Hmmm...I see!!!

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. :-)

Cheers.

In fond memory of a true legend..

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!

Unnai pol oruvan - Class!!

"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!

Way to Peace..

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 :-)

Kandasamy -- Chiyaan, Super!!!

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. :-)

A shout for a blackout...

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". :-)

It's all about consuming..

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.

Can't help cursing...

Pozhudhu poi pozhudhu vandha autokaaranoda mallu katta vendiyirukke!! God! Am exhausted fighting with these sick autowalas. He cheats, we fight, I lose my peace of mind. They are hopeless, I can't wish for things to change. All that I wish for is that I don't have to get into an auto ever again in my life.

Delhi-6 -- must watch!!

Post delayed by a week in spite of the eagerness to write this post right after watching the movie.

Watched Delhi 6 finally after waiting for almost 2 months from the time I saw the trailer of the movie. Although I got mixed reviews after it's release, I decided to watch the movie, for I guessed I may love this movie (in spite of the fab reviews, I didn't enjoy Rang de Basanti much). Ok, no matter if the movie was bad, I wanted to watch it for three reasons (ARR's another masterpiece, AB Jr. whose big fan am these days, the stunningly beautiful and smart Sonam Kapoor).

But the movie was a fantastic experience. It was one of it's kind. The star cast and character portrayals were fantastic. Be it the sweetness of some superstitions (like the dhadhi getting the blessing of Gomaadha at a serious situation), the Hindu Muslim friendship among the people at Delhi 6, the neighbour ties, the homely atmosphere, the innocent Gobar who was actually the most sensible sometimes, the concerned, bold and casual Jalebi who did a wonderful job (proving that the character that seems outside is actually not the one inside), the growing-smarter-with-age Rishi Kapoor at his best as always, the women of two families whose friendship continued by sweet means despite the rebellious men, the damn sweet Sonam Kapoor and her dream of becoming the Indian Idol, the smart and casual Abhishek looking smarter, the sweet love that never was between the two and finally the Kala Bandhar and its nash :). I think the concept of the movie was a profound one shown in the lightest possible manner. The kala Bandhar concept and the perceptions of the people were brilliant, but at times it did get really funnier making the entire movie light.

And talk about the songs. A R Rahman's another masterpiece. Every song was fantastic. 'Masakalli' was full of life, 'Yeh Delhi hai' was fab and I'v written about it already in my previous post, 'Genda Phool' was stunning with the perfect blend of music, situation, AB's dance steps :P and the voice chasing the masakallis, 'Arziyaan' turned out to be wonderful after watching the movie. And the melodies 'Dil Gira Kahin Per Dafatan' (reminded of some other song, am not sure right now) and 'Rehna Tu' and its tail music were amazing too. Every song was brilliant.

Basically, the movie is an entertainer with a theme that was shown in a unique and lovely way. The thought behind the portrayal of the concept and the characters was brilliant. The actors were fantastic. Somehow, all the 2 and odd hours I was hoping that the movie wouldn't end. If this is a highly exaggerated review compared to all other reviews, maybe it was just me who loved the movie so much. Well, end of day, it was a great watch and I would love to watch it again. :):)

Hats Off to A R RAHMAN, the Genius!!!

Am currently listening to the title song of Delhi – 6, 'Yeh Delhi hai mere yaar'. Wow! I fell for it the first time I listened to and still falling for it. Probably, one of the few Rahman’s songs that drives one crazy the first time itself. There are many of Rahman’s songs that would be quite disappointing initially, but end up to be the most heart-throbbing ones. One musician who has reached the ultimate depth of music and has the ability to create that lingering music into the listener’s souls. He knows the music, he knows the trend, he knows the mood, he knows how to give the right mix and he did make a difference. One musician who surprised the audience with his fab songs in his first movie itself and surprises the increased number of audience more by maintaining that mastery throughout. Well, I just thought of making this post more interesting by listing some of my top favourites of every category, but then I just realised that, well, NOT POSSIBLE. Well, I do have the patience, for, thinking about his song makes me feel great, but I don’t think I can make this post run to pages.

