Jumping Napoleon Mastiff at Zambazaar

I saw that big monster jumping playfully  over the head of a man ! On a busy Zambazaar area, Triplicane, it was unusual sight, to say the least !  - when asked a nearby person whispered – it is “Napolean Mastiff” – standing on its hindlegs, it was around 6 ft or so tall !!! This dog has   heavy "flews" (hanging upper lips) and noticeable folds on the forehead and dewlap (the skin under the throat).

 

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog !  Cryin' all the time

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit

And you ain't no friend of mine

 

Well, they said you was high-classed; Well, that was just a lie

Yeah, they said you was high-classed; Well, that was just a lie

Yeah, you ain't never caught a rabbit ~ And you ain't no friend of mine 

 

The Mastiff  is a giant dog breed known for its colossal size and exceptionally gentle, "couch potato" temperament. While they were historically used as formidable war and guard dogs, modern Mastiffs are beloved family companions often described as "gentle giants" due to their patient and affectionate nature. 

Making web searches, I realized that Napoleon, the fighter was not associated with dog.  Some  dogs are historically or fictional associated with the name Napoleon, most notably a famous 19th-century circus Newfoundland named "Napoleon the Wonder Dog," and the bloodhound character in Disney's The Aristocats. While Napoleon Bonaparte himself was initially indifferent to dogs.    

You don’t have to speak a word of Italian to understand opera. With a universality that transcends spoken word, its arias plunge a listener into the depths of our most primal human emotions – love and hate, jealousy and revenge. You also don’t need to know anything about dogs to register the similarly strong emotions evoked by the sight of a Neapolitan Mastiff. From their thick, rope-like facial wrinkles to their tree-trunk-sized limbs, this is a dog of unadulterated power and primitivism. In their elastic, lumbering gait, which belongs more to a big cat than a mere canine, there is a sheer bestiality that summons archetypes older than civilization itself. 

This is no “Napoleon” – but   a Neapolitan Mastiff  - called so,  because it originated in Naples, Italy.  The name "Neapolitan" is the adjective form for the city of Naples. The breed's history is deeply rooted in this region:  - Mastino Napoletano!!     They descend from the massive Molossian war dogs used by the Roman army.  After the Roman era, these dogs were selectively bred by farmers and estate owners in southern Italy—specifically around Naples—to be formidable guardians of homes and livestock.   

A few years ago, the Government of India moved to prohibit the import, breeding, and sale of the Neapolitan Mastiff, classifying it among 23 "ferocious" and dangerous dog breeds – not sure whether such dogs are there in large nos. in India – this picture was taken on the streets in 2015. 

Moving away,  the reference of a dog in Napoleon's life comes when he married Josephine.  She had a little Pug dog named Fortune. Although Pugs have a reputation for being rather mild in their temperament, Fortune spent most of his time in Josephine's apartments and became quite possessive and hostile toward men when they were around his mistress. 

The lyrics at the start are of - "Hound Dog" is   song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Recorded originally by Big Mama Thornton in  1952, in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records, "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, selling over 500,000 copies, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one.  "Hound Dog" has been recorded more than 250 times. The best-known version is the  1956 recording by Elvis Presley, which ranked number 19 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, but was excluded from the revised list in 2021 in favor of Thornton's version.  Elvis  Presley's version, which sold about 10 million copies globally, was his best-selling song and "an emblem of the rock 'n' roll revolution".  "Hound Dog" has been at the center of controversies and several lawsuits, including disputes over authorship, royalties, and copyright infringement by the many answer songs.

 
Interesting !?! – fearsome to those, who do not like dogs.
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.4.2026
 

  

‘Neeyum bommai naanum bommai'

 

Bommai, in Tamil (meaning "doll") refers to traditional Indian figurines, most notably those used in the South Indian festival of Navaratri Golu. These dolls are crafted from materials like clay, paper-mache, and wood and are arranged on tiered steps (padis) to depict mythological stories, everyday village life, and divine presence. 

During Navarathiri golu festival, every day, people invite their near and dear.  People visit the houses of relatives, neighbours and friends for seeing the Bommai Golu and for exchanging pleasantries.  Gifts are also given to visitors ~ the famous being ‘blouse bit’ which could go in circulation around…… 

Saw this beautiful bommai made of earthen sand at MA  Narasimhan’s house – standing in the middle with many idols and others made of metals / wood /porcelain and more .. ..  this reportedly is more than 150 years antique and so any resemblance to a modern time Tamil State leader is not correct !!! 

