Up, Up and Away....

Google Earth is one cool tool. I had flights of fancy to all the different places I have been to in a matter of minutes. Speaking of flights...

Ever wondered how airports have their own feel and reflect a city's culture? Boring, digusting, smelly, bare, conservative, glitzy, elegant, comfortable; airports have their own unique feel. Kualalampur, Malaysia is an airport I don't associate pleasant memories with. I was flying for the first time , that too just 10 days after a severe bout of jaundice. Orange juice and plain water were the only things my dad would allow the airhostess to pass me. I remember sitting at the airport with longing eyes while my brother was devouring some chocolate mousse..:) The airport in itself resembled Chennai Central Station with a huge waiting lounge cluttered up with people sleeping on the floors. I don't remember if there was some problem with the flights out of Malaysia or if that was the general nature of the airport. Seoul, Korea was really bare. I was there in-transit and all I remember are cold, hostile marble floors. Heathrow, London bought back memories of India. I was flying from Canada back to India and I got my first feel of India in Heathrow! Back to bare, uncarpeted floors and signs reading "Toilets" instead of the "Restrooms" of North America. I didn't really like Heathrow that much because of the nasty, snotty Immigration Officers.

Vancouver, Canada is a really friendly, quiet, elegant airport. It doesn't have the hustle and bustle of a JFK or LAX but is quietly busy. LAX was typically hollywood-ish. It was friendly, glitzy, attractive but not all that comfortable. I had a bomb scare at LAX. And I was hustled out of the airport in a huge wave of humanity into the hot blazing California sun and none seemed really worried. Finally, it was a hoax. Duh. JFK is a HUGE let-down. Unfriendly, smelly, crowded. I hated it. Of course, our own Bluegrass Airport at Lex is pretty cool. The best thing I like is that there are no huge check-in queues and I admit, it is pretty beautiful too. Dulles is like Washington itself: sombre, formal.

I had a brief taste of Paris at deGaulle. I checked out all the perfumeries at the airport and I can see why they call the city the "Fashion Capital". Tokyo was an amusing experience. We had one of the worst landings at Tokyo, Japan and I remember holding the airsickness bag all through the landing process. Our flight made a steep banking turn and my ears painfully plugged up. My brother and I were cursing the pilot as we tried to hold onto our sickness bags for dear life because we didn't wanna have it smattered on the person next to us!
But the "Best Airport" title goes to Changi, Singapore. One of the most beautiful, aesthetic, comfortable, charming airports I've ever set my foot in. It is as friendly as the city itself, has some of the best eateries, cool soft music playing in the background. And it is one of my favorite cities too!

If you think this is a miserable post, I am sorry. I was having my Friday afternoon indulgences...:) Oh and on a parting note, I think "Anna" as a name for an airport stinks. It could be Annadurai but to call an airport "Big Brother"....I wonder what Sai Santosh would have to say to it...:)

Recent Reads...

I recently finished two books- Ellen DeGeneres' "The funny thing is..." and Art Buchwald's "Stella in Heaven". This really calls for celebration given the fact that these days I can hardly gather my thoughts around me for more than 10 minutes when reading books. Woohoo! The sad thing is that I found Ellen's "The funny thing is.."..well, sad. To do justice to her, perhaps the stuff she has written about might actually be funny in a stand-up act. But the book is a sad let-down. Somehow, when I was reading her book, Jerry Seinfeld kept popping up in my head.

I liked "Stella in Heaven.." in a weird way. As I described to RS, it was a flatline with no dramatic ups and downs. But it was a strangely moving story about a widower (Roger) whose wife (Stella) talks to him from heaven everyday. They talk about everything including Roger's loneliness,social life, their children, mother-in-law, investments et al. Stella helps Roger in wife-hunting. And finally when Roger marries Samantha, he calls up Stella in heaven to say one last goodbye. I felt a lump rise in my throat as he decides to let go of the past and Stella reluctantly acknowledges the fact that she has moved away from him to a different world. I started wondering if I would be able to let go of someone I loved, that too after some 30 years of married life. If for some weird, quirky reason, I was still having conversations from heaven with my husband on earth, I think I'd burn with jealousy if he marries again.

Stella: "Someday-not very soon- but someday I hope I see you up here."
Roger: "And Samantha"

Too much of a good thing....

Disclaimer: I am not bragging or boasting or showing off about the number of phone calls/mails/pings I get. In fact, I don't get many and I am thankful for the few I do. And I hope this post doesn't stop people from pinging, mailing or calling me. I am not sending invisible, subliminal messages via the ensuing post. And I am not expressing some hidden philosophical meaning beyond the literal sense the following words convey. The contents of this post are merely my musings, albeit in a more serious tone of mind. And I am not a anti-technologist...:)

The world would be a bad place for me without a cellphone. And Internet. And e-mail. And Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger. But is there something as too much of a good thing? I've come to think "Yes".

I cook as I talk on the phone. I watch TV when I browse news in the morning. Half my ear is tuned to listen to Miles O'Brien on CNN American Morning (which, by the way, stinks after Bill Hemmer left the show), the other half listening to my microwave beep with my morning coffee and the rest of my brain is tuned to what I am reading.

Sometimes when I work, I have someone buzzing me on Yahoo! Messenger, Gmail Notifier telling me that I've got mail, my phone crying out to be answered, a movie on TV beckoning me and my RSS feeds going crazy with new stuff from my subscriptions...whew! And I keep checking mail every 10 minutes regardless of whether I am going to get something or not. Honestly, somedays I've been plain irritated because of too many things going on.

I think there's too much of expression going on in the world. I chat, e-mail, blog, comment on forums and blogs, read online, talk and what not. Too much expression that it leaves no room for introspection and some peace and quiet. During my undergrad days, I didn't browse too much thanks to the clogged Indian phone lines (Broadband was not exactly available in Trichy). When I wanted to read something, I walked to the library. I talked and actually listened to people around me. I found the time to go for a walk, go to a temple, ramble through the busy marketplaces selling flowers, vegetables, fruits etc...and actually enjoy haggling with the vendors over prices. The smell of fresh vegetables from the villages around Trichy used to enliven me. The sweet scent of jasmine flowers in the Sathaara Veedhi flower markets in Srirangam would tittillate. And a gentle breeze wafting from the Cauvery and caressing my face on a humid mid-summer evening would actually feel heavenly!

Sigh. Now, I order stuff online, read everything online, do online poojas and arathis, go to Kroger or Walmart to get tasteless, artificially grown vegetables or worse yet, frozen food and have totally forgotten about the sweet smell of Santhana mullai, Jasmine and Jaathi flowers woven into tight little strands.

I am not against technology. In fact, it is my lifeline. But sometimes, just sometimes, I do wonder.......

This and That...

Okay, if you are expecting something sensible out of this post, my advice to you is: Don't Read It. It is going to be a bunch of nothings. This morning, I drove to work and got out of my car. Just as I got out of the car, I totally blanked out. I mean TOTALLY. For some 2-3 seconds, I had lost sense of orientation, where I was and what I was going to do! I looked around and I didn't recognize anything familiar.I had been about to slam the car door shut and there I was, wondering what I was doing with my hand on the car door. Scary, huh? Well, after those 3 scary seconds, I did get back my senses. I've heard some of my friends say that it has happened to them at times but this was my first major blankout.
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I called an ISP to order broadband internet. As usual, I was on hold forever. I had enough time to finish reading the NY Times, Washington Post and do part of the crossword on Hindu and still I was on hold! So I finally got totally bored and was googling for something when I ran cross 'Henry VIII' in a result. And my funny bones got tickled and I started singing,
[Remember 'Ghost'? Patrick Swayze keeps singing this song...]

"I am Henry VIII I am, Henry VIII I am I am
I got married to the widow next door
And she's been married seven times before..."

And I got really gung-ho about the song and was pouring my heart and soul into it when I heard a very disapproving, strict voice on the other end, "Ma'am, how MAY I HELP you?". I bet she was thinking the best help she could offer me was take me to the loony bin. Duh.
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This is inspired by RS's post on silly things. I was giving a lengthy dissertation to one of my friends about this. Why in the world do we have to make sense all the time??! I think we should all have some "nonsense time" in our days. We can basically talk all we want to talk: disconnected, discombobulated, whatever. I usually make sense (I hope. Please, if you
disagree, mail me personally..:)). But I find I am at my most relaxed when I can just blabour and not worry about people judging me, taking me too seriously or acting on what crap I talk. Those are the best conversations! And believe me, it is therapeutic. I find many people collapsing under the strain of being sensible all the time..they think and think and think and finally, they become SO sensible that it is no fun!

With Charity Towards All....

My cats Azagi (grey and white) and Amul (orange) look like the ones in the pic. I gotta scan my actual cats' pics...:) Aren't they cute?

I love animals whether they're tameable as pets or not. I had three cats back home. The first one was a stray cat that just kept coming back to our house whether we wanted it to or not. It started stealing milk in the afternoons. Our mom appointed my brother and I as Guardians of the Milk. Neither of us relished it much because we couldn't do anything else in peace during afternoons. And the cat was an expert burglar! Once my brother caught it stealing and he chased it down. It tried to get out of the house via a grilled door and it couldn't wriggle out because it had grown so fat! My brother and I just rolled on the floor with laughter and my mom decided that it was too bad to starve a desperate cat. Anyways, it kind of became our house cat. My bro named it "Ramba" because it seemed to have a variation of cross-eyes...(no offense to the actress. Hey! you could take it that the cat was really cute too!:)).

