| 10/21/07 | |
| T.K. Nandakumar | |
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| Oct 21, 2007 4:55 PM |
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| Chat with Muraleedharan (Monsoon Images) |
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me: entha chornathu?
Muraleedharan: athu parayooooollla
so, happy vidyarambham
4:30 PM me: namukkum vidyayo? mmm
Muraleedharan: mazha engine?
me: kollaam
are you around or running around?
Muraleedharan: I am around, means?
4:31 PM me: around trichu, around college...
Muraleedharan: ayyo, this is coming to you from a chilly morning in chicago
me: My Gooooodddddd
when did you reach there?
4:32 PM Muraleedharan: one week.
me: yes, you had mentioned some such trip; how long is this chicago?
Muraleedharan: two more weeks
me: what will bring for me?
a madamma?
4:33 PM Muraleedharan: Abraham Lincoln?
me: poda kazhuthe
Muraleedharan: athu venda?
me: venda venda
Muraleedharan: what about the entire chicago school of criticism?
me: god forbid
4:34 PM Muraleedharan: pinne?
me: can you get a good video of king lear?
i will pay, of course
Muraleedharan: let me se
me: dont bother too much
4:35 PM if you can get it, tht is all
Muraleedharan: because I am staying put in the university, really have not yet gone to the city center
but I shall certainly try
me: what else is happening there
Muraleedharan: nothing much
the library is mine for two more weeks
I can do what I like in it
me: sleeping with white colonizers?
Muraleedharan: I gave three presentations to earn this privilege
4:36 PM me: you deserve it, no doubt
Muraleedharan: you will never think this is not in India. the library is full of Malayalam books
me: ayyeeee
Muraleedharan: this uty has the biggest south asia collection in the world
4:37 PM me: that is impressive
Muraleedharan: and also the b iggest south asia research interest
me: i see
4:38 PM Muraleedharan: Malayalam is being taught here, and Nisha, who does that is my host
4:39 PM me: oh, so you have our own people to keep track of your evil doings? bad, i pity you
Muraleedharan: yeah, one cannnot bluff
4:40 PM me: i did not mean that
Muraleedharan: there are white professors who speak chaste tamil and Hindi
what did u mean?
me: black tongue, white mask
Muraleedharan: oh
me: ah
4:41 PM here it is 4.45, what about there?
Muraleedharan: early morning, around 6
me: really difficult to believe though i know it is true
4:42 PM and chatting like this, as if we are in adjascent rooms
Muraleedharan: yeah. and you know, I do not even have a net connection
here it comes by wireless
4:43 PM me: oh oh oh......
Muraleedharan: and so I merely opened my lap top and saw that it got connected
me: wonders never cease
Muraleedharan: I am sure, we will have it in India within a year
it is wifi
me: i see
Muraleedharan: like the cell phone connection
4:44 PM me: i understand but i cannot believe really, that is all
Muraleedharan: well, in another year, you wil be doing it every day
because my friend in bsnl says they are soon to do it in india
me: let us see
4:45 PM Muraleedharan: tata indicome already have something similar but it needs a small gadget to be fixed on to ur laptop
4:46 PM me: ok, any presentations today? or just reading and enjoying?
Muraleedharan: alll presentations over, the rest of the days are mind
4:47 PM mine
that was the condition I put forward--all official work to be over in the first week
so that I am free for two weeks to ransak the library
me: wont you be going to Newyork?
Muraleedharan: not this time
this library is the biggest
4:48 PM especially in postcolonial, southasia, etc
me: so how do you bring material from there? phtocopy? or new methods?
Muraleedharan: no, I am looking mostly at electronic resources
microfilms etc
they can be saved to a pendrive
me: so we can all read what you bring?
4:49 PM Muraleedharan: most of the british govt records on India etc available here easily
me: must be interesting
Muraleedharan: in the kerala archive in tvm, one wil have to struggle to locate the dusty papers
kept in the most abominable way
me: they know how to do things
4:50 PM Muraleedharan: here they are all kpt in microfilm in an a/c room with
many computers to read
me: west is west; truth is truth
Muraleedharan: hmmmmm
me: i understand
your hmmmm
4:51 PM Muraleedharan: I hear that it is raining like mad there
me: yes, true
Muraleedharan: and also, that it is not yet thulavarsham
me: it looks like that
Muraleedharan: so, I come back only to see rains again?
me: thunder and rain in evenings
Muraleedharan: god
me: rains alone
so no pc or tv in the evenings
Muraleedharan: I hope things would be better by early november, when I am back
4:52 PM me: when you are back, things have to be better!!!!
what arrogance?
you think it stops raining for you?
Muraleedharan: I was hoping that I could escape thulavarsham with this trip
me: ok, request granted
Muraleedharan: thanks
4:53 PM me: ha ha
Muraleedharan: by the way, once I am back in Kerala, things would be less hectic
and I am open for that talk in ur colllege
provided u take me for lunch afterwards
me: thanks a lot
but your offer of masala?
Muraleedharan: that could be on the same evening
or another one
me: ok agreed
4:54 PM Muraleedharan: god knows what is happening to my classes
I am supposed to teach both film studies and women's lit
me: we should have a one day business with lots of fun, ok?
forget your kids
they have forgotten you
Muraleedharan: I had given them a pile of notes and asked them to do many assignemnts
me: and started studying themselves
Muraleedharan: hope they are doing it
me: i will see to i
it
4:55 PM Muraleedharan: ok
but make sure that it is not a tuesday
me: why?
Muraleedharan: that is the day when I screen films
got 3 hrs of work
me: ok
4:56 PM it is a wide choice; any day other than tuesday
no problem
Muraleedharan: yeah
preferably thursday orfirday
when I have work with I semster
and nothing to teach
me: ok,
Muraleedharan: tomjones, switt etc
swift
which I have already completed
me: ha ha hi hi
4:57 PM i am teaching lots this time, even poetry
Muraleedharan: what is there to teach on such topics?
me: nothing
if they read it
a big IF
Muraleedharan: all old lit, the guides and notes are availbel
me: true
Muraleedharan: and they are anyway going to depend on it
so I hate teaching such stuff
me: doubly true
4:58 PM teach only what they cant get from elsewhere
Muraleedharan: yeah
that is what I enjoy
me: same with studetns too
though they wont know it nwo
Muraleedharan: i know
I must go now
4:59 PM check my mail
and then start my day
me: ok, go, with all my love, dear, see you later
umma
