T3

Tianshi 3

By Monkey King

Tianshi is the modern day reincarnation of Kuan Yin with one thousand arms. Her outfit is very much western whereas her mindset is eternely eastern. Her motherly compassion, empathy and love for fellow human beings radiates from her lotus eyes.

Her thousand arms are ever in action, an arm paints beautiful pictures of the world, another plays a set of drums for orchestra, her hands and legs move gracefully while dancing like a pro, she drives racing cars just for fun, when she waves her hand like a symphony conductor, her ships start sailing across the silk routes of China.

She embraces her man with her one thousand hands like a tender climber grape vine and offers her mind body soul and showers her abundant love and affection on him. Her sharp eyes seldom fails to note his slightest inclination to another woman beyond her devotion to him. Watch out guys, Tianshi is good at Taekwondo too!

She has developed strong muscles by constant workouts in gym, just it needs a pair of red gloves in her hands to knock him down for his misbehavior, but she won't rush to do it because she is a good woman, a forgiving forgetting fairy.

Let us see some general information here. Like the ying yang, day and night, male female attraction is the vital force behind procreation not only in human beings, but also in birds and animals.

Except humans, in all other spices the male has mane or any other beautification to attract and court his female partner. Also their union is seasonal and feasible for a specific period. In humans, its the reverse and its the female that stands distinctly beautiful and attractive. Their union is possible in all seasons and for all reasons sexual physical mental intellectual to platonic levels.

She had 3 million eggs as a fetus, reducing to 1 million at the time of her birth. The eggs are in hibernation until her puberty at ten. She still has 300,000 eggs in tact now and sheds an egg a month periodically, waiting to be fertilized for beautiful babies to come out. She is like a golden egg to break from inside for good. This egg can never be broken from outside, it hurts so much beware!

He is a child until 15 attaining his puberty in style. After that every day is his periods capable of releasing a whooping 500 million sperms in a single union. Looking at another girl is his birth defect, the life of a man was short in the past in jungles and wars, he needs to seed before he is gone for good. At the same time, it is no justification for him to cheat on his angel anytime.

Men women their relationship both sexual asexual has been a subject for legends and puranas across the religions and races. There was a Rama who was the faithful husband to single wife sita, took her to forest, lost her to Ravana, rescued her to put her chastity under test by asking her to walk through fire.

There was a Krishna who mesmerized girls with his loving looks and playing the musical flute, living with eachone of them simultaneously to keep his every girl in a blissful paradise.

Now coming to Tianshi's doubt, if it is possible a man who is not her biological father to be her father in faith and action? The answer is, yes it is possible after his male menopause. Until then, let him be your friend, your companion for exchanging love, unconditional and unassuming and expecting nothing in return.

T2

Tianshi 2

By Monkey King

Chinese in Malaysia are 24% of the total population and second largest ethnic group. They are active in business and trading. They don't proclaim or differentiate themselves when asked about their nationality, they would say 'Yeah. I'm a malaysian' 

When you ask them, 'Then why do you look different?' then they would talk about their ethnic origin which is main land China and great grandparents migration many generations before.

A Chinese Malaysian or Malaysian Chinese girl whatever you call, she grows in diversified cosmopolitan society in Malaysia. She has friends and neighbors who are local Malay Muslims, Chinese Buddhists like her and Indian Hindus. 

She speaks mandarin at home and Malaysian bahasa outside. Her English levels are way above her counterparts in main land China.

She is highly confused and at cross roads when it comes to her marriage. Whenever life gives you many choices, like ice cream coffee and hot chocolate, you find it difficult to choose one.

She can marry a Malay boy. He is honest, sun tanned romantic young man. He can love you and share a great relationship with you. Then what is the issue? Go ahead and enjoy, right?

Wait. There is a catch. He is a Muslim, so you need to convert to Islam and marry him. After that, forget your casual beers to chill out in hot tropical weather of Malaysia!

While Chinese girl Malay boy marriage could be a successful combination, she has to bear the cultural and religious differences with her husband's parents and other in-laws family. There have been many divorces reported on a later stage, by this time you have kids born and need to take care and you can't convert back from Islam.