Anyways, Ramba had two offspring- the first one being christened "Azhagi" (by virtue of its prettiness) and the second "Amul" (by virtue of its chubbiness). We bought up both these cats and they were a part of my college life. I used to love the fact that when I came home, Azagi used to run to the door "meowing" as soon as she heard me. Of course, my dad didn't exactly relish our feeding a cat Horlicks milk, cream cakes, chips, murukku, bakkoda et al..He used to look at me and my brother and put a hand to his forehead: "Kashtam!"...:)

Srirangam had an abundance of monkeys because of the groves in the little island. Now that realtors are exterminating groves to build multi-storied apartment complexes, the monkeys get displaced and wander into residential areas in big groups. We used to have monkeys in our backyard all the time. And the poor things used to look for water in buckets to drink and quench their thirst. We always used to leave a bucket full of water for the crows and monkeys. And we had fun feeding monkeys bananas, fruits, biscuits etc... albeit from a safe distance.

Now, there were people in our neighborhood who used to empty water buckets just because monkeys and crows drank out of them. They considered it a "waste of water"! And I have seen many people throw wasted food or fruits in the trash can when they could've given the same food to a starving cow at their gate. They call cats and monkeys "dushtai" (evil ones) and that raising them is earning "pavam". They'd rather sell the cocunuts from their trees for a paltry Rs. 10 rather than give one to a hungry monkey. And these same people would go to Ranganatha temple and search for people to do Anna Daanam. I say "search" because in these days and times, not many people want food; they want hard cash.

Which one is charity? Giving a portion of the food and water we consume to a needy, hungry being or thrusting our charity at other human beings when they really don't need it?? If the former is earning "pavam", I'd gladly go to hell.

A dream, a post, Star Wars and some ramblings...

There are days when things worth writing about happen. Most of these things are disconnected, trivial incidents but they are funny and interesting.

I made my directorial debut yesterday. Yeah, in my dreams.. (That's not sarcasm.No, I mean literally :-)) I slept off after watching some Vivek comedies and in my dream, I started watching a movie. I switch on the TV, pick up the remote and hit the play button. Only the TV is in focus. And "Manichitrathaazh" starts playing except it is black-and-white. I haven't seen this movie and god knows what prompted me to dream it all up. And so the first scene is someone with a deep voice who describes what MPD means and he says: "The best example is the story of -----" and the scene cuts to a verandah. Two people are sitting reading newspapers. The camera focuses on the lady and she removes the newspaper in front of her face and lo! It is Shobana! Again, all this is in B & W for some weirdo reason. And she talks animatedly with her hubby (I can't see his face). After a while, Mohanlal walks in looking all serious and scholarly and he talks something in Malayalam (I swear to god I have no knowledge of Malayalam but believe me, Mohan Lal talks a full-length Malayalam dialogue in my dream! God knows how my sub-conscious made it up so well. I seem to be blessed with a fertile imagination...:)). Then, there is one scene where Shobana rips up at MohanLal like a wild cat. Then finally, when we get to the "Raa Raa" like scene a la Chandramukhi, my dream goes bust....kind of a sad, dull
ending to my directorial debut. I am curious to watch the original to see how it matches with my dream venture...:)

The funny thing is that in my dream, I watch the movie in a big bhoot-bungalow type place and I hear the echoes richocheting off the walls.(There was one place in the dream where I hear a scream and my actual self shuddered in response to it) So my dream-self decides to close/open the window and I lean out to do it. Now I know that in reality, I had opened my window that night before sleeping. So when I
woke up, I had an eerie doubt as to whether I actually leaned to close the window or not.......

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Baby K has written a post about money and investing. I liked it and found it useful. So here's to Lex's new found Sledgeman and Financial Advisor...:))

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I had to switch to a Japanese character set for Windows recently for some work I am doing. And I found it so hard to navigate through my system. I didn't even know which were the OK , Cancel, Apply buttons anymore for some screens. And I had to IM someone and without looking at the screen, I hit the keystrokes and pressed enter. Only to find gibberish (Japanese to those who understand it, Gibberish to me) on my screen. I am not sure but the probabilities are the person at the other end thought I was swearing at them. Embarassments galore.

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I have become such a lazy bum that I am far behind with schoolwork and if I don't get my act in place soon, I am going to be in a huge mess...Eeks! I wish I'd not have these great enlightening thoughts just before the long weekend. They just spoil my peace.

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Some movies should be watched in the context of the decade/era they were released to capture the awe and amazement. Watch them farther down the line and they just don't seem as eye-popping as they must've been back then. I watched Star Wars-IV last week. It was not mind-boggling for me. In the 70s, the concept of spaceships, aliens, robots etc...was a giant leap in creativity and it captured people's imaginations! Now I am used to having aliens pop out of woods and cupboards and have all sorts of Borgs, Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians walk across my living room daily. Sigh. This jaded feeling is what comes out of watching Star Wars after having heavy doses of Star Trek (Deep Space Nine, Voyager etc...),Earth-Final Conflict, Mars Attacks, Independence Day, MIB and so on and so forth. I wish I were a kid who'd be amazed with every thing that she sees.
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Why do people need to elevate a person talented in some field to iconic status to the point of making them non-human? Be it Rajinikanth (to the extent that he was doing all sorts of Vittalacharya style magic tricks in 'Baba'), Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson or Gandhi, people simple make them icons to the point that any one negative quality attributed to them becomes totally unacceptable. Why not? I mean, weren't they humans too? So what if Rajinikanth has some bad qualities or Abe Lincoln doubted the divinity of Christ or Gandhi had (allegedly) been a bad
father? In my view, all that doesn't make any of these men lesser. I think it kind of cool that even people with imperfections can be great/famous. The quest for non-existent perfection in icons is dangerous.

And here I go again....

People, you've gotta put up with me for pouring tag lists on you..:) This one is in response to Dinesh's tag.

1. Favorite fellow blogger and why?

There's no one person I can name as being my favourite. I enjoy all types of writing and as my mood varies, I like one or the other. Here are a few that caught my attention recently:
a. Agnibarathi's Saadhanaa and Lalitha Maha Tripurasundari

I'd have to say I was very, very impressed with the flow of words and beautiful description in some of his posts!
b. Thus spake Vivek
I liked his post "Blah, blah and a lot of blah". Made me laugh.
c. Atanu Dey
d. Ramya Kannan I enjoy her creative taxonomy! She calls her shoutbox the "Tower of babel"..:)And I like her matter-of-fact, interesting ruminations.

2. Your favorite person/people in life

Tough call. Invariably, there's no list one can conjure up that could cover all people/aspects who've influenced me. This is just what comes
off the top of my head:
a. Mrs. Nair- One of the most well-read, intelligent, kind, graceful and elegant people I've met in my life! A PhD. from the University of British Columbia, she was as famous for her lectures in Mathematics as she was for her crisp, cotton sarees. A Canadian student of hers
remarked to me, "She is not just a great professor, she is a sight for sore eyes too!". My mentor in many ways, she introduced me to a variety of books ranging from "History of Civilization" to Alfred North Whitehead's "Introduction to Mathematics".
b. My Brother- At the risk of sounding maudlin, I am putting in my bro..:) I like him for his cool, devil-may-care attitude toward life. He is completely laid-back and rarely lets things upset him. Loves life and enjoys it to the hilt right from food to movies to friends. So here's to you bro (Whenever you read this post!)!
c. Kanchi Paramacharya Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi- I don't think I am worthy of writing a preface for him..:)
d. Steve Waugh- For his tenacity, strength of determination and the will to win. Aside from his tough sportsman attitude, I like the fact that he is involved with orphanages and charity. Glenn McGrath- for his punishing line and length. The next on my list is going to evoke a
lot of criticism: Sourav Ganguly for his bad-mouthing, swearing and off-drives...:) I like the fact that he sledges back and his getting penalized for that doesn't reduce his image in my eyes one bit! India needs more players like that. Frankly, the Mr.Goody-two-shoes image is jaded and
doesn't work these days.

3. If you could be one person of the opposite sex, who would it be and why?
No thanks, I think I am quite happy being a female..:) Of course, I like and adore many people of the opposite sex, but I'd rather be me.

4. If you could be in a book/music band/movie, what would you be in ?
I would like to be in a music band. Singing/songs lightens, refreshes, levitates me and makes me plain happy.

5. If you were to be marooned in an island and you could pick one friend to go with you, who would it be?
Hmm. If I had to be marooned (which I wouldn't prefer in the first place), I would rather be marooned with someone who is strong and good at practical things- foraging food, building shelter, making a fire...:) I am not much good at this stuff and there's not gonna be much
to enjoy in an island with someone if we were both to drop dead in a few days. And this person had better not be a whiner because I hate whining when caught in life-death situations.
I'd probably pick my best buddy, Shailaja to go with me because she is witty, cool as a cucumber always and finds humour in the most unlikely situations. We have both been in a zillion scrapes together in college and have managed to wriggle out of most tight corners.
Or I would pick another good friend of mine, J. I always fight endlessly with him over the silliest of things. And despite all the terrible fights we've been in (with a good measure of swearing,cussing, gnashing teeth), we have managed to be good friends over nearly 5 years. Good timepass and that'd keep my mind off other pressing concerns..:)

Shades of Secularism

Conversations...

On my recent trip to India, I had an instance of how misunderstood the term "securalism" has become in India's politico today...
The Railways is a great leveler. For the period of the journey, you get to talk on par with people from all walks of life. I met an interesting, old Muslim gentleman on the Dadar (Mumbai-Chennai).
Old man to me: So, would you marry my nephew? He is smart and intelligent but he is a Muslim.
Me: (laughing) Well, if it was that easy!
Old man: You are Hindu? Ah, you don't like Muslims!
Me: No, it has nothing to do with it.
Old man: Then why are you averse to the idea?
Me: But...
Old man: (shaking his head) Ah, you are a Hindu fundamentalist; not secular.
Me (Totally confused at this tangent): ????????????????!!!!!!!?

