Poor DJs(2)

 I wrote this:

The girl Jamuna cries in public. Everybody is happy.

India Distances Itself From Hindraf Issue

India distances itself says the report in Bernama:

Just one statement convinced you. Thank you. How many statements do you want before you withdraw Manmohans statement:
“This is a matter which concerns us. Whenever people of India run into difficulties, it is a source of concern,” the Prime Minister told reporters here when asked to comment on the developments in Malaysia.

Thanks anyway.

Hindraf – Awareness

Murale Pillai writing in Malaysiakini on 6th December expresses his relief that it was just a rally and nothing worst. Read the full text:

I feel relieved just now as a Malaysian Indian. Indians merely resorted to a defiant public demonstration on Nov 25. For some time now I have had nightmare visions of expressions of discontent worse than this. To help us understand our defiance, I need to place on record, in the briefest possible way the story of my people in my country, Malaysia.

Some four score and twenty years ago, the indentured Indian labourer made his appearance in British Malaya. Pax Britannica ruled the waves then. Dissent in the Age of Empire? We were poor, we were ignorant and we were easily deceived but surely we were not insane. Some of us came voluntarily, a few by the allure of fortune but by far and large we came because we were ‘recruited’. Now ‘recruited’ is a strange word. It begs an explanation.

These indentured Indian labour that arrived on the shores of Malaya then, were commonly referred to as ‘janji kulie or kooly’ which ever you may prefer. I used to be annoyed when someone is referred to as a kulie which I translated as a laborer of a low kind.

Kulie is a Tamil word meaning salary or income, and actually janji kulie means a person under contract to earn money. Does “Karumbu thinna kuliyah” ring a bell. Unfortunately the South Indians who were brought in were required to work in estates, railways, public works department so forth. So the word took on a different meaning I guess.

From conversations I have heard from my father and others, the British selected well bodied and muscular men, and one of the examination was to see whether your palm is calloused or not. Softies were not taken.

These are the people who contributed to the development of Malaya, facing malaria that was epidemic etc. Then what about the Indians who were shipped out by the Japanese for the Burma Death Railway project. One of my uncles dies of illness, when he was send back to Malaya.

The men who made history had no time to write it. Can we do something about this?

Condom Vending Machines

KUCHING, Dec 8 (Bernama) — Buying condoms to prevent the spread of HIV and Aids should be made easily available as some people are still shying away from buying them openly at the pharmacies or supermarkets, Sarawak Enviroment and Public Health Minister Datuk Micheal Manyin said today.

He suggested condom vending machines as one of the ways to prevent the spread of the deadly disease, especially for those who have sex with multiple partners.

This was not meant to encourage free sex but rather, protecting others from getting infected, he said after opening of the one-day multi-faiths public forum on “Breaking Down Barriers of Discrimination and Stigma” in conjunction with the World Aids Days 2007 here today.

Manyin said many still did not have the courage to buy condoms openly despite knowing the risks involved when having sex with multiple partners.

“With condom vending machines,just pay and it (condom) will come out,” he added.

On the distribution of free condoms, he said, it was not suitable for implementation here because many people refused to be identified with the problem.

“HIV and Aids is still a taboo subject and we must try to discuss it openly and not consider it as a taboo anymore,” he said.

– BERNAMA

I think this problem will not be overcome by just having vending machines. At one time Menteri Besar Selangor was up in arms against condoms being placed where sweets and other children’s items were kept. I don’t thing anything came out of this, I still see condoms placed in the same place.

Where are the vending machines to be kept? In a pharmacy or any other outlet a person wanting to purchase a condom is not recognized as a condom buyer because the shops carry a vast array of goods. Imagine a chappie standing in front of a condom vending machine, he is not there to buy cigarettes. The problem basically is not the spreading of HIV and aids by not using condoms but by indiscriminate use of needles by drug users.

People having unprotected sex know the dangers. This is for both sexes. When a condom is wanted the user will get one. The danger of not using one is well known.

