திரு' விளையாடல் ஆ-ரம்பம் !

திருவிளையாடல் - எனக்குப் பிடித்த ஒரு பழைய படம். அதைக் கிண்டலடிக்கும் விதமாக [spoof] இருக்குமோ என்று பார்த்தால், நல்ல வேளை அப்படி இல்லை. படத்தில் ஹீரோ பெயர் திரு, அவரின் விளையாட்டுகளால், படத்திற்கு இப்பெயர்.

பஸ்ஸில் பிளாக் டிக்கெட் விற்பதில் ஆரம்-பிக்கிறது திருவின் விளையாடல்.
தமிழ் சினிமா என்றால் இப்படித்தான் இருக்கும் என்று சொல்லி விட முடியும். இந்த படம் ஒன்றும் விதிவிலக்கல்ல.

1. வீட்டில் அப்பா அம்மாவின் மனம் வருந்தும் படி நடந்து, அவர்களால் வீட்டை விட்டு துரத்தப் பட்ட அடுத்த ஒரு வருடத்திற்குள் கோடீஸ்வரன் ஆகும் ஒரு ஹீரோ.
2. கண்டதும் காதல், கேட்டதும் காதல் என்று இல்லாமல், ஹீரோக்களின் சில லூசுத்தனமான சவாலினால் காதல் வயப்படும் மூளையே இல்லாமல், வெறும் Glamour Doll ஆக வந்து போகும் ஒரு / பல ஹீரோயின்[கள்].
3. ஏதோ ஒரு விதத்தில் கஷ்டப்பட்டு, ஏதோ படித்து ஏதோ வேலையில் இருந்து, திருமணத்திற்காக மணமேடை வரை வந்தும் கூட, அனைவராலும் 'உதவாக்கரை, ஊர் சுற்றுபவன்' என்றெல்லாம் பெயர் பெற்ற எவனோ ஒருவனிடம், தனது 'would-be, fiance' என்று கனவு கண்ட பெண்ணை விட்டுக் கொடுத்து விட்டு, கல்யாண கோலத்தில் 'பேபே' என்று விழித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும் 'தியாகத்தின் மறு உருவமாகிய' அமெரிக்க மாப்பிள்ளை.
4. கொஞ்சம் பாடல்கள் [சுட்ட பாட்டு, சுடாத பாட்டு என்று வெவ்வேறு வகையில்].
5. பாட்டுக்கு நடுவே சண்டை.

சில [பல] அப்பட்டமான சினிமா formula-க்களை நம் தமிழ் இயக்குநர்கள் எப்போது தான் விடுவார்களோ தெரியவில்லை. அதிலும் அவர்களுக்கு அமெரிக்கா செல்லும் தமிழ் இளைஞர்கள் மேல் ஏன் அவ்வளவு கடுப்போ தெரியவில்லை. கதைக்கு ஒரு இளிச்சவாயன் வேண்டும் என்றால் உடனே பிடி அமெரிக்க மாப்பிள்ளை என்று தாவி விடுகிறார்கள். ஏங்க? பல்பு குடுக்குறதுன்னு முடிவாயிடுச்சி. அதுக்கு நம்ம ஊருலேயே யாரும் சிக்க மாட்டாங்களா என்ன?

இது வரை வேற்று மொழி படங்களில் இருந்து சுட்டுக் கொண்டிருந்த நமது டைரக்டர்கள், இப்போது, பழைய தமிழ் படங்களிலேயே சுட ஆரம்பித்து விட்டார்கள்.
Mr. Bharath படத்திலிருந்து ஒரு பாடல், அண்ணாமலை படத்திலிருந்து பாதி படம் என்று ஒரு புது படம் எடுத்து விட்டார்கள்.

கோயிலுக்குள் போகும் போது செருப்பை வெளியே விட்டு செல்வதைப் போல, இனி மேல் சினிமாவுக்குப் போகும் போது, மூளையைக் கழட்டி வெளியே வைத்து விட்டுப் போக வேண்டியிருக்கும் போல தெரிகிறது.