(Who says that only women go on tangents?:))

And the old man didn't talk to me for the rest of the journey!So, these days, I gotta marry an unknown Muslim whose Uncle thinks it is a good match in order for me to be "secular". Sweet.

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The Spectre of Jinnah

Jinnah must be turning in his grave. A half-century after the demise of the founding father of Pakistan, he still lingers fresh in people's memories; fresh enough to brew trouble, this time in the House of Saffron. India Today carries a series of articles on the soup that Advani has landed himself in with his comments on Jinnah.
Amidst the ruckus that Advani caused by calling Jinnah "secular", some say, "Why bother with issues surrounding a man who's been dead for a long time?". Some others, like the VHP and RSS, are adamant that Jinnah shouldn't be characterized as a secular figure.
I don't think you can ignore some things as being in the past. After all, the past is what defines the present. But neither can you say that the past is all black and white. Jinnah may have caused the bifurcation of the erstwhile British Raj but then he might have had his own ideas on secularism just as our netas have today (And most of what our honourable netas say are skewed, politically motivated and utter crap!). I prefer not to judge Jinnah. I think he must've been a complex man and perhaps, he had his own reasons....

[Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre give a more unbiased (I thought it unbiased. My dad disagrees with me.), objective view of Jinnah's political motivations in their "Freedom at Midnight". Read it if you get a chance!]

Blame it on Arun! :)

Well, Arun got me going on this Music tag thing. And after half an hour, I was struggling to fit in all the songs I like. I couldn't fit in my favourite Hindi/English song collection in this. Blame it on Arun if you think this is a huge post..:))

I. Albums I own

There's really no end to this. I don't have all the albums I own with me here in the US. But back home, I have quite a collection.

Hindi

The earliest recollection I have of collecting music is of Hindi songs. I am a huge Rafi fan. So I have

-Rafi sings for Shammi Kapoor
I love his "Yeh Chaand sa Roshan Chehra" from Kashmir Ki Kali and "Tumse Accha Kaun Hai" and "Badan Pe Sitare"!
-Rafi in Blue moods
-Rafi's melodies
Also, I have a comprehensive Kishore Kumar, Talat Mehmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt ('Babuji Dheere Chalna' is one of her best!), O.P.Nayyar collection.

English:

I have a considerable English songs collection too with all varieties like Guns n' Roses, U2, Aerosmith (this is a bit too much for me!), Eagles, Beatles, Elton John, Bryan Adams (my eternal fave). I don't enjoy very hard rock and Eminem sucks (no matter what anyone else says)!

Tamil:

Of course, the usual medley of Tamil songs is always there. The one thing I really cherish is a Tamil old songs Mp3 that I made recently. It has one of the best selection of old hits and listening to it on Sunday mornings is the most satisfying thing!

II. First album/cassette I bought

I had to think a long time for this because usually my dad did all the buying...:) I believe it was ARR's Vande Mataram in 1997 that I bought with my pocket money. I bought it from New Music India (?!) in Adyar.

III. Other albums I bought...

These days there's no buying. I usually just burn songs from the net. But even that has become rare of late..:) I just let my friends do the hard work and copy CDs off them.

IV. Present Favorites

Here's my top 10 in no particular order:

1. Raa Raa (Chandramukhi)

- Binni has put in a lot into this song. Chandramukhi's yearning for her lover can be felt in her voice and the carnatic-filmi mix goes well. This song usually gets my pulse racing especially when she sings the closing lines of the charanam,

"Mila mila magasina, meruvula meriyaka raa raa raa raa..."

Awesome number!!

2. Chinna Chinna Sigarangal (Kana Kanden)

- A very husky number. Very well sung. The lyrics are a bit vulgar but nonetheless, a good rendition! I like it.

3. Konjam Konjam Enakkum Unnai..(Arindhum Ariyaamalum)

4. Kaadhal Yaanai (Anniyan, of course!)

- Again, a total dance number. Gets me each time I listen to it. I like the part "Ring master-in singam pol...". Waiting to watch it onscreen!

5. Stranger in Black (Anniyan)

- Again, a copy of the Lord of the Rings score. But nonetheless, quite good. As I listen to it, I can get the feel of a mysterious stranger..

6. Appan Panna Thappula (Thirupaachi)

- I know many screw up their faces if I say I like this song. But it is a fast number and I like Vijai's dance in this one...:)

7. Nee Endha Ooru (Thirupaachi)

-Again, a popular down-to-earth mass number!

8. Sathikadi..(Sukran)

A very racy number..I confess when Priya first told me that she liked this, I was kind of like, "Ewww!". But then, the "paal ice cup ice.." hum kind of catches on. The hero has done a worst-u job of dancing. It is one of those songs that doesn't have much to it as far as uniqueness goes but still becomes popular.

9. Seetukkattu raani pola (Mayavi)

I love this number especially the "Jo jo jothika" part!

10. Kaadhaal Valarthen (Manmathan)

I simply love Kay Kay's range and voice in this number.


V. I usually hum..

I confess this list is going to coincide a lot with Arun's. Suprising to find a lot of common songs.

Minnale Nee vandhadhenadi.....(May Maadham)
Nee partha parvaikku...(Hey Ram)
Thoda Thoda.. (Indira)
Azhage Sugama... (Parthale Paravasam)
Sangeetha Swarangal...(Azagan)
Rama Rama... (Sivamani. This is a Telugu movie. Short and sweet song.)
Inji Iduppazaga..(Thevar Magan)
Maraindhirundhe Parkum...(Thillana Mohanambal)
Aaha Inba Nilaavinile.. (Maya Bazaar)
Sowkkiyama Kanne...(Sangamam)
Ondra Renda...(Kakka Kaaka)
Ennai Yenna Seithai...(Ivan)
Aasai Aasai...(Dhool)
Kannil Kandhame Vendam...(Mounam pesiyadhe)

VI. My Fave dappankoothu songs:

- Aal thotta boopathy... (Youth)
- Malai Malai... (Chocolate)
- Tirunelveli Alva daa...(Sami)
- Inthadi Kappa kizhange...(Dhool)
- Inthunoondu Muthathile...(Dhool)
- Vaadi Vaadi...(Alli thantha vaanam)
- Theradi Veedhiyil..(Run)
- Sarakku Vechirukken...(Shahjahan)

VII. My Fave nakkal song:

Pombalainga Kaadhalai Dhaan...(Unnai Ninaithu)

VIII. Fave music directors

MSV, ARR

IX. Fave singers:

Malgudi Subha, Sunidhi Chauhan, Chitra, SPB (of course!), Kay Kay, Karthik, Kishore Kumar, Rafi, Adnan Sami.

Worry

If there are no hands to wipe our tears of distress
If there is no comforting shoulder to provide us succour
If none is there to say "Hey, its okay!"
Is worrying even meaningful?

I am 'IT'!

Well, Venkitu sir has tagged me and I am 'IT' now!

Total books I own:
Around 250 back home in India. At present, around 40 in the US. Would like to transport my library here sometime.

Last book(s) I bought:

* The History of Civilization - Parts VIII and IX (Will and Ariel Durrant).

This epic series spans 10 volumes and covers the development of civilizations from pre-historic times to the present times. One of the most amazing historical accounts I've come across!

* A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

Simply a masterpiece!

* Ponniyin Selvan

Requires no review! :)

Last book I read:

Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer

Light reading. Victorian era romantic comedy.

Last Book I was Gifted:
1000 Places to see before you die

Book that made 0 sense to me:
Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie

It is no exaggeration to say that in 23 years of my life, this is one book out of which I understood zilch. Nothing against the author. It is just dumb 'ol me!


Books that mean a lot to me:

Ponniyin Selvan (Kalki), The Road Less Traveled (Scott M. Peck), Katradhum Petradhum (Sujatha), Theivathin Kural (Compilation of Paramacharya's talks), Lessons of Life (Ariel and Will Durrant), Calvin and Hobbes (Comics by Bill Watterson), The Color Purple (Alice Walker), The Kitchen God's Wife (Amy Tan), Freedom at Midnight (Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre)

Now, it is my turn to tag!

I tag:

Kamal
Ammani
Prabhu
Arun
Sujan

All those tagged, you've got to compile a similar list and keep the tag going around..:)

Miscellania..

Memorial Day Weekend

A weekend to remember. Met J and R after a period of 2 years. Drove to Dayton, picked J up and went to Edwardsville, Illinois to see R. Ate at an Indian restaurant (Punjabi cuisine) in Dayton. Food was thoroughly awesome! To someone who hates Tandoor these days, the food was a suprise to the palate. Drove all night (J did most of the driving) and arrived at 4.30 AM. We had a comedy of sorts trying to find R's house. We were in the vicinity and the roads didn't have any names. We vainly searched for a road named "Center Grove" which proved elusive. Finally, after two people sent us in the wrong direction we managed to find that road. After some confusions about a church (there were two of them), a basketball playground (which was totally invisible to us), a stop sign (stop signs are ubiquitous), R finally managed to get us home.

Trip highlights included visits to the St.Louis Arch, St.Louis Galleria, Priyaa South Indian Restaurant and J Lo's "Monster-in-law". But the evening walk along the Mississippi with two old friends chatting away (J was exasperated because I rarely stopped talking for a few minutes..:)) was my favorite! It was like fitting right into an old hat or an old shoe...:)

All in all, a memorable weekend.

*************************************
The hot Summer days leave me craving something cool during afternoons. Not being a big fan of soft drinks, I have taken to yogurts for solace. I've been trying new flavors this week. Yoplait's 'White chocolate with raspberry' and 'Chocolate with cherry' are really good. Of course, 'Orange Creme' always will be my fave. Breyer's Fruit Bottom yogurts are cool. It surprised me the first time when I suddenly scooped up some fruit along with yogurt. Yummy!

