tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-152507222024-03-23T11:08:15.134-07:00Life is a BoonFun-filled, traumatic, joyous, troublesome, boring, cruel, pleasing, satisfying, challenging, tempting, misleading - yes Life is full of 'em - that is why life is so very SPECIAL - and yet the thrill is in "living" life! And all the accompanying ordeals are the frills attached with the thrills.Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-44951099860040746172012-12-07T00:35:00.003-08:002012-12-07T00:38:01.705-08:00Am back... <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
... but where did I go in the first place? I was definitely sticking around all the time - just that I did not make any post. I guess just like the many many things, the euphoria with blogs also faded with time like how the craze with Orkut shifted to FaceBook, then came the blogosphere, to be taken over by tweets. I am suprised and wonder how certain bloggers still have the zeal to make regular posts. Hats off to them... and interestingly, all or atleast most of these bloggers seem to be totally 'uninfluenced' by the comments or hits they get.<br />
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As I was scanning through my old posts and comments, it kindled quite a many nice nostalgic moments where I realised I had made quite a few good blogger friends - whom I have not even met or know how they look. The only connection was through our blog posts. Nice!<br />
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And maybe many of posts should have been more concise and brief. Okay... hope I stick to my old trend of making atleast one post per month! and hope I get to meet my old blogger friends again...<br />
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Cheers!</div>
Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-86838681289276384462010-04-22T07:31:00.000-07:002010-04-22T07:47:39.706-07:00Western formals - my foot!Somehow I can never come to terms in equating the western formals as being the formal dress worldover! Blame it on imperialism or our general affinity to anything western, the western formals also caught up thus! I feel like a total clown with the blazers, tie et al. I never understand the purpose behind wearing a tie - I mean, what purpose does it serve? Its insane having a piece of cloth dangling around your neck for no reason and the pains one has to undergo to get the perfect "samosa" knot! And for the kind of tropical weather most of our Indian states experience, it makes us all the more foolish to adhere to such a dress code in the name of formality! I think its more important to be dressed nealty and dressed for the occasion. Also its vital one is able to appreciate and accept one's own region's dressing and that of others too which is also reflection of a culture and heritage the dress may hold! Any takers?Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-73076063651360131682008-12-22T10:44:00.000-08:002008-12-23T10:27:22.486-08:00O"Mega"!I don't remember when the "mega serial" or the <em>nedunthodar</em> buzz word caught up but it sure has caused havoc - hasn't it? Maybe it was during the DD days of Ramayana and Mahabharatha, which were considered India's first soaps - oh no - wait a minute! I think we had <em>Hum Log</em> and <em>Buniyaadh</em> much before that - didn't we?. Sadly, the soap operas have set a bad trend. I was (again) reminiscing those good old DD days when a serial had to strictly stick to a 13-week schedule. Though some had their own histronics and depicting scenes with no, they were still much much better than the mega serials of today. I could even probably watch a re-run of those serials with pleasure. Infact, Sun TV, during its heydays, when its telecast time was between 6.30 and 9.30 pm did just that - re-telecast old DD serials and that did help increase their viewership. (ofcourse other reason being it was the first alternative to DD). Back then, unlike soaps, the 13-week serials were relayed on a particular day of the week. So one had to wait, rather impatiently, for one whole week and there were no silly "re-cap" bits. And interestingly no ad breaks. All ads were shown *before* the start of the serial.<br /><br />The first Tamil serial I remember was that of S.Ve.Shekhar's - <em>Vanna Kolangal</em>. Wow! I would love to watch it again and again. The husband duo of Kutty Padmini and S.Ve.Shekhar was an instant hit. A similar venture of S.Ve.Shekhar came up later called <em>Thevai oru maapillai</em> with Arundhathi as his pair. Infact the title song had the same tune as <em>Vanna Kolangal</em>. This was aired, I think, in the 8.30 to 9 am slot or 9 am to 8.30 am slot.<br /><br />The first major serial to draw attention was <em>Idhu oru manithanin kadhai </em>mainly for two reasons; first, it was based on writer Sivasankari's novel and two, it had popular cine actor - Raghuvaran donning the protagonist's role. Raghuvaran gained immensely out of the serial, many pitied him while some related to the story. It was about a man addicted to alcohol and kicking his habit through a rehab, getting re-addicted and finally doing away with alcohol again forever.