JUNK

Why is history always black and white?

2010-11-09T16:52:00.003-05:00

Come on... I am sure history was not black and white! Cinema was invented black and white. Nothing more. It was the same VIBGYOR effect then! But when I assume World War 2 or 'Asoka' dynasty or even MGR (Tamil actor)movies for that matter, things come in my mind in 'black and white' shades.

Just because the 'zoom' effect of the camera, and the color videography was not invented by then; does not mean our ancestors lived in 'black and white' era. Well there is no such 'black and white' era for that matter. We use the term 'black and white times' to describe anything ancient. That's mean! I would want to see Charlie Chaplin in color.

Making of the cake!

2010-10-17T13:11:00.002-04:00

It was his birthday! Whats special gift than my handmade cake? And this time its double-layered chocolate vanilla cake! I accept, I used the cake mix bought from stores this time, but I promise I would make it from the scratch next time !!! A picture speaks a 1000 words, they say. So, why type when I have them all captured. Here is the entire process of preparing a birthday cake.

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Step 4.

Step 5.

Step 6.

Step 7.

Step 9.

Step 10.

Step 11.

Step 12.

Step 13.

The 2.30 pm feeling!

2010-09-29T14:03:00.005-04:00

I saw an ad about a product that keeps you awake from the 2.30 pm drowsiness. That made me wonder, why in the first place we feel sleepy at 2.30 in the afternoon.

Maybe when the human body was designed, it was supposed to be relaxed twice in a day, one during the night and another in the noon. Maybe, just like how the Americans adjust to the daylight savings, mankind was made or forced to adjust with only one sleep-time(during night). The body got used to sleeping during night. This was a forced rule against mankind, is what I conclude with. And I hate meetings scheduled at 2.30 in the afternoon. That being the case, imagine 2.30pm classes in schools.

Where is the new hair stylist?

2010-08-25T16:12:00.002-04:00

Here she is...sitting and blogging! Ya...it feels good to say that. I have never experimented before, cutting hair, not even my own. This reminds me of the weirdest thing that happened with my hair, years back when a roll comb got stuck to my wet hair, while I tried to make some curls in my hair. And I have blogged about it, describing my experience how I(or rather my hair stylist) struggled removing it.

And yesterday my husband came to me and said, "I am too lazy to go to the saloon, why don't you trim my hair?" An opportunity of the lifetime! Well, I was not an expert in hair cuts, not even a beginner. But this was one of my dreams, to shape some one's hair. I knew no one would give me their head, to do it. But here it was, dream came true!!!

Well, to begin with, I started studying his hair and it took me around 4-5 minutes. Then I decided where to start and how to go about it. The good thing about his hair was, it was an ocean. The density helped me a lot, to start with. I carefully trimmed the back curls first. As a stylist, I would prefer getting feedback then and there, and that helps me correct myself. So I gave him a hand-mirror to keep looking at him on the larger mirror. Believe me, he had a thousand specifications. I simply followed his words. I must say, he was a bit cautious about his front part of the hair. He didn't let me do much of it. But that's OK, there is always the next time.

And wow, here he was; with his hair done! And after that.....

......it was 'hair' everywhere, and we ended up cleaning our toilet floor till night!

The reference page

2010-08-19T18:28:00.000-04:00

Having read a number of books from childhood (I meant academic textbooks and not novels, which always stay far far away from me), never thought about whats behind writing a reference page. 'Reference page' was one thing I was never bothered to even look at. To be honest, the frequency of getting rid of a reference page would be faster than the other boring pages of a book.

Whats with a reference page? Here are the truths about it. Plagiarism is a very popular term related to writings. An author has to be creative enough in not imitating other person's work. For this, one has to mention the sources from where the information is taken from. And this is precisely gathered in a reference page. A reference page will look like this:

References:

1. Vasan, A. (2010, Apr 16). The City of Atlanta. Retrieved from http://anuradhafeels.blogspot.com/2010/04/city-of-atlanta.html

Notice the number of full stops and commas and their placements in between terms. If one goes wrong, the format is wrong. And did you know that there are different formats for book references, article references, journal references and much more. I have mentioned reference of an article in a website. I am still confused with italics and dates. Imagine the case of researchers who involve even hundreds of references in their thesis and research papers. Only 'format' specialists can spot the mistakes in these reference papers, like how my grammar instructor used to spot grammatical errors in my technical papers in school.

And what is the essence of blogging about references pages. What has it got to do with me and blogs. Oh yes, it has to do a lot here. As writers, we tend to write a lot about 'stuff'. While some are creative, some other are references. And I support quoting or reminding other people's thoughts such that great ideas reach a wider audience through people who spread them. As I already mentioned before, if the writer supports non-plagiarism, then a reference page in the bottom of the article is always better. To write a reference page it is important to follow the rules.

Spaghetti's here in 20 mins

2010-08-10T15:49:00.001-04:00

I ran out of fresh vegetables. Its almost lunch time. Well, I had this wheat pasta spaghetti noodles with me. And here it is, another version of pasta.

Ingredients:

Olive oil - Just a table spoon

Wheat Spaghetti pasta - Well, depends on how much you want

Red peppers - maybe, a little less than half

Peas (I used frozen here. You can go with fresh peas)

Onion - just half

Salt

Pepper

And that's it......

Boil pasta for about 15 minutes. Its the usual process from here. Saute onions in olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and saute. And now add the pasta. Wow, here it is. The yummy wheat pasta with available ingredients.

Rupee gets a new face!

2010-07-21T23:49:00.005-04:00

I was, and am campaigning for change of the new rupee symbol. Mr.D.Udaya Kumar, former IITian (IIT is Indian Institute of Technology and not Illinois Institute of Technology) has designed a face for the Indian currency 'rupee', which was mentioned, in its short form earlier as 'Rs'. And now 'Indian' rupee will join hands with its counterparts - the $ (dollar) and pound(searching for pound in my keyboard).

Coming to the design of the symbol, the letter resembles or is the Hindi alphabet (of the Devanagiri script) 'Ra', with a horizontal strike on it. The officials says that it is also a form of the English alphabet 'R' without its vertical leg. I would say if it has no vertical leg then its not 'R' at all! The person who had designed this letter turns out to be a person from Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, its a known fact that the language Tamil is given more importance that air, water and sunlight! There is always a sense of cold war between the North and the South India. South Indians don't accept 'Hindi' being the national language. Well, it is not! Hindi is the official language of India. It is the language spoken in the northern and central part of India. Southern states, especially Tamil Nadu opposes Hindi imposition in the state. That being said, it is a question mark how Tamil Nadu is going to accept this new rupee symbol. Also I believe it is not fair to conclude this as a symbol for the Indian currency. Though a Tamilian designed it, it is the officials of the government (majority being Hindi speaking) who approves the symbol!

They say it might take 6 months for the new symbol to reflect in the financial markets. No one knows how many years it might take to reflect in the keyboard!

Image :VoiceofSikkim.com

Unwanted mail forward!

2010-07-14T12:44:00.004-04:00

Deeply disturbed by a forwarded mail I got today. Its a very old news in India, yet disturbing! I am talking about the brutal attack of call center employee (Prathibha Srikantamurthy) who was raped and murdered while commuting to work! Looks like her mother is still fighting for justice. The mail had some pictures of her which was disturbing me the whole day! A few years back I used to complain Bangalore is not a safe city to live. Reality is, no place is safe to live! Crime rate increases during after dark hours. Its highly unsafe for women, or for that matter even for men to travel in a cab, even to the airport!

The company which insists the employee to travel during the graveyard hours, will definitely not take responsibility. It totally depends on the individual to take a call. I have travelled during late hours to work. Big mistake! I have learnt to say 'no' now! And I am happy about it!

Karate kid - Avatar - Killers - Raavan

2010-06-30T22:29:00.006-04:00

Karate kid - One of the good movies watched recently. Jaden Smith (son of the one and only Will Smith) has done a wonderful job much satisfying for his age. His actions and expressions looked like he was really interested in Kung-Fu and the director filmed it without his knowledge. Expected a bit more action from Jackie Chan. He is getting older.Speaking about him, reminds me of the Jackie Chan movies dubbed in 'Tamil'.Wow! those were very hilarious.

Avatar - I don't understand why James Cameroon was dumped so badly at Oscars. i understand that Oscars goes to movies with stories like 'Crazy Heart'. But Avatar is a movie of its kind! And we can expect a lot - a package from James Cameroon. He is one person who makes gross profit in billions across the globe. His movies are understood by people from all nations. Man, Avatar should have grabbed some more Oscars. Didn't 'Pandora' take us all into it? And yes, on what basis did he name it Avatar? That's a pure Sanskrit word! (Avatar means Incarnation in English)

Killers - Waste of money, waste of time, waste of energy, waste of fuel, waste of food! And now additional waste of time blogging about it! Mr.Ashton, try more humor than action!

Raavan - Everybody in India look Manirathnam as a god of Indian Cinema. Well, he is just another movie director, making sensible movies. Raavan was much awaited. Fully based on the epic Ramayana, which the director denies; is a good watch! Worth the money. Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Karthik have done justice to their jobs. Music, well yes, treat to our ears but not extraordinary kind!

Is it a crooked ankle?

2010-05-11T15:46:00.003-04:00

Here is the scenario. He was walking down the stairs of a dark auditorium and he slipped a couple of stairs ending up collapsing on the ground. There was a 911 call and he got emergency treatment but was sent home the same day. Now that's not a fracture, but a ligament tear. I have known many people for whom this has happened, mostly during their childhood. Children are more prone to such ailments. And their are the sportsperson to whom this happens more frequently.

The main remedy to 'ligament tear' apart from the medication, and what the doctors insists, goes by a simple abbreviation RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Ample amount of rest, coupled with contact to ice pack, compressing and elevating the affected leg cures and let the ligament grow much faster. Believe me, its that difficult managing a person who has got a ligament tear.

All day he used to sit rest and watch movies. Man, he had his vacation for two weeks. One good thing was, at the end of second week he was ready to even drive a car. And ya, we did do a crazy thing, to go on a long drive (almost covering 500 miles up and down) to mark our anniversary.

Did I mention the reason why he was coming down the stairs, before all this mishap happened? I was on stage for a debate show and he was going to video tape it.

TamilNadu - Karnataka

2010-04-27T10:47:00.008-04:00

OK, there was this dispute for water for many decades now, between the two states. River Cauvery originates in Karnataka and joins the ocean in Tamil Nadu. History says that the conflict between the 2 states started way back in 1804, during the British rule. TamilNadu was then known as Madras province and Karnataka as Mysore province. Its been more than 2 centuries now and the conflict still goes on strong.

The recent IPL(Indian Premier League) cricket matches within major Indian cities triggered me think about where and how it all started. I was following a forum few days back where I came across an unhealthy debate between the Tamils and Kannadigas. If the Chennai (known as Madras then) cricket team won a match, the Kannadiga forum members would end up saying 'there was a match fixing' or 'Chennai won it by luck'. To this the Tamil forum members would counter attack with wild and annoyed statements. I was very upset to read the thread.

In India, first there is this India-Pakistan dispute for the state of Kashmir. And within India there are a million disputes between states most of them unwanted and selfishly triggered by politicians. And there is this Cauvery water dispute between TamilNadu and Karnataka. And within TamilNadu there are a zillion disputes between castes. The caste separation is like a virus everywhere and more predominant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Where is India heading to.

Sometime back the dispute between the 2 states were so nasty that Tamils in Bangalore were attacked physically. And I am not very sure about the 'vise-verse' happenings. And there was this publicity stunt of the film industry people of both states fasting for the Cauvery issue. I am a big fan of Actor Rajnikanth, who is a superstar in the state of Tamil Nadu, with Karnataka as his birth-state. And during this 'fasting' issue, his name was pulled out more than anyone else unnecessarily.His opponents Actor Sathyaraj and Director BharathiRaja used their chances to the maximum, to let him down. The crux being 'How could a person from Karnataka be framed as a superstar in Tamil Film industry'. The inner crux being, 'How could a non-Tamil person be considered God of Tamil Cinema'.

Next to Kannadigas, Tamils make the maximum percentage of population in Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka. Right from Software Engineers to auto drivers to restaurant owners, most people from Chennai have migrated to Bangalore; for its pleasant weather conditions, trying to beat the heat of Chennai. Being born and brought up in the beautiful city of Chennai, I have experienced every bit of the hot weather there. Summer is long and winter is short in Chennai. That is a known truth. When it comes to growing trees and maintaining them, I must say that the government of Karnataka has taken immense measures.

Hoping to see some greenery and experience fresh air in the city of Chennai.
* In Picture - Marina Beach, Chennai

Chennai City Traffic Police

2010-04-22T11:11:00.000-04:00

[Again, this was a post saved as a draft for almost 3 years(on 8/8/07 at 11.11 AM) now, in my Dashboard. This is about a traffic scenario in Chennai, India. Hope the situations are changed and people are enjoying hassle free commute!]
Imagining a scenario at a busy Chennai Road, everyday we see the Traffic police yelling their voices out without any racial differences. The intensity of bad words they use over the people who break the traffic rules might be funny for others, but at times creates a chaos when the concerned party starts firing against the cops.

The picture shown here is a situation at a busy place called Tambaram here in Chennai. Tambaram is a south node which joins Chennai from other places in Tamil Nadu or Tambaram can be defined as the 'Gateway of Chennai'.

Now, I need to reach point '9' from point '1' everyday while traveling back home from office. Practially, logically, mathematicaly and actually it should take 1 minute if my bus is allowed to take '1-2-7-8-9' route. But the red spot there has a problem. Thats the traffic police destination who do not allow a U-turn for vehicles at point '2'. So my bus takes the '1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8' path to reach point '9'. Crazy people and crazy traffic situations!!!

Doctors everywhere!

2010-04-21T20:03:00.000-04:00

Consultation, diagnosis, test, report analysis, consultaion again, medication/surgery is 'to-be' done by a single doctor. If you do your consultation with doctor 1 and unfortunately had to give blood test to doctor 2 in a different place using the prescription given by doctor 1; thats the end of it!

Doctors do not have healthy relationships with their counterparts in the industry. They envy other doctors and also do not give up easily with them. A doctor will never accept something good about another doctor. Even if there is one single medicine to cure a disease that is recommended by a doctor, another one who looks at the prescription ends up saying 'who on earth gave you these medicines'. He adds up saying, 'I recommend you stop this current medication and start up fresh with what I suggest'. Damn! I pity the patients around the globe.
The same happens with 'Tests'. Blood test, urine test; no matter what is required for you to be taken there is a lot of confusion in healthcare industry. If Doctor 1 suggests, you got to give urine samples 5 times a day for a single test; Doctor 2 suggests, just 1 sample of your urine before breakfast would be sufficient for all necessary diagonosis. Crazy! Not just individual doctors, even the medications differs from country to country. With so many types of medications like Alopathy, Homeopathy, Siddha, Ayurveda; people in India are totally confused which one to stick on with; as all of them seem to cure their ailments either partially or totally.

Health care costs are sky high here in the US. General consultation costs at least $50 (roughly Rs.2500). I recently bought a pack of medicine which had 2 tablets in it and the cost of it was $40 (roughly Rs.2000); which is, a single tablet in Indian terms costs Rs.1000. There was a time when 4 people including me had buffet lunch in a star hotel in Chennai which had cost us Rs.1000. Now I understand why parents in India wanted their children to take up medicine as their career after 12Th grade. That's one field which does not have any recession!

**Don't forget to look at today's 'health tip' (right side)!

INDIRANK

2010-04-21T10:59:00.002-04:00

Finally IndiRank is here! My IndiRank as you can see to your right reads 68 in bold and big. If you notice a little more, it says 68/100. From my childhood, I have been brought up knowing, the lesser the Rank is, the more better you are. But here, according to IndiBloggers, the more your Rank is, the more score your blog has got and the more better your blog is!
Phewww, I was a bit shocked looking at it today morning and was thinking how bad a blogger I am; blogging since 2006. Got myself cleared after having researched on it. Here are the stats about my blog:

You have a good Alexa Rank.
You update your blog frequently. Keep Blogging!
You have a good IndiRank.Keep blogging and watch it
increase!

A dumb poem, dedicated to him!

2010-04-18T07:56:00.006-04:00

This post was lying as a draft for almost 4 years. Now when I was clearing and cleaning my blog, I came across this and dint want to trash it. Though I am a dumb poet, this one did bring in laughter at home today!

The first day you bullied me,
I was then a pure ghee;
The second day you were sarcastic,
Even today when I think of it its fantastic;

The third day you made friends with me,
Then on you behaved like a honey bee;
Few days after you got closer,
I never knew then you were my owner;

You did propose me in front of everyone,
I was happy and said within,that you are the one;
Today we are more than what we were,
I will be a good better half for sure

The City of Atlanta

2010-04-16T11:22:00.001-04:00

Are you planning for a trip to Atlanta? I thought I could help. Here is a long pending 'to-be' posted post in my 'Edit Posts' list.

A very nice city to be in; the city of Atlanta is the capital of the state of Georgia; that falls under the south-eastern part of the United States. There is only one state that lies below Georgia and that's the state of Florida which is called the 'sunshine' state. Florida is mostly sunny all around the year. People travel to Florida for vacation anytime in the year. Well, the lifestyle in other states are purely based on the weather conditions. Georgia does not have extreme weather conditions in winter like the north-eastern states of New york, Philly etc.

Georgia is pleasant most of the times. In other means, the weather is manageable enough to go for a drive even in winter. In Atlanta, it snows for a maximum of 3-4 days in winter. In the Downtown(Atlanta) there are a number of very popular tourist attractions.

