Final Destination to thoughts

People and their funny beliefs

2011-11-03T10:13:00.001-04:00

From CNN 10/25/11

When his pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor was first discovered in October 2003, doctors said he was lucky that it had been detected so early, and it could be removed before definitely spreading. But, in Jobs' own words, "I really didn't want them to open up my body, so I tried to see if a few other things would work." Those "other things" included a strict vegan diet, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and other alternative techniques – even consulting a psychic.

My thoughts 10/25/11

Reading this, I have to wonder that common sense is not common afterall. Steve Jobs, a supposedly intelligent guy, who could have maybe lived a few more years since he was getting the state of art medical treatment but believed herbal remedies and psychic could cure him- Wow! There are many such people around us with a lot of superstitous and utterly nonsensical beliefs. One of my friends recently told me that more than an illiterate believing in god-men or miracles or following a cult, its the educated who get even more passionate about it and difficult to convince otherwise. The above paragraph proves that even more. And we still live in a society where its taboo to voice your opinion lest follow your heart and be judged more. I am and will remain a rationalist.

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Deepavali!!!!

2009-10-21T10:36:00.003-04:00

Past Forward:
Deepavali reminds me of Bhigili vedi (The loose single ones that go with a pop sound). I would have a competition mainly with the neighbouring boys and would actually run out of packets and would take a hike to the fireworks vendor to get more. Of Course, the boys would do fancy tricks like throwing this from their hand or even the mouth. My mom was a big fan of atom bomb and unlike other women who would never venture onto the roads to light up a bomb, she would be the ONE. My father would stick to the boos vanams (flower pots). Ironically, one of it decided to become an atom bomb and burnt his thumb - He still has a mark from it. So, its not the brave ones that got hurt but the opposite. Then we had the really yucky snake which would totally mess up the parapet walls. Me in my pattu pavadai running around with my sparklers is a still fresh in my mind. Anyway, deepavali was the natural mosquito killer in chennai so we would light up our crackers with great gusto. One thing I don't miss is the deepavali marundu(medicine that is made from ginger,sooku etc) that my mom compulsorily makes me eat - Since I am an adult and I get to decide what I cook - No marundu for us, what fun!

This Deepavali:
It truly delighted me that the kids are finally realizing what fun it is to light crackers. Till the last time, I had to prod them and say it was fun while Arya would look at me in a weird way and go: Is this safe? I am scared. Vik was of course too young. This time, Arya lighted all his fireworks and got mad if his daddy helped him light his - He wanted to do it all by himself. Vik wanted more of the sparklers. Byers station(The community we live in) is home away from home - We had so much fun celebrating diwali with our neighbours and did everything we possibly could - Fireworks,hot chai with gossips, Eating a sumptuous diwali dinner complete with ladoos,video conferencing to India.

Ladies Night thingy

2009-10-14T10:51:00.006-04:00

From the days of yore women have been known to get excited for small things.
This is one such thingy - Ladies Night out!!!! The excitement was that we could leave our husband to look after the kids while we spend the night chatting ironically about the husband and kids. So, a bunch of ladies in our community got together one night in a house that was husband free (The poor husband was sent away to school to do his MBA). The host decided to set the dress code to be PJ'S - Of course, everyone showed up with PJ'S with heavy make-up on them ;-). Food and ladies go together like beer and men so that was not a problem - Bhel, Puffs, dessert etc provided the SKC*. Of course the C here is the margarita. Here is a gyst of conversation surrounding the margarita.
Lady 1: C'mon yaar - This is almost like lemonade - Try it. Nothing will happen.
Lady 2: What if I faint?
Lady 3: I would like to try it (although I come from a good family....this line is understood by all) but I need my husband near me.

Rrring Rrring. The lady in question picks up the phone - She beams at us because we all think its kind of cool that her husband is checking on her in the 1/2 hr that she's spent here.

Some random conversations we had...

How we(all the pairs) fell in love (Background exclamations that this is so bollywoody)

Courtship period and life after kids with in-between discussion on what lunch to pack for the kids.

Movies with discussions on hush-hush.

Thankfully we also had David Letterman scandal - So we had one more other husband's head to break!!!!!

All's well and that ends well - So, I had a great time!!!

SKC- A slang used in Madras for sweet karam coffee!!!!

General happenings...

2009-10-14T10:39:00.003-04:00

Arya always corrects me when I mention he is 5 1/2 - He would go I am 5 3/4.
Thankfully he turned 6 - Now I can be politically correct.

