The Sri Lankan issue






In reference to the latest brouhaha among Malaysians of Indian ethnicity condemning Mahinda Rajapakse's visit to Malaysia, I have a few words to agree to disagree to the uprising here.
 
Actually, Tamilnadu and India as whole don't give a damn for the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka. India actually caused it then, condoned it. 


When guerilla war started in SL (Sri Lanka), Rajiv Gandhi deployed an army team from India to SL and the soldiers began raping the Tamil girls, the very individuals they are supposed to protect. They were even killing the girls after raping to save themselves from the crime and the obscuring of evidence.

The LTTE (Liberation of Tigers Tamil Eelam) went to Rajiv Gandhi and requested for him to withdraw the Indian army from SL and Rajiv observed inaction which led up to his asassination in 1993 by suicide bomber who belongs to the Tamil Tigers. I'm sure all of you know about this. Huge news it was.

After that, Karunanithi became Tamilnadu's CM and he didn't give a damn to the civil war in SL. He was busy enriching himself and his family via nepotism and elitism. The Sun Network (our Astro Maharaja package) belongs to Kalanithi Maran, Karunanithi's relative and mnay of the corrupt politicians' family members were appointed as Central and State ministers. Nepotism and elitism la.. apa lagi? (what more)

That old hog came into power via DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kalagam) and is god damn power greedy. Lebih kurang (More or less) like our BN ministers la..

Sonia Gandhi, (Rajiv Gandhi's widow) meanwhile planned revenge on LTTE for killing her husband, (yes, very Tamil movie-ish) and commited sabotage; India actually supplied ammunition to the Singhalese government to kill Tamilians. Karunanithi, TN's CM at that time did nothing to stop the carnage. Dok berpeluk tubuh je dia.. (He was just sitting with folded arms.) 

Many Sri Lankan Tamils died because of this; they paid an awfully unfair price. For one life of Rajiv Gandhi, 200 000 people perished with the world, looking on, doing nothing. Even UN withdrew its troops from there much to the Tamil's dismay and fear.

In a precis, it won't be erroneous to say that Sonia Gandhi (former Italian bar dancer turned wife of Rajiv Gandhi and she is now saving Italy from bankruptcy using Indian funds.) and Karunanithi who sat put and watched thousands of innocent Tamils die in vain indirectly caused the genocide.


Allowing or barring Rajapakse to Malaysia is not gonna make a difference, the damage is already done. It is actually good in terms of reverse psychology if Rajapakse's visit here is not cancelled. Sentimental Indians here won't vote for BN in the looming 13th GE and unknowingly do themselves a great big favour. 

Us, Indian diaspora can only holler our dissatisfaction then go back to the comfort of our homes while the genocide go on like it's never gonna stop. Hypocrisy of the highest order, come to think of it.

Here, Malaysians of Indian ethnicity can do the funky chicken, run around naked, do the Gangnam Style  on the streets protesting that Rajapakse should not step on the Malaysian soil and for the senseless killings to stop  but nothing is gonna happen for yo, my peeps. Najib ain't gonna give a shit. Onnum pudunga mudiyathu. (You can't muster any shit that is going to make a change.) With less than 10% of the population and 1.5% of the holding of economy, wtf we can do to make an impacting impression that would bring change? Leave Rajapakse, we can't fucking get the government's attention regarding the plight of stateless Indians, the dismal conditions of our Tamil schools, deserving university seats and gangsterism. What makes us think we can stop the massacre in Sri Lanka? We are Yindian Superman! Najib would laugh at our face only. That is the only thing we can budge him to do.

Finally, Rajapakse visit got cancelled and we now can be on cloud nine, thinking that our government is listening to the minority and maybe even applying populist statecraft. Really? I say shit you not! The reason behind the murderer out in the loose visitation cancelled was proclaimed to be him, having other plans, not for any other reason. Ithu epdi irukku? (How is this?) I can hear you dropping from cloud nine with a BANG!! Lost water face lah! Mana mau letak muka sekarang? (Where to put our faces now?)


We have pressing Malaysians of Indian ethnicity issues at home, that are seeing next to nothing resolution and we tend to get carried away and get out off at a tangent, our hearts, ruling our heads. We have Tamilians chopping up another Tamilian here, if you get what I'm pinpointing. I'm not saying that we should condone the genocide in SL I watched the video of the killing fields and went boo hoo (Yes, I'm a sentimental and a softie too.. What to do? Ai yam alsso Yindian!) but so did I when I watched the video of the crisis in Gaza.