What if she marries a fellow Chinese guy like her? Well the same religion, culture tradition all the same, but yet there are certain things to think before. He could belong to a traditional Chinese family, which is proud in celebrating their male power. 

"He is the eldest son in our family and leader of all". We wish to bring a kuan yin for our family. Is she willing to loose her identity and become Mrs So and so, to be a ever grinning trophy wife, a faceless identity-less creature, bearing his children, raising them and follow raising her grand children and die one day nameless and clueless?

Can she marry an Indian guy? Not a bad idea either. No issues regarding religion, need no conversion what so ever. But there could be some issues related to food. 

He could be a vegetarian, a spicy food eater and may pose problems this way. Also the Indian boys are known to be soft fickle minded, mama's boy. By the time he transfers his loyalty to you in full, you will be a mother of a handsome grown up young man.

Tianshi is Malaysian, She is Chinese too. She is also smart. Thats why she is a career woman. She works drives earns like a man and hardly she needs him for her economic survival.

But she would marry one day, to spend her evening sitting next to her husband and open her heart and talk a lot. They would look into each others eyes and discuss anything and everything under the sun. 

Their topic of discussion is not of any importance, it is their togetherness which is. By that time they would have a son and daughter, smiling, playing and running around the home, as proof of their loving relationship.

T1

Tianshi 1

By Monkey King

She was trembling with fear. Her tender rosy skin had become pale now. Neither a tall person nor heavy built she was. A petite cute girl in her early thirties. But no one can guess her age more than twenty two, given that smiling child like face she had.

Sharp eyes, sharp nose, sharp chin everything in her was sharp. A cute dimple in her cheek shined like a little diamond when she smiled and giggled. Her skin tone was the treasure her parents carried with them, when they moved from China to Malaysia for ever in 1930s.

Oh My God! She was looking cute when her eyes opened wide with her exclamation. Honey, I wish to share with you what happened yesterday night? I was bitten by a Snake!

Really? Then how come you are chatting with me now? Did you take any antidote? I was asking her in a bit confused voice. It wasn't real honey, it was a nightmare, haha.

Tianshi had every right to have a nightmare. Her past had many many stories in it. Today she works for the Shipping Industry as a Senior Manager, controlling two hundred staff and plenty of ships sailing from China to every country in the world wait for hand gesture.

But many a snakes have bitten her on her way to climb the corporate ladder. She has made sure every such snake has been decimated and neutralized completely.

Tianshi and me we shared many things in common. I belong to a tribe, which moved from Europe to India, to start speaking a Dravidian language. Then our ancestors moved five hundred years ago to another province, where we had to speak a language altogether different.

Whether its India or Malaysia, you need to be trilingual. Speak one at home, read write and speak another outside and be fluent in English for business at national and international level.

Tianshi- to be continued.

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Work From Home 2020

Ten years ago, I have landed into this land of dragons. I wasn't aware the year is of great significance to two countries thousands of kilometers apart. Yes Thang lang, called as Ha Noi these days celebrated 1000 years simultaneously with Than Gia Vu in An do.

An do is Indian in Vietnamese. Than Gia Vu is Thanjavur! That day I had been to Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi to take part in the celebrations, lots of floral decorations, serial lights, bikes everywhere many a families, men carrying their kids on their shoulders and beautiful butterfly like girls fluttering in all directions, but be careful and watchful guys! Otherwise you may get gently pushed down into the crowd that like it happened to my friend Abishek Misra and his Samsung Note was barted away for a cup of ice cream!!

The country loves to eat and drink outside every day. Freely flowing green tea during day time and burgundy golden beers after the sunset. Zamil my saudi company has factories in north and south Vietnam. Hanoi in north and Saigon in south. 

After reunification of Vietnams, Saigon became HCMC- Ho Chi Minh City. I went there first time in 2011, looking for a Hindu temple to pray when Aakash joined medical school in Bharatpur Nepal. I was curious to know if Sai baba was in anyway connected to Saigon; was pleasantly surprised to see him in Dandayuthapani temple in HCM. Crazy me landing into right destinations by my not so right and baseless google searches.

