Is it safe???

My blog status gives me a clear picture of how much i work these days. Being in a software industry I cant imagine coming back home before it becomes dark. At times got to slog for 12 -14 hours in front of the monitor just to complete a chunk of code. I never mind working for hours but the real pain comes when travelling for hours together to work. If the travel time is lesser I wish I could afford a few more hours for constructive working!!!

People say IT industry pays more just for sitting in an air-conditioned room. Beware! A software engineer deserves the credits for the quantity of work he does. I have seen men doing frequent night-outs mostly when they are unable to complete the task before their deadline. Or at times they never look into their watches when they are lost in 'coding'. And later when they realize they got to leave for home the time would have been eleven or more in the night. Worst part is few make daring moves of travelling in late nights. Practically a bad practice. These days the young-minds never bother about the problems they face on their way home, especially in crowded cities like Bangalore or Chennai.

Though in many companies there is a provision of late-night shuttle services, I still consider it a risk traveling in the night. Most companies insist for a security person in a cab to accompany a lady employee especially when she is the last drop. But not many companies follow this trend.One cannot forget the wild death of Prathibha Murty in Bangalore. And a few other cases which were not brought to light. And in most of the cases the victim is a woman.There are few other companies where there are not much facilities and still want their employees to work for long hours. Proper security and facilities are a must for employees of a concern. After all they are responsible for the growth of the company.It’s not just with women employees, these days the professional culprits have developed their skills in looting the men too.Maybe a few Karate techniques would help at times.

One way by which problems could be stopped are to try and complete the task before it gets too late.Safe Driving!

Curlzzzz......

Perhaps, everyone in this planet wants to look gorgeous. This fever prevails at all age groups, especially for the people in teens and post-teens. Each one wants to attract their opposite sex.In many cases people do not worry about the consequences when they take risks in changing their physical appearances. They call it the make-over.Starting from plastic surgery to making curls to the hair, everything is possible with the growing cosmetic technology.At times the urge of making one smarter than before creates adverse effects.Here is a narration of a similar incindent.

Maya, works for a private concern.She is not a beauty contest winner, but she knows to carry herself well.For many months she wanted to go for a make-over by doing some kind of treatment to her hair and face.One fine Sunday morning she went for a hair-cut at the nearby beauty saloon. She had a step cut for which she was charged 100 rupees. She came back home and had a bath.Now here comes the turning point.Her hair was wet and she wanted to try developing curls or twists or rolls to her hair. She never knew her villain was this yellow handled curl-comb! It was specially designed to make curls when used appropriately.

Brilliant Maya took a huge streak of hair in the front part of her head and rolled it over the comb.It was almost a bunch of hair. She gave a few minutes for the hair to adapt itself to the new shape. After a few minutes she tried taking the comb back, and to her surprise the comb got well settled in the hair. The entire bunch of hair got rolled to the comb in a random manner. Got threatened by it Maya tried pulling the hair of the comb. As she was not able to take even a single hair out of it , she tried making the hair slippery by putting shampoo in it. By this time the hair became more harder towards the comb and the bond became stronger.Maya now looked herself in the mirror. She got reminded by the witch in 'Hansel and Gratel'. Maya thought the only way to get rid of this danger was to make herself bald.

She immediately called up the beauty saloon for asking them tips. She heard a loud laugh from the other side of the phone, where the beauticians were having a nice fun time after hearing Maya's story. One among them wanted her to come over to the shop. Maya was embarrassed to leave her home. She had a comb attached on her front head with the handle protruding out. She rang up the auto guy. Once the auto came she covered her hair with a black duppatta such that no one finds her new make-over!She reached the saloon and gave the driver his money. He was wondering all the while if something was seriously wrong, as she was holding her duppatta with her right hand not letting it fall down. She ran inside the saloon and sat quietly till the other customers left the place.

It was finally her turn. The ladies had a tug of war with the hair streak.This was obviously a challenging case for them. They would never had met such a customer in their life. One among them thought this issue would definitely get them a Guinness record if they succeeded. Poor Maya was looking herself at the large mirror as the beauticians were playing with her hair.It took almost two hours for them to remove the entire bunch of hair from the comb. Though she lost a little bit of hair, she was happy that she gained most of them back. She thanked them and returned home with a sense of satisfaction. Will Maya ever go for a make-over again?

DON with the best!!!

Perhaps its a nice idea to remake an old movie with the present day technology. DON is a best example. I have not seen the original version though; in which the DON was Big B. The same was remade in Tamil as BILLA which was a box office hit. This one was done by none other than the South-Indian Superstar Rajnikanth. The movie was a breakthrough in his career.