Endru oru thagaval guy passed away - He was a big part in my childhood when we used to listen to him in the mornings as my mother used to oil my hair and do braids before going to school. The program was just 5 minutes but he had a nice way of telling a humorous story along with a message. There are not many like him and the goofballs who think they are doing stand-up comedy in SUNTV can learn a thing or two from his show. RIP.

Vikram pee..ed in the potty - YEAH,ITS A BIG DEAL TO ME.

Shyam acted surprised in his birthday party (After Arya told him not to go down the basement on his birthday)...so that was nice.

Went to good old Binghamton and met Dr.Hari along with the family - I was thrilled. Me and the husband went around visiting old places and reliving our memories which included a graveyard and $1.50 theatre. Met Pat Wrobel too - that was nice!

Belated Madras Day!!!

2009-08-27T10:15:00.005-04:00

Person 1: Nee Madrasla porantha ennatha kizhacha?

Person 2: Aya, over..aa pannikira - Madras bashaiya puchu puchu..aa develop pannikiron - Annthanda po' (அந்தாண்ட போ)!!!

Check this out - Very funny!!!

R.I.P Michael Jackson

2009-07-01T10:12:00.003-04:00

I think he was the first and biggest influence of western music to India. My growing years was filled with watching wacko boys in our colony trying to do the moonwalk to impress girls. We had 4 crazy boys as our neighbor and they used to play "Beat it" 24/7 like suprabhatam just enough to drive the colony dads nuts.

Ever wonder what wacko-jacko would look like without the surgeries...

Archiekins

2009-05-28T09:56:00.003-04:00

Remember Archie!!!! Coming to stores near you in August is the 600th issue -
Yup!!! Archie is biting the dust -The day has come when he has to choose between Betty or Veronica.

I remember reading Archie comics..I think...during my 8th std. I was totally into Enid Blyton or classic novels and felt very guilty reading about dating, flirting in Archie comics but like any other teenager..I still continued doing so ;-). I remember hiding this from my dad because even the front cover had girls in swimsuit etc. Your typical samathu ponnu!!!!

Pattimandram

2009-01-21T11:38:00.004-05:00

When I think of pattimandram - I remember coming back foggy eyed from all the matapu/patasu session on deepavali day. We settle down on the sofa to finally savor all the mouth-watering snacks while pattimandram starts on TV! This was the first reality show (those days) with a good dose of humor intertwined with incidents in the daily life of the common man - A big deviation from the Goundamani-senthil combo jokes in Tamil movies of that time (People never made jokes about their lives/marriage but they enjoyed watching it - Glad times are changing!).

So, do I enjoy pattimandram now - Not really! For one - Marandum Virandum alzhavathan sapidanum - When it happened once a year it was nice, different, refreshing. When it happens all the time - It's commercial money-making nonsense at the expense of common people - Don't be surprised if you see Pattimandram telecast on Valentine's day. Coming to the topics - Can't someone think of a refreshing topic than kadhal kalyanama, arranged marriage..a - Maybe the organizer thinks its fun to keep beating the dead snake. Of course, I don't get to watch other channels in the US so I can't comment about other better discussion/debate shows in non-sun TV channels. Looking beyond the topic- This Raja guy was interesting in the beginning but he tries very hard to somehow reference the most happening song/movie/news into his speech with or without reference - No wonder he has a huge fan following. I, personally, am a huge fan of Bharathy Bhaskar- She is diplomatic, opinionated, and gives Raja a run. In one of the pattimandram shows she says: How can you say men don't talk too much- Aren't we seeing Raja? - That was classy! I do like Solomon Pappaiya - I like his village slang like Enna Iyah etc but his verdicts are always politically correct which I don't always appreciate- To deviate is good and so is change. Would I give anything to watch pattimandram live in Madras - Yes, Any day!
Happy Pongal & Happy New Year

Nostalgia - 4

2008-11-04T11:46:00.003-05:00

Ek Anek

I read somewhere that the song is sung by sadna sargam when she was little.

Mile sure mera tumhara

Happy Deepavali!!!!

2008-10-28T14:40:00.005-04:00

Dear Vik - Happy 2nd birthday

2008-10-24T13:45:00.002-04:00

Vikram....

Adores his brother..shrieks to greet him back from school..calls him anna or for the most part Arya.
Vies for daddy's attention..calls him addy and tugs on shyam to take him outside.
Says Amma and hugs Sangeetha as if he has not seen her in 10 yrs when she comes back from work.
loves playing with cars
loves to be outside
almost eats by himself...and just needs to be tucked in for bedtime...

All in all its been a great year with a lot of accomplishments. We are all very proud of Vik/Ikabi/eyeball (as Arya calls him).

