namukku parkaan munthiri thoppukal -- movie review malayalam (spoilers ahead )

Vineyards for us to dwell or Namukku parkaan munthiri thoppukal is a movie by the film director Padmarajan . It tells about the tale of a romance between two neighbours . Its a beautiful movie a cult classic in malayalam movie . If you expect a hero and heroine dancing around a tree and a typical masala this is just not it ..

For starters our heroine is an illegitimate child born out of wedlock between a house surgeon and a nurse . Knowing it a "saviour " came into their life played by actor thilakan in the movie . Soon they had a child of their own and later this saviour stepfather , our heroine , her step sister and her mom move in as neighbours to a prominent family . By this time our heroine since she was an illegitimate child was effectively treated as a servant . All her marriage proposals as well as career prospects get blocked by the step father . Soon he started molesting her too . It is at this juncture that the hero of the movie mohanlal comes into contact with her and they started loving each other . ...

Their romance is simple with verses from the bible solomons vineyards being used as words in their expression of love . But what is even more romantic is the ultimate vehicle for their romantic escapades .. It may look funny but a tanker lorry as the vehicle for their romantic adventures and that too very beautifully merged into the movie gives it a special character . True romance doesnt look for lamborghinis and ferraris ..

The relationship between the mohanlals (our hero) character and his mother is also noteworthy . She as any church going loving mother is against him loving and proposing the "uncultured " and later when she knows about it the illegitimate potential daughter in law . But as any loving parent knows ultimately the love of the child wins over their own prejudices .
,br> With great woman centric characters like Clara of Thoovanathumbikal (another cult classic ) the director doesnt leave the film like that . The heroes and heroines marriage finally gets okayed after going through all the objections . But the stepfather sensing losing control does the ultimate weapon of control . He rapes the heroine . If it was films of the 70s that would have ended in a suicide of the heroine and the murder of the stepfather by the hero .

Of course as promised our hero comes back to the neighbours house . Of course after knowing everything about the rape . He gets confronted by the stepfather who gets overpowered after a fight . Again we expect a murder . But like arjuna seeking the eye of the bird the heroes aim is not murder . He calls for the heroine . No answer . He calls again . Slowly the door opens and she steps out . The hero asks her why she didnt answer the first call ( as promised many months back ) and then hugs her and takes her to his vineyards many miles away in the tanker lorry .

Dont know whether my blog did justice to the movie but its a very romantic movie and its nice to see once again true love triumphing over every possible odds . And malayalam movies of the 80s were never masala and always had a hint (or more) of reality .. Because art is never fiction but a fictionalised portrayal of reality

the gift of the patient ---helping professions

Long ago there was a red rose in my hand . It was before i knew that "red " rose is for a different purpose . I was innocent then 8 years old . It was for my teacher . Her name was krishnaveni and she liked the gift very much . From her smile i could realise that there are a few things which really bring joy in helping professions specifically medicine and teaching .

Years later i was a practising doctor though the lowest fish in the seniority scale . But i still remember the old man who tried to give  me a few hundred rupees when his wife was discharged from the hospital . During a domestic tiff the wife had taken acid and luckily she survived . The old man was very happy and he being a farmer and not city bred wanted to show his joy by trying to give a  few hundred rupees . It was not bribe . For no one stops on the way out and tries to give  money  . My role was simple i used to visit them and enquire on her health . No treatment from my side ..

Years have past and nowadays whether we acknowledge it or not the helping professions have felt the brunt of the soceital changes .. Of course the doctors and teachers of the new era are not the angels which the patients want ( angels never practised or taught btw in any era ) ... Both sides have their own version of whats wrong with the other side .. In medicine the dynamics are different but having many teacher friends its a sad fact that the excess business intrusion has made even teaching a challenging profession to work these days ..

But even in this chaos its nice to know that there are oasis where a few patients and students acknowledge their doctors /teachers respectively and "bribe " them with chocolates , flowers etc etc to express their joy . You have to be a doctor or a teacher to realise the joy it gives more than the salary one gets .