The recent DON has lot many twists and turns till the end. More of daring efforts taken, especially the fight sequence in the tropospheric layer . The various outdoor locations where the movie has been shot are amazing. Though the story is already popular among the people from many years, one should appreciate the way this movie is made. No doubt, SRK rocks! He looks younger and daring than ever before. His performance is stunning as usual. Priyanka is a perfect choice. The new DON is a good entertainer and a must watch movie.

I was here!!!



A wonderful romantic place located in Madurai(Southern India) named 'Naicker Mahal'. One might have noticed the same in the movie 'Bombay' where the song 'Kannalane' was shot.

Pointers to reach here:
Once you reach Madurai there is a famous bus terminus named 'Maatu-Thavani' (as far as I know Maatu-cow's, Thavani-Half Saree. Am not aware of the history behind the name of this place). You got to be here.
From here you can take a direct bus.
Else you can take a bus from the famous 'Meenakshi Temple' zone.

They charge you 25 bucks as entrance fee. Extra charges for camera and video coverage.Its good to be here. The mahal is entirely built with pillars. The carvings depict the value of ancient Tamil Nadu.The ceiling wall which connects two pillars has miniature carvings which is an extra-ordinary masterpiece. The same is done for all the pillars. There is a wide open space in the center of the mahal. Before many hundred years this was were the common men were allowed to sit while the emperor sits on the stage. This place was usually meant for the discussions between the king and the common men.

A little bit of maintenance would help look the place new always. This has been a tourist spot in Madurai apart from the popular 'Meenakshi Temple'.

One and Only SuperStar in Tamil Cinema!

There is one person who is framed as South-Indian superstar, and he is none other than Mr.Rajnikanth (for those who don’t know). According to me he was not given the title just like that. He worked hard for it and he ultimately deserved the title. He is a mass hero. His fans belong to all age groups. This one and only superstar started his career acting in small roles. After so many years of his hard work and career people recognized him as a superstar. He had acted in all kinds of characters. Some of them have a wrong notion that he is not a character artist, he is just a mass hero, he gets claps just by appearing in the big screen. Well, for those guys movies like ‘Mullum Malarum’, ‘Aarilirundhu Aruvadhu varai’, ‘Thalapathy’, ‘Thangamagan’, are good examples to prove their theory wrong.

Apart from this he is a good comedian, villain, a great hero and what not. For all this he truly deserves the title. And not just five or six, this hero had done hundreds of movies to prove him the best. But now my question is, in the recent past few other actors who had hardly done two to three good movies are trying to get into the list of superstars!!! This title should be given to people who really deserve it. Why doesn’t the young crowd understand it.

There is this person Vijay who has not yet proved him as a good actor. More than this there is another person called ‘Chimpoo’ or whatever, who calls himself ‘Little SuperStar’. This was when he was young. Does that mean now he will remove the ‘Little’ off his title. People never think. These blooming stars should be given time to prove themselves before they are titled!!!

And yes I should also mention the increase in fan clubs for good-for-nothing actors. Recently I came across a fan club for a lady artist who has not proved her as a good actor. But people feel she deserves it just because she is glamorous. If these people who create the clubs had used their time and money in some other useful work there wont be any poverty or unemployment in India. Will the actor come and spend few of her valuable time with them? Will she even talk to them over phone when they try wishing her on an occasion? Recently in a television interview she said that the media people are becoming a disturbance in her life. If that is the case for the media, then what about the common man who is the member of her fan club.

One day in Maya's life....

One day in Maya's life....

It was around 6.00 A.M when the alarm clock struck. Maya woke up without any interest and stopped the alarm. She had to attend an interview at Accenture Bangalore. Her phone bell rang and it is her boyfriend Srikanth. He asked her to get ready soon to attend the interview. It was almost 6.30 a.m when she was ready. Maya stayed in a PG with two other girls at Marathahalli. She was born and brought up at Chennai and later moved to Bangalore for job search. It was almost 6.45a.m, she was waiting for the cook to prepare her breakfast. She had two hot Dosas and a cup of tea and left for the interview.

Maya stayed in a costly PG paying 3000 rupees as rent and another 1500 for food. She was worried about her safety but still could not help it because her prime interest was to get a job and her parents wanted her to stay with her friends. Her boyfriend called her again when she was at the bus stand waiting to take a bus to Bannerghatta Road. Maya was wearing a white kurta and a white pant with a multi-colored duppatta. She boarded the bus and got a place to sit, while she was continuing her conversation wit him. She usually speaks with him once in every hour and few calls might extend for an hour. The bus was getting crowded and she could not tolerate the stink of sweat of the people around her. Though, the road which connected Marathahalli and Silk-board had too many IT firms, the type of crowd in the bus had no connection with them.