*************************************
Songs on my lips today:

1. "Ennai enna Seithai"

Movie: Ivan
Singer: Sudha Raghunathan
Raga: Simhendra Madhyamam

2. "I love you.." and "For all those times.."

Singer: Celine Dion
Album: These are good times

3. "Omkara nadhanu"

Movie: Sankarabharanam

*****************************************************
I was listening to the starting beats of "Ennai Thalaatta Varuvaala.." from "Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai". I was expecting Hariharan's voice to break out mellifluously when suddenly I heard Gangai Amaran! Didn't know that a version sung by G.A. existed. Anyway, I didn't like it much. Can imagine Vijai with Hariharan's voice but a big no-no to G.A!

The next song that played was "Vinodhamanavale". We always used this term to describe weirdos and here it was as a song! There's a line that goes "Tholaipesi seithai"?!!!
Making a phone?! I guess "phone seithai"="tholaipesi seithai" but the translation is ridiculous!

That's all, Folks! :)

Cinderella Man!

Who doesn't love a fairy-tale? Almost everyone does (at least, girls do. Prince Charming and the Happily Ever After are more appealing to us, I guess..:)). And who doesn't love underdogs? And throw into this mix two terrific actors, a superb cameraman, a talented director, a story of heroism and love and you have a hit!

My roomie and I happened to watch this movie yesterday evening. I became so ga-ga over it, I just had to blog about it.

The highlights of the movie (I loved these):

* The exchanges between Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti (his manager). Giamatti is thoroughly convincing and impressive.

* Killer camera. The fight scenes, I think, have been shot with multiple hand held cameras. Every blow delivered feels like it is delivered on one's face. I found myself flinching reflexively during the boxing scenes.

* Russell Crowe. This is another of Crowe's best performances. Looking more chiseled and gaunt than previous movies, he slides into the part of the gentle giant, James J. Braddock. I still can't get over the dignified yet emotion-filled dialogue delivery when he goes begging and says,
"My kids have been farmed out and I've no electricity at home. I'd be grateful if you could help me out now."

* The champion Max Baer. Whoever the actor is, he sure has done a terrific job. At one point, I just wanted to punch his face! Now, that's acting!

* Braddock's cutie pie daughter, Rosy! The kid is just too adorable.

All in all, a must-see, feel-good flick. I think people always fall in love with characters like James J. Braddock: strong yet kind; down on hard times yet dignified and honest; thoughtful, helpful and loving. Finally, modest and unassuming despite fame and success. Watch out, guys, this is the Prince Charming that women fall for...:)

Read The New York Times review here.

Variations of Disconnect - The Philosopher Speaks

I am doing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of the interior of the Church of Notre Dame. I am almost through with just the roof to be finished.

Life's a jigsaw too. All the different people and events are the different pieces.

The other day, I was looking for one piece that would fit in with one of the pillars just beside the pews. I was searching for a piece with a particular pattern that was present in the pillars.

The people we know and events past are the completed parts of the puzzle. We always look to solve new problems by precedents and pattern matching. If a new person walks into our life, we always compare him/her with our existing group of friends and wonder if he/she is of the same "type" and will "fit" in...

It was driving me crazy that none of the pieces I could find would fit in! I went to other parts of the puzzle but kept returning to this one piece.

We keep searching for the one friend who will always be in sync with us, our thoughts, our activities....

After a couple of days, I was just contemplating my puzzle over coffee and fiddling around with pieces randomly fitting them in different places. And voila! A piece magically fit into the pillar that I was struggling to complete!

Someone, once in a while, stops by and without any provocation or reason, brightens our life at just the right time: an acquaintance you thought you were not close to, a mentor, an advisor, a neighbour, a friend... I would like to call it serendipity...a random kind act of the universe!

The funny thing is that I had come across this piece when I was looking for the piece but ignored it because I thought it didn't fit into the pattern.

I wonder how many opportunities/interesting people I ended up missing because of this weird quality by which we always look for extensions of existing (sometimes stale, unhealthy!) patterns in each and every new experience/person.

It fit beautifully into the puzzle and I wondered how I could've been so blind! One particular pattern was so strongly embedded in my mind that I ignored what was, even if a bit different, staring me in the face!

Yet, if I just alter my vantage point a wee bit and look at people/events with a fresh outlook, I will see that they fit into the jigsaw of our life in a beautiful way in ways I didn't even expect and complete my life perfectly!

I know it seems like too much to draw generalizations about life from a jigsaw but then this is the Philosopher from my Senate who is shouting at the top of his voice compelling me to hear him...:)

Here are pics of what my jigsaw looks like now. Isn't it pretty? :)



And here's what the finished version should look like:

Variations of Disconnect- The Senate

The Senate is at full strength on some days. A timid voice raises a topic
tentatively. A strident, booming voice drowns it out mid-sentence with an
irrelevant observation. A scornful voice dripping with sarcasm interjects a
comment and quells any further discussion on that topic. A harmonious, soothing tone sprays a cool jet of water onto heated emotions. And on and on it goes...Yes, my mind sometimes feels like a Senate with a number of voices and tones voicing different opinions, sometimes relevant; sometimes totally off-topic and irrelevant but interesting nonetheless. I can't discern physical forms for the owners of these voices. All I can identify them is by their tone and style of talk. At times discordant, at times soothing, there is always a constant buzz of conversation in all our minds. Perhaps we don't notice it all the time but when you consciously still your awareness, you realize the omnipresent low-pitched hum. Many times, I have noticed that these observations are variations of disconnect from the task that my conscious(?!) mind is working on. I decided to write about these random, nonsensical observations that pop up in my head.

I was talking to someone I totally respect and like. X said,
"....As an aside,I felt that Y is REALLY good at what he does. But coming
back to the matter at hand,..." and so went the conversation. All day long, I could sense something in the back of my mind, nagging me but my mind was way too busy and I couldn't place my finger on it. Hours later,in the calmness of the evening, I
heard that same timid but persistent voice point out to me that all day long, I'd been thinking that someday, sometime, at least once, I want to be the person on the other end when X says "Good Job!" :)

The Fate of India's National Animal

India Today has a report on "The Missing Tigers" of India's wildlife sanctuaries. Illegal Poaching has depleted Sariska (200 Km off Delhi), India's premier tiger reserve, of its most famous denizen. The tigers have been hunted down (of course, with the help of the local Forestry department and associated government officials. It would be naive to expect otherwise!) for their skins and there are almost no tigers in this reserve now.
There is something nauseating and gruesome about the cold-blooded killing a magnificent beast for the aesthetic value of its skin. The poachers set an iron and steel trap. The tiger unfortunate enough to get caught in it suffers for hours in agony. Then the poacher comes and shoots the tiger through its heart, spills its guts, scrapes the flesh off its skin and bones and takes home his prize. What was once a living, breathing animal is now worth Rs. 8.6 lakhs....

Reminded of Kannadasan's lyrics,

"Paayum puliyin kodumaiyai iraivan paarvaiyil Vaithane..
Indha paazhum manithan kodumaiyai idhaya porvaiyil maraithane.."

Intimations of Immortality

Whenever I am frazzled, bored, stressed or in need of plain inspiration, I turn to the Romantics ( Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Byron et al). In their words and verses, I derive a deep comfort. Although separated by centuries, those poems reverberate through the corridors of time and strike a chord with me each and every time I read them...

I am re-reading
Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth for the millionth time.

There are some lines that are always more attractive and memorable than others in any work of literature. But I am unable to single out such parts in this poem because I love the whole too much! A feeling of unparalleled tranquility and peace is what these verses bequeath to me time and again.

To some, poems are a schoolgirl's chore: to be memorized by rote before exams and reproduced on the exam paper for paltry marks. To me, they've been more than that. In moments of despair, in moments of loneliness, in moments seeking wisdom, in moments of joy, in moments of sheer appreciation, I hear the words whispering across centuries to posterity and I see intimations of immortality....

Gaps-1

A warm hearth. Cozy Comforts. Caring friends. Loving parents. Mirthful entertainment. Known settings. Familiar faces. Well-worn laugh lines. Predictable events. Recognizable patterns. A charmed life. Flash of white lightning. A dark knight on a stormy horizon. Fascinating. Mysterious. A novelty. Temptation of the unknown. A world of choices.

Desire is born.

Life's Little Pleasures

This weekend, I set out to do exactly what I wanted to which is: DO NOTHING. There is a strange pleasure in being totally lazy for an entire day. At the end of the day, you feel bored and want to get into things again. There's no better way than that to start a week! Well, for me, doing nothing translates into random reading online and on paper.

This weekend has just been a jumble of miscellania that pleases me.I enjoy my morning coffee with Hindu's Sunday Magazine. V.Gangadhar's "Slice of Life" was one of my absolute favourites. I don't think he writes these days or perhaps it is not there online. The Hindu used to publish a monthly magazine called Folio before. A collection of essays on a particular theme, I have spent many interesting hours reading them.

One of my friends had forwarded me a really interesting article on blogging. I was random browsing the net and chanced across the writer's blog. Another find is Kiruba. Another enjoyable journo blog from Chennai: Ramya Kannan.

PB suggested reading "Katradhum Petradhum" by Sujatha in the current issue of Ananda Vikatan. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

And I have a pile of comics: Tintin, Asterix and Obelix, Calvin and Hobbes that I hoarded from the library this week! Amusing as it may sound, yes, I am crazy about comics. They provide a different kind of relaxation, a flight of fancy into a world of comical possibilities.

