Alexander The Cruel

pls don mind a few historical fallacies. Jus concentrate on the essence..

Some trivia to start off : Who was the great European emperor who conquered most of the known world to make a name for himself as one of the Greatest of all time? Well, for most of us who do know our History, the answer is Alexander the Great.

Question number 2 : Who was the European ruler who conquered most of Europe and tried to subjugate England? Hitler , of course, you tell me….

Well , lets do a small analysis on these two characters. Alexander starts off from home at the age of 20 (?), conquers Egypt, Persia, and a lot of other smaller European states in a tireless expedition spanning about a decade. He is ruthless in his conquests . He brings down great empires and shatters civilizations. He razes great monuments to the ground. And by the time he was 31, he had almost seen everything in warfare. A great achievement indeed. Yes, his next conquest was supposed to be the land beyond the River Sindhu. Fortunately for the people on the Gangetic plains this was not to be.

Hitler, on the other hand, brings about World War II, with his unwanted aggression. He bombs his neighbors into submission. He tries to attack the icy Russian country. He blasts Poland and Austria. He tries to pound England by raining bombs on the English cities. Ah! How dare he! How can he get away with that? History will never forgive him. The unrelenting English brand him a dictator.

No person likes to be called an ‘Hitler’. It’s an insult beyond comprehension. It’s a different issue that our very own Subhash Chandra Bose, at one point in time sought the dictator’s help in overthrowing the British. Hitler’s crimes against humanity are too many and too gargantuan. He has no chance at redemption.

That done lets go back to the other character central to our discussion and analyze his great deeds. Alexander, while known as a great general, was also a merciless conqueror who was both cruel and autocratic. There are supposed to be places in Persia (Iran, now) where mothers still threaten their unruly kids “Don’t go out in the dark; Alexander’s men will get you”. And forget not, he intended to attack India too. Why don’t we brand HIM a dictator? Why is not Macedonia unashamed to have produced such a cruel warmonger? And frankly, if we decide to call him a dictator, do our opinions really count? Who gives a thought?

And in the same breath, let me pose the counter-question. Why not call Hitler a great? Hitler the Great!! Indeed , sounds original and seems rebellious thinking too.

But we dare not take this rather impishly naughty turn for fear of being labeled a racist.

Let’s get to the root of the matter. The British taught us history. We learnt from them the ‘fact’ that there was an Aryan invasion. They taught us that Indus valley civilization was tossed out by the Aryans. We ‘learnt’ a lot from them. So, we have also inherited their views on Hitler. Hitler attacked our ex-Masters. He deserves to be called a dictator. And since Alexander did not bother to look at an insignificant isle, he represents Europe’s superiority over Asia, and is hence an all-time great. There rests the matter. There are no revaluations in History.

Yonder Mettur and beyond....

1oth Sept 2010 : Friday morning; i wake up to the usual cool Bangalore mornings. Doesn't seem any different from a weekday. But yes today i am supposed to attend a friend's marriage at Mettur. Mohan calls me up at around 8:30 AM and i tell him i am already in the bus, on the way to Hosur.It has been a hectic 2 hours and yeah, I had a visitor the previous night, my good old friend Palanisamy.

Its always a pleasure meeting old friends. I had met this one last in 2005(?). Life has changed a lot since. Our family moved from Erode to Coimbatore. My Sister got married. I had the chance to visit a few cities outside India and had been in North America for close to 2 years. A trip that really changed a lot of perspectives. And now here i am , back in Bangalore. Staying alone again.And again in Electronic City, same old office and same old team. Well. Life hasn't really changed a bit ....

8:50 AM. I get off the bus and meet Mohan at Hosur , by the highway , opposite the renovated bus-stand. Since both of us haven't had breakfast, we decide to step in to Meenakshi Bhavan. No Tamil breakfast is complete without hot Idli, Sambar and Coconut-chutney, the taste of which is delicious enough for me to mull travelling to Hosur every morning!! Gulping our food with some hot coffee, we head off to view Mohan's new possession.