Whatever , be it the latest “Yeh Delhi hai” song in Delhi 6 or the miraculous other songs that he has music-directed so far, can they be better than “Chinna chinna asai” or “Pudhu Vellai Mazhai” or “kaadhal Rojave” from his debut movie “Roja”? Well, it’s just impossible to compare his songs and choose the best. Appovum Genius, ippovum Genius dhaan! I heard that the famous “sottu neelam thoi” was his music composition. Really? Well, I have to listen to it again :-)

Well, what’s all this hype about the Slumdog Millionaire songs? Honestly, I didn’t like them much. If Rahman is to be nominated an Oscar and also win it, I guess there are so many other songs of his, that have proved to be highly unique and totally marvellous and the best. My personal feeling is just that the much deserved recognition for him could have come in earlier, not through a movie that’s hyped and attracted International attention coz of a Foreigner’s direction. Well, I did watch the movie and found it great, but is that one of it’s kind and have there never been such movies before? Had the exactly same movie been directed by an Indian, would it have been hyped so much internationally? :-)

Anyway, heartiest congratulations to the genius musician, not just for the Oscar winning song, but for the so many other songs of his for which he deserves true accolade.

FIRST PAGE NEWS OF THE DAY!

Hot news at Karnataka

PRIVATE FIRMS CAN BUY FARM LAND FOR INDUSTRIES
GOVT TO AMEND LAW TO ENCOURAGE HOUSING TOO

What??? Best way to handle recession? What are we planning for a few years down the lane - Artificial plantations, artificial rains and artificial Nature itself?? How could such a narrow-scoped and selfish decision be taken?

SESSIONS COURT SENTENCE UPHELD FOR SERIAL RAPIST AND KILLER

Ex policeman, serial rapist and killer, who escaped from the bars quite a few times and committed more crime. A psycho gang of men and women with some still happy outside. Ignored by local inspectors and as policemen had not regularised his arrest, they tried hushing it up. Talk about law and security and oath and responsibility.

MINISTER TO BRING GANGA TO KARNATAKA

About 50,000 litres of Gangajal from Lakshman jhula near Rishikesh will arrive here by train to be distributed to all major Shiva temples across 175 taluks in the state to mark Maha Shivaratri.

Yeah, the most important thing of the current day scenario has been attended to. No other better things to do than this.

Where are we going? With so many literates and so many facilities to bring about a good quality of life in the country, what's all this??

But, one good news...

RESIDENTS TO MAKE A NOISE FOR SILENCE

More than 50 families will protest by blocking traffic on their road on Thursday evening. Their aim? To restore silence and peace in this particular road, the traffic density of which has grown shockingly high. With no proper response to their repeated representations to authorities at all levels throughout the year, residents have finally decided to take this extreme measure.

Hats off and all the best!!!

The focus has shifted, as expected..

I was suffering from severe sinusitis early last week. My headache was really severe and that's obviously due to the later effects of negligence despite being aware of this sinus problem. I knew that the gradual and natural cure was vapour inhalation and not negligence. So, when my headache got really unbearable this time, I took the tablets (that I was advised to take regularly) and took vapour inhalation regularly. Four days back, I was affected by Eye conjuctivitis. Now my eyes started disturbing me more than the headache. My focus shifted (not the focal length ;) ). So am applying the eye drops regularly putting aside my sinusitis tablets and vapour inhalation as the sinus headache is not intense now. But I know that it's there and this negligence of mine is going to lead to a severe headache again soon, just that everytime, it gets worse. The right thing to do would be to place my major focus on the conjuctivitis while still paying some attention to the sinusitis so that the sinusitis wouldn't erupt again in a worse form.

India has been suffering from the shocking Mumbai attacks about a couple of months back. This time the attacks were really severe and that's obviously due to the later effects of negligence despite being aware of this terrorism. We knew that the gradual cure was alertness and focus and not negligence. So, when the attack got really unbearable this time, there was large focus for quite a few days. When they happened, everybody said that this would create hype now, but when the next issue pops up, this will die and will be neglected until the next terror attack happens. But surprisingly, till a few days back, the newspapers and news focussed on the Mumbai terror attacks. Recently, India was affected by the news of Satyam fraud (how dare to name the company 'Satyam'?). Now, corporate fraud started disturbing the country more than the terror attacks. The focus shifted. Satyam and World Bank's barring of top Indian companies are on the new regularly putting aside the analysis and detailed reports behind terror attacks as the latter is not intense now. But we know that it's there and negligence is going to lead to something more severe again, just that everytime it gets worse. The right thing to do would be to place a balanced focus. I understand that there are different teams working on different issues, but here, am talking about the FOCUS of the media (who blamed about focus shift when the Mumbai terror attacks happened)and public and the Government that has shifted because that means a full stop to more detail questioning and analysis into issues.