CNN - The headquarters of the CNN is located very much here in Atlanta. Its a $15 tour inside CNN that allows you to get a feel of the newsroom and the live news telecast. I got a chance to view live news reading by eminent news readers. They also take you to the HLN network. The tour starts with a briefing of how an actual 'News' telecast is broad casted; by a 5 minute video presentation. And guess what, there is much more for you. One can actually experience news reading(wearing a professional attire) which one can buy in a CD format. And the best reader wins a chance. Also we get to know about the 'weather guy' and how they actually shoot the 'weather' part of news with a blank 'green' screen that shows as hell a lot of information at the receiving end. This reminds me of my 'Doordharshan' tour in Chennai, closer to the Marina Beach, years back.

Georgia Aquarium - Considered world's largest aquarium. True beauty in itself. We get a live feeling of being under the sea. We can spot the sea animals moving right on top of our head. There are Beluga whales here. It is a huge aquarium with many attractions within, which would at least require a whole day to tour on. And it costs $35 to get in. A very predominant and most popular attraction for people visiting the city.

World of CocaCola - Another one of its kind for the city of Atlanta; the headquarters of CocaCola is also here in Atlanta. The 'Cola' preparation right from concentrate preparation to the customer enlightenment; 'the world of Coca-Cola' is a truly interesting location to give a visit. Not much does it costs to get in. For $15, apart from the tour inside , one can get a chance to actually drink gallons of 'Coke' products. I never knew there were so many varieties of Coke around the world. The 'sample tasting' section is actually divided into continents, wherein you can fetch a mug of coke according to your choice. And finally, there is a Coca-Cola shop that sells T-shirts made from recycled plastic soda bottles.

Where are the toilets!

2010-04-15T10:46:00.007-04:00

India has more cell phones than toilets says UN. After having observed and experienced travelling in India and US, mother India is far beyond in development areas like sanitary needs.
'Rest Areas' in the US are pretty well maintained, while the ones in India; between places are not called 'Rest Areas', but 'Dirty as you go' locations; wherein there is neither individual responsibility nor government maintenance. The blame is on both sides. No use targeting the government for each and every negativeness.

Hygienic toilets or restrooms lack a place in most Indian locations. And with the ever growing population and kids no one knows how to manage the entire 'toiletry' system. There should have been a 'minister for toiletry'; only and only if there are rules and norms will people follow it. There should be fines everywhere printed on boards. 'Rs 100 fine if new toilet seat cover not used', 'Rs 50 fine if hands not washed after usage', 'Rs 500 fine if water is spilt on floor'; and to climax it up; '15 days in jail if toilets are not flushed after usage'. And to the women population, I would strictly like to add , 'Rs 1000 fine if sanitary pads not taken care of'.

Again there comes the difference of 'Indian' and 'Western' toilets. Somewhere someone says 'Indian toilet is the one on which the body of the toilet does not touch the body of the person using it'. And 'Western toilet is one on which a person haves the feel of sitting on a chair while passing stool'. And guess what, theories say that Indian toilets are best way of exercise. More precisely on my research, its better known as 'Squat Toilet' than Indian toilet, and looks like poor countries opt this method. India was once poor, not anymore!

Her body - Breast Cancer initiative

2010-04-08T17:24:00.005-04:00

Breast Cancer is a very known and common attack on women these days. Awareness about it is not enough; at least in India. People tend to think that Breast Cancer is a disease that attacks older women. And how many men care about creating awareness about it to their fellow women.

To be more precise and accurate, studies say that, any kind of small or large lump called cysts might be a cancer cell. And I read somewhere that breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer next only to lung cancer. Hence early detection and removal of the cancerous cell might lead to a normal and healthy life in the long run.

Another of its kind called 'Fibroadenoma' is a tumor that develops when 'a small lump like' cell grows in the breast for quite some years. This is very common in adolescent women. Not many teens and young adults are aware of it. I would suggest such awareness are created right in the schools and colleges to help avoid major developments.

Indians in America

2010-04-07T14:23:00.000-04:00

A single post would not be sufficient enough to describe about our fellow Indians in America.
Disclaimer 1 :As a disclaimer, I would try to be on safer side mentioning that I am not generalizing.
Disclaimer 2: I am born and brought up in India and I love India. JaiHind!

Major US cities are now flooded with Indians. One in every 20 people are Indians. That's my guess on the ratio. I am yet to research on the actual proportion. Indians can be easily distinguished by many factors like color, accent, attitude, attire, physic, food, kids, parents, drivers, cars, etc.

As a first note, an Indian would predominantly drive a Toyota Camry or a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic. Its is very hard to find an Indian with an American model car. Secondly, Indians are always found in groups only with other Indians. To say it more detailed, the groups are precisely based on region, religion, language, caste. Of course, looks like an extension of India by itself.

Thirdly, an Indian will never teach his kid how to behave in public places. He'd rather pinch the kid to cry more. Again my words like 'never', 'always' are meant not to generalize, in this post!Well, I might sound a bit weird and harsh here. But having observed the other kids, I am bound to compare. In a flight, or a queue, or a bus, or a train, or a shop, or a library, or a place with a 'silence please' board; a kid who screeches will 99% be of an Indian's. I don't blame the kid, but his dad!

Fourthly, some forgotten/ignorant disciplines like parking the car a little away from the given premises considering plus or minus phenomenon. Indians are brought up with Indian driving skills and a sudden change to a more disciplined driving does not seem to suit them, at least for sometime in the beginning. And our housewives, who have accompanied husbands in H4 Visa make no difference to their counterparts in India. A little difference with the 4 walls being, American. I have observed ladies peeping into other persons privacy by staring at them for a longer period of time. I would really want them to come out of this regular 'cooking-child care-husband care-cooking-sleeping-cooking.....' schedule.

Fifthly, I would like to continue later on when I experience something weird.

What is your name?

2010-04-01T11:31:00.013-04:00

What's in a name? Why bother if it has 20 letters or too funky. Everybody has a name! Even a man who does not have a kidney would have a name. But what's in a name?

My name is 'Anuradha', it means, a 'star' says Google. I gave it as 'Anuradha Vasan' in my credentials, having my father's name next to mine, following the traditional rule. Well, its been more than a year since my marriage, and still I have not gone for a surname change. My husband has left the choice to me whether or not to change. Well, that's not the topic here. I am addressed as Ms.Vasan in most places. My father's name 'Vasan' has a history again. His original name was Vasudevan, that of lord Krishna's. Since their were two Vasudevan's with the same initials, he decided to shrink it to Vasan and thats how my surname came up. Now back to myself. Here in the United States, people who are not Indian natives call me Vasaaan; thats Va-sa-aa-an(rhymes well with Nissan of Nissan Altima). I tend to correct them in most places. Now that I have become sick of it.

My husband's surname is Krishnakumar, and again since people in US call by surname, he goes mad spelling his name over phone even for a Pizza delivery. Most times his email ID would be mis-spelt. He is pretty much having a tough time. And his first name is Ramgopal. Most people prefer calling him Ram (that used to be my most favorite name even before I knew I am going to marry a guy called Ram). But here in the US, its addressed as RAM (as in 25MB RAM (memory)). Again he got fed up correcting people, hence he got used to himself calling it RAM. Now he says, RAM as in Dodge RAM. Easy for them to follow.

In India, people say that every body's name is related to god somehow or the other. Modern Indian parents want their kids to have a traditionally-funky name. That's because the most common factor that comes in their mind while naming their child is, the revenge against their own parents. In those days parents named their children only with traditional names not knowing that their child would someday become a CEO of a multinational company. Well, I am not complaining the way they named. But I learnt from few of my friends , how dissatisfied they were with their names. A girl named 'Abhithakuchalambal' would get bullied big time at college. 'Pichai' would find it it very difficult to survive in a Tamil speaking state. And so does 'Gundu Rao'.

How about 'Champakavathi', short form should definitely be Champa. Even short names like 'Dhruthi' doesn't seem to be fluent enough. Friends of 'Godavari' would like to call her 'Goda'? or 'God'? 'Hansanandini' shrinks to 'Hansa', I know a person named Hamsa; I would definitely get confused between the two. How would 'Kamakoti' or 'Kamakshi' be called at home? I don't think either would prefer being called with a short form.

Jothika's name in the movie 'Sillunu oru Kadhal' was 'Kundhavai'. This reminds me of the Vivek's comedy in 'Sivaji' about 'Anga-vai'. I had a friend named 'Mrinalini'. At the same time I knew another girl called 'Mirnalini'. Phew!!! That was a tough time differentiating both names. American Indian, 'Vera Mindy Chockalingam' from the US TV series 'The Office' ,is better known as Mindy Kaling here in the United States. While watching the serial sometime, I heard from one of her dialogues, that her parents named her 'Rajnigandha' and she does not like it.

My very own, most common name, 'Anu' was also bullied at times. People used to say Anu's shirt, Anu's cycle, Anu's ring as Anus ring. A small apstophe would change the enitre meaning and would help my enemies bully me.

Most Indians have remodelled or even completely changed their names according to their wish. Based on numerology or even profession, people prefer others to call them with names they choose for themselves. What about film actors. Name a few who haven't gone for a name change. Rajnikanth is a magical name for Tamils or even Indians across the globe. If he was still Sivaji Rao Geakwad, it would sound like some character artists in 1950s. But that's business. People love calling him Rajni though they know he is Sivaji Rao.

I often used to tell my husband that we must be very careful while naming our child. The name should be crisp and easy to pronounce and definitely not a one which our child would want to change in future. There are parents who name their child after a very close relative of them or one of their mothers or fathers.

I came across an English name 'Cupcake' which I recently saw on TV. And I met a person called April. Another beautiful name called Melissa of a person whom I know; I used to say Melissa romba meleeesa aayita...(which means Melissa has become thin, in Tamil).Well that comes under sarcasm which cannot be helped. But lets not forget the genuine cases.There was a girl in my college whose accent and attitude stunned me. Her name was 'Paapathi'. That was the biggest shock for me. Her name was not at all related to her by any mean. But people called her 'Pops'. Now isn't that funky enough!

*Picture - Savannah, Georgia

Separate food blog???

2010-03-31T15:12:00.006-04:00

I have a passion towards cooking, that's because I feel cooking is not a 'woman's only' job but its an art. In the recent times, I had been blogging a little more about cooking. Suddenly I came up with this notion of moving my 'cook-posts' to a new blog; and even started thinking of a name for it. Well, that reminds me of parents naming their newborns, which I would want to discuss in my next post. Complicated enough to call out during an emergency, 'Sahaskruthi', 'Abhiprithi','Seemantini', and the list goes on. Back with naming my cook blog, I had a few names in mind - 'Pasta', 'Garlic','Burp', 'Taste it baby', 'Take a bite man' or even 'Fart', if I ran out of names.

But then, the whole idea of having a separate cook blog was not enough satisfying. That's because I do not want separate my ideas as 'General' and 'Cooking'. Neither did I want separate readers for both blogs. I want men who are a 'zero' in cooking, also to read posts about cooking and food; not just in my blog, but elsewhere. Come on, its the food we eat. Lets know where and how it comes from!!!

Making of a Burger!

2010-03-25T22:31:00.012-04:00

First let me tell the history behind this making! Yesterday I planned to make 'Aaloo Mutter' (an Indian version of creamy, rich, buttery* Potato-Peas curry) with Chapathis. My pressure cooker, in which the peas was getting cooked remained dead for quite sometime without whistling. Finally, after about 20 minutes there came the first whistle. (Shiva, the guy who used to follow my bicycle when I was in 8Th class used to whistle better than that!) After its second whistle, my cranky thoughts were to let go 5 whistles, which a normal woman would never do. I assumed that the peas being so hard without being soaked well initially, would cook better in 5 whistles. End result - the peas was mashed thoroughly forming a semi-solid paste!!! And hence raised the idea of making Burger today! A person who is learning to cook good would normally not read further after listening to this mess. But you can trust me!

The most popular McDonald's does not provide veg Burgers. Hence, the vegetarians(especially the ones by birth who have migrated from India to the US) have lesser choice of outside food, or to be specific, Burgers. Well, the making of the patty is a little tricky here. Remaining process is so simple that, even a person like my husband who thinks cooking is a rocket science, can do it easily.

Ingredients I used:

Mashed peas - 2 cups

Boiled potatoes - 2

Scrapped carrot - 1

Salt - very important you have it enough. Plus or minus of this ingredient would spoil any dish.

Chilly powder - 1+ tsp

Garam masala powder - 2 tsp

Jaljeera powder - 1 tsp (I usually add it for its tangy flavor)

Coriander leaves - well....... a little!

Oil

Made it this way:

1. Mix all the above ingredients well. I prefer mixing it with clean and dirt-free hands than with a spatula. Mash the potatoes within. Wow, that was a good exercise for my hands.

2. Now it might look like a solid ball (If its in the right consistency). Partition into 4.

3. Grab each portion and roll it with your palms. Flatten a bit

4. Heat each of them in a non-stick pan, preferably; simply because it consumes lesser oil to cook the stuff.

5. Let it become brown both sides. The patty is ready to become a layer.

The Burger arrangement begins:

6. Cut the Burger bun into 2 and toast it. I prefer toasting it.

7. Spread some melted butter.

8. Place the patty and then a sliced tomato and onion. Lettuce or cabbage is optional.

9. Salt and pepper optional but I suggest you add.

Serve with fresh lime.

The final step to Burger enlightenment!!!

Precious / Up in the air

2010-03-16T14:03:00.009-04:00

Academy award for 'Best Support Actor' - Mo'Nique in Precious (and) 6 Oscar nominations for 'Up in the air' ; made me watch these two movies as part of my movie night last weekend!

Precious, the most spoken about movie in recent times. Unfortunately I did not watch the climax because I turned off the TV half way through. I was moved. Precious, the obese, illiterate teenager becomes pregnant twice by her own father and lives with her mother who physically and mentally abuses her. Mo'Nique who plays Precious's mother has shown amazing talent in acting. Gabourey Sidibie who plays the 16 year old Precious lost to Sandra Bullock in Oscars under 'Best Actress' category.

Up in the air, its all about firing! And a little romance in between. If you are looking for a corporate movie describing the recession times watch this. A subtle and soothing journey up in the air; its about a man who completes his 10 million miles in the air. George Clooney (Ryan) is hired to fire employees; helping bosses who are coward enough to do it themselves. Anyone would love a job like that. But Natalie, Ryan's coworker did not and she resigned after hearing that the employee whom she fired had committed suicide. 2009 had been a year of recession and this movie looks like a summary of the same! Good watch!

*the pictures show only George Clooney because - Oh god! I just love looking at him, and only him!

Brahmacharyam...

2010-03-05T08:58:00.007-05:00

I feel so annoyed by this word - Swamiji! How many Swamijis in line to have taught the same lesson to our Tamil devotees(or should I generalize as Indian devotees). And how many excuses do our people need to repeat the same foolish mistake of following the false footsteps of these sick people.

For those unaware of what crap this post is about; let me explain in detail right from the spiritual guru's motto "Worry is created out of ignorance and sustained by ego" says Paramahamsa Nithyananda in his devotional website.

And yesterday I saw this Sun TV news clip on YouTube and went speechless. People call him god. I blame the people first! There were similar controversies related to sex scandals by Godmen in the past. I do not want to mention names here. If technology can help them in many ways, let it help you in googling about them. Here,the devotees still seem to show that they have not learnt anything from them. Mere stupidity! As told in many south-Indian channels, a swami is a person who sacrifices luxury and chants the name of god.But there is something known as betrayal. That part of the controversy made me write this post.

Wikipedia says "Swami is primarily a Hindu honorific title". What should have made him honorific. I also went through his website and was wondering; do small scale software companies have a tie with such guys to build their websites, so beautiful and professional.

And need I say about these actress who pose in such videos and controversies. Swamijis,film industry personnel, sportsperson, multi-millionaires, politicians are predominantly popular among controversies with actress.In this video, what I discovered was, the actress was trying to keep stuff on light; while Swamiji was keen on turning lights off. My prediction was; whether the actress was involved in helping people find out his true colors. No one knows the truth! And the Swamiji supporters are trying to prove him innocent. Well, lets wait and watch. But from the eyes of a normal human being and of course being a person who knows sufficient information about graphics and computers, I felt there was not much morphing or graphics work.

But you people who blindly follow false footsteps, think twice!

Biology-Electronics-Mainframes........Business?

2010-02-25T15:56:00.008-05:00

Initially, when I was a kinder-garden kid, people used to ask me; what I would want to become when I grow up. And being a popular girly answer at that time, I would reply - Doctor! Then, during my high school days my goal slightly changed towards my interest in space research. For quite some years, I was sticking onto this profession(I mean dreaming about this profession). Then during my higher secondary, my electives pulled me back into my childhood goal of becoming a doctor (Oh yes, I mean I was in Biology group).

My board exam results made a slight twist. Since my Maths score was more than that of Biology, according to Indian law of Medical Entrance my chances were very weak to become a doctor. Hence, Engineering colleges opened their gates wide enough for me. Here, I jumped into the pool, or rather the ocean. And my choice of specialization was none other than 'Electronics and Communication Engineering'. Well, my father decided during my first year of engineering that I would become an expert 'Electronics Engineer' and join him in BSNL repairing 'Telephonic circuits'.

He in fact was very keen and adamant that I work only for a government concern (the 9 to 5 office, remember?). So he in his own way started spending money on application forms of government office like BSNL, VSNL, BHEL, Railways, to name a few. Trust me, I cant imagine sitting in those old buildings, with a ceiling fan too far from the ceiling supported by a long rod; and which almost comes and hits your head. And not to forget, reaching office at 10.00 AM, lunch at 12.30 AM inside the so called office canteen with uncles and aunties and grandpa's and grandma's. I used to hate these government jobs and wrote these UPSC exams just for the sake of my dad.