Syria's conflict, African nations under junta rule, the plight of Rohingya Muslims have people dying every day and every crime against humanity deserves our attention and we must pay concern to it all and help the criminal acts hop onto stoppage, not choose who to help and who to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the other. 


Pain, suffering, anguish, hunger and thirst feels the same for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion and beliefs and those factors don't feel good and yet homo sapiens seem to enjoy inflicting those onto each other. What a sick world we live in. 





While it is good to rise against crimes against humanity, one must do it as a human, not based on race and religion. If one does it with race and religion connection as basal, he is no lesser than a criminal who commits crimes against humanity.


The obsession with As

It is exam and result proclamation time once again for primary and secondary school goers of Malaysia and whether or not the kids have cold feet, their folks are left with sweaty palms and sleepless nights should their children fail to get all As.

Getting straight As is now not only a matter of academic excellence, it has also become a matter of prestige and stature for parents. It is the licence to gloat and some parents go to extreme measures to ensure their children get an A now, A + in all the subjects listed for exam.

If a child gets 6 As and 1 B, the 6 As would be given to oblivion, the B, getting immense flak and rubbed in. I scored 4 As and 1 B in UPSR and my Mom called me an imbecile for not being able to score all As. It killed me, the word, 'imbecile'. I wouldn't have minded if my siblings called me that but my Mom is the most important person in my life. That word coming from her just ruined the equilibrium of my psyche. I still remember it to this day and the thought never ceased to make me feel so small and worthless. I remember crying myself to sleep months after that, when I was in Form 1 even though I was in the best class in the whole secondary school.

Parents drill their kids, send them to tuition, block all entertainment channnels on Astro, only allowing them to watch Tutor TV and disallow them to play with their friends, demanding them to study for hours on end.

I know parents mean well. They ensure that their exam undergoing kids have proper nutrition and the necessary exercises so that their children would be able to pass with flying colours. I now know my mother meant for me to take the word 'imbecile' and turn it around to 'capable' but the way she conveyed it is not right and as a 12 year old, I couldn't discern the interspersed message; I took it at face value and the way I saw it, the B stuck out like a sore thumb that I have no idea how to weed out. I'm using the word weed because that is how a score less than an A is perceived, a pesky weed that damages the landscape of perfection and everyone, from the kid, to his or her teacher and parents are terrifically terrified of the 'damned weed'. God forbid if a pernicious B gets it's stamp on the exam result certificate. I don't need to expound further if a score less than a B is obtained by the kid.

So, there it goes, children are made to practice on last year exam questions, predict questions that might come out in this year's exam paper, made to memorize formulas, historical chronology, scientific experiments like hell. Dedicated teachers would hold extra classes to go the extra mile in making sure their students get all flat scores. As much as I admire the dedication and the 'no stone left unturned' method of grounding by parents and teachers alike, all they successfully produce are what I give term as 'pre-programmed minds' whose worth is the amount of As they churn up.

These minds purge what has been 'programmed' into them on the exam sheets. Understanding and application of the knowledge acquired is minimal.

This status quo is such because of the exam orientated education system here, thus the obsession with As. It doesn't help when those who obtain straight As be made to stand in the mass media limelight and those who scored less, eschewed and even spurned.

I was a product of this system as well but I will say that I am not a victim of this system. I was not an ideal student, I was never a teacher's pet but I take my education very seriously and I am happy with where I am now.

Hitting the books only for studying for exams is not the correct way to nurture the ingenuity present in all of us. One mustn't read books only for exam; they should read to gain knowledge of everything under the sun. Supplementary reading material is imperative for the mind to enrich itself. How many kids these days know about the Bermuda Triangle, Easter Island, Don Quixote, Davy Crockett, Harriet Tubman, Theodore Roosevelt and many many more? Reading should be an idea of fun, not a chore.

I am not saying that it is okay for kids to fall back in studies. I'm only saying that the obsession with As is sordid. It puts tonnes of pressure on the youngsters' malleable shoulders and they will crumble under all that pressure.

Education is the only ticket out of neediness, deprivation and adversity but, education is not proof for intelligence. On that count, a student who scored all As in government exams cannot be confirmed as having higher IQ than a student that scored less As. Tertiary education system is downright different and students who memorize then purge the load on exam answer sheets will be like fish out of water in college and universities.