Devi

2008-10-23T10:53:00.004-04:00

When you see her face, the first thing you would notice are the eyes- Big innocent ones looking at you with the same earnest as the stray dog brownie that we would feed our left-overs to. She wore the same pavadai-sattai-davani everyday and her oily hair was plaited in a tight knot and you could smell oil when she came too close to you. Sometimes you could see the lice in her hair. That was devi and she came to learn type-writing at the lakshmi institue that was situated in the first floor of where I lived. She lived in Vijayaragapuram - a slum that was situated across our community. My friend Radha was the one who introduced her to me. Devi was the daughter of a weaver and was one among many children. What caught our attention was that she wanted to learn typing and always was interested in learning and doing something worthwhile with her time. She didn't follow her mother when she went for household-work. She wanted to be different. So me & Radha set about on the task of educating her with an all-important attitude at this sudden responsibility. Everyday we would whisk her away and started with our English lessons on the extended sunshade in the mottai madi. We started out with English words and then went on to sentences complete with instruction on active & passive voice. Sometimes we would give her homework from Wren and Martin or from our school's English lessons. We even made her cry when she made mistakes and reward her with choclates or biscuits if she did well. I, on my part, would keep thinking of what to give her as homework all day in school. The zeal was infectious and I even tortured my dad to find a job and that too I wanted him to find a nurse job for her. We would teach her more nurse related sentences like: How are you? Good morning! etc. I have to admit that with my little hospital experiences in India I have never been greeted by any nurse. I have been yelled, of course. But in our minds our instruction had to be perfect for devi. Now thinking about it our fathers (both mine & radha's) joined in this koothu (comedy) to either instruct devi or go about scouting for the nurse's job ;-). One day Devi insisted that we come home with her and we went. She lived in a hut that had 2 rooms - in one room there was this huge weaving mill, and in the other small room they would all huddle into. We got a free weaving tour and we were amazed at all the hardwork this family had to put in to earn their daily bread. We were their special guests for the day and were made to sit in the only 2 cane chairs that they had. Coffee was bought from the nearby tea kadai and served in the only stainless steel cup that they had. All her neighbours sort of peeped in and stared at us. Her mom was in tears and thanked us profusely for helping her daughter. We came back home - happy and contented with a feeling of accomplishment. We strove to do more for her.

Then one day, Devi stopped coming to the institute. We asked around and no one had a clue. We didn't know the way back to her house and plus our parents were not too happy about us wandering into Vijayaragapuram. Months passed by and one day her mom came to radha's house and asked if she could pluck some ari-nellikai from the huge tree that was in their backyard. She said nothing about Devi and we sort of burst out and asked her. The answer she gave is something I can't forget- Oh! She married my brother 3 months ago and is in the family way. She asked for something sour and I knew you had a nellikai maram so I thought I'll ask you a favor and see if I can pluck some.

Disillusionment and Dissapointment are not words enough to feel what we did that day. That was the last we heard of devi.

P.S This is not fictional. It is a true story and it happened to me.

Taare Zameen Par - Not a review

2008-10-20T11:45:00.007-04:00

Kids...
You have to win them over and work with them.
You have to win them over and teach them.
I don't think you can be strict with them - Unko maaza ana chahiye.
You have to make it interesting for them for them to learn.
You have to teach children the way they want to understand.
Each child is different -You have to take the time to reach out to them.

These are excerpts from an interview Aamir gave when making Taare Zaameen par. Please watch it.

Why am I talking about this movie after a year? Because I just watched it and it touched me immensely.One of the best movies of recent times.....I salute the filmmaker in aamir for this beautiful movie - I am sure all of us parents can take a leaf out of this movie when dealing with children. We were recently at our friend's place and he was mentioning how he could relate to the dad in the movie. I think just that is victory enough for this film (I think this is India's oscar entry).

I especially liked this scene - The kid would have gotten into trouble for not doing well in school. His parents would be angry with him and would have given a big sermon. The dad would be getting ready to leave to work...and the kid would ask him where he is going. The dad would go - I am leaving and never coming back. The kid would be scared and say: Sorry, papa! I will never do that. The mom, very typical, would go: Why are you scaring the child? Beta- Your dad is just going to the office and will be back.

At that point the camera zooms on the kid's face portraying all kinds of emotions like : How can my dad do this to me? How could he scare me so much. I love him and look how he is hurting me!

Of course there are many times when I insist on the kids doing something that I want so I accept I'm guilty as well. I would regret it later but does the child know that?
After all its their time to be mischievous, funny, loud- ain't it? They are not going to jump on the couch when they are 30 yrs old or will they want someone to sleep with them when they are in their teens or will they want to be fed? Why can't we give them the gift of time?

