படகோட்டி !! ~ the boatman !!

 

படகோட்டி !!   ~  the boatman !!

Rekhla race ! ~ நெஞ்சம் உண்டு நேர்மை உண்டு ஓடு ராஜா

 

An appealing MGR movie song -  நெஞ்சம் உண்டு நேர்மை உண்டு ஓடு  ராஜா  -  movie ‘En Annan’ – in the voice of TM Soundara Rajan, written by Kaviyarasu Kannadasan, to the music of KV Mahadevan.  

 

A horse drawn rekhla vandi – not sure how fast can the horse with a leg strapped can run !  - ரேக்ளா ரேஸ் -  ரேக்ளா என்பது ஒருவர் மட்டும் அமரக்கூடிய ஒருவகை மாட்டு வண்டி.  இது பந்தயத்தை கருத்தில் கொண்டே உருவாக்கப்படும் சிறிய வகை மாட்டு வண்டி,  இதன் சக்கரங்கள் சிறிய அளவிலும் வேகமாக சுழலக்கூடிய வகையிலும் வடிவமைக்கப்படுகின்றன. 

Paul Mathry, a student about to graduate and embark upon a teaching career, finds out that his father was convicted for murder, a secret that his mother had hidden from him since his childhood. Driven by an intense desire to see his father, Paul sets out to visit him in prison, only to find out that visitors are never allowed there. From there, he meets the primary witnesses in the case that convicted his father, not all of whom are supportive to Paul's cause. He encounters several dead ends but he persists, with the help of a store girl named Lena and a news reporter. 

His persistent campaign finally bears fruit. Rees Mathry, Paul's father, goes on appeal and is vindicated. The novel ends with Paul's father, a hardened, cynical man, seeing a fleeting hope for self-renewal and a purposeful life. 

நெஞ்சம் உண்டு, நேர்மை உண்டு, ஓடு ராஜா

நேரம் வரும் காத்திருந்து பாரு ராஜா

அஞ்சி அஞ்சி வாழ்ந்தது போதும் ராஜா

நீ ஆற்று வெள்ளம் போல் எழுந்து ஓடு ராஜா

 

Detailed earlier is ‘Beyond This Place’ -  a novel by Scottish author A. J. Cronin first published in 1950.  The novel has been adapted for both film and television. In Bengali, Sabar Uparey starring Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Chhabi Biswas was made in 1955. A Bollywood version of this novel, Kala Pani (1958), was directed by Raj Khosla and starred Dev Anand and Madhubala.  A Telugu version, Poola Rangadu (1967), loosely based on the novel, was directed by Adurthi Subba Rao and starred ANR and Jamuna. The 1970 Tamil movie En Annan starring MGR was also based on this movie  !!!

 
Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.5.2025

Bird on barbed fence !!

 

Peace is state of mind ! – one can sit calm and happily even on barbed fences !!

Leave Policy - Pension without working !!!

‘Claustrophobia : abnormal dread of being in closed or narrow spaces’.

There are children who invariably ask in the nigh  – whether it is raining ? – imagining that ‘school would announce leave the next day’.  ‘as I am suffering from fever – request you … days leave’  has been the most  used template. Life is simple - If you really are sick, don’t  go to work and spread your germs around the office. But if you just want to stay home, go with, “I’m running a fever,” rather than one of the ridiculous excuses that we read about.  In India, there is plethora of jokes of ‘grand ma’ dying – and in Western World, there are weird explanations.

There cannot be second opinion that those who come to work, need reasonable leave too.  In most industrialised nations, advances in employee relations have seen the introduction of statutory minimum tariffs for employee leave from work, i.e. the amount of entitlement to paid holiday/vacation. In India, as is in many other Nations – there are National Holidays which are statutory holidays.  In Private Companies – there would be ‘Casual leave / Sick leave / Earned leave’ .  Govt and Public Sector enjoy higher no. of holidays – in PSU Insurers, there existed something known as ‘additional Casual leave’ – besides leave could be accumulated up to 8 months i.e., 240 days [240 days of EL besides similar no. of Sick leave too !]

When it is August, in Europe it means "out of the office" messages, "closed" signs, and desolated streets. August 1st marks the unofficial start of summer vacation in Spain, France and Italy, and even in times of economic crisis, most employees are dead-set on taking their summer days.  According to a report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, European countries lead the world in guaranteeing paid leave for its workers.  Spain and Germany reportedly  are among the most holiday-happy, both offering 34 days of paid leave each year. Italy and France guarantee 31 days of paid vacation, and Belgium requires 30.

Claustrophobia is an anxiety disorder in which the sufferer has an irrational fear of having no escape or being closed-in. It frequently results in a panic attack and can be triggered by certain stimuli or situations, such as being in a crowded elevator, a small room without any windows, or being in an airplane. It is not necessarily the small spaces that trigger the anxiety but the fear of what can happen to the person if confined to that area, hence the fear of running out of oxygen.

Now read this interesting post in Daily Mail – ‘Italian miner takes 35 years sick leave because he's claustrophobic - then retires on full pension’

An Italian miner was permitted to be off sick for 35 years after claiming he was claustrophobic. Coal miner Carlo Cani started work in 1980 and retired early, drawing a pension despite hardly ever putting in a day's work over a 35-year career. The case is just the latest example of how thousands of state workers in Italy find loopholes in the rules to duck out of their job.

Mr Cani admits he took an immediate dislike to mining and began doing everything he could to avoid venturing down the mine shaft in Sardinia where he was employed. The 60-year-old managed to take years of sick leave, apparently with the help of accommodating doctors. Over the years he faked amnesia and haemorrhoids, rubbed coal dust into his eyes to feign an infection and on occasion staggered around pretending to be drunk. He was able to stay at home listening to jazz. He was also granted extended time off on reduced pay when demand for coal from the mine dipped.

But despite years sat on the sofa, he was still officially an employee of the mining company, and entitled to a pension. He eventually retired on a pension in 2006. The former worker's laziness have caused indignation in a country in which youth unemployment is close to 50 per cent. In August, in a similar case, it emerged that a Sicilian doctor has done just 15 days work in nine years.

Strange are the ways of people

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

29^th Oct 2014.