The joy and hope of James Gunn's 2025 Superman

As a huge MCU buff, I normally have not preferred the more serious, sometimes dark movies that come out of the DC universe. But if I have one regret - it is not watching the 2025 James Gunn adaption of Superman in the theatre. This movie surprisingly really hit almost all the right notes for me in terms of being an escapist, fantastical entertainer but more importantly in terms of doing what art does at its best - give hope. Listing down the various reasons why this movie was an absolute win for me!

1) Exploring the relevance of choosing to be a kind, decent person in a position of influence and power especially in today's world 

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I actually remember my dad making us watch the OG Cristopher Reeve's 70's Superman movies when we were kids. I do specifically remember CR's portrayal to be extremely charismatic, pure almost bordering on naive. And essentially from what I understand from the comics, Superman is suppose to be this uncomplicated, really good and kind man raised lovingly by his adoptive earth parents. And I mean when you think about it - juxtaposing a character like that in the world of today seems jarring and oddly out of place. In fact to suit the times, DC made Henry Cavill's Superman more morally ambiguous and grey which by and large did not work for the studio.  But David Corenswet's adaption - there is something so endearing and hopeful about it. He wears it unapologetically on his sleeve - that he wants to be a good man and do kind deeds in this world matter how much his fellow super hero friends scorn at him for not wanting to kill but transport to a space zoo a big monster wreaking havoc on the street or even when his cynical girlfriend tells him with grudging admiration that he is too trusting and always sees the good things in people, his response is 'maybe that is the real punk rock'. In possibly the darkest scene of the movie - when Lex kills in front of him not even a loved one of his but a kind street vendor who once gave Superman free food - the latter's tremendous grief and guilt is quite telling but even with what he considers a strength of being kind and empathetic used as a weakness against him, he never once budges from the decent person that he is. And in the process, he inspires others to do the right thing.

 The only time where he questions this conviction about himself is when to his crushing disappointment, he finds out that his alien birth parents had more nefarious intentions for him where they wanted him to rule over earth. It takes his loving adoptive dad to get him out of his existential crisis with Pa Kent reminding him that whatever his birth parents intended for him or for that matter however even he and his wife raised him, ultimately it is Clark's choices and actions which have ultimately determined the person he is today and as his dad who actually raised him lovingly with good values, he could not be more proud. 

I really believe the appeal of this Superman and MCU's Captain America is their integrity to these 'old fashioned' values in a world where you unfortunately have too many hateful and divisive leaders who wreak cruelty being in some of the most global positions of influence

2) Finally getting the female lead in a superhero movie right 

I read somewhere that - I rarely meet men in real life as extraordinary as the ones on film, and rarely see women on film as extraordinary as the ones I know in real life!  

This may sound cynical but the general portrayal of female leads especially in superhero films is so unidimensional like as if people forget that women are people with their own unique individuality with aspirations, dreams and intellect. Rachel Brosnahan's portrayal of Lois Lane is close to perfection. She does not need to be kicking ass or have super powers of her own to be strong. She is a feisty, through professional news reporter who does not hesitate to objectively and legitimately question the actions of Superman. She actually drives the plot forward by actually enlisting help of other superheros to locate and get Superman out of his imprisonment and ultimately it is because of her and her colleague's meticulous reporting that the villain Lex Luthor is actually taken down in the most humiliating fashion. She is not in the film just to be a mannequin or a damsel in distress. And all of this while genuinely showing up and caring for Clark/Superman during the moments where he needs it the most. 