<br /><br />Another big hit serial was the one which had Sharath Babu and Y.G.Mahendran in the star cast named <em>Doctor Narendhiranin Vinodha vazhakku</em> (remember this anyone?). Sharath is a medical practioner accused of murdering his patients and Y.G.Mahendran plays his defense lawyer. The story is also based on a novel by Sujatha with interesting and gripping twists.<br /><br />A funny serial to come up later was "Dinesh-Ganesh" starring Delhi Ganesh and Kathaadi Ramamurthy. Sulakshana plays Delhi Ganesh's wife. Though the serial takes off as a hilarious one, later, probably to match a movie, the serial had few thriller elements too. A movie on similar lines was produced with Sivakumar, Cho, Jeevitha in the lead (don't remember the movie name though).<br /><br />Though I hardly remember anything of <em>Solladi Sivasakthi</em> which was telecast every Thursday, one thing which is still vivid is the title song rendered by none other than Chithra!<br /><br />One serial had so much speculation even before it was named or anything about its cast, story-line was known. But people were looking forward to it so much. Even as school kids, the talk of this 'to-be' serial was doing the rounds, the only reason being its director. For a while then, speculation was abuzz that K.Balachander would direct a T.V. serial and since DD was the only medium for serials, there was no second guesses as to where the serial would feature (unlike today!). The serial was <em>Rayil Sneham</em>. This serial was like a rennaissance for DD serials. It had extensive outdoor shoots capturing the beauty of Pollachi in a very picturesque location and it almost brought the 'flow' of a movie into a serial. Importantly, it had wonderful music by L.Narasimhan and also songs sung by leading playback singers Yesudas and Chithra. The title song was by KJY and a beautiful number (still popular on Youtube) - <em>Indha veenaikku theriyaadhu</em>, a soulful melody was rendered by Chithra and another version by KJY. The story would seem to be in bit and pieces and the suspense element was maintained till the very end. Its almost like connecting jigsaw puzzles - wonderfully taken. I think KB paved way for other successful directors/actors to venture into television. This featured every Thursday (or was it Wednesday?) between 7.30 and 8 pm. After about many years of watching this on TV, I picked up a video cassette (yes, a cassette) from a Video cassettes rental shop to watch it again mainly for the <em>Indha veenaikku theriyaadhu</em> song!<br /><br />Another big serial which took everyone by storm was <em>Penn</em>. The colourful star cast was one of its top factors for success. The serial had Revathy, Shobana, Bhanu Priya, Radhika, Geetha, Amala, Suhasini - all lined up for one story per episode. Suhasini donned the director's cap (probably for the first time). She later said in an interview that Vasanth was to direct all episodes with Suhasini playing the main role in each episode (it was one story every week). But later due to marriage and pregnancy, she said the plans changed. Infact the last episode had Suhasini herself in the lead with Parthiban playing her husband. The story-line, acting, star cast was so crisp and fresh.<br /><br /><em>En Iniya Endhira</em> was another serial which went on to become very popular. The main star value here was the fact that the serial was based on Sujatha's novel with the same name. It takes us to a future world dominated by machines (I am now curious to know what is the year which Sujatha mentions in that novel! Its probably one of the years now!!).<br /><br />There was another Sunday 8.30 am serial <em>Neela Mala</em> which had ThalaiVaasal Vijay and a little Neena playing one of the two lead child characters (the other character is also a well known person today I think - was it Swarnamalya?). <em>Vaazhvin Vaasal</em>, a very novel serial with rational thoughts on widow re-marriage had Srividhya playing a lead role with Poovilangu Mohan, Kuyili, Gautham (Major Sundarrajan's son) playing supporting yet well-etched roles.<br /><br />Another serial making a big impact amongst the viewers was <em>Ivalaa en manaivi </em>on Wednesdays (or Thursdays?)<em>. </em>I felt the serial was bit of a drab - with not much of a crispy flow. The serial had <em>Idhayam Nallennai</em> Chithra, Sharat Babu and Nizhalgal Ravi. The ending, however, was quite interesting but tested my patience!<br /><br />Then there was this serial with Revathy in it, who acted as a blind girl. It was a thriller. A famous character name in the serial which I still remember was "Mr.D'souza" (don't know why I still remember this name!).<br /><br />Cho had his series on Sundays - the best being <em>Saraswathi Sabatham</em>, a scathing mockery of movies depicting larger than life heroes. And also there was a series depicting <em>Panchathanthra tales</em> or something similar of 5 stupid students of a gurukulam. One episode which I vividly remember was how the 5 of them would carry a needle pierced on a log (supposed to be "sharing the work"!). Each episode seemed so insane.