I think it requires more than vending machines. People are not prudish not to buy one if they want one.

Tamil Old Songs

I am a lover of Old Tamil Songs. When I was a kid it was my practice to stand at the door steps of my neighbors home and listen to the gramophone playing beautiful Tamil Music. Yes Sir, no radio but gramophone. To the uninitiated the gramophone, a mechanical device, has to be wound to play a single 78 RPM (78 revolutions per minute) record. The second or reverse side of the record requires another winding. Do you know the old records were cleaned using a rag and kerosene oil. These records had that inviting smell that only polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and kerosene mix can produce. Don’t let that scare you. I got this from Wikipedia. Now I remember these records were known as vinyl but not before Wikipedia told me so.

I had great times listening to M.K.Thiagaraja Bhagavathar, P.U.Chinnapa, Vasanthakokilam, M.S.Suppuletchimi and a host of others.

It does not mean my song appreciation stopped there. I have gone through  MSV, Shanker-Ganesh, TMS, Susila and now ARM, Harish Jayaraj, Yuvan Shanker Raja, Srikanth and Illayarajah.  The only complain is the new songs don’t stick long in memory, it comes and goes. Give me anytime 1980s and 1990s. They are sweet memories.

The idea is to go back to the old nostalgic years and bring back old memories and share with the bloggers and readers. It is just not old music alone but any incident, stories and everything under the sun. Please respond by being a story-teller.

Where do I start? I attended a Tamil school that had only three rooms for the whole school. Students who could not be contained within the building, had to study outside in the shade of a big “rain tree”. It was a raised platform where the first year students sat cross-legged on the wooden structure. We had one reading book and the writing implements were a slate and a marker known as “slate-kuchi”. Anybody can elaborate.

As the children were studying one of the nervy ones urinated. Hence, a stream of water was following from one end of the raised platform to the other. I remember the teacher Teacher Maami (lady) but her reaction, I cannot recollect. Talking about bad conditions in our present day Tamil schools!

Much more to say if I have a response.

Indians At The Cross Roads

M.Veera Pandian writing in his column “Along the Watchtower” in the Star Newspaper edition of the 6th of December has commented elucidly on the problems facing Indians. Most of us are aware of the grouses. To start off he says, the problems have got to be looked into and progressively find long-term solutions to solve them.

This morning head lines of Newspapers(Star) have this to say:

• Sultan of Selangor unhappy at Hindraf’s action
• PM says Close watch on Hindraf
• PM: I won’t tolerate inciters of violence
• MCA: Hindraf way out of line
• Link is with Tamil Tigers and India’s RSS, says Nazri
• Company named Hindraf loses licence
• Indians told not to fall into Hindraf trap – by Datuk S.Sothinathan

We can spend hours debating and writing on all these issues raised, until the cows come home and believe me that’s a long time in coming but then it will be a waste of time, ink and paper…. oops sorry forgot momentarily we are in the digital age. The government, parties aligned to UMNO particularly MIC are going to play the same tune until we stop reading newspapers and depend on our daily dosage of readable news from the alternative on line sources.

The next question arises, as to the action of the man in the street in reference to the reality that ‘Indians are at the cross roads’.

As M.Veera Pandian puts it ‘Whither the MIC? or, Will the MIC wither? Do we also fall into the trap of the bashing of MIC? If it be, then it is the same old story  focused on MIC. The majority of us agree that MIC is powerless when it meets the ruling UMNO party  at the discussion table. Lets push MIC to the sidelines.

The Hindraf rally has opened the can of worms to announce to Malaysians and the world, the Indians are marginalised. There are very few who do not agree. We have to keep the flame burning, even though the Government is trying its very best to extinguish it. Keep on blogging, write letters, speak to friends and relatives and keep the rally in focus. It may take a long time for improvements, but the people, the Indians are doing what is right.

And God willing Malaysian Indians can hope for changes.

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