I have had the opportunity to practise in both these professions as well as in different regions in urban , suburban as well as some overseas stints . Of course partly it was in direct patient contact but also as a radiologist which though in ultrasonography gives you the "feel " of the patient to some extent . Considering me as a constant i could realise these finer things do depend also on the persobality of the doctor/teacher but these days more importantly on where you practise .. To take some random example however you are good in an urban set up in kerala with the " over :) know it all patient " you can never feel the comfort say practising in an interior area of tamil nadu or many parts of india . Even in kerala i found the northern states (except kannoor ) suburbs to be really nice for doctors ..

Of course i never got a red rose from a patient :) but i had my share of the best loving students and patients in both the professions .. To tell the truth i chose where i worked very wisely and stayed clear of " over knowledgeable " patients as well as students who thought money brought cure and knowledge . As long as money is the main focus of soceity both teachers and doctors would do well to choose where they work and in which settings .. Comments pls ....and share if u like

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp

Its a tale of romance . Its a tale of murder/homicide/accident . Its a tale of undying human spirit .Oscar Pistorius tale is all this combined

Those who are following the international news about this high profile case of Oscar Pistorius may or may not have checked up wikipedia regarding both these people . If not do it now . Oscar Pistorius is a world champion in sports . Only thing is he doesnt have both his legs below the knee . Impressive . He symbolises the undying human spirit in fighting against the odds . But what fascinated me further was this double amputee after becoming world champion in paralympics with prosthetics dreamed further . He wanted to run against fast runners , the able bodied ones which are fast even for non physically challenged . In that too he won one medal .

Reeva Steenkamp looks stunning . Shes a model and quite accomplished woman in the social circles . Inspite of Oscar Pristorius being world famous considering her background she must have been a woman who could see beyond his physical challenge to love him and date him . She was his girlfriend . Of course in contemporary materialistic soceity many go after fame but she could have got many non physically challenged people as partner . In all probability she was a great woman and theirs was a romance in the true spirit (my guess ) .

She got shot allegedly by Oscar pistorius and currently an intense court battle going on whether it was murder /homicide or was it an accident . Through a locked bathroom thinking there was an intruder Oscar Pistorius shot four bullets and unfortunately she was in the bathroom at that time .

He is literally being ripped apart in court inspite of his defence that it was a case of mistaken identity and he thought that they were being attacked by intruders . And South Africa is notorious for armed robbery .

The exact truth may never be known and Oscar may or may not win the case . ( News is rife that he is very emotional in court and also that he is acting ) .But reading through his undying spirit and the gut feel about their romance i only can wish him well giving him the benefit of doubt . Afterall fate has given him the worst blows before at the age of 11 months and no human court can punish him more than that .

Your comments pls and share if you like

movie reviews --- thanutha veluppan kalathu and kariyilakattu pole - two murder mysteries

After a long hiatus i saw two older malayalam movies by the great PADMARAJAN . It was coincidental that both were murder mysteries.

Thanutha veluppan kalathu (on a cold morning ) is a murder mystery where people start dying under mysterious circumstances . The common thread among all is the victims mouth being filled with the chakiri or the inner lining of coconut husk . The pace is compelling and the lead role by mammootty as the investigating police officer is nice . There is a branch of forensics which deal with psychological profiling of the killer and mammootty leaves no stone unturned to find the killer . The serial killer has a reason for choosing the victims in this movie and the motive is beautifully shown in latter part of movie . I dont like to give spoilers but a good watch if this genre fascinates you .

When men are suspected of murder it is compelling but when three women are suspected the movie takes a different meaning . That is where kariyilakattu pole excels . Here one famous film personality is found dead at his residence . Three women are suspected and mohanlal as the investigating officer is seen more as a listener than a interrogating police . How each of the women tell their story and in doing so unravels the complex psyche of women makes this story beautiful . Of course the finding of a ladies slip on and a kerchief makes the murder seems so easy to solve but in the end the twists make the murderer seem so elusive yet so near .
Both are padmarajan movies and he was known in his analysis of complex human mind . I suggest both these movies if you are detective movie buff and kariyila kattu pole for anyone who loves serious cinema .

the red cheek and the new generation

Buses do break down . The guy was a bully .. He hit her lightly on the cheek . She didnt like it and expressed her displeasure . You know these type of guys . They persist bullying because in their narcissistic world only they have rights . He again hit her with a comb . Again she told she didnt like it . The third time he lifted the comb there was a cracking sound . Neighbouring classmates told there was steam coming out of his ears . But one thing was sure . Her retaliatory slap on his face was strong as well as a fitting blow to his ego .

