K·L·Killahs

Born Again Yindian

2011-04-20T01:49:00.001+08:00

We are back. And on twitter mind you. @klkillahs. Follow or be damned.

My Brown Badge dot com

2009-07-07T08:12:00.002+08:00

I am too lazy to cut and paste the lot. View the whole post HERE.

The Revenge

2008-11-25T20:46:00.002+08:00

Mallu Harmony Day

2008-08-26T02:18:00.003+08:00

I remember this year at me workplace when Racial Harmony day rolled around. The Boss decreed that he was sick and tired of the old cliched, "Oh, it's racial harmony. Let's all just wear other people's ethnic costumes and turn up for work. And then we'll gorge ourselves with other people's ethnic delights and pretend that we actually care".

So, he got us to like just sit in the conference room and we listened to some cool stuff. Basically, old festivals and supersititions and notions shown new light. I mean, I do know all I can about Chinese New Year already; we actually got educated on the Hungry Ghost's Festival and the nuances that follow it. Because we don't have any Muslims at the workplace [i know.. i know...], some bigot actually went up to give a presentation on Hari Raya and the significance of korban. But his fuckin lack of class and crass jokes about our Muslim brothers-in-arms justifiably got him boo-ed off the podium and a day of "Code Red".

So, anyhow, we're not the only nation where harmony along racial lines is so hawk-eyed watched over. Check this direct from Infy, Mangalore:

And after the clock struck 5 and he punched out, he was able to charge 5 dollars a pop to watch him dance. Now that's innovative. I feel at harmony already.

Castrol Corporate Rajinikanth

2008-08-14T18:54:00.004+08:00

Don't say I hide all the good stuff away from all youse "sick of bookmarking this motherfuckin page" KLKlanites. Rajinikanth shows how inflation and recession is an Yindian problem TOO by selling out to the corporati. More importantly, if he DIDN'T, one massive law suit which is probably gonna get stuck in the courts for the next 5 years is going to ensure.

Either way we have a good mega serial.

What I really wanna say is: I'm back. Late-ah vanthaalum latest-ah varuvomlae.

O Level Chance ruined by Girl's Home

2008-01-06T19:36:00.000+08:00

Do you recall this tale? Took the N's and did well and couldn't qualify for the Os for the sole sake that she didn't sit for her Tamil paper?

Read story HERE.

Concerned citizen wrote in to SINDA to see if there was anything that could be done to help the poor chica. Lo and behold, the wondrous organization that faithfully deducts 7 bucks off my pay check every month actually responded positively.

Their response through e-mail:

Dear Mr Ganesan,

Thanks for your mail.

We have liaised with MOE on this matter and MOE is putting up her case to
support her readmission to Bedok Town Sec.

We will further liaise with the family to explore other areas of
assistance they may require such as educational Bursary and Tuition.

Warm regards

Kavitha (Ms)
Senior Manager
Family Services
Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA)
Tel: 639xxxx« www.sinda.org.sg

More importantly, if you think something is wrong. Go do something bout it. Don't sit on your tushy and hope for almighty God to lend a hand. There ARE government and quasi-government orgs that can solve or at least shine light on the issue at hand.

Adieu!

PSLE Tamil Cheat

2007-12-29T21:00:00.000+08:00

Now, does anyone know how this tale panned out? Friends and family of the cheating educator perhaps? OR of the "cheated for" kids?

Excerpts of the tale:

It happened after the Mother Tongue (Tamil language) exam was completed in a school in the northern part of Singapore in early October.
The Ministry of Education and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (Seab) confirmed the incident in response to queries by The New Paper.

It is not known what prompted the tampering. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is now conducting a probe.

In a statement to The New Paper, a spokesman said: 'CPIB has interviewed teachers and relevant persons involved and investigations are ongoing.'
Markers at Farrer Park Primary School, which was a marking centre for the subject, found that the answers in a composition paper of a pupil had been partly altered.

When the markers tracked down the pupil's Paper 2, they found that some answers in the fill-in-the-blanks section had also been cancelled and replaced with other answers.

It is understood that the pupil was given 10 marks for the section when he or she would otherwise have scored zero, an anonymous source said.

A thorough check was done and similar changes were found in the Paper 2 transcripts of two other pupils.

The anonymous caller who alerted The New Paper said: 'You could tell it was an adult's handwriting. It was even written in a different shade of blue from the pupils'.

'It looked like the answers were scribbled in a hurry.

'Even if you didn't understand Tamil, it was very obvious.'

News Link

Had to be Tamil hadn't it?

85 foot Hanuman

2007-12-29T17:12:00.000+08:00

IS bigger really better? 85 feet (26 metres).
Trinidad and Tobago, represent.

Link

Feed Me, F*** Me

2007-12-20T12:31:00.000+08:00

The way to our spouse's hearts?

For your Husband

For your Wife

Lost in Translation

2007-12-15T23:28:00.000+08:00

Courtesy of Indiafm.com, we've got a few insights on how bollywood actors perceive gay roles. It must be said however, that if you're finding these actors a tad bit unfamiliar, its because they are. But here's my take anyways...

Arshad Warsi: "I'd willingly play a gay character. It will be a new challenge to me as an actor."

Translation: Hand that role to me on a plate and i'll chew it up faster than you can say "Philadelphia"

Anuj Sawhney: "If heroes can play grey characters, I guess it proves the walls between 'this' side and 'that' are breaking. It's up to an actor's individual craft and study of the character to portray a character in a way that leaves a lasting impression."

Translation: I'd be surprised if anyone gave a role like that to me and even if i was offered one like that, i'd screw it up...BIG TIME!

Nakul Vaid: "I've no issues playing gay. Doing any character depends on how deep you can explore it and portray it convincingly for yourself and the audience. The character's sexual preference is secondary…unless it is forced into the script, Then I'll have nothing to do with it.

Translation: I'm so jobless i'll do it for half my fee....Hell i'll throw in a item dance for free!!

Neil Mukesh: "Well, It's a character and we are actors. So if the script demands it, why not?

Translation: You can have my ass for twice my asking price..thrice if i need to do brokeback mountain in hindi...

Sammir Dattani: "I must admit playing one makes me slightly uncomfortable at this stage of my career when I'm still finding my bearings. For my new film, Dhoom Dhadaka, I had to get into drag and I was very uneasy. It took Tom Hanks and Irrfan years before they came to Philadelphia and Migration. I need to be experienced as an actor before I attempt a character so distanced from me."

Translation: I know i'm not really getting the roles i want...but really, do i have to?

Prashant Raj: "I don't think I'd do justice to a role like that. My structure and built might not be conducive to playing such a role."

Translation: Come on yaar... are you kidding me...Check out my biceps...my arms...my thighs...ooo my abs...I can't play gay.....You guys need anyone to play Johnny Bravo? Ohhh...i see a hot man over there..oh hang on, its just me in the mirror..

Mohit Ahlawat: "For me it's difficult to play gay as I won't be able to identify with such a character. Sorry, I can't play a role I'm so far removed from. But I respect an actor like Irrfan or Sanjay Suri who can."

Translation: STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!! That includes you , Irfan and Sanjay, you pussies!!!

Vinay Pathak: "Excitement of portraying any character lies in the strength of the character's graph and progression in the plot and its conflicts. How a character helps a narrative grow is what interests me the most. The cast's sexual orientation and other factors are all secondary."

Translation: Gay? Do i smell an award?? Do of course note, all this is tongue in cheek..and i don't mean any insult to either the homosexual community or these actors..hopefully this saves me from a defamation action...

Polarisation of Race- The Singapore Story

2007-11-29T09:46:00.000+08:00

Dear XXXX,

Thank you for confirming that you have registered me for the 'Dialogue Session with the Indian Community on Budget 2008'.

The topic for discussion, namely 'Dialogue Session with the Indian Community on Budget 2008' sounds a little strange to my ears.

Is there something in it which would affect them in particular as a communal group for the need to single them out conspicuously?

To my simple mind, I would think that the nation's budget is something that would affect all residents equally without the special need for dialogue on a racially-segregated basis.

I can well understand that a budget would/could affect different income-groups in different ways, and perhaps the organisers could enlighten me if there are indeed certain aspects which require the dialogue sessions to be conducted on an ethnic basis.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Narayanan N

This was written by a dear friend of mine to REACH singapore, who, with the Ministry of Finance Singapore, is counducting a Feedback Exercise for various communities in conjunction with next years Budget debate.

The series of dialogue sessions organised by REACH is for the various 'communities' and will be held from November 2007 to January 2008.

"The topic for discussion, namely 'Dialogue Session with the Indian Community on Budget 2008' sounds a little strange to my ears.

Is there something in it which would affect them in particular as a communal group for the need to single them out conspicuously? "

Now don't you think Mr. Narayana has a point?

This is a nation that still clings fast to the idea that race differentiates its population in its actions, while saying all the while that it is a multi-racial and racially tolerant society. I personally cannot concieve of any race or religion specific issue that needs to be raised in a national budget debate.

In fact, this smells an awful lot like a racial profiling excercise.

Lets call these folk up and ask them for their opinions. Then lets collate their views. Since these are racially segregated views, lets attribute these views to the person's race.

So in other words, if you're an Indian and you made a comment about the rising cost of milk, someone is probably going to prepare a report that would read 'Indians concerned about rising costs of milk'.

While I am a very objective person in general, my ire is often roused by examples of institutionalised racism which seems inherent in Singapore.

Interestingly, REACH Singapore is yet to provide an answer.

deviousDiv

Take My Wife Back

2007-11-09T14:05:00.000+08:00

Ramankutty Nair, a middle aged Indian immigrant had made it big in Dallas, Texas, USA. He bought a brand new convertible Porsche. He had to show it around so he took off down the road and pushed it up to 100 MPH and was enjoying the wind blowing through his (thinning) hair. "This is great," he thought and accelerated to an even higher speed. But when he eventually looked in his rear-view mirror there was a Ford Crown Victoria Police Car behind him, blue lights flashing. "I can get away from him with no problem" thought the man and he floored it some more, and flew down the road at over 150MPH to escape being stopped.

Then he thought, what the hell am I doing? "I'm too old for this kind of thing" and pulled over to the side of the road, and waited for the Police car to catch up with him. The Policeman pulled in behind the Porsche and walked up on the driver's side.

"Sir, my Shift ends in five minutes and today is Wednesday 22 November a day before Thanksgiving " If you can give me a good reason that I've never heard before as to why you were speeding, I'll let you go."

The man looked back at the Policeman and said, "Last week my wife, who is from Kerala ran off with an American Policeman and I thought you were bringing her back".

The Policeman said, "Have a nice day, sir"

Rajini Endorses Singapoor

2007-11-06T13:29:00.000+08:00

Courtesy: Somewhere along the way in Sivaji's "Athiradi Style".
Take note of left breast pocket.

To celebrate the great bilateral success of our 2 nations. Namely importing computer engineers and other qualified professionals and exporting rojak, hainanese chicken rice and sarong party girls, Super Star decides to glorify our nation with a very very familiar Singapore flag.

Now which SAF storeman did this get ripped off from? To think some of us actually consider it a form of great pride to be able to wear the Flag Patch on our uniforms [only reserved for international missions and those who have represented the country internationally]

I'm back. Bit by bit.

Mirror Theatre's Thondan

2007-10-20T13:35:00.000+08:00

Attached herewith please find new posters (and a info poster) on my upcoming play THONDAN - for your updates if possible.

THONDAN Youtube advert in English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISP372QDQ60

THONDAN Youtube advert in Tamil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ4nN_2haAY

"A world's first Literary Tamil Adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus - The Bloodiest Tragedy Ever!"

"Never seen before on Singaporean Tamil Theatre - striking stage settings, innovative costumes, shocking theatrical stunts and stylized multi media"

From the makers of the hugely successful The Kalinga Trilogy - Miror Theatre - comes the most anticipated Tamil Theatre epic of the year - THONDAN (A Literary Tamil Adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus)

Written by Elavazhagan

Co-Written, Adapted and Directed by Vadi PVSS

Schools can apply for 60% off student ticket pricing of $20

under the AEP-NAC tote Board funding (Student concession for Tertiary NSF and Senior Citizen is also available) - (Adults $25)

Parent Advisory for Some Violent Scenes - Recommended for audiences 16 years of age and above

For $25 and $20(Student Concession; NSF; Senior Citizen) Tickets

Call SISTIC at 6348 5555 (mention Esplanade Kalaa Utsavam - Thondan)

or visit their website at http://www.sistic.com.sg/

or specific to the production website at:
http://www.sistic.com.sg/eportal/booking/RetrievePriceChartAction.do?skipSelectEvent=true&txtEventCode=eeps231107&txtContentCode=thon1107

For more details please call Kavitah at 93842037

"Stage setting design by Effendy; Lighting design by Su Ven; Kalari Payet training by Sanjeev; Physical Theatre Training by Jason Lee, Percussion Accompaniment by Mohd Noor and many more"

A cast made up of Award Wining artistes and Vasantham Central Stars including Ilyas, Sivakumar, Soundrarajan, Puravalan, Karthik, Vishnu, Vicknesvari, Kalpalathika, Girish, Kalpana, M Ravi, Vickineswaran, Selvanathan, Kumarevelu, The Shadows: Eranian, Rasheed, Giri and Rethinavelu, and many more!

A visual treat not to be missed! A play in Literary Tamil with English subtitles - a play for everyone!

A production by Miror Theatre in collaboration With Esplanade Theatres on The Bay and Ravindran Drama Group - as part of Indian Festival of Arts Kalaa Utsavam

Venue: Esplanade Theatres On The Bay

Dates: 23, 24 and 25th Nov 2007

Time: 8pm daily

For $25 and $20 tickets

Call SISTIC at :

or visit the following website

http://www.sistic.com.sg/eportal/booking/RetrievePriceChartAction.do?skipSelectEvent=true&txtEventCode=eeps231107&txtContentCode=thon1107

Esplanade Website about the play:

http://www.esplanade.com/SOPApp/espsop/portal_proxy?uri=tgT_xhMHoh-8e!1ovCUG39YnDZI_,-@Rqw8x3@gBxhffDV649ihMgXX7sJKfQj0MsJFM

Along with the play - free translated copies of the play TITUS ANDRONICUS will be given out free to all ticket holders. Translation commissioned by Miror Theatre and translated by Elavazhagan Murugan

Thanks once again and regards

Vadi PVSS

Artistic Director

Miror Theatre

KowCents

2007-09-25T22:41:00.000+08:00

-Traditional Corporation-
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies and the economy grows.

-An American Corporation-
You have two cows.
You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

-A French Corporation-
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.

-A Japanese Corporation-
You have two cows.
You re-design them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create clever cow cartoon images called 'Cowkimon' and market them World-Wide.

-A German Corporation-
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

-A British Corporation-
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

-A Russian Corporation-
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 12 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

-A Swiss Corporation-
You have 5,000 cows and none belongs to you.
You charge others for storing them.

-A Chinese Corporation-
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim full employment and high bovine productivity.
You have the newsman who reported on the numbers arrested.

-An Indian Corporation-
You have two cows.
You worship them.

-A Malaysian Corporation-
You have two cows.
You signed a 40-year contract to supply milk at RM0.06 per litre.
Then midway through, you raised the price to RM0.60 or you cut the supply.
When the buyer agrees to the new price, you change your mind again and now want RM1.20.
The buyer decided you can keep the milk.
They go look for milk that comes from recycled cows or the cow urine instead.
Your two cows retire together with the Prime Minister.