லீவு நாளிலெல்லாம் ஒண்ணுமே செய்ய மாட்டேங்கிறோமே, atleast ஒரு சினிமாவுக்குக் கூட போகலியேன்னு நினைச்சா, கட்டாயம் இந்த படத்தைப் பாக்கலாம். ஏன்னா, அப்பத்தான், இந்த மாதிரி படம் பாக்குறத விட, நாம சும்மாவே இருந்திடலாம்னு ஒரு நம்பிக்கை தோணும்.

மீண்டும்,
பிரைட்.

An Amazing Read

Dreams of an Indian - this blog is probably my most favourite post. We are living in a fast paced world, in which we dont even care to know who is living next door. We dont have time to listen to the cry of a needy person and have a heart to help them.

Atleast, there is someone in some part of the world, whose very existence is a living example that there GOD still exist and there is every reason to believe in humanity.

No preface is going to give any value add to this touching letter from Dr. Devi Shetty, but if you find a little drop of tear in the corner of your eyes when you finish reading this, it is a proof that tomorrow's world will be a better place to live.

Source : http://www.staloysius.ac.in/campus/alumni/devi_letter.htm

Original Post:

A LETTER TO 4000 CHILDREN WITH A SCAR ON THE CHEST

My Dear Children:

I have been planning to write this letter for quite some time. May be I just waited for you all to grow up to understand what I am trying to convey. The story goes back many years. When God sent you to this world it was perhaps the best thing that had happened to your parents. Every little nudges and kicks in your mother’s womb opened up a new world of happiness and expectations. Then one day, a miracle happened. You were to begin a new journey. From the warm, happy, secure world of your mother’s womb to a world that is cold and full of insecurities. Nevertheless, the joy that your parents felt after this journey knew no bounds. They were on top of the world. But, unfortunately, this happiness was very short lived. That very day you started turning blue in colour. The doctors had found a hole in your heart that shattered the dreams of your parents. They were devastated and could not understand why they were being punished in this way. They had no choice but to accept the inevitable reality and decided to give you the best possible medical care.

Before that they had to overcome two major hurdles. They could not afford the cost of your heart operation and they could not wait since you were turning blue every time you cried. I guess this is a penalty you have to pay for being born in a third world country. Yes, when you were ten days old you had a price tag on your life. If your parents paid the price, they can have you, if not you would have to go back to where you came from. Your mummy and daddy went through phases of self-pity, denial, mutual accusations and anger towards the society, which was indifferent to their problems. Your daddy was most upset since he knew that the price tag on your life was less than what his boss would spend on a Saturday evening party. But that is life and one has to accept it. Time was running out and your daddy was getting desperate until he came to know about me. The first thing he told me when we met was “I heard you love children”. Yes, I love children and I have four of my own. My profession is giving hope to people suffering from heart diseases and giving them a chance to start life in a fresh new way. I am essentially a technician who can cut and stitch people’s heart; they call me a heart surgeon.

When I met you first you were barely 10 days old, cuddled in a warm blanket close to your mother’s heart. Except for a bit of rapid breathing and bluish nails on your finger, you looked like an angel. I am sure you cannot remember but I asked you a question “do you want to be my friend”? This is the question I ask all the children I see. I did want to be your friend and I worked so hard to gain your friendship. I clearly remember your mother’s face when she was handing you over to the operation theatre nurse. She kissed you and looked at my face with an expression that she is handing over her most precious possession to me; also with the total confidence that I will take care of you. It was a different sort of love triangle between your father, mother and myself with you at the centre. We would have done any thing in this world to get you back. It took me six hours of intense concentration to operate upon your heart and so many sleepless nights before you started smiling again. God was kind to you that time and you made a marvelous recovery. It was a big day for your family when you were being discharged from the hospital. Both your mummy and daddy would have thanked me a million times before they left the hospital. But they didn’t have to tell me anything since I knew every world what they wanted to say. Tears of joy rolled down their cheeks. But you were blissfully unaware of what was going on clinging on to your mother’s chest. My eyes began to swell with tears and I turned my face the other way since a cardiac surgeon is not supposed to cry. Through the corner of my wet eyes I saw your face one more time and I knew I found one more friend. Your friendship and love is the only fee I expect for treating you.