Thank God, I narrowly escaped joining them. And what else, fell into another pit called IT; oh ya as a technology person trying to code and talk. And now, do you remember I initially wanted to become a doctor. But guess what, there was a time when doctors were envying software engineers. Not anymore I guess, after this cycle of recession. Oh ya, did I mention; somewhere between my high school and higher secondary I also had another goal - to join the army! Well, that vanished in between my busy schedules.

And now, after about 5+ years of breaking my head in technology; is management my path?

Oh ya, there was a subject called as 'Engineering Drawing' during my first year of Engineering. Only the guys who framed the curriculum would know why on earth they had to include such a subject in the course. Maybe they thought, in future sometime after 10-15 years; that would help me sketch the plan of my house; on my own. And still the device called 'drafter' is hanging down somewhere in my bedroom loft!

Junk Comments

2010-02-17T14:15:00.002-05:00

Whoa....A sudden increase in my blog comments. And not to my surprise most of them being junk. In this world of internet, now I guess blogs are hot spots to forward and spread junk/spam links and information; may or may not be with a viral infection. One of my laptops got seriously infected with this culprit. Am searching for antibiotics!

Great Smokey Mountains at Summer

2010-02-05T13:56:00.000-05:00

A look back on all our trips to the Great Smokey Mountains. I failed to write down my experiences then and there. Here I am recollecting my beautiful moments at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park across Tennessee- North Carolina. This was my first among the 4 trips, across all seasons.

Summer (June 2009) - This reminds me of the scenic lush green mountains, last summer. Greenery everywhere! We did not feel the heat of summer anytime on the mountain top. The strech from city of Cherokee to the city of Gatlinburg is the main essence of the trip to the Smokeys. In between this stretch is the Tennessee-North Carolina borderline. Gatlinburg is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains. The Gatlinburg stretch has a number of shops with a variety of food and fudges and what not! Though there are a number of hotels/motels you can opt for, I suggest you can stay in Pigeon Forge, which is 6 miles away from the Mountains as well as Gatlinburg.

Pigeon Forge is another city full of activities. It has a number of fun parks.

On our way back home we switched routes and came via Chattanooga, a must-see location in Tennessee. 'Ruby Falls' is a historical underground falls, which was discovered by Leo Lambert who named it after his wife 'Ruby'. An elevator takes you underground and there is a mile long trekking inside the caves to view the stunning beauty of this 'America's Highest Underground Falls'.

AVATAR & Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day!

2009-12-28T11:07:00.007-05:00

Its Christmas day, 2009 - Reminds me of the one in 2004 while I was in a dilemma to resign my first job or not. I was working night shift that day. The office cubicles were decorated with Christmas trees and colorful balloons. With the same amount of excitement and fun as any other day, I was ready to put my papers for good! The next day morning at around 5.30 AM I took my cab home. In Chennai, travelling along the Marina beach road early morning used to be fun, but not on that day! Well, it was the day of Tsunami. My cab driver changed route as there were a lot of chaos on the roads of Chennai early morning. Immediately after an hour all TV channels were flashing headlines about Tsunami in Chennai. Until then I guess the word Tsunami was not familiar in Indian dictionary.

'Avatar' and 'Sherlock Holmes' - Watching those 2 movies on the Christmas Day amidst American audience was quiet an experience!

Avatar - Well, Mr.James Cameroon's return after Titanic. Do I need to explain about Avatar then? Go watch it, if you have not yet. With the Imax 3D, the movie was scintillating! The imaginary Pandora's, floating mountains, flying animals, amazingly beautiful places in the Pandora were breathtaking views. The blue skinned Na'vi of the planet Pandora resembles the blue skin of lord Krishna. Maybe that was a reason for it to be called Avatar ( Dashavatar - 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu) ; was truly our(me and my husband's) view of the movie.

But again, aliens invading earth or man invading alien-land is not new to Hollywood.

Sherlock Holmes - Again two thumbs up! During my school days I have never read any Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie books. Hence naturally I felt it difficult following this movie. The background score, the set that portrayed London Bridge during its construction, olden days London, Robert Downey Jr. add beauty to this movie. People say the movie is running as equally as Avatar recently. But Avatar would definitely make it at the box office- no doubt!

Thanksgiving time with Sweet potato pie

2009-12-02T15:12:00.011-05:00

I was wondering why in India we don't celebrate 'Thanksgiving Day'. I just love the reason why the people here in America celebrate Thanksgiving day and the amount of happiness they have is endless. From their busy schedules they just take a day off to be with their loved ones thanking them for all what they have done! When I look back, I have never sat down a single day with my mom thanking her for all what she has done for me. Well, the love was definitely there in each others heart and we kept it within ourselves. Here I am several thousand miles away, blogging about her.

Its not about the word 'Thanks', but about the time we give to think about the family we belong to; children thanking parents, father thanking son, mother thanking her daughter-in-law, friends thanking each other - so emotional to look at!

Well, before I get too emotional let me explain something else that is important during this festive season - Food! Oh yes, when was it not important. But during thanksgiving the variety of food items they make are mouth-watering. Cheesecakes, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, a whole turkey are part of the thanksgiving dinner. I tried my hands on one of them and here is how I did it - of course with the help of great chefs from the 'Food Network'.

You need:

Sweet Potatoes - 2

Butter - 1/2 stick

Eggs - 3

Sugar - 1 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp

Pie crust - ready made

Here you go:

1. Boil potatoes for more than 30 mins till they are really soft

2. Peel the skin and mash/blend with the remaining ingredients except the pie crust. You will(should) get a smooth paste.

3. Pour them on the pie crust and bake for 1 hr

4. What next? Slice it and have a bite!

I tried it with honey and dates.

Pasta once a week!

2009-11-22T18:22:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite dishes - Pasta! And one of my favorite things to do- eating Pasta! Pasta came into our lives a little late because it took its own time to travel from Italy to America and then to India.

In Chennai (South India), one of the best baked pasta can be found in the Eden restaurants at the Harrisons, Nungambakkam. My mouth waters even now when I think about their Pastitso.

Of the base dishes; Rice, Breads (Rotis in India) and Pasta; the last one is not too familiar in India(at least a few years back). And trust me cooking a complete Pasta meal takes lesser time comparatively.

You need:

Pasta - 1 cup (I loaaaaaaooooooooove Penne Pasta. I usuallySdon't prefer spagetti)

Veggies - As many as you want. Carrots, Beans kinda. Chop them into small, cute vertical pieces.

Tomatoes - 1 big, chopped

Tomato puree - 1 small can. Hmmm well its your choice absolutely to use this. The reason I use it is, it stops the Pasta from getting thicker. And I insist this product only when there are guests.When its you, then I guess you can prepare the puree yourself.

Garlic - at least 4 cloves. Aaahhhh, I love the essence of garlic.

Butter - 1 stick (Oh come on, its once in a while)

Cheese - loads (Again, once in a while)

Salt - 1 tbsp

Pepper - 1 tbsp

Here you go:

1. Cook pasta in boiling water for nearly 15 mins. Most pasta packs will have the heating instructions. But guess what, I prefer cooking at least 5 mins more than what is specified in the pack.

2. Cook the carrots and beans to a moderate level. Normally it takes 20 mins for it to get cooked completely. But for this dish its enough if you cook for 15 mins.

3. In a wide pan or kadaai heat the butter.Once it melts add the garlic and saute for a minute. Now add the tomatoes and saute till they become soft.

4. Add the puree and let cook for 2 mins

5. Add the cooked veggies and saute. Add salt and pepper. Let cook for a minute.

6. Now add the cooked pasta. Saute and let cook for 2 mins.

Pasta is ready to be served if you don't want it baked. For baking process read further.

7. Spread butter in a baking dish. Put some shredded cheese on the dish. Now spread all the ingredients into the dish. Put the rest of the cheese as if covering the entire stuff with a pool of cheese.

8. Onto the preheated oven for just 15 mins.

The cheese melted on top and the penne slightly brown in colour is the best sign of a perfectly baked pasta.

Serve hot with Italian wine (Oops!)

I know why he hates MLM's

2009-11-15T20:38:00.004-05:00

We were busy checking out new arrivals in a bookstore here in local Atlanta. A nicely dressed Indian woman approaches me and kick-starts a conversation. And me, without knowing that I am the prey of the day, for the marketing tricks of this MLM business; smiled at her and started to reciprocate. I really don't have any idea to explain you what it is, because I am not interested in doing it. But as he says in his rusted blog, these MLM people intrude into other's privacy to spread their business; is what I hate about it.

And guess what, they dont spare the Americans too.

America, its again you - Now on Hip Hop

2009-10-27T11:07:00.000-04:00

These days I listen to more Hip Hop than the regular plagiarized tones from Chennai. Well, in this age, the term plagiarism revolves around with more than one inner meaning. I saw this quote somewhere "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources". Well, there were so many debates on the correctness of this statement. The man behind this quote is our very own Einstein. But if you are from India, having listened to musicians like Harris Jayraj, Vijay Antony, Deva, Pitam and others you will know that the quote by Einstein is totally stupid. Because their music is a little more than plagiarism.

For now Jay Z, Kanye West, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift do really have caught my attention. The whole Kanye-Taylor-Beyonce drama recently was so very interesting. And guess what, in this part of the world, the president was also asked to comment about it; and he did. Check that out here....

Hmmm, some interesting gossips going on here. Well, if that keeps entertaining people then nothing really wrong in it. And now, check this kid (4 year old) shaking his legs, on the Ellen show.

Bachelor Meal

2009-10-22T14:06:00.006-04:00

Woh Woh day by day my 'Junk' blog is turning out to be a fresh 'Cook Blog'.

This is going to be a very simple, healthy, not-so-messy ,interesting, quick meal for you bachelors out there who are living far-far-away from your mommas. It takes just 20 minutes to have your end product ready in your hands. So to leave for office at 8.00 AM, its enough to wake up at 7.00 AM for you to get ready.....and your lunch to be prepared. Now come on with me......

You need:

Wheat flour - 1 cup (makes 2 chapatis)

Salt - 1 tsp

Spring Onions(as referred in India)/Scallions (as referred in America)/Shallots(as referred somewhere else)- 2

Ghee/Butter - 1 tbsp (As a part of fat in the balanced meal. Bachelorettes trying to slim down......this one is not for you)

Water - few tbsp to knee the dough (A very good substitute is milk or even yogurt)

Put your hands on it:

The regular dough kneeding process begins.

Add your flour and salt and mix it first.

Then add your butter and mix it

And now, add water and kneed the dough. Add your Spring Onions now. Keep kneeding it. Give it some punches as much as you can. (Now see, that substitutes your gymming time). The more you punch the more softer it becomes.

Now leave it for 5 mins as you get ready for your work.

After you come back cut the dough into small chapati balls.

Roll them and heat it in the Tava.

While turning on each side you can spread some oil/butter/ghee as per your need. Else forget it.

With that:

Now in a small bowl put 3 tbsp yogurt. With that, add a pinch of salt and jaljeera(I suggest this one for that salty tinge and easier digestion. Else substitute with cumin powder).

Your lunch box is good to go.

Substitute Spring Onions with Mint leaves/Coriander leaves/Scrapped Carrots/or any dough-comfortable stuff from your wildest thoughts.

Fried rice isn't a big deal

2009-09-25T15:58:00.009-04:00

I discovered that this is going to be the easiest and quickly made variety rice, especially when you are running short of time.

There was a time when I kept wondering what makes this dish so very mouth-watering. Well, its time to explore. Nothing much, its the Soy sauce and Ajinomoto which gives it the 'yumm' taste. But I am not using either of them, not because that I don't have them both right now; but I felt the fried rice comes out well even without them.

All You need is:
Boiled rice - As per the head count (Just make sure its not too boiled or sticky)
Carrots - cut them into longer thinner pieces
Green beans - same as carrots, but remember that beans takes more time to get cooked that carrots
Capsicum - I prefer smaller cubes, how about you
Spring onions - Aaah, now this guy is the hero. Cut them smaller to mix up well with the rice.
Ginger - I prefer adding ginger in most dishes for easier digestion. Oh come on, not in my cakes.
Green chillies - Size similar to carrots
Pepper - I like it pepper hot.
Salt - If its American made then 2 spoons, else if its Indian then 3 spoons. I have no idea why. Purely out of experience and taste.
Oil - Gingely oil
Ghee - Just a spoon for its aroma. Only for guests, not for you.

Get started:
A kadai/pan would do. Add oil and heat it.
Add half the pepper and ginger.
Add the veggies - carrots, beans and saute it for 1 minute.
Add a little bit of water, close the lid and let cook for 2 minutes. (On the contrary, you can boil these 2 veggies separately before and keep it ready. But remember that, neither of the veggies should be over-cooked. Remember eating it in a Chinese restaurant?)
Remove lid, add capsicum and the remaining pepper. You can add a spoonful of ghee at this stage. Saute and close lid again. Let cook for a minute.
Now add the rice. Mix well. Add salt. Reduce the heat.
Taste a spoonful to check if the salt and pepper has covered the rice and veggies well.
If no, add more.

In restaurants, fried rice is served with tomato sauce. Being truly Indians from the south, we prefer raitha with it. Especially boondhi raitha. Here you go. Decorate the rice as you like before serving or grab a spoonful right from the stove.

Other methods:

OK, now you don't have all these veggies. Say you just have beans. Well, repeat the process. Maybe you can add some chopped onions to fill the dish.Well that's not going to be a traditional fried rice. But who cares. Enjoy your meal as per your taste.

Neeya Naana Photos

2009-09-12T18:52:00.005-04:00

Here I am attaching a few pictures that I shot during the great event. Fetna had organized it for 3 days, of which we could not cover most of the third day event, as my husband who was curious in shooting me on stage met with a small injury while he was coming down the stairs. Hence, immediately after my show was over we had to head to the nearby hospital. Well, I had to experience the point which I had told in the debate. In this lonely land, without a single person to support I had to manage the entire scene alone. Isn't that "Munnetram(progress)"?

In the photos : I am the first person sitting in the second row, right side, center stage (in a lovely green saree presented by my Mom-in-law).

Find more pictures in this FETNA link of day 2 images. Neeya Naana comes immediately after 'Kattabomman's images.

Me on 'Neeya Naana'

2009-09-09T10:54:00.005-04:00

This year the North American Tamil Vizha was conducted in Atlanta by FETNA (www.fetna.org ); on July 3rd, 4Th and 5Th at the Georgia Tech University campus. Popular personalities like Scientist Mayilsamy, poet Vairamuthu, Actors Jeeva Pasupathi and many others were part of it. And it was a very happy occasion for me, being a part of it. Volunteering on day 1, I was there to take part in Neeya Naana, a popular TV show(Star Vijay television) conducted by this eminent TV personality, Gopinath(popularly known as Neeya Naana Gopinath).

"Americavil kudi peyarthadhal adhigam munnetram adaindhadhu Aangala, Pengala?" (Who has succeeded more after moving to America - Men or Women?) was the topic given. Well, if you ask, my personal opinion would be - Men! But I was put in Pengale (Women) side of the debate and trust me, I could not think of a single point to support my side of the topic, till the day. Finally I came up with this point...Checkout the video. The last person speaking in this video is me. The video not being that clear, you can find me on the right side, second row, center stage, first person.

09/09/09

2009-09-09T00:42:00.001-04:00

Notepads, scrapbooks, excel sheets, word documents would have flashed these fancy calendar dates 01/01/01, 02/02/02 and so on...,in the past 8 years... But the next time will have to be the 1st 12 years of 21st century(well, don't ask me if we are already in 21st century. I meant the CC of the CCYY being 21). This century has three more years to celebrate this little fun (10/10/10, 11/11/11 and 12/12/12), while we are on 09/09/09. Oops, I guess I am messing up somewhere. Let me sit and think.............................

No one knows how 01/01/3001 is going to be or even if the earth would still be there. But we are here today to celebrate these fancy dates.

100th post- My blogging with Julie & Julia

2009-08-11T13:56:00.006-04:00

100Th post!

Julie and Julia - I am influenced! This happens to me most of the time I watch a movie that strongly portrays something that I like. And this movie had two portions in it that interests me - cooking and blogging.

Now that I find ample amount of time to experiment my cooking skills, I play in my kitchen space everyday.

But whats with the blogging. Way back in 2006, I started blogging, just like that. Without any specific thought in mind, my blog had random ideas and experiences till date and I would love to continue it this way. I have got strong comments at times for debatable topics. Well, most of the times my answer would be, 'this is purely my opinion'. And I stick to my answer. I usually don't spend time reading other blogs, because I fear if that would influence my writing. But then, during my dull days of blogging I used to visit a couple of other blogs; preferably humorous ones.

And what made me feel good about Julie and Julia - I must admit that I am writing this post because I am influenced by the movie which reminded me that I have a blog too.

Verdict on Julie @ Julia - Go for it!

With this Chick...

2009-07-22T10:20:00.011-04:00

Here I have prepared a Channa masala with available ingredients and without Channa masala powder.

Ingredients:
Chickpeas - 1 cup( 250 ml)
Tomatoes - 1 and a half. Grind
Onions - 1. Good to grind than chop
Coriander Leaves - You know how much
Ginger - 1 tbsp chopped. Hmmm, try a little more than normal. For both aroma and health.
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tbsp. When it all comes together, why worry. This one spices it up!
Green Chillies - A little more than 1 tbsp. Chopped finely. Well, I like it hot. How about you?
Salt - You know how much. 1 tbsp should do.
Chilly powder - 1 tsp. Well, I told you I like it hot!!!
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp. This one adds good aroma.
Oil - 2 tbsp. I prefer Gingely oil.
Water - Accordingly

Directions:
1. Soak Chickpeas for more than 8 hours in prior to your preparation. Soaking it in the mid-morning, you can prepare it for dinner. Else leave it soaked overnight if its for breakfast or lunch.
2. Boil the chickpeas in your own way. Else like me, microwave it for 22 mins or till its cooked.
3. Heat a pan and add oil to it. Once oil is heated add cumin seeds.
4. Saute Onions and ginger till the raw smell disappears.
5. Add chillies and after about a minute or more add tomatoes.
6. Add Garam masala powder, chilly powder, salt and close the pan with a lid leaving it for about 3 mins.
7. Open the lid and add the water (used for boiling chickpeas) and close the lid again leaving it for another 2 minutes.
8. Now is the time for Hero entry. Add the Chickpeas. Mix it thoroughly. Close the lid and leave it for another 4-5 mins.
9. The consistency depends upon your need. Let it simmer for 2 mins if you want it thick.