World continued the same . But there was one less bully in that school . He left the school in disgrace and the cause is not exactly known but at least one percent is due to the slap . The retaliatory slapper was my young cousin who im very proud to say is the future if we want a better world .. When i asked whether she wanted a barbie doll as gift she told a bike thats another issue but the "slap " is symbolic and the right way to treat a bully .

150 years back there was a lady who instead of saying yes to the huge sum of money offered every month for being a passive ruler of her country choose to say No .. Her name was Rani of Jhansi . She knew the might of the bully which came in the form of East India company . She died fighting a war she knew for which the odds were heavily against her .. And she was a woman too in that Male chauvinistic era ..

Just as near as a few months the headlines is filled with increasing physical assaults on women in india . Now the media is so tired of reporting it that they have minimised the reporting . Of course punishments have increased but still i sometimes wonder inspite of being the "weaker " sex wouldnt it be great if women (also men ) stand up more for their rights and do not accept the bullies anywhere by being passive .

Wont a slap or walking out of a chronically abusive relationship set an example as great as Rani of Jhansi slicing the britishers with her baby strapped to her waist .. I donno .. Just some random thoughts

the gift of the husband ....serious blog

Why do you get married ? Each person has different aspirations from it and the reality can be same or different from the aspirations . Anyway a few random snippets ...

First is an article i read on outlook money about women and money . In that magazine usually dealing with the stocks , investments etc there was an article by a world famous financial analyst on women and money . In her interview she was discussing more about relationships and how after marriages many women even in the developed world have women being given household budgeting responsibility while the man takes care of the major financial decisions . She was telling that in an equal relationship that was a very unequal way . Also the concept of the housewife "asking " for money from her spouse again in a supposed to be equal relationship . This is further complicated by the fact that stay at home moms do so much work which is not only limited to taking care of children .

Second is an article i read in psychology today which explained the relation between las vegas and abusive relationships . It explains why many women and men stay in abusive relationships . In a gambling machine no one stays for long if always u get negative result . But if u get one positive result like winning a large amount of money once in a while you continue gambling .. In the same way one reason of people staying in abusive relationships is when they get intermittent positive reinforcement . Even if the overall trend is negative the intermittent rewards make them believe that all will be well in future and stick on with the relationship . The article says we should look at the overall trend .

Should you be aware of what your husband/wife does in his sparetime ? Yes and no .. There should be adequate personal space in marriages so that the marriage is healthy . But anything the husband or wife does that affects the relationship is a big NO . Even though i am against over religiosity and its rituals i do admire the pious people who are humble and do the rituals and lead a good life and still remain religious . I have seen some like that . Recently one of them was missing from work for a long time . It was known for long that she supported the family inspite of the husband who didnt look after her but spend the day gambling . Not a rare phenomenon of irresponsible husbands who live off their wives . Marriage is sacrosanct ..But he had an additional habit which impacted not only their relationship but her very life . He wanted to enjoy life more and started mainlining or intravenous drug abuse with his gambling company . It was not known whether it was complicated by womanising .

One fine day the pious woman had infection which was not coming down and tests showed she had hiv . And the husband also tested hiv positive . Luckily children were negative . She escaped death so far and probably is getting antiretroviral treatment but this was one gift which her husband could have avoided inspite of his irresponsibility towards family .

Without being sexist , i know women who have husbands who are womanisers . Of course this is deeply unethical considering that most marriages are based on trust and in the west also except cases of polyamory(refer net pls ) by mutual consent infedility is taboo . But these days its high time that people look at not only the emotional impact of extramarital liasons but also the medical angle . I hope no one wants gifts of HIV from selfish hobbies of a partner especially when one is in a committed relationship .. Or is there difference of opinion there too .. with the usual excuses of staying in abusive relationships ..

