Ramana took his cycle and cycled to the fish market. He lived in a slum nearby a beach.As he neared the fish market the smell of the fish gave him excitement.It is the second Sunday of the month, one of the two days he would buy Vanjaram fish for one kilo for his family of 6 members: him, his wife, his two children one of 10 years age and the other 15 years, his father and his mother. The other day was the fourth Sunday of every month. They would eat both lunch and dinner with Vanjaram fish curry and Vanjaram fish fry.Spending 800 rupees twice a month was quite a fortune considering his average salary of round about 16000 rupees.He rode an autorickshaw for a living.He and his entire family devoured the fish and it became a ritual and a must of their lives.

He reached the market, put his cycle on stand and moved towards a woman selling Vanjaram fish.He inquired the price.

“1000 rupees per kg”

the fish seller woman shouted.

“1000 rupees? I buy for 800 rupees everytime”

Ramana retorted.

“Where is Kannagi akka?”

Ramana asked.

He was a regular customer to her.She always sold the fish for 800 rupees to him.And on every fifth purchase she even discounted 100 rupees.

“She didn’t come.Her father died”

the woman shouted back.

“How”

he asked out of concern.

“Died of old age thambi.Heart attack.She will come back tomorrow”

“Alright take it for 800 rupees. How do you want to cut it?”

she added.

“Cut it long and thin. Need for both fry and curry”

he replied.

He got the fish in the black plastic cover which every fish seller used, put it in the cover he bought and cycled back to his home ,his mouth watering at the thought of tasting Vanjaram fry.The sound of fish frying in oil ringed on his ears.His wife had mastered preparing Vanjaram fish curry and Vanjaram fish fry. Though the fish was more suited for the fry than the curry she made them both every time.

On seeing their father arrive , Murugan the 10 year old boy and Kamakshi his 15 year old sister lighted up.Their mouths watered too.

“Appa , Raghu mama came today morning. He said Patti should not eat fish fry.She has lot of fat in blood”

Murugan told his father.

“Dei Muruga how many times will I say you. I won’t become collector staying alive. No one can stop me eating it. I will die eating Vanjaram fish fry on my deathbed. Keep it in mind”

Kamakshi Patti after whom Ramanna’s daughter was named shouted at Murugan on hearing him.

“Patti is strong Muruga. Don’t worry”

Ramana laughed, went inside his slum house and handed over the fish to his wife.She had already prepared masala for the fish curry.She washed the fish in a mud pot, partitioned them into two sections, one for the curry and another for the fry.She applied chilli powder on the partition for fry and kept it aside for the powder to get soaked with the fish.

After some time passed , she took the soaked up fish, lit the stove, put a pan on it , poured oil and gently placed the fish pieces.The cooking sounded like rain drops dripping on floor.

“Mama , why don’t you join Ola Auto? Manoharan joined already na , he is earning good profits it seems”

she asked as she toppled a vanjaram piece upside down to cook it on the other side.

“It will get hectic, need to do a lot of trips.I don’t like it”

“Just try once , if you don’t like you can leave it na”

she tried to convince him.

“Stop it Bhagya , we will talk about it later.Is the fish ready?”

he inquired.

“In few minutes”

she said checking the fish curry which was boiling on the other burner.

The ritual started.The whole family sat on the floor. Bhagya served banana leaves to everyone. Every time Ramanna bought Vanjaram fish he bought banana leaves too. He liked the fish meal to be served on them.

Bhagya switched off the TV.This meal wasn’t to be disturbed by any distraction.She first served water, then rice , then the fish curry followed by the fish fry in the same order she has been serving them since she married Ramanna.

The entire family munched on the meal , Sundaram , Ramanna’s father burping now and then.

“Tasty as always, you are a Vanjaram fish Chef.Give one more piece of fry”

Ramanna appreciated.

Bhagya blushed and served him another piece.And others asked for extra piece too.

“We need for dinner too. This is the last piece”

she reminded everyone.

Once everyone finished their meal , she served herself and devoured her dish.She found it tasty too.

As soon as Ramanna finished the call , he put on his auto driver uniform, took his auto and waited outside a nearby flat waiting for a ride.

An young lad dressed in tee and jeans wih an ID card hanging over his neck came to him. He was starting to work on second shift.

“How much for Siruseri IT park ?”

“Give 150 rupees brother”

“150 rupees? I book for 100 rupees in Ola auto.Will you come for 100 rupees or not?”

“100 rupees wont suffice sir.Let’s settle for 120 rupees”

“No chance”

he said and then opened Ola app in front of him, booked a ride and showed him.

“See just 100 rupees.Good that we have this app else you will keep cheating us”

Ramanna got angry but kept it to himself. This was not the first time he faced such remarks.And this was the first time he controlled his anger.

“Leave then”

he said.

He waited for few more minutes.Another young lad came to him and asked him the same question.He was working in the same area. Ramanna reduced his cost to 100 rupees.The lad opened the app and saw the same amount for the ride.He asked Ramanna if he would give an offer as he could book for the same amount online. Ramanna declined.He ignored Ramanna and booked a ride online.

The evening went by.Ramanna made a total of 250 rupees.

Bhagya called him over phone as dinner time approached.

“When are you coming for dinner?.Vanjaram fry is waiting for you”

Ramanna’s mouth watered.

Vanjaram was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Life is short. Make use of every moment. Fill life with memorable experiences.

This has formed my philosophy of life.

Today I read an article on medium about a couple one of whom was too adventurous that the other partner felt a month like an year and was exhausted.My first thought on reading that was

Isn’t that wonderful?

One of my regrets is that time flies fast. The way to make it longer is to fill it with experiences. But that can be exhausting too as the author of the article found it.