If you haven't watched this movie, please watch it. Its worth your time!
Here are some nice segments...

I have to end by saying - I love my children and I can see their emotions everyday in little things that they do. They offer me unconditional love which is why it hurts me to see them hurt. I hope I'll do the right things to them and they enjoy their childhood and have lasting memories like I did with mine. Thanks appa & amma too for letting me be myself.

Nostalgia - 3

2008-10-15T10:40:00.005-04:00

Who can forget the nice creative DD TV ads?
Solidaire Cat 1000 Ad (Amazing choregraphy and an English Ad)-
Here are the lyrics as far as I can remember...
Solidaire for various news, Solidaire for Sports, Solidaire for Sunday movies. Solidaire Solidaire...We want, we want true colors.We want to hear good sound.We know what we want ...We want Solidaire.

Other English ads like campa orange flavor(would sponsor different strokes on sunday afternoons),gold spot etc were great!

Woodwards gripe water(Cute ad)- Enna achu, Kolzhundai azhlugarathu! - gripe water kooduthutiya. Nee chinnavana errukaracha ada thaan kooduthen! All pattis in a family would show up.

Nirma Washing powder, surf lalithaji ad, amruthanjan, vicco vajrathathi were good too.

In the radio - I remember these ads -dollar biscuit, gopal palpodi.
I also loved listening to cibaca geet mala on friday nights on the kutti transistor that we had. Buds & blossoms on Saturday afternoons was good to hear western music. All in all I had a great time.

Here is an old ad for your viewing pleasure.Good old days...

The art of doing nothing....

2008-10-13T15:03:00.006-04:00

In the movie office space(which btw is a classic movie), peter gibbons (the guy's name in the movie) would be asked by his friends: What would you do if you had a million dollars? For which he would reply- I would do nothing.

That is precisely the point of this post-There is joy in doing nothing. When I see the kids in this generation (now I sound old), they have lost the art to do nothing. This can be partly our mistake - jostling the kids from painting classes, to music classes, to kumon, to balavihar - Their day is chunked up into activities. In fact some parents overdo by making the kids go to Sunday school at the local temple(concept borrowed from christianity). The kid needs to be doing X at any given time or if there's nothing he/she sits before the TV or if they are older there's the Wii or Ninetendo DS.

I remember sitting out in the verandah with a cup of coffee staring blindly at nothingness in the hot afternoons of Madras. Or watching a east-man(I think that's how you spell it) color movie that's atrociously boring but since there's nothing better to do - just watch it. Or the times when we look at the street dogs, or the ants or staring at people on the streets. This was not only restricted to the kids who didn't have any responsibilites but my neighbourhood mamas who were vetti on the weekend afternoons will hang on the gates and watch the road passer-bys. So you may ask what have you accomplished - Just a sense of calm and serene that today's kids are missing out.

But again, not to contradict my post, I don't think the kids or the parents are to be blamed entirely. We mean well for the kids - We don't want them to waste time and the entire system which includes the school is very activity oriented. The children belonging to this generation are very analytical - They will tell you they are bored and will not follow some instructions just because you are elderly - You do need to reason out with them. So very understandably we are in a age which is different from what it was. This has also trickled to us- the older generation - We too have lost the art of doing nothing. If there is one weekend which I have no plans - I would first rejoice, then scout around for things to do but I almost always end up calling someone for dinner/lunch making it a busy weekend. Well, I guess it would be nice if someone came by and asked me to do nothing for a while - i would grab it. How I wish I could go back to the days where I would sit in the verandah and gape/stare at nothing.

I have trouble making Arya sit doing nothing because sometimes I think he should be able to do that. I don't even use the word timeout nowadays but just tell him to sit doing nothing because I want him to enjoy doing nothing.

Anyway the point is that times & lives are moving fast - Things happen in a certain way because that's the day and age we are in. Our kids cannot do the things we did and neither will their kids do the things that they do.

So just savour each moment because down the line this will your most enjoyable one. Accept the generation gap and move on....

2 more days to go and Ocean City..Here we come!

2008-09-24T11:20:00.003-04:00

I can hear....

the waves and the roar of the sea
the children's laughter as they run up and down

I can smell....

the fresh mist of morning air when I stand out in the deck
the nice aroma of food when all of us huddle in the kitchen- Who said Too many cooks spoil the broth!

I can...

feel the cold and soft sand on my feet and the hot sun blazing on my back
envision Arya's eyes lighting up when he sees his friends
the light tabla music in the background...
the childlike excitement when we we fought over a game of taboo
feel the ------------- trickling down my throat....and me feeling tough that I'm still steady.