So, on a lazy, sunny, glorious Sunday morning, I am getting ready to dig into "Tintin and the Cigars of the Pharaoh" and later "Hero's Walk" by Anita Rau Badami. Life is beautiful...:)

The Art of Creation

The foamy surf laps gently on the shores of Mahabalipuram. I visited there when I was a little girl just as so many tourists visit there. The rock sculptures were beautiful and expressive but that was all they were to me. Beautiful sculptures cut in rock by the sea side. Till I read Sivagamiyin Sabatham by Kalki. A story of romance, art, valor all woven together like strands in a beautiful cloth, it captured my imagination like few other things have. In that immortal classic, Sivagami is a dancer non pareil and Narasimha, the heir to a powerful throne. Narasimha Pallava invades Vathapi, capital of the Chalukyas, and razes it to the ground primarily for the sake of love for Sivagami and her unequalled prowess in dance. I thought it pretty silly at that time. I’ve changed my mind since then about love and art.

Art seems to have a mysterious, irrational and irresistible sway over people. The striking chords of a song, an energetic dance executed gracefully, a life-like painting all have a way of arresting one’s attention and transforming moods like nothing else can.

5000 BC. Cave men returning from a day of perils and sheer terror draw stick figures on the walls of a cave depicting the day’s events. Time passes by. The rudiments of an agrarian, river-based civilization begin to appear. The ancients slave under the hot sun and fight nature’s vagaries in the sheer will to survive. Yet, they find the time to paint pots with bright colors depicting scenes from daily life and expressing their feelings. Time continues its unrelenting march. And today, we find an explosion of art forms, a variety of ways to express our innermost thoughts and feelings.

It is not very remarkable that today, we devote more time to music, art or literature. We have the leisure, the assurance of a long life and the technology to aid us. But in the Darwinian struggle for existence, what relevance did painting a pot or carving stones have to daily survival? Of what use was decorating cave walls with bright colors when your very life is in question everyday? Yet humans have from time unknown devoted time to such things. Perhaps the human eye innately craves symmetry, balance and aesthetic sense? I don’t know.

I happened to watch Chandramukhi on Saturday. In the movie, there’s a painting of Chandramukhi. I am no art connoisseur or judge of great art, but that painting attracted me irresistibly. There was a glow to the face, a grace to the mudra struck, a speaking quality to the eyes that imprinted itself on my mind. As I write this post, I can still see the painting in my mind’s eye. That day, I found myself wishing that I had learnt to dance!

The foamy surf laps gently on the shores of Mahabalipuram. I visited them again on a moonlit night after a gap of many years and this time, I had a strange appreciation for the Pallava’s art and Sivagami’s dance. I do not know if Sivagami’s father was indeed a sculptor or if he modeled those incomparable statuettes on his daughter or if Narasimha Pallava did indeed love Sivagami or even if Sivagami was real or not. But I do know this: that night as I roamed around the beach amongst the rock-cut sculptures, I felt that they were talking to me, telling me stories of the days when Narasimha Pallava enjoyed Sivagami’s timeless dance; of their creators; of romances and tragedies; of mortal desires and immortal creations. How many people who go there know of the history that lies behind them?
I am still mesmerized when I think of that day. The Pallavas are long gone and so is their kingdom but art lives on.

“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away. “

I think I understand why Narasimha Pallava reduced Vathapi to cinders.

Laughter

Of late, I have this uncomfortable feeling that I haven't laughed in quite a while. By laughing, I don't mean the stingy smile that is forced to one's lips when demanded by social etiquette or the quiet chuckle one has when listening to a fond friend recounting youthful misdemeanours or the subdued laughter when amongst people you don't know that well and are afraid of seeming too forward. I mean the kind of racuous, rib-tickling, stomach-cramp-causing, hearty laughter that bubbles up from the wells of one's soul and clears the mind of all heaviness!

Having stomach cramps from laughing is one of my most desired sensations these days. Seems to me like I used to laugh a lot before. I used to be looked at with dread by the pranksters in my class because off I'd go gurgling and bubbling with laughter at the slightest sign of mischief. And tears used to well up in my eyes from the sheer physical effort. There are people for every occassion but the ones that can pep me up in a moment and turn what promises to be a bleary, gray day into a shining, bright one are those that can make me smile and laugh. Raghavan is one such person amongst my close friends. His carefree, witty and sharp comments always used to bring a twinkle in my eyes and a smile on my face! Of course there are others and some might not be too happy with me thursting a comedian's role on them...So I won't mention their names here (People concerned, I hope you know!):) :)

I miss those days. Hope I hear or see something soon enough to burst into carefree laughter soon enough!

A Swing Down Memory Lane...

Movies are a walk down memory lane for me these days. As conversation turns to a movie, I remember the time when I watched it, the people I watched it with, feelings associated with it,the fun we had after it. So many friendships and associations were formed at movies during undergrad years; So many funny and outrageous incidents that in retrospect, none of us would ever dare do again or can even imagine that we did during those years; Memories of the cheerful camaraderie that existed between us all come back to me as I listen to the strains of some song or scraps of a dialogue. I guess I watched countless movies during undergrad years with my friends but some are always more memorable than others:

Alaipayuthe-

First Year of college. We were all newbies and stressed out with Model exams. Semester exams were just a week away. It was a hot May afternoon and the unforgiving South Indian sun was scorching the dry lands of Trichy. S suggested that we go for a movie bunking class that afternoon. I was rather loathe to watch a movie with two newcomers and that too the second show on the first day. But I was dragged against my wishes and soon we were a gang of some 15 guys and girls. We went to the theatre and there was this huge mad rush of people waiting for tickets. I gave up and told everyone that we all better head home. S was more resourceful. She managed to get us tickets (Don't ask me how because that is another big story!) and we got in. And man what a movie it turned out to be! V and D were talking nonsense during the climax and when Maddy was crying over Shalini in the hospital bed, these two started giggling about something else..The entire theatre roared in disapproval of their giggling during the serious scene and what a roar it was...:)
By the time we left the theatre, our heads were replete with movie dialogues and scenes. For the next 3 or 4 months, it was all "ava enna parthu sirichittaaa....." and "un logic sagikkalai" in the corridors...:) That was the first time that our friends, as a gang, watched the movie and it was unforgettable.

Minnale-
Another Saturday afternoon. We were heading home when some friends invited us for this movie. I got very enthusiastic and we went to the theatre. But then, after having built up too many expectations, some of the guys came back and told us, girls, that the environment was not exactly conducive to girls inside the theatre and asked us to go home. We said we'd all go home and watch it together later. V and other guys refused because they wanted to see it on the first day itself. Can't remember when I was more angry. Got into an argument with V and the poor guy got an earful from me...:)As an apology, he gave me a treat at Banana Leaf later. I was so angry that I swore I'd never watch this movie and I didn't till a couple of months ago...:)

Deena-

Movie was okay. Some 5 or 6 of us watched it together. But the songs became a hit. K sang "Sollaamal Thottu Sellum Thendral.." at our college day function. One of the other performers didn't turn up and we had a mini-crisis on our hands. We had to somehow fill some 5 minutes without losing the audience. B went on stage and started an impromptu talk to engage the audience. Suddenly he called out my name and told the crowd that we were going to sing "Nee Illai endral" from Deena. I panicked and B was sweating but we managed to sing the song without missing a beat ( I still can't help but wonder how the hell we managed without lyrics, without practice, without any kind of co-ordination..!)and it was an instant hit! (Of course, we got a LOT of help from the crowd..they roared in response to a line in the second stanza of the song and we couldn't help but relax after that..!).

Invisible Man-

Super movie. Romba nenappoda ponen. Ulla poi ukkandha, title pops up on the screen with DTS sound effect: "Maaya Manithan". It was such a shocker that if someone had seen our faces at that moment, it would've been ridiculous. And the dialogues were so out of place and contrived that I got stomach cramps from laughing! You'd think I had learnt my lesson, but unfortunately not; after that, it was "Alaikadal Arakkan" (Godzilla Vs..something).

Run-
Again first day first show. Got dragged out of bed by R and S and I was made to sit in front of the theatre at 8.30 AM! But some others were late and I had to wait outside the theatre with tickets after the movie had started. The "Vaada Machaan.." song had started off and everyone was dancing in the aisles. To top it all, S and I were the only girls in the entire theatre and we had seats in the front of the theatre. The standing ovation we got for 5 minutes as S and I walked to our seats is still etched in memory today...:)

Dhool-

Watched it pretty late. The movie was enjoyable but there was no pep in the audience as the college crowd had long finished watching the movie. So it was just middle aged people in the theatre when we saw it. The audience was quiet till Paravai Muniamma started "Madurai Veeran dhaane..." and to our surprise, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause and dance! Didn't realize that the song carried such an earthiness to it till that moment!

Samy-

Again an unforgettable experience. I am a thayirsaadham and maavadu fan and that used to be my staple lunch on hot summer days. After that movie, I was the butt of jokes for the next 2 to 3 months (In the movie, Trisha romances Vikram over a box full of thayirsaadham and maavadu).

Kaaka Kaaka-

The movie was one of the best I've watched. The ending was heart wrenching for us all because Surya loses the love of his life. But just as Anbuchelvan's love life came to a gut wrenching halt, so did our college life. Yup, it was the last movie I watched with all my friends before I came to the US. After the movie, I still remember, we all walked back silently to our vehicles and without a word went home. I guess the movie made us think of loss and pain in a way we hadn't expected.

Since this is turning out to be a really long post, I am going to stop here. There are more movies and more incidents than I can fit in one post....:)

Senthamizh Nadennum...

I was driving back home for lunch this afternoon. It is a glorious day here at Lexington with azure blue skies and trees and flowers in full bloom! Anyways, I was listening to Maharajapuram Santhanam's rendition of "Senthamizh Nadennum.." in Mohana Kalyani. The hot, sunny weather reminding me of days spent in Srirangam coupled with Bharathiyar's timeless words, the mellifluous raaga and Maharajapuram's voice transported me to another world for some five minutes! When I got out of the car, I had an indescribable tranquil feeling. I was moved enough to devote one post to it..:)

The Blues Are Upon Me...