Here its ready. Mouthwatering? Don't forget to switch off your stove before you rush to your dinner table!
Happy Eating.

Idle status

2009-06-04T20:08:00.009-04:00

Staying at home all day, all week, all month? Here are my suggestions purely out of experience...

1. Re-arrange all the items in your home and arrange them again; room by room. Especially the ones in your kitchen. This will take at least 2-3 days. Do this repeatedly once in 2 weeks.

2. While at work you wont even get an hour to continuously stay online. But now as you are all time online, its obvious that you will get bored. Never watch movies online. That will make Internet boring. Instead watch YouTube clippings. Ones like baby Shakira dance, Jodi # 1- Action by Simbu , Benny Lava(I never knew Prabhu Deva had such an image) - don't forget to read the subtitles, Actor Vijay anger - remix, etc. Again watch YouTube videos once in every 2 hours.

3. Read about which hot-pair broke up recently.

4. Keep calling people at work and drag the conversation for at least 45 minutes. Repeat the 'called person' once in every 2 weeks.

5. Never ever watch daily soaps.That will make you feel like your mom. And watch serials like 'Desperate Housewives' at your own risk. Instead start watching NBA, WWF, programs on Motors.... That will make you feel more stronger.

6. If you are an interior decorator, good sign. Invest on good painting colors. Paint or rather play (try different combinations of colors drawing crooked stripes - with a thick brush) with colors in an A4 sheet. You will feel good! And who knows that might even look like a modern art. And give a bunch of them to your husband for framing. Hang them around the walls and invite people to look at it!!!

Can you smell the typical house-wife aroma on me?

America - this is you!

2009-05-24T18:39:00.000-04:00

Being an out and out Chennai girl right from the time of birth, this life gives in a lot many new and remarkable experiences. Here, I begin to share my stint in America.

Atlanta is the name. The state of Georgia now (temporarily) replaces Tamil Nadu. Watching the beautiful city of Chennai from the skies, my journey to the west began.

With my hand baggage, I moved towards the waiting area saying goodbye to my people in Chennai. Waiting for 'Emirates' to flash on the screens I was sitting there watching people walk around. I realised the disadvantage of not being a bookaholic. My first travel across countries began in a couple of hours. Well I wouldn't say I felt bored, though I did not have a travel companion. Two movies, lot of disturbed sleep, food in between and plenty of fruit juices filled in my journey.

The Emirates airship brought me to Dubai international airport(a huuu....gge one) in no time. Killing one odd hour watching the airport crew, I boarded my flight to New York. Emirates again! And it took off!!! I remember viewing the email forwarded pictures of the 'Palm Jumeirah' in Dubai, long time back. I got myself a direct view of the same now.

Back with the view of white clouds. Nothing much to peep through the window. Never thought I would watch Academy award winning movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' on the clouds. Though I was not much interested in the movie, I kept wondering what made it at the Oscars. The journey between Dubai and New York being the longest, made me feel tiring about 'flight travels'. There was no proper sleep for me as the toddlers around kept weeping, their mommy's were fast asleep. Well, if me myself could not manage sitting idle for hours in the flight; imagine those tiny ones.

After a few hours here it comes. The view of United States of America, from the airbus. As a child I used to dream about this country. And now I am here! New York's John F Kennedy airport, though did not attract me as the one at Dubai, was my first place of landing in the USA. Having a Cappuccino, I made a couple of new friends(Indians from Tamil Nadu) who surprisingly had travelled with me for more than 20 hrs without my knowledge. And all of us, young women headed towards our flight to Atlanta. Well, my stay in New York was just for an hour; leaving behind a remarkable memory.

Boarded the Delta flight to Atlanta. This one took off 2 hours later than the regular schedule due to traffic on the runway. And I kept watching each flight take off, waiting for mine to take its turn. There were around 25 to 30 flights before mine. Someone next to me said, "Well, this is New York!"

Watching the New York city in the dark, I started thinking about my loved one who is waiting for me to arrive. Within an hour, I was in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport. There he was, with a red rose in his hand. The hug I missed for a few days welcomed me to this LAND OF THE FREE...

Status change!!!

2009-05-11T14:25:00.016-04:00

In the third decade of my life, an all new phase has begun. Missing my 'Miss' status from the moment I said 'Yes, I do.....', I became his lawful wife. Knowing him for nearly half a decade, I did not have the feel of an 'all new' environment during the start. The 'Shift' from one home to the other left behind tears of joy as well as sorrow in the respective homes. Of course, this is the story of every girl in this planet!

The dear ones with whom I was with, right from the time of my birth, are now far far away from me. The tradition says, they belong to my secondary home from now on. And my primary home now includes my husband and my parents-in-law. Luckily or unluckily I don't hold a sister-in-law status for anyone!

Kitchen used to be a forbidden area before marriage. Now it is the laboratory for me to practice and experiment, though there are no viva-voce or practical examinations. My husband now is a rat( or should I say cat) here, on whom I experiment my inventions on. Poor fellow, never disheartens me!

Right or wrong, funny or not-so-funny, I have to keep smiling all the time; in my new home; especially when the brothers and sisters of my parents-in-law crack jokes (they call it a joke)! My facial expressions include a smiley curve all-time, at least for the first few months; as they call us 'newly wed'. And of course, now I don't know what 'anger' means. Once upon a time my mother used to be the victim of my anger. I miss being with my mom!

No more bed-coffees; no more late-evening bath on Sundays; no more depending on mom for fish-curry, or rather no more fish-curry at home. Before marriage, mom hardly praises me, she was my queen of criticisms. Now she hardly scolds me, though I miss being her victim. I see a lot of fear in her eyes - worrying every minute for her daughter's well-being.

I am one of the lucky daughters-in-law around the world, for whom breakfast gets ready even before waking up. Searching for wood to touch...

Amazing Quotes - True Love

2009-01-04T04:34:00.003-05:00

//True love is the soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another//

Isn't that an amazing quote? I leave it to you to find out where exactly this was picked from. Definitely not mine!!!

New Year Day?

2009-01-01T10:25:00.009-05:00

For me the year started off with a working day! While returning home that day, I had a chat with a friend of mine which went like this;

Me : Shyam, for sure this traffic is going to take another hour for us to reach our place. ECR (East Coast Road in Chennai) is flooded with vehicles. Look at this, even the temple zone is jammed with traffic.
Shyam: People are trying to pour their devotion on a single day. Check out tomorrow, this temple will be deserted.
Me: Actually one can debate whether to celebrate January 1st as the New Year Day or not.
Shyam: Who asked us to? Why celebrate January 1st as New Year Day? Why not April 14Th for that matter?
Me: Come on! Then we in India will have too many New Year's Day.One for Tamils, one for Malayalees, one for Telagites and so on....
Shyam:It was just because Englishmen invaded us, we celebrate this day as the New Year Day. Its according to the English calendar. Imagine, if they had not invaded India we would not even be speaking English for that matter. They imparted the language too into us.
Me: If Britain had not invaded India, and have not imparted English in us, then India would definitely have not been like Japan, for that matter; wherein people speak at least a common language- Japanese. Indians would have ended up speaking Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati and what not....
Shyam: Yeah, also Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and so on....Each state would have fought for their own language and would have divided India like what happened to the European countries. Each state in India would have been a separate country by now.

The conversation just came on our way , just like that; and ended as we approached our destinations.But the topic was wandering in my mind for sometime.A controversial thought to start with.

Mumbai and Chennai - Last week! The week that was...

2008-12-01T09:33:00.009-05:00

If you were an Indian and a Chennaite who lived in Chennai, last week would have been a tough one when compared to the others.The reason being, the recent Mumbai blasts which shook the country and the Chennai rains.Well, enough information was already given by a thousand people including the media about the blasts. So, nothing much to discuss about it here.I was watching the media-game(news delivered in X,Y,Zee channels here in India) during these crisis.

Mumbai blasts - I was almost glued to my seat watching NDTV 24/7 interview popular faces to comment upon the blasts.One such person was eminent cricket personality Harsha Bogle. I was stunned to hear him speak about the blasts. Well, he spoke absolutely what many positive-minds would think at the moment. He showered his anger rightly and expressed very boldly what many of us felt(I am sorry, I don't have the video clip here). He also mentioned about a politician, who had initially commented about going for a bandh due to the blasts. Harsha asked rightly if that was necessary. I was happy about NDTV for relaying bold interviews(which was not biased and politically favorable).

The entire country's anger turned towards politicians. But my question is, 'how long will this anger last?' A week? Or till another flash news appears in TV channels? People tend to forget and move on... If we had corrected from our(the country's) previous mistakes such mishaps would not have occurred or rather the intensity would have been less!

Chennai Water-logging - Another calamity or rather the nature's winter hobby was, the Chennai rains last week. Well, we had enough of it! Few months back I heard that a 'Maha-Yaagam'(a Hindu custom or rather a mode of prayer offered by many people, at a time, in a common place; each one them litting fire separately and chanting mantras - Well, that's my definition, and not from Wiki!) was performed in Thiruvanmiyur,here in Chennai, praying for rains this year, as it was almost dry even during the end of September.And guess what,rains started immediately the day next of the 'Yaagam'. A friend of mine commented sarcastically that, it was the smoke which arouse during the 'Yaagam' that travelled across creating clouds which caused the rains.Again, that might rise a new controversy of , belief and atheism which I am not getting into.

Coming back to last week, it rained madly in Chennai. There was water, water everywhere, no single drop to drink! Apart from sea-water, the phrase went well with the massive water-logging on Chennai roads. Not just T Nagar or Velachery (the usual low-lying areas where one can see muddy lakes during rains), but even the so called protected and sophisticated 'creamy layered zones' was hit badly by the rains. In one of the local FM radio channels (Radio City precisely), 'Neeya Naana' fame Gopinath had mentioned a point about it which I felt was valid...

Gopi had asked opinion from the public shooting a question which was like this: "Chennai experiences heavy water-logging during rains which even affects normal life. Every year we record higher and higher cms of rain all around Chennai. If that is the case, then why do we fight for water in summer? Why are we not saving the water during rains? Are we lacking enough infrastructure for the same?" The questions he normally asks people are not biased and are direct. Well, I am sure that would have made a thousand people think, including me. Media does help building a better society!

Vaaranam Aayiram

2008-11-28T09:10:00.003-05:00

Verdict - Surya deserves an applause!

Vaaranam Aayiram is about the bond between a father and a son.I am sure most sons who watched the movie would have experienced at least one 'scene' in common with their own father in life.Well, that's what Gowtham Menon, the director of the movie claims, that this movie is a real life story of his father.Gowtham Menon has never been in the list of my favorite directors before this I saw this movie or rather I never felt anything great or new in his work. Now, he slowly seams to impress me with Vaaranam Aayiram.

Surya - This man has already been my favorite actor, ever since I saw him in Peralagan. I also liked his performance in Pithamagan.In Kaakha Kaakha through him, I saw the life of a policeman in Tamil Nadu(but tell me which policeman is as handsome as Surya was!). In Vaaranam Aayiram, he has shown his talents in acting, dancing, singing, expressions, romancing, humor(a little lesser though, in this movie),body building(a special mention) and more.

Simran - She best fits the mother character than the college girl. Well, that's what a mother of a child in South India could maximum do in acting. I wonder how do Hollywood actress manage to do action movies and maintain their physique even after child birth.

Divya Spandana - Not used to the fullest in the movie!

Sameera Reddy - I liked her smile. More than director's commands, it also depends on the actor has or follows his own style of acting which most of Indian actors lack.

Special features of the movie which made me write about it here:
1.Surya and his hard work. The father Surya, his expressions and mannerisms to match that of a 60 year old man.Drug addict Surya, his arrogance and message to younger generation.His 6 packs. Manly!

2.The messages in the movie - Cancer kills(or rather cigarette smoking kills); Drug addiction and its after effects; Join the army; And the best message of all - Overcome your depression by deviating yourself into any kind of activity that you feel is worthy! The dialogue Surya delivers exclusively for the younger generation about body-building to overcome depression was absolutely well-received and an excellent thought! Well, I felt this is how movies should be, at least for the young guys who bunk their schools and colleges to watch a show!

3.Joining the army and its importance.

4.Songs - Though usual Harris Jayaraj ones, I liked 'Analmele Panithuli' (a different approach from Harris) and 'Anjale Anjale'(for Karthik who is my favorite and the 'type' of the song which was foot-tapping or rather a 'kuthu' song)

On the whole, though it has its own flaws , a good movie to be watched and I am happy Tamil Cinema can be this informative to the youth! I was moved after watching it!

Those two movies

2008-10-26T02:36:00.007-04:00

Thanks to Praveen who shared his DVD collections with me. After a long time, I got a chance to watch 3 movies from the collection - Cinema Paradiso, Scent of a woman, Shawshank Redemption. And do I need to say that these movies are still in the list of 'All time best movies'?

Well, I did like Scent of a woman, but then the movie was entirely based on Alpacino in the background. Hence I skip commenting about it right now except for a punchline 'What a man - Alpacino!'

Coming to the other 2 movies; Cinema Paradiso - Man, Is this a movie or an encyclopedia! I have been watching Hollywood classics for a few years now. Till few years back, I was under a wrong notion that 'Manirathnam was the best director', 'Kamal Hassan was the greatest actor', 'Illayaraja was the best music director'. I feel everyone would have felt like this in the beginning till you extended your exposure. The world is so big and we have seen very less of it. After I got an exposure to these classics all my previous notions shattered into pieces. And I am happy about it!

Cinema Paradiso - A movie for a lifetime! I guess this statement will explain it all! Every single frame of it is to be treasured. For people who have not watched it yet, go for it right away. It revolves around the story of a man right from his childhood. The word 'child' reminds me of the little kid(the one seen in the picture above) who has broken every one's record of acting (I meant ‘broken records’ because, for his age what he has delivered is mind blowing). People say that the recent Tamil flick ‘Veyyil’ is a remake of Cinema Paradiso. I have not watched ‘Veyyil’ yet, neither do I want to watch it anymore. Because, I don’t want to come to a conclusion, that these Bollywood and Kollywood directors lack brains to even copy a movie properly. Well, that’s totally another debate which I don’t want to get into.

Shawshank Redemption - another masterpiece! I call it a 'Man Movie'. And the reason being, either the movie is full of men and no single woman in it or the theme behind would grab the attention of a man more than a woman. Still I forced myself to watch it completely as I was curious in knowing what made it top the list of 'All time Best movies'. I got glued to my seat till the end of the movie because; of the direction, thrill it created, the life of prisoners and the ailments they suffer from, the ruthless jail wardens, the punishments one would suffer from in jail, Andy's composed nature and patience and of course his master plan to escape from jail, Morgan Freeman (an obvious reason for anyone who watches the movie to like it), last but not the least -the master plan. This movie reminds me of 'Great Escape' , which had a similar theme.

She is 60+2 !

2008-08-15T01:41:00.005-04:00

She reminds me of a video forward which I recently saw, where a small kid looks at her and says "You are a senior citizen now"; and the camera focuses on her, she still flies in the air briskly showing off her colours.

Another year gone but still feel the same way as felt last year, about the I-day. Another holiday? Wake up late in the morning, hold deep thoughts whether to take bath or not, out of laziness brush the teeth and have a heavy breakfast, keep watching television browsing channels for I-day special movies.

The flag hoisting, the national anthem, the songs, the special plays, the speeches , the tri-color, the excitement etc. which were made mandatory in schools and colleges seem to slowly vanish?

No way! Either celebrating for the gold medal after 2.8 decades; or the sudden disappointment within , looking at the name 'India' going lower in the Olympics medal tally; Patriotism- is still the same!

In the name of Spa

2008-08-09T09:30:00.001-04:00

'Arpana' is her name, or rather pseudo name; real being that of Mizorami origin. She has traveled hundreds of miles just for a happy living (or rather living). She is my favorite lady among the other Mizorami girls here. Paying 700 bucks, and sacrificing an hour, you got to experience her work. She is the senior hair stylist in 'Nxxxxxxx Beauty Saloon'. No one has ever taken the liberty of hitting me so hard on my head than Arpana. Hitting I mean is, have you seen a tabla being hit by Zakkhir Hussain? That way! Well, that’s how a massage has to be, so can’t help it.

A month ago my new hair style(reminds me of Maya's curlz experience) was supposed to be new to Chennai. The stylist told me that she had learnt that just the day before I was experimented on. Somewhat similar to testing on a rat before declaring an invention. Well, this hairstyle is supposed to be 'Layers with bounce'. Does it really look like that was what my question. Before starting the 'hair-cut' she promised me that, this hairstyle is going to make a revolution here in Chennai and people will definitely give a look at me for this. And yes, they did. I used to hold my breath till I boarded my bus everyday morning while crossing the stray dogs. Well, the hairstyle isn't that bad to my eyes...