And most of all

...the look on the men's faces when we gave them the slip.

2 more days to go and Ocean City..Here we come!

P.S So the women decided to walk out leaving the kids with the men - Steaming cup of coffee, a long walk on the beach - That sure was fun!

Reading...

2008-09-11T14:33:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite subjects in school was English. One of the good things about being in a CBSE school was that we got to read some quality prose. Unlike Maths where I have to make an effort to keep my eyes open(especially after the thaiyir sadam lunch), I would look forward to those English periods.

Ruskin Bond comes to mind when thinking of short stories. I remember one story that touched me immensely - It was about a man who was begging on the streets since he lost his leg in some kind of natural disaster like a gas explosion or something. He is narrating how he was pushed by this other guy who in a bid to survive and get out fast, pulled him down. This man was left there to die and eventually was alive but without legs. He narrates the story to this rich guy when asking for money. The climax is beautiful - The man who pushed was the beggar and the rich man was the man left behind but who still managed to survive.

Then I remember the Last Leaf by O.Henry which was about a girl who is sick with pnuemonia. She counts the leaves of an ivy that crawls outside her window and proclaims to her friend that she will die when the ivy leaves fall down. The ivy leaves were falling down fast and is synonomous to her withering away. After this one storm she frantically looks out to see if there are any more leaves and there's still one. Days pass by and the leaf still stays there giving her hope. She gets better and when she looks closer, she notices that it is in fact a painted leaf. Her friend had told about her fancy to this old painter. This was his masterpiece and he succumbed to pneumonia dying to save her.

Then there were the nice greek mythology stories - Medusa, Pegasus, Pandora, Chimaera...

Nondetail which was pretty detail were good too - Jekyll and Hyde was pretty freaky, Oliver Twist, Robinson Crusoe were all good.

Non-School reading: Some favorites were Swiss family Robinson - I would wish we were shipwrecked in an island and we could survive just like the robinson family and live in a tree house.

I also absolutely adore the goblin-pixie- magical stories of Enid Blyton. I could very well curl up on the couch today with something to snack on and an Enid blyton book (Yeah right! A distant reality with the kids and a husband). Wishing Chair, Hop Skip and Jump, Mr.Meddle comes to mind.

Some heavy novels like Silas Marner, great expectations, Jane Eyre were good too.

I would be scared to sleep alone in the nights after reading Agatha Christie's Evil under the sunshine. Death on the Nile was the best - better than And then there were none.

Rant about not pursuing English in college:
If only we didn't have the taboo of being looked down upon by all the kazhla bolts, mamas and mamis, maybe our country would have people who work to pursue their passions and not have a bunch of useless average engineers.

Nostalgia - Part -2

2008-09-05T14:42:00.007-04:00

"Muthalam illathatha idhu mudivum ellathathu
Rayil Sneham...Rayil Sneham"
Rayil Sneham:
I am sure anyone growing up in the 80's in Madras(I refuse to call it as Chennai) remember this classic. I absolutely love watching K Balachandar's movies/serials and this is one of the best. Its about a girl who is pregnant, goes to commit suicide, is stopped by a good samaritan who ends up living with her.

"Kutti ponnu yaar sollu, Amloo. Gettikari yaaru sollu - Amloo"
Amloo:
This was a kids serial where there was a robot. I think his name was Banjo - Refreshingly different. Of Course Baby Shalini's histrionics could be compared to Shivaji Ganesan's overacting.

Evala En Manivi:
This had idayam nalla ennai chithra and Sharath Babu(Trivia: Endrum padhinaaru Sharath Babu who can continue to act as the hero's friend for the past 30 yrs)
I vaguely remember her as walking out of the marriage and an airport scene where the husband thinks she will not come back and she is there.

Iravil Oru Pagal:
Revathi is blind and houses a convict.

En Iniya Iyanthira:
Classic Science Fiction from Sujatha. Very well picturized. Remember the robot dog, the big bananas and the GOD who is actually light and is a figment of imagination. Something in the lines of Matrix about the husband going away to another world and wife(Nila) rescuing him. Pretty IMPRESSIVE.

Silandhi Vallai- A common man does insurance fraud for money.

KB'S impressive serials like Kai azhavu manasu, premi etc.

I remember everyone in our family watching kai azhavu manasu with a hand-kerchief. A middle class dying mom gives away her kids for adoption only to realize she is cured. She goes in search of them some 20 yrs later and ends up leaving them in peace and adopting a kid herself.Prakash Raj and the poet Valee had impressive roles.KB's favorite Geetha was at her best.