First case, jujubi (Imagine Rajni sayin that ;) ). Second case, same mindset, but just thinking about the intensity and the mass being affected.

Walking in the park on a beautiful morning

-- Jayanthi Vivek

One of the two good things of living in Bangalore is its beautiful parks (and the other being the climate, which although is shocking these days, is much better than Chennai). Not only are the parks dense with trees, they are also beautifully maintained (at least the parks if not the roads). They are inviting. I went to a nearby park for a walk (actually "walking" :-)) once and I was so carried away by the bliss that I wanted to go there just everyday. This particular park is like a maintained forest that has a pathway inside. The association (I guess that's how they call) maintains boards at the corners in the park that have a quotation and its meaning written in both English and Kannada (thank Goodness, atleast here there's not just Kannada, enabling everybody to read). And trust me, there is a new quotation everyday. Early in the mornings and evenings, one hears beautiful music or devotional songs or slokas in just the right volume that makes your walk a truly enjoyable one.

Nothing can be just perfect, you know. Talk about the crowd, but then I have no rights to blame the number of people there, all I need to do is go early :). But then, the way they walk, oh my God! Should we bring about something like Park Etiquettes? One common scene is two or three women chatting and walking and blocking the way for others. It's funny when some of them walk really fast and still manage to keep talking. Wonder if they believe that it's a good breathing exercise, as in, control over breath, contrary to the popular belief of taking long breaths. :):). Of course, there are some, who loiter talking about what happened when the neighbour's son returned from the USA or when their friend participated in that cookery show or when their troublemaker neighbour made that dish (recognised from the smell). Don't ask me about how I knew all that, but when one has to slow down and ask an excuse and walk past them (should I also mention their volume), one cant help hearing what's the discussion about. And, it's frustrating!!!! Wonder what the benches in the park are for.

Some clap all the way when walking, but then, excused if that's some walkin therapy although it's such a disturbance when it prevents one from walking past them due to the vigorously swinging hands. But I should appreciate those who are thoughtful enough to do such a walking outside the park where the crowd is really less and they are not a hindrance to those walkin behind them. And, some do the criss-cross walking, wonder what's that for. I walk behind and when I try to walk past them thru the left, there they cross, and when I move to the right, there they come too. Common sense! Can't they even see people walking behind them and finding it very hard to cross them and go? If the concept of criss-cross walking is to increase the number of steps, why not take an extra round? This is the better than the silliest I could think of.

Once, there were a group of eight to ten men loudly chatting and laughing and walking (two or three in a row, some fast and some slow) in the park. Disappointing many's expectations, they took so many rounds. And, this was at 7 AM on a Sunday morning. Seriously, what business do you guys have there? All that I could do was shout an "Excuse Me! Pls. give way" and walk past. Everytime I do this, there is some kind of satisfaction of making these people know that they are not the only ones in the park(as if they didn't know?) and that there is atleast one showing out the frustration. Should be of some use :)

Not to mention about some Parkside Paramatmas who exercise to impress or those who just happily sit and birdwatch. As long as they are not a hindrance and can be ignored, why complain? :). At least they stick to the benches or exercise in the lanes where poeple don't walk. There are these men who stand in the middle of the lane for minutes together worshipping the Sun. Sirs! You will be Blessed with a healthy life, but please don't stop others who walk for their good health. Finally, a mention about those who eat snacks walking in the park and throw away the paper, too dumb to even think about how beautiful the parks are being maintained.

Hmmm!!!!!

The parks are lovely, neat with nice weather,

But I have promises to tether,

Metres to go for me AND OTHERS

Metres to go for me AND OTHERS.

Dedication from the heart...