A taste of thunder ... ponmudi trip .. trivandrum

One of the reasons i am in love with trivandrum kerala is because it has so many beautiful weekend getaways so near .
I have gone numerous times to ponmudi but each trip is unique and nice . This time i went in my bike and as always bike trips are always exciting . As they say in trivandrum vazhi chodichu chodichu pokam after drinking a bonji ... i did the same minus the lime juice (bonji ) . The route passes near kowdiar palace via peroorkada then going all the way to the suburb nedumangad and then vithura and kallar . There is a place called golden valley on the way which has the jungle river kallar passing through rocky ledges . Like all jungle rivers kallar has different character in different seasons .
After vithura the hairpins start around 22 of them and bikers need not be reminded of the thrill of banking on mountain roads with a eager to accelerate pulsar bike . After the climb which passes in between forest , very thin patches of tea estate , rocky landscapes it soon flattens out to show the sheer valley deep below . Of course a photoshoot is part of the journey . And rememeber this studio of nature is just 1.5 hrs from trivandrum city . We reached the summit and though a little hot in peak of summer the journey was cool .

Thanks to my adventurous company i couldnt rest in the top of ponmudi . Mr lazy bones (me of course ) was asked to climb the nearest hill . I protested to no avail and after a mutton puffs and a glass of water i climbed the nearby hill trekking all the way up . After reaching the summit saw that there was easier way on the other side . But the climb was worth it ..

Return journey was exciting . Half way down it was raining heavily and soon thunder started in full swing . Though not recommended i didnt stop the bike and travelled in the rain for almost 15 kms . When thunder was too much made a stop and had a hot chai and omlette in the nearby hotel . Omelette was the lunch at around 4 pm .. Asking the way back to the nice local people of suburbs (i am excellent with routes :) ) finally reached home by evening after travelling nearly 100 kms to and fro . Adventure , natures beauty and nice helpful local people and my bike .. what else you need .

And you thought i was in love with trivandrum because of the beautiful princess of travancore royal family .. :) I havent even seen her ...But trivandrum is a beautiful city .. If you want to really feel kerala culture you should come trivandrum ...

From udumalpet ..... hospitality redefined

Recently i visited Coimbatore on an official trip . And i have gone on countless official trips in india and abroad . Of course in some cities i have met friends , had dinner with them and enjoyed their company . Having used to the comfortable life of a corporate job i am used to comfortable transport , star hotel stays etc . But this time all that came to a standstill .

"Our driver will pick you ". My host was telling me . I politely declined . But no amount of declining helped my case . On the early hours of morning 5 :46 to be precise the driver failed to turn up . It can happen . But what i was not prepared for was the hosts husband itself within 7 minutes coming personally and picking me up . He personally took me for coffee and arranged accomodation for me . Took me for breakfast and for the entire three hours spent quality time talking to me .

Whats the big deal ? Hes your host . Its his/her duty .. you may tell me ... But tell me i am meeting him for the first time and a busy businessman for whom each second is important neednt spend 3 hours for an "aquaintance " .

My troubles had just started . During the day time he arranged a driver for me for standby support inspite of my protests . Any shopping , any visits the driver will take me . Again remember i am not his long lost friend or a close relative . But hospitality is beyond all these things . Is he a rajput :) I looked again ? I have blogged on the legendary rajput hospitality after my jaipur visits . But he , my friends husband is from south india .

Evening is further complicated by my friend and her husband . They insisted that i stay in their lovely apartment and be their guest . I am protesting in malayalam , hindi and tamil . But who is listening ? :) They are asking why i should stay in a hotel when they are there to host me ? I have no answer ..

The icing on the cake is when my friend and her husband came travelling from their town udumalpet to coimbatore travelling and gave a fantastic treat at one of the best hotels at Coimbatore . It was a lovely evening and she made sure that i was at home in her city . She even brought her kid , husband and family friend to greet me . As is a known fact in food the presentation of food and the ambience increases the taste and the food was extra tasty because of the warm hospitality and the relaxed attitude of the hosts .

I dont think words on a blog can put the feeling i had after enjoying their hospitality from the moment i landed . Not that i didnt get hospitality at other places . But as they say "exceeding expectations " is rare . And this case was more unique because she was neither my classmate, best friend or close relative . She was My senior . And I never had this level of hospitality before . And as a keen observer of humans ( read my blogs ) and feedbacks from common friends i have only one explanation ..... Though Rare some people are very nice . And they do express their niceness and hospitality is one way of expressing it .. Thanks Senior from Udumalpet ...( i have only one senior from there :) )

some snippets from indian mythology from Parashurama to krouncha pakshi (bird)

The value system inculcated in indian mythology which is a 10000 year old culture is relevant to even this day . Though i can write pages about it just a few random snippets to stimulate your reading unless you already know .. Do you know the tale of karna and Parashurama . Of course as everything its a beautiful tale but one particular scene lingers in nmy memory . Once the guru of karna , parasurama was peacefully sleeping in his lap (indian mythology considers Guru almost equivalent to God ) . A blood sucking bug bit karna on his thigh but he beared the pain and the bleeding because his guru was sleeping in his lap . But soon the guru woke up when the wetness of blood touched the gurus face . Instead of appreciating karna the guru got so angry because only a kshatriya could bear this much pain and bleeding and remain unflinched . Karna had not revealed that he was a kshatriya as that guru only accepted brahmins as his pupils .