The chocolate colored Estillo is parked behind a truck and is only half visible. Not bad , I say to myself , as I approach the machine. Once inside Mohan needs my help to reverse the vehicle. I oblige.

Soon we are off to the highway. Its still pretty pleasant in the morning. The whole stretch from Hosur to Salem has been constructed beautifully during the 2 years i was away from TN and India. I have been through this route innumerable times by bus. But a car journey is something else. Thanks to the smooth roads, I no longer experience back aches! These roads actually remind me of the highways in US. Smooth, fast and friendly.

Past Dharmapuri, we enter Thoppur. Beautiful Thoppur. The view consisting of the hills, the boulders, and the plains below make the heat a little bearable. Well its pretty cool inside the car anyway as I have cajoled Mohan into switching on the AC. The diversion on the right takes us to Mettur. The difference between NH and SH is immediately obvious. Something tells me though that the road would become better as we go on.

We steer our way through small hamlets, where life seems serene. Small huts which are connected to the outside world only by means of a dish antenna. And yeah, the omnipresent mobile phone. I wonder if any of these people have heard of the internet. But then, I would not be surprised if they have a connection at home. After all, this is TN ! And now, the road is smooth again ; and remains so all the way. After all, this is... TN !! :)

The Mettur Dam is not the only claim to fame for this region. Mettur has an industrial ecosystem of its own. Chemplast, Malco etc., Mohan recollects how he met his wife , ages ago, in Mettur.

Kolathur is 10 kms from Mettur, but funnily enough both of us have not noted down the name /address of the marriage hall. We joke that probably the whole town has not more than 2 marriage halls and that it would be easy to mention Naresh's name and find the hall.

Reaching the marriage hall, we look around for familiar faces. Soon information trickles in that a few old friends and foes are making their way to this remote hamlet.We decide to wait. Being invited for lunch , we do not hesitate. I convince myself that the Ice Cream that follows is not more than 200 calories and that sitting idle for hours in a car would have burnt that many.

Around 2:15 PM Arul Prakash, Mohanraj and Nattamai Ramesh make an entry. A few pleasantries are exchanged. The most frequently asked question was "Hey r u married" !! And then a couple of them compliment me saying i still look exactly the same as I was 8 years ago. Cmon guys tell me something else !! :)

Nattamai is keen on visiting Mettur Dam. We bid adieu to Mohan and we explore mettur dam!!

Im still awaiting pictures from Mohanraj. I will post them as soon as I get them. Meanwhile, Chithi (= Maternal Aunt) calls me up to ask when Im coming to Erode. Do i need a better invitation?

The government bus takes 1.5 hrs to take me to Erode bus-stand. Erode is a busy lil town. Well, its a city now. Officially declared one in the 2 yrs of my absence. Milo greets me as I enter Chithi's house. I donot know what breed he is. Im not good at dogs. And generally not good TO them either. But Ill make an exception for Milo. Chithi and Chithappa greet me with the usual warmth. Its really a home away from home for me, as I recollect the one year I spent at their house during my engineering college days. Iniyan and Venthan are now grown ups and adults, each pursuing his own career path, the former in Bangalore and the latter in distant Assam!

A good sleep takes me through to Saturday Morning, not before I update my status on Facebook ("Blore->Hosur->Mettur->Erode->ZZZZ").The next morning, post breakfast, we sit down and discuss a lot of things. Infact, anything and everything. Chithappa explains how they used to run Handlooms in his village, long ago. Chithi talks about the changing society in TN, and about how intercaste marriages are becoming common. Nice, I think. A couple of hours are spent on all this. Then i reluctantly pack my bags and head off again for Erode Bus stand. Erode is pretty warm.

Among the many changes, is the new AC ERO 100 between Coimbatore and Erode. Pushback seats and controlled temperature. Of course , it comes with a price. 85 rupees as against the normal fare of 28 in the most ordinary buses. I reach my home in the outskirts of Coimbatore around 4 PM. Its a lazy Saturday evening and its time to relax... See u :)