I lost my father in law recently. He lives in Dubai and when trying to cross the road, he was hit by a mini van. How the accident happened is a story by itself. We have digested the fact that he is no more, but what we are not able to digest is the accident, for he was somebody who always abided by the law. He would never talk over the phone or to anybody while crossing the road and used to follow the road rules very religiously. Even in India, when everybody takes traffic rules for granted, he would religiously follow them. Accident should have never happened to such a man. But whatever happened, a wonderful man is no more.

A group of students who were in the van and who acted very responsible at the spot wrote an article about the accident and prayed so much. Unfortunately, my father in law didn’t make it, the strike was so severe that he passed away at that second. Was so touched by these youngsters acting so responsible at the spot and not stopping just there, but also spreading a message. Gave them this article as a reply and thought of posting it in my blog also. My blog just got better by writing about him and this is not an exaggeration. Just that the man who was reading my blogs has now become the source of inspiration for this write up and there will be no more visits from UAE that always made me smile thinking that my father in law was frequently visiting my blog.

My father in law was a very honest and straight forward man and sometimes, did get into trouble because of these traits. He was 56, but never looked like one. He was always full of life, the perfect companion for anybody of any age. He would talk philosophy to a 60 year old and also run around with a 4 year old. He was the best friend of many, from his 4 year old neighbour to 75 year olds. He was so traditional and yet so trendy. He would religiously perform all the duties and rites for God without the slightest compromise and also roam around with folks and friends and enjoy that so much. He had strong beliefs but a very broad mind to accomodate them appropriately. He was strict and yet the liveliest companion with whom anybody would be comfortable with. He would scold anybody who does a mistake, without any reluctance and yet shower so much affection more than one could imagine. He did so much to so many, he always believed in being a friend in need. He might not even be in the scene when you are fine, but when something is wrong, he would appear from nowhere and be there with you and do all that you might not even know you want. He would chat with his sons' friends so casually pulling their legs all the time that he was their best friend. What's surprising is that there are so many outside the family who grieve for the loss of their best companion. He rocked wherever he went, never sat idle for a second (remember, its our laziness most of the times thats the cause for not fulfilling our duties), was so CHEERFUL and YOUTHFUL (trust me, these are THE first adjectives for him), always had a fan following and still the most down to earth companion for anybody. He would talk away heartily, sit and pull everybody's legs and we all would laugh away heartily.

I have known him for a little over 2 years and have spent very less time with him, he being there and we in India, but I know that he is the best father in law one can ever imagine. All that we could think of now, is him. We have so many people in our lives and we know the people who have created an impact. Its just that we like them or love them deep inside and we carry on with the feeling lying within. But how often do we stop to think exclusively about the people in our lives. In the first few hours, the more I thought about him, the more I missed him. I cant write as his son or wife, for, the feelings are natural and can't be explained. But as a daughter in law, I believe that my feelings are more general, not just the family ties. It was then that I realised, that even if we spend a few hours thinking about just one person in our life, we will realise the true worth of all the people in our lives who mean so much to us, within a few days, be it our own parents too. Just that during such an event, the realisation is more like an enlightenment, something that cannot be obtained by going around with just the subconscious love for the people in our lives. People say that a person's worth is not felt as long as he is with us, but I believe that we do know the worth, just that we don’t know it completely. And when we know it, trust me, we can do so much more for them. For, a later realisation is horrible. We love some people so much that we would do just anything for them. But believe me, when they are no more, we always realise so much more and regret for the things we failed to do. What use?

Everybody is unique, but to many of us, ' M R Mohanamuraly' is the definition for the word 'unique'. He has always brought so much cheer into the lives of all the people that he met. He has done so much to so many without expecting anything in return that each and everybody today, feel that they haven’t paid him back for all the goodness he has brought into their lives. He was such an active man, so active that his every day had at least a couple of things done for others besides his job, be it even staying awake with his sons, setting question papers and helping them prepare for their exams. How many of us can go for work, come back, assist the spouse with household work and stay awake and help the children prepare for their exam. This is probably the simplest thing he has done. He was sincere, dedicated, meticulous and tireless when it came to taking care of all the people around him, from his family to his relatives to his friends to even his sons’ friends. I am not able to express completely the things he has done, but believe me, it’s hard to find somebody who has never compromised on anything for his own tiredness or laziness. Staying active is also a state of mind. But when it comes to the physical aspect, he took such good care of his health and ensured that he remained active and healthy. He was fit and trim and never looked like a 56 year old.