The solution is striking a balance according to one’s own inner needs.

When life seems too boring go for an adventure. When it seems exhausting, slow down, be bored and waste time if needed.

There are no black and white solutions. One size doesn’t fit all.

Day 56- Is Adventure for everyone? was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Today is my baby’s first birthday.

We are busy arranging for the celebrations.

And hence a holiday to blogging.

Day 55- A Holiday Post was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Kaala movie teaser just got released.

Curious on what Superstar Rajnikanth offers in this movie just prior to his entrance into politics.Nana Patekar looks like Arvind Kejriwal. Is there any political stance here?

The teaser looks simple.Age seems to be catching up on his energy and looks and also is showing up in his dialogues.

Pa Ranjith’s directorial presence is present in the teaser as well.

Looking forward for his magic!

Day 54- Kaala Movie Teaser review was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Today is Holi, the festival of color.

Not just Holi, every festival is colorful.

Festivals energize us.

Festivals make life memorable.

Festivals bring us together.

Festivals spread happiness.

Festivals strengthen community.

Festivals beautify our lives.

I miss festivals.For today I am celebrating this festival online through this post and alone.

Is this because we(people like me) are more subjected to western culture stressing on individuality than eastern culture stressing on community, in this context?

I wrote a post on this before:

Day 7 – Remembering Festivals

Whatever it is ,

Happy Holi !

Day 53- The Color of Festivals was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I hardly thought about saving money in my twenties, not to mention investing.Being in my early thirties is moving me away from the impulsive just-think-about-today boy to a less impulsive have-to-face-future-also adult.And hence I started thinking about financial planning.

Yesterday I attended a financial session by scripbox. Here are few takeaways from it and what I learned at & post the session.

Inflation compounds

Economic times says that 1 lakh rupees in the year 1984 is now worth only Rs.7451:

Rs 1 lakh in 1984 is worth just Rs 7,451 now: Are you saving enough to beat inflation?

I made an excel calculation.Assuming the inflation rate is steady at 5 percentage (the current rate) 100 rupees will double in just another 15 years.1 lakh rupees will equal only 50,000 rupees.And this is only for the positive case, if the inflation jumps up it will be worth even less.

IT employees can no longer boast they are earning in lakhs!

Why inflation ?

Inflation happens because RBI deliberately maintains it so that people keep consuming and the economy grows.If prices go up quickly because of inflation, we would want to purchase quickly before the cost goes up and this increases consumption.

Considering this, keeping our money in savings account or locked in our safe is being passively foolish.Wages don’t increase in proportion to inflation.Isn’t it time we have an inflation component in salary packages?

Considering these , investment is not an option , it is a must to keep our money without loosing its value.

Even investing in safer options provided by the Government like fixed deposit may not be good enough given that the government keeps decreasing the interest rates.

Where to invest?

This depends on the individual.Investing in stocks is time consuming , I opened a demat account twice and didn’t use both of them even once. Most of the investment options sound complex. All I want to know is if you invest X amount for Y years what will be the return assuming a rate of interest.Mutual funds sound better. Scripbox looks simple and trustworthy to me. I am not bombarded with options.Too much research or thinking can prevent from starting.

As the event speaker said

Stop overthinking and just start.Experiment yourself with a small amount and decide for yourself

The Magic Number 72

How long does it take for money to double up in an investment which goes by compound interest?

Divide the interest rate with the number 72.It gives an approximate value.

Say an interest rate of 12 means the invested money will double in 6 years(72/12)

On a side note it is disturbing to know how the poor would manage inflation.

Will the government help them?

Will their life standards increase in proportion with the rich and the middle class or will the rich keep getting richer and the poor poorer?

Day 52- Why investing is a must for everyone? was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There is an MGR statue at Besant Nagar Signal, Chennai. Every time I go home I cross this signal.It is there ignored and hardly grabbing any attention.It is just a symbol.

What if someone breaks this symbol?

Probably a riot will get ignited.And may even end up costing lives.

It is just a symbol.

Think of France and the first image to pop up is the Eiffel Tower.It stands as the country’s identity.

It is just a symbol.

Corporations spend a fortune on designing logos which represent their brand.

It is just a symbol.

The Holy Cross invokes spiritual feelings among Christians.

It is just a symbol.

A stamp on a political party’s logo decides a country’s destiny.

It is just a symbol

My name stands as my individual identity.

It is just a symbol

I completed 50 posts yesterday.Feels good that I crossed a milestone, insignificant may be.

What is the difference between the numbers 49 and 50?.

It is just a symbol

So much power for just a symbol.

Day 51- Symbols and Us was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I don’t get the satisfaction and the thrill of creating something.Even thought of dropping this altogether and look for something new.But then decided to stick to it.Writing is hard indeed.

I don’t have any top ten posts from my 50 day posts.There are none.

I want to thank the sole few who have encouraged by giving feedback through claps or comments or likes.

Thank you!

I promise I will try to be better with each post.

Day 50- My blogging journey so far… was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Yup our brain needs different experiences to make sense of time was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Those were the first words I heard as soon as I woke up today, told by my wife.

How?

Heart attack

Remembering her through five of her hit tamil songs.

Sippi irukuthu muthum irukuthu

She has paired with Kamalhassan in 27 movies. This one is from ‘Varumayin Niram Sivappu’

Ilamai Enum Poongaatru

She was popular for her glamour and this song stands for it.

Sendura Poove

Kaatril Enthan Geetham

Kanne Kalaimane

This song will live for some more time as lullaby for tamil babies. My baby has often received it too.

RIP

Day 49- Remembering Sridevi through 5 tamil songs was originally published in 100daysofblogging on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.