And I can't seem to get out of it..!

The gift of peace...

I had a Distributed Computing course in my final year. Unfortunately, I had an extremely boring teacher. He was a nice man, of course but just that he rambled on with his sentences so much that I lost track of the beginning of the sentence by the time he was done with it (Kind of like the way you may feel about this last sentence..). Many used to listen to him because he used to get all upset and start lecturing about life which was even worse than him lecturing about Distributed Computing. Anyways, I never did listen to him. As punishment (that too in the final year!), he sent me to the last bench aka "Maaplai bench" (I don't know what his logic was. Perhaps he thought I'd be so ashamed of sitting in the "maaplai bench"?! I sure wasn't because I had a lot more fun there). Which was just fine and dandy with me because it was more conducive to sleeping. He stopped short of sending me out of the class because I think he knew I would gladly trade the canteen for one of his afternoon classes.

Anyways, the point of writing this is that this guy really got me started on something. I had a book called Mental Fitness. In that, there was a chapter on making things interesting. So when I was bored, I used to put myself in his shoes and look at the class. It woke me up and man, was it interesting!! I tried looking at the class through the eyes of a person who didn't know the language, the eyes of a 4-year old etc...and it was very good mental exercise!!

I guess when you put yourself in another person's shoes, it is REALLY hard to get mad at that person or judge them or be obnoxious. Sometimes it annoys me that people judge so quickly without ever thinking that perhaps the person in front of them is more complex than can be fathomed in a short span of time. A silly joke, a small mistake and wham! There goes your reputation forever. And the worst thing about some is that they can remember such stuff forever.

For good or for worse, I can't hold grudges against anyone for more than 24 hours! I just tend to forgive and forget. And I can't remember all the silly things that people do because I guess I do them too. And finally, it is impossible for me to be angry with anyone for a long time because I put myself in their shoes and it feels like what they did was right at that point of time. There evaporates my irritation. Sometimes, I wish I could just hold it right there just to teach the other person a lesson. But maybe it is just a god-given gift that I don't carry all this unwanted baggage in life's journey. When I go to bed at night, I have the gift of peace and dreamless slumber.

Writing a Tamil Blog

Since a lot of people have been asking me about writing in Tamil, I thought I'd post a blog on it. I got this inspiration from another blog, http://laadlabakdas.blogspot.com.
Here's what you do:
1. Download the e-Kalappai editor. It is free and if you google, you will hit it quite easily.
2. Once you have it running, you can use notepad to type in Tamil. Just type the English sounds for the Tamil word and voila!
3. e-Kalappai uses a Tamil font called TSC. In order for the blog to be readable in browsers without having the special font installed, the TSC font has to be converted into Unicode. Here's the link for that: http://www.suratha.com/reader.htm
Just paste your tamil blog into the top text box. Choose the font you used (TSC, in this case) and you get your Unicode version in the textbox below.
4. Now, just paste your blog into blogger and you're done!

Hope all this makes sense. Makkale, hoping to see a lot more Tamil blogs. Enjoy!

Caffeine Shocks

Whoever thought that Daylight Savings Time is good must rethink. I, for one, am not a fan of this thing. I've been real sleepy the past week. So I go to get my customary caffeine every morning. I go and do the regular stuff to make coffee and carry my life-giving brew back in a styrofoam cup. Then the moment the cup touches my lips, I get electrocuted! Yup, for some reason, the styrofoam cup discharges (painfully) through my teeth and I feel like someone just rattled all my teeth. I thought it was a one-time thing but it is happening almost daily these days. So now I look at the cup with respect. Whether caffeine revs up my system or not, this cup is substituting pretty well...

(idhukku oru blog-a nu ninaikkiravanga, styrofoam cup-lerndhu shock vaangi paarunga; adhuvum aasaiya coffee kudikkalaam nu ninaikkum podhu, shock vaangi paarunga; apram apdi solla mateenga...:))

Submental mutterings

Muttering 1: It is hard to make a decision knowing all facets of a problem. The more you know, the more you are aware of the consequences and decision making becomes painful; especially more so, when those around don't see it on the same level. Knowledge is said to aid decisions. But I think that whatever decision one takes with full cognizance of the situation always involves painful sacrifices (either short-term or long-term). Whoever said "Ignorance is bliss" was a genius.

Muttering 2: Blogger performance on Firefox is pathetic or maybe I should phrase it the other way around.

Muttering 3: Invariably, why does the driver in front of me on the road have to perform automotive acrobatics intended to make my heart stop (and spill my early morning coffee all over my clothes)????

Other mutterings on their way..I better get to work now..

Change...

A lot of my friends are moving on to a new phase in their lives. Some are getting married, some are moving to new places, some are starting a new job; the common thing that faces all of them is change.

Everytime I encountered something new, I used to panic: new people, new places, new customs and norms; the very high learning curve in all areas; the feeling of being the "outsider" in a land of natives. I never got any mollycoddling. If a school bully harassed me at a new place, I used to run to my dad crying. He used to say that I should take care of it myself. Not much comfort when you are totally scared and want someone to take care of you badly ( I used to wish I had an elder brother)!! Of course, now all that seems ridiculous and trivial. But back then, it was of paramount importance. In retrospect, I think my dad's approach was the best.

I remember the number of times when I had to learn stuff the hard way just because I was new to a place. It hurt; it was painful and not at all welcome. But it taught me to adapt and to learn. It taught me that no matter how difficult a situation is at first, it gets better as time goes on. There's no place on this earth that you can hate forever and nor are there people whom you can despise always.

Change is scary. But I've found that it is the tool that forces us to confront new things and master them. Without change, we are doomed to be static beings. Changes and problems call forth our wisdom and courage. Pain is the precursor to progress.

I am not that wise or old enough to give out suggestions. But, those out there fearing where life will lead them in the near future, you can discover new lands only if you lose sight of the shore. All the Best.

"The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open rain
And always got its share and rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing...
Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees."
-DOUGLAS MALLOCH

I think...

"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty."- Mother Teresa.

I think we become less embarassed as we get older. If we live long enough, I suppose we'll all become "soranai ketta janmams". Stuff that used to embarass me when I was younger fails to do so now.
Anyways, there were lllooooots times in my life when all I wanted to do was bury my head in the sand and wish that I'd just vanish off the face of the earth! One thing I really vividly remember was an incident in high school. I had just started Grade 11 in Vancouver. I was kind of like a "thiruvizhala tholanja ponnu" (kid lost in a fair). A guy called Dennis and I used to have a lot of classes together. He used to guide me through a lot of stuff and put up with me a lot(You wouldn't believe that I didn't even know how to get to classes right because they had a complicated block system..)!
One day, after class, he came upto me and asked me if I'd like to go to dinner with him that night. I was so ignorant of such things at that time and the uppermost thing in my mind at that point was that I never get veggie food if I go out in Canada. I casually replied: "Sorry Dennis, I eat only vegetarian food." He had a puzzled look on his face and said that it was okay with him. The fool that I was, I still didn't get his meaning and I was like, "you might want to eat meat but I don't". He simply looked confounded and told me that I could give him an answer tomorrow.
When i was going home that day, I confided in my friend M. I told her casually that I told Dennis I didn't eat non-vegetarian food. She was shell shocked and started rolling on the ground with laughter, "You idiot, he is asking you out on a date and here you go talking something else!! I can only picture the look on his face." Well, I was so embarassed about my gaffe that I wanted to just vanish off the face of the earth that night! I thought I'd just burn with embarassment if I even saw Dennis the next day and was picturing what a laugh he must be having with his friends about my stupidity! And I was even more petrified because he was a good friend of mine and I thought he'd not even talk to me after this.
Well, the next day, he came to my locker at lunch with a big grin on his face. He asked me if I was ready to get some vegetarian food. I said no anyways but we remained good friends till I left high school.
Then, I thought I'd never live it down.Looking back, I think it was really funny and pretty interesting. Of course, I had many more such gaffes but more on that later...

Yesterday night, K was talking about his friends network. He said that almost every other person his friends know happens to be his classmate/friend/acquaintance either through school or college. How lucky! I've never been in one school for more than 4 years. I've been in and out of all sorts of places-cities/towns/mofussils.Sometimes places challenge you to change your perspective. The one thing I always used to hate about moving was that I had to adjust and make friends all over again. The change (at that time) was painful but in retrospect, very interesting and rewarding. I've had all sorts of experiences and got to meet different people,places and cultures.
I guess the downside is that I can't talk about friends' friends and school alumni like Kay does. I always used to feel envious when two totally unrelated people started talking casually and suddenly they'd say, "hey, unakku avanai theriyuma? namma senior.."..I think that's a great feeling.
There are lots of people who envy me and say they'd rather have spent their childhood traveling than be in one place. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

Get "Hitch"ed!

My friend and I went to see "Hitch" yesterday. Guess it was a way of celebrating Women's Day. Really enjoyed the movie. Will Smith plays the "Date Doctor" who knows all about women. Helps guys who are otherwise shy get their dream girls. Eva Mendes is Sarah Melas, a gossip columnist. The movie sort of reminded me of "How to lose a guy in 10 days". Eva Mendes didn't look all that hot but Will Smith positively lights up the screen with his presence.
The dialogues were awesome. Some dialogues that made me sit up, giggle and take notice:
"Don't ever lie, steal or cheat; but if you must, lie in the arms of your beloved; if you must steal, steal your lover's heart; if you must cheat, cheat death;"

"Without guile or a game, there is no woman. To win a woman, you have to have a game, a plan;"

"Women always think they know all they want to know in the first kiss;"

There were a lot of other good ones that I forgot. But anyway, you can get "Hitch"ed to the movie for a good 2 hours and not know time passing by. But does this happen in real life? Would be cool if it did but I think not....