Learning is a lifelong process and to gauge intelligence based on how many As one is able to churn up is folly and inapplicable. While most won't turn up being like Bill Gates, Ambani and Steve Jobs, making it big without even a degree, doesn't mean scoring all As will ascertain an opulent life.

Parents, don't stuff your unattainable ambitions on your children and never compare your children's grades with their better scoring peers. It just sours their joy and soars their anger. Comparing will not do them any good; consolidating their confidence will take them places and it is worth much more than a string of As. Your children would appreciate it because it is the greatest gift any parent could ever give. My Dad gave the gift to me and I will be forever thankful to him.


Post-Diwali rants

With Diwali cheer coming to a close, it is time for some retrospection and contemplation for me. This blog is not about social issues and if you want to read a blog which carries a message like my previous blogs, I say, don't waste your time.

For me, Diwali means get together time, where grapevine, proclamations, lamentations and complaints are shared, then gutted out. Topics of discussion vary from family matters, politics, spirituality and current issues.

We used to gorge on chicken curry and mutton curry on Diwali eve when we make food offerings to our progenitors and on Diwali day but in the past 4 years we are observing vegetarianism both on Diwali eve and Diwali day. I have no problem with observing vegetarianism, no matter what reason is behind it, be it spiritual or health consciousness.

The next day after Diwali, we held a dinner party and the food is all out non-vegetarian. This only comes across as hypocrisy to me not to mention arduous as we, ladies are the ones who end up cooking, serving and cleaning. Diwali is for kids and men to enjoy while the ladies bear the onus of endless petty chores.

My only brother met with an accident on 5th August, 2012 and it was a harrowing experience for my family and I. We were thoroughly shaken up and terrified by the incident and the shock is just beginning to wear off. As anyone would expect, tragedy like this takes the topic for discussion's crown and it is the same for us and we did some flashbacks.

While Malaysians generally don't give much credit to the Malaysian Royal Police Force, PDRM, shrugging it off as being the current ruling regime's tool, stooge and henchmen, there are policeman who take their job seriously and execute what is expected of them sincerely without hinting for under table money and we were lucky to come across a policeman with such integrity.

Bad apples like the case of Kuhan and the recent 3 policemen gang raping an Indonesian woman blacken the stature of the police institution as a whole.

While we wondering where my brother would have crashed in Ipoh General Hospital, where he was admitted, (he met with the accident while on his way home on his motorbike after night shift duty and he couldn't recall anything) my adopted brother, his fiancee, my Mom and me went to do some sleuthing work; we temporarily donned Sherlock Holmes' cloak, you would say.

My adopted brother drove along the route my brother takes to go and return for work. We kept our eyes peeled, looking out for the tiniest clue and remainders of a crash site and couldn't find any.

Having our investigation contained in futility, my adopted brother drove to the Chemor police station and the police officer there redirected us to Ulu Kuang police station. The policeman who dealt with us was extremely humble and simpatico. He told us, frame by frame on how he saw my brother lying down at the side of the road, alerted the ambulance, gathered my brother's scattered belongings and how he wheeled the stricken motorbike to the police station for safekeeping.

Next, the policeman began to describe how the accident may have happened judging from the position of my befallen brother and his two wheeler. He passed the buck on heavy turbulence generated by a speeding truck or lorry that made my brother lose control of his vehicle. Another theory was my brother, dozing off while riding his bike, taking his night shift work weariness into account. The policeman asked after the man he saved and we told him that he sustained superficial injuries and that he will have a speedy recovery.

After that, the policeman expressed his relief and gladness that my brother is going to be alright and as my adopted brother pumped the gentleman's hand up and down, thanking him profusely for his timely and immediate help, the policeman smiled and said that he only did his job.

My adopted brother and his fiancee were saying that it is hard to find such a friendly police personnel in Kuala Lumpur.

If you have been following my blog, you would have been informed that my immediate family are devotees to  a Guru (saint) who lives in a rural area in South India. They have renounced idol worship and embraced this new, kind of denomination of Hinduism thingy that has no solid back up and history whatsoever. I'm using an euphemism here. The Guru is a gaunt, haggard old man who roams the part of the aforementioned area. I'm maintaining anonymity here in order not to hit on raw nerves.

Diwali this year conflated the topic of my brother's mishap into spirituality and I was left judging.