As a heart surgeon I have performed more than 4000 operations on children like you suffering from heart disease. Most of them came from poor families. Despite their backgrounds, I treat all for free. I think this is the best way I can repay God who has given me everything I wanted, a good family, a wonderful wife and loving children. For me this world is such a happy place to live in and in my own small way I strive hard to make it happy for others around me who are not so fortunate.

You must be wondering what inspired me to take this path. I guess, I became a doctor because of the recurrent illness of my parents. My childhood was spent with the fear of loosing my mother. My father who was a diabetic had multiple episodes of diabetic coma. In the life of the nine of us God was a distant image and his clear image was that of Doctor who could save the lives of our parents.

Another childhood incident left a lasting impression on my young mind. I remember, it was a Saturday afternoon; I was trying to build a car, I think, out of matchboxes and sticks, like all the other children in my village. My mother was speaking to a distant relative of ours in Bombay. This lady was telling my mother about a particular surgeon who apart from saving her child’s life also offered his service completely free of cost. I could hear my mother blessing the mother of that surgeon for giving birth to such a wonderful person and ended up saying that this world is still a wonderful place because of people like him.

That was the time I found the purpose to my life, the purpose of brining happiness to all the children of this world. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I was trained to be a heart surgeon at Guy’s Hospital, London. My colleagues there called me an “operating machine” since I loved heart surgery.

I left England in 1989 to start a state-of-the-art heart hospital called BM Birla Heart Research Centre at Calcutta. It was a great experience to set up a heart hospital, which soon became one of the best heart hospitals in India. And almost immediately after we set up the research centre we started the pediatric cardiac surgical facilities to take care of children suffering from heart diseases. Little did I know that this centre was to rewrite medical history? My mother at that time was living in a small town near Mangalore. It was my father’s death anniversary and she spent almost the entire day in the prayer room. In the evening, my sister who was watching the news at the national network, all of a sudden screamed out for my mother. My mother hurried to the living room to see her son on TV with a nine day old baby who underwent a successful open-heart surgery. He was the youngest baby at that point of time in India to undergo a successful open-heart surgery. It was the beginning of heart surgery on newborn babies in India. I guess at that time many mothers too would have prayed for my mother’s well being.

Let me tell you about another incident. Do you know the definition of a paediatric cardiac surgeon? The dictionary says he is a surgeon who specializes in the treatment of heart ailments in children. A few years ago, when Mother Teresa suffered a heart attack I was put in charge of her heart care. One day, Mother, who at that point of time was convalescing in the intensive care unit of the hospital, saw me examining a blue baby. After few minutes of thought she turned towards me and said; “Now I know why you are here. To relieve the agony of children with heart disease, God sent you to this world to fix it”. To my mind, this is the best definition ever given of a paediatric cardiac surgeon and perhaps the best compliment that I have ever received.

One day you will become an adult and probably a very important member of our society. You will have lot of responsibilities and commitments. All I ask you for is, can you spare few moments of your precious time every day for someone who needs it? And that too without expecting anything back in return. Do you know, to save your life, a few hundred people worked sincerely without expecting any remuneration other than the joy of making your family, friends and relatives happy?

Dear children, we are all creation of the God and He is in control of all the events happening in this world. Unfortunately he is not supposed to be seen, heard or felt. So, he runs this world using people like you and me. And when you do your work without expecting anything in return, just for the joy of brining happiness to others, that’s when you’ll realize it is not your hands, which do the job, it is the hands of God.

Yours lovingly,

Dr. Devi Shetty
Dr. Devi Shetty can be reached at his e-mail: hrudayalaya@sify.com OR devishetty@hrudayalaya.com