Maya reached the company at around 8.00a.m. After the bag check was over she proceeded towards the reception. Her interview was at 10.00a.m but she always felt reaching a little prior to the mentioned time would make her feel comfortable. She always decides what to speak and what not before she met the interview panel. Maya was able to clear three rounds of interview and she was waiting for the final round. It was for the position of 'Technical Support Executive' . Since Maya had prior experience in that field it was not difficult for her to clear the rounds. During the lunch time she met one of her college mates who was working there and had a chat with him. After the final round of interview she was asked to wait in the reception for knowing her results. It was around 3.00 p.m and the phone rang. She was happy to see Srikanth’s number flashing. She happily picked the call with a confidence and whispered,
‘I love you dear, what you doing?’
He said ‘Hey sweetie, I might leave office early. Where shall we meet?’
She was blushing while she said ‘ We will go for a movie. Wait till I get the results here.’
He said ‘OK, let me know once you get the results’ and he cut the call.

Srikanth works for a renowned IT firm as a software engineer. Maya and Srikanth are in love with each other for almost one and a half years. A gentleman in grey suit came towards the reception where Maya and other people who came for the interview were seated. He called out a few names and Maya was delighted to hear her name being called. The selected people were asked to call up the HR in a week time to confirm their joining. Maya collected the required information and left the place. Once she came out of the company she called up Srikanth . He was excited to know that she was selected. He asked her to come and wait near Silk-Board at around 5.00 p.m. She blushed again and said ‘OK dear, will be there at five. Don’t make me wait. Ciao.’. She proceeded towards the ATM to draw cash. Then she took an auto to the nearby bus stop. From there she took a bus and reached Silk-Board at 4.30. It started raining heavily. Maya was brave enough but when it comes to handling lunatic or drunken people her hands starts shivering especially when she is alone. She was praying that nothing should happen to her till Srikanth comes…..

There were a few men who kept staring at Maya at the bus stand. Bangalore, the top most destination for IT hubs has no guarantee for Maya's safety. Maya looked at her watch and was waiting restlessly while she saw Srikanth his hand from a bus. He was getting down from his company bus and was excited to meet Maya. Both of them took a ‘Share-Van’ to Innovative Multiplex.These kind of ‘Share-Vans’ were usually crowded with the common people below the poverty line. The higher the increase in IT firms ,the higher the crime rate. Maya was from a middle class family but she hated uncouth people looking roguish wearing shabby clothes and who stare at her. She felt very secure sitting next to Srikanth. They reached the Multiplex. She got down from the van with utmost difficulty as people didn’t even have the courtesy to give space to others who were getting down. Srikanth paid 10 bucks to the van driver, five for each.

It was a dark evening. The heavy monsoon clouds were looming and threatening her but she would never be afraid with Srikanth around . Maya was watching the big movie banners displaying at the cinema . She was deciding which movie to watch. Srikanth suggested ‘hey, how about Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya?’ Maya had learnt Hindi till her eighth grade. She was a beginner in Hindi, who understands well and could partially speak. He got the tickets and bought two fountain Pepsi. They rushed towards the hall and finally settled in their seats and it was usually Srikanth who drinks both the Pepsi. Luckily, for that movie Maya did not need much of translation, she was able to understand and started enjoying it. As usual they had a small fight in between which lasted for five minutes. The theatre almost was empty since it was a Thursday evening.

Srikanth wanted to go to the men’s room during the interval but Maya didn’t leave him. She was scared to stay alone even when she knew there were few people around her. Movie got over and it was almost around 9.30 p.m. Srikanth made her stay near the security and left to the rest room. She was still afraid since it was raining heavily. She is always scared of sudden power-cuts combined with heavy rains. She was happy to see him coming towards her. They were waiting near the multiplex entrance for the rain to stop. It was almost 9.45 p.m. and Maya started getting scared. There were two other girls accompanied with their boyfriends which kept her a little comfortable.

The frequency of the rain started decreasing gradually. ‘Shall we leave da? It’s getting late’, she whispered to him. She took her duppatta and covered her head with it. He held her hand and they started walking towards the auto stand. She was very careful in keeping her steps as the mixture of rain and mud would spoil her white dress. She never knew it would rain that day when she wore the white-and-white combination. Unfortunately there were no autos in the stand. It was almost a ten minute walk from Multiplex to her PG. But they could not even make a step as it was raining heavily.