<br /><br />A few serials came up in the 10-10.30 pm slot on DD-2 (often called "second channel" but available only in Chennai and its suburbs). Of them one was a comedy serial by S.Ve.Shekhar. I think, as far as my memory goes, this was the first time Madan Bob was introduced on TV as an actor. Brinda Das (the vamp on <em>Aanandham</em>) played S.Ve.Shekhar better-half! Another one was a serial with <em>Kaveri</em> (or popularly known as <em>Mrs.Dhanam Bose</em> for the <em>Metti Oli </em>fans).<br /><br />A very interesting programme called <em>Kaalathai Vendravargal</em> featured in this slot. A celebrity of the past adorned each episode. Speaking of this reminds me of another music related programme on MSV every Tuesday at 7 pm (rather 7.05 pm just after <em>Seithi surukkam</em>) on DD-1. An interesting anatomy related programme was <em>Ucchi mudhal paadham varai</em>. Another series was based on wild life. I was in 7th standard then. Our Biology teacher made us watch the show and would ask us questions based on the show the following day.<br /><br />DD-2 had many interesting English or German serials like the <em>Didi's comedy show</em>, <em>The Invisible man</em> and one more, a German detective serial - <em>Derrick</em>.<br /><br />Then there was <em>Adada Manohar</em> and another one with Y.G.Mahendran and Ramya Krishnan (its called <em>Thirumathy</em> or something...). The serial supposedly had an interesting ending with the viewers left to their own imaginations on the finale.<br /><br />Writing about these serials reminds me of a comment I read in <em>Aval Vikatan </em>site. A reader had mentioned "Today, we are so restless that we can't stand a single ad and switch channels right away but we are the same people who patiently waited for the only <em>Oliyum Oliyum </em>programme for a week!". How true!!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-10272167972040382732008-05-22T07:56:00.000-07:002008-05-22T08:09:26.985-07:00Trrrrring... Trrrring...The penetration of mobiles into the nook and corner of the country amazes me no doubt. People get jittery, anxious, restless if they leave their mobile phones behind. Today, as I was reading <a href="http://shyamram.blogspot.com/2008/05/sunday-scribblings-telephone.html">this</a> post, being the usual self I am, went into a nostalgic walk yet again down memory lane to recaptulate about the black, heavy telephone.<br /><br />A pista green phone was the cynosure of our visitors' eyes back in mid 80s. We had got it from our abroad return. Back then, it was looked upon as a very 'advanced' phone - the only reasons being that it was a coloured one and had a key pad instead of the circular dial. Discussions would crop up as to how having such a phone would invite levying of an extra fee from the Telephones Department and so we had it covered with a cloth most of the time (how silly!).<br /><br />Ofcourse the regular phone was the heavy black phone with a jarring trrrring trrrring ringing sound (ringing 'tone' would not apply or was not in vogue then). [Digression: During one of the "<em>Pattimandrams</em>" chaired by Dindigul I.Leoni many years back, he took a dig at the song "<em>Telephone mani pol siripaL ivaLaa</em>" (from the movie 'Indian') leaving it to the imagination of the audience as it how it would sound if a girl were to laugh which sounds like trrrrringggg trrrringgg. Obviously, what Vairamuthu would've had in mind then while penning the lyrics, was the sound of the new phones which somewhat relates to loud giggling]<br /><br />A person had to be extra careful not drop the receiver onto his/her foot lest it should break - the foot I mean! And there was no tone dialing (or speed dialing). Each swirl of a number had a taka-taka-tak... echoing effect and no... there was no 'redial' option either on such dials. One just had to meticously keep rotating the dial, thereby testing not just the patience but the strength of the index finger as well!<br /><br />Once, when I visited relatives in Cuddalore, I was amazed to see that the phones there did not even have the dial. Becoming desperately curious, I wanted to know how it worked. Well, simple... you just had to pick up the phone, a person on the other end would ask for a number and you would be connected! But again, no guarantee that the person-on-the-other-end would answer you right away. I seldom felt comfortable talking through such connections as I felt, without an iota of doubt, that my conversation was being tapped. Cuddalore had just 3 digit phone numbers in that 'era'.