 3) Moral clarity to go....there (politically)

This part of the movie legitimately astonished me! An American film depicting its wildly popular Superhero take a moral stand and go against a US allied, militarily superior, shown to be a white nation invading a weak predominantly brown nation - going as far as to show the former shooting at kids of the latter nation. James Gunn can bleat all he wants that this is 'not' inspired by current conflicts but the message is pretty clear - worldly conflicts might be too complex and burdened by too much of historical baggage to solve, but what is NOT complicated is that it is morally UNACCEPTABLE to slaughter innocent civilians especially children in a war. As I write this, in Gaza 63,000 people have been killed out of which 20,000 are estimated to be kids. Infact Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the head of the Italian Bishops' Conference, led a prayer vigil on Aug. 14 where he read the name of every child who has died in the conflict between Israel and Hamas since the start of the war in 7th October 2023. He took 7 hours to do so - let. that. sink. in - 7 hours! It is a cause of great disillusionment that the world has been tolerating this but I will say it is equally hopeful that a US film in the most mainstream way possible is calling our attention to one of the simplest issues of moral clarity - civilian deaths in war. 

 4) The impact and dynamic of having a loveable rascal pet depicted to perfection

This one is personal. So James Gunn modelled Superman's dog Krypto on his dog Ozu who he describes as being the worst dog in the world. The depiction of Krypto and his interaction with Superman in almost every frame reminded me of my relationship with my beloved rascal Leo who crossed over to the rainbow bridge nearly 2 years ago. Leo was not a 'model' dog in the slightest. He was immensely destructive, chewed furniture, shoes, almost destroyed my passport, peed on literally every sofa, bed, item of clothing, he could not understand basic instructions, would whine when he did not get things his way would bark at anyone who passed my door and sometimes could be very unpredictable in his interactions with people - especially strangers. But you know what. He was one of the best things to have happened in my life. There is one scene in particular where Superman after getting mentally and physically battered after imprisonment is resting and lying down in his childhood bed. As Superman opens his eyes, the usually restless Krypto is just lying on his chest quietly staring at him and starts wagging his tail when he sees his master all right. This was Leo's behaviour as well when I was down and out, sometimes find it difficult to get going, my usually energetic hyper dog would just plant himself quietly next to me and refuse to budge, like almost sensing that needed to comfort me by being physically present. And yeah, God save any person who he sensed was a threat to me! Like how Krypto charges at Lex in the movie when Lex jabs his finger at Superman, Leo would also charge at people who he sensed was a threat to fiercely protect me. The movie also got right the reactions of people around the owner to such a loveable menace of a dog ranging from annoyance to fear to disgust to indifference to amusement while also capturing the owners exasperation to such a dog but also his/her emotional dependence on the dog like the scene where Superman panics and goes absolutely ape shit when he finds out that Krypto has been kidnapped and nowhere to be found. I really from the bottom of my heart thank James Gunn for capturing this on cinema. It helped me and my relationship with Leo feel so seen, validated and accepted. 

5) James Gunn specialities 

Having seen all the 3 Guardians of the Galaxy movies also directed by James Gunn, I have realized that he has certain common themes that play in all of his films including pitch perfect integration of music (the new adaption of the Superman theme is incredible!), giving a voice and status to the 'weirdos' like Metamorpho, Groot, Rocket Racoon etc, breathtaking visuals, humour and lightness of tone of the film. It is so obvious that he is so deeply thoughtful and empathetic as a person, feels kinship especially towards the misfits, vulnerable and animals, is a funny and creative story-teller. When somebody like this uses his/her incredible talent to bring people joy, make them feel less alone in this world - I really cannot think of anything more hopeful and uplifting. Maybe that is the real punk rock. Take a bow, James Gunn!

How AI/ML brought the last song of the Beatles to life

The world runs on stories. One such story that moved me in a big way in the recent past consists of elements that are of significant importance to my life – my favourite music and band – The Beatles, friendship, and a part of my professional life that activates the nerd in me as it relates to understanding practical applications of AI/ML.

Sometime late last year the Beatles announced that they were going to release a single – what was billed as their last song ‘with the help of AI’. My alarm bells started ringing. For one – The Beatles as a band broke up in 1970 and out of 4, 2 members – John Lennon and George Harrison passed away in 1980 and 2001 respectively. One of the reasons that the Beatles are relevant to so many people till this day is that they were for their time, really way ahead and experimental with their music and going with that theme, this announcement implied (to their fans atleast) possibly the use of Gen AI to recreate John and George’s vocals. But to be honest, the thought of this was horrifying and I really wondered why the hell Paul McCartney, who seemed to be aggressively driving this-  aged 81, had achieved the most ultimate of fame and who had just become United Kingdom’s first billionaire musician would want to do this and possibly risk belittling the formidable legacy of the Beatles.