Srikanth’s tone was a little harsh ‘You got to walk, no other go. No auto, no van .what the…..’ He pulled her hand and started walking fast. The mud mixture slightly started dirtying her pant. She felt it was the last day for her slippers. They reached the main road where they saw a bus numbered 501. That bus goes from Marathahalli to Banashankari via Agara. Srikanth stays in Koramangala with his friends. He usually takes a bus to Agara after dropping Maya at her place. From there either an auto or a van to Koramangala. Most of the times he takes the last bus after which there are only vans to Agara. It was almost around 10.00 p.m. Maya didn’t want him to take the van because she didn’t want him to travel with drunkards. She asked him to take the bus. Srikanth was worried when he said ,
‘Will you manage?’
Maya said ‘Just one road nah….don’t worry. I will take care. You don’t miss the bus. Cya. Call me once you reach’.
Srikanth ran towards the bus and got into it. He waved his hand and watched Maya with a dull face waving her hand………

She lowered her duppatta while she walked towards the four-cross. She was careful while crossing the road because that was an accident zone. She was having a handbag and a plastic cover in which she had her resume and copy of certificates. She put her handbag in the plastic cover as she felt comfortable in carrying just one of it. She reached the street in which her PG was located. Street lights were on but still she started walking fast as it was raining heavily.

Maya suddenly heard someone running towards her with bare foot. But she thought that was usual as it was raining. Another two minutes was left for her to reach her PG gate and to her fear and surprise someone held her tight from behind. She had mild thoughts whether it would be Srikanth trying to give her some daring surprises as he is good in doing that.She managed to turn back to see dark short guy who was drenched in rain.She was shocked to know that 'this ' had happened to her in her life. A rogue was trying to hold her tight from her back. She had seen and heard such scenes in movies but experiencing it for the first time. She never wanted such a thing to happen to her.

This was her first ever worst experience. She started yelling at the peak of her voice. The doors of almost all the houses were closed as it was already 10.10 p.m. Only the street lights were on. People inside their houses could very well hear her voice but to her surprise no one came for her rescue. Maybe they would have thought the noise came from a television as most of the daily soaps are based on crime. The culprit held her tight and gave her a knock from behind.Maybe he was an expert criminal and knew the various methods of handling a victim. By that time she decided that his intention was not just to rob her items but something else too. He gave her a knock at her leg and hand after which she was not able to move a bit. Maya could not even lift her hand to fight back. From her childhood Maya wanted to learn Karate. As she was busy with her studies she never had an opportunity to do that. Maybe that would have helped her now.Finally she fell down on the dirty mud and her white dress now had various shades of brown and red(brick sand) streaks.

He grabbed the cover from her and ran away within a fraction of seconds. She kept shouting as she could not even lift her body up. She had her mobile, ATM cards in her purse along with the resume and copy of certificates in the plastic cover.Maya had already worked for two other companies in Chennai from where she was created new bank accounts and was given ATM cards by them.She knew the culprit could not do anything with the cards without knowing the PIN number.She never expected such an incident would happen to her....

Mrs.Rekha came towards her yelling out so that few other people would come for Maya's rescue.Mrs. Rekha was Maya's PG owner, a very kind-hearted pretty lady. She asked Maya ,'Are you OK dear?, anything wrong?' Maya started crying. Mrs. Rekha comforted her saying, 'Don't worry, we will find him now. Come with me'. They both went in search of the culprit.

The road ended at a junction where two other roads joined. Mrs. Rekha and Maya had no clue which direction the culprit would have run with her valuables. They asked a man standing near a tea-shop which was open at that time. He directed them to a road into which he had seen a guy running. They both went to that narrow lane and two other kind hearted men followed to help them. They reached the dead-end of the that road. They could not find anyone. Few other people peeped out through their windows to know something interesting was going on outside their houses. Few of them gathered out. Mrs. Rekha had enough people to help her find the culprit.

They all went in search of him. There was no way the culprit would have escaped. Because the road had only one entrance and the tea shop owner was sure that he came into this road. Only way with which he could have escaped is to hide in one of the houses. A small guy was moving towards a car which was parked near one of the houses. He had observed something there and he called the other men to look at it. To everyone’s surprise they saw a man hiding there. One of the men who came for helping them went towards the car.