Why are men uncomfortable with powerful women??! I've seen this syndrome from middle school till now. For some reason, men tend to view women who are smart, independent and quite willing to take a few knocks as haughty, proud and shrewish. In fact, these sort of comments in college corridors used to drive me mad. Another thing I found was that if a girl doesn't cry in response to some problem, then she is considered a shrew. And somehow, men derive satisfaction and are willing to help the same girl when she breaks down under stress. It is as if men prefer women to be vulnerable, helpless and dependent! Hillary Clinton was viewed as a bitch till she accepted and played the role of a victim of Bill's philandering. And she won a seat to the senate just on that score! Ditto with Martha Stewart. Somehow, going to jail has softened her bitchy image and made her more palatable.
And another thing I find often is that men find disorganized, scatterbrained (at least a bit) and tantrum-throwing girls much more attractive than a very cool, organized and independent girl. If a girl intones in a overly honey sweet voice over the phone that she can't drive her car to the supermarket because she is such a horrible driver and she can't get her shopping done without him, a guy will drop every important thing he has to do and rush over to her help. But if the same girl tells him in a cool voice that she is going to shop at the supermarket, she could pick him up and would appreciate some help, the guy is probably going to refuse.
Beat that!

Krishnavatara

Someone asked me which book deeply influenced me. My first brush with books was way back when I was in the fourth grade. I came across my dad's classic edition of Bulfinch's Greek Mythology. I was thoroughly fascinated with stories of vengeful gods, goddesses, romantic trysts, heroic deeds. In Purasawalkam, Chennai, there was a lending library called Kumaran's. I remember reading a LOT of comics from there (Mickey Mouse, Amar Chitra Katha, Tintin, Archie etc..) Then I chanced upon Mario Puzo's Sicilian. Not that I understood anything from it when I was some 9 years old but nonetheless I plodded on for some pages before I threw it away in disgust! Then came a period of Enid Blytons. I really enjoyed the Secret Seven stories. After that, it was Agatha Christie for a while (and still is , in some respects). Of course, later I branched on to other books.
But if there was one book that really fired up my imagination and encouraged my reading, I should say it is K.M. Munshi's Krishnavatara. I chanced upon it over a summer vacation. I started reading with not much idea. Till then, Lord Krishna was a distant, awe-inspiring god prone to take revenge if I didn't say my daily prayers dutifully (and not eat my vegetables properly!). I guess this book changed my entire perspective about Krishna and his life. Written in simple style, lucid even to a child of 9 years old, it beautifully brings forth the god-like yet human existence of Krishna, his childish exploits, his growth into manhood, loves of his life and his struggle to always uphold Dharma at the cost of many things in his life. The vivid imagery and simple style caused my imagination to fire up and I could image the scenes before my eyes in great detail. I guess I could say I truly fell in love with the characters in the book, especially Krishna. From a distant God, he became a warm friend with his usual share of problems, dilemmas, troubles and happiness.
It is easy to capture the imagination of an adult because by then we have greater powers of analysis, understanding and taste. It is much difficult to hold the attention of young minds, much less inspire them to read more! Hats off to K.M. Munshi-ji for an awesome treat!

There are seven volumes in the book: The Magic Flute, The Book of Krishna, The Five Brothers, The Book of Bhima, The Book of Satyabhama, The Book of Yudhistra, The Book of Vyasa, the Master. They should all be truly part of a child's bookshelf.

Deja Vu

Have you ever had this feeling that you've lived this exact same moment before sometime??! I was talking with my friend today. He was telling me something that had happened today. At one point, I felt as though I knew the exact thing he was going to tell me. And he did!! It was a weird, disorienting feeling. Funny thing is, in The Matrix, a deja vu means that something is not quite right in the system...
Anyway, other funny thing is that V finally started a blog. Funny because not too long ago, he was the first in reviling me for writing a blog. V, if I remember right, you said it was a "vetti" person's work? So, do I take it you are totally vetti now?

When haircuts occupy primetime....

Day before yesterday, LA Times ran a frontpage article about the plight of barbers in Iraq. They are getting killed by the droves by the insurgents because they don't want people to shave their beards or cut their hair. What those insurgents hope to achieve through killing poor barbers is more than I can imagine. I don't see how long it is going to take people to take a scissor and chop off their own hair! Anyways, I didn't start out to blog about this...
Regardless of how ridiculous it seems now, I believe there's a reason why shaving was prohibited. Sardars in India don't cut their hair or shave their beards. Sardars are a martial clan. Shaving causes a weakening of the nerve cells and contributes to a drain of energy. So to prevent even a miniscule drain of strength, Sardars were prohibited from shaving or cutting their hair. I suppose the same logic could be applied to the Arab nations where Islam was born. The territory is hostile, harsh and unforgiving. And wars among the nomadic clans there, I suppose, must have been quite frequent. Maybe, that's why the men folk were asked not to shave???!! Over the years, I guess the original reason was obscured and it became a matter of faith to follow the injunctions.
I don't know. But whatever be the reason, I don't think it is strong enough to warrant killing of another human being.

Digital Fortress

I finished reading Digital Fortress over the weekend. I think perhaps that Dan Brown should be read just once. All his books start out the same: with a gory murder. Then follows a 24-hour marathon of mystery, assassins, powerful enemies, a cross-country dash that's almost always in Europe and finally the uncovering of an insider. With The da Vinci Code, the story was quite believable and the plot interesting. With Angels and Demons, the plot seemed a bit contrived. Digital Fortress didn't appeal to me that much. Deception Point was the worst amongst all, I think. Anyways, I am through with the Dan Brown series.
Planning on reading Anna Karenina and War and Peace sometime soon.
Other than that, life's been too busy to experiment with anything new. My car hunting woes seem to be finally over. Hopefully, I am going to have sometime to myself in the coming week...

Re-search...

I wonder why they call finding new things as research. I was sitting in a tele-conference today at work and there was this lady who pronounced this word rather emphatically (reee-search as opposed to ri-search). If we are only re-searching, then why do we apply that term to discovering new things? I read in "The Road Less Traveled" (Scott Peck) that all knowledge in this universe is latent within us, submerged in our subconscious. And when we learn something new, our conscious mind is re-discovering what our unconscious already knows. Perhaps, that's why they call it re-search as in searching for something that we already know but don't realize..

The magical dance of the pixels

I work with computers all the time. I am supposed to love, revere and praise the computer and its myriad uses sky high. I do that to a certain extent. But sometimes, the observer in me steps outside myself and tries to take an objective view of what everyone does. And I find that we sit in front of a machine all day and live, communicate and work to create a virtual web of illusion. We create software and see the result on our screens. We laugh, applaud and take pride in what we have done. What is it, after all? Just a web woven by the magical dance of millions of pixels. Take away the electrical power cord and there goes your creation right in front of your eyes! Of course, it can reappear again on some other machine or whatever. But still the fact remains that it is just an ephemeral creation, nothing solid or concrete. And what annoys me is that we get so carried away by the technology that we neglect our voiceboxes as the primary means of communication with our fellow human beings. We ping them on instant messenger, e-mail them incessantly, page them.....man, what a sorry way to live!
I love my work. But I just think that techies should step away from their work sometimes and see it for what it is and not get thoroughly carried away by it! "The future lies in technology..." is the corniest phrase of all time. The future is always in the hands of the kind of people who write that technology and always will be.

All Great Ideas...

I get all these ideas for interesting things to blog about when I am busy doing something else. That too, I get all these brainwaves when I absolutely have a lot of work in my office. Then, in the evening when am really free, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I finally got some of the pictures I took in India onto this blog...
Anyways, I mean no offense but just a whimsical observation: why do fat men tend to be over garrulous and boring? It is a mega-bore to listen to them wax eloquent on the most trivial things you happen to mention. For some reason, even the most humorous things you happen to say become points of deep introspection and advice. I don't know whether their general nature seems to be a consequence of their weight or perhaps vice versa.

Pictures...

Malaikottai

Thiruvanaikkaval Gopuram

Thiruvanaikka Theppakulam

Across the Cauvery...

Fascinated...

I went to get my new employee ID tag today. I was given a thingamajiggy to wear the ID around my neck. It has this breakable plastic connector on the cord. If someone is hellbent on strangling me with my ID cord, then this plastic connector will break and prevent me from choking. It also has this comfortable neck rest so the cord doesn't cut into the skin at the back of the neck. I was totally fascinated by the thought someone had put into designing this neck cord! Just goes to show how much innovation is possible even in the simplest of things if only we put our minds to it.....

Bad Times of India

Mumbai's primary news supplier is Times of India. The Hindu, believe it or not, doesn't have a publishing office in Mumbai. The paper is delivered only in the afternoon. For those who've grown up reading The Hindu, waking up to the Times of India is not a pleasant experience. The paper is almost tabloid-like in its choice of headlines and format. I don't know how you all like your news but I prefer to read my news item at one go. I hate being directed to P8 or P3 for the rest of the piece. It gives me the feeling of a mega-serial. Even NY Times and Washington Post employ this format but at least the quality of their news excuses the format. But given that TOI features Parveen Babi's death and the controversy surrounding her legacy as the headlines, I don't exactly feel like forgiving the paper. Yesterday, the headline was whether Liz Hurley's trousers had a tear on the seam or not. And they had this big photograph of Hurley in her trousers splashed all over the page. I mean, is this what I am supposed to wake up to???? And today, I read a great ode to the Nightie and how it represents the liberated Indian woman (??!!!??). The author had explored why the nightie has become popular, why women wear it to the marketplace, the reasons for its popularity, the peculiar comfort of its design and how it fits the female form.....I really wonder why this piece has to feature in the main sheafs of the paper and I am even more amazed that a writer has the capacity to wax eloquent on a nightie!