My brother steadfastly believes that the Guru came in the form of the policeman to rescue him and my believer elder sisters egg him up, poking fire. He also believes that the accident happened because of the karma that he committed in his past births; he was paying for it, equaling karma and dharma up. I do not know whether to laugh or cry. Not wanting to sound blasphemous, I kept my mouth shut but I couldn't belt my inner voice up. It kept surfacing, saying, "What bunkum is this?"

My eldest sister was keeping at stoking my brother up and he, readily gives his head to the spiritual guillotine, losing his head. I accidentally heard my sister speaking to my brother about the Guru dancing to urumi melam (South Indian drums, you know the round thingamabobs our boys beat during Thaipusam that emits bouncy beats) in her meditation. The Guru looks like Omakuchi (an Indian actor who resembles Gollum) and he is very much likely to drop dead at any moment at the slightest exertion.

I always stay away from listening to such nincompoopery and bollocks but that day, the asinine, conjured up revelation fell on my ears and my blood boiled. I sidled away quietly because if I had stayed on, a dissonance is sure to ensue, spoiling our festive mood.

The only ones whom I discerned to be genuine in their spiritualism and meditation are my 4th sister, brother and sister-in-law; they never talk about seeing visions and experiencing supernatural nuances while in meditation and routine life and meditate often and truthfully. Others are faking it. It is so obvious judging from plain, simple logic as base.

Rishis and mahans (Rishis and Mahans are Hindu saints) of ancient India took eons of being in a ruminating state to become enlightened and have Gods appear before them to grant boons. My eldest sister has defied all the feats of the Hindu saints' of yesteryear and is now leading.

As much as I love my family, I abhor some quarters of them because of their tendency to indulge in religious hyperbole and the fact that my only brother falls hook, line and sinker to everything my eldest sister say, all of which are nothing but figments of her imagination.

In my family, there is a tradition called 'grouping', that is, birds of a feather flock together and I don't fit in anywhere at all. I'm like on a lone island where I am the queen and the minister whose anarchy and lawfulness is only determined by conscience, cogent thought process and acquired virtues, not some mumbo-jumbo of an unearthly nyanavallal poochandy. (omniscient boogeyman) who knows all the army secrets of all countries and the thinking of all human beings. I was afraid of my sacrilegious thoughts back then but not anymore. I ain't a wide eyed kid no more to buy the claim, "If you don't believe, God will punish you heavily."

My 4th sister asked a very good question, illustrating why the Guru and my eldest sisters did not issue a warning that our brother has a debacle coming his way and the sensible query silenced the Guru's zealots in my family, albeit briefly. It was a question that was running in my mind but I didn't ask it aloud because I am not in their 'flock'. My 4th sister prodded our eldest sister, "You speak of seeing visions of divinity and predictions so how come you or Guru didn't see this one coming?" As my eldest sister searched for words, my brother came to her rescue, saying that it had to happen so it happened and it was his karma. He also said that it is the grace of the Guru which saved him from being mortally wounded. Talk about blind faith. So, now, that quarter is back on the deception track again.

Privately, my sister-in-law shared with me that in the village in India, where the Guru is based, the village folk don't give a damn to the old man. As far as they are concerned, he is a gallivanting beggar, not the avatar of God and is not worshiped to. Only people from Malaysia believe that they had found God in the form of the Guru and make trips to and fro India in order to meet the Guru and one short, visit India. The person who organizes such trips is a self appointed disciple to this Guru and he is also called as guru by the devotees. Me, being a proud but lonely deviant, am convinced that this is money making business for the disciple. The POWER of CURRENCY. The POWER of DIVINITY is mere facade.

Later on, my 4th sister, her husband, my brother and me were speaking about politics and speculation of the date of the 13th GE and why it would be the fiercest and filthiest general election in the history of Malaysia. It has a real chance to get bloody because Najib has openly and emphatically declared that BN would defend Putrajaya at any cost. That, in itself heralds ominous events that would rack this nation.

Ambiga, our Iron Lady is now veritably in hiding. She is harassed relentlessly, at home, on the road, in her office, in the airport and basically everywhere she goes. She is cornered at every angle and abused just because the of noble cause she initiated, that is, Bersih (clean) rallies intending to have free and fair elections, each rally, bigger and more resounding than the previous one, she being female and Indian. So much for 1Malaysia.

