Tax component should also be reduced drastically.  Of course, the government may find it difficult to balance the budget, but if it cannot manage, it can mean only one thing:  It lacks competence.

So, what are we supposed to do?

I see a brighter side to this hike.  It is high-time all of us take to the Bi-cycle.  It is really a pity that a country which is number one in manufacture and export of Cycles could not convince its citizens to use one.  

• Increases your fitness
• Reduces the risk of heart-attacks and Blood Pressure
• In major cities, you will really end up reaching faster than on Cars
• Reduces the pollution
• You will have more money in your pocket to spend
• You can call yourself "Eco-friendly"
• When you go Green, other guys will go green with envy man
• Its the most romantic vehicle to go with your  Girl-friend

I can hear someone yelling there: Where is the road for Cyclists?  

My answer:  Where is the path to walk in Ranganathan Street?  But, you get your way when you move on, right?

In the same way, once the number of Cyclists increase in the cities, eventually they will get a path of their own.  Moreover, we can also write to the civic authorities and the State Government to consider a dedicated Cycle path.  Only where there is a demand, the Government will come forward to consider it.

Remember, for a healthy and wealthy future, Cycle & Re-Cycle.