-A Singaporean Corporation-
You have two cows.
One is COW-PEH and the other COW-BU.

status quo

2007-09-22T18:35:00.000+08:00

For every action there is an equal and opposite government program

Leong Wee Keat
weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

IT'S a crime with age-old roots that has infiltrated high-tech avenues.
.
And to send a "strong message" to culprits, the laws are being changed so that racial insults made over the electronic media, such as the Internet, will soon be considered an offence under the Penal Code.
.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said this amendment "would provide another legislative option to deal with future offenders".
.
In 2005, prosecutors had to resort to a rarely-used legislation, the Sedition Act, to bring criminals to book when three men were separately accused of promoting racial ill-will and hostility through comments posted on blogs and online forums.
.
Under the soon-to-be revised Penal Code, a person who knowingly causes religious or racial disharmony, or promotes ill will between different groups on the grounds of religion and/or race, could be jailed up to three years or fined, or both.
.
For racial or religious aggravated offences, penalties could also be increased by one-and-a-half times.
.
The MHA said this approach is similar to that taken for enhanced penalties for certain offences committed against maids.
.
"This new section will help to preserve the social harmony which our country enjoys and send a strong message to any person who may try to disrupt social harmony," said the MHA.
.
Brother Michael Brough-ton, a member of the Inter-Religious Organisation, said such laws would enforce "external conformity" and "hasten the education process".
.
"In Singapore, I guess the way things work is that a law enforces it first," he said. But he believed education was still the key to achieving racial harmony.
.
"We want our younger ones to grow up internalising the principle," said Brother Broughton, a deputy principal of St Joseph's Institution. Leong Wee Keat
weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

IT'S a crime with age-old roots that has infiltrated high-tech avenues.
.
And to send a "strong message" to culprits, the laws are being changed so that racial insults made over the electronic media, such as the Internet, will soon be considered an offence under the Penal Code.
.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said this amendment "would provide another legislative option to deal with future offenders".
.
In 2005, prosecutors had to resort to a rarely-used legislation, the Sedition Act, to bring criminals to book when three men were separately accused of promoting racial ill-will and hostility through comments posted on blogs and online forums.
.
Under the soon-to-be revised Penal Code, a person who knowingly causes religious or racial disharmony, or promotes ill will between different groups on the grounds of religion and/or race, could be jailed up to three years or fined, or both.
.
For racial or religious aggravated offences, penalties could also be increased by one-and-a-half times.
.
The MHA said this approach is similar to that taken for enhanced penalties for certain offences committed against maids.
.
"This new section will help to preserve the social harmony which our country enjoys and send a strong message to any person who may try to disrupt social harmony," said the MHA.
.
Brother Michael Brough-ton, a member of the Inter-Religious Organisation, said such laws would enforce "external conformity" and "hasten the education process".
.
"In Singapore, I guess the way things work is that a law enforces it first," he said. But he believed education was still the key to achieving racial harmony.
.
"We want our younger ones to grow up internalising the principle," said Brother Broughton, a deputy principal of St Joseph's Institution. Leong Wee Keat
weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

IT'S a crime with age-old roots that has infiltrated high-tech avenues.
.
And to send a "strong message" to culprits, the laws are being changed so that racial insults made over the electronic media, such as the Internet, will soon be considered an offence under the Penal Code.
.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said this amendment "would provide another legislative option to deal with future offenders".
.
In 2005, prosecutors had to resort to a rarely-used legislation, the Sedition Act, to bring criminals to book when three men were separately accused of promoting racial ill-will and hostility through comments posted on blogs and online forums.
.
Under the soon-to-be revised Penal Code, a person who knowingly causes religious or racial disharmony, or promotes ill will between different groups on the grounds of religion and/or race, could be jailed up to three years or fined, or both.
.
For racial or religious aggravated offences, penalties could also be increased by one-and-a-half times.
.
The MHA said this approach is similar to that taken for enhanced penalties for certain offences committed against maids.
.
"This new section will help to preserve the social harmony which our country enjoys and send a strong message to any person who may try to disrupt social harmony," said the MHA.
.
Brother Michael Brough-ton, a member of the Inter-Religious Organisation, said such laws would enforce "external conformity" and "hasten the education process".
.
"In Singapore, I guess the way things work is that a law enforces it first," he said. But he believed education was still the key to achieving racial harmony.
.
"We want our younger ones to grow up internalising the principle," said Brother Broughton, a deputy principal of St Joseph's Institution.

KLK Killadi II

2007-09-12T00:57:00.000+08:00

One word. Brilliance.

Tamil Theatre of Shakespearian Proportions

2007-09-09T18:31:00.001+08:00

Titus Andronicus, or The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus, may be Shakespeare's earliest tragedy. It depicts a fictional Roman general engaged in a cycle of revenge with his enemy Tamora, the Queen of the Goths. The play is by far Shakespeare's bloodiest work, taking its inspiration from the tragedies of Seneca the Younger (the Senecan Tragedies) of Ancient Rome, the gory theatre that was played to bloodthirsty circus audiences between gladiatorial combats. The play lost popularity during the Victorian era because of its gore, and has only recently begun to revive its fortunes.

Miror Theatre
In Collaboration With
Ravindran Drama Group
& The Esplanade

presents

" THONDAN"
(In literary Tamil with English subtitles)

An archaic ritual practice spawns an unimaginable spiral of revenge, carnage and tragedy! This gripping nail-biter of a story from Shakespeare's earliest tragedy Titus Andronicus, takes a new meaning and form in an exciting adaptation by Miror Theatre - the first time the play has been translated into literary Tamil.

Plot aside, 'Thondan', takes its form from physical theatre and traditional Indian performing art forms – including the traditional Kerala martial art form, Kalari Payet, Therukoothu (a form of street theatre) and Koodiyaatam . A potent mixture of various Indian art forms with a contemporary twist, Thondan promises to be a visual treat as well as a complete theatrical experience.

Featuring Vasantham Central veterans & award-winning artistes including , Elias, Eranien, G Selvanathan, Kalpana, Karthik, Narges Banu, Puravalan, Rasheed, Rethinavelu, Sivakumar Palakrishnan, Sounderarajan, Vicknesvari Vadivalagan, Vickneswaran, Vishnu, Vadi PVSS and many more.

Titus Andronicus was translated by Elavazhagan Murugan

THONDAN
Written by Elavazhagan Murugan
Co Written and Adapted and Directed
by Vadi PVSS.

"Come into the world of 'Thondan', where intrigue, treachery and vengeance will keep you on the edge of your seat!"

KALAA UTSAVAM
The Esplanade Indian Arts Festival
Theatre Studio
Nov 23-25 ; 7 pm shows daily
$27 (adult) $22 (Student/ NSF concession— NAC—AEP Grants Pending ) -
Tickets Includes 7% gst & SISTIC $2 charge - tickets now available at all SISTIC Outlets—SISTIC Hotline: 65576557.
Or Call Caroline at 81564723 to book your tickets now!

Miss?ed? - A Radical Play about Marriage in the Yindian Community

2007-07-31T09:46:00.000+08:00

The play ‘Miss?ed?’ mainly highlights the importance of marriage and marrying the right person. At present, in the Indian community, a high divorce rate is more worrying than high single rate and yet, too often our society has a negative view of single-hood. The society sees single-hood like a state that cannot be changed - an immortal condition destined to bring unfulfillment. The play questions whether an individual’s happiness in life is based on their marital status.

The play examines if single women are given the time to make the right choice in their life when it concerns marriage or are they conformed by social conditions. With wit, the play explores how singles are stereotyped, stigmatized, and pressurized to get married and the many reasons for their singlehood.

Miss?ed?, a thought provoking play, looks into issues such as financial security, an individual’s potential for growth, relationships, trust, betrayal, autonomy, power and also the price an individual has to pay because of some selfish and inquisitive people in our society.

When: 3rd to 5th August 2007
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Arts House (Old Parliament House)
Cost: $21 (adults) $16 (Students)
For tickets: 9475 3392 / 9229 9649

Komalas, Are You Listening?

2007-07-17T16:56:00.001+08:00

Hi Everyone,

I came across this letter in today's ST Online edition. It seemed amusing!

Mutton Biriyani in a Vegetarian Restaurant?

ON A recent visit to Komalas restaurant, I noticed that it has introduced a dish called mutton biryani.

The response I got when I enquired further on this item was that it was 'vegetarian mutton', followed by 'Don't eat if you don't want'.

I fail to understand how mutton biryani can be vegetarian.

Many people go to Komalas, thinking that it is a fully vegetarian restaurant as they have reservations about mixing vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Komalas needs to clarify if its restaurant is a fully vegetarian one and the ingredients used in all its preparations are also the same.

A. Srinivas
17 July 2007
ST Online

This is an issue of poor customer service more than anything else. If the person taking orders had been kind enough to mention that the 'mutton' was made from soy, vegetable gluten and other vegetable products, I think Mr. Srinivas might not have gotten so upset.

Maybe they should have better informed people manning the cash register! Or at least those who are polite enough to refrain from saying 'if you don't want, don't order'.

As someone who frequents vegetarian restaurants myself, I can tell you that Anand bavan, the other big indian vegetarian restaurant chain in Singapore also serves 'mock meat' on its menu. The stark difference between the two restaurants is that Anand Bavan advertises the 'benefits' of eating 'soy meat', and has educated its staff to answer customer queries.

Komalas might do well to take a leaf from Anand Bavan's book!

On the issue of mock meat itself, I have very mixed views. On one hand, I am not about to dismiss out of hand the health benefits that soy based products offer. As a vegetarian gourmand however, I find the idea of 'mock meat' very limiting. The challenge of cooking with vegetables is something that marks the true gourmet giants of Indian cuisine.

Did you know for example, that Hotel Saravanabavan in Chennai has over 120 varieties of DOSAI alone? In case you were wondering, Hotel Saravanabavan a vegetarian restaurant. One in which you are required to queue for two and a half hours in a mile long queue in the sweltering heat to get a place to eat.

My great grandmother, my grandmother and my mother have been cooking and eating 'meatless' all their lives. I will probably inherit their recipies and their proud traditions as well, and I will pass them down to my own children.

Ultimately, I am not in a position to comment on the virtues of a vegetarian palette over a meat eating one since I don't eat meat myself.

However, let me add that KOMALAs could be a little more creative in naming their dish. Mock Mutton Biriyani seems decent enough to me; at least you inform people that this isn't the real thing.

Guest Column: Kalpana

2007-06-05T23:24:00.000+08:00

Now, it is one of our new initiatives to get a hold of local luminaries and/or members of the media to set about writing us a guest column so to speak. The credibility issues unfold both ways. In our first instalment, Ms. Kalpana, host of "Pesuvom" affirms and rebutts points that have already been thrown up in the air, diced with Ginsu knives and pounded in our "ammi"s. Still, late but not too late.

Vanakkam! This is Kalpana from the Talk Show “Pesuvom” which some of you may have seen on Vasantham Central. First of all, I have to thank the good folks of KLK who have given me the opportunity to be a part of this blog. I have to say that I am quite excited and more nervous, as I am not used to writing for many to witness.

When I was thinking about the 1^st topic to write about, many things came to mind but why not start about the much talked about show where the subject matter was blogging.

I read the reviews written by the members of KLKillahs as well as the reviews that the topic generated.

Here are my thoughts.

Personally blogging is a great channel for many to express their thoughts. It is basically an online magazine that is updated everyday. However, I think we need to know the objective of such a blog or magazine. What are we trying to achieve? To be very honest, I am still lost at what is actually achieved by a blog.

1. The articles about the programmes and the personalities. Some of the panellists who appeared on the programme had mentioned that the comments on blogs must have been encouraging and not demeaning. Fair enough! But the moment we take the stage, we must be ready for criticisms, good or bad. If you cannot take the heat, Stay away from the media.

2. As for the criticism of programmes, yes, they have been harsh too. But I think, we as the Media folks have to take it positively and look forward to giving better programmes. I honestly feel it is time for a change. It is time for the “NO GUTS NO GLORY” kind of attitude to come in and completely turn around the Tamil Programmes of Singapore

3. Expletives. Great writers and great speakers reach out to the common man and woman. They stay away from expletives and I believe so should we. What is the point? What are we trying to achieve? It shows a lack of class and a lot more emotional instability. Yes, you have freedom of expression, but why not use it wisely.

4. People writing about themselves. I think it is a good channel to let out some angst. I do not see any other good in it. It is up to the people of course. It is not all about the other people knowing about lives, but about the perception we give them. Most of the tmr, the thoughts that are encouraged in their heads when they read such blogs is: Do we really need to go there? Of course our reply could be, “why do I care?”. The answer is then ”Why do you write if you do not care?”.

Blogging is cool and it reaches out to many. Why not make it positive? We can follow the examples of the National Enquirer, or the E Channel or other gossip magazines, or we can choose to model the better ones. Why do we do this?

For awareness or is it an outlet for us to express ?

Cheers
Kalpana

Every Woman, Every Man

2007-06-04T13:16:00.000+08:00

Ghost Particle decides he is the SME [subject matter expert] on gender inequality. And I think this is an "A" essay which oughta be photocopied and analyzed by all GP students. Though, it was written with an Indian woman in mind, it's applicable across the board.

As we stop reflecting an age of war and violence, we look back into our roots and culture. Where do we come from are defined immaculately by who we are, Man and Woman. We have come a long way in terms of what we often hear as gender equality, equal rights and anti-violence against women. Nowadays, everything is summarized into its basics, what a man needs and what a woman needs.

But despite all this, despite the days and ages of going round and round the same matter trying to pin point the problems and defining the mistakes, we did not look to solve the problems. What's prevalent these days are hot issues such as women rights but not the real underlying issue of who wants those 'rights'. What more, in the days of blogs and push button publishing, everyone can put forth a 'slam dunk' post about how men are evil and at the same time push ahead their agenda of looking better in the eyes of the reader. Eyes they may have, front or back, but the problems are not solved.

Maybe a hundred years ago, the mutiny of women was less recognized because the popular press was men dominated, but today the voices of women are heard and understood every second of the day. This is to say, the problems are solving themselves, people are coming to reason and we are gearing towards a human-centric future rather than dominance issues. When they were pushed to fight back, they were sidelined most inhumanly and disgraced. Blame the devils of the men who were our predecessors and ugly ancestors. Blame more on the scriptures and ways of God which carved a highway for men and left a gravel road for women. Recall back and you would understand that even in temples, women throng to praise the Gods of the day, even when they understood that the evil against them came from the pawns and managers of Gods. But among these, before God, there must have been a culture of violence.

So we peered back into days when we were infants in the eyes of time and then and there were no violence of hate or religion against women but lust and envy. Dominance was prevalent and then culture came as a savior. What we can summarize is that we solved problems, in many ways to ensure that no one is left behind or pushed. The history of violence is still present in homes and offices, but then there is a new generation of men and women who are working a way to stop this and eliminating is forever, impossible it may be.

You may hate me or love me for this post, but the reason is simple. The next time you write something called 'why question my ways- I'm a woman' or " why do men always go on an orgasmic dream of violating every woman out there', think again whether you are right or wrong. You may have glanced out of your kitchen window of a husband slapping his wife, you may read the sardonic press going on a pleasure ride describing the rape victims and you may cry in fear at home. But do you feel everything is all right by describing all animals of God out there who are male of being a devil?

Ok, maybe its not as simple as that, not trying to vindicate all things male, not trying to trash all women, but do we really understand what freedom we want? The Women of today are independent, strong and capable. The Women of yesterday were independent, strong and capable and most importantly prolonged and cherished the culture they are born into. Can I safely summarize that some women today, through their actions of demanding 'pop-freedom' are actually devising ways to escape from their roots? Throw away the archaic culture to experience another future of slavery, not from males, but from the burdens of the world?

What freedom do you want? Many single mothers out there need help because of a systematic deficiency in the male brain that triggers them to dump bonds when trouble strikes. We do feel the pain, we do read stories of children working to support a family the father should have done. Then we read stories of the many strong mothers who prevailed and brought up the successful family. Why in these cases we worked together to recognize the help some need and we did work together, men or women to bring them out of rut but when the time comes, its all male bashing? The root of the matter is that people need help, and we must look beyond the gender in giving the helping hand. Can I, safely summarize that some women need help and men can give that help? As is true that some men need help and women can offer that help?

My question is, all this is happening, the needy, the person who needs to see the light of the day, there are people who are sacrificing their lives to safeguard a future for their children, but why don't the warrior princesses ever look at their stories, but go on a ego trip to justify their own bubble universe? We dont have to look far to see the many young women who are independent and bold in the blog land. I can name a few I know, but in danger of leaving out some...please do have a look at my blog roll. The issue is simple, they are rooted, they are grounded and they love life. They dont sensationalize and they don't go on a pointless list orgasm of everything right about females and wrong about men in their writings.

This is a never ending issue, it's not meant to end, let this be a start. When you write your post of anything, of Mothers' day, of your friends, female or male, of a success story, look deep into the real people who make the difference. Don't fall in the same trap as some do out there to glorify a dead issue and to prime a stale story. I hate it when I flip the blogs and find posts of vagabond flavors dominating their blogs when they are wrong. Get it? Dead wrong. Please dont disgrace and detach your brains from the real world where real women have succeeded.