During years 2011 to 2014 almost every alternate month I was flying from Ha Noi to HCMC until I got transferred to our Dong Nai factory, 50km away from HCMC. In the middle of year 2015, Radhika and me had to say good bye to Zamil and return back to India. After that I almost forgot Vietnam meandering back in Saudi for three more years and the last two years in India.

Back in Oct 2019, I got an opportunity to join another steel company in HCMC. The day I joined, I regained the Vietnamese hospitality, the beer culture while my colleagues enjoyed the sea food and meat, I'm happy with my tofu, boiled spinach and garlic rice.

Year 2020 arrived with a surprise to Vietnamese, they could no longer drink and drive anymore. First time in the history, bikers need to be sober when they reach homes in the evening. The business activities slow down every January looking with TET the Vietnamese lunar new year around the corner to arrive by the month end. Its nothing but the other name of Chinese new year! 

But the word China is dreaded and forbidden in Vietnam, similar to Pakistan in India. During the TET holidays we drank a lot, back to back sessions. Our friend from China had arrived in Wuhan by this time. We were joking at each other "you are the virus" while considering corona as just an internal affair of China. I had a short trip to Africa by January end, Radhika and Ashika arrived in HCMC by February 1st week nobody bother to check us during our flights. 

With my wife and daughter, I was roaming around freely in HCM while Ashika was enjoying her Cafe Sua Da while Radhika got engaged with her newly discovered You Tuber passions. I asked Ashika if she could extend her stay with us until March, but she stuck to her original plan to return to Melbourne by 25th Feb, which I think now was a right decision.

By March 2020, Corona has become a global nuisance. Europe has started melting under the covid's heat. We stared hearing about covid cases in Hongkong, Singapore, Bangkok and Philippines. The other Sunday evening, my assistant Phuc a Vietnamese Catholic called me in Zalo with the breaking news! Corona has arrived Vietnam shores, his friend's sister was in the same flight with the air hostess tested positive upon arrival in Tan Son Nhat Int'l airport HCMC. Air hostess became F0, Phuc's friend's sister F1 along with 250 passengers. Phuc's friend the F2 met Phuc in Church for evening chorus making Phuc F3 with no symptoms or infections what so ever. We asked Phuc to self quarantine to be in the safe side for two weeks time and he started working from home until end of March. Later the F1 girl was found negative for covid test which otherwise would have upgraded to F0 status. 

Infections found left and right in Hanoi, Danang and HCMC. Ten thousand people quarantined in north Vietnam. Some foreigners, pilots landed HCMC infecting some in Buddha bar, Indian restaurant with areas near airport and district one becoming hotspots. Too many public announcements in my apartment, security checking temperature, offering sanitizer at the main gate. There was even an emergency assembly announcement one day morning 5 am that made us running down from 7th floor. 

From 1st of April, we declared lockdown for office started work from home extended twice until month end now. Tri ky the busiest local restaurant opposite to my balcony is silent since ages after one of its waitress was found positive on 16th March. Radhika and myself come out of our apartment once in two three days to buy groceries and milk from Vinmart down stairs. 

Couple of days ago, we had a long walk to the co-op mart supermarket crossing the deserted Gia Dinh park which otherwise stays packed with evening walkers and joggers. Business appears almost normal in HCM with a steel building getting erected near our place, banks shops open and bikes still on the road. All restaurants, bars, pubs and massage centers are closed until further notice. Govt has registered 268 positive cases until now with a majority declared cured. 

There is a talk to relax the lockdown with social distancing, mask and sanitizer to continue, to resume local buses, trains and flights by early May downgrading the covid status. All said and done, life in Vietnam will not be the same anymore in same lines with bitter and sad pessimistic mindset sowed by the virus in two hundred plus countries across the world.

Kannum Kannum KoLLai Aditthaal

Kannum Kannum KoLLai Aditthaal

By Venkat Raghavan

(Again) With no expectations I went to see this movie.  The title was catchy.  It seemed to say something beyond the romanticism of the phrase.  Posters alluring.

There was one more reason.  Dulqar Salman.

