Hmmm.... It's been a while since I visited my blog and now am surprised (read it as shocked! ;-) ) to see 2000+ hits. I see!! Is it genuine? Or does Google contribute in order to motivate? :P:P Anyway, looks like am not the only one checking my blog ;-) . I do it, say, once in 6 months just to remind myself that I do have a blog. Time to start updating it. And people who visit my blog, why don't you comment too? That'd motivate me as I'd know that I do have some good/kind souls still reading my kirukkals. ;-)
I swore to update regularly when the blog crossed 1000 hits. Managed to write some. Let's see what I do next.
Thanks to those who did read my blog regularly when I was active and those who still manage to drop by intentionally/accidentally. :-)
Today, July 16, 2010, a year since Smt. D K Pattammal passed away and the Trinity of Carnatic Music came to an end. Smt. M L Vasanthakumari, Smt. M S Subbulakshmi and Smt D K Pattammal formed the Trinity of Carnatic Music, each known for their own uniqueness.It is very unfortunate that the world of Carnatic Music has lost all its three beautiful queens and a void prevails. Having known Smt D K Pattammal personally, I stop here today to think about the most wonderful woman I’v ever known.In spite of her recognition as one of the Queens of Carnatic Music, she was more popularly known for her clear diction and patriotism. Her effective and emotional rendering of Bharathiyar’s songs appealed even to the masses. Am not here to write about her accomplishments in the field of music owing to two reasons,1. Neither do I have the knowledge nor do I deserve to write about a legend’s achievements or strengths,2.The media is there with all the information about her that I don’t really have to repeat them.However am here to write about the wonderful person that she was which only those who got to meet her in person would know about.
I consider it my biggest Blessing in life to have had the opportunity to meet her and spend some time with her a few times.A picture speaks a thousand words and every picture of her will depict that ever-smiling face with so much grace and simplicity.That is DKP.In spite of her huge accomplishments, she was unimaginably simple and humble.A perfect woman that anybody would want to idolize. She was the epitome of love, affection and grace.Be it anybody who came to meet her, she took so much personal attention on them.She would talk to them so lovingly wearing that beautiful smile always.She would bless people heartily, wish for all the wonderful things for them and would keep wishing for all the goodness for quite sometime that anybody would begin to believe that all her Blessings will come true. Such is the effect of her hearty and genuine Blessings.
In spite of her old age creating as much physical pain as it can, that smile on her face never vanished away.She would personally enquire people about their well-being and family, making each person feel so special and important, be it even a total stranger who has met her for the first time. She would ensure that everybody who visited her were treated well and given food.Her granddaughter once mentioned that Pattamma (DKP fondly known as Pattaa or Pattamma) would sit every morning in front of the idol of Lord Ganesha at her home and pray for everybody she knew, mentioning their names individually.When I say everybody, I mean everybody, from her family to her students to her students’ families to her servants to just everybody she knew.Such was her concern.
It’s unimaginable how such a great achiever can be so down to earth too. Forget her achievements, but it’s hard to believe a person with such amazing traits, immense love, affection, simplicity, all the time and all so genuine.A totally pure person by heart and mind and behaviour.She had everybody meeting her beginning to adore her and admire her limitlessly.In fact, one of her long-time and close acquaintances, said that she wanted to be born as Pattamma’s daughter in her next birth, but then corrected herself saying that a daughter gets married and goes away.So she wished to be born as the cat at Pattamma’s house so that she can keep coming around Pattamma’s feet all the time. Such was the craze people developed for Pattamma.
Pattamma, aged 90 and her husband Sri. Iswaran, aged 96, shared such a beautiful bond that it used to be so beautiful to see them talk. However, Sri. Iswaran also passed away shortly after his wife’s loss.
Am not sure if I have expressed completely about Pattamma’s persona to the extent one knows her or if I have done any justice to the wonderful human that she is.Somehow, am not really satisfied, for once I feel that I am unable to actually express all that she is.I’v spent very less time with her, but it is those few moments that have left behind a strong impact in me.I just wish that if I can be at least ten percent of what she was, then my purpose of existence would be fulfilled. I truly idolize her and so do many for she is one woman who has truly enriched the lives of many and lived a perfectly fulfilling life that’s next to impossible.Vaazhvaangu vaazhndhavarin vazhi sella virumbugirene!
"Class" is the word for "Unnaippol Oruvan". This time, my post is going to be short for I have explained about the movie in the first word of the post. Quality brands don't talk about themselves, but they convey that they are simply the best. The movie is a standing example, a true masterpiece in every kind. The most amazing and charismatic cast and crew I'v ever seen and when I talk about the cast on screen, I have no words for them, be it our legends, Kamal and Mohanlal or the new ones on the block, Ganesh Venkatram (what a heroism, what a body language for a police officer, he was stunning and unimaginably the best policeman on screen), Anuja Iyer, Sethuraman (don't know his actual name) and the IIT geek. Hats off to all these stars and the way they showed themselves on screen. They were unimaginably perfect. Class again! Although the movie was somehow simple and common and didnt seem unique, it was actually so damn unique (unique illa, aana unique ;-)) and that's why it's just 'Unnai pol oruvan', the apt title. Am sure that the previous statement will be clear to those who watched the movie. Class is the word to the movie and all its stars!