Vanna Kolangal:
Hilarious. Great start to Sunday Mornings. Clean comedy. S.VE Shekar, Kutty Padmini.

Also, there was Tuesday drama, Wednesday Chithrahar, Friday (Oliyum Oliyum), Sat (Hindi Movie) and Sunday(Movie).

Impressive variety and any day better than the trash satellite channels dump these days. Plus all these serials were so refreshingly different and does not have any evil plotting MIL'S or DIL's.

Hindi/English:
Believe it or not coming from the anti-hindi state DD definitely helped me learn a little hindi. Now I converse in broken hindi in punjabi/guju parties and talk to my husband whenever I don't want the kids to understand.
My favorite hindi serials:
Yeh Jo hai Zindagi, Nukkad, Buniyaad, Hum Log, gul Gulshan...,Nupur

English: Giant Robot, Fairy Tale Theatre, Different Strokes, The invisible man, Didi's Comedy show.

Tanglish(Tamil+English):
Who can forget Junoon and its weird dubbed tamil version with no respect for passive/active voice. Infact it gave way to a new jargon- Junoon Tamil.

Swabhimaan, Shanti - The soap operas that I watched with a cup of tea when I am supposed to be studying in my study holidays in college.

Ram & Ria - English sitcom

2008-09-05T10:41:00.006-04:00

Check this out - Very funny! I am sure all the NRI couples can relate to this.
For more visit .

Nostalgia - Part-1

2008-04-10T10:45:00.003-04:00

Spending countless nights on the mottai madi staring at the stars doing nothing.
Singing agninatchatiram songs in a high pitched voice and taking down the lyrics religiously while getting assurance from my friend that she will record a cassette on the very fancy double deck tape recorder of days of the yore. I remember the time when they got the tape-recorder and it was a big thing and all of us neighbours were there to look at it. And each of us tried recording, what not....Alpathanamana santoshamgal!
Eyeing the then muttai in chettiyar kadai and finally giving in to temptation and getting it although this was a strict no-no from my father. Trivia: This is one of those very unhygenic yet extremely tasty candies that hung inside a plastic cover and costed like 5 paisa.
Smell of fresh marudani (mehndi) when the upstairs mami applied it on our hands on Deepavali eve and going to bed with the exciting prospect of waking up early and actually lying there wide-awake since it was too exciting to go to sleep.
Nila choru in the mottai madi on chithra pournami.
Cup of bournvita after coming back from school.
Ari nellikai- The sour ones.
One of those yet again banned road-side kulfi that comes late-night.
Paneer/Goli soda.
On hot summer evenings - the wift of jasmine scented air. Sitting on top of the climber and plucking jasmine in vessels.
The smell of mud when the rains are about to come and the excitement of looking out of the school's window thanking your stars and knowing that you didn't bring an umbrella and now can go drenched all the way home.
Singing school prayer songs for golu and collecting all the sundal in plastic- bags. Dragging yourself and the pattu pavadai to each and every house.
Hire cycle for 50 paise - Try to get hold of the blue cycle before the boy-next-door gets it.
Rising adrenalin when discussing a maths paper when you know that there are more mistakes than correct answers.

OMG - This is scary for us!

2008-04-09T09:30:00.002-04:00

I kept joking to my mom that one day my kids will settle in Mars and I will have to visit there to look after my grand-children and then we will keep cribbing about how good earth is (Just like our parents have to adjust to our lifestyle here in the US)! And lo and behold there is an open invitation from google to settle down in Mars. OK, that sure is freaking me out. At the rate we are going, there will be a time when all of us are just travelling in a space-ship and ordering rasam sadam in a replicator.

Husbands after marriage

2008-03-11T12:34:00.003-04:00

I am sure everyone knows Darwin's Theory of Evolution - Slowly But Surely...

Here is my theory of evolution in husbands after the initial honeymoon period in marriage that may lead to new and altered traits (mutation) like these:

Before: Works late night in the cafeteria to sling in a few extra phone calls to dear girl-friend or fiance. Can actually talk about anything for hours and actually does the talking.
After: For the most part tries to be the listener or pretends to be one. When it comes to household chores or in-laws banter, acquires the skill of being partially deaf or phases out. Displays a fidgety behaviour of switching channels never taking the eyes off the screen with just a droning Umm mnn that you get the feeling that you are talking to a stone.

Before: Walmart or laundry on weekdays- No problem.
After: Uses alternatively "being tired" or "I have a bad headache" but goes around hunting for that free live streaming cricket match and calls around to pass it along with great fervour.