Our leaders in the current ruling regime generally don't walk their talk. They come up with feel good policies every time the Prime Minister is changed, publicize it on government controlled mass media, then forget about it. Tun Dr Mahathir was the precedent of this trend, his mark being Vision 2020 and somehow, his successors saw the need to follow his exemplary through. Instead of making sure the policy succeeded its way into completion, Malaysian prime ministers make policies to make a brand of their tenureship, to make it distinct and outstanding, unwilling to pick up where their former boss left off. What the hell la?

Then our topic digressed into the mentality of Malaysians of Indian ethnicity when voting. While the educated, professional, sentient people would not vote for BN no matter how the ruling regime trumpets of promises being fulfilled, many Indians will fall for the goodies galore masterminded shrewdly by Najib to win the hearts and the votes of low income and poor Indians, my brother-in-law was lamenting.

As quickly the crowd came and gathered, the quicker they left, leaving our house upside down, not that we are complaining.

This year Diwali was hectic yet fulfilling for me. I am not sure whether I triumphed over evil, but hey, we all have our own angel and devil like how Disney cartoon characters like Donald Duck, Pluto and Mickey Mouse are shown to have in cloudy pop ups. You know, their negative and positive conscience. Growing up, I loved the concept rather than theology because it is simple and oh so relevant. You become evil or angelic depending on which one you feed and heed to, the Devil in you or the God in you and it is a lifelong battle which I believe no one has won yet.

So, Diwali, see you next year!!





Dappanguthu for Diwali. What the hell la?

I am sure by now all of you Indian Hindus living in Malaysia have seen the recent Petronas Diwali advertisement on Youtube and the idiot box. For those who didn't, here you go.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhNv6xBp11c

The ad proclaims that the Dappankuthu is an energetic dance prominent in Tamil cinema. Pray tell, do any of our local movies have dappankuthu dance slots included? Our youngsters don't even dance this kind of dance in dancing competitions like Aatam 100 Vagai. Since when did dappankuthu became Malaysian Indians' culture? This genre of dappankuthu dance is exclusively confined in Tamil movies from India and if Petronas advertising team thought that dappan dance will hit the right chord with Malaysian Indians and Malaysians at large, well, sorry to burst your bubble but you are sorely mistaken. WE ABHOR IT!! Well, most of us..

What is the message that this ad is trying to convey and what is the nexus of it with Diwali? Diwali marks, good triumphing over evil, light, overcoming darkness but what this ad is depicting is that Indians are still stuck in the Dark Ages. A great insult to our culture and history.

What this ad seems to be is a pathetic spoof of PSY's Gangnam Style. Dei, why copy la? Don't the Petronas team have original ideas?

Do any Indians here dance on the streets and shake their heads to dappankuthu on Diwali? No right? So why portray such a fallacy? This is how Indians here are viewed, uncultured street people who go wild on the tiniest provocation.

Petronas ads used to bring warmth and a nice, fuzzy feeling to our hearts and their ads are unforgettable simply because they forward family values and virtues, that no matter how much the world changes, simplicity and benevolence will reign supreme in our hearts; it's about going back to our roots. What root does this dappanguthu has?

Nowhere in the world where Indians go around dancing on the streets like this for Diwali. This song and dance only tries to imitate Kollywood and it doesn't sit well with the theme Diwali carries;it does not define any Indian culture. The thing is, this ad endorses a parochial lens on Indians here. What kind of example does this advertisement carry? Surely a sordid one!!

This advertisement is as bad as this sarong dance by Thanush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnQoAS6xvBY Leave dappanguthu dance to the likes of Tamil leading actors such as Simbhu, Thanush and Vijay to name a few. Don't try to emulate Indian cinematic crap in Malaysia; it is not something Indians here would be proud of. It is demeaning rather.

This type of dance is performed in front of funeral processions in India. And, like giving out ang pow in white packets on Chinese New Year, this is just as insinuating and shows the small mindedness of this ad's creators.

Unless this dappan kuthu dance is the presign of MIC's political death, it rings hollow in the hearts of Indians here. If that is the case, this ad being the sanggu sattham (conch call related to death) for MIC, I would join in happily.. Just saying..I tend to succumb to sarcasm when faced with idiocy; I can't help it.

To amend their major blunder, Petronas should withdraw the advert forthwith and stick to producing value-based adverts that Petronas traditionally do.