Clearly, I was the not the only one who thought this way as there was an immediate backlash to the point that Paul himself had to issue a clarification that AI was not going to be used to generate any new content and was just going to be used to clean up some old music.

So what was it exactly that AI/ML did here? There was an old demo tape where John Lennon had recorded his voice in unfinished songs in the 1970’s. His wife passed the tape on to the surviving members of the Beatles in the 1990’s. Two unreleased songs from the tape – Free as a Bird and Real Love were completed by the remaining band members in the 1995 by layering instruments and vocals on top. The third song – Now and Then – could not be completed. This is because John’s vocals on it, were often faded at certain points, to much of background noise due to the overbearing piano and external noise. However in 2022, a machine learning technique was used to isolate all the different instruments and voices in a song, each into a separate track. This is based on a mathematical technique Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) that is used to analyze the frequency content of a signal over time. The Fourier Transform decomposes a signal into its constituent frequencies, providing a frequency spectrum. It’s quite complicated like separating out the original colours from a paint mix. In a nutshell, this technology was able to separate out John’s vocals from the piano and all other background noise in the tape. Hence the last official song of the Beatles ‘Now and Then’ – in which all 4 members of the band – John, Paul, George, Ringo have participated in was finally released in Nov 2^nd 2023. The before and after effect of this ML and how the song finally came to life is really well documented by a 12 min video by the impeccable narration of surviving members of the Beatles – Paul and Ringo available on Youtube.

So coming back to the original question of why Paul McCartney was so determined to release this particular single despite all this time and so many setbacks. At the heart of every impactful story there is an emotional core and here it is a complicated but really deep friendship. By the time, the Beatles had broken up in 1970, the once really close friendship between John and Paul had soured to the point that they were not on talking terms because of bitterness, jealousy and resentment.

However the verses of this song written by John features a wistful, mournful lyric that reads—with no stretch of the imagination—as a message from one old friend to another:.

“I know it's true

It's all because of you

And if I make it through

It's all because of you.”

 

John goes on to sing:

“Now and then

I miss you.

I want you to be there for me

Always to return to me”

And most hauntingly, according to a Forbes article, the final words that John spoke to Paul in person 4 years before he died was “Think about me every now and then, old friend,” which ultimately became the title of the last ever song of the Beatles.

It feels poignant to write about this story on Friendship Day which ultimately resulted in possibly the coolest application of AI/ML I ever thought possible  - To allow a millennial fan (whose parents were literal infants at the height of popularity of the band) of the Beatles to witness a live release of their last song in 2023 - more than 53 years  after their breakup.

Rest in Peace, Matthew Perry!

On October 28th 2023, the world mourned the untimely demise of Matthew Perry best known for playing the iconic Chandler Bing in the cultural behemoth of a show named FRIENDS. Matthew is a guy who battled his demons in terms of drug/alcohol abuse almost all his life and finally turned corner in recent years and wanted to help people with addiction issues, even writing a book on overcoming the same last year. FRIENDS is my favourite TV show and Chandler my favourite TV character ever so I was truly devastated to hear the news. And clearly I was not the only by just glancing at the social media outpouring of grief when the news came out. 

I think what was so upsetting for any FRIENDS fan is that Matthew ended up living Chandler's greatest fear in that episode where Heckles dies where he is most afraid of dying alone in his home. Which is so ironic because his fictional Chandler has such an inspiring redemption arc in the show. In the beginning of the show, Chandler outwardly has a lot of things going on for him – good looks, great wit, steady job and financially stability. But he is emotionally messed up from childhood -  extremely awkward, insecure and in his words ‘hopeless and desperate for love’ but he slowly but surely comes out of his internal struggles mostly due to his close friendships and his love for Monica ....and ultimately grows into a stable and emotionally secure adult by the end of the last season. His character resonated with so many, precisely because, he wasn’t presented as some super confident, idealized dream boat. In some way, even as a fictional character, Chandler gives people hope that things will work out eventually whatever complicated mess or insecurities they have going on. And I guess what's particularly distressing is that Matthew, whose personality is at the very least partially enmeshed with Chandler's, couldn’t bring to life Chandler's redemption. I guess it's ridiculous to expect what happens in a TV show to happen real life.   