The director was unknown (maiden venture) but Dulqar Salman as an actor wouldn’t feature in a trash was my thought.  

No, this is *NOT a game changing* movie like a _Vikram Veda, Super Deluxe_ or totally experimental like my previous review _Othaseruppu_ either.  

But it is a thoroughly entertaining new age movie that is reflective of talent and outlook of the current crop of young movie makers and their *bold departures* from norms.  

Siddharth (Dulqar) sees Meera (Rita Varma -oh she acts well) and there is instant spark.  He follows her everywhere.  And on a fine day tells her that he is totally in.  She is taken aback but is persuaded to think over and she leaves irksome.  On the appointed day, Siddharth and buddy Kallis (Kaleeswaran) expectantly wait for her at a park and she turns up ridden by someone in a Royal Enfield bike.  After moments of anxiety, they see the rider is also a female.  And after further tense moments she agrees to court him.  

Siddhu is a freelance app developer. Kallis a freelance graphic designer.  Meera is a beautician who renders services at clients’ home.  She is meticulous, values every penny. (teaches shop keeper a valuable lesson when instead of small change he offers toffee).  She grew up in an orphanage and obviously is charitable towards needy.  As Siddhu tries to keep Meera amused Kallis tries to woo Shreya the bike riding companion of Meera.  She is an independent small time caterer. 

Siddhu and Kallis in their romantic spree, find themselves completely emptied of their pockets as they were busy gallivanting with girls for a month without bothering to work.  Time to get back to work so coffers can be replenished.  Now we get a real peek in to their ”actual” work!!   It is not app developing or graphic designing.  It is *online shopping fraud*.  

_Modus Operandi:_ they shop online for expensive high spec laptops.  They do it under bogus names, addresses and payment methods.  When the goods arrive they collect in the vicinity of address (and not at the exact address) making it appear as though accidentally they had stepped out or some such.  They skillfully replace the original expensive parts inside with cheap alternatives and then return the merchandise on some excuse under the policy of goods return within a few days.  These expensive parts they sell and make money.  

They don’t do the same thing too long.  So they switch to robbing things left inside luxury cars by copying the radio signals of the remote unlock.  

The scene then shifts to a tough Asst Police Commisoner’s (Gautham Menon) house where his daughter who is playing on her new laptop providentially escapes as the laptop blows up.  ACP after going through gadget experts, doesn’t take long to smell the mode of crime, gets police cyber cell follow the online goods return trail and is waiting for the next such return to happen.   But it is not happening. (the boys are now on cars remember?) 

But Siddhu and Kallis are done with.  They are done with their con life.  They have now made 40 Lakhs of rupees and propose to Meera and Shreya they start a new career setting up a Saloon (for Meera) and a restaurant (for Shreya) in Goa with 40 lakhs as investment from their life long savings.  They also plan to get married first.  They drive down to Goa in Siddhu’s car.  They are put up in a nice hotel.  The night falls, as the boys come back separately from the bar back to their rooms, they see ACP at the hotel reception making enquiries.  Even as they head to their rooms, they find the ACP already there with a few cops.  The totally flustered guys in complete pale open the rooms and the *girls aren’t there!!*

Now this is HALF-TIME guys.  If you think I have given away anything, there are more twists and turns in the second half.  The narrative and scenes are built around cyber crime.  

_Now what did I most like about the movie?_

It is a movie with no judgment on morality. No justification for character’s choices or actions. No intimate duets or female exposure.  No pretense whatsoever.  The only niggling thing is the apparent ease with which they break technology. (some logical liberties)

It is two happy go lucky couple who are extremely clever.  The movie is light, romantic, suspenseful yet humorous.  

Ultimately there is no compulsion for justice or karma.  

_That is Tamil mainstream movie making at its new age best._

Beer is a beer - by Venkat Raghavan

*What can beat a good beer drinking experience?*

The answer is best Beer drinking experience preceded by a brewery tour education.  

If anyone ever thought “a beer is a beer is a beer, so what dear?” a trip to Geist factory is all you need… to be clear! 