<br /><br />An upheal task was to book a trunk call and you would have to thank God if you were lucky enough to have your call placed within a few hours. The process started with calling the trunk booking number, mentioning the place and the phone number, then the person gives you a tracking number. Then you wait, wait, wait! Lets say you book a trunk request at 9 pm, you might get a call by 11 pm - pretty impressive huh? And you thought the other person was talking from a well? No! its a trunk call remember? No wonder the oldies bellow with all their energies when it comes to talking over a phone. Once you are done with the call, you get another call 'confirming' that the call is indeed over. And you probably thought you just spoke for a minute and you get a whooping 80 Rs. entry in the following month's telephone bill! I think there were different classes as well - ordinary and urgent. Urgent was 3 times the cost of ordinary.<br /><br />There was a day when we had booked a trunk request and since the message was already conveyed, we did not want a huge trunk call bill, so had the receiver put away to avoid getting the trunk call request through!<br /><br />But the biggest advantage was there was no pulse metering - atleast for local calls. So a minute or an hour of talking all costed the same. Imagine when once owing to my absence from school, I had my friend dictate History notes over phone.<br /><br />So people who still think India hasn't made great strides in anything.... THINK AGAIN!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-15761069914840250452007-10-10T22:18:00.000-07:002007-10-10T22:24:47.434-07:00'Showy' SchoolsThere are loads of writeups already floating around about the huge short-comings of educational institutions especially with respect to schools. I have also made a post touching upon teachers' attitude in handling students <a href="http://kondattam.blogspot.com/2005/08/schools-can-be-fun-if-only.html">here</a>. Though capitation fee may be on top of the misfortunes, what I would like to highlight upon here is the filtering of students based on their learning prowess.<br /><br />Schools, as far as I know, are institutions to impart knowledge and discipline. Period! But the situation today shatters the very basic morale of running a school. Capitation fee, in a way, maybe justified quoting reason that a school needs money to run. Thats fine if the school is able to balance students who can afford to pay capitation fees and students who cannot. But what is worse is - in a pursuit to keep up its name and fame - most schools resort to handpicking the so called 'bright' students and mercilessly rejecting or dropping out those who do not fall into their desired category.<br /><br />The ads race which follow soon after the 10th/12th public exam results are also means to attract the new batch of students. "100% pass results" was the norm initially, now adding to these phrases are more glamourous captions like "100% pass for 10 successive years", "100% pass with all first class", "100% with all distinction".<br /><br />Its a common theory that people's IQ levels are not the same. Infact some grasp things much faster than others. But given the right guidance even the not-so-quick graspers can catch up with the rest - ofcourse with some extra time and effort. Infact, in order not to discourage the so called not-so-quick-learners, the phrase "dull students" has been replaced with "slow learners".<br />The amount of discouragement such students are subject to is a known story but how worse can it get when that happens in a school! - the very institution where s/he can hope to see some light.<br /><br />Students who have been associated with a school right from Kinder Garten are dropped post 10th standard or 9th standard owing to their poor performance or just because the school authorities feel they might not fit into their "desired category" and their continuance could jeopardise their so called "remarkable" results.<br /><br />So what if a school does not achieve 100% results? So what if a school has more slow learners? Wouldn't the worthiness of a school be evident when they are able to pull through such students? Imagine the mental turmoil of the parents who can't even imagine getting admission for the wards just because schools shy away from such students just to safeguard their pride.<br />Even worse is interviewing a probable L.K.G candidate? How funnier can it get?<br /><br />A few years back, I remember an interview on TV with the principal of a leading State Board school in Chennai when the school bagged quite a few top ranks in the state. She said "Right from the beginning of 11th standard, we identify the bright students and give them special coaching". I was taken aback. Shouldn't this be done more importantly for the slow learners? Or perhaps were all the so called slow learners dropped post 10th exams?<br /><br />No point in blaming the schools entirely. What is that the parents look for? If the schools are able to achieve results at any cost - even if it means pressurising their own wards - its fine. What we look for is only the end result!<br /><br />Time and again, people have been voicing concerns over the educational system especially its grading methodology which negatively segregates students. I am sure there is a way out. Lets hope it happens soon.Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-18904132397331321732007-09-20T12:38:00.000-07:002007-09-20T12:40:00.809-07:00Home is where the heart is!Hurray!!! After being away from India for a little over a year on a work assignment, I am returning back to India next weekend. This has been my longest stint away from home ever since we came back for good from a foreign country about 24 years ago!!<br /><br />The feeling is obviously BLISS but ofcourse the added frills would be drawing comparisons between the facilities here and the lack of them in India. But hey what the heck? there are many many things that India offers which you cant find them anywhere else!!<br /><br />East or West, atleast to me - India is the Best!!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-60226994249258076382007-08-10T09:18:00.000-07:002007-08-10T09:31:15.505-07:00It's an ad ad world!I remember when my friend who was pursuing his MBA talked about advertising. He gave an intersting point about the ads which seem quite lousy. His theory, or probably the general advertising theory was that, for ads to click they have to be extremely impressive or extremely lousy. As I was thinking about this yesterday, I traversed back in time to the days of black and white ads. Advertisements ever remain a child's first favourite on TV. And most of the old day ads, by today's standards, would have been dissmissed as being too lousy but still they did strike a chord with the viewers/listeners.<br /><br />One of the early ads making a good reach to the viewers was the old Horlicks ad. It was a bit long but a very normal one and that too in B&W with different people in all age groups, from all walks of life, talking a line about Horlicks. There was a sports person, a person dressed as Ravana, a granny saying "<em>Enga ammavum adhe koduppa</em>" and the last line where a kid with a spoon in hand remarks "<em>Kudikka vendam, appadiye saapiduven</em>". This punch line, even to this day, remains a widely remembered ad line. I think much later came the Ujaala ad. There were even jokes and "just a minute" series with the Ujaala slogan : "<em>Neeyum Ujaalavukku maaritiyaa?</em>".<br /><br />The Nirma song was like the ads' anthem. Everyone could sing it and everyone had their own parodies - one of the most popular one being "<em>Washing Powder Nirma, Adupula vegudhu kurma!</em>". Needless to say that even then there were countless rumours about the ad models then - though they did not get much attention at the models of today. It is often said that the girl in a frock swirling to the tune of the Nirma ad song was actually the daughter of the person who owned Nirma and that it was in her name that he started the company and that she died soon after she featured in the ad. The same is attributed to "Liril" soap ad models. The ad, inspite of its popularity, was supposedly a jinx for the models. Whoever would figure on it would since be deceased. Well it was obviously untrue!<br /><br />Of the local ads, <em>Idhayam nallennai</em>'s gained much popularity because of its ad line "<em>Idhellam pombalainga samachaaram, poi idhayam nallenai vaangittu vaanga-na vaangittu vaangalen</em>" and it also helped actress Chithra (often dubbed as "<em>Nallennai</em>" Chithra) gain some level of prominence. "<em>Excuse me, neenga endha college?</em>"... "<em>College-a? naan-a?</em>" as the model finishes this line, a kid comes running towards her shouting "<em>Mummy....</em>". This ad (was it Santoor or Rexona?) was also a fodder for many many parodies and "<em>Excuse me, neenga endha college</em>" almost became an expression for people looking younger beyond their age!!<br /><br />One of my favourites then was the "Gold Spot" ad, more so because Gold Spot was my only choice for cool drink during those days. For a while Gold Spot also had Archie Comic characters behind the bottle crowns. The ad song went something like this "<em>She is crazy about hitting an ace as crazy as he is about........... as crazy as crazy as we are about Gold Spot, the Zing thing, Gold Spot</em>". And then Rasna! All the little girls who featured in the ads were so cute (infact one of them was the heroine opposite Prashanth in the Tamil movie 'London'). Though Rasna had just Orange flavour initially, it introduced "Mango Ripe" and the new ad became my instant favourite ("<em>Endha samayam endha naalum Rasna Mango Ripe naaley</em>").<br /><br />The "Sunrise" coffee ad with its elegant signature tune and the cute picturisation with Suchitra Krishnamurthy in it was an instant hit. I think the soft music and a simple video did the trick. The Amrutanjan ad's slogan which goes like "<em>Gaayab, hoy to, Poye poche, poyindhe, Chalegoche, It's gone... menmaiyaana suhamaana vegamaana nivarani, Amrutanjan Pain Balm meedum thandhidumae... ungalin punnagaiyai!</em>" is something people recon with even today. The AVT premium Tea with its "<em>Kaeteengala, kaeteengala...</em>" had the interesting "<em>Aaapapapapapa...