So do Matthews efforts to return to sobriety count for nothing? One of my closest friends once told me that life is about finding moments of joy amid struggle. And I do think at the end of the day, no one is guaranteed anything, even those people who have the strongest sense of belonging could end up dying alone. But that doesn’t mean we stop fighting and trying for what is truly important to us. I think that’s what Matthew did. He tried and looks like he did get some peace in the end. And even amidst that intense struggle he had, he built a legacy of providing comfort and laughter to millions (and when we count across generations probably billions) especially during their tough times. He built a family of this own through his cast members who clearly loved him dearly and eventually went on to help people caught in the spiral of addiction. And despite his life being tragically cut short, that is still an incredibly fulfilling life to have lived. Rest In Peace, Matthew Perry. You will be cherished for generations to come.

PS - We must do better as a society to deal with the social stigma and shame that surrounds addiction. Addiction is not because of mental 'weakness' but is a disease as should be treated as such. 

Grit inspires

During the 46th POTUS inauguration, this tweet really caught my eye. A cursory glance at Joe Biden's life reveals a lot of tragedy and heartbreak - losing a spouse, a baby daughter, an adult son and a severe stuttering condition in childhood among other things. I don't know how people can function losing one let alone 2 children. Even in his professional life,  before this point, he had 2 failed presidential campaigns and till the very last moment of the 2020 primary campaign, the media had completely written him off as an ancient, uninspiring gaffe prone candidate. His ascent to presidency at the age of 78 has to be one of the most underrated, unglamorous stories of grit and resilience. There have been a couple of viral videos of his where during townhalls, people ask him about overcoming grief ...about overcoming a confidence crushing condition that you are born with or cannot help (stutter in his case). The humanity and empathy with which he has addressed those questions is remarkable. He's like that comforting grandpa who reassures you that things are gonna be ok even if it feels otherwise. And when a person who has endured the kind of pain in life that he has, says that things are going to be okay, you can't help but believe him. 

This begs the question - How does one not get crushed by the weight of shit that life often throws at you? How do you not get completely consumed and overwhelmed by life's difficulties? I think this is a question, I will spend a lifetime trying to get an answer to. Even current affairs can be very depressing. 2020 especially felt like being hit by a firehose of bad news on a daily basis. How do you not get disillusioned by world we live in?

 I have some half baked theories on this which I will pen down and revisit every once in a while. 

A part of it is to do with finding purpose in life larger than one self. Engaging in activities you find meaning in. Building and investing in meaningful relationships that help weather pretty nasty storms. 

Another major part of it which is tough to explain and way more difficult to adopt is to get out of your head (something that needs way too many reminders to sink in even partially). When you view the world through just the myopic lens of your struggle , you fail to realize that not only is there a lot of suffering outside your small bubble, but more importantly there is a lot of overcoming of it too. If I talk from personal experience, I worked for about 1.5 years at a non profit that aimed at empowering underprivileged, adolescent girls to be more self reliant. The kind of stories I heard of the economic difficulties and social constraints that women from underserved sections of society face that stop them from achieving their true potential were gut wrenching. But at the same time, day in and day out, I would see the kind of drive, the determination and hope that these girls mustered to overcome some of the toughest circumstances and get jobs or pursue higher studies and even better, enlighten their communities with knowledge and skills (like financial literacy and digital skills) that improved quality of living. Also, I was exposed to some of the most ethical, compassionate and intelligent people who busted their ass to make people's lives better and who I was privileged to call my colleagues in my short stint which was a direct counter to the narrative that I had gleaned from the news that everything in this world is shitty and there is no hope. 