I am really feeling the absence of Yasmin Ahmad now. If she is around, she'd never approve such a shallow, utterly stupid Diwali ad. This kind of ads will kill the legacy of Yasmin Ahmad.
Petronas team should be socially responsible and make ads pertaining to values and virtues, that reflect culture and civilization, not some cheap plagiarization that holds no weight and bearing and borders revulsion.


This is what I meant when I said that dappanguthu is danced in front of funeral processions in India. Notice the bloke at the far right blowing a conch. That is the death call.. Funeral dance or street dance, dappanguthu doesn't suit Malaysian Indians. We must have an identity and a class of our own. We may originate from India and have an affinity with Indian cinema but it should stop at that. Aping the frown inducing stunts in Indian cinema is uncalled for.

Malaysian Indian boys and girls

Just ask any other Indian girls here whether they have been subject of Eve teasing and the answer is always a quiet, reluctant 'Yes'.

Almost all girls here have been tormented sexually one way or other and most of them maintain silence, swallow the humiliation and harassment whole and pacify themselves that life is like that and there is nothing they can do to change things.

I am no exception; I've been Eve teased since I hit puberty. Back then, in my early teens, I was incredibly timid and I guess the fresh faced innocence was evident on my face, making me easy prey for dickheads who have no respect for women.

Wherever I went, to school, the public library, bus station, aboard the school and town bus even the neighbourhood I lived, Eve teasing was rife. It was extremely terrifying and I have doubted my safety many times.

Guys, ganging up with fellow dickheads, whistling, cat calling and passing lewd comments about the targeted girl or girls' physique is not the way to chat a girl up. You rather put her off by behaving like barbarians that have never seen girls before rather than turn her on. The only impression you guys emit is uncivilized and miles away from classy. Sutthe porikki thanam! (purely unruly)

Sometimes, the girls are to blame as well. I won't pass the buck entirely to guys because there are decent and cultured guys out there just as rowdy like girls exist amongst us.

I have seen some girls asking for it; instead of keeping distance from bunches of salacious machas, they strive to be in the boys' stereoscopic, predatory vision and most of them are secondary school goers still clad in uniforms. I won't pity those girls if they get raped plainly because they invited it themselves.

These kind of scenes are prevalent in Ipoh bus station and I have seen more than enough and it never fails to make me want to go and slap all the boys and girls for behaving like lecherous apes! Surely they can behave better.

I don't understand the need for boys to behave like baboons of bluster (we have enough baboons in our government) in public places, harassing passing by girls and sometimes follow them. I have been followed many times and it scared the daylights out of me.

Yes, you guys have eyes and girls are definitely 'cuci mata' (eye wash) material. There is no wrong in looking at dainty and dazzling girls; beauty is to be admired after all. Making eye contact and smiling is also cool but sometimes girls don't smile back and it is Buta.com (nose cut) for guys. Vaalkai le ithu ellam saghajam appa. (It is all in the game called life.)

One piece of advice for guys, if you like a girl, DO NOT whistle at her. She ain't a doggie to rush to you once you whistle. And, when your overzealous buddy says, "Dei macha, ava unne paakura da.." (Hey, she is looking at you..) do not buy his statement; it is an overstatement. She might be looking at your direction, not at you. Instead of talking to your friends about her within her earshot, go and talk to her. If you don't have the balls to talk to her, grow some balls, otherwise just shut the hell up.

And, for temples. Going to temple has become a recreational activity for our youngish 'bhaktimaans' (devotees) Temples have become a ground for our boys and girls check each other out instead of checking God out and keeping tabs on their karma.  Girls would round the temples in dizzying circles and boys would be hot on their heels. Besides fulfilling one's religious obligation, hormone surge get fulfilled as well. Oru kallu le rendu maangga. (Killing two birds with one stone)

Another turn off is public display of affection. It is perhaps okay to link hands with your boyfriend or girlfriend and walk up and down shopping malls' aisles or on pedestrian walk ways. I don't bother em couples. None of my bloody business.

But it becomes a business that affects me and others when public display of affection is staged in inappropriate places by our boys and girls.

My brother had an accident recently and I went to visit him in Ipoh General Hospital @ Hospital Tengku Permaisuri Bainun and when my mother and I were purchasing lunch in the hospital's cafeteria, a young Indian couple's antics caught my eye.