Most importantly, he was such a contented man, loved his life, his family, his friends and we are sure he would regret his own death so much. Just that the strike was so severe that he had died even before he could have realised what was happening. I have written so much in my blog about how reckless people are on the roads, that one needs to be very careful even when one is following the rules, but now, there is such an irrepairable experience. All that we need to do is be sincere in whatever we do, for we have so many people behind us and others. Am not talking about just this accident or the driver or my father in law. Negligence is the reason behind every evil happening today and if that can be removed, if we become more sincere and honest about whatever we do, we can definitely prevent mishaps atleast from our side, and what goes around comes around. :)

It's just one life we have and let's live it. Let us be sincere about every simple thing we do. Live your moment, for the loss of alertness for just a moment could lead to a very big tragedy. Always be the friend in need. And coming back, let us spend some time thinking about the people in our lives. Let us be cheerful and happy about our own lives and let us bring cheer into the lives of everybody else. After all, everybody has just one life. And when we are no more, they are only the memories that we can leave as a solace to the bereaved ones. This is the message my father in law has conveyed, while he was there and when no more too. He has set an example for us. We thank the wonderful youngsters for all their prayers.

Thousand....One Thousand!! :-)

Woah!! One thousand hits!! appadi ippadi oraayiram hits!! Thanks buddies!! Time for me to update the blog on a regular basis!!

Cheers... :)

KANNAAMOOCHI ENADA...

Beautiful movie!! Director Priya has established her mark for creating beautiful movies, movies that aren’t really strong or grand or convincing or serious, movies that are just simple and beautiful. Kanda Naal Mudhal was beautiful, but had a big place for emotions too. This movie is a totally jolly one and is damn beautiful too. (Oops!! Beautiful enra vaarthayai ithanai murai ubayogithadhaal neengal indha review-vil irundhu neeka padugireergal!! J ).

The star cast is what adds beauty and liveliness to the movie. Though the movie’s all about love, it reaches to two couples – the young ones who are in love (nothing really special though) and the older ones who had a love marriage (best couple of the movie J ). Sathyaraj is absolutely stunning, as always. Have always liked him and his acting and has done a wonderful job in this movie too. Radhika has established herself, esp. of late, with mega-serials that there’s nothing exceptional about her performance in this movie. Prithviraj is charming and awesome as always (latest Hero for whom mine and many girls’ heart go out to!! J ). But, there has to be a minus in any movie and that’s Sandhya’s acting. I haven’t really seen her movies, but from this movie, it’s pretty obvious that her acting was highly artificial and turned out to be really sick at times. When actors talk bout acting as, “It’s not acting, but reacting”, Sandhya has done over-acting more than mere reacting. Her screechy voice, unwanted enthusiasm, highly kiddish portrayal, etc. have created a negative niche for her. Although her character’s supposed to be innocent, kiddish and adamant, the Director could have done better in portraying it. Esp. towards the end of the movie when she asks Prithvi, “Harissssshhhhhhhhhh, ennngaaaaaaaaaaa poreeeeeeeeeeeee” ( not really sure if the alphabet stress depicts the tone), the theatre responds with a “Hayyae…”. The beautiful actress hasn’t been utilized properly.

The movies ‘Kanda Naal Mudhal’ and ‘Kannamoochi Enada’ are kinda classical, the way in which they are made and the title. There's a girl rendering “Kanda naal mudhalaai..” erroneously in this movie. The scene’s kinda nice though. Reminds one of the earlier movie ‘Kanda Naal Mudhal’. This is the girl whom Prithvi’s uncle wants him to marry (Prithvi! I sing erroneously well too ;-)… Oops, patchi says “J, u are married now" :-)).