At a  time, where the public needs to hear more stories of people overcoming odds and the good that exists in society, most unfortunately, 24X7 news and social media is designed to give disproportionate attention to the flamboyant provocateurs, the lunatics, showboats, the radicals and the people who want to burn the system down. What our media miserably fails to highlight is the contribution of countless nameless and faceless behind the scenes people who do the drudge work to improve people's lives and solve their problems - the policy wonks, the social workers, nurses, teachers, etc. I think is this internal realization that there is lot of overcoming of suffering in the world or atleast an attempt at it is important because the next time life throws curveballs at you, you can take comfort or find motivation in the fact that you're not the only one getting hit and can eventually find the strength to get back up, duck and move forward.

Quotes of Wisdom Part 1

Some people are gifted with the knack of expressing profoundly deep and complex emotions most beautifully into the simplest of words. This nothing to do with being a master of grammar or knowing the fanciest of words in the dictionary (looking at you Mr. Tharoor!). It does have something to do with intellect and EQ , and yes, it does have something to do with having flair for the language but most importantly I think it has to do with the ability to have the courage to be vulnerable and wearing your heart on your sleeve. 

I have the tendency of saving good quotes that I come across through any medium. Recently, while browsing through my phone, I discovered a deluge of screenshots I had taken over the past year which are mainly quotes of former US Presidential candidate - Pete Buttigieg. This is mainly is a copy and paste post to record record these incredibly thoughtful quotes on a variety of topics mainly from Pete Buttigieg (PB). For a few of the quotes listed, I do want write why they mean so much to me personally. 

1) About the importance of politics 

I’m glad that with all that’s happening in the world right now, it is no longer cool for anyone to say that they don’t care about politics. I think PB’s quotes here capture so beautifully what is at stake.

“My faith teaches that the world is not divided into good people and bad people, that all of us are capable of good and bad things. Today, more than ever, politics matters because leaders can call out either what is best in us or what is worst in us, can draw us either to our better or to our worst selves. Politics at its worst as ugly, but at its best politics can lift us up. It is not just policy making, it is moral. It is soul craft. That is why we were in this.”

“Nothing about politics is theoretical for me. I’ve had the experience of writing a letter to my family, putting it in an envelope marked “just in case”, and leaving it where they would know where to find it in case I didn’t come back from Afghanistan. I’ve experience with being in a marriage that exists by the grace of a single vote on the U.S. Supreme Court. I have the experience of guiding a community where the per capita income was below $20,000 when I took office into a brighter future. I’m running because the decisions we make in the next three or four years are going to decide how the next 30 or 40 go. When I get to the current age of the current president in the year 2055, I want to be able to look back on these years and say -My generation delivered climate solutions, racial equality, and an end to endless war.”

2) About teachers

"I married a teacher. I married up."

“We need to honor teachers more like the military, and pay them more like doctors.”

This is dedicated to my mother who has been a high school english teacher for 25+ odd years and who is one of the main reasons why I like thoughtful words so much. Throughout my life I have seen her slog after school hours, give her heart and soul to her job, make a difference to many students  and I strongly believe that teachers are deserving of more respect and pay. 

3) About being comfortable in your own skin

“Putting yourself out there requires the courage to share your truth. It requires you to stand on the hope that you will be accepted and the faith that you can overcome rejection."

"The strongest people I know are not the loudest people. They are the ones who have the deepest sense of who they are, and what they value, and what they care about.”