Bhuleshwar Market and Phanaswadi Mandir

We were trying to get to Kalbadevi Road but since Mumbai is a maze of one-ways and strange by-lanes, my driver had to take a circuitous route through a very crowded, crooked and narrow street. I had accidentally discovered Bhuleshwar Market. It is like our very own Ranganathan Street, Chennai. Imitation jewelry items, accessories, bindis are piled high on the platforms and shops. Went chudda-hunting at all the glittering, inviting stores. Mumbai Kangan has the best varieties in bangles and bindis. I forget all the other stores I browsed. The saree varieties are quite beautiful out here-typical North Indian fare with lots of chemki and embroidery works. Georgette seems to be the material of the fashion season. Bright colors- yellow, fluorescent green, magenta, aqua blue- are in and the sober colors (brown, gray, beige...) are out. Bold and striking seems to be the fashion trend.
My poor father got carted all over the place and most of the times, he was sitting outside some shop I had entered into. He must've been wondering how he got talked into this. I enjoyed the crowds and the festive atmosphere of the place. I rather enjoy shopping in such areas than prim, proper fashion houses.
Anyways, after three hours of shopping, we decided to go to the nearby Phanaswadi Mandir of Lord Venkateswara. It is quite a pretty temple amidst a bustling marketplace. Then came back home after a good 4 hours of outing. Thus ends another day in Mumbai.

Fashion Street

Fashion street in Mumbai has the hottest deals in clothes anywhere in the city. T-shirts, kurtis, tops, you name it and they've got it. And the maal is quite pretty and nice too. Only thing is that we have to be bargain masters. If they quote a price, we have to start bargaining from 1/3 of the quoted price. I bought a jeans top that was initially quoted as Rs.450 but was given away finally at Rs.100...Anyways, it was quite an instructive affair for me because frankly, I suck at bargaining. I am learning now.

Malaikottai (The Rockfort)

The gates of Mainguard gate are closed for renovation. Chennai silks has opened a branch just opposite Mainguard gate. Two brightly lit, artificial coconut trees advertise the new store. Browsed around their collections. The churidhar and short tops collection is ordinary. Nothing tempted me to undo my purse strings. Other than the novelty of escalators for Trichy residents, it is going to be yet another store. In view of competition, Sarada Stores in Chinna Kadai veethi has expanded his shop to nearly the entire block before malaivasal. The front of the store has undergone a huge makeover intended to convey size as well as splendor. But everything else remains the same.

Had good darshan of Manickavinayagar. Renovation work is going on around the sannidhi. Vinayagar Agaval which was inscribed on the walls around the sanctum sanctorum have now disappeared and given way to marbled walls. New sculptures and paintings adorn the walls above. I preferred the old, authentic temple. Went upto Thayumanavar Sannidhi. As usual, the climb had me huffing and puffing. The temple is as serene and inviting as it has always been. Then visited Uchi Pillaiyar. The view of Trichy atop the Malaikottai is worth having. Looking across the Kaveri, one can see the Srirangam temple tower. The white eastern tower can also be seen. Tiruvanaikkoil is also visible. To the east, one can see the paddy fields near Ariyamangalam. Chathiram bus stand bustles as usual.

Took some pictures with the temple elephant: a playful, young animal. Roamed around Chinnai kadai veethi and Theradi veethi. The unique flavour of Malaivasal mixed in with the smell of jasmine flowers, santhanam, javvadhu, camphor and agarbatthis still lingers in my nostrils. So long till my next visit!

Meendum Srirangam

Srirangam has not changed much in these past 1.5 years. The roads have become more pothole ridden thanks to the development of underwater drainage schemes. The ride from Srirangam station to home was like a ride on a maattu vandi (bullock cart). Apparently, the copious rain of the past year also contributed to road woes. The crowds have increased considerably. I was told that even Srirangam temple regulars couldn't go to the temple on Vaikunda Ekadasi because of unprecedented crowds! The temple is as it has always been. New paintings depicting the history of the Sriranga Vimanam have been added near the Garudazhwar Sannidhi. And a new Devasthanam stall has sprung up selling calendars and books about the temple. Other than that, even the bhattars in the sannidhis have not changed. As usual, I got very good sevai (helps to know all the bhattars around the temple. A simple "Enna maama, sowkiyama irukkela? Ungalai parka dhaan US-lerndhu vandhen..." will do wonders!)
Visited Nachimuthu Stores near the southern entrance and a couple of other well known faces. A new Vasan Medicals store has opened in Subha Complex in Srirangam. This will alleviate the pain of going to Malaivasal for rare medicines, especially for the plentiful octogenerians in Srirangam.
Thirumanjana Kaveri has water flowing plentifully. Usually, this is a small stream with a trickle of water. In my four years there, I've never seen this much water flowing through the stream. Lends a greenish cover to the surroundings. Looks really pretty.
The familiar flower vendor near Mangamma Nagar remembered me and offered me 2 mozhams of jaathi poo at a discounted price for me (Rs. 6 for 2 mozhams. Apparently, it is Rs. 10 otherwise). She even remembered my favorite flower. It was quite gratifying and satisfying to be remembered affectionately by these simple people.
It was just a whirlwind trip around Srirangam in the brief 2 days I had there. In a world of change, it was reassuring to see that my old town had not really changed much. Tenuous though it may be, it gave me a sense of security and belonging.
Watch out for pictures of Trichy in forthcoming posts. More on Trichy coming up....

Journey to the heart of Tamilnadu

Flying is an impersonal business. Only meteorologists or a few other experts can fathom the skies and its myriad hues. For me, it is just flying through miles and miles of unchanging blue/white space without any kind of feeling of familiarity or attachment. My time in India is short and many friends and relatives advised me to make my trip to Trichy/Chennai via air. Somehow, the idea did not gel with me. The pulse of a country can be felt only by travel via land with its smells, tastes, sights. And a country like India literally attacks all the five senses with its multiple offerings.
Anyways, to make a long story short, I took the 1.5 day journey via Dadar express from Mumbai to Chennai and from then onto Trichy by Rockfort Express. And I truly enjoyed my ride. I passed through many types/kinds of cities, landscapes. It is quite strange but nothing struck a chord with me till I neared TN borders. I enjoyed all the passing landscapes but they were just that: a passing and objective enjoyment of the different hues of my country. After crossing Renigunta, I began to feel that I am home at last. The billboard advertisements rang familiar. The noises, songs from temples and even the smell of the land seemed quite familiar and enjoyable. Gopal Palpodi still rules the roost as far as wall ads go. And the familiar Mariamma songs in the month of Margazhi rang loud and clear from most temples.
The other curious thing I found this time around is that the multitude of marathadi Pillaiyars increases by leaps and bounds once we reach TN! Andhra and Karnataka didn't seem to have that many roadside temples.
Finally, I boarded Rockfort Express from Chennai Egmore. A contented feeling came over me that I had arrived at last. Kollidam had some water this time around (finally, at least to justify its name!). The familiar Southern Tower of the Srirangam temple rose high from amongst coconut trees as the train rumbled across the Kollidam.
Srirangam had just partially awoken to the call of dawn as yet another day began its relentless rhythm.
More on Srirangam experiences in my next post...

Tsunami Trivia

Tragedy apart, the Tsunami has triggered some rather funny and interesting conversations in these parts. Overheard in the general compartment of Vaigai Express: A not so well educated village woman was holding court to her fellow travelers about the reason for the Tsunami. The entire group, composed mostly of village women, was listening in rapt attention chin in their hands. Some things are best heard in the native language:
Tsunami vandhadhukku karanam intha Chargu Pushu-dhaan (read George Bush). Avanukku Tamizh naattoda sezhippum valamum kandu porukkala...Namma amma nalla aatchi panraanga illai..enga naama romba nalla vandhura poromo nnu avanukku ore vayiru erichal..adhanala, avan kadal-la poi gundu vechittaan..adhu dhaan nammala vandhu thaakkiduchu..avan naasama poga!

Yet another theory, this one coming from an educated office going middle aged man:
Jayendrar arrest panninaaanga illai..adhaan kadal pongiruchi.....siva poojai ninnu pona sarva naasam dhaan aagum..adhaan rudra thaandavam aadittan avan.

Whoever said that life is most enjoyed only in the upper class carriages??!! The most interesting people and conversations are in the general compartment!

Flight to India

It is amazing what kind of royal treatment you get in Business class. It is as if you are in a whole new world. I got upgraded to Business class because my flight was canceled. I got to board first. Immediately, you get a nice fortifying drink. They serve meals waiting hand and foot on you. And the seats are the best! Man, I got the best sleep of my life in a flight. Anyways, that made up for the horrendous wait I had to endure in Cincinnati and NY.
Calvin and Hobbes collection gave me company in Cinci and NY airports. At NY, we boarded the flight on time. But then, the flight was grounded for 1.5 hours because of some suspicious baggage on board with no corresponding passengers..that was probably the most boring wait of my life.
Finally took off for Frankfurt. We had to reboard the flight at Frankfurt. But the stupid lady at NY had given me a boarding pass till Frankfurt only. The person at the gate was trying to tell me that I couldn't board the flight to Mumbai because of that!! After much arguing with the thick German accent, I managed to convince the person that I had indeed purchased a ticket to Mumbai...Anyways, finally after a lengthy flight, landed in Mumbai. Picked up my baggage (which took forever) and cleared customs...
Home at last!
Some funny incidents on my next post...