Sripriya!! The best fit into the movie and does her role naturally and amazingly well. Have always liked her as she is mostly not the goody-goody heroine. In this movie too, she is a bold and now-single forest officer with full of nakkal and the perfect competitor for her brother, Sathyaraj, in adamancy and dominance. Sathyaraj is the Police Commissioner who talks about all the Murpokku concepts and equal rights for men and women. But at home, he treats his wife like a slave (depicted in a neat manner, not that serious and aggressive) and he is the change-over man from a lover to a husband. Sripriya happens to be his twin-sister (both jus don’t get along well) who doesn’t accept to being called elder and the only one to handle him jus perfectly as she is no less stubborn or adamant. Her nakkal, her way of talking and the conversations between her and Sathyaraj are the best. One can never say who performed the best – Sathyaraj or Sri Priya.

Director Priya shows a stint of her guru, Mani Ratnam, with the implicit humour in dialogues and the way of talking. Prithvi telling Sandhya “Nee mattum en love-ku ok sonne na naan un pera pasangalukku nalla thathaava iruppen”, Sathyaraj bluffing to his dad and the old dad calling him back when he’s about to leave and saying just “Nambittenda” reminded me of Mani Ratnam’s movies. J

The movie's light. Concepts like inter-caste marriage, brother-sister break-up, dominating husband, etc. though present, proceed in a very light, sometimes, jovial manner. Exactly the movie to which one would retire on a tired evening with a cup of coffee. It’s a movie where one doesn’t go with any expectations and where one doesn’t look out for logic or anything. It’s a beautifully made entertainer with the best star cast one could think of.

LIFE...

Came across it in the Internet today..

At dawn I asked the lotus,

'What is the meaning of life?'

Slowly she opened her hand

with nothing in it.

- Debra Woolard Bender, Paper Lanterns

:-) :-)

Dieting!! Is it that hard?

Oh Man!! Is it so damn hard to stay on a strict diet for even a week or a day?? Kudos to those who manage to go on strict dieting, despite yummy food on the table, all the temptations, the let-me-take-a-break syndrome and those momentary justifications!!!!

Just a heartfelt thought :-)

Rule Vs Justified Thought

When one ponders about the rules not being followed or about the chaos growing day by day, maybe this is the reason. What one actually thinks!!

RULE 1

Pay your Income Tax. A part of your salary goes for the development of the state/country you live in

THOUGHT 1

A part of my salary, in the name of Income Tax, goes to the development of the pockets of individuals in the Government offices and those with political influences. I would keep it rather for my own development.

What’s wrong? My thought is justified.

RULE 2

Give way for ambulances, help save lives. Give way for vehicles with the siren on.

THOUGHT 2

All vehicles with siren are being used for personal reasons these days. Depicted perfectly in the movie Chennai 600024, the ambulance came rushing with the siren to the playground carrying cricket accessories for the match. Don’t think that was an exaggeration. The other day, we saw the now sophisticated police car (Tamil Nadu police have been gifted Air conditioned Hyundai accent cars with mounted digicams, revolving lights, loudspeakers, fire extinguishers, hooters and handcuffs) . With the siren on, we saw the policeman and his wife. :-) A couple of days back, a policeman (in mufty again) was chatting with some guy in his Hyundai Accent (sure the chat is not official) and the car wasn’t even parked in a corner of the road. Despite repeated honking asking him to give way, he was least bothered.

(One of the several interesting articles - http://swapna.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/11/why-do-chennai-police-need-new-cars-.htm - I agree with only a part of the article tho, esp. about the misuse of the cars making one wonder at times, "Are they necessary at all?")

I was traveling in a private bus the other day. The bus driver didn’t give way to the ambulance that was following us for long. In spite of asking him to give way, he didn’t. And finally, after some of us yelled at him, he gave way saying “Ulla oru uyir oosalaa adudhu? Avan avan personal use kaaga siren pottuttu varuvaan, namma vazhi vidanuma?” (“Don’t think there is a life to be saved there, people use the siren for their own purposes, why should I give way?”). We just shouted back at him saying that he is not supposed to bother about all that, but just give way. This incident was the motivation for me to write this article.

Rule Vs Thought -- What’s wrong with the thought that is well justified? This is the prevailing scenario today. Had the makers of the rule been followers, why would there be so much chaos today? Anyways, let us give way for ambulances always. :-)

Living in Chennai these days... Part III

We went on a drive to Trichy a couple of weeks back. NH-45 is the highway under renovation and construction and looks like it’s going to be awesome driving down the highway once it’s complete. But a lot of bitter experiences on the way with regards to traffic control and drivers and sign boards. Anyways am too bugged right now to continue on the sickening traffic scenario (I’v already exceeded 6 pages with the previous articles), so am not planning to jot down anything right now, maybe sometime later.