Big Bad Bus Uncle

2007-06-03T16:15:00.000+08:00

And again, the KLKillahs always get you the hottest news first. Fingers in every pie. The community's pulse through our veins.

The New Paper, "Call cops & I'll kill you", June 2nd 2007
YOU can call him the Singapore bus uncle.
Like his infamous Hong Kong counterpart, his antics, filmed by a commuter, have been making its rounds on the Internet in the last few months.
The notorious 'bus uncle' tag came about last year after a middle-aged Hong Kong man was filmed scolding a fellow passenger who had tapped him on the shoulder because he had been talking too loudly on his handphone.
In this case, the Singapore bus uncle got into a heated argument with the bus captain after he allegedly did not pay the fare.
The man, shouting vulgarities, threw a punch but hit the wall panel just behind the driver.
During his tirade at the driver, which went on for more than a minute, he even threatened to kill the bus captain.
The man said loudly to the driver: 'You not happy with... or what? Why you do this to us?
'So far when I was young until now, nobody ask me to scan twice, you know. If I don't scan, I put coins, you think what? I don't have coins ah?'
As the man worked himself up, the driver could also be heard in the background using vulgarities, which provoked the passenger further.
The man then shouted at the driver: 'You call police, you call police, you bloody ******. I will kill you, you know.
'He only shout you know, but I will kill you, you want or not? You want a funeral today? You want or not?
'You call the police, you call,' he challenged the driver, as he swung a punch at the wall panel next to the driver.
SECOND ABUSIVE COMMUTER
The unruly passenger was then pulled away by someone believed to be his brother-in-law, but not before the latter too, added to the fray and boasted to the driver,
'I already go prison, I already go prison,' he said.
Meanwhile, this uncle continued: '******, you think what?'
The man's lasts words before he stepped off the bus: 'I tell you, I not satisfied, I will kill you.'
Strangely though, another video clip which was titled 'Part 2' showed the brother-in-law on board the bus.
This time, he hurled abuse at the driver from the back of the bus, as he paced a few steps up and down the aisle.
He could be heard shouting in a mixture of Hokkien vulgarities and Malay: 'You want to see ****** or what? Not scared lah, police you bring, anytime... I never run.'
The bus driver could also be heard in the background retaliating with vulgar words, and threatening to call the police.

Who do you think this is? One of our EZlink Mango Makkehs of course. Men in first and second videos.

Break Time

2007-06-01T17:01:00.000+08:00

We've taken a short break to assess the need to tackle rising Kopi-O prices and investigate why curry leaves are given free with every purchase in Tekka [do they really have no value?].

Also, full time work is quite a bitch, especially when you're not equipped with an Internet connection.

We're back as of tomorrow. And we might be announcing new plans. KLKillahs is undergoing a corporate and human resource transformation in line with the 3rd Generation workforce.

Good day now.

Nal's Mudhal Payanam - Part 3

2007-05-23T15:35:00.000+08:00

Day Three - Vaideeswaram

Yet another temple town, Vaideeswaram is the “olai chuvadi” capital of the world. Using an ancient text to tell your history as well as your future, these guys belong to a special clan that has safeguarded these texts for 1000s of years. These texts, written on palm leaves, used a kind of archaic Tamil script that only people in that clan can still read. So they make quite a killing reading these texts to people who either want to know their history, or their future.

If you remember, the point of my trip was to trace my history, so we went to one of these guy to see if he could shed some light on my ancestors. Finding him was hard because there was literally a whole street of these guys in Vaideeswaram, all claming to be the original. (Sounds a bit like the whole Papa Roti thing, doesn’t it?) But in the end, a call to my dad’s friend Rajendran solved the problem. It helps to have friends in high places.

Outside Vaideeswaram temple, we were swamped by the ubiquitious pest of India – beggars. They hang around the temple hoping people’s piety will move them to pity. I was warned sternly by Malar and John NOT to give them money. They said, if you really want, you can give them food – biscuits or buns – but chances are they will reject it. Apparently most of them belong to a syndicate that feeds them, but makes them beg for their keep.

I had to test it out. I had bought some packets of food (prasadam) from the temple, which I didn’t want to eat. I offered it to this beggar lady with 2 children, but she refused to take it and kept asking me for money instead. Now, if I was a mother with 2 hungry children, I would take any food that comes my way, especially when it’s still piping hot.

Lesson learned.

Vaideeswaram is a small town, well supported by the astrology business. But there really wasn’t much else to do there. So after we got all the footage we needed, we left and headed for Pondicherry for dinner and the long drive back to Chennai.

We reached the ultra comfortable Raj Palace Hotel at about 9:30 on Sunday night. With the most strenuous part of the shoot behind us, we could relax, enjoy a good dinner (Chicken fried rice washed down with several gimlets), and entertain each other with horror stories from the media industry. I found out that John was the CEO for a cable channel called SS music, before life on the road called him back to sound engineering.

And Malar has worked in almost every major city in India and South East Asia, including Singapore, where he holds an employment pass.

Day Four – Chennai

Finally, the last day of shooting. All the shoots today are in Chennai, so we had a little bit of time for some shopping in the evening. But before that, I got to experience the colour and vibrancy of what is touted to be now the best Indian city to live in.

Beggars, cows and pollution. I didn’t really find any of these a problem. I don’t know if I just looked unapproachable or what, but there weren’t a lot of encounters with beggars in Chennai. I saw more beggars in the small towns, strangely enough, just outside temples. There were still street and slum dwellers, in rags, and with children in throngs around them, but they seem to be gainfully employed. I was glad to see that.

The ubiquitious cows were everywhere, but they were quite grazing in little grassy alcoves, rather than obstructing traffic or terrifying hapless tourists (aka me). It just wouldn’t be India without the cows.

As for pollution, I noticed something really interesting. Women would sweep their houses clean of dust and debris, then gather the said pile of dust and dump it just outside their houses, where the wind will blow it in again during the course of the day.

A lot of the rubbish is also organic. Indians use natural resources a lot more than we do here – banana leaves instead of paper plates, palm leaf baskets instead plastic bags and cow dung instead of pesticides. Yes, there are plastic bottles, cans and other man made rubbish as well, but for city as large as Chennai is, they must either have a lot less trash or much more efficient waste disposal teams. But there is no doubt that India is the original recycling society. People save and reuse everything, which is really admirable.

I felt that politics and cinema drive the city more than then many temples, spiritual gurus and ancient texts and books. Everywhere you look, they are posters of political luminaries. Actors endorse everything from Aircel mobile networks to pumps for agricultural use. And the people are such big fans of some of the actors, that apparently in the cinema the film reel operator has to stop the reel in order to accommodate the whistling and celebrating that goes on once the hero appears. I wish I had time to have experienced this, but sadly, it didn’t happen. But the next time I surely will.

Chennai has been an eye opener. The memory I had of the city I visited 17 years ago remains an old and distance memory, the way you remember your grandma when you were 5. As I have grown, Chennai has grown along with me, infinite in beauty, wisdom and grace. This is not to say that it’s perfect, no place is, but its faults have been exaggerated more than its virtues. The people are gentle and hospitable, I wasn’t eve-teased, rubbed up against or even gawked at even once. The food is amazing, with enough variety to keep foodies like me happy for a long time.

My heart is full. I am so glad I came. Chennai, you have a part of my heart, and you will see me again.

Nal's Mudhal Payanam - Part 2

2007-05-22T03:33:00.000+08:00

Day Two – Sirkazhi

After a quick and excellent breakfast of thosai and the best tea I have ever had, we set out for Sirkazhi, the town my great grandfather came from. I was supposed to meet my dad’s friend, Rajendran who lives there. He in turn helped me to find all the possible connections to my dad’s family. If not for him, I would probably still be there, looking for my roots.

We went to the house of this old priest of the local temple, who was said to remember my great grandfather. This man was 95 years old, and still had a memory that was sharp as a knife. He is retired from his priestly duties, but lives with his daughter’s family in the same house he had lived in since he was born.

I was excited to visit the house, because:
1) it would be my first visit into a village house, and
2) my first visit to a orthodox Brahmin house.

I tried to remember all the “rules” of orthodoxy regarding visiting a Brahmin household. I am glad to say none of them were true. They welcomed us with kindness, offered us a place to sit on a bench, and some ice cold water to drink.

(A short note on drinking water in India. I was told NEVER to drink the tap water. The crew bought many bottles of mineral water and an ice cooler, so we were well watered throughout the journey. But, when you go to someone’s house, and all they have is water, from the tap, how to say no without being rude? The last thing I want is to be remembered as the uppity Singapore girl who won’t even wet her lips in our house. So I drank their water when it was offered. I said a blessing over it, and drank whole heartedly. And didn’t suffer so much as a stomach ache from it. )

The house looked exactly like the kind you see in Tamil movies. A U shaped covered house with a small open air courtyard in the middle, where they had the Tulasi tree and the water pump. In the back, there is a well and a general washing area. These people were considered affluent because they had electricity, running water, and a fridge. The floors were cement and the walls brick. The roof was wood and attap, and kept the house cool and comfortable. 6 people lived in that house, which is the size of my living room. Amazing. With no separate rooms for married couples, how on earth did they make 2 children. The mind boggles.

The next house I visited was the one my great grandfather built. It has been around for about 100 years and is based on the same U shaped with courtyard plan. My uncle and aunty who still live there have electricity, but no fridge, and no running water. And my uncle works in a bank!

Meeting my relatives was an experience in itself and I will leave it to the show to tell the story. But walking into the house that I could have been born in was overwhelming. I can describe it adequately, and won’t even try.

Night Two – Chidambaram

Since Sirkazhi is such a small town, they don’t have any hotels that will fulfil the creature comforts stipulated by the crew. So we spent the night in Chidambaram, a slightly larger temple town that was a 2 hour drive away. I was so exhausted – drained physically by the 8 hour shoot in the broiling sun and emotionally by meeting my relatives – that I took a shower and went straight to bed. It’s only the next morning that I realized that the hotel we stayed at was called the Raffles Hotel! The irony was not lost on me. I’m not complaining because it had a clean bed and aircon, which is all I needed, but they were little short on the marble flooring and jazz quarter, what.

The hotel also did not have room service, so the guys had to go out to get some take away food. One of the things I really enjoyed about this trip was that I was with a bunch of people who were serious meat eaters like me. Which is really good because India has very good non-vegetarian cusine offer. The meat is usually fresh, not frozen, so it tastes different and absorbs the flavours of the spices better.

Now, I know a lot of you are frowning because you think I did something stupid and dangerous, but for the record, I did not get any digestive disorders while I was in India. No Delhi belly, nothing. 2 out of 3 meals were non-vegetarian. For breakfast, we went to a veg restaurant, but only because breakfast foods like thosai and idly are much better there.

If I have any complains about India, it’s this. The sun rises really early in the morning. By about 5:45 a.m., it is peeking into my room. Being used to waking at dawn in Singapore (6:30a.m.), I was like WTH when I found myself rising at 5:30 or so. So from then till my actual wake up call (8:00), it was my time with the wonders of Indian television. I was pleasantly surprised to find a TV channel dedicated to Christian programming – songs, sermons and services – in both Tamil and English. Belonging to a secular state like Singapore, it came as quite a treat, really.

Nal's Mudhal Payanam - Part 1

2007-05-18T17:24:00.000+08:00

Itinerary

Day 1 – Chennai to Pondicherry
Day 2 – Pondicherry to Sirkazhi
Day 3 – Sirkazhi to Vaideeswaram
Day 4 – Vaideeswaram to Chennai
Day 5 - Singapore

They also building MRT.

Day One

I landed in Chennai airport at 10 a.m. and already the heat was searing through my skin. It was Agni Natchathiram, the hottest day in the year, although I didn’t know that at the time.

Good thing Kannan, the Assistant Director from Verite Productions was there with an air conditioned Chevrolet, so I didn’t suffer too long in the heat. It did make me think about how the people who cannot afford air conditioning survive this season.

We went to Raj Palace Hotel where I met the rest of the crew – Hameed, who of course I know from poly days, Malarvannan, the cameraman , and John Fernandez, the sound guy. Both Malar and John are Chennai natives (Chennaivites? Chennaaiwals?) , although they have both travelled the world extensively as professionals in their field. My episode of Mudhal Payanam was in good hands.

Before heading out of the city, we stopped for lunch – at Liu’s Chinese Cuisine. The two Singaporean guys, Kannan and Hameed were tired of eating Indian food and were dying for a change in palate, and this was their last chance to get some Chinese food before we headed for the rural countryside. So my first meal in India was steamed Thai rice, sweet and sour pork, chili beef and chap chai! Go figure eh.

At about 4:30, we headed out of Chennai further south toward Pondicherry. On our way out, we saw busloads of people with strange black and red flags on the windows coming into the city. Apparently some minister was getting honoured for 50 years of active political career, so the prime minister and president of India were coming down to some meeting to felicitate him. His followers also took it at a personal invitation and descended on Chennai in their thousands. Malar said it’s good thing we were leaving for a few days, because just the traffic snarls would tie up any travel plans for a while.

Even on the other side of the road, we were moving at a snail’s pace, because the more important followers of that minister were allowed to drive on the opposite side, towards oncoming traffic. Our driver Kumar played chicken so many times, I stopped counting. I just know that by the time my journey ended, I had almost broken the hand grip in the car.

Traffic rules are more of a suggestion than the law here.

Night One – Pondicherry

Being on a road trip like this one, it’s impossible to tell where we are going to be when night falls. Therefore making hotel reservations was out of the question. Therefore 2 hours of our night in Pondicherry was spent driving around, looking for a hotel to stay. Most hotels were full for two reasons – 1) Pondicherry is a kind of a party town where young Chennai natives go for a wild weekend of drinking and partying and 2) Because of the political meeting, even more people decided to leave the city and Pondi is the nearest destination.

Tons of buses streaming into the city for the political event.

By 9:30, we still hadn’t got a room and I was beginning to panic. I know how Mary and Joseph felt, not that I was about to have a baby, but the part of being tired and stopping at every inn and not finding room to rest. Finally Malar called one of his friends, who told us to try a place called Shanti Inn. It was on a street that we had already driven by twice, but we didn’t see it because at the street level, you only see the door. The rest of the hotel is on the 2nd – 5th floors. The rooms were clean and air conditioned, the bathroom looked recently washed and the bed was comfortable. We decided to stay.

Pondicherry Cop. Still in French inspired uniforms.

Dinner was room service, although no one had much of an appetite from all that traveling. Ok, honestly, that was not the reason. Pondicherry is apparently some kind of tax haven for alcohol. A bottle of Smirnoff vodka only cost SGD$16. So everyone decided to camp out in my room and have a few bottles of the stuff, “to help to relax”. They were so relaxed, I had a hard time kicking them out, because I wanted to sleep. Tomorrow we go to Sirkazhi, a big day for me. I needed to sleep.

First Indian India meal.

Before I end this post, a word about Indian TV. Firstly, I love the fact that every channel has people who look just like me – beautiful Indian girls endorsing products in ads and good looking men reading the news. And the ads are really a lot more creative and sometimes risqué then what we get in Singapore. There is this one ad where the opening sequence is a medium shot of a woman, waist up, squatting on something and bouncing up and down with her eyes closed. The next shot is a long shot of her rinsing out the pair of pants she had just washed by hand, and turning to show it to the camera. It was an ad for washing soap.

And these people had a problem with Richard Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty? What the…?

Sex and nudity is not really an issue in India. People are bathing in public places all the time, the men wearing a little less than a thong and the women a sheer sari or cloth that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. The problem was probably that Richard was an old geezer, kissing a young nubile woman. Yeah, I think that was probably it.

Equal Employment

2007-05-17T21:26:00.000+08:00

A KLKallout from Shaheen via e-mail:

Dear all,

All of you have always complained of inequality, injustice, racism, lack of democracy, lack of freedom of speech and expression. Well, here is a golden opportunity to shout and scream out loud and demand the fairness you as positive, constructive, moral, law-abiding and righteous citizens deserve. They have allocated 30 mins on national radio (read below). Its a scratch. To just merely make this scratch however, a lot of effort, struggle, sacrifice and pain has been confronted on the parts of those who have earned this much discussion on a sensitive issue indeed to say the least in our great Republic.