It happened almost unplanned.  Ashok had asked for a smaller lunch meeting (four of us) before the evening gala he hosted.  I wasn’t sure if we needed it.  We spoke and then Ashok called back to say we are going with Mohan for a brewery tour.  Exactly what I wanted!  Mohan had deferred his joining a weekend getaway with friends to accommodate the brewery tour.   

I am a beer drinker.  I know what goes in a beer.  That is what I thought.  But as Mohan took us through the various stages of beer making, my elementary education precipitated like the unwanted residue after the beer brew is ready, and my knowledge was aglow like the golden liquid of Geist beer.   Sparkling too!   

In short, this is what happens in the brewing process.  Malt is the basic ingredient of a beer.  Malt is nothing but a grain (barley, wheat for instance) that has been allowed to germinate, but stopped prior to full sprouting.  This -stopping of continued germination- is done typically by roasting the grain.  Malting allows the releasing of grain’s sugars easier.   The next is the process of mashing when the malt is mixed with water and is heated and churned.  The resulting sweet liquid obtained is called wort (a new term I learnt yesterday).  Then the wort is moved to another large vessel where it is mixed with Hops.  (Hops is a herb, a plant that is a cousin of marijuana).  It is heated and treated.  Then removed to a final container where the yeast is added.   Before it moves to this final container is a heat exchanger where the liquid is cooled down rapidly to the desired temperature.  It is in this final container where the yeast acts on the sugars in the liquid to release alcohol and carbon dioxide.   And then it is bottled and moved to cold storage.    

If you ever read a laddu recipe and thought you could make great laddus first time or everyone following the recipe would end up making similar laddus, we know we would be far from right, right?  It is much more intricate.  It depends on the quality of the ingredients, the consistency of the batter mixture, the frying time, temperature, the sugar syrup’s consistency, and the right flavoring.

Then… getting it right is one thing, and making it special is another!  How do Mohan and his partner Narayan (_what a delight it was meeting Narayan_!) make Geist special?

All of the malt is imported from Bavaria, Germany.   Bavaria is the citadel of beers as we know.  They add absolutely nothing else to the wort.  In most commercial beers, if you have noticed the labels, you will find mention of sugar and other ingredients like corn syrup.  The water is sourced from the same compound.  It is RO’ed and then minerals added.  The hops are the other special ingredients imported.  It is the hops that lend the distinct flavor.  One of the varieties that lends a citrus flavor was so delightful as Mohan let me take a sniff inside the walk-in cold storage where it is kept at 5 degree centigrade. 

Geist beer, depending on its variety takes anything between 11 days to 22 days from the water and malt mixed stage to the bottle.  In regular commercial beers it could be 5 days!   Good art takes time.  Best dal (yes, the innocuous dal) is the one that simmers overnight!  

The carbonation in entirely natural!  They don’t infuse the fizz!

Above all, they make their own yeast!  A laboratory in house for this purpose.  Mohan says “*Yeast is everything is a beer*!”.   No using of commercial yeast!   

Geist is Vegetarian!  In order to hasten precipitation, breweries typically use some compounds, a main ingredient of which is obtained from fish.  Geist doesn’t use this.   My vegetarian conscience, that too on a Saturday, was gratified. 

Geist beer once cased, is stored at a temperature of 5 degrees and transported to the outlets in refrigerated vehicles.   

Apart from making the beer great, what else Geist does?

The “spent grain” - the residue from the beer making is supplied to cattle farmers.  This proteinaceous feed evidently improves milk yield by 20% and above.   They also dispense with the other residues that go as manure. 

Finally down to the real: that is, drinking beer!    

I had a taste of five varieties of beers, under the perfect setting of a big banyan tree and a Pipal tree.  On a sunny afternoon a perfect quencher to start with.   The beers endear you and the names too!  Weiss Guy for instance.  If Kamacitra is intriguing (the citrus flavored one) JamesBlonde is gripping!  I am not giving any more on this subject, experience it yourself!  You may realise those trees are Bodhi, like I did!!   

Last but not the least! 

Come April, there will be a restaurant!  In the same compound adjoining the Bodhi trees.  *I am going!!*