The girl couldn't be older than 16, the boy, 19 and there they were, holding hands and waists and shoulders while gazing at each other amorously, the guy, pinching the girl's cheeks, nose and chin, oblivious to the people and hustle bustle around them. I did not know where to put my face when a Malay makcik (aunty) pointed at the seemingly besotted twosome and lamented, "Apa kena diorang tu? Kat hospital pun ada hati nak berkepit.." (What is wrong with them? Romancing each other even at hospital..) I was ashamed of being an Indian at that moment and it was because of such rogue, brazen behaviour of other Indians which might have reached an incorrigible state that blackens the stature of other Indians here.

Another pet peeve of mine is the behaviorism of some of our Indian schoolgoers, particularly secondary school students. While we have high achievers like Nithyalakshmi, Suhanraj Rajasegaran we have mere kids who don't take education seriously and take having a boyfriend or girlfriend as top priority, getting their prioritization fucked up.

The order of the day is girls and boys having boyfriends and girlfriends. Say that you don't have a partner in monkey love (that is the deserving name for fleeting love which would, at best, expire within a month) and you'll get horrified countenances from your friends and you will be branded as an outcast. Succumbing to peer pressure and not wanting to stick out as a sore thumb, boys and girls couple up and get their life screwed up in most cases.

Let me elaborate how generally hooking up is done in secondary schoolgoers based on my personal experience:

- First of all a boy would tell his friends of his love interest in a girl.

- Next, the boys' friends would tell the girl's friends that one of their friend is line putra-ning. (fixing a hooking up line) to the 'fixed' girl. See how excellent our boys and girls are at literature, coining words and phrases and being messengers, beating Cupid and Hermes. Yellam nalla seivangge, padikurethu thavare. (They do everything well, except studying.)

- Then, the girl's friends would persuade her to accept the boy's proposal and she would finally pander and the rest is history.

Driven by surging hormones, some will get sexually active without being in the know of the contained risks and repercussions.

When I was in Form 2, my friend, (she is of my age) told me that she had sex with her boyfriend and began to tell me the details and I told her to shut the fuck up and that it is not my fucking business. I also gave her a piece of my mind that it is not cool to have pre-marital sex and then brag about it; it only devalues one. She belted up and saw me as an enemy from then onwards. So much for trying to steer her away from being sexually permissive at the age of fourteen. In retrospect, I should not have spoken to her in such a tone but I was FREAKIN PISSED, so there.

Youngsters, especially girls, should know how to tell the difference between love and lust. Don't allow yourself to get laid down at anytime in your relationship with a guy. The utmost hallmark of a good guy by Indian standards is the one who can control his dick all the time, provided that he is not impotent.

And then, there is romantic flourish which school boys or tertiary institute students easily get into to win the heart of the girl he has his eyes on or an already 'corrected' girl, that is, lavishing gifts on her birthday (if the relationship manages to last that long), Valentine's Day and every other day. All in the name of LOVE...

I say, screw your love! From the jatti, (undergarment) you wear and the food you eat, you completely depend on your parents and guardians and what do you do? You spend the hard earned money on your puppy love that won't see the dawn of next year. Those who take up student loan graduate as debtors so you have more pressing things to worry about than the anniversary of when you got hitched with your bitch and getting her a present.

Your parents send you to school and college to study, not to pair up and get screwed. You may call your parents old and boring but they got like that because they have toiled to bring you up. Have some gratitude to your parents. You owe them your life so don't do anything that would deface your parents.

Life is not a Tamil movie. Our boys and girls especially teenagers buy Tamil movies propaganda on love wholesale and it is at this point sanity and sound judgement hit rock bottom. Can you and your so called lover sing duets, changing dozens of locations and costumes in 5 minutes? That is how unrealistic it gets in Tamil movies so stop letting the plots of romantic Tamil movies from getting into your heads. I'm not saying that boycotting Tamil movies is the way to go; there are excellent Tamil movies. All I'm saying is for youngsters to apply some common sense and rule out cinematic liberties as crap when watching such movies. This clip from a dumb Tamil movie clip serves as an example.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpYkKMGEF1w&feature=relmfu

Last but not least, here is an advice from a fellow youngster. Excel in your studies, get a good job, set a good, stable financial status, equip yourself with stuff necessary for a comfortable life, be a filial child to your parents then search for the Romeo or Juliet of your life and settle down. Vaazhkai nalla irukkum.. (Life will be good) Please don't take any offence guys! I mean well... :-)