Now I dare each of you to make your voices heard. If you don't make your voices heard now, this issue will die down for another 42 years, perhaps so that your children and their children will suffer a fate likely worse than you have suffered in terms of discrimination, inequality and denial of equity: Voices on radio . A new set of guidelines on fair employment practices was announced earlier this month, but critics have called for these suggestions to be made mandatory, rather than leave it up to employers to enforce. In the past week, readers have chimed in that legislation has been implemented in other areas to great effect, namely against littering and chewing gum, so why not one on fair employment?

Tune in to 938LIVE's Talkback from 8.15am to 8.45am tomorrow for a debate on the issue highlighted in Today. Call 6691 1938 to share your views

Call them up and let them know we want legislation, we want a law against unfair employment practices. May God be with us.

Search It

2007-05-15T17:49:00.000+08:00

It's quite amazing how netizens actually chance upon us. The great game of randomness. These were some search terms that got them here a few days back.

But of course, the original KLKillahs generated a tad more search hits. Example:

In other news, the great nemesis Analyze KLKillahs has since died-ed. 5 posts in 2 days. And then we're stil waiting for his 7 cents worth 12 days on. Clock is ticking.

Nal, has also just departed to start filming her Mudhal Payanam episode. We wish her to be safe and possibly find out why appalams were named appalams. Lifted off her page:

I am writing this from the free internet terminals in Changi Airport. Check in was really smooth cos they had a special express lane for individual travellers. There were about 400 tour groups, all looking haggard, tired and carrying everything from rice cookers to small TVs.

In about 10 Mins we get to board the plane and then, the adventure begins!

catch u later!

Irate Mango Makkeh

2007-05-14T13:57:00.000+08:00

My dear readers,

I must admit being a little confused at the understanding that some Indians have, with regards to their imaginary 'divine right' to bully hapless customer service personnel, especially if said customer personnel are Indian themselves.

Now I am not going to leave this statement hanging in the air like forgotten laundry, but rather highlight to you my encounter with one of these individuals. I think that my poor ears are bleeding from the encounter.

This lovely Gentleman calls me, and then proceeds to launch a complaint against one of my company's employees. Since my company is a big one, and I was hearing his complaint FOR THE FIRST TIME, I was naturally unable to give him a detailed outcome and action taken against said employee. When the conversation began, it was all polite and nice, when my name was revealed, the excrement well and truly hit the fan.

When I tried to highlight to Mr. Irate Gentleman that we will need some time to investigate the incident, he had the temerity to scream at me and accuse me of poor customer service. When his first tirade was over, I reiterated that we need to investigate the feedback. He then launches another tirade. His constant mention of my name, and my awareness of his name made the whole incident very unpleasant.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but as I perceive this whole matter, which after some time had degenerated into nasty name calling and threats, he was just excercising his 'divine right' to bully me because I was an Indian. After all, the phone conversation took a headlong plunge down the drain after I gave him my full name.

This is hardly the first time I have recieved rude behaviour from fellow Indian complainents once it is revealed that I'm Indian.

I think I missed the memo which said that Indians warrant special treatment by other Indians because we are all Indians. I'm all for celebrating identity, but this is taking things too far don't you think.

To my fellow Indians, you know that I am an advocate of gracious behaviour. Please extend this graciousness to phone conversations. We are not interested to hear how proficient you are at using the various permutations of the f-word and other vulgarities.

Somehow, using the term Mango Makkeh is not enough for Mr. Irate Gentleman.

So my fellow KLKlan members, what should we call rude, unreasonable makkehs?

Leave your suggestions in the comment column! My challenge to you is to not use ANY VULGARITIES! But you can call him a fruit if you so wish. However, the best suggestion will be printed in high gloss paper to be framed and hung in my cubicle.

As for me, I was going to think of him as a rat fink who crawled out of a sewer to make my life difficult, but that would be such an insult to the poor rats and other creatures like homeless heroin junkies, who consider the sewer system their humble abodes.

KLKalifornian Malaysians

2007-05-12T15:57:00.000+08:00

Sheena Moorthy

3400 Poly Vista,
PO.BOX#1087,
CALPOLY, Pomona,91768,
CA U.S.A

2nd May 2007

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Prime Minister Of Malaysia
Prime Minister Department,
Malaysia

Ref.: Racial Insult - Formal Complaint

Datuk Sri, I, Sheena Moorthy, a 3rd year Biotech Malaysian student in CALPOLY would like to submit a formal complaint against our Minister of Science & Technology, YAB Jamaluddin Narjis.

I would like to bring to your attention the following incident which was totally uncalled for from the minister.

Date: 30th April 2007
Time: 6.30pm
Venue: Belacan Grill Malaysian Restaurant, Redondo Beach, Ca

Minister of Science, Dato Jamaluddin Narjis was here on an official visit.He wanted to meet some of the Malaysian students studying in California especially the ones from TPM Academy twinning programme.

During the 3 ½ hour session, he passed a few comments against Indians, focusing his attack on me and being one of the two Indians present there

Incident 1 - Each student had to briefly introduce themselves. When it came to my turn, while speaking he interrupted me and asked if I knew Samy Velu, because he knows him. I don't see any relevance in that and he mentioned it a few times for no apparent reason.

Incident 2 - He gave a speech regarding how agriculture started in Malaysia.He mentioned how the British invested in Malaysia and made farmers work. Due to the lack of work force, "buruh India" was brought in. While mentioning this, he looked at me saying that's how we get Indians in Malaysia.

Incident 3 - After saying he is going to get MARA to help the Bumiputra students, he looked at me and asked "How many Indians are here?, I don't know and don't keep track of number of Indian students here" so I mentioned that "In this room, there are two (pointing to my another Malaysian Indian friend, who is fair skinned) and J.Jarjis looked at him and asked "Oh. You are an Indian", which means you are an upper class Indian and she is the lower class one (pointing at me).

He went on to say that, "Oh, I am not going to help upper class Indians, I only help to lower class ones. They are the ones that need it'. I left the room feeling very insulted.Basically he judged me based on my skin color.Being a Minister and respectable figure, these statements that he mentioned was unethical and biased. This happened in front of a crowd about 100 people. Being a true Malaysian at heart, and being taught not to discriminate among races especially in Malaysia, I feel humiliated as well as insulted by these racial remarks.

I demand a public apology from him because he does not have a right to judge me nor pass any remarks to me.Also, I would greatly appreciate if you could kindly review his performance and take appropriate action to mitigate another unwanted racial remark, insults and shame to our country from this minister.

Thanking you in advance.

Sincerely,

Sheena Moorthy

Editor's Note: Picked up by Malaysian bloggers earlier, an example of the rage it induced back up the peninsular, HERE. Sometimes, things get taken a step too far. Layman maybe forgivable. Minister? Hell no!

a·pos·tle

2007-05-10T23:32:00.000+08:00

Somehow or rather, the topic of "Responsible Blogging" and the call for a "Blogger's Code of Conduct" is hot in the current state of things. That this started because of an episode on Vasantham is highly unlikely. Let's just take it as, a lot of people have questions and some won't stop till they're answered. Attempting to be the last line warrior to defend why we do what we do, MystiKal lays the matter to rest. Div had her twenty cents worth, HERE. Lacking the way of the wordsmith, I weighed in HERE. For all known posts stemming from a televised debate on the responsibility in the hands of bloggers, do click HERE and have your fill.

Henceforth, there WILL be no more, explanatory posts as to why things are the way they are. For reference, refer to our KLKillahs Manifesto. Show deference if you'd like to.

We are not the norm.

A blog can be many things. It can be a personal journal like this one. Where i get to see my thoughts come out in words. A sort of vent. Maybe even to show off.. LOL.. we are all capable of that. But KLKillahs is another kind of blog. What it used to be may be questioned, but i believe we have a new calling. Something for the future. A voice if u must, accessible to all, interactive voice to almost everything pertaining to being Indian. Negative positive or simply which pappadam is crispiest at which tekka pukul mati makan restaurant. Why? Who cares why?! WHY NOT! i ask you.

We address a need for us Indians to look at ourselves, laugh at ourselves and think for ourselves. Albeit many of the issues at KLKillahs are smothered with dark humour. A dry thesis espousing all the fuck things that are wrong/right with us. Or simply regurgitating talking points is being... pedestrian. This blog i may accept as pedestrian. Its just another blog of another random fella who thinks the world of himself. Et Tu Selva etc.. But KLKillahs is different.

Its a couple of people from different walks of life that come together, give their take, their opinions, their spin on issues.. talking points and/or random silly, not so silly things that will put a smile on your face on a mundane day, spur you to do some research on some topic instead of bumming away watching sun TV, go to work/school/public toilet and think about how reading that post on our blog made u think differently and hopefully affected you positively.. you get my drift?

That is what we are trying to achieve. We are not even doing it from behind a veil of secrecy. That in itself is a form of us taking responsibility in the articles that we do. And we set guidelines, skirt the edges, maybe bend/ break/ lay-on-the-floor-and-spread the rules in the attempt to stress a point, evoke a reaction, bring about a change.

That's what KLK is about my friends. Change. We dare to question. There is no limit to question. The right to ask is universal. Whether we get a satisfactory answer or a reasonable one is another question totally. Even asking a question can come in many forms. When we ridicule something. Ask yourself, what is the point? Do you really think we have nothing better to do then clown around making fun of people? There is a point there is a motive. Even for the mundane. When we point out errors, when we bring out our point even if we show u a picture with no caption or further illustration whatsoever, it is a question. It is a move, an effort to bring about change. To improve in whatever way we can. There.. there is our disclaimer. We do it in whatever way we can. With whatever resources that we can make do with...

Far from perfection we would be. Living in our own turmoil we may be. Disillusioned with life also we could be. But when we load that blogger page and type in the title of the post that we want to put on KLKillahs, we assume a mantle. The mantle of thinking from the readers' point of view. How that reader would be affected, how would the person we're talking about be affected? How can you bring about a change on the person reading it? Will he/she have a better day? A snort of derision? A rush of righteous anger? A stir of controversy? We learn from every post we write. The reactions. the feedback, and whiny little people who cannot stand their flaws put under a microscope. I wouldn't like it too.. That's why i signed up.. If you can't beat them.. join them :)

If i could sum up what we do? In as little words as possible. I'd say.. We're people who dare laugh at ourselves. Laugh at our flaws. And write articles that makes your day a little brighter. a tad funnier or probably more interesting :D Even if it means giving you reasons not to send your teen daughters to parade for small time TV that wouldn't look good on a resume anyway.. =)

Now the worse thing that can happen is if ah_neh nudges me on MSN and say "deh? what makes you think all that crap applies to me?" [what i'm most likely to say: "how, amk, half hour, thanni?"]

So in that context kindly imagine all the 'We' in this post represent me and my Muse...

NLB's Letters from Grandma & Grandpa

2007-05-10T17:41:00.000+08:00

National Library Board has launched this project called Letters From Grandma And Grandpa.

The project is to help record advice (can be about life, the future, lessons to remember) grandparents want to pass on to their grandchildren.

Tamil Murasu is working together with National Library Board to gather and publish the letters in Tamil.

This is open to all Grandparents, who are Singaporeans or Permanent Residents.

Your letter has to be written in Tamil.
You should submit your letter in either typewritten or handwritten form.
Each letter should have approximately 500 to 1,000 words.
Unselected letters would be archived.
Letters are subjected to editing by the selection panel.

For more details, please contact us and we will tell you how to submit your letter. kelingkillah@gmail.com

de·bate

2007-05-09T21:44:00.000+08:00

Something that brightened up my Monday.

This language debate needs a skilful moderator
By P N Balji, Editorial Director, TODAY Posted: 07 May 2007 1107 hrs

I have been listening in on a discussion taking place among a group of Indian Singaporeans ("We are Indian Singaporeans and our unifying language is Tamil") in the confines of the Net. They are mainly talking about the disappearance of the Tamil language on signages at a couple of public places.

One talked about how he complained to a government organisation which had missed using the language on a signboard when 12 other languages were there. The person at the other end had been apologetic and promised to get it done within two months. That caused another round of discussions on why it needed two months to make a change.

Another wrote about a sign at a public place that has Hindi, but not Tamil. And yet another complained that some government websites looking for global talent emphasise English and Chinese but put Tamil in the "others" category.

Then there was a posting on the need for an Indian Affairs Minister here, which sparked responses from a couple of supporters.

There are two issues here, one easy to deal with and the other a little tricky, touchy and so more difficult to handle.

Despite how cosmopolitan we may appear to be as a city, language can always creep in and become a spoiler.

The civil servants who deal with things like signages, brochures and advertisements need to understand the language sensitivities underpinning Singapore society.

And this just doesn't apply to the minorities.

Not many of us would have forgotten that during the dengue scare two years ago, official brochures were printed only in English with the other languages, including Chinese, being forgotten.

That was corrected immediately with the pamphlets being re-printed not only in Chinese, but also Malay and Tamil as well.

It looks like some of our government departments have not learned from that error.

The Civil Service, known for its efficiency and its responsiveness, must not allow missteps in language to crop up again. And when such missteps do happen, they should be put right quickly.

But how to deal with an issue like this, especially now that there is an enabler called the Internet?

Before you even get into that, you need to find out why groups like Indian Singaporeans feel the way they do. To be completely colour blind in Singapore is not possible, what with policies like race-based help (CDAC, Mendaki and Sinda) and race-based electoral boundaries (Group Representation Constituencies), race-based quotas for HDB flats and race-related questions in application forms.

But what has complicated the simmering racial pot for the Tamil Singaporeans, who form the majority of the Indians here, is the recent influx of North Indians — who mainly speak Hindi — into Singapore.

Some feel their minority status is being further eroded. To understand their anxiety, one needs to understand the language divisions in India.

Hindi is as foreign to the Tamils as, say, French is. And although Hindi is the official language in India, it is not recognised in the south of the country — especially in Tamil Nadu, where elections can be lost and won on playing the language card.

The discussion on the Net has only just started.

Before it gets out of hand, we need a greater sensitivity on the part of organisations that deal with the public often, as well as a skilful moderator who will be able to better understand what is troubling this group and engage them with trust and confidence.

The ombudsman should be independent-minded, respected in the community and, most important of all, be outside the government embrace.

This Balji dude got most of his points right. Except the part where he says the discussion on the Net has only just started. I reference MDA Xchange from our old kelingkillah blog. Come on, its being going on for ages already. [The exchange was lifted from exactly the same Yahoo group, Mr Balji is subscribed to. We is have our hands everywhere.]

Someone outside the governmental embrace to manage Indian affairs? That would be something to look out for. Our very own Samy Vellu in the making. He's technically part of the government in Malaysia but its not very difficult to mark out his fiefdom.

So are we going to see an Indian Affairs Minister? [We already have Yaacob Ibrahim sitting as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, though point noted, one's a religion, we're a community] Would he be drafted from the foreign talent program or will we see a true blue local makkal take it up?

We'll keep you updated.

Pre-Interview for "Mudhal Payanam"

2007-05-09T14:34:00.000+08:00

Continuing the original announcement HERE, Nal provides an update on what gives on her upcoming 1/2 hour of fame:

On Sunday, the TV crew came to my house to do a pre-trip interview for the show, Mudhal Payanam, which I have blogged about before.

For the occasion, we gave the house a super thorough cleaning, even getting areas we haven't thought about before, like curtains and behind wardrobes (like anyone is going to film there!) But it was partly the excitement of a TV crew coming to my humble HDB flat to film me, which made us overprepare.

They were supposed to be there at 4:30 initially, but because of the freaky rain we been having, the previous shoot went longer. So they decided upon 5:30.

Then 6:00.

Then 6:30. Dust was beginning to gather. I was starting to panic.

Then 7:00. Dad and Hanan were getting antsy, so I started dinner, make-up melting and all.

Finally at 7:15, there is activity outside the house, the four man crew with a huge box of equipment turned up.

In a flash, they are set up and ready to go. I tell you man, 3 lights and a camera tripod sure take up a lot of space! There was hardly any room to move, what with 12 tripod legs, wires everywhere and about 7 people squeezing into a space meant for one or two!