Adding this really good quote from Obama along the same lines –

“Being a strong man includes being kind. There's nothing weak about kindness and compassion. There is nothing weak  about looking out for others. You're not a sucker to have integrity and to treat others with respect"

4) About bridging the perception gap between mental and physical health

"The first thing that needs to change before getting into policy is a willingness to talk about this. Mental health struggles affect every family, every work place, every community and every neighborhood is affected. And yet, we still talk about it like it is a specialty issue. Like it only affects a handful of people. We have got to create a culture where it is as acceptable to talk about struggling with bipolar disorder as it is would be talk about a fight with cancer. Where is as routine to seek an emotional health check up as it is a physical one. If we make that change in how we talk about it..and think about serious mental illness and addiction - that makes it so much easier to get the policy right. We do need to elevate these issues and bring them out of the shadows"

5) About religion 

More than 80%(!!!!) of the American Evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump. I personally know perfectly decent, honourable, pious non American Christians who support this man - who I can only describe as a personification of everything that is wrong with this world. And this because he shifted Israel's US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, has tried to enforce stricter abortion laws  and most ironically (in complete contrast with the Christian 'love thy neighbor' philosophy) has advocated a pretty strong anti immigration stance.   

This has bothered me for a really long time and I could never understand why, considering I am by no means, a religious person. I got my answer through this quote made by Pete Buttigieg about Trump's evangelical Vice President - Mike Pence (one of those deeply religious conservatives who cried bloody murder when Bill Clinton had an extramarital affair while in office in the 90's) 

“It's really strange. I used to disagree with him ferociously but I used to at least believe that he believes in our institutions and was not personally corrupt, but then how could he get on board with this President?"

His interpretation of scripture is pretty different than mine to begin with. My understanding of scripture is that it's about protecting the stranger and the prisoner and the poor person and that idea of welcome. That's what I get in the gospel when I'm at church and his has a lot more to do with sexuality ... and a certain view of rectitude. But even if you buy into that...How would he allow himself to become the cheerleader for the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing Donald Trump? I don't know."

This quote made me remember my hostel warden from my college days - a nun named Sister Hema who I remember as one of the kindest, most empathetic, comforting, caring and non judgmental persons I ever knew. She set an example through her actions of what it was to be a good human being grounded by values and faith without ever preaching or being sanctimonious. I was so inspired by her that from never going to church, I from that time started to go once in a while and observe lent. I would rather be someone like a Sister Hema or a Pete Buttigieg (who seems a decent, kind and intelligent person) who I think is a better representative of what they call Christian values than an unbearable ,sanctimonious and stunning hypocrite like Mike Pence. And I finally realized what REALLY bothers me that unfortunately, it is the latter category of people who have managed to completely hijack the narrative of religion than the former. PB's quote has to be the best take down  I have ever heard of the breathtaking hypocrisy of the Christian right and this was particularly satisfying coming from a religious gay married man. Judging from the furious response including articles, statements and even personal attacks, from religious right wing personalities like Franklin Graham, it is obvious that PB managed to make them squirm and put them on complete defensive for once. If nothing else, I hope they will now realize that they can't get away with hateful bile just because they wear a self made crown of religion on their heads

6) About love/marriage

Quotes on love more often than not end up being the best quotes because this is when people are at their most vulnerable and the best versions of themselves. It is no different for Pete who is just incredibly good at articulating his feeling towards his husband Chasten. It is so obvious they share a wonderfully happy (touch wood) marriage based on love, belonging and mutual respect. Pete is especially gifted because where romantic expression is concerned, there is a thin line between sounding really heartfelt while classy and sounding over the top and mushy. Paul McCartney is the other person I have long admired for the understated yet deeply moving way he writes about love in his songs

“Earlier, when I was single and when I got to know other mayors and elected officials, I always marvelled at how they did it...I thought how could you possibly have a marriage and also do this and be good at both of those things. But now I kind of think about it the other way round - how could I possibly be doing if it wasn't for Chasten - If I didn't have someone in my life who cares about me ...as me. And who will love me the same no matter how well or how poorly things are going out there. And who will tell me the truth especially if I'm veering off who I truly am and be something in my life that I care about more than the other stuff. I feel like (all that is happening) it’s flowing around us....like water moving around a rock in a river...and it's this thing (the relationship) that I can grab hold of.”