These days their services are not up to the mark. People like me are searching for a good competitor in the industry. 'Customer satisfaction' is their motto for which a lot of adjustments are being made. Customers asked to wait for hours together during power cuts(of course power shutdown are a common in Chennai, and places like hospitals and beauty saloons etc are supposed to have an alternative); someone being sent to purchase fruits in the middle of a fruit facial treatment(it is the duty of the management to look after whether the necessary stuff for a treatment is ready or not before starting it, especially in a renowned saloon); customers asked to shift locations during the middle of a session(I have seen people being helped to walk here and there in the saloon with a face mask on). The beauticians all being from the same native keep chatting with one another while treating customers. Who knows, whether they are scolding the customer for eating away their free time (for me Mizo and Nepali are not as easy as Malayalam or Telugu to decipher). Once a customer became irate and shouted at one of those girls for constantly talking to her colleague in their language.

Beautification and massaging has become a part of well being in today's life, especially for people in metros and of course for those who work in odd hours. Today, there are still men who look for brides 'tall, fair complexioned, with a long hair etc.’ Make a search in matrimonial sites or give a glance to the classifieds and you will know. In fact there are places where the guy's family quotes for more dowries if the girl has any ailments. I have not come across any such news if the case had been the other way round. Fathers of girls - wake up!

'Hanu' in Dasa

2008-07-29T10:58:00.006-04:00

I am still wondering why I have not come up with the second part of my review. Have I got bored of reading a hundred reviews here and there about it? No matter how 'big' the movie is, these days none of them seem to attract me for long.

And for all you guys who wonder, what the name of the monkey which appears in Dasavatharam is - Hanu and not, Anu. Hanu as in Hanuman!!! I had got enough teasing while watching the movie itself. I accept man evolved from monkey, but then this 'Hanu' looks very unhealthy and skinny.Next time you watch the movie take a look at its face.

Awesome punch by Govind: Kadavul illanu naan sollala, irundha nalla irukum nu thaan solren. Anbe Venkataachalam!

Dasavatharam – My View

2008-06-14T12:50:00.008-04:00

Though the movie released yesterday with a grand opening all over, I got my chance to watch it on the second day. Getting a ticket in Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai is not that easy, especially on the very second day of the most awaited blockbuster of 2008, ‘class-cum-mass’ movie. So I decided to head towards Mayajaal (ECR) which screened 45 shows of 'Dasavatharam' per day. Finally, when I had the tickets in my hand I was anxiously waiting till the show time. Though it cost me Rs.400 for two tickets, the actual cost should have been Rs.240 (120 each). Well, I actually dint mind paying 400 bucks at that point of time; because I was waiting to watch this movie for months, just like many others.Another unforgettable experience was to watch the movie sitting in the first seat, raising my head at an angle of 45 degrees.

The movie:
Before watching
Let me explain what raised my expectations to watch this movie. First of all, my love towards ‘Lord Krishna (precisely Vishnu) and his leela’. From my childhood (even today) I got addicted listening to stories(by means of my grandmother, animated movies, books,etc) of all his avatars. Most of the devotional songs which I keep humming would be of Lord Krishna’s. So my attractions towards the movie (or rather why I wanted to watch Dasavatharam) are
1. ‘Name of the movie’ itself (Curiosity about the 10 avatars or roles)
2. Kamal ( though I wont accept him as a 'Ulaganayagan' he is definitely our 'Ulloor Nayagan'- a legend of Tamil Cinema)
3. Mukuntha-Mukuntha song ( a short description of the 10 avatars)
4. Tsunami ( after 26Th Dec 2004, I grew a separate love for this word ‘Tsunami’, not for the destruction it caused but for the scientific truths about it)
5. The hype it created
6. Is it worthy enough to bag an Oscar award?

After watching
A roller-coaster ride! A must watch movie! 3 cheers for Kamalhassan! Well, I am not the first person to say this; a thousand movie critics have already praised Kamal since its release yesterday.

For a change, the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu, all of which belongs to the Hindu religion have been portrayed as 10 different roles in the movie, but with a mixture of many religions. Well, the usage of religious or caste-based words is not new in a Kamal’s movie.

As Nambi of 12Th century, I liked Kamal’s costume and his justification towards the role as I felt it suited him better than anyone else in Tamil cinema. Special cheers for his biceps!

Scientist episode bagged the first place of all the others, mainly due to my interest and love towards bio-technology. Note the word episode and not the role. Otherwise scientist Govind is a normal Kamal whom we saw in any other movie. Poor actor’s skin was given a chance to breathe fresh air without much make-up for this role than the other ones.

Villain Fletcher exposed the most stunning performance and the make-up matched the role so perfectly when compared to others. A mixture of most Hollywood popular faces put together with Kamal’s negative-role acting. Mallika Sherawat has done justice for the money paid to her. Nothing more nothing less!

Dalit ‘Vincent’ is the second best in make-up and an unforgettable acting of all the other roles. As Vincent, Kamal would definitely win a many more hearts in Tamil Nadu other than his current fans count. To be more precise, support from a wide range of fans from the wide range of communities (castes) spread across Tamil Nadu.

Naidu, is my favorite character. His delivery of Telugu mixed Tamil dialogues is so original which reminded me of my Andhra-based professors in college, colleagues, friends etc. But, I felt the flaw here was, as per the story , the case under Naidu's control being an international one about a terrorist should have been handled by a more responsible officer, while Naidu is considered to be the comedian of the movie. (Remember, the movie is aimed for Oscars and just not another Tamil Cinema). Of course people who watch a movie for 3 hrs and more will expect a bit of humor in it, but I felt this(such an officer given responsibility to trace an international culprit) won't happen in real life.

The Chinese man - an extra-ordinary brilliant piece of acting combined with make-up. The stunts are stunning and it looks like a professional ‘hooo-haaa’ kind.( I am very poor in the names of these Ching-chong fights. Used to admire them in many Jackie Chan movies).

Paati (old woman) character will stay in the hearts of many due to her acting and voice modulation. She (the character) touched my heart in the climax when she actually took the dead Dalit’s head and put it on her lap crying for him, breaking the so called rules of many ‘caste-creed’ wars between the upper and lower castes in Tamil Nadu. (Of course, this is just a movie and not a real-life attempt. But I am sure this will be an eye-opener for many)

Punjabi- cheers again for the make-up, but I expected more from the role. The colors seen in the song ‘Oh Oh Sanam’ are attractive enough. JayaPradha is just another character in the movie and nothing much. I felt Kiron Kher would have best suited the role.

Bush – I liked the way he smiled at the crowd while traveling in the car. Truly reminds me of the president of America. The English accent is interesting.

Tall Musalman -Comparatively lesser dialogues. Again, I felt a flaw in the make-up done on him. His face resembled more of Fletcher's (Villain role). Actually his is the one role which didn’t attract me much.

On the whole, of all the reasons I expected, and I feel the reason it deserved an Oscar award is Kamal , his acting, his make-up - precisely his effort.

But…

Asin is the biggest drawback in the movie. Most of her scenes were unwanted or rather irritating for an ‘Oscar aimed movie’. Her love towards the ‘Perumal’ idol till the end of the movie could have suited her role if she was showcased as a lunatic. Being a normal young Tamil girl her innocence shown towards the scientist’s words on bio-technology and its importance, were an overdose or probably over-acting. She is a pretty damsel whose characterization is not been concentrated much in the movie.

Other drawbacks in the movie are the unnecessary fight sequences, rape-attempt scenes (Asin’s), a group of soldiers trying to open the temple’s main door using a wood log while Nambi trying to close it from the other side; are the ones which equates this project more closer to an usual Tamil movie.

Music is another drawback. Rahman would always have been the best choice for this movie, he being the Guru (Of course next only to Illayaraja who has become old enough to give good music these days). He knows better than Himesh.

And it is a known fact that 'Dasavatharam' is a total Kamal movie , while Ravikumar being namesake. Tsunami effects are not up to my expectations or rather not up to Hollywood standards. Remember how sea water gushed inside Titanic after the hit of an iceberg?

On a nutshell, D-A-S-A-V-A-T-H-A-R-A-M is ‘THE’ best Tamil or rather Indian movie I have ever watched. But, not enough for Oscars!

*** keep viewing for 'Dasavatharam – My View(Part2)'.

Finishing 'Thair Saadham'

2008-05-21T11:04:00.006-04:00

Srikanth: No matter what you say, ‘thair saadham(curd rice) thair saadham’ only…No match for it!!!
Maya(sarcastically): Hey, don’t keep praising yourself every time.
Srikanth(with an angry tone): Maya , don’t call me thair saadham. One more time you do that I will kick your ass.
Maya (giggles): Why do you scold me for saying the truth. You eat ‘thair saadham’ right? That’s the reason I named you that way.
Srikanth: I eat any type of cuisine but ‘thair saadham’ is an excellent finishing. I got used to. It usually is like a thanks note in my menu.
Maya: Hmmm, then?
Srikanth: My dad eats ‘thair saadham’ with milk sweet. What do you say for that? I know you will have some comments on it.
Maya:!?!? (Went blank with a raised eyebrow)

KK mama (Srikanth ‘s dad) lives with his 'Thair saadham'. During an informal chat Srikanth had told maya that mama eats 'thair saadham' in many combinations. Frankly speaking, I have eaten it with pickle and love to have it with paalak paneer gravy. But mama eats it with rasam, and unbelievably with milk-sweet too. Will that combination work? Maama’s love towards 'thair saadham' has reached heights.

Yet another Po'em

2008-05-15T08:41:00.015-04:00

Here is another poem, or rather a scribbling. It is a general saying that people write a poem when they are sad/depressed, romantic/being-loved, happy/energetic. This one too falls under one of the category....

Tears...

You rolled over my cheek,
and wet my shawl;
I thought you would better,
stop your crawl!

This time you made your session
a little longer than before;
Please leave me alone,
my eyes can't strain anymore.

People are watching me cry,
and I guess I must stop it now;
You trouble me almost everyday,
vanish today and come tomorrow.

My face-cloth is fully wet,
by your downpour;
Now will you please stop
embarrassing me more.

But to tell a truth
about you that's hidden;
You are my only mate who,
surprise me all of a sudden.

View Prasanna's poem from a different angle...

Hindi malum hai kya?

2008-05-11T08:42:00.008-04:00

Whether Hindi is national language or not is a different question. Why are many people in Tamil Nadu not willing to speak Hindi - because they don't know Hindi, as simple as that! For many people in Chennai Hindi is still "Kuch kuch hota hai", " Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge". According to a NI (North Indians), Chennai is a place last in his list either to get a transfer or even for a short stay because he says "Less people speak Hindi there, how do I communicate even to an auto walla?" Everywhere in India people speak Hindi - be it Bangalore or Jabalpur.

For many Chennai'ites learning Hindi was never a 'must' during one's academics. "Ek Gau mein ek kissan raghu thaatha" - hope raghu's thaatha( grandfather) doesn't mind his profession being changed. But this is a serious issue. Hindi - National or Official language? Lets leave it apart for sometime. We are at one point of time forced to take Hindi as a language during school. Is that useful for our day to day lives now?

During my 9Th class , I remember coming out of Hindi class and joining Tamil class from the very next day just because I dint like my Hindi teacher. But then from my second class I was forced to study Hindi. I still remember "Saanch Barobar Tap nahi, joot barobar paap" - having memorising the Dhoha(like Thirukkural in Tamil) everyday with the fear of getting punishment. Today I research, by anyway is that Dhoha helping me converse with people who know Hindi?

Can the education systems be changed such that children get an exposure of spoken Hindi during school? Well, most of the Tamil parents make their children study Hindi hardly for 3 years. During that time if spoken Hindi is imparted to them, on a long run one more language will get added to their list.

Bridging it - India and China!

2008-05-09T12:38:00.011-04:00

China :
Opens longest sea bridge.Descriptions of the bridge follows:

Distance : 32 kms
Construction started: 2003

Construction completed: 2007

Duration taken to complete: 4 years
Purpose: Connects Jiaxing City with Cixi City(2 major cities)

India(Chennai):

Opens Kathipara bridge(near Guindy). Only one phase of the bridge stands completed.Description of the same follows:
Distance: Less than 1/2 km
Construction started:2005

Construction completed:2008

Duration taken to complete: 3 years (one phase)
Purpose: Connects GST road towards Vadapalani(one phase)

Cheating....cheating!

2008-04-25T12:16:00.005-04:00

The instructor cheated me. 3 weeks back when I checked my weight it was '_ . 3' kgs( _ intentional for light-hearted readers). Yesterday (after 3 weeks of heavy workout sessions), I could not take my eyes off the weighing machine which read '_ . 8' kgs (an increase in 0.5 kgs).

I immediately called for a personal meeting with the owner and the other trainers of the fitness center, to complain about my 'loss in money and gain in weight'. I made my face as an angry customer in front of them. I decided I am not going to compromise with their explanations.

Mr.Moses, the owner of the center decided to give a start from their side. He said, "We are very sorry if you feel our training is not satisfactory for you ma'am. But let me clarify one thing from you, did you follow our diet plans?" He then turned to my trainer and asked her if she provided me the diet plans sheet. Only then I came to know diet was 50% of the weight loss program.

I have been hogging like anything for the past 3 weeks thinking my exercises would compensate them!!! God has saved my calories!

Short Story - Bengalooru - The ultimate destination? (Part 2)

2008-04-16T11:17:00.006-04:00

Back with Bengalooru series. Here is a true story which happened recently to a person whom I know.

After a long break and relaxation in his hometown, Srikanth is back in Bangalore . He started his career in Bangalore but developed the same in Chennai. Chennai’s dust and sun did not create a bit of dislike for him. But Mr.Kurubaani (his senior manager) wanted Srikanth to enjoy Bangalore for sometime. Their conversation went this way….

Kurubaani: Srikanth, people with your experience are thriving to fly on site. May I know the reason why rejected your turn.
Srikanth: Boss, personal issues.
Kurubaani: (to himself) I can't accept this man.
Srikanth: Sorry about that, could you please give me an alternative.
Kurubaani: You will have to move to Bangalore soon for your next assignment
Srikanth: Sir, but….
Kurubaani: No but’s and if’s please. Next week report there in Bangalore . Good day!
Srikanth: (cries within) Indha aal nadu mandaila nangunu onnu vaikka mudiliye.Why don’t managers understand we have issues. Why is that the company does not help its employees. Am I saying I won’t work. Why don’t they give me a project here. At least for sometime till my issues are resolved.

The following week Srikanth reached Bangalore at around 10.30 in the night on a dull Sunday. He took a pre-paid auto amid lots of call taxi people hounding him to take their vehicle and was travelling to his guest house clutching his luggage. The road was almost empty and desolate and Srikanth was enjoying the breeze though he was sleepy. Srikanth has already had few worst experiences there during his last stay. This time the ‘Tamil Nadu-Karnataka dispute on Hogennakkal’ added fuel to fire.

The auto driver tried to act as if he was a local by talking in the native language of Bangalore even though he knew only a few words. Suddenly Srikanth observed a motorist whizz past the auto at a fairly good speed and suddenly slowed down. A similar incident took place 2 years back while Srikanth was returning home and the auto driver stopped in the middle of a dark lonely road. A speeding auto came behind and Srikanth had to run fearing for his life. He knew both autos were following him, but luckily another auto came and Srikanth took that one to reach his home escaping the thieves.

This time Srikanth was reminded by that incident and wanted to be more cautious as he had 3 bags with him including a trolley suitcase. The motorist who overtook the auto slowed down to run parallel with the auto. He started staring at Srikanth and gave him wild looks. Srikanth wanted to ask the motorist “ What the f*** do you want?” Suddenly he was struck by a thought what if the motorist was the auto driver’s friend.

He was almost reaching his destination while the motorist still kept following the auto. The auto driver now crossed the destination and kept on driving. Srikanth got very suspicious and asked the driver if he knew the route correctly.

The motorist still followed and over took the vehicle. The auto suddenly stopped. Srikanth was going to get down of the auto as his suspicion rose to its peak. Within a fraction of second the motorist drove fast passing the auto almost as if to strike Srikanth down deliberately. Then only Srikanth realized that the motorist was drunk and it had been a holiday in Bangalore . Suddenly a hand touched his shoulders.

Srikanth turned back in a force to hit the person with his hand while he heard a statement “Welcome to Bangalore ”. That was Srikanth’s friend waiting to receive him. Srikanth smiled back and paid the auto driver and left to his room.

Lost 10 kilos...

2008-04-08T11:37:00.002-04:00

...is what I always wanted to say. Looks like and feels like I have lost 10 kilos in a day's workout which is supposed to be my first ever proper workout session. Now don't raise your eyebrows saying "Have you never worked out till now? Shame on you!". I never used to go to a fitness center because of mere laziness. I was a trainer myself at home and was convinced with my 5 mins(maximum of 5 mins and minimum of 1 minute) aerobics/dance/workout (I keep changing its name according to my convenience). One person who constantly giggles looking at me workout at home is my mom.

Though my jeans never fit me these days as they used to, I convinced myself thinking my body doesn't need any exercise because I eat a lot and walk a lot which compensates each other. After repeated public demand I forced myself to join a fitness center and kick-started my sessions today successfully.

With lot of precautionary measures I filled my stomach from morning assuming that I would need a lot of energy to workout. Hearing my food itinerary maybe the trainer thought for a minute I need to be given counseling about ‘how to stop eating’. Well I am not a foodaholic though, but ‘Cornucopia’ at Cenotaph Road has made me addicted to ‘Continental cuisine’, while the ‘Dhabbas’ welcome me with a smile. Though the hospitality of ‘Don Pepe’ on Cathedral Road is not that good, the sizzlers they serve are awesome and I mainly go there for ‘Pussy Foot’ and ‘Virgin Mary’ ( names of drinks). ‘Eden’ at ‘Harrisons’ gives mouth-watering ‘Pastitso’, while ‘Sangeetha Desi Mane’ at Citi Center serves ‘Namma ooru Saapadu’ (South Indian meals).

Few people wanted me to stop outside food once for all, while others came up with a slogan ‘eat well, workout well’. I decided to follow the latter. Not too late though :-)

First full meal!