I have a topic to speak on today and that is "When will we attain peace?". Well, I can enlist a lot of things, like living in unity without religious, language or national differences, accepting others' way of life, treating thy neighbour as thyself, etc. etc.. But, when I think about summing up into one piece, I just feel that when everybody earns(deserves) his life, there will prevail Peace. What I mean is that, as long as one is righteous about what he earns, he will deserve what he gets. Earn thy food, thy clothing, thy shelter (when i say 'Earn', I mean its original meaning, 'deserve' and 'earn the right way'). Once one gets what he deserves, there will not be accumulation of wealth in some parts and draining of wealth in the other. Once that balance is obtained, there will prevail Peace. Obviously, the implicit meaning is that, one tends to be busy when he has to earn his life and when he is busy, he will not have the time to fight or think about the differences. So, comes Peace. :-) What say? :)
Well, so far, so good, but what matters is translating the entire content into Japanese for I have to speak about about this in my Japanese class..now starts the fun :-)
Watched Kandasamy and I loved it. Was bored initially though, esp. on watching the entry scene of Kandasamy, his actions, the ‘en peru kandasamy’ sequence, in which I found Vikram’s actions too dramatic and kiddish and wondered whether the whole movie was going to be so. But, as the story unfolded, I found every scene of Kandasamy in his avatar awesome and started loving his actions as Kandasamy. Realised that Vikram can only be at his best self always.
Although the movie was a mix of Samurai and Anniyan and the story was not so new, it was good watching the movie. Ashish Vidyarthi was good and the other villain, Mukesh Tiwari, was just too good and funny(I think am the only one who likes a funny villain, I saw many complaints about him in the reviews). He reminded me of Crazy Mohan troupe’s Venky and loved watching him in the song Pambara Kannale. He wasn’t the usual serious villain, he was good and he was funny. Vikram’s gang of friends were good too and the way the story unfolded about every member of his group was just too good. The mix of scenes and the corresponding flashback were interesting to watch although they became a little stereotypical towards the end. Vadivelu had nothing to do in the movie, wonder why he was in the cast then. While my family enjoyed even the two scenes that he appeared in, I expected more from him, being his fan these days. Unfortunately, it was Shreya who looked like a complete unfit in the movie. There was so much hype before the release about she having a performance oriented role and lot of importance in the movie. Her character was supposed to carry loads of ego and attitude. Her walk, her talk and her eyes were supposed to portray attitude and revenge. But, she just couldn’t do it. It was an awful sight to see her portray her attitude. Probably too much of acting made her look too silly. Her walk and her costumes (the way she looked in them) were awful. Mirchi Suchi was the best choice for the voice of such a character, the voice was sexy and showed the required attitude. But, such a voice was again a misfit for Shreya. The voice and face just didn’t match.
The song, ‘Excuse me, Mr. Kandasamy’ was good and Suchitra was great. 'Meow Meow Poonai' was somehow stupid. Vikram’s singing skills were well utilized in the movie and he rocked. He’s proved his mettle again in this movie. He looked so young and was at his smartest self, probably one of the best looks he could be in. His portrayal as the Kandasamy avatar was great and gracious. He’s created a niche for himself and from the reviews that I’v read, he has been applauded by almost everybody, even those who didn’t like the movie. Way to go man! One actor after Kamal who’s too dedicated and the dedication always yields its fruit. Well, I enjoyed the movie and hats off to the smartest and the most admirable hero, Vikram.
P.S. : Oops, How did I forget to mention about Prabhu. He's one of my favourite actors and as usual, I liked him so much in this movie too. :-)
I was watching FRIENDS on Star World this morning. Strongly believe in starting off the day with a laughter watching my most favourite show so that I can remain in a good mood the whole day. :-) But today is one of the few days when situations permitted me to watch it. The one with the Blackout was today's episode. Loved watching the friends sit and chat during the blackout and I thought to myself, "Wow! How wonderful it would be if such a thing does happen". :-) And I started pondering as to how much time we actually spend with people these days.
To us, and to many others I know, our ideal weekend would be to go to a theatre and catch a movie, eat at a favourite place, buy a DVD on our way back home and watch it and also watch the good movies in TV. Well, a correction, our idea of an ideal weekend would be to finish some of the pending tasks (like trying to sort out a shelf for the last 6 months, do some general reading/study etc.) and also relax, while the practical weekend would be the formerly listed ones. Anyway, it's been quite sometime since we went to theatres, but the TV comes to our rescue. Last Saturday and Sunday, we kept switching channels only to find that none of the channels had interesting programmes. We thought that maybe it was God's own way of saying "Switch off the TV and do something useful". :-)
I remember my school and college days when we had no cable connection, just our dear old Doordarshan. Life was way better then, I found time for just everything, learning what I wanted to, learning what I didnt want to, reading books, assisting dad (well, my dad doesn't read my blog, so doesn't matter), staying in touch with a whole bunch of friends, relatives, etc., going out, coming in, oh common, whatever! I just found time for everything. I remember complaining(pulambufying) so much when mom won't let me go and watch movies. She'd say, "common it's only 6 months since you watched the last movie". Grrrrr! I swore to her that one day a man will come to marry me and that he would be a movie freak and we would watch so many movies together and I would make up for the lost 24 years of my life. Sometimes when people asked me in front of my parents as to what guy I wanted to marry, a Doctor or an Engineer, I would exclaim "One who loves watching movies and has cable TV at home" :-). Doordarshan should be grateful to us for we were the ones who were watching the last telecast of 'Chithi' on Podhigai when the remaining Tamil Nadu was watching chithi grown into Arasi.