Before: Religiously maps out directions for places of interest and actually shows THE WIFE around without expecting her to know how to get from point A to point B.
After: Husband: How can you go there a thousand times and still ask me for directions? This is the last time I am giving it and Don't ever call me if you get lost (Wife:And you have other important work like....)

Before:Makes weekend plans before the weekend for the both of them.
After: Befriends even strangers to gather the team to play cricket on a cold wintry weekend morning. BTW, I'll be back in 2 hrs means - Don't expect me for anything today since I have no clue when I'll be back.

Before: Eager to show off his culinary skills at least on and off and voices praises when THE WIFE is still in the adventurous phases in the kitchen.
After: A sudden acquired amnesia of even how the vegetables look. Can you draw a peerkangai for me - How does it look? Is it OK to get black ullatam parrupu - That's the only one available here (Wife in her head lest he hears this and actually avoids grocery shopping conveniently falling in the "I-don't know-these-things" category - Dude, Have you ever eaten black idlis?).

Before: Teaches his new wife how to make microwave coffee and makes her some in bed.
After: Husband: Do you want to make the dicoction in the night or after you wake up? Make sure you get the Dunkin Donuts coffee powder in case we run out. It does taste like Leo coffee.

Before: The dumber the wife the more pavam she seems to appear.
After: The more she learns the more she has to get better at.

Before: (For the first child) Did you sleep - I heard the baby crying all night. OK, do you need help? When going out- Is the diaper bag packed, Shall I take milk, water?
After: (the second child) When the baby cries : Shuts the door of the faraway bedroom and mutters under breath to remind her to close the door when she goes in. Is the diaper bag packed - Where is it?

Put in 2 kids in this scenario and life can't be more interesting than this. Eh?

The baadshah of BGM - Illayaraja

2008-03-05T10:23:00.010-05:00

Although I keep teasing my dad that he still lives in the 50's and 60's because that is the only cinema music he approves of. I am just proving that I am his daughter since I seem to be very picky in liking any song these days. I still delve in illayaraja music of the 80's and 90's. Every time I hear illayaraja's songs, I get nostalgic and remember listening to them on our age old radio just before leaving to school - If I heard விவித்பாரடியின் வர்தக ஒளிபர்ரப்பு then I knew I was late for school. Who can forget the mounaragam trademark BGM or veedu BGM? Illayaraja made the best use of violin and that is his forte - Remember the violin interlude in andhi mazhai pozhigirathu or poonkathave thalthiravai or kalyana malai.

Here are some of my favorite BGM:

My article published in chennaionline.com

2008-03-04T13:30:00.004-05:00

http://www.chennaionline.com/columns/variety/2005/08musings.asp

Raaja paarvai (1981) - One of the lesser known songs

2008-03-04T13:11:00.005-05:00

Vizhiyorathu kanavu (An analysis)
I am amazed at the way this song has been picturized that too in 1981.

Madhavi in a sleeveless nightie without any heavy makeup which was a regular among heroines of that era.
The decor of the place from the bedspreads to the sofa and the hanging lamp along with plants right in the middle of the living room . Just look at the oval shaped mirror - Very classy.
A middle class typical father who comes and yells at his daughter and her reaction.
The self portraits that the lead actors hug.
Kamal waking up next to madhavi - a tryst with reality.
The Hindustani bit in between.
YGM with a french beard advising his friend.
Grand finale when she can't take the desperation anymore and when she screams.

See for yourself ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JAVN5yE1M0

S-E-L-V-A-R-A-G-H-A-V-A-N

2006-01-13T14:28:00.000-05:00

Ever since I saw 7G Rainbow colony, I have become a huge fan of Selvaraghavan. It was a straight-from-the heart movie, everything about it was so real and it was one movie that touched me deeply and lingered on my mind for a long time. I've come across so many characters like kathir during my college days...it was a typical madras film, and I even liked how the character Anitha gradually accepted her love. You ought to have loved to understand this movie. So, ever since this movie Iv'e tried looking up information about the immensely talented selvaraghavan. I chanced upon this interview in IndiaGlitz......and even his interview seems straight from heart. Check these out:
Excerpt from his interview
I don't think I have learnt a lot from anyone (even KBalachander sir). I've learnt by actually making the films. Its like learning about computers after buying one !

So true, isn't it! Check the rest out at : http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/gallery/Events/8857.html

I think Puddupettai is something definitely to watch out for:
http://www.puddhupettai.com

" Ambi Mama is leading Brahmin relative" - Survey

2006-01-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

A fwd from my school friend, Nandini. Calls for a funny read!