Initially, I wanted to publish just one post on how things are at Chennai, but most unfortunately, I had to extend about just the traffic aspect to two posts. Am bored myself now JJ. So here comes the last part, hoping to keep this really short.

Two bothering scenarios are traffic and negligence. One’s work never gets done, esp. in the Government offices. Therinja vishayamdhaane!!!! But things are worsening day by day, reasons being

1. Corruption everywhere from the head to the tail, so nobody to question
2. Mutual inspiration
3. Common man’s weakness – a situation where things wont get done if he’s not going to give money and if he is not patient enough to wait, be it years too.

Latest bitter experience – We had to get the EC for our house. One person from the Govt. office (who I noticed, sits outside the office everday, collecting bribes from people and help getting their work done) had helped us too in getting the documents (Actually, we could have got the documents ourselves, just a matter of a stamp paper with attestation). He took money for getting that done and his charges included the Notary’s fee for the attestation (fee * 3), the stamp paper charges, his transportation charges (supposed to be an auto charge, but he uses his cycle only to commute) and his fees (oh I see!!!). Finally, we got all the documents and went into the office the next day for the Registrar’s approval. We went to the Registrar and he directed us to a lady who offered to get things done. We thought she was his PA and things have to go through her, so we didn’t mind. She asked us to come in the afternoon and collect the EC. When we went in the afternoon, she made us wait for an hour and then handed us the EC and called me inside and asked me unnoticeably for Rs. 500/- I was shocked, I told her that the fee is just 120 and why should I give her 500/- . She simply said that if not for her help we wouldn’t have got the EC that day and the amount includes the amount to be vettufied to everybody including the Registrar. She also mentioned that she usually demanded more and said “Neengala paarthu kudunga”. I told her that I’v already paid the person outside and am not willing to pay anymore, that too, for just getting the signature of the Registrar and also making us wait for an hour. Finally, I said I can give her 200/- (bargaining???) and nothing more. She became so emotional and she refused to take any money and started behaving weirdly accusing herself for having done so much for us (so much???). Hmm…things start from the Registrar in the Registar office, so no point accusing this lady alone. I know that the next time I go to the office, I wont be able to get anything done JJ.

So many people have so many bitter experiences with these Government offices that so many of their major plans went for a toss. I can quote so many awful incidences, but just not in a mood to, moreover everybody knows how the situation is.

In this fast moving world, the concern for one another goes down too. How many of us know about purse and chain snatching during the middle of the day in the middle of the road. How many of us are actually bold/concerned to help the victim catch the thief, we only sympathise. Snatching chains, or snatching lives – the response from the public is the same. Well, did anybody ask for your sympathies? Had everybody joined together and attacked the murderer/thief, it would set an examples and these culprits would think twice before repeating it again. But then, our weakness is their strength, and the more weaker we grow, the more stronger do these anti-social elements become. Looks like a Moral Science class in school, but then, isn’t that so true??

Intensive use of CFC and anti-environmental materials (without which life today is so difficult), deforestation to enable construction of more flats, moving from wells to bore wells to the deepest levels of underground water, immense use of chemicals for trees and plants to yield more vegetables and fruits, etc. etc. all to attend to the needs of the terrorisingly growing population (that is not economically balanced either). We are inviting our own disaster.

Just a matter of negligence and the rush for survival. Ignoring and accepting whatever it be, has become our way of life today.

With corruption at every corner, as Rajni says in the movie, Sivaji, “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”. Consequence – Civil War obviously!!!!!!! I heard that it has been said in Vishnu Puranam that in the Kali Yugam, man will be the reason for his own disaster. How true!!!

There are so many who want to do so much for this country and its people, but they realize that it is impossible. No wonder more and more people tend to settle abroad today. Including me, there have been so many who were highly patriotic about India, but on seeing how our own people have changed the most beautiful country to how it is today, patriotism goes meaningless and worthless..

Individual Discipline and enforcement of laws alone can save the country!!