In my excitement, I totally forgot to take pictures *slaps head*, but of course, you will see it all when it comes out on TV lah.

My dad had a lot of nice stuff to say about me - that I was not shy, friendly with everyone. Thanks Dad! That's why I love you. He also had a lot of interesting facts and trivia on the place I am supposed to go to. And his Tamil!! The beauty of the language really comes through when Dad speaks it.

Hanan said I was a wonderful mom because I bought him alot of Xbox games. Ugh. Hope they edit out the stuff after "wonderful". Otherwise, he was kinda shy and did't say much, but that's ok.

On the whole, I think the interview went well. We couldn't do any outdoor shots because we had "lost daylight" as the producer put it, so that's gonna have to wait till after the trip. Hopefully, by then I will be so used to being filmed that I will be a lot more relaxed and vocal!

More updates soon!

Kiss That Nobody Could Miss

2007-05-07T20:49:00.000+08:00

Via e-mail. Hilarious, Author: Melvin Durai.

What a year it’s been for Shilpa Shetty. The Bollywood actress has gained immense exposure around the world, grabbing headlines in major newspapers and getting every TV host in America, even the national ones, to mangle her name.

Shetty first drew worldwide attention when she appeared on the British reality show “Celebrity Big Brother” and endured offensive comments from other contestants, triggering protests in India and the requisite effigy-burning. (More effigies are burned in India than in any other country in the world, according to Raj Sharma, spokesman for the Indian Effigy Manufacturers Association. George W. Bush has been burned in effigy numerous times, but isn’t quite in the Top Ten. (The only way for him to move up would be to join the Indian cricket team.)

Shetty’s activities have been a boon to the effigy industry. Three months after winning “Celebrity Big Brother,” she was embroiled in another controversy, having made the mistake of standing too close to Hollywood star Richard Gere.

The pair were at a televised AIDS awareness event in New Delhi, appearing on stage in front of thousands of people, when Gere kissed Shetty on the hand, embraced her, bent her backwards and kissed her several times on the cheek. To some onlookers, it looked like a demonstration. Gere was showing everyone that you can’t get AIDS, of course, by kissing a Bollywood actress. (You can’t get AIDS by kissing anyone else either, but you can get slapped. Trust me, I know.)

Many men in the audience were naturally upset. It was rude of Gere, even disgraceful, not to invite them to participate. “Demonstration is all well and good,” one man said. “But we wanted to see for ourselves that it’s safe to kiss Shilpa. We were ready to form a neat line.”

Some political activists and others in India were outraged by Gere’s act. They called it “obscene” and “vulgar,” causing millions of youngsters to go online to view it. “We were very disappointed,” a teen-aged boy said. “She kept her sari on the whole time.”

Many others felt that Shetty acted improperly. “She didn’t resist at all,” said a middle-aged Mumbai woman. “She could have pushed him away. She could have pepper-sprayed him or something.”

Several young women from Chennai insisted they would have acted differently. “I’m a Christian,” one of them said. “If Richard Gere kissed me passionately on the cheek, I’d show him the other cheek.”

Most of the anger on the streets was directed at Gere. Protesters, egged on by political activists, didn’t just burn effigies of Gere, they beat them with sticks. That sparked a dozen more protests, most of them organized by PETE (People for the Ethical Treatment of Effigies).

Shetty said people were overreacting and that Gere was just being sweet, prompting an Indian tabloid to print a tongue-twister of a headline: “Shapely Shilpa Shetty shockingly shows no shame!”

Then a lawyer filed a complaint accusing Gere of an “indecent act” and a judge in Rajasthan issued an arrest warrant for Gere. He faced a potential penalty of three months in prison, a fine or both. He’d better watch out or he could find himself sharing a cell with a burly man named Munna.

Gere: “Hello, what are you in here for?”
Munna: “Armed robbery. I robbed a bank and shot three people. What about you?”
Gere: “Kissing.”
Munna: “Oh my God! You kissed someone?”
Gere: “Yes, but it was just an innocent ...”
Munna: “Guards! Get me out of here! I don’t want to be with this man.”
Gere: “Come on, relax. I’m harmless.”
Munna: “Stand back, man! Don’t come near me with those lips!”

Gere has apologized for the kiss, saying he was just mimicking a scene from his 2004 movie “Shall We Dance” and evidently misread Indian customs. He plans to continue visiting India, but from now on will wear a hockey mask in public to keep himself from kissing anyone.

His experience might give people the impression that public kissing does not occur in India, that no one ever does it. But that’s not true at all. A few cases of public kissing have been recorded.

In 2001, for example, a Delhi man and his wife won a new Maruti car in a contest. The man was pictured in the Times of India planting a loving kiss on the front bumper. The next day, members of the right-wing group Shiv Sena burned effigies of the man. Some accused the man of “auto-erotic behaviour.”

In 2004, a Madurai man was spotted kissing a donkey. The donkey belonged to the man’s boss, a flour merchant. The man was arrested and taken to court. “It’s my wife’s fault,” he told the judge. “She told me that if I want the boss to give me a promotion, I need to kiss his ass.”

N.B. Gere is now scot free after a public apology. Judge who issued the arrest warrant however has been transferred. Div had her own take on Shilpa Shetty a while back. Published for your perusal. Fictional but provoking.

A "WHAT IF" story

As we all know, Jade Goody, Shilpa Shetty's co-star in Big Brother, and the one who got even Tony Blair talking about racism has been invited by the government of India 'to visit India and experience the country's healing nature.'

Lets assume Goody will accept the invitation; after all she would want to be 'cleansed' of the bigotry she discovered she carries within herself.

Jane boards Kingfisher airlines, one of the up and coming 'cool' domestic airlines that now fly all over India, and the moment she enters, she has an astonished look on her face.

"Is anything the matter Ms. Goody" ask the indian official who has been assigned to be assist with her Indian Government sponsored 'healing programme'.

"Yes!" says Ms. Goody, "I thought Indians were brown!"

"Most of us are" said the Indian official, happy to help her in the discovery of the Indian people.

"Then why are the flight stewardesses so fair. That woman is probably whiter than me!"

"The Kingfisher airline is very particular!" says the official proudly, "They only pick the most beautiful women to be their stewerdesses."

"What about the brown skinned women?"

"The darkies!" exclaimed the official, "Why would they want to hire some ugly dark skinned woman?"

Miss Goody then opens the Times of India and the matrimonial section catches her eye. The official notices. "Are you planning on getting married?" he enquires politely. Ms Goody seems excited, "I don't think I'll have a problem in your country!" she adds.

"Why madam?"

"All the ads are asking for a fair skinned bride, and as you can see, I'm very fair skinned myself."

The two spend the rest of the journey uneventfully, and they finally land at the capital, New Delhi. Jade and the government official walk out of the plane and they are waiting at the baggage collection area.

A beareded man recognises Jade and comes towards her, holding out his autograph book and pen.

"Don't" hisses the government official, as he steers her away.

"He wants my autograph" she added, puzzled and a bit hurt, "how sweet of him. Why did you stop me?"

"Have nothing to do with him!" whispers the official staring daggers at the bearded man.

"Why not?" asks a puzzled and very confused Jade.

"He is from the scheduled caste! It will not help to be seen talking to him! People like him are only trouble."

"So?" asks Miss Goody, genuinely puzzled, "isn't he an Indian?" Jade looks expectantly at the official who has been designated to help heal her. The official had no answer for her.

She then pulls out her Lonely Planet Guide and opens the book to an earmarked page. She shows it to the official. "I would like to visit this religious place that I have heard so much about!" she gushes.

The official looks at her with a frown. "Oh no Madam! It is not possible."

Taken aback at his fierce response, she asks "Why not?"

"The temple is only open to men, women are not allowed; they will pollute the holy temple."

It is a slightly different Jade who finally lands up in Bombay where she meets her fellow housemate Shilpa for the first time after the gameshow. "Shilpa!" she yells.

"Hi Jade!" says Shilpa, turning around to smile for the hundreds of cameras. "How is the healing coming along?"

"You bitch" murmurs Jade under her breath concious of all the rolling cameras, "you've got more bigotry, chauvinism and racism here than was found on our show! You've grown up with it, what made you shed all those tears?"

"Ah!" says Shilpa, "I'm a good actress no?"

Link

Analyze KLKillahs

2007-05-06T00:28:00.000+08:00

It is not entirely untrue to say that you know you've arrived in the world of whizzing light rays through fiber optic cables when you notice detractors commenting on your blog. Step Two would be to notice that people actually bother to challenge what you say by setting up an "anti" blog. Though, "anti" need not be the operative word in most situations.

Like Xiaxue has her XialanXue counterpart, an individual has taken it upon himself to "analyze" and put right whatever the KLKillahs might have uttered in this more than a year's existence of ours.

Keling Speak is the joint and here are a few snippets for your perusal. Link will be placed on our sidebar permanently. No barrier to competition for FOS we are.

i was redirected to the KLKillahs' blog and oh my, wad a pandora's box i had opened.. I was soo absorbed reading the posts that i just couldnt stop.. The posts were so amazingly funny, interesting and thought-provoking.. But that is where the problem started.. The posts were thought-provoking

i had finished the KLKillahs account and i was about to head on to the earlier KelingKillahs acct.. And boy was I in for a rude shock.. The posts were 'oh-so-well-written" good.. They were systematic, well-organised, interesting and amazingly funny.. Even after i had finished reading them, and headed back home i was still thinking on how well-oiled the KLK machinery was.. It almost seemed like this people are paid to do this stuff.. It was definitely the work of a professional, i would say

Despite the overwhelming calls for freedom of speech, it is just simply unacceptable (to me), that someone or rather (some single-minded group) should possess the power to post whatever thoughts that come to their head, without fear of criticism.. Now im not saying that the creative ones at KLK do not face criticism.. Im sure they do, but they now need to know that the ante has been upped.. They will no longer be allowed to dwell in their comfort zones and blast anyone and everyone they fancy.. Do not get me wrong again.. Im not professing to be the guardian, of all the Indians in our society.. (And seriously, i believe that some of them deserve to get ridiculed).. But what i am here to do, is to provide an alternative view

In fact i have respect aplenty for some of their writers, namely Praba and DeviousDiv.. Praba has an inimitable manner of infusing wit, charm and humour to his posts that will easily endear him to his readers.. DeviousDiv would by far be the most objective writer of them all.. She has a very systematic approach to her writing, and can easily be a rolemodel to many bloggers in Singapore.. The passion she has for writing has definitely not escaped my discerning eyes.

There you go.

KLKombination

2007-05-05T05:35:00.000+08:00

We have a fresh debutant, all the way from Australia [the feeling is magic], Thiagesh. He tells us why we should embrace our brothers from other mothers. Different land mass or not.

If everyone thinks that we, as Indians, have an identity crisis in Singapore, we ain’t seen nothing yet. Our identities, our loyalties, hell sometimes even our sanity, is tested when we meet our estranged (separated at birth MGR-style) brother, the doppelganger himself, the INDIA INDIAN.

In the security of sanitized Singapore, being Indian is very simple. We appreciate our ethnicity, proudly claim we rather wash than wipe (we’re probably the only race who does that) and yet assimilate into one collective identity when an event brings us together, like the Tiger Cup final.

Yet, when we face an Indian national, we become the fallen angels. We share heaps in common with them. The desire for hot food, similar culture, music, movies, but the fact is “yaar” and “la” can never be reconciled. The similarities stop at the above. Then comes the damning truth. The Indian diaspora is not only diverse in regards to language and geography, it’s also diverse in terms of viewpoint.

What’s worse however, is that the India Indian thinks the Singaporean Indians are nuts. They can’t understand the fact why we don’t find cricket exciting and instead crow that we’re champions of South East Asia. They can’t understand the fact we don’t understand Hindi and dispute the fact that Singapore is even a country!

How do we then interact with the Indian nationals in Singapore? In a recent event to celebrate the Tamil language, Prof S Jayakumar said that Singaporean Indians need to interact more with Indian immigrants.

This statement may have meant well, but it is damning evidence of what is happening in Singapore between these two groups of people. We may look the same and eat the same, but in regards to mentality we are poles apart. It gets even worse because discrimination is inherent in India. In North India, if you can’t speak Hindi, you’re a second class citizen. People don’t speak English to adapt to your needs, its because they take pity on you.

Its something which takes place on a smaller scale in Singapore. As a Tamil speaking majority(I say tamil speaking because not all tamil speakers are tamil), we tend to look after our interests than any other dialect group. And that I might add, is putting it mildly

Its time we stop that. We have a collective national identity, yet our ethnicity is fractured. We complain about our interests being overlooked, but are we really establishing a collective identity?

Its only if we stay united that we can make others understand about us. This includes India Indians. Its only then we will be able to adapt and allow them to assimilate. Its not hard really. Our grandfathers did it. As their progeny, why can’t we?

Blog Like Div

2007-05-03T21:33:00.000+08:00

My dear readers,

I was excited that the debate on Pesuvom was going to discuss Blogging. I maintained hope that the debate will actually focus on what I would see as the issues on hand. After watching the show, I was disappointed that the producers missed out on an excellent opportunity for a debate, instead choosing to focus on miniscule issues that don't even merit mention in the larger scheme of things. So much potential, such a loss!

I must add at this juncture, that the participants on both camps were making many attempts to engage the issues of social responsibility and freedom of speech. And in my perception, the moderator of the dialogue failed in her objective in addressing the issues, choosing instead to focus on miniscule and irrelevant things like the use of vulgarity. It became very monotonous after some time, when she began to harp on things like 'but don't you think about how you are going to hurt the other person's feelings?'

She is a good speaker, but this episode seemed to reveal that she had clearly not done her research, and failed to raise some pertinent points that ought to have been raised. I'd like to think that the whole debate was flushed down the big sewer otherwise known 'the PR circus of showbiz'.

Throughout the show, I noticed that there were mixed definitions on the understanding of a blog. As I see it, proclaiming a blog as an online diary is a wrong parameter to work with. If you are making an entry to a blog, there are certain steps you follow. Most importantly when you finish with your entry, you push the 'publish' button. Here we have an obvious indication that the blog in question is a publication, very much like a newspaper column on cyberspace. What you say, you say it in one of the most vast and wide open spaces ever created, to an audience that constitutes anyone in the world with internet access. The term 'diary' indicates that your blog is a private one and for private consumption only.

Another paradigm of blogging that the show tried to address, but failed spectacularly, was the issue of ethical or responsible blogging. I feel that an average blogger often fails to grasp the ethical considerations of posting his or her opinions online.

The argument that a person can choose not to read a blog is immature and limited. It just reveals that the blogger is trying not to take ownership for his or her words and opinions. So when one of the panelists raised this opinion, I was itching to get up there and give her an intellectual slap.

While many might disagree with me on this, I felt that the introduction of the Ms. Vasantham contestants into the panel, as 'victims' of negative comments on blogs was a master stroke which brought home an important point. More often than not, the erstwhile blogger is imbibed with a false sense of isolation and privacy when he types from the relative anonymity of his personal computer. He forgets that there are others who read his blog and people who are impacted by his words. The idea of 'putting a blogger in a tight spot' by making him confront the very people he was making a negative comment about was in theory a good one.

Of course, the producers lost the plot when they kept harping on the issue, not giving the blogger a chance to defend himself and develop his argument about how as a celebrity in the public eye, one must be prepared to deal with all kinds of comments. As the debate sunk into finger pointing, I was saddened.

The idea of "Freedom of Speech" being interpreted as 'using bad words, four lettered words and vulgarity' was the biggest disappointment of the show. As bloggers, we all know that freedom of speech extends beyond that. While some attempt was made to define parameters of this freedom to exclude personal attacks and racist attacks, as dictated by the law, it once again failed to address the main issue of this whole debate.

Ethical or Responsible Blogging in the context of Freedom of Speech.

Ultimately, what we wish to write on our blogs is our choice. But as bloggers we have to take ownership for what we write, and stop ducking behind regulations and definitions. We have to be responsible bloggers. This does not mean 'writing about social issues' as some of the panelists seem to think. In fact, it has very little to do with the content of our entries.

As an Indian, I take a step back to look at the culture that weaned me and made me the person I am, to define my role and responsibilities as a blogger. The Second Law of Manu, the great Indian political philosopher states that a king does not rule for himself, his dynasty, his clan, his varna [caste] or family. He rules for his people.