Moving away, S Balachandar’s 1964 movie Bommai was a much acclaimed one.  The film was based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1936 British film Sabotage (an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel The Secret Agent).  Hitchcock has been a source of inspiration to many filmmakers in several parts of the world, including India. Influenced by his style of filmmaking and onscreen narration, S. Balachandar, the multifaceted Tamil filmmaker, adapted Sabotage in Tamil, suitably changing the storyline for the local market. His movie was titled Bommai, the reason being that, as in the original British movie, the central character is a baby doll which a terrorist uses to plant a bomb and sends it through a boy.  For the Tamil audiences, Balachandar had a walking baby doll in which the bomb was concealed. It was taken in a car and exploded, killing all the villains and saving the hero (Balachandar), for whom the bomb was intended. 

Balachandar wrote the story and screenplay, while the dialogue and lyrics were written by his close associate Vidwan Ve. Lakshmanan. Of course, the music was composed by Balachandar.  The background music for this movie was by DB Ramachandran, who lived in TP Kovil Street, Triplicane.    The song ‘Neeyum bommai naanum bommai',  filmed on an old roadside beggar was sung by K Jesudoss.  Bommai was  a box office hit, scoring the much-coveted hundred-day run in many cinemas, winning critical appreciation. Today it is treated as a classic in the rare genre of suspense movies in Tamil. 

Interesting Bommai !!!

Regards – S Sampathkumar
2.4.2026

 

free-time !! leisure !! - relaxing !!!

 

Situationist International proposes that leisure does not evolve from free time, and free-time is an illusory concept that is rarely fully "free"; economic and social forces appropriate free time from the individual and sell it back to them as the commodity known as "leisure". ..

 

.. why to be so complicated - simply idle and relax !! – “Summa irukkarathu”!!

getting under the train - escape without a scratch ... cellphone speaking !!

Volumes are being written on the ‘cell phone speaking’ madness of people – while on road, walking, driving and unconcerned of whatever is happening around them.  The other day, the vehicle driver halted hurriedly as a man with ears plugged crossed the road unmindful of the passing vehicles. More than couple yelled and shouted expletives in anger – yet, the man crossed unhurriedly virtually not knowing that he was the centre of distraction ! – such things are not rare and are becoming daily routine in many places. Worse is the railway crossings at suburbs – people cross the track not caring to look before you cross, engrossed in talking  or listening to music.  There have been accidents, some have lost their lives too….yet, nobody listens.

The other day, when a biker almost rammed on to a girl crossing the road speaking on a telephone – she replied – ‘it was an important call, and I had to take’ !!  In July 2011 I had posted the luck of a young software professional who went under a suburban train – despite six compartment rakes passing over her at Saidapet, she escaped without bruises.   It was reported that in noon, at the the platform, her bag fell on the floor and in bending to pick up with one hand (with the other she was till talking on mobile), she slipped and fell on the track – Tambaram bound EMU ran over her – but she could lie flatly on the track and escaped unhurt.  Seemingly unbelievable but true story…..

Now a very similar one – this time off an Italian teen ager as reported in mail online on 14^th Oct 2014.   If you've ever wondered whether you can lie beneath a train and let it rumble over you, here is your answer. An Italian teenager filmed himself lying down between the rails of tracks in Perugia, Umbria, as a diesel train hurtled over him at high speed. He then stood up and, clearly in the throes of an adrenaline rush, raised both arms in triumph and punched the air.

 The teenager's name is not known, and it is not known if he faced any consequences for his plainly illegal stunt. His brazen attitude towards the potential lethal situation is remarkable. It was not even an accident as it is reported that he laid down on the  track mere seconds before the train hurtled past, flicking his hands in a 'come on' gesture.  What do you say of such people ? – misplaced adventurism !!

In another incident an incredible moment was captured at the Grand National Cross Country event in Ohio – when a man who was about to be struck by crashing motocross rider jumped over bike and carried on talking on his cellphone like nothing happened.  Footage of the event posted on Facebook showed the driver making a jump and then landing on the other side of a creek bank, where they begin to slide on the wet mud. The busy man was shown stumbling  after the jump but quickly putting  himself together and continuing to talk on the phone without so much as a 'phew'.

Strange are the ways of people

With regards – S. Sampathkumar