2008-04-06T10:24:00.004-04:00

From the beginner’s kitchen, here is yet another successful preparation(how I decide its successful is based on my kitchen Vishwamithra’s comments – my mom). During my teens whenever I went to kitchen or whenever my mom used to yell at me for not doing any household work, my dad used to save me shouting at her back. He says never disturb a child when she is studying; and I took that as an advantage to escape household work.

Coming back to today’s recipe, apart from the usual side dishes I concentrate on, this is a perfect breakfast / night dinner which served two. It took nearly 1 hour and 30 Mins for me to display the output. It’s nothing new, but the usual ‘Roti and Sabzi’(trust me right from the flour preparation till the garnishing the entire work was mine this time); which came out perfectly well. During the middle of the preparation I had to grab an orange from the fridge and satisfy my hunger, I could not hold till my dish was ready. First time proper cooking so took a long time than usual and most of all I knew how my cooking will be and hence didn’t want to rely on that. If I don’t trust my own cooking then why this mess - practice makes things perfect!

Some few years back when I actually started cooking I found it real difficult as there were no proper guides for beginners. Hence I want to share my experience with people who are planning to kick-off your kitchen experience in near future. I would be very grateful to hear from beginners like me, experts, and masters in cooking art.

Roti and Aaloo gravy

Dough preparation:

Put 1 to 2 cups of flour in a convenient vessel.
Add salt as per your needs, a pinch of turmeric powder
Those who want can add 1 tablespoon of Vanaspathi, or ghee to make the Roti’s rich.
Mix them well with your hands to make it a perfect dough. There are many dough makers available in market. But I would suggest mixing with our own hands because it gave my hand muscles a perfect exercise for 5 minutes.
Leave it exposed to air for five minutes.
Make hot Roti’s with the dough.

Aaloo Podimaas

Ingredients:
Potatoes – 2
Onion – 1
Carrots – 2
Green Chillies – 2
Curry leaves
Coriander
Turmeric powder
Chilly powder
Salt
Oil

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes and carrots in a pressure cooker for 5 mins
Fry onions in pan with required oil till it turns golden brown
Add curry leaves, chillies, turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt.
Add water to it and let it boil for 2 mins
Mash the boiled potato and carrots and add to it.
Leave it on fire for 2-3 mins
Add coriander leaves to the gravy and serve it with the Rotis.

10,000 B.C.

2008-04-06T09:54:00.003-04:00

2008 AD as we are in, refreshing back about "10,000 BC" - A movie of its kind! My kind of movie too! I always wonder about how 'this' all happened and changed. 'This' i mean the transformation of man, the growth of civilization, the boundaries, the wars, the languages etc.

The movie is about fight and animosity at those(pre-historic) times. Man has had so many enemies, one side its the wild animals-the large tooth tigers and the mammoths; while the other side it’s the man himself.

We can see the differentiation between men from different regions of the world, men from different civilizations. Well, we see that even now. The movie shows where and how it all started.
The pyramid construction; men being treated slaves for it; the killing of the mammoths for food; were all beautifully portrayed in the picture. One more creation with awesome graphics but there is surely something missing.

Recipe - Spice up the Fish!

2008-03-29T12:26:00.004-04:00

Ingredients:

Fish ( preferably the squared ones) – 2 pieces
Ginger – small piece
Garlic – 3
Pepper – 1 small spoon
Green chillies – 2
Lime juice – 1 table spoon
Corn flour – 1 table spoon
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Salt
Oil
Onion and Coriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

1. Wash the fish cubes well with water and keep it aside
2. Put ginger, garlic, pepper, green chillies in a mixer and make it a fine paste.
3. Make fine holes on the fish with a sharp knife.
4. Put the fish in a big bowl; Add the paste prepared, lime juice, turmeric powder, salt to it.
5. Marinate the ingredients all over the fish such that the paste spreads thoroughly inside the holes.
6. Spread corn flour in a plate. Apply the flour thoroughly over the fish.
7. Put oil in a pan and once the oil is heated put the fish on the pan and heat it for 3-4 minutes.

8. Let the fish fry properly on both sides.
9. Remove the fish pieces from the pan and garnish it with the finely chopped onions and coriander leaves.

10. Serve it hot with mint sauce.

IT Speak - Had a break?

2008-03-27T11:14:00.003-04:00

*non-ITians excuse
If I say ‘IT is growing everyday’, nothing new in it. But if I ask ‘where do you stand in the growth?’ are you going to take a thought about it?

If you relax for sometime closing your eyes; by the time you open your eyes the ‘world’ would have gone far away from you. The only possible way you could reach the ‘world’ would be to double your speed. ‘The rabbit and tortoise’ concept is not going to work out here. And I bet if you are not physically and mentally prepared to double your speed; then you are a loser!

Taking a long break from work, especially during your ‘crucial growth period’ is like inviting trouble with a ‘welcome drink’. Certain ‘breaks’ are unavoidable. But again be prepared to double your speed. Don’t imagine yourself as a tortoise, as the rabbits here are not fools to give you way.

The ingredients to reach the ‘world’ (that is to double your speed are); a whole you, with no worries, physically fit, mentally prepared, a good aim at the target, and of course a smile on your face(the last one is my personal suggestion everywhere)! If you feel you have them all then take the plunge – the second time! Else wait!

Shhh....No politics here!!!

2008-03-15T09:57:00.001-04:00

I happened to visit a village near vellore where in few of the homes had no proper electricity, no proper food; water was contaminated, and more. But one thing which I could see in almost all the homes was a small television with "Tamil Nadu Arasal Vazhanga Pattadhu" written in blue. And every home had a cable connection with a few channels in which Kalaignar TV was compulsorily present.

A kind lady offered us tea as we came from far far away(from Chennai). As I was waiting for it, a small kid came home from school, threw his bag and grabbed the remote control. He tuned to 'Kalaignar Music' (am not sure about the name of the channel) and started dancing for Chimpoo's 'Kutti pisase' song. Heights!

I asked him when he will do his homework. He gave me a list of TV programs after which he said he will eat and sleep and will do homework the next day morning. This is 'India Tomorrow' (at least in villages) for us. But one appreciable aspect was every family had a 'TV' of their own and the ladies had some entertainment rather than gossipping with neighbours all time.

Struggle more and u will get.......

2008-03-11T11:28:00.005-04:00

.......IT back!
Flash news today says "Ahmedabad, has registered a whopping Rs 1.44 crore salary offer, which is the highest in all the IIMs in India".

Heard about increasing 'dowry' for Software engineers(earning less than 10 L/annum) in AP...

How is it to be a mother of a girl child?

2008-03-08T08:08:00.005-05:00

On the day of delivery,her prayers are to the maximum.As they say,its rebirth for a woman.But what actually is her prayer to god?Is it for a safe and non-problematic delivery or for a boy child?Well, people will definitely debate with me if I say that, as these days modern Mother-To-Be are 'OK' with any child, be it a boy or a girl.

Recently I had a chat with a woman who was a Mother-To-Be , she says her prayers are for a boy child.I was very curious in knowing the reason.She said, "I don't want my child to face the problems I faced in life".I replied back saying "Lady! come on, a child has to be either a girl or a guy.Why restrict one gender? It was Adam and Eve and destiny was, Eve had to face the consequences, no matter what." Am I right? I didn't want to disappoint her or to prove her prayers were wrong by talking more.But I felt bad thinking what if every woman thinks like this?

'Rear Window' experience

2008-01-15T06:26:00.000-05:00

'Rear Window' directed by Alfred Hitchcock which was nominated for Oscars is a movie in which a man in wheelchair spies on his neighbour through his telescope and becomes convicted that one of them has committed murder. He enjoys being in the wheelchair as he is entertained by the various activities of his neighbours. Same way......

.....few weeks it was a great experience for me who had sprained my leg due to a minor accident at home.Sitting sedentary with a remote on my hand at one place(my bed) made me discover thousands of new ideas.Food, water, paper, books,junk all to my place. I can say I enjoyed this.Doctor advised me not to move for few days.There were in fact talks of buying a mobile commode.God saved me from that worser situation.For the first time I spent weekday afternoons at home, discovering what neighbours do. Same as what happened in the movie, I heard and saw a lot of fights,romances,chatting,cooking etc. I was not eavesdropping, but had no choice but to hear it, as my room window was on a corner of the plot closer to my neighbours respective windows.

In one window, a young girl was seen always on her mobile, I assumed she was engaged with a guy and was staying at home. The other window where a boy was yelling (a+b)^2=(a^2+2ab+b^2), and stuff. Probably his maths exam the next day(You guessed it right! I wrote this post during Half-Yearly exam time but forgot to post it then).Third window was a kitchen window where the magic of spices were disturbing me so much while I should be on diet. When I got bored with the windows I would pick my remote. Thanks to the sprain! It kept me away from so many things!

Last minute rush-up (December month)

2008-01-02T10:47:00.000-05:00

2008-My first post this year! Let it be about 'the last few days'!

Do you postpone things to the 11Th hour and struggle at that moment? Well, I do! I do a lot of postponement and I admit I do multitasking in the 11Th hour. A lot of time goes waste thinking whether to do it or not, how to do it, what will be the consequences etc (merely speaking planning consumes a lot of time while actual implementation has to be rushed up).One good example is I never eat the whole day and finally stuff a lot of food compensating for the whole day! (I know you never expected such an example :-)).

If we give it a serious thought and look at the events (exclusively bad) that had taken place in the last week of December, that's called real postponement or last minute rush-up. No one expected Benazir's death during the year end. What about Tsunami? Well, that's god's postponement. Maybe god decided of a Tsunami in 2004 and kept postponing it till last week of the year.

The Thread!

2007-12-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

//It denotes that one who wear the sacred thread should be pure in his thought, word and deed.//

A person I know replied for this saying, absolutely not necessary; and removed his thread. The explanation he gave for this was, "A person who wears it is not all that great. Why should a thread differentiate me from others? Let the world consider me equally from now on..."

Three cheers for him (for thinking uniquely and rightly) on behalf of me and my blog!!!

Wine shop!

2007-12-02T08:05:00.000-05:00

The intensity of crowd at various shops fluctuate for various seasons...

Diwali/Festivals-Cracker shop, Saree houses are overloaded.

Start of academic year-Book and stationary stores are fully packed.

Religious occasions/auspicious days- Flower business go up. Valentine's day-Crowd at 'Gift' shops.

But if there is one shop which is always packed with people at any season and for no reason at any time of a day is the Wine shop (at least here in Chennai).

Are so many people addicted to alcohol? Occasionally consuming it sounds OK, but getting addicted to it needs a second thought. A man under poverty line becoming irresponsible and getting addicted to alcohol will lose a lot.

A search from a website says...

• Advantages: Better cardiovascular health, Improved blood vessel function, Value in religious systems, Social interactions at low to moderate use levels

• Disadvantages: Fetal alcohol syndrome, Driving related problems and violence, Alcoholism, Increased risk for various diseases (Many types of cancer), Interaction with several medications, even OTC drugs

Sedentary men!

2007-12-02T04:04:00.000-05:00

Year 2007, booming or rather bloomed IT has a lot of men working for it. Long long ago, men went to the fields to earn some money for living while their counter-parts acted home-makers. Man is different from a woman by what means - physical appearance and the physical strength? That is the reason why men went out for hunting a little later while women still continued to stay at home. Years went, civilizations changed, culture bloomed; still men were stronger by body and mind and they volunteered the 'outside' job while the ladies took over the 'family-shaping' job.

But now as we see men working sedentary in front of the monitors, are they still stronger by mind and body? Ages back women at home used to send their sons to the battle field to fight for her country. Now every mom wants her son be a 'Software Engineer' instead and earn lakhs of money sitting at one place. Even now there are people who join the army and navy but are they recognized when compared to the ones working at 'Infosys' or 'Wipro' or 'TCS'?

Sometime back a bus in which I was travelling was full of IT janta and accidentally it hit a two-wheeler.Fortunately nothing had happened to the person on it. The angry two-wheeler guy came inside the bus and started hitting the bus driver wildly, as the fault was on the bus-driver's side. The whole scene took place for at least two full minutes and during that time none of the 'software men' in the bus went forward to stop the fight. Either they were busy shuffling songs in their i-pod or enjoying their sleep. My thought here is, how quickly will these sedentary men react to any critical situations?

Also, getting a girl is not so difficult these days. Girls easily fall for a corporate tag or for a visa stamping. Reminds me of 'Suyamvara' ritual during olden days or the traditional 'Jalli-Kattu' (cow-chasing) where a guy has to prove his braveness to get the girl's heart.

A good 'Song'!

2007-10-31T11:55:00.000-04:00

Usually ARR songs will become hot favorites amongst many, but after listening to it for a repeated number of times. ARR songs are very reliable. Recently I heard a song 'Maduraiku Pogadhe' in one of the many 'FM' channels. Way different from the usual numbers this one created a curiosity in me to know who was the music director and which movie it is from. Unfortunately the 'RJ' did not announce that. According to me a song and its composition becomes good only when the listeners get the 'feel' of it and search for its details. Obviously, for any good job done don't we ask 'Who did this?'

While browsing through the channels, I violently came back to the channel where I heard this song again; just to know who has scored the music. A perfect folk song or a 'Kuthu' paatu or a 'Masth' song or whatever you mention; this one is from ATM (Now for people in Tamil Nadu ATM is no more Automated Teller Machine but Azhagiya Tamilmagan). I basically(and acidically ;-))don't like actor Vijay but ARR has proved that his fans will never be cheated! After knowing this song was a Rehman's product I felt 'No wonder'! Rehman rocks!

Experience with Mrs Manirathnam-fame is not everything!

2007-10-11T10:20:00.002-04:00

Money, fame, status, power will definitely change a person's behaviour or will definitely put in some kind of weight-to-the-head is my friend's notion after this incident happened. But i strongly disagreed to his point saying I can prove that there are people who throw away their 'everything' when it comes to maintaining a good 'attitude'. Dr.Abdul Kalam is a very down-to-earth person though he has his own international status; is what i heard and saw. But there are people who are not like that.

This incident happened when I met Suhasini Manirathnam(actor and wife of popular director Manirathnam)this week at a shopping mall when I was shopping with my friend. I initially saw her and shouted 'Hey hey, look. Its Suhasini.' My friend was astonished looking at her thinking, a big shot coming out to public places so comfortably as he said, 'Hey come lets talk to her. I want to tell her that my dad is one of her crazy fans.' I said 'OK, lets take a snap with her', as we ran towards her. She was busy taking a snap with a foreigner after which she started moving. My friend stopped her shouting her name. At least she had some courtesy in responding our call by turning back. Once my friend said what he wanted to, she(Mrs Manirathnam) did not even respond to it, and she left the place with a not-so-interested smile.

The immediate statement i got from my friend was 'We made a mistake talking to her.Good that we did not take a photo with her'. Of course, we understand it is difficult to meet hundreds of fans everyday; but a smile with a 'thank you' is not going to charge her anything is all what we concluded!

Rat-a-too-ee

2007-10-11T10:20:00.001-04:00

What a movie! A must watch!

Worth the money and time. A brilliant animation work full of laughter and fun.Its all about rats and cooking!Its not that someone cooks and the rat eats it, but in 'Ratatouille'(this is how its spelt) the rat cooks!!!

Best animation movie I have ever watched!!!

Recipe - Vegetable Crunch!

2007-10-06T12:51:00.000-04:00

Vegetable Crunch

Ingredients:

Carrot - 2

Beans - 10

Cabbage

Coriander leaves

Curry Leaves

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt

Chilly powder

Corn flour

Directions:

Boil carrot, beans and cabbage with half a cup of water in a pan for 5 mins
Cut the boiled vegetables into bigger pieces
Mix the vegetables with chilly powder, salt and corn flour
Heat oil in a pan
Put the mixed vegetables in the oil and fry them till they turn golden brown or approximately for 10 mins
Serve hot with sauce

*can be consumed as starters or can be had as a side dish for rice and roti.

Look at that!!!

2007-10-04T11:20:00.000-04:00

My first look at this female on a movie poster gave me serious thoughts that 'Are they planning to make a Devdas remake in Tamil where she will play Vikram's pair?'. That's because she looks so gorgeous ,very much equivalent to Madhuri Dixit in 'Dola re(Devdas)'.

I never had a slightest thought this was 'Kenny-anna' (that's how a friend of mine calls Chiyan Vikram who is her family friend).

Observe the picture. What I feel is the main motto of the whole 'Kandasamy' team about this particular role of Vikram would be that any guy who looks at this picture should fall for 'her'. Every single aspect from the accessories to the nose-ring looks so perfect. The only flaw i feel about the make-up is Vikram's eyes-which resembles more of a drunkard's, the lens somehow manages to cover up the flaw.

I don't think feminine make-up would have suited any other actor as this one!

Cricket-Pak-Dhoni-Cup-Mumbai-Bus!

2007-09-29T12:39:00.000-04:00

Chennai feels jealous thinking,'If I were Mumbai.....' for that lucky bus to go around.Dhoni and men have proved at last that India is 'capable', after all those previous 'beaten-ups'. 'Time' never gave me time to write about our master-blasters for their marvelous show this week. Finally caught hold of this page and not going to leave it till I convey my thoughts about the victory.

That last over was full of tension at my home apart from the lakh homes in India. My dad kept his fingers crossed though he was confident about India's win. Me like a spoil-sport, kept discouraging him by saying 'anything might happen in the last minute'- I was not wrong though! Misbah-ul-Haq(did i spell that right?) almost taught a new style of batting for that last ball, i got reminded by 'Lagaan-village players'. If Sreesanth had not caught that ball, if Misbah had sent the next ball to boundary; the cup would have travelled to Islamabad. Pakistani transport would have had to arrange a bus for the players to go around the city to celebrate their victory, Pakistani politicians would have been in top news to push the players to the back rows in their felicitation ceremony, Pakistani hockey players would have gone on hunger strike as they were not given enough attention. Fortunately or unfortunately that did not happen.