While we bloggers are not leaders of great nations, we are leaders in our own right, expressing opinions that will shape the ideology and opinions of our readers in this exciting new medium of blogging. It is in this context that I frame my opinion. I believe in the freedom of expressing one's opinion, but I strongly believe that this has to be tempered by a sense of what impact these opinions will have. Ultimately, this is what we must carry within our hearts when we try to be a responsible blogger.

Why do I say this? As bloggers, it might help if we remember that the pen/keyboard is a powerful instrument. To cite Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility. We can instead turn this powerful medium of free expression towards making a positive impact.

Plato alludes to his cave of ignorance where the inhabitants view the shadows of people going and coming and decides that that is the world. Most people are inhabitants of that metaphorical cave, and the 'shadows' they see are in the Internet and on television. We the enlightened ones must lead them to the light. Bloggers are the enlightened ones of cyberspace, since people will read our writing, and form opinions on the things they don't know or understand based on how we explain it to them.

However benign the writer's intentions were, emotional pain and a ruined reputation are not things that can be fixed with an apology and cash settlement. One cannot mitigate the fact that lives have been ruined, and will continue to be ruined under the weight of irresponsible journalism, both on print and online.

Blogging fails in its objective the moment it crosses the boundaries of graciousness, because it reveals that the blogger has failed to understand his position as a person with the power to shape the opinions and ideas of his readers.

As Indians, we are weaned on a culture that advocates graciousness, with our literature, myth and legends ripe with heroes who were generous and kind. As Indian Bloggers, we really must remember to spread this very graciousness that is such a big part of our culture. It will only serve to cement our KLK identity.

In other words, think before you blog.

At the end of this post, you would have realised that I have very grandiose opinions about blogging. However, I do hope that this post at least shows the world that not all bloggers have fluff between their eyes, and that some of us do make an effort to understand our roles as bloggers and warriors on the frontier of free speech, and defendants of the KLK-identity in cyberspace.

Pesuvom Poignance

2007-05-02T20:27:00.000+08:00

Fresh from warming my bum on the sofa for half an hour. It was a total waste of viewing time. Like where were the flying beer jugs and "your mother ..." insults? A waste of reality programming in my humble opinion.

Still, this was a revelation. I think the KLKillahs should just swing 180 degrees and adopt a more "socially responsible" behaviour. God knows what we were doing all along with regards to shining the light on "society". Apparently, we were totally disillusioned and had our heads immersed in bags full of nitrous oxide. This is what is gonna happen now.

1. Only "socially responsible" issues will be written about - You don't need to know about unruly bus commuters, what's going on in local TV or even about dumb KLKriminals. What you are going to see henceforth, are strict expository [2 points YES, 2 points NO, Conclusion] on topics like education, politics, business and sports.

2. "You don't know who reads your blog" - We will turn this place into a private blog, fully password loaded so we know each and every one of the 500 odd souls who reload twice a day to read us. Registration includes full given name, IC number, existing residential address, age and your tolerance to sarcasm and cynicism so that we know exactly how to tailor a custom made post for you. Posts thus will not be published here but will be e-mailed to individual registrants so that they read only what they are capable of reading. We are an equal opportunity site.

3. The loss of face - The programme itself was conducted like a panchayat we often see in Tamil flicks. It wasn't a debate. Heck, it couldn't even pass off for a Pattimandram. Solomon Pappaiya would be quite displeased with this level of oral arguments. I only understood one thing through it all and it was harped on from start to end. Don't write anything that will make people lose face. That can be you, your folks, your siblings, your friends or complete strangers. Back to being Yindian and Asian and the ideal of protecting "maanam, rosham, suudu, sornai" at all times even to the brink of death. So, yeah, take your cue from what they said and even if you ate a restaurant that served you prata with cockroach eggs as a side dish, don't tell a soul. You are "hurting the owner's feelings".

4. People blog because they write better than they speak - Crap. We all write and speak well. We would speak for you even if given the chance. One man went "a blog is my online diary" and another went "well i don't want to read what your personal life is about". The plot is lost. The person who said that should also stop reading the newspapers and watching news because every single event reported is someone else's personal life. Get it? So, to combat not writing about issues we feel strongly about, we shall instead just concentrate on writing well. From now on, all posts will be following the style of those Edusave-paid-for "Creative Writing" classes in secondary schools. We will only use flowery prose, flowing sentences and strict essay structure. We might resort to some poetry or haikus to lessen the burden of having to read 800 word essays. So, stay tuned for that.

5. Expletives - I think it's fuckin lame that the question was even asked if fuckin swearing was against the fuckin rules. What rules? Ah yes, the unspoken Yindian rules of blogging, which were all covered above in the first 4 pointers. Firstly, do read up on the history and different contextual usages of the word HERE. Secondly, I think it's just damn fuckin wrong that some people think I can't go "fuck!". I don't have a problem with the way you dig your nose on the bus and wipe it on the seat in front. In fact, I'd want you to fuckin do it again so I can get my 10 minutes of YouTube fame.

Thirdly, the KLKillahs should be fuckin hanged for teaching all those fuckin ten year old kids who read us religiously how to swear. What the fuck were we thinking? Fourthly, it is not nice to swear cos what will people think of you? That, I can put thoughts to words with the same intensity and bring across a point in the most efficient manner, that's what. Conclusion? We need to stop swearing. From now on, everything is just "nice" or "good" or "great" or "bad".

So, I think this will solve all issues the conservatives have with us. But of course, there is one other way around this that will not require any of the five steps above. All of youse should just stop reading. It will do your troubled minds a lot of good. Ask us for a pamphlet too. For an all paid holiday to the "world where people are not sarcastic nor nasty nor have opinions and everyone is nice and sweet and love each other and don't swear; ever". Next sampan leaves in an hour.

Piss Purification

2007-05-01T17:51:00.000+08:00

Brought to our attention via e-mail. Still shaking my head at this atrocity. Wake up and smell equality people.

Indian teachers 'purify' students with cow urine

Mumbai, April 22, 2007

Indian teachers have been sprinkling cow urine on low-caste students to purify them and drive away evil. In India, millions of people formerly known as "untouchables" remain oppressed at the bottom of the ancient Hindu caste system. The Times of India reported yesterday that upper-caste headteacher Sharad Kaithade ordered the ritual after taking over from a lower-caste predecessor at a school in a remote village in the western state of Maharashtra earlier this month. He told an upper-caste colleague to spray cow urine in a cleansing ceremony as the students were taking an examination, wetting their faces and their answer sheets, the newspaper said. "She said you'll study well after getting purified," student Rajat Washnik was quoted as saying by the CNN-IBN news channel.

Students said they felt humiliated. Hinduism reveres the cow, and its dung is used in the countryside as both a disinfectant and as fuel. In 2001, Hindu nationalists promoted cow's urine as a cure for ailments ranging from liver disease to obesity and even cancer. The newspaper said the two teachers were arrested after angry parents complained to police. They have been released on bail.

India's secular constitution bans caste discrimination, but Dalits - those at the bottom of the caste system - are still commonly beaten or killed for using a well or worshipping at a temple reserved for upper castes, especially in rural areas. Dalits, once known as untouchables, make up around 160 million of India's billion-plus population. In February, the New York-based Human Rights Watch group said India was failing to protect its lower-caste citizens, who were condemned to a lifetime of abuse because of their social status. Reuters

News Link

KLK Estate

2007-04-30T13:05:00.000+08:00

It's not everyday we get our name in the newspapers. That it appeared in one up north gives us that much more pride. Of course, on close inspection we kinda realized it was just our namesake, but heck it, we'll take credit for it anyway.

KLK estate workers to get terrace houses

IJOK: Workers from three estates belonging to Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) Bhd would be able to own single storey terrace houses after their employer implements a housing schemes in the near future.
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the company had already agreed to implement the scheme after obtaining the approval from the relevant authorities.
“The workers in Tuan Mee, Caledonia and Coalfield estates would be the main beneficiaries,” he said to roaring approval from the Indian voters who were gathered at the small community centre.
Tuan Mee’s senior manager Chuan Chong Meng, National Union of Plantation Workers general secretary Datuk G. Sankaran, MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel and other MIC leaders were also present.
Samy Vellu said the estate workers had put forward the proposal for houses two days ago and they were here to give the good news.
“This is how the Barisan Nasional government works. We discussed and got the approvals within a short time for the benefit of the estate people,” he said.
Samy Vellu said estate workers who wanted to upgrade their houses or even own bungalows could do so after discussions with the company, which is constructing the houses.
“I must thank the management of KLK for taking into consideration the problems of the estate workers and deciding on the housing scheme within a short period,” he said.

News Link

Well thank you Mr. Vellu, it's nice to be appreciated. Thing is we were aware of our great abbreviation quite some time back. Read this post to see where this snapshot by a KLKlanite came from, HERE.

typ·i·cal·ly·a·typ·i·cal

2007-04-26T03:25:00.000+08:00

Every Indians' panty buncher. To be called typical.

We try so hard at distinguishing ourselves that so many kinds of 'typical' has evolved.

So before i force my views down your throats, i tested water with various people on my MSN list who were awake at this ungodly hour.

These came back..

Chick doing Law in UK for the last few years :

erm. By endorsing the common misconception of being 'typically indian', we attach with it a negative stigma, so profound. While each race has had its quirks, its moments of closed-mindedness, such connotations do no good for the Indian community as a whole.

Chinese Goth Dude:

Singaporean Indians, when boiled down to it, are no different from Singaporeans of any other kind. Sure, their skin may be a little darker, their scent a little more exotic, but when push comes to shove, they shove as hard as a chinaman, half-f*ck ang moh, or mat salleh brotherWe love our food. They love their food. We love our shopping. They love their shopping, with even a one-up at a certain famous 24hour store.We love our drinking. They love their drinking,We love our women. They beat their women. Stereotypes aside, the Singaporeans I know, who happen to be Indian by race, had no choice or say in it. But none of us do- and it's what we share in common that makes us the same, Singaporean, whether mama, manjun, mat, or (ang) moh.And the Singaporeans I know, who just happen to be of darker tone, are decent, generous, trustworthy human beings, the same as the rest.But indians from india, however..... :P

Indian Chick:

hot tempered, egoistical, jabbers for a hobby, finds street tamil rather cool, finds indian clubs a bangin hang out, cheap cologne, ill coloured hair, homogenised sense of dressing..

Chinese 'Mobster' Dad:

very smart but out to screw with u, good business acumen but out to screw you, always overcharges you when u order at his/her indian rojak store

Northie dude:

ugly, black, coffee shop, beer,doesn't know wut to do wif life..most impt

Ah Lian:

black,curly hair,speaks with a curly tongue,erm.......tall,big wide smile and nice teeth

iNerd:

those who christened every indian..into a Mike and maccha and instead of using Fuck..they use Ponna eh ydae i was Ponna drunk la.. -? example in the 90s and all..leopard print was the fashion statement now very hard to identify them cuz all have morphed into hip-hop wannabes congregating at a chosen english hip-hop club which will then close down a few mths later cuz it has too many maamas and so random fights every night well the girls hmm...the Mangs. are more ferocious than their male counterparts and not afraid to fight it out usually wear the colour of their rainbow as their contact lens and matching eyeshadow. ALWAYS HAVE MATCHING EYESHADOW nowadays they have morphed from hair which will be let down no matter what the length to rebonded..to keep up with the times

Mat-Mamak:

evening chain-guinness stout followed by a walk back home but not before throwing a punch or two onto someone's face, just about anyone, either a family member, friend or a stranger.

NUS Engineering Chinese Dude:

A typical Indian to me falls under 3 categories. One is the intellectual ones. They are made from a cookie cutter, they all seem to wear collared long sleeved shirts, tucked into their blue jeans, wearing a pair of new balance track shoes they probably bought from Mustafa. They seem to travel around in packs like hyeenas. Study together, eat together and no one is allowed to join their clic. One place you'll find them in NUS is the computer labs. ^_^ haha OMG when will they stop living up to their stereotypes. The other type is the skirt wearing, structure building specialist, aka the "bangala". They don't stray far from the intellectual types, in that they travel together in packs, some times wear a long sleeved shirt and occasionally jeans. But that is where all the similarities end.

They love to hold hands and walk with their other hand in their crotch. I bet the intellectual indians are wishing they could do that but that would be un-"KOOL", god knows what would happen if they did that. Their father might SLAP them. (Angry Indian man ^_^). Instead of the computer lab, you'd probably find them at 7-11 buying cans of cheap beer for their entourage.Finally comes the "Singapore Indian". They are split into 2 sub categories. First is the normal ones. Not much to say, except being Singaporean and Indian, they tend to relate everything back to INDIAN Culture! French crepe = THOSAI! When in a supermarket, first thing they look for is the MASALA!

Then comes then second type, the Indian Ah Beng, the Anjadi.With his overly gelled hair, skinny jeans, tight shirt and sharp comb in his rear jean's pocket, its looks like he is ready at a moments notice to head down to BA BA BLACK CHIC! to meet his Khaki Langs. To me, it seems the sharp comb serves a more insidious purpose other then resetting his hair incase a strong gust of wind displaces it. With recent crack down of weapons in clubs, it seems the next best thing would be a sharp comb to the eye to put and end to a dispute.

So what is this 'typical' Indian identity we talk about? Must it necessarily be a negative one? Why do people try as hard as they can to distance themselves from being a 'typical' Indian in the strive to attain a higher social strata, imaginary though that may be?

When i decided that i should do a tad of research before delving more into this topic and bugged my sad MSN list, i also figured that i should not limit this to the privileged few on my contacts but let some public views in as well.

Tell Us. Negative or positive. What is your take on this whole 'typical' stereotyping.

And we'll hit you back with our KLKonklusion

stereotype, singapore, indian
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EZ Link Mango Makkeh

2007-04-24T19:40:00.000+08:00

I must report to all my readers a very strange incident that happened today, which involves a Makkeh and his energetic reverse pelvic thrusts.

It was about 0745 hrs. I was on the bus 55. And there was a Tamilan sitting in the seat in front of me.

How did I know he was a Tamilan? His hand phone's ring tone was 'Maamaa Maamaa Maamaa'. It rang fifteen times in the forty minute bus ride. I was intrigued enough to count. While I wish I could recount the content of his conversation, it was utterly forgettable.

He wanted to get off the bus at one of the bus stops along Jalan Eunos. He rang the bell to signal his intention to alight. He moved towards the door and waited for the bus to stop.

When the bus stopped and the door opened, he turned around and started rubbing the left part of his 'behind' on the EZ Link machine, or it seemed to be that way from where I was sitting.

He then uttered a sound of frustration, his forehead creased in concentration. He was thinking hard.

He decides on his course of action, which involved him using his entire behind, and began earnestly bumping against the EZ Link machine making all kinds of weird noises. One bump, two bump, three bump, four bump...

By this time, the bus driver and the five passengers were all watching him with utterly incredulous looks on their faces. I was involved in a tremendous personal battle to keep my face completely immobile.

Then suddenly we heard a loud beep. Our friend seemed relieved to hear this beep and bounded down the stairs. The driver moved off, and I saw the poor chap shaking his head in bewilderment.

Apparently, namba makkeh had put his EZ Link card in the back pocket of his jeans, and thought to tap his card to exit.

Only a mango makkeh will think that the most logical course of action to take when one has an EZ Link card in one's back pocket is to tap one's entire behind against the machine.

As the bus rolled away, I saw him take out the standard issue orange plastic comb from his back pocket, and run it through his greasy blonde streaked hair. I tried to picture him trying to comb his hair with his behind, and failed spectacularly. Unfortunately, my imagination at 8 am only goes so far.

Editor's Note: Perhaps these videos should shed more light on Yindian bus menaces.

Yindian decides he is too good to pay the bus fare

His brother-in-law joins in the fray

Not forgetting our senior citizens' contribution to the public transport system

indian, bus, singapore, ez link
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Pesuvom Redux

2007-04-23T17:24:00.000+08:00

Picture created by an American blogger on the issue of protecting First Amendment rights. It prohibits the federal legislature from making laws that establish religion (the "Establishment Clause") or prohibit free exercise of religion (the "Free Exercise Clause"), laws that infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to assemble peaceably, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

While the rest of you were busy sipping on tea/coffee, depending on your appraisal, a handful were down at MediaKorp last Wednesday to state their views on whether blogging should be controlled. A debate based entirely on where the line should be drawn. Keling Kween and I were down at MediaKorp representing the panelists on behalf of the KLKindred.