“If you had offered me a pill to make me straight, I would have swallowed it before you had time to get me a sip of water. The main reason it’s hard to think about is that if I had had that opportunity, I would never have found Chasten. That the best thing in my life would not have happened at all. The thing that I can’t even describe without lapsing into clichés. How dark, the thought that the man I admire and care about might not have been part of my life at all. People often talk about things like marriage equality as a moral issue. And it is certainly a moral issue in my personal life. It’s a moral issue because being married to Chasten has made me a better human being. It has made me more compassionate, more understanding, more self-aware and more decent. My marriage to Chasten has made me a better man.”

“It reflected our desire that our marriage be good and useful for others. That you take something like hope and love that lights up not only your life, but that of others"

Lastly, I can’t resist putting a gem of a quote on marriage that I heard through a friend.

“A successful marriage is one where both partners secretly feel that they got the best possible deal in each other.”

Pete Buttigieg

A tribute to my grandad

As I mentioned in my blog earlier, the film 'Coco' had a huge impact on me as a person. There is one aspect of the movie that really stayed with me and my mom when I watched it again with her. It is the concept of how a person even after he is dead, is kept alive by his descendants passing his memories and stories to future generations. With that inspiration in mind, I write this post as my way of keeping my grandfather's memory who passed away less than 2 months ago alive.

One of the wisest persons I have come across - my friend Akhila once told me that the world runs on stories. Stories that inspire, fill one with awe and move one's soul. And that stories can move people in a way that facts and number never can. So instead of describing my grandpa, I will tell a couple of short stories about my granddad who I called Appacha.

Sometime around late 2000's my grandparents realized that their telecom operator was taking advantage of the fact they were senior citizens and low tech/low info users and was almost every other day forcibly injecting add on unnecessary services like caller tune etc. where money was being deducted from their pre paid balance on a daily basis. Appacha was quite furious about this but being of an older generation, I'm not sure whether he tried to resolve it by calling and blasting customer care. So he fought the only way he knew how. He shot an angry letter to the telecom minister of that time who was also a Malayali where he lambasted the telecom operator of being full of  'cheats' and 'thieves'. Quite remarkably, the minister actually replied to the letter and actually directed the telecom operator to not only refund the money that they had deducted for the add on services that my grandparents had never asked for but also apologize to Appacha which they did!

This story illustrates what I admired and loved about my grandfather. In my family of predominantly  'thinkers' from where I have inherited most of my characteristics from , he was refreshingly a 'doer' within the boundaries that his circumstances allowed him. He was a physically active national level basket ball player who received an award from the President of India at that time - S Radhakrishnan. Even in his 70's I remember him playing with his football and cycling on his bike when we would visit him during our summer vacations. He was a linguist - he formally learnt Spanish and then taught himself Italian, Portuguese, French and Latin and used these skills to supplement his income by doing translation of scientific docs after his work hours at his government job. He managed to carve out of his own world of happiness after he retired where he absolutely loved gardening, cooking non veg food, going for long walks and reading voraciously. I feel a pang of regret remembering the times I was most uncooperative when he tried to teach me Spanish or cooking or get me into gardening. We had our serious generational differences of opinion that caused some friction sometimes but at the end of the day, he doted on me and always had my back. I specifically remember an instance where I was walking with Appacha to our local market when in college. The area where we were staying had a lot of monkeys in it. Suddenly there were a couple of ferocious looking monkeys that broke from the troop and made their way towards me menacingly. I started screaming. Appacha with his big 6 foot frame came in front of me and covered me entirely. The monkeys tried to attack him going as far as to bite his leg. Thankfully he managed to drive the monkeys away with a big rock and the monkeys only managed to bite his pant sleeve so he did not have to get a tetanus shot. 

When someone you have known since the day you were born and has had such an influential role in your life leaves you, it is like the ground shifts beneath you. I wish I had consciously tried to imbibe his good qualities more when he was around and I was growing up. Now after his passing, I want to be more like him in terms of doing more and thinking less. And make my own happiness instead of wasting precious time lamenting that the world is not handing it to me in a platter.  

Thanks for everything, Appacha. I will never ever ever ever forget you.