It was a white ambassador which was parked very close to a compound wall of a house. The gap between the body of the car and the wall was very little such that only a stick-man could enter. To everyone’s surprise they saw the culprit hiding himself squeezed in the little space, clutching the cover. The man who went towards the car pulled the rogue out of that place. He was hefty enough to pull him out bang his head on one of the walls and grabbed the cover from him. He handed over the cover to Maya. She was waiting for this moment. She immediately checked her cover and saw her resume and certificates wet. She opened the purse and saw her mobile and cards. A sense of satisfaction was seen in her face.

She felt the phone was ringing. She saw Srikanth’s number flashing and picked the call and yelled at him. She knew that was not his mistake to leave her alone. But at that moment Srikanth too looked like a culprit for her.She cut the call saying 'Are you happy there? But i am not. My life was gonna end now. By god's grace I escaped. Get lost!'. Srikanth was puzzled. Mrs.Rekha took the cover and handbag from Maya and tried to comfort her. Though Maya was not able to recover immediately from whatever happened, she acted as if she was alright. They both reached the PG and Mrs.Rekha gave her some water. Mr.Dharmaraj, Rekha's husband was comforting Maya by cracking some jokes. At around 10.45, Maya was puzzled to see Srikanth at her doorstep. He came rushing towards her and hugged her. She explained the entire story to him and his blood became hot after hearing this. In the meanwhile the culprit was beaten by the public near the PG.

Mr and Mrs Dharmaraj left the place to give them some privacy. Srikanth looked at Maya with a feeling that he was responsible for whatever happened. Maya looked at him and smiled. By seeing her smile tears rolled over Srikanth's face.He held her hand and put his palm over her's promising that he will never leave her alone. He gave her comfort saying she will never ever face such an experience again in her life.After an hour Maya forced him to leave as it was getting late for him. Srikanth left the place. Maya lied on her bed , prayed to god that she should never come across such a situation again and closed her eyes....

Just like that......
One fine Monday morning. Sitting in front of my home PC. Feeling really bored. Wanna watch the nu Diwali release movies. But no company!!! :-( It becomes difficult to kill time especially when we have a long weekend and sitting at home. I was just exploring ways to kill time. Tried dancing for a fast number. Became tired in few minutes. Nothing much in television. Same old good for nothing daily soaps.
So finally decided to put a blog post,,,,

I even logged on my messenger just to check if someone else is sitting bored like me. Found one of my friends who is in US currently.He stays at Philadelphia. He said its 1.00 a.m there and he was awake just to meet his friends online. He also gave me a piece of information that bursting crackers was banned in US. One could burst crackers only in an open stadium. The idea looks neat and good. But where is the fun. Whereas here in India its a tradition bursting crackers in front of the houses on Diwali day!!! Rules differ from nation to nation. Well,lots of environmental issues matters.

Mesmerising Music!

'Isai na enna?' 'Isai na meesic'. That was a popular comedy track from a Tamil film. 'Isai' means music in Tamil.Being one of the craziest fans of music, I too wanted to learn carnatic music from my childhood just like many others. But never had a chance and time to. This has always been a wound in my heart. But I never lost hope. I am a good singer-bathroom singer,bedroom singer, closed room singer or whatever. I feel great when i sing a melody number, exactly with the same pace as the original one.That seriously gives me a sense of satisfaction.Or for that matter to anyone who tries.

Music according to me is a magical word. Makes me feel happy when am actually not!!! Few common favorites in South India are music scored by Illayaraja,Rahman,Vidyasagar,Harris.......well, adding to this list are M.S.Viswanathan and other black-and-white ,Gemini and others. I use this small piece of article to remind you of those mesmerising ones of the past. How can one forget the golden melodies of MGR , Sivaji ;'thottal poo malarum'(padagoti),'avalukku enna'(server sundaram),'unnai ondruketpen'(pudhiya paravai),'mannavane azhalama'(karpagam)......and many more.Music keeps me entertained during my long journey to office, it soothes me when i am disturbed by unwanted thoughts.

CAS mania......

Why should people in Chennai alone be affected by CAS? No one is able to watch their favourite programs these days. Chennai is one of the very few places affected. As a result everyone is forced to buy a Set top box to satisfy their needs.Instead of wasting 5000 bucks on a Set top box people choose to adapt to whatever is available. Ultimately only a few TV networks are benefited.

Its not just current affairs but quality entertainment is what everyone here is missing.If this is the rule then why is it not followed in other cities? Why should only a few places be affected in India? I have come across many people from other states who have migrated to Chennai; blaming the city for not having such a facility. This situation will change only when all the other cities start following the rule.