Now, what we were aware of was that 8 others would join in to wrangle this issue out. 5 in a team, we were expected to battle each other out on where the line should be drawn along with how much of a freedom we should take up in hand. But what we weren't aware of was that Barathi and Yuvaneswari [of previous Ms. Vasantham (in)fame] appeared as guest speakers to relate how blogs have affected them. This left us in uncertainty.

Were we there to talk about the freedom one should take in hand when blogging or were we there to defend ourselves as to why such comments were thrown at them during the Miss Vasantham beauty pageant proceedings? What was the agenda? In my opinion, their unexpected visit actually defied the objective of the proposed subject. Barathi had earlier questioned the host, unaware that we have connections everywhere watching every move, on who the guy was from KLK who wrote the post about the Vasantham girls [he was attempting a major paper in uni FYI]. Upon hearing it this minutes after they had posed the question, I knew very well this whole subject was heading a one way direction. Immediately, I expected an 'attack' and 'defend' session. [Oh well, we're all footy players anyway. Another day, another game]

The 'intended' debate was to tackle issues such as social responsibility, limits to freedom of speech and the use of vulgar language. Didn't look pretty much that way when the recording eventually got on its way. Much wasn't talked about social responsibilities nor limits to freedom of speech nor the use of vulgar language. Most of the show was spent arguing over the whole Miss Vasantham saga. A 30 minute episode had a one hour debate going on about why such comments were thrown at the girls.

We had to repeat time and again what we pen down in words are what we truly feel about a given subject. It's all about your perception. You can't take it cause you have a heart of butter and our words seem like a hot knife through it. We can't do anything about it. That's as far as you go. I believe that freedom of speech is the authorization handed to an individual to mention what one wishes to. Of course, we ain't just sitting behind the computer typing remarks. If there was any predicament arising from what we wrote, readers were given the rights to state their opinions in the comments. Else, get through to us VIA the links on this blog.

At the end of the day, after all was said and done, I don't think we owe anyone any explanation nor any apology for what we blog about. We feel like this, we blog this. If we have to restrict our point of view, then I think the word "freedom" has been mistaken. And a point I'd like everyone to take note. We in KLK don't just sit behind computers and type. We also come out and speak up when it's required. And like we have said on TV which will be aired pretty soon, we have the guts to state our opinion. At the same time, we also have the guts to face the repercussions. It's not like we blog under an anonymous identity or moniker and go underground.

On asked if blogging should be controlled, I agreed that it should to a certain extent. The vulgarities. Not the content that we're dealing with. But then again, if I am one who uses vulgarities even while speaking, then there is nothing wrong in me using vulgarities while blogging cos thats just me. What I blog is what I am. When there is no 'KNNBCCB!', there is no point in expressing a really agonizing or censure feeling. As for the content, I believe that everybody should be given the right to state their opinions. The definition of blog states that it's an online diary, I don't think anyone needs to worry about what they'll write about in their diary.

KLKriminalitis

2007-04-22T14:10:00.000+08:00

Now, on 7th Nov 2007 last year our fine Men In Blue managed to nab a drug courier who ought to have been featured in Singapore's Dumbest Criminals if there was such a show. Mr. Poopathi Chinaiyah Paliandi managed to get caught at KK Hospital carrying a red plastic bag full of 10 blocks of cannabis.

When arrested, the CNB officers actually identified the material initially as "vegetable matter". Now why anyone would assume a plant looking thing was affirmatively a vegetable is still a question to be answered. Perhaps any ex-CNB trained readers would like to clarify.

Poopathi was actually a courier and would have been paid $2000 for the delivery. He also was consuming his own product as urine tests later confirmed. He was sentenced to 12 years jail and 10 strokes of the cane recently on 29th March. He is appealing against District Judge Victor Yeo's sentence right about now; the same judge who said "He even had the audacity to conduct his clandestine trafficking activities in a hospital which attended to mostly women and young children."

The details of the proceedings in court are available HERE.

Now, why do we think this man needs a TV program all for himself? Observe where KK Hospital is situated and what OTHER significant buildings surround it:

drug, trafficking, kk hospital
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KLKomment Tutorial

2007-04-20T15:32:00.000+08:00

Now, to avoid the hideous "anonymous" header on your comment, leaving your published comment looking like this:

Anonymous

[Text]

Name

Follow these steps to stamp your name on everything you say and not be debased or shrugged off as just another anon kopitiam commentator.

Just cos, you don't have a blogger account doesn't mean you can't state your name. Follow these two quick steps to stamp your own identity over the words you spew.

Step 1: Click "Other"

Step 2: Type Name

Step 3: Publish and admire your 2 cents worth

Pesuvom Rewound

2007-04-20T00:05:00.000+08:00

So, we DID send representatives to attend the recording of Vasantham's Pesuvom yesterday, April 18th. Keling Kween and Praba sat in on one half of the assembled panels to point out that restricting blogs and bloggers is downright nonsense and that everyone has their right to discern credible information and opinions. Everyone that is except the whiners who still insist we must all "not hurt others' feelings". Oh! What a cruel world. Did you also remember not to hurt that poor ant-you-crushed-in-the-kitchen's feelings?

Before it airs on 2nd May at 8 pm, we've the inside scoop as usual. Our KLKillahs will let you know how it went for them in the next post. In this one, we give you a member of the opposing panel:

The show started out with topics such as the importance of tamil speaking and pre-marital sex. The very next debate was on blogging and if it should have its limits. A few of us got the chance to be in this episode, on both sides of the panels. One panel that was up for blogging totally and said that writing whatever they wanted was their own choice. Another panel, not against the idea of blogging but did have the idea that blogging should have its limits; ie we must know where not to cross the line.

Having to meet Miss Kalpana(the host) at 4pm, off to the makeup room where it was the boys who were made up in the end. Pretty sure they enjoyed it! The guests for that debate were the Miss Vasantham Girls; Barathi and Yuvaneswari.

Well there was only one main reason these girls were the guests. They were out to get answers for all the trauma they had been through during the Miss Vasantham period. These girls were all written about in many blogs especially one in which they were made very famous. And yes readers, im sure we are all aware of which blog we're taking abt. None other than the all famous KLK blog. So yes who were they going to get their answers for, the reasons to why they were targeted. We had two representatives from KLK, Aarthi and Praba.

The issue on Miss Vasantham got the debate heated up. The vasantham girls were defending themselves while our klk representatives reasoned out everything they wrote. Everything they spoke was thrown to our klk representatives. Explanations flew from one corner of the panel to the other. The opposition panel threw in questions such as social responsibility and the usage of language, how what one writes affects many others. The key idea was that yes you can write, no one is stopping you in that aspect but yet you should know your limits. There is that line to where it should stop, a border each one should have. Points such as the freedom to write and such were mentioned in which they were then questioned that if one could think twice when he or she speaks, why is it then when it is written it does not become such a case.

Things got heated up at certain parts of the shoot and people were shooting each other off. At the end of the day we know we are not going to take things personally. Well hard to say the same thing for the vasantham ladies who throughout the entire show kept going on and on about how they were so badly affected etc.

Overall the show came to a point where it looked more like the debate was on the vasantham girls. But points were made clear in the end. Blog all you want. Yet the key is to structure your words in such a manner that it is not going to affect a certain party in a certain manner. That was something everyone definitely agreed on. We never know how old our readers are. Examples were given such as the usage of the FUCK word. Western influence has definitely changed our society. Yet there is one thing we had to understand. We are not America. Singapore does not provide that basic infrastructure to write all we want. And maybe the day we are given the key to freedom in what we write, this aspect of blogging may definitely change.

Link

And another one whom we are not too sure if was part of the panel. Still the crux of the matter was on her post:

It would be completely unfair of me to define yesterday as just interesting. An experience that was eye-opening and refreshing. The freedom to write and express. Do we have the space to pen down what we truly feel? If iterating our concerns spurns its consequences on others,then what are the limits to freedom of speech? Is freedom of speech, the liberty given to an individual to mention what they wish to? Or is it the liberty given to one to say what they really feel, but with social and moral responsibility a more apt definition to it?

I believe that the ability to express oneself freely is a necessary option. There's no use having the freedom to speak and act when there is no freedom to think. When we have the freedom to process thoughts, we should also contain the ability to act and speak freely, when it concerns others, but with social responsibility.

In the blogging world, personal concerns and experiences do not provide the platform of vulnerability to others except the blogger themselves. When they are ready to face the repercussions, then why is there a need for others to worry? Too much has been said.

Link

Needless to say, just reading these 2 accounts without physically witnessing the recording has got me a tad incensed.

1. The debate was set out to be on whether blogs/bloggers should be totally restricted or not. Clearly, the bringing in of Miss Vasantham finalists was instead setting the scene for a debate of a totally different nature: "Whether we should have spoken about them or not?". Illogical.

A debate of the intended nature would best have been between bloggers, where the community speaks up on what ARE clearly defined limits and what should be left to interpretation. Even if one of those girls had owned a web log, it would have been a fair platform as on their blogs, their opinion, presumably condemning our opinions would have been stated a long time ago.

2. And this is why the proceedings got more heated up than a normal talk show discussion would have been. The stage was already set for one accusatory group and one defending group. This shouldn't have been the crux of the discussion.

3. "Yet the key is to structure your words in such a manner that it is not going to affect a certain party in a certain manner. That was something everyone definitely agreed on". I take great offence at this statement and am appalled if any of the KLKillahs actually agreed.

This be the reason. Brad Pitt, Aishwarya Rai, Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere may have scores of fans around the globe but yet their detractors still have a voice. The theory is simple, you have a negative opinion, you state it; and vice versa. We did not go out and pluck a virtual unknown we saw at the wet market to relay our comments on. All our chosen "subjects" have come to us! In the form of nationally televised programs, national newspapers and over-the-Internet sources.

Simply put, if I think something is crap, I will state it. It might affect you, you might agree with me, you might not, it might make you cry or even land you in depression, but it's your call to shrug it off or to whine about it. True? "Structuring" of words smacks of unnecessary self-censorship and do we really need to do better than the Censorship Board we already have in our beautiful nation?

4. Usage of "Fuck". We have yet to proclaim that we are a PG or god forbid NC-16 site. If need be, set your parental controls on your PC so your children need not view a word they already would have had at the tip of their tongues since Primary 3. Ask anyone who's anyone, there's a big and satisfying difference between saying "That was fucking pain man! What the fuck did you do that for!" as opposed to "Ouch, that was pain. Whimper."

5. What infrastructure what? You mean to possess freedom of speech without crossing the lines of defamation we would require infrastructure? What infrastructure pray tell me does not exist in Singapore that does in USA where apparently people speak freely?

If the statement was meant to state that culture is still different here and people must hold back on their opinions, then I say, culture evolves with time and space. If not now, in the age of everything "E-", then when? Please don't include us in the group of folks who believe in mass conspiracy theories like "Oh, the gahmen knows who you voted for because of the serial number on the ballot slips". I think this group should best stay away from the Internet. It's bad for their psychological health.

6. And now the praise. The 2nd excerpt points out exactly what we feel. If bloggers are responsible for their words and bear full repercussions for those words, why worry? And even then, KLKillahs is not an anonymous post-it-up site. We each have our identities, and have never taken steps to hide it. This is of course in stark contrast to the detractors who pop in when their Prozac has worn off to post up anonymous comments. I say restrict those blokes. They're the menace to the blogosphere.

Cheers.

pesuvom, vasantham central, blog, blogging, freedom of speech, restriction
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The Indian Vegetarian's chronicles

2007-04-19T11:47:00.000+08:00

Don't we all love Indian food! Our mummy's cooking, our restaurants, our packed lunches, our kovil offerings, every little thing that makes up the garangutan whole of Indian food!

Wait a minute. Isn't indian food 'UNHEALTHY'!

I have to report my complete and utter frustration at people who like to examine my packed lunches and wonder just how much poison I am pouring into my veins because I am eating 'INDIAN FOOD'.

The last time I was eating my 'thayir saadam' [yoghurt rice] at work, my colleague thought it was coconut milk porridge.

When I tried to explain to her that we use other ingredients besides coconut milk, she had the cheek to reply "Where got? All Indian food got coconut milk what!" I gave up and went back to eating my thayir saadham.

Then it happened again.

I went to Komalas and bought back some pulisoru [tamarind rice].

Another colleague comes to see what I'm eating. "Oi, what is that ah?" I answered that it is Assam flavoured rice. "Hah? Indian food got such thing meh? I thought you all eat birr-yaaani ony wat?"

Then she asked me if the curry is "fish, chicken or mutton ah?" Hmmm... I told her that it is vegetarian food.

Which makes her stop, think and ask, "So the curry fish, chicken or mutton ah?"

I called my office phone with my handphone to get her out of my cubicle.

But that's not where it stops.

Just yesterday, I was explaining to my doctor that I am a vegetarian.

She then passes the assesment that the reason why I'm falling sick [as I had gastric flu] was because I don't eat meat.

She wants me to start eating more fish and lean meats. She said something like 'Look at the Shaolin monks in China, they are so fit and healthy because of their balanced diet.' She then goes on to talk about "Halal food being easily available everywhere". Errr... my patient card states that I'm HINDU.

I couldn't resist adding there that "I'm Hindu."

She looks at me perplexed, and asks, "So there is no problem there, then why don't you want to eat meat?"

I wanted to add that the Shaolin monks are strictly vegetarian, but I couldn't be bothered.

She wrote my prescription and waved me away.

Dear Singaporeans, please take note of the following.

1) Chapatti is not Roti Prata.

2) Vegetarian does not mean eating raw vegetables.

3) Vegetarians are not on the verge of death, in fact they are pugnaciously healthy and have better skin than the lot of you.

4) Indian food is not limited to roti prata, 'tho-say', fish head curry and birr-yaaani.

To my colleagues: The next time I'm eating my thayir saadham, leave me alone. Unlike the Laksa you polished off at lunch, my thayir saadham is healthy and home made. At least I don't drip COCONUT MILK CURRY all over my shirt.

To my doctor: Please don't dish out advice to patients anymore. You might succeed in killing off one of them. And NO we are not MUSLIM, and NO vegetarian is not the same as being Halal.

To everyone else: Please respect our dietary choices and spare us the inquisition. No WE ARE NOT OBLIGED to explain for the one millionth time why we choose to be vegetarian, and what we can or cannot eat.

Some Indians are Vegetarian. Deal with it.

Indian Fever

2007-04-18T22:52:00.001+08:00

You might have read this already, if you subscribe to The Straits Times or actually bother to cough up 80 cents a day for your current affair fix per day instead of queueing at the mamak shop for your "buka rokok" fix. Still, reproduced here for sake of pure hilarity.

Couldn't get the whole article, due to the need to actually PAY to view archives. Article is on Chinese businessmen in Singapore venturing out to India.

Indian Fever hits Chinese Singaporean businessmen
Ravi Velloor, Indian Bureau Chief, Bangalore.
Straits Times, April 18th 2007

Final 5 paragraphs:

Yet, the potential is there for all to see. The Singapore businessmen could not help but notice the massive market on display; an endless stream of people on the move.

Many were also surprised to learn that most of the eager code-writers, scientists and engineers they saw on company visits were all India-educated, testimonial to the depth of tertiary education in the country.

Then, there are the unique cultural characteristics of some parts of India that baffle the uninitiated.

Mr Ting [Niky Ting, CEO of PM-B, company that specializes in customised infrastructure solutions to data centres and other computer rooms], for instance, was curious to know why so many Indian men walked around holding hands.

He was assured it held no special significance. Most of the men were robustly heterosexual.

Maamas in Denial

2007-04-17T08:11:00.000+08:00

We often talk about racism and how we've been unfairly judged by the colour of our skin for as long as we could have been. Sadly though, i think that the fault doesn't always just lie with the nearsighted people of other races. In fact, I've come to know of people who belong to this breed i deem M.I.D (Maamas in Denial). Name has been masked to protect identity.

He says: i was quite surprised by the number of photos with indian girls [For the blurred: we figure this is about some girl he's checking out in Friendster]

KLKween says: why? are Indian girls meant to be alienated from society?