Future India would never forget that 'We' won the World Cup in the first 20-20 series. Dhoni has made history for future India, as Kapil had made for us. After gifting his shirt to one of his fans, somehow he decided to wear that sleeveless alternative for the prize distribution ceremony. Prize money keep flooding into the players pockets as wee see the Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra governments praise 'their' respective players. And can't forget that huge flower garland around rich Dhoni's neck during the felicitation ceremony which I ideally felt should have been around the 11 of them. This reminds me of the stone-attack at poor Dhoni's house sometime back when he didn't perform that well.This is India for us!

Yuvraj Singh's young girls fan club seems to be on the raise after his '6-out-of-6' treat. Oops, did we forget our dada's of cricket - Sachin, Rahul and Sourav? Or did they forget to greet the 11 of them in public as King-Khan did? India won the world cup, and I didn't come across any pictures of these big-shots with the 'Cup' or with the players.This reminded me of 'head-weight-Patashala-Gurus' heard from ancient epics who never appreciate the 'good work' of the youth.

Critics apart, India won! Chak Diya India!

*Pics Courtesy- ICC World Twenty20

Ahem Ahem! Our men are great!

2007-09-20T11:16:00.000-04:00

Related to my previous post (September 19Th 20-20 - Dhoni and Men!)

//This time the Kiwis showed their stamina levels as the ball was raising heights. The same attempts for Indians went in vain as they could only raise it to certain extent and gift it to the Kiwis.//

Yesterday's match with the Englishmen has brought in a small correction in my perception towards our men-in-blue. We can't keep complaining them. Yuvi's six sixes in one go clearly proves our men are unpredictable. Party time for Yuvraj! Yet another record! Kudos, Yuvi!

I was actually thinking about the sixth six, what was running in his mind after he hit the fifth ball beyond the boundary line.

20-20 - Dhoni and Men!

2007-09-19T11:14:00.000-04:00

I have never seen a match so 'fully'. I have never had patience to sit and watch a 6-7 hour match continuously listening to Mandira Bedi yapping in between, with her little knowledge about the game. This 20-20 series seems to be a nice idea for people like me who prefer everything short and sweet. I was glued to my seat last Sunday watching India play New Zealand. I have heard from most of my friends who believe superficially that; if they watch the match, India loses; if they move away from their seat, a wicket goes; if they utter a word, the ball goes to the boundary. I am not going to blame me for watching the match as India lost. I enjoyed watching it especially when the whole burden was on poor Sreesanth. Precisely a sportive spectator, I am.

Be it India or the opponent team, I enjoy watching the ball fly beyond the boundary line. This time the Kiwis showed their stamina levels as the ball was raising heights. The same attempts for Indians went in vain as they could only raise it to certain extent and gift it to the Kiwis. I thought our men's energy level could not match their meat and pork built stamina. As I was watching I discovered; that when it comes to fielding their men don't hesitate to fall on the ground to stop a ball going to boundary; whereas our men watch the ball go or to the maximum they run behind it. Cricket lovers reading this post don't search for me, I am a crazy cricket fan too! This guy Dhoni has got a lovely smile apart from his silky hair which attracted General Parvez and many others like me.

Good to know that 20-20 series might get included in Asian games and Olympics where Indian Cricket will get more popularity all over the world! While few of them feel importance to other games in Olympics might reduce once cricket is in.

Frustration!

2007-09-14T12:25:00.001-04:00

When you know you are right; when you are confident about your capabilities; when your journey has been smooth and successful till date; when you had planned to implement a proper strategy in your near future; when you are all set to attain your goals; when you have put up ways to balance your personal, official and social lives together; when you actually feel you are growing - suddenly, when you come across certain slight tremors deteriorating your performance; what would you do ideally?

Reach the heights of frustration spoiling your in and out of everything? Face a miserable period in life?

As I am migrating.....

2007-09-12T11:51:00.000-04:00

SMS alert said 'Tsunami warning. Do not go to beaches. Avoid coastal areas'. I replied back saying 'I live in coastal area(with a sarcastic smiley)'. Again got a reply saying 'very funny!'. After all that happened, my legs mildly started shivering thinking 'what if?'. When the same Tsunami happened in 2004, I got the news at around 5 in the morning when I was coming back from work. We people moved like nomads to safer zones. I remember, the next day was a holiday declared by the company!

Now, a little later, made up my mind and started to think about my important assets to be taken along with me; just in case of emergency. Immediately a flash in my mind 'Will I get a leave tomorrow?' and what reason will I mention for taking a leave? Tsunami Migration?

India Vs Australia!

2007-09-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

*Disclaimer : To understand my review better, watch the movie! A must-watch,big time patriotic,sports-based entertainer after Lagaan!

With a penalty shootout for Kabir Khan, it all begins in a hockey field for a final match against Pakistan in the Men's Hockey Tournament. As Kabir fails to attain the goal India loses the match.Mr.Khan is blamed for match-fixing against Pakistan-the media covers him shaking hands to the opponents; while he was actually trying to prove his sportsmanship by wishing the winners. After a span of 7 years with a burden in his heart he re-enters the field again, not to hold the stick but to train 'them' play with it. Kabir Khan, the new coach for 'Indian Women's Hockey Team' starts his journey saying 'Chak De India'.

SRK as Kabir stars against 16 heroines in the movie, probably making a record in Indian cinema. But this time not for a duet in France or Italy but for a game! Being brought up in a traditionally-bound country like India even P T Usha, Shiney Wilson or for that matter even our very own Miss.Mirza would have come across enormous physical and mental disturbances throughout their sports career. Study till twenties, get married, give birth to a kid in the early twenties, spend the rest of your life bringing up the child and serving your in-laws is probably a thought which is a little deviated these days. Keeping this in mind, the director has shown the 'dream' of the 16 girls who constitute the 'Women hockey team'; and also that of a black-marked coach.

Coming back to the movie; the team is not given any sponsorship in the beginning and the committee feels its not a good idea to send the 16 of them to the field as they were framed to make 'Roti' and 'Sabji' sitting at home. The committee changes its mind seeing the 'Men's hockey team' saluting the 16 ladies for a brilliant performance against them. For this much fame, Kabir had to take up a lot of blame from the girls during the practice sessions. A strict coach- Well, that's how a coach is supposed to be. Preethi whose boyfriend does not think that a woman too has her own career which is to be respected,Bindhya who feels her seniority could make her always on the top, Komal who hates Preethi and her fame, Kaur-aggressive enough always, Vidya who is tied in between her dreams in hockey and her family ;constitute the team along with the other girls.

During the practice sessions the girls face a lot of physical and mental tortures, 'you or me' fights between them, seniority and jealousy due to it, regional and lingual disturbances ; as the 16 of them have come from various corners of India, including Jarkhand! Apart from the game they learn many lessons in life. They finally arrive to Australia for the Hockey tournament. SRK's yet another stunning performance - a hockey coach tied between the black-mark against his name, girls hatred against him, passion towards the game.

What I liked: The whole movie as such, Komal's pass of the ball to Preethi-a true turning point during the final match. Preethi's sacrifice of the penalty shootout to Komal again during the climax. Preethi's dialogue against her boyfriend about his comments on women's career. SRK's penalty shootout miss (first scene- actually we have watched Indian cinema where the hero never loses). The coach's(SRK) strict behaviour. Absolutely no duets. Bringing Jharkhand to limelight. Unexpected parade of the girls in our traditional Saree. And last but never the least- the girls!!!

'Mom, I'm in love with Saif!'

2007-09-01T05:22:00.000-04:00

"It is rumoured Shahid wanted to spend quality time with his girlfriend Kareena." was news on July 31st. In a span of thirty days the media people had to go mad in editing the news and re-delivering info about Miss. Kareena 'Mom, I'm in love with Saif!'

Aaj kal yea bahuth hota hai! Shahid very much expected with a 'devdas' beard in future!

Wrong window!

2007-08-26T07:16:00.000-04:00

Many a times I face embarrassing situations in life. Intensity of few being really awkward; even now when I think of it. Makes me use this statement 'Oh Sh**! why did I do this?'

This one happened last week on a weekday at office. Just like any other day I logged on to my system as soon as I reached my desk. Usually, for official chats through messenger I mind my language and the way I handle my words(that does not mean for unofficial chats I am the other way round. But a little relaxed is what I mean).

I had to chat a while with my immediate-senior regarding a forthcoming meeting. A little later a second window popped up;one of my friends started a chat session with me(an informal one). I went ahead and typed 'from morning samma bulb for me' (meaning : from morning I am like a Monkey ,making a fool out of me from others or precisely doing idiotic things and getting a 'you dumbo' stare from others).
Immediately I got a response 'Y?'. One tiny brain cell of mine made me look at the name of the person in that window (which I normally never do) before I typed my next dialogue. 'Oh my god, what have I done' saying this to myself I immediately typed 'Sorry, that was not for you, sorry,sorry'.

I had typed that statement in my immediate-senior's messenger window who does know Tamil. He sent me back a 'laughing' smiley which made me feel 'Oh Sh**! why did I do this?'

When nature calls....

2007-08-25T06:15:00.001-04:00

(Scene at Hum-Tum's Bangalore office)

Tum(guy): Wow what a weather? Shall we go for a movie today?
Hum(girl): Hey look at that building.What do you think is the idea behind this construction?(Tum turns innovative at times)
Tum: I thought I asked you something....
Hum: Oh, now leave that alone. Answer my question. I know you can't think better than me. At least make attempts in clearing my doubts.
Tum: Oh ya? now let me take a plunge...... this building? (he points at that building)
Hum: Yeah that conically-square one.
Tum: Well.....don't you know what this building is for? Dear, this is the new toilet-building at our office.
Hum: Wha........at?

Tum: Yes, see..... this building has 4 floors and one corner of the forth-floor ends as a sharp pointed structure just like a jet aircraft
Hum: Excuse me, you think I am from Venus. I know how it looks like and all. You tell me whats the purpose of this building.
Tum: From now on we got to use this buildings for our 'nature calls'.
Hum: (Imagines)!!!
Tum: Ya.....as we already have some 36 odd buildings here at our office the administration decided to construct a separate building exclusively for toilets.
Hum: But then..........this 'toilet' building has so many floors.....it looks like a modern shopping mall!
Tum: Yeah! this is built by international architects with modern facilities. Separate toilets in all floors.

Hum: Oh! but this one is far off from the first building. How will people manage to run from there and reach here when 'nature is calling them immediately'?
Tum: Good question. I knew there is no one brilliant as you are and only you can ask such tricky questions.
Hum: Yeah! even i know that.
Tum: The admin have to think about it I guess.
Hum: OK, then why does the top most floor has a pointed edge just like a rocket?
Tum: Oh that? that's for the Senior Managers!
Hum: Wha.....at? Senior managers? you mean toiletries are divided as per roles here?
Tum: Yes.First floor for engineers, second floor for senior engineers, third floor for managers, and top most floor for senior managers and dignitaries...
Hum: Oh! partiality man! so we people cant go to the top most floor then?
Tum: We can dear, when water pipelines don't work in first floor toilets we can use the ones at other floors.
Hum: Hmmm, now that's gentleman-ship!

Tum: Now, did you believe all that?
Hum: ?!?!?

Bengalooru 1 - The ultimate destination?

2007-08-18T05:09:00.000-04:00

I have decided to write my thoughts and experiences, about the 'Garden City', 'Silicon Valley'. I have planned to pen them up in parts as the package is too huge to be presented in a small storage. As a disclaimer I would like to inform that the write up is highly MY perception about the place and has nothing to do with others belief about the place.

To start with, facts about Bangalore which I feel are the visible 'diamonds' of the 'crown' which this destination has been sworn with,

Bangalore has highest number of pubs in India.
Bangalore has highest number of cocaine addicts in India.
Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India - 212
Bangalore has the biggest statue of Shiva & Hanuman in the world.
Bangalore has only 42% of local population (i.e. Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 20% Tamilians, 13% Telugites, 10% Keralites, 8% European-origin, 7% from other parts of India.
Bangalore has produced the maximum number of models from a specific area.
Bangalore was founded in 2ND Century and still has the same infrastructure drainage & sanitary systems - the oldest in the world.

* courtesy Yatish Shivaprasad

Any well-settled or settling person when asked to chose between places in India or rather south-India would opt for Bangalore as 'The Ultimate Destination'. Starting from weather, growth, accessibility, jobs, real estate, education everything is ready-made here. When facilities comes for free who would willingly opt a knotty decision. Bangalore(I love referring places as Bangalore,Madras,Bombay,Calcutta rather than their current names) has developed immensely when compared to any other place is all acceptable. But should the improvement be considered a boon or bane, as insecurity arises along with development.Ask the IT janta, and they would anytime chose Bangalore as their ultimate destination as its popularly known as the 'IT-hub'.

I am somehow reminded by 'Prathiba Murthy's' ruthless murder in Bangalore at this moment. Of course, it is not safe for a woman to travel alone in a night cab in any place for that matter. Still such a merciless killing happened only here. Technology has improved massively is what we all boast about, but these kind of cruel activities still exist.

If KSRTC(Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) had not given a job for our Shivaji Rao Gaekwad(South-Indian superstar Rajnikanth)we would have missed a legend. I know a person, who was lucky enough to travel in the bus in which Rajni was a bus conductor(bus route- Srinagara to Majestic). I remember traveling in a bus recently in Bangalore when the bus conductor actually refused to help me know where the bus goes(I could not help myself as the name boards in the buses were all written in Kannada). I later found out I was in the wrong bus and was literally begging the driver to open the automatic door of the bus in the bus stand.

To be continued...

Impact! Come and get confused!!!

2007-08-16T09:59:00.000-04:00

I never had a slightest thought that it would be like this. But it actually is not that horrible. Still the intensity could have been a little lesser; for the impact it made had pschycological disturbances. When our mindset is pre-framed, sudden changes are not accepted into the framework and this drastically disturbs the physical and mental aspects.

Entities around tend to interfere deep into our emotions as they are bonded with us through the generic aspect called relationship. When the intensity of interference is more and most importantly worse we let lose our firmness towards rightness. It is when we feel our mind starts wandering without knowing which the right path is. These kinds of pschycological disturbances not only affect the current mindset but also the goodness we had planned for the near and far future.

We still can’t blame on the other entities as such, when we as a primary entity need to analyze if the effect could have been reduced when we had reacted to it differently; as that would help us the next time when we face it.

That day !

2007-08-15T08:13:00.000-04:00

Today when i woke up at around 8.00 a.m enjoying my holiday to its fullest, I thought about a question which used to come in my mind some years back.'Oh, why getting up so early on a holiday?'.

Some years back at around 6.00 a.m I used to wake up and get ready wearing a cleanly pressed uniform and white shoes. I used to go to school riding my cycle with my brother sitting behind. Though he was not a born barrel, the then little guy used to firmly make his back comfortable on the seat, which in turn made me exert more force to make the vehicle move. He was not given a cycle of his own until he came to his seventh class which obviously made me the victim till then.

We normally reach our school in ten minutes. Students were made to stand in many rows in front of the flag pole waiting for the chief guest to arrive. Patriotic songs, a historic play, few speeches used to be the regular agenda. I remember one such I-day celebrations ,when for an historic play I was asked to do the role of Sarojini Naidu. Not much to act though, I was the only lady amidst the guys who played Subash Chandra bose, Mahathma Gandhi etc; dressed up in an off-white saree with a black-framed spectacle. A typical 'Rang De Basanthi' kind. I had severe cold that day still managed to perform my role well. We did win the prize for the best play.

Few more years back from there, when I was still younger there were times when I was waiting for the flag hoisting to get over for those chocolates and paper flags.After a few years the level of patriotism raised to its fullest. The flag hoisting normally gets over in half-an-hour time after which we return home humming the national anthem.

Today, I saw the national flag getting hoisted - virtually, on the television screen by our leads. As time flies by we do miss certain good moments.

Phew.....!!!! not BL-5C

2007-08-14T11:33:00.000-04:00

As the television screen was flashing "Nokia cautions users against 'exploding' batteries", not waiting a moment I grabbed my phone out of my bag and took the battery to check if it was under trouble.

During the process, dropped the mobile at least twice on the floor, went into deep thoughts listening to what the lady with the blazers was reading out on the television. Started asking myself,"Which mobile should I now go for? Too many new varieties have come in the market. Flip or slide, or the one with more pixels or the new one which no one has, at office?" As this is an unexpected investment I decided to cut down my shopping expenses this month. Like the Shrek's Donkey my mind kept on yapping within.

One of my friends who is a technology engineer never uses a mobile phone. She says she is fed up by the massive usage of it, these days. I call her the 'Lady Buddha' - sacrificing is not all that easy. After all mobile plays a vital role in every one's life. I still can't sacrifice my chocolate Feast(ice cream) and Ecstasy (dessert) when I am actually in the middle of vigorous dieting!!!

'Sani' Bhagavan's new home!

2007-08-13T11:43:00.000-04:00

With 'SaniPeyarchi'(Sani-Saturn; peyarchi-shift) happening all over TamilNadu and other South-Indian states, most Hindus who have a strong belief in astrology would be browsing through newspapers and Internet to check if the Bhagavan (god) is standing in a favorable position for self and their near and dear ones. No matter how hip-hop a person belonging to this generation is; if his/her parents strongly believe in astrology then one can't escape the 'parikarams'(alternative actions performed to reduce the bad effect) stated under their star sign (Natchathiram).My mom said this year 'Sani' is shifting from Kataga Raasi (Cancer) to Simha Raasi (Leo) and from there he is glancing at Viruchigam(Scorpion) which fortunately/unfortunately turns out to be my star. Worrying about the after effects she started reading the papers vigorously.