A survey has revealed that 'Ambi Mama' is the leading relative among Tamil Brahmin families worldwide, with six in ten families having one of their own (a 60% repsesentation. Apparently, Ambi Mama held off stiff competition from Mani Mama (with 55% representation) and Baby Chitti (39%) for a well-deserved win."It's a great day for all Ambi Mamas. All the years of hard work – drinking coffee, criticizing the Indian team selection and complaining about blood-pressure – have finally paid off. Yay!", said Ambi Mama, a spokesman for the Ambi Mamas Association of Dear Old Rascals (AMBASSADOR), a division of the Hardcore Brahmin Organisation (HBO). [Editor's note – The previous sentence has been roundly condemned by the Society for Prevention of Abbreviations that are Needless, Dumb and Execrable (SPANDEX)]Some of the stalwarts of the Ambi Mama team pose for a photographer, after blading him with outdated advice on the best cameras, film, and lighting.Mani Mamas all over the world watched in anguish as the final results were announced, plunging them into gloom. "It's no fun being a Mani Mama anymore", said Mani Mama. " Maybe if I change my name to 'Ramesh Anna', I will have a brighter future", he pondered pointlessly.The survey also said that a respectable number of families (or a number of respectable families, as the case may be), have a Vaidhi Thatha, Bangalore Anna, and at least one random guy named 'Chandroo' who is at all functions, but no-one can really place (and may not be related at all).Predictably, bringing up the rear were non-entities like Driscoll Periappa, Jessica Alba Anni and Darth Vader Mama, which had zero representation. "Brahmins are way too conservative, dude!", complained Cleveland Shankar, one of the more modern Iyer boys (or boyz, if you prefer. We offer multiple-choice reading. You're welcome.). "When are they going to drop old duds like Venkatakrishnan, Suresh and Balaji, and start using hipper names like Jason, Beyonce and The Human Torch?", he asked, to wide applause from a group of people watching cricket on a nearby television.Not all are happy with progress, however. "These youngsters are ruining everything by naming their children Archish, Dhruv and Plaha.", thundered Badri Athimber. " Can you imagine how it will sound? Dhruv Mama, Anamika Athai, Archish Chittappa – Ugh! Phooey! That is so not cool!!", he growled, using expressions of disgust picked up from his states-based co-brother.When asked for their response, several Brahmins living in Adyar merely arched their eyebrows, pursed their lips, and continued waiting for the December music season.

2 types of husbands....

2006-01-09T13:25:00.000-05:00

There should only be 2 types of husbands :

One....the "know it all" guy who is smart, humorous, can shoulder all responsibilites yet listen to his wife, should be able to convice his wife in a jiffy if he angered her at any point.
And the dumb guy who just goes by what his wife says.

Of course for all the rest of the in-between husbands, thankfully, there are that many nagging wives.

Shifting gears to Yuvan Shankar Raja

2006-01-09T13:06:00.000-05:00

I adored Illayaraja for his background scores. He used violins a lot and trust violins to soulfully stir you, be it sadness or love (remember his background score in veedu?) . "How to Name It" was a beautiful collection of such background scores from Illayaraja.

Of course as time progressed, and I was in college, I became a huge fan of the youthful tunes of AR Rehman..still am.

But of late, I've shifted gears to Yuvan shankar Raja - which seems like a Illayaraja-Rehman combo.

Listen to Walking into the Rainbow in 7G Rainbow colony or konjam konjam unnai pidichiraka...in Arindum Ariyamalum or Kana kanum kalagangal that makes me go back to love & college days.

The recent pudhupettai is out of the world - Listen to "survival of the fittest" score and kollywood seems to be going the hollywood way at least in music.

I even like "Padhicha naye" although my husband reminded me that my taste was going really bad. Well the words are something when you listen to it for the first time, but what do you expect from a rowdy - Just this & its perfectO!

- Sangeetha

Centenary Celebrations!

2006-01-09T12:46:00.000-05:00

This is Shyam's grandfather who renounced his wealth and became a saint. We recently celebrated his centenary celebrations!

-Sangeetha

Letting life and light in! (An old post)

2006-01-09T12:45:00.000-05:00

My mama was interviewed for his knowledge in computers.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2005/09/26/stories/2005092600210400.htm

Sangeetha

My article published in rediff.com

2006-01-09T12:40:00.003-05:00

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/nov/01diary.htm

I'm back!

2006-01-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

Deleted my blog as I felt I was posting for other people to read but there was more than one person who dukham visarichufied, and I am back on popular demand. Since I usually have the tendency to be very enthusiastic in the beginning, I am going to try and recollect some of my previous posts.

So, adutha murai sandikum varai ungal idum vidai peruvadu ungal sangeetha