Yuvraj, Tirupathi and Chaos theory

Yet another example of chaos theory at work...India wins 20-20 nonsense(20-20 can be equated to Yuvan's music. You listen to the Dad and on that confidence you listen to the son and you soon wonder what made you assume that something might have rubbed on to the son from the Dad) and you have BCCI and government pouring money on our cricketers. In the bygone ages of amateurs and quasi professionals, when cricket was nowhere near as lucrative as it is these days, when cricketers were not omnipresent, it made sense to gift land, money or a job to these achievers, thereby adding some security to their life. But how sensible is it to pour lakhs on the overpaid millionaire cricketers of the current age who in addition to having lucrative contracts with BCCI also earn a fortune through advertisements. This even when the average Ranji trophy and league cricketers gets paid pittance. But then we make traditions of these things don't we. We would only add money into the super rich coffers of Tirupathi as offerings while allowing the classic temples in and around Tanjavaur, Chidambaram and Kumbakonam to lie in ruins. If even in the realm of gods some are MORE equal than others, what can the poor Ranj Trophy cricketer expect.

Coming to the reference of Chaos theory at work, these days modellers use Chaos theory to model and explain why some movies become super hits, why some books become ultra popular and so on. And what is generally found is, that there is a positive feedback at work. So if there is some initial advantage, that advantage tends to increase subsequently and in the absence of external intervention there is a runaway. People try to apply this to ecological and economic networks. For eg I remember one talk, where the speaker used agent based interaction models to explain why laissez faire capitalism actually would soon lead to money in the hands of few while all the rest would become pennyless. It might be a very simplified model, but it gives one insight into how complex unbridled systems evolve naturally. My guess (or insight) is that this phenomenon can be applied to why some temples are more popular and why some cricketers get porsches even while others struggle to make ends meet. Even as I explained all this to my mother, she gave me a look of surprise and said our ancestors made this observation ages back and hence the oft repeated "panam panathoda thaaan serum"(money will only marry money). I tell you, these old people are out to get me.

Imsai of anachronisms

Ok this is not a review of Imsai Arasan nor is this about Vadivelu's drunken antics. And neither is it about kalaignar TV (though I am gald to see Yuhi Sethu back in action).

Coming to the point, there are some very interesting things about Chimbudevan's Imsai, that as far as I can recall not many people seemed to have noticed. Now that is just another way of bragging that I noticed something in the movie. But hey what is a blog for if I am not allowed some self indulgence.

There are some very interesting anachronisms in the movie. The funniest being the final speech by the Ahimsai Arasan (ie the reformed Imsai Arasan), wherein he says "Maaveeran Alexanderpol, Samrat Ashokarpol.....Braveheart Mel Gibsonpol...." And then there is the Arasan's face morphed onto Brucelee's body. The best anachronism is not actually funny. but is a piece of smart work arising from conventional ignorance. It is basically Nasser's reaction to the Thambi Vadivelu's comment "maatram ondruthaaan marathuiruppathu" (Change is the only thing that does not change). Now this is a quote which is usually incorrectly attributed to Karl Marx, while it predates him by atleast a thousand years or more. But assuming that Marx made such a comment or was the first to use that phrase, Nasser's reaction to it is interesting. He gives a very surprised look and says, "...Ange thottu Inge thottu, athaiyum padithu vittaya.." ("Have you read that too..?"). The reference is to Marx and his works. But the story happens in the 1790's and not the in the 19th century. So Nasser does not refer to Marx by name.

For God's Sake........

Forget about listening to the way "Madrasis" pronounce it...Can't people even read properly from the Menu. For the millionth time....
It is NOT Dosa......It is Dosai....
It is NOT Vada......It is Vadai....
Just as it not Poora, but Poori....

I rest my case M'lud.