'ThinaMalar','ThinaThanthi','Thinakaran','Kalki','Kumudham','Kungumam','Vikatan'(these are popular Tamil newspapers and magazines)- you name it we have it! .I thought I would have nice fun comparing the information given in all these dailies and weeklies; which I do normally. Not to my surprise, the news in each one of them varied distinctly from the other. While one says I have to visit Tanjore temple, the other says Trichy Pillayar(Lord Ganesha) is my target god. As if, the other gods would say,"Not my turn girl, contact Ganesha" when approached.

Turning on the radio to enjoy a soothing tune, there came Mr.X with his 'Indraya RaasiPalan'(future perception.Precisely how your day is going to be). While my thumb was about to make a move to switch channels he said, "Viruchiga raasi neyargale,iniku naal muzhuvadhum sorvu, thollai, thukkam"(meaning- the people who belong to Viruchigam star would find this day a not so lucky one with depression added to it ). Though I keep boasting that I never believe in astrology; a tiny cell inside my body started shivering. Again, as usual i told myself "I care a damn" and gave work to my thumb. The day went fantastically superb with lots of fun and frolic. And I totally forgot what Mr.X said until I turned on the radio the next day.

My perception is trust in self, positive attitude, faith in god, target goals in life, wise decision wins all not so worthy statements.

Recipe - Fruits with dates syrup!

2007-08-12T02:12:00.000-04:00

As and when we do our fitness exercises and yoga at home; when it turns out to be a holiday its better to go for an alternative breakfast than the regular idly-dosa-pongal(popular South Indian breakfast). As fruits are universally accepted food for healthy life we can research how to make our breakfast more interesting with them. Trying out various combinations with whatever is available at home would help our body to be fit along with keeping our creativity intact. I never used to like dates until I tried this combination. These days dates come in syrup form readily available in markets.This one is a regular fruit salad, though gives a peculiar taste.Try out this combination,

Ingredients:
Apple
Mango
Banana
Guava
Papaya
Milk
Dates Syrup (now this is the extra item I am adding to the regular fruit salad which gives it a unique taste)

Directions:
1. Cut all the fruits into smaller cubes.
2. Mix them in a big bowl.
3. Add milk and refrigerate.
4. Before serving add 1 tablespoon dates syrup.

** Again as one's own creativity goes, you can add cashew, dry grapes, and some nuts available at home. Diet conscious people avoid them.

Yummy, is it not?

Dog Days!

2007-08-11T09:12:00.000-04:00

Trend these days is body wash, massage, manicure, pedicure, and final touch-ups all come for just Rs.1600. Tell this to a girl and you can see a maximum portion of her eyeballs out. Be it male or female, this is the cost of a complete package for a royal look. Now stop elevating your hopes. Still if you get ready to visit this place, take your dog along with you. Yes, the package is for the dogs.

Maybe the person who actually does the body wash for the dogs keeps his fingers crossed till he is done;for his life is at risk.We normally shout out when the beautician suddenly goes wrong scratching our skin during a hair cut. What would the dogs do? Even though they are brought up in posh localities in a royal manner; they are dogs by nature.

Now once the wash is over, a perfect massage is done for the dog. Then the doggy, be it a male or female undergoes manicure and pedicure treatments. For men who are not aware, did that sound like pedigree? Pedicure is a treatment done for the legs to give a decent look; while the former is for hands. Now if its a female dog they get free hair clips too. When everything is done the doggy is ready to walk the red carpet.

Its not all over here. Dog-dating is another aspect, wherein one can leave their dog's name and gender in the dog beauty parlors. And once a perfect match comes the owner is contacted for a date. The dog owners can accompany their dogs while they date. Try being decent enough not to peep into their (dog's) personal affairs.

The whole idea is to be welcomed as pets need to be given some good treatments too.After all, dogs are man's immediate friends!

Hell-met!

2007-08-08T23:25:00.000-04:00

Accidents are not accidental at all times. Certain deliberate mistakes which we think could be taken as a 'never mind ' at that moment might raise disastrous puzzles which would be unanswered for the rest of the life. Everyone is not god or for that matter every entity in this world is not borne to think in a wise manner especially when crucial decisions are to be made. But when it comes between life and 'anything else' I feel even a real nerd should decide to take up his life as top priority.

With the recent helmet rule being declared here in Chennai (South-India), I personally feel some sort of increase in the existing disciplinary action. Still there are people who feel "a rule can't change me”. Now they are the losers who easily get into a life with disastrous puzzles. And mind you, only a few of them get proper solutions.

Many leading corporate here in Chennai also abide by the helmet rule and insist their employees to lead a safe life. Certain corporate also feel following a rule would be better than self-discipline. This indirectly means they don’t allow employees without helmets inside their premises. Now our 'Romeos' have come up with a new notion. Recently I saw a few of them carrying their helmets along with them without wearing it. They stop the bike exactly in front of the office gate, wear the helmet, and get in. What are they trying to prove? Following company rules? Well, yes. But what’s the use of a 'thing' which is not used for the right purpose and at the right place?

On the other hand, at few places it is nice to see both the driver and the co-passenger wearing helmets even on lonely roads. Its not just education, but respect for self and others which makes these people follow the rules and safeguard themselves without causing much pain to their near and dear ones.

Friends - at all seasons!

2007-08-05T10:33:00.000-04:00

On a friendship day......
My mom helped me recollect few moments of the day when I wore a frock with lot of frills and was taken to 'Fatima Junior English School’, with a five star chocolate in my right hand and milk bikis in my left hand. I was a brave kid then, mom also told me that I went and spoke to a little girl of my height who then became my first friend in life. A F-R-I-E-N-D is a person without whom a life is incomplete. At all stages in our lives we would have met numerous friends out of whom few or many accompany us as lifetime mates.

"A friend is a present you give yourself" was a quote I read sometime back which made me put this write-up here. A friend pays your exam fees, a friend feeds you, a friend laughs when you laugh, a friend jogs with you, a friend carries you when you are hurt, a friend lends his shoulders for you to rest on it, a friend makes you laugh when he is around or not, a friend gives you company when you gave your worst attempt in the exams, a friend takes care of your mom when you are out of the country, a friend readily accepts to put his signature as the first witness for your marriage, a friend makes you cry when you miss him.

Mother Teresa says "Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say." My friend never listened to what I said. He kept irritating me by eating the oily molaga-bajji from that roadside shop which was the last thing I wanted him to do.

Rewinding my memory tape many years back from now; I remember the moment when I put on Lord Shiva's costumes for a fancy dress competition and Lavanya was dressed up in the form of an angel. Roughly calculating I was in my third class then; when I and Lavanya traveled in a cycle-rickshaw back home from school after the competition. She kept on giggling at me as the paper snake around my neck started drooping. I wanted to take a revenge back on her in the future, for, she kept on teasing me till I reached home. Believe me, she became my best pal in no time.

I can see myself fight with Sindhu who was my enemy during the 6Th class; later turned out to be my best ever friend. Aparna who joined my life a little later gave a new definition as 'anu-apu'(as I am popularly known as anu). Trust me we shared everything including my first crush; of course neither of us knew that the other had the same person in mind. Jeevisha, I liked those Punjabi sweets she gave me; I used to envy her as she always stood first in class-My lovable pal at high school.

Swetha is truly a gift; she taught me how to be innocent; for, she is one. Sidd, as he has mentioned in my testimonial ;walked on the other side of the road during the first few days I met him; later I was introduced to him by our common friend. Today I am searching for that common friend to kick her for introducing him to me - a little late in my life!!! My best ever friend today; and he is that molaga-bajji guy mentioned above.Arthy was my sweetheart during college. I still remember the time when we both shared the same berth in the train during our visit to Bangalore.

During my first day at office met this guy Ram who tried teasing me all the time. Again, most my friends start their relationships with me, this way. After a few months he told me I can't be his friend anymore. At times, this happens in many of our lives!

Archana and Faz were the ones with whom I enjoyed the maximum. It’s always fun to know what happens in an all girls PG.On the whole, I compare myself as a pot which is perfectly painted and designed with aesthetic artwork. Without my friends I would have been a raw clay.Each one added their own color to me and made my life so meaningful !

What to and what not to - on a conference call !

2007-08-03T11:11:00.000-04:00

Attending conference calls are a part of everyday agenda for an IT professional especially when the client is a thousand nautical miles away. During a conference call usually one person speaks while the rest of the team maintains pin-drop silence so that the person at the other end clearly visualizes what is being conveyed. Basic etiquette says that one has to wait till the current conversation between the two ends. As the name goes, it is usually the team lead who leads the call, based on his/her experience and interaction with the clients.

Every member in the team will have his/her own notion about the topic being discussed. It is the obvious duty of the leader to stop or pause at a level and enquire the team if anyone has queued their thoughts to be poured in. Now comes the real thought. What to ask and what not to? What will others/Manager/Leader/Client think about me? Is this a valid question? Or can i raise it a little later? Can i personally meet the leader later and clarify this doubt? Will everyone copy my idea? Will it be too much to ask this question? How to ask the question? How do I open my mouth? Is it a sin if I talk in this meeting? These are the FAQ's in most of the minds.

A meeting with the client is organized in the first place to clarify the doubts of the entire team so that there does not arise any problems in a long run. When a 'valid' doubt arises its better to shoot it out then and there rather than carrying it over your head for later clarifications.Why worrying the thought that if the others around would think you are a fool. I believe you should risk being a fool for a minute rather than remaining a fool for a lifetime! That does not directly give the credit of asking the most silliest, dumbest questions in a high level meeting. Now which is a silly question and which is not? A self-analysis would help answer this question.

According to me planning, assertiveness, time and of course a little guts projects a successful personality!

Why are some heroines not so heroic?

2007-08-02T08:10:00.000-04:00

*Disclaimer: The write-up is about present day Tamil heroines!!!

2007 is being a successful year for Tamil cinema. Though there are a lot many to hit the list for the rest of the year; with movies like 'Pachakili Muthucharam', 'Mozhi','Unnale Unnale', 'Paruthiveeran', 'Pokiri', and last but never the least 'Sivaji', Kollywood has given its audience a variety of flavors.

Out of a thousand movies, considering a few which flashes in my mind now, or rather the ones I watched recently raises a question that; do Tamil heroines need to know more than glamour? Let me quote a few heroines whom I admired recently Anne Hathaway in 'Princess Diaries' , Kate Hudson in 'Raising Helen', Angelina Jolie in 'Life Or Something Like It' , always on-the-top Julia Roberts in 'My Best Friend's Wedding'(like everyone else I would have seen this movie a number of times).

In the movie 'Pokiri', Asin who is considered to be the best these days has proved that she is yet another commercial heroine; nothing more nothing less! Maybe to attain this level of popularity she had previously acted in commercial-glamour roles. But once people have framed her as the most-favored one; as film-critic Madhan quoted, she needs to do a lot of homework! Not just Asin, many other recent day Tamil heroines have to work hard to retain their names or rather to get a name. I recently saw a banner 'Trisha Foundation' by Trisha fan club members. No comments!

I have not seen Shriya's acting in any other movies than 'Sivaji'. I had a notion that Shankar would have made anyone do that role. But I did like Shriya's dance for the songs. I can say she has put in some effort. Sangeetha gave a stunning performance in 'Pithamagan'. Like how actor Vikram got his fame a little late in his life, same holds good for Sangeetha too. Jothika is comparatively better than other female leads, but after I watched Jennifer Anniston in 'Derailed', my notion about her acting in 'Pachakili Muthucharam' drastically came down. Present day Tamil heroines should willingly take up challenging roles and create history rather than dancing for an item number in a commercial picture.

My first love!

2007-07-31T07:48:00.000-04:00

He took me in his arms,
And shed tears looking at my tender palms;
He enjoyed seeing me play,
For his well being, I pray;

I made meaning to his life, says he;
Will make him proud I guarantee;
Being my first teacher,
"You laid the foundation my dear;"

He taught me algebra,"
There began my success mantra;
I brought home fame ,
With tears of joy,about me he started to dream;

"You support me in everything I do,
For all this, with what can I repay you;
For having you in my life I am glad,
Can't be without you dad;"

Dressing matters!

2007-07-29T11:17:00.000-04:00

Nothing wrong to dream of being like Rani Mukherjee, but not at office!

Long long ago,so long ago, when agriculture was the national occupation of India ; our men got into the fields half dressed.Then came the industries wherein the managers were particular about the outcome and not the way workers were dressed. A little later this was a little reformed with uniforms for all.

Today with IT being the talk of the nation, corporate dressing plays a vital role.In most of the IT majors, a systematic procedure is being followed.Formal wear for the first two days of the week, semi-formal wear for the next two days and casual wear on Fridays.

Is this implemented in a proper manner?Are the so called IT janta aware of what to wear and what not to?Wearing a lousy white shirt with a black pant without knowing how to tie the tie does not make it a formal wear. I have seen men wearing safe-colored jeans on a weekday.

And for ladies, keeping flowers on the head is a disturbing act for most men at office. Where few men get disturbed mentally imagining a duet song, few others are quiet uncomfortable with its aroma. In a closed air-conditioned office space the smell of flowers spreads easily around. And women should notice that heavy accessories and noise-making jewels should be considered a strict no-no in a corporate environment.

For Indian women not necessarily shirts and trousers,even properly-pressed cotton sarees would make a perfect formal clothing. Collared salwar kameez with the dupatta worn in a proper way would give the sense of satisfaction for the self as well as a respectable projection to others.

People fresh out of college in the age group 20-22 take sometime or at least few years to get out of the their college days and adapt themselves for a corporate environment. This automatically pays off for dressing as well.Men wearing wrist bands, tie not worn in the right way; and women choosing tight fitting tops on casual wear days, sleeveless or clothes which are exposing, are few examples.

Romance at various Eras!

2007-07-26T11:13:00.001-04:00

**Ray and Ann have fallen in love recently**

Love conversations at different Eras

Adam-Eve era - Entities together!
Ray: Ann, look at the stars above your head. How romantic they are?

Ann: Ray, would you get me one?

Ray (says to himself): Truly Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus!

Emperor's era – Entities apart, minds speak! Dove communication!
Ray: (Common man Ray admires Princess Ann from far off and says to himself) Wish I were Prince Charming. Look at the diamond jewelry on her neck. How do I convince her father?

Ann: (Looks at Ray from the balcony of her palace) Wish I were born to a cobbler.

Ray: (makes hand gestures to Ann) Have you read the love note which i sent through the dove?

Ann: (makes hand gestures back to Ray) Oh! did u actually send a love note along with the dove you sent? Sorry, we all had a rich dove meal yesterday. I thought that was your gift!

Mid 19Th century – Entities apart, letter communication!
Ray: (writes a letter)

Dear Ann,

I first saw you,

The whole world looked new;

You smiled at me,

Nothing else I can see;

You said 'Hi',

Oh my!

I proposed you,

While I possessed only very few;

You still accepted,

I felt the whole world I defeated;

May I ask your hand?

For, I shall make your life grand.

Ann: (As she reads the letter her cheeks turn pink. Imaginary duet song in the snowy Himalayas)

After 1980's – Entities apart, telephonic conversation-Voice communication!
Ray : Darling Ann, I am thinking about you. Wish you were here. (speaks to himself "For her to pay for the party next week this much is enough!")

Ann: Ray, my Romeo. Won’t you appear before me like a superman? Please come and take me from here soon!

After 1990's – Entities apart, Email-communication!
Ray (through email): Hi Ann, we shall fix our marriage once our baby turns 1. Is that fine with you?

Ann (replies): Fine with me. Don't forget to invite our first child's school friends too (With a happy smiley :-))

After 30Th century - Entities apart. Entities together???
Ray: Hi Ann, do you want to see me now?
Ann: I would love to. (speaks to herself "Wont this guy spare me at least for today?")
Ray :( appears virtually in front of her)

Eureka!!!

2007-07-22T03:01:00.000-04:00

A new Sunday mid-morning, home alone thinking what to do, to kill time.Movies aren't entertaining me these days as they used to.Thoughts were not flowing in the right order to pen down in my blog. Kept roaming here and there in my home like a lonely lioness. When I entered this part of the house i could smell some good aroma of fresh vegetables and fruits recently plucked. Nature poses a contrasting combination with blood red tomatoes, pitch green chillies, saffron carrots, earthy ginger, lighter than the lightest green cabbage. A thought struck from nowhere,and then came this recipe.

Egg chilly duo

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
15 pepper seeds
3 chillies
1 onion
Salt to taste
5 Curry Leaves
2 tsp Oil

Directions:

Cut the onion and chillies into smaller pieces

Heat the pan and put oil in it.

Once the oil is heated put the onions in it and let it turn golden brown.

Add the chillies and curry leaves and wait till it absorbs its flavours

Crush the pepper seeds(do not use a mixer) and add it.

After about 3 minutes add the eggs to the mixture and let it get cooked.

Add salt as required, mix the contents thoroughly and leave it for another 2 minutes.

Spicy egg-chilly duo is ready to taste

Note: Addition of tom-chi sauce would make it even the more tastier.

Result:
I just tasted it and believe me egg-pepper-chilly together make an awesome spicy combination

This day this word!

2007-07-19T11:32:00.000-04:00

Time for some philosophy...

I heard this saying today: "Contrast lies very closer**"

When 'X' is cutting onions, tears rolls down from her eyes. Looking at her 'Y' , has a loud laugh. Here lies the contrast. Cutting onions causes both laughter(action of happiness) as well as tears(action of sorrow).

One person's loss is another person's gain.

'A' is in love with a guy and wants to marry him.Her parents refuse the proposal and want their daughter to get married to a guy of their choice.Finally,she chooses to marry the guy of her choice.'A' is happy now, her parents are disappointed.Comfort and discomfort happens together and are closer to each other.

** courtesy: Pasupathinathan(PPN)