Anyways, my wish was fulfilled. My husband does happen to be a movie lover and I used to call up mom every weekend after wedding to let her know that we are going for a movie. :P:P. Although I still miss those days of catching a movie every weekend at Sathyam or Inox with husband and buddies, I realise the things that am missing out in life by giving TV priority when I shouldn't actually be. I dont watch TV when I have some work to do. But somehow idle times are spent with just the TV. I have a very dear friend here in Bangalore who I haven't visited yet. It's been a year and a half since we came here, but we still haven't found the time for visiting our friends who were one of the appealing reasons for relocating to Bangalore.
Gone are the days of chatting with family and friends for long hours. Mom would literally say "Shut up and go and read your books" when my sis and me keep on talking to ourselves or to her. Gone are the days of catching up with friends and having a hearty talk, never a gossip though :-). It's been quite sometime since I'v been in touch with my friends also. We crib saying that we don't find time for anything. Over here, although I'v quit working, I' v been quite busy lately. I would define the best way of relaxing as sitting and watching TV while ealier my idea of unwinding would be sleeping, useful hobbies, catching up with buddies and reading. So now, am either busy or watching TV. I'v realised that I found time for more things when I was busier. :-) and that answers our cribbing too. :-)
So, here's a weird wish to have a sudden blackout for a day. When all that you can do is talk. :-) A blackout it will be, but no cooking also, we'll order something from outside. Oops, shouldn't the delivery boy and the restaurant enjoy a blackout too? :-) Ok, let there be cooking at home:-). And also, a fan, that's so essential at any circumstance, you see! :-)
Anyway, no denying the fun behind watching TV with family and friends. And no denying the fact that there are so many wonderful movies that should be seen. Couch potato-ing is fun and life without some fun is a bore. A weekend without a movie with your dear one is definitely not complete. Just that in the process, one needs to be balanced and not develop the subconscious addiction to it. These days, everybody including those retired men are so addicted to TV, especially their serials. But one good thing out of the whole story is that it's nice to go out shopping on the days of festivals for everybody's at home watching "Thiraikku vandha sila maadhangale aana putham pudhiya thirappadam" or "thiraikke varaamal odivitta putham pudhiya thiraippadam". :-)
Last night was fun. Just a day before, I had immense dehydration due to food poisoning. I generally shop at Nilgris for its excellent quality of groceries. But certain stuffs in Nilgris in that particular area are bad (Note : am not aware of the other Nilgris shops. Anyway, their groceries are fantastic) like vegetables, pasteries. Day before, I purchased the recently introduced dry kachori. I had one of those (hey! they were small ones) and found them to be awfully bad and old. Then it was the jam bun that I guess ended up to be the final culprit.
So, on the same day, there was immense puking and dysentry and all that. The situation was brought to control the next day. However I continued to be on electral water. We have copper jug at home as drinking water in that jug is considered to be very good for health. I mixed electral in the water in that jug and after a few hours, gulped down half the jug of water only to find at the last gulp that the water tasted extremely bitter. I asked my husband and he shouted at me for having mixed electral in that jug as the jug is copper and electral was full of salts. Found the contents of electral to be K, Na (wow! I love showing off now writing all these :P ) and Cl2. Oops, Chloride, maybe was that Copper and Chloride combination? Well, whatever my bird brain could understand, I poured down the water and found it to be blue. My fear knew no bounds. I forcefully puked out everything that I drank and found some mental relief. :P:P. But then my mother in law suggested having butter milk. Looks like in case of any such food poison like this, butter milk is one's way out. Anyway, am fine now, not to worry! :P:P
End of day, lessons learnt,
1. Be careful about what you eat. In my case, I should have bought bread and buns from a bakery, freshly baked. And, it's important to gain the ability to identify the spoilt goods, trust me, the bun looked just perfect, but on conscious observation of the other bun, I found it harder and a little different from the usual ones.
2. Never have too much of anything, even water, before tasting it. Have a taste of anything and everything before beginning to eat or drink. My three year old cousin is better off when she has a taste of everything and then decides whether to eat or not, be it even the food that she has regularly. ;-)
3. In case of immediate realisation of having consumed adulterated food, have a cup of butter milk (not curd) immediately.
4. During and after dehydration, have plenty of fluids, atleast for the next four days. Man, it's hard to remember to drink fluids once you are fine, but that's so much vital to be able to feel fit again. Important, have only bland food for atleast four days after recovery.