He says: hahaha no la

KLKween says: i think its highly disturbing that u keep making indian women the exception..as if chinese girls are the only ones allowed to be clubbing/partying or even living the high life..

He says: i didnt think she would be the type to have a best friend as indian la.. dont worry im not being racist really. fuck im indian.

KLKween says: glad u realised.

He says: really didnt mean anything..okay so what do u think of her

KLKween says: am i supposed to think any differently of her because her best friend is Indian? i know her from primary school..and thats the last i heard of her. not a great age to be making impressions. and she still looks the same as she did in Primary 3..sweet and nice.

He says: right okay.. haha.. dont be upset la!

KLKween says: about? the fact that you're the worst Indian i know? don't worry. that really doesn't upset me.but just for the record ,not all indians - are typical,beer guzzling maamas who sit down and rattle about tamil movies.many of them are actually pretty intellectual and make a lot more sense.

He says: Yes i know that :)

KLKween says: so perhaps its time to really open your eyes and look carefully. for all you know.. that might just be the reason why u keep seeing the BAD girls.cos you keep forgetting that sometimes you should stay a little closer to home..you speak with such condescension when addressing Indian women. I hope for you, you've not had any bad experiences with any Indian girls.. and even so don't make the hasty "Typical indian girl" stereotype. Because at the end of the day, it was an Indian woman who gave birth to you and probably an Indian woman who would sympathise with you when you're in the dumps. She may not be able to keep up with your high end life or wear your little hot shorts or live the whole fuck and throw life. But guess what? She's actually worth it.

He says: i've actually been told that and yes its probably never the same as being with someone of your own kind but i dont write them off..i dont mean to speak with condescension...im sorry if i gave u that impression....

I never understood why Indian women get written off by men. I've never seen as many Indian girls not liking Indian men as i have seen the other way round. Indian women are considered so exotic and beautiful to the likes of people in so many continents. Yet its so sad isn't it that our dark skin(most of us) and our Indian features and our other psychological aspects are simply shunned by our own men. I'll never understand this phenomenon.

But i leave you with a very apt song.

Yogi B and Natchatira - Indian Girls

The Indian Girl's Guide: Episode 1

2007-04-16T15:11:00.000+08:00

Now that the Dhool controversies are over, I finally am willing to come out from behind my rock and actually start blogging for KLKillahs again.

Its tough enough being a woman, but God definitely made you out of steel if you’re Indian and woman. We weren’t born with handbooks on how to deal with the boys (with built-in sarakku radars) and kaypoh aunties at weddings who merely want to know if you made it to Medicine like their soda-patti kanaadi daughters [glasses with lenses resembling the bottom of soft drink bottles, old school like]. Fret not for the KLKween is here to solve your woes. The frustration is over. Battle the KLKs and do it with style.

There’s the other bigger issue of being an Indian girl – being called a “Doke”. I’ve tried my level best to find some kind of information as to which KLKockster came up with this term or how it could have possibly evolved to have denoted a slut. Unfortunately, its still a mystery. If there’s anyone out there who has a clue, please kindly get in touch with us. I’ve never quite understood this term or how a woman/girl becomes termed a “Doke”. I’ve been in the position many times before when people have very haphazardly spewed the word out at me or at other women. It is quite disturbing.

Are you a doke because you dance at clubs? Because you go to clubs? Because you’re friendly and you do smile at people without believing they could actually take that as some slut-tendency? It is at this juncture where society rears its ugly head. Ever wondered why there isn’t a male term for a slut? What about a guy who doesn’t quite think of the consequences and would bed anything that has two legs and walks [never mind the walk part, just the being alive part is fine]? Are we so hypocritical that we would go to any level to judge a person merely on the first impression we see? True enough, one might argue that this is prevalent in any society, but honestly speaking I have rarely heard of such a widely existing term as “Doke” in any of the other societies around us.

Would we ever be content with the characters of the women around us? If she’s too stuck up or refuses to smile at you, you would mutter, “Aishwarya Rai-nu periya nenappu”(She thinks she is Aishwarya Rai). If she’s friendly and smiles at you or even makes conversation with you, she immediately gets termed as being easy or being a slut. What does this mean? Should all women just lock themselves up in their rooms till they get married and then live vicariously through their husbands? Or does this mean war? Should we start terming overly friendly men as some kind of sleaze bags?

What is that we want in this society which apparently respects equality? Doesn’t equality imply some sort of equal respect devoted to people regardless of gender? Or are we still stuck in some sort of a caveman mentality where we want to marry a virgin but mess around with the rest of the girls you deem as easy? What shall we do ladies?

I say we fight back. Don’t take it lying down. Firstly, don’t make yourself the enemy. Women who cannot support women are traitors and hypocrites. Don’t sit back and laugh if someone were to term anyone else you know a “doke” for it doesn’t mean that just because they didn’t term you a “doke” that its okay. It doesn’t matter cos you’re a woman too. For the men, remember everytime you deem another woman a slut, you’re merely insulting someone who could have been your mother/sister/daughter or even wife.

Khel Shuru

2007-04-15T17:13:00.000+08:00

Contributed by a KLKlanite via e-mail:

Once in a while a film appears that takes you to a new level of difference. You watch it and say to yourself "Bollywood can even make movies like these", simple and refreshing. You don't have to have lavish sets. You don't have to have expensive songs and you don't have to have any recognized talent. All you need is a good original story, genuine actors and an audience tired of stupid, meaningless Bollywood films.

Selected by numerous international film festivals
Shot in the woods of USA but aired over BBC radio London
Screened all over USA to a surprised audience
The first NRI film production considered worthy by Google Video Management to be internationally distributed on its platform

Here is finally, a very much awaited NRI Independent film of 2007

We don't expect people in love with Yash Raj films to like our product. We don't expect people who think Sachin Tendulkar is still the best batsman in the world to appreciate our efforts. Perhaps we have eliminated more than half the industry and you know what... we don't care.

If you like a spice of difference and if you are tired of watching the same old cliched garbage we invite you to watch our film. It would be like renting any other movie but before that

Watch the Trailer
Watch Audience's Reactions

Khel Shuru the Movie

For further information, go on down to www.khelshuru.com

KLKNational Language

2007-04-14T09:25:00.000+08:00

Salutaions my fellow KLKlan-ites!

Redefining the KLK-Identity is something I'm sure all our faithful readers must have thought about at one point or another.

As A KLKlan-ite myself, I often find great frustration in the following four alphabets of the english language.

C. M. I. O

In Singapore, KLK-ites are all classified as an ubiqutous 'I', for Indian, lumping us all into one formless nameless entity. Our Department of Statistics defines ‘Indians’ as a ’race’, comprising “persons of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan origin, such as Tamils, Malayalis, Punjabis, Bengalis, Singhalese, etc.” The term 'Indian' therefore refers broadly to people of South Asian descent, rather than those from the Republic of India.

[Interestingly, also applies to Malays in Singapore where they can define race as "Boyanese", "Javanese" etc. Whereas Chinese are simply Chinese with no demarcations of different dialect groups]

Consequently, the Singapore definition of 'race' is problematic for many, and in several cases fails to reflect the culture and ethnic identity people.

And ultimately, this is where all the divisions in our community begin and end.

They call us 'Indian' but what is 'Indian'? It most certainly is not a nationality. Historically, our ancestors came from a place that didn't even exist. India after all was a British possession and not a sovereign nation when most of our forefathers came here.

So why call us Indian?

Is it because we look different?

Then how does one account for North Eastern Indians? Wait a minute, they are 'not indians now are they', they are 'Nepali' or "Gurkha".

As a KLKlan-ite, I feel that the Singaporean Indian identity should move beyond an artificial government appointed classification, and as members of the community, we must seek to define our distinct identities.

And what better place to begin than with a KLKlan-guage?

Diss it as much as you wish, but one can only marvel at the sheer genius of Anjadi speak.

Its a mixture of an almost poetic tamil, english, a mixture of hokkien and malay words and sometimes even Hindi and Punjabi words, which all add up to make for a very lyrical language in its spoken context.

While I don't profess to be big expert of the language, my malayalee accent will spoil the whole effect, I am a huge fan of it.

So now that we have a manifesto and a language in place, as well as a cultural bank [Vasantham Central] [Editor's note: I badly beg to differ that they are a bank of any sort], we are on our way to KLK-unity.

All we need is a KLK-Anthem and a KLK-Pledge.

So my dear readers, how many of you want me to put my muse to use and come up with a KLK Pledge? [If I get enough response, I might be persuaded to make it rhyme]

KLKoaching

2007-04-11T20:04:00.000+08:00

We know you do. Scramble to open up dictionary.com whenever you come across a word we write that you have never heard of. Perhaps it is out of spite, in a vain attempt to spell check the KLKillahs but nevertheless unconsciously, you do learn a new word everytime you get around to doing that.

Ever wanted yourself or your child to score in English? Is your kid already attending tuition but the improvements are yet to be seen and you always hear the tutor say this: "I can only come and go auntie, he must put in the effort too!". Or does your kid attend a tuition center where you have no idea what their recruitment process for teachers is?

Legend has it that many part time tutors in big tuition centers are actually only slightly older than their class age. This means you might get a fresh A Level graduate teaching A Level subjects!

The KLKillahs have instituted a new programme to educate. Yes, educate. This time more literally. We have ex- RI/Cedar/JC/NUS/NTU alumni in our midst and are always ready to impart the experience and knowledge we have derived from over 8 years of private tutoring on the average. We also possess a broad network [as can be seen by our superb investigative stories] in procuring hard to find materials to further augment the tutoring process.

One to one, group, crash course tuition are now available for your perusal. Want to write, speak and read like the KLKillahs? Click the picture below.

Terrific Tekka

2007-04-11T15:26:00.000+08:00

If you think it's just Yishun or Ang Mo Kio the places that are terrifying, you have got no idea. Just a few days ago, I was rudely distracted by a loud scream. With my neighbours screaming and yelling, I unnervingly opened my door to get a glimpse of the action taking place.

Violence KLK-style took place in Tekka last Sunday [8th April]. Am sure you'd have heard of it if you stayed loyal to the television. Staying in the heart of the Indian traditional hangout, I got an eagle's eye view of the action taking place. Trust me, this is exactly the same thing you would see in a Tamil movie. The only difference is that, this time, it wasn't our beloved Captain Vijayakanth.

Armed with weapons, Indian heroes went on to disfigure a lone ranger. Of course, the Special Operations Command was called in together with a couple of ambulances. Little does everyone know why this mystery man was attacked nor where he was from. I will keep you updated after a special interview with one of the flower shop owners who was involved in this bloodshed.

Police break up armed brawl, ST, Monday, 9 April 2007:

Police were called in to break up a brawl between four men in Serangoon Road last night. The four men, all armed with wooden poles, had earlier damanged several tables belonging to three businesses in Buffalo Road, including the well-known Blue Diamond restaurant, a police spokesman said.

The SCDF was also called in to convey three men who had sustained slight cuts to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. It is not clear what caused the fight. No one has been arrested so far, but investigations are ongoing, the police spokesman added.

While no one has been charged so far, there is concern over the number of cases of rioting and unlawful assembly....

Interestingly, the coverage on Vasantham's Tamil News was way more dramatic featuring interviews with passersby than what the English media has accorded to the event. Already, Praba's eyewitness account differs from the actual news release on what the incident really was.

Still, we're waiting for the real news to trickle in [doesn't it always?] and Praba will be your man on the scene to keep you posted on the thrills and spills in the many lanes that run tributary to Serangoon Road.

Blurb II

2007-04-10T00:18:00.000+08:00

After Nal's foray into the local TV medium, the KLKillahs were granted another opportunity to be nationally televised.

The host of Pesuvom, the talk show series on Vasantham, now on for the 4th season has approached the KLKillahs in attending the recording of their next hot "topic": Blogging. We were asked to provide at least one representative to go at it with the anti-blogging camp [Read: people who just can't come to terms with new technology and should stick to gossiping at coffeeshops]

Set to be a debate against pro-blogging and anti-blogging, if you read us, you'd wanna watch those particular shows. Due to work and school commitments, we may or may not accede to their request.

But if we do, we'd be quite happy, for the KLKillahs would have placed our first footprint into the mainstream media. As for our thoughts on the blogging issue; the obvious need not be stated. It insults intelligence.

So, watch out for Pesuvom, Wednesdays at 8 pm, and nudge the bloke next to you [mooch on some wireless if you have to] and get to the KLKillahs site. No Reelu, Ellam Realu.

pesuvom, vasantham, blog, debate
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Man Yoo Thaipusam

2007-04-09T22:34:00.000+08:00

And when the pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses form a footy team. You'd be sure Jose Mourinho and this bloke will be the first ones to be brought in.

thaipusam, singapore, kavadi, manchester united
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Mudhal Payanam

2007-04-07T19:10:00.000+08:00

Verite Productions will be filming a new series called Mudhal Payanam [First Journeys] soon. The program involves sending Singaporeans who have not been back to the motherland to seek out their roots. Visit their grandparent's hometown and discover the family they spawned from.

This 13-episode documentary series – done in a reality TV format – follows 13 Singapore Indians on their journeys to find their roots in various parts of India. This subject will have a great interest among the Indian diaspora around the world because of the shared experience. The 13 profiles were chosen from an island-wide audition. They are all Singaporean Indians who come from various parts of India – from Punjab in the North to Kerala in the South.

KLKillahs is proud to announce that our esteemed panellist Nal is one of the few who will be making the trip to India.

Watch out for exclusive blow by blow accounts of her trip right here. For starters, read her post on the beginnings of it all. - HERE. Programme starts on 21st April at 9 pm.

vasantham central, verite productions, first journeys
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KLKillahs Manifesto

2007-04-04T17:16:00.000+08:00

With time, the impact of any civilization, ideology, or culture becomes challenged as it migrates from a physical presence to historical remembrance. Empires and kingdoms that spanned half the civilized globe have disintegrated and it's members washed up all over the modern world represented by population percentages now instead of significance.

How quickly many among society may fail to remember the importance of historical events, and how those events still impact our daily lives today. Furthermore, this causes the ideals that past generations stood for to quickly be taken for granted, as their struggles become silently forgotten.

To some extent, such is the current situation of descendants of the world's second most populous nation, India.

As their diasporas are created worldwide, this community in Singapore from every nook and cranny of our grandparents' India, continues to face the common struggle of any minority community: Acceptance without Assimilation.

As seen throughout history, the concept of acceptance relatively does not come with ease. Genocides based on bigotry, massacres based on racism are still present. In today’s media enriched world the unique identity of Indians is often misunderstood. Motion pictures stereotyping our penchant for "song and dance", TV programs choosing to highlight socially unacceptable actions, lack of utilization of the mainstream media to our advantage [entrepreneurship / arts / sporting / social achievements] often present conflicting information to what an Indian really embodies.

At the same time, some among the internal Indian community themselves struggle with the importance and need of their unique identity. This coupled with internal strife and viewable "same race racism" has only added to the intensity of the issue at hand.

These obstacles have plagued Singaporean Indians as they go about their daily lives under the umbrella of certain racial stereotypes. These may include: The Indian Mother In Law, The Indian Auntie, The Indian Drunk, The Indian Wife Beater, The Indian Street Runt [Anjadi], The Indian Expat, The Indian Student etc. Some of these stereotypes shocking to note are much self-induced and propagated.

Members of the community have also either assimilated into the mainstream by removing their identity, or have altered their identity to maintain segregation from the general group. I.e. Reiterating that one is Tamil, Malayalee, Punjabi or Sindhi etc. as opposed to "Indian". Worst of all, these tactics of assimilation are going unreciprocated, as the Indian community remains silent.

In an attempt to expound, substantiate, and valuate the obstacles faced by the Singapore Indian community, it is the intent of KLKillahs to provide a potential voice in order to break the silence. This intent is best served by using the internet as our podium.

The sole purpose of KLKillahs is to provide a creative, humour infused take on local Indian happenings, with an emphasis on current and social affairs, to help promote a positive image for all Indians. This is not an exclusive community neither is it a forum for only the "known" contributors. In due time, KLKillahs hopes to grow to be the first stop for any information resource on anything Singapore Indian in nature.

Are you with us?