Its a complex issue but one thing stands out in this tale . The gotra virtue or family virtue is demonstrated in actions of a person not words . In modern times we give focus to " person from good family " . But time and again we see only few people who live upto the " good family tag " in their actions . But observation shows people from many old families do indeed show their good family virtues even when they become poor or gets exposed to temptations . As in parasuramas and karnas story the true gotra or family spirit and values is in the blood . Of course karna got cursed by his guru that is another story .

Work or worship is more important ? Is it ok to give more importance to worship when God has told man to work hard ? One tale comes to mind . The sage who had lots of thapassakthi (penance giving power) . Once he got disturbed by the chatter of birds and he got angry and one look the birds got fried and died . Another day the sage went to a family womans house to collect alms . The woman was busy serving her husband food and she saw the sage but made him wait . She served her husband food and then only came to give alms to the sage . The sage was so angry and stared at the woman hard to burn her . But nothing happened . The woman smiled and even told the puzzled sage that she was not the poor bird to get burnt . She was doing her duty to her husband and for her that was her worship or power . Poor sage he got so confused and was even amazed at how she could even guess the bird episode . This also has current day relevance as even in the great religions its told that work is indeed worship. Not the workaholism but doing ur duty is equally or more important than doing rituals . Of course rituals can be done without compromising work but work is never second place ..

The story of King Bimbasara and ajathashatru where the son orders the execution of his father to get his kingdom but was deeply remorseful when next moment he heard his queen delivered a baby boy is more thought provoking . These days especially have seen innumerable nuclear family concentrating more on their children . But as indian mythology shows the cycle never ends when these same parents become old when they get neglected by their children who concentrate only on their offspring ..

Heavy stuff ? These are all from childrens tales of amar chitra katha and our generation read these and their relevance became known as we grew older . Would love to hear from my generation for whom amar chitra katha entertained as well as inculcated a value system . Do children still read these stories ? I donno ...

On sambar and thunder

I stared at the MRI scan . And then again at my friends mother . Though a radiologist i am not there to "report " that scan . But multiple thoughts were going through my mind . Trained for years as a doctor the first thought was the blackness of the MRI image with the whiter areas on one side . Blackness was self explanatory knowing her history only too well as she was bedridden for a long time due to a massive stroke after an accident . But the whiteness near it indicated a new stroke which she had later on . Impressive the scans showing exactly what it was in just a sheet of film . But i was more impressed with the natural force and the human brain which inspite of these terrible insults still retained enough power . She was still bedridden and her speech areas were affected but still she could recognise me , listen to me and talk to me though very few words . MRI image showed massive areas of brain injury but still she or specifically her brain had enough power in it to recover . Of course modern medicine helped tip the recovery in her favour with good care and medicines but still more credit is to be given to the brains and bodies enormous powers for recovery with time .

Then the thoughts of her came from my childhood . She was one of the people who made the sambar my favorite dish and fed me along with her son whenever i visited her home . She was a nice lady and a humble one too . And as life goes on as human beings we should take both the good and the bad . For the first time ,though sad ,i was ok with not being offered the sambar or not even tea at their household .When the woman of the house is in bedridden who will give the food ? . But i was happy that i could visit her and give back in a miniscule way my time .
On the bus journey further i saw a sight i seen for the first time . It was some festival time and the huge crackers and giant poookkuttis (a form of cracker which sends sparkles high up for hundreds of feet ) were doing their full show . It was a giant show of manmade splendour in the form of crackles . But suddenly the sky was crisscrossed by a giant thunder which lit up the entire sky . In its splendor all this manmade splendor was nothing in comparison .

Theres no take home message except this . Inspite of all the latest high technology and our belief that we have arrived in controlling everything we still is nowhere in front of mother nature . That includes both the thunder , the secrets of the human brain and the tsunami . So lets be humble .. Just a random thought . awaiting your comments

The extremes .. people

These days when i hear people generalise including "All people are selfish " i dont partake in adding further comments . For compared to my younger days experience has taught me that people are as different as day and night ..

I remember the first week of my postgraduation . I was literally homeless .. Not that i didnt have the money . But a new city for the first time in my life and not easy to find quick accomodation . Many who have gone out to work or study knows this experience . I was surprised to find suddenly to see people whom i scarcely knew before becoming extremely hospitable . And i was equally surprised to see some people whom i knew for many years being "just friendly " but not helping much . Later after i got used to my independant life away from home assessing personalities became a survival skill . And i realised that the extremely hospitable person was a very nice human being and for very nice human beings duration of friendship is not important .

I have a bad habit .. I talk to maid servants . Actually in addition to being friendly its a way to know people of a different social class better . (Mind you i dont talk to young maids so dont mistake me ) . Even here i find stark differences in personalities . When one of my relatives died recently two maids had entirely different reaction to his death . One who knew him for more than a decade was asking repeatedly about when and why she is not getting her share of rice after his death . While another maid who just knew him for a few weeks took the pains to board a train and visit the grieving family all at her expense .

As practising doctors we know the patient extremes who are thankful even if the patient dies as long as we do the best while those who are so demanding and ungrateful inspite of the best efforts .

Though i never believe in tit for tat in any relationship its always prudent to assess the personality especially the "niceness " factor .. And be nice and hospitable to the nice people and ignore the rest .. Similarly invest in relationships with nice people and less selfish people because our time is limited and we should use it prudently .. Your views please ...

The "introduction " to medical college campus life

During my time as a first year there was no ragging in campus . Not that it was the separation of seniors and first years as was the case years later and the physical ragging of years before our time was the best . We were "introduced " by seniors or rather we were asked to introduce ourselves to the seniors . Of course there were a few conditions . We had to sing a song along with the introduction and that was one of the first places were we could try our singing skills . Of course unlike the stage here it was cumpulsory . How can you refuse when a college bus full of seniors ask you to sing a song . Those who couldnt sing called Yesudas God closed their eyes and sang .

Once i was happy that my friend and me could get a seat in the front of the bus (usually it was packed ) . Here the senior didnt ask us to sing a song . But it was a simple question "Describe first night " .. I still remember i trying my best to prolong the first night so that the bus reached the destination (the medical college trip was around 20 minutes ) without giving out the details . (I also thought why he was asking the details . Didnt he know ? Also how he expected i to know ..As a 17 year old ) .

Along with these stresses :) there was another real problem . From day one the seniors were asking us to remove the moustache . Most of my classmates removed it after a few days but i somehow didnt do it along with my another friend . My seniors were friendly so i was sure they wont harm us but still we were a little scared .. The standoff lasted for more than a week but one day they threatened to bring a shaving blade as i was not complying ( unlikely they would do it retrospectively thinking ) .. The next day i removed my moustache . But only one guy in the bus didnt remove the moustache and he became political leader in our class .. And as runner up i didnt get any consolation prize :(

Since i knew a senior girl who was my neighbour afternoon there was sessions of introduction by her classmates the all girl gang . Compared to guys they were sweeter but still "junior introductions " are never easy . Grilling questions but manageable .

Then there was the medical strike and occasional police arrests for participating in strikes . We were scared for two reasons . If you participate in the strike you may be arrested by police but if you escape the strike you may get caught by seniors . Devil and deep sea . I still remember once sneakily escaping into the college library a safe zone .

I dont know how many of my classmates were underaged married as one session was "marriage ceremony " conducted by seniors as part of introduction . No need of dowry , no parents required and no consent too . They choose random girl and random boy and ask to marry . Unfortunately or fortunately i never got that opportunity ..

When i look back at medical college life I who is against oppression and compulsions enjoyed that period mainly because all my seniors did the introductions in good spirit and all became my friends after that period . And there was never a threat of physical ragging or even emotional abuse . i write this specifically because recently i chanced on a link to my seniors id . Name was ok . But when i double clicked the photo it was a shudder as well as a warm sense of finding a person from the past . Yes he was a senior one of the many who made me "introduce " myself . And the countless other seniors i dedicate this blog to them :)