</em>" from Gautami (rather the voice that dubbed for her). We as kids then tried imitating that "<em>aaapapappapa...</em>" but with little success. None realised the male model in Leo Coffee would go on to become a popular hero - Arvind Swamy! Infact another ad of his - no, not the Cinthol ad - in which he goes to buy a Solidaire TV along with his on-screen wife Geetha. That was also a short and nice one. Speaking of Solidaire TV, I remember the old ad where a baby cries on watching a lion growling on TV, then the channel switches to cartoon and the baby is in all smiles. Finally the song end with a dance troupe dancing to the song "<em>We want, we want true colours, we want we want clear sound, we know what we want, we want Solidaire... SO LI DA IRE...</em>". Dynanora was another TV which also got lost down the line. Arun icecream also improved immensely on its video ads. They had a series of clippings showcasing all their flavours with the background song "<em>I can see you... Arun icecream, I think I will lose my self-control... you make me lose, lose my self-control</em>". It ends with a kid holding an ice candy stick and shivering with smiles - really cute!! In terms of visuals, "<em>Regaul sottu neelam</em>" made a similar mark; "<em>Sottu neelam thoi, Regaul sottu neelam thoi... enna venmaiyo... aahaaa enna venmaiyo...</em>". I think the ad received more popularity ever since it came to be known that the video was shot by ace cameraman P.C.Sreeram. This was followed later by another similar ad featuring Kushboo, who runs with a torch in hand and with the song "<em>Endrum maara venmai idhu, Regaul venmai maaraadhu...</em>".<br /><br />"<em>Thalai vali? jaladosham? mukkadaippu? aama pa aama...</em>" was another famous ad line. Infact during late 80's there was a group which released a cassette called "<em>Sirippo sirippu</em>" where they mocked almost everything which was popular then - DD, popular ads, Kripanandha Variyar, Senthil-Goundamani-Janakaraj combo and this ad also had featured in that.<br /><br />I used to love the voices behind the radio ads, Radio being "<em>Chennai Vaanoli Nilayam - Vividh Bharathiyin Varthaga Oliparappu</em>"! and had wildly imagined how the faces behind the voices would be. In all these years I could come across only one such person and that too on the Tuesday 7.30 pm DD drama. When he spoke his dialogue it immediately struck me that he was the voice behind the many ads on radio but no, it did not match the face which I had imagined ;-) I used to wonder then and even now if the time for ads overly surpassed the time alloted for songs on AIR! and I used to love the signature bell sound (ting tong) preceeding each ad. The typical radio ads with the bell sound would also remind me of my daily hussle-bussle mornings when I start to school. The "All India Radio" was always the morning background score at home - day after day! And who can forget the evergreen "<em>Gopal palpodi</em>"? ("<em>Vennira parkalukku Gopal palpodi, thaechu paarunga Gopal palpodi, kaettu vaangunga Go paal pal podi!!</em>") Surprisingly they did not change the song even when it was shown on TV for a short while (ofcourse, I dont see it anymore on TV these days). Then came the Archana Sweets ad "<em>Inime late-a vandha Archana Sweets oda dhaan varanum</em>". That ad line was later changed when Archana opened a couple of branches in Madras. And another good old ad was the "<em>Roja paakku</em>" ad. I could just go on and on, then ofcourse the "stores" ads like Saravana Stores, "<em>Rathna Stores, Siva Complex, Pondy Bazaar</em>", Vasanth and Co., Maniyammaal Texties, Sharada Stores (ending with "<em>Chennai-2, Trichy-2</em>"). The other typical radio ads being "<em>Zandu Balm, Zandu Balm valigalai neekum balm...</em>", Kalyanai covering, Nizam pakku.<br /><br />In between, there also used to relay audio trailers for movies. Infact during nights, about one hour was allotted for such ads (under "<em>Vilambaradharar vazhangum nigazchi</em>"). That was a time when we could listen to new songs or atleast get a sample of it only thru' such forums. Doordarshan would not screen new songs. And we would eagerly have our ears glued to get jig-saw bits of the story, dialogues and songs. It would be interesting the way the "build-up" is generated in the ads with echoing effects, glaring sounds et al. And if one would stay awake (which generally doesnt happen because of restrictions at home owing to school the next day) so late to know about a film, it would his turn to brag about it the next day in the classroom.<br /><br />I know many ads then did not have a catchy ad line, nor famous models or actors featuring in them, nor trendy sets or graphics but still they made an impact - for whatever reasons - and they still remain fresh - possibly because they did not have all those features which ads of today have and just humming old tunes of the ads or reciting ad lines would unfurl loads of memories - wouldn't they?Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-46473692248921186222007-06-18T14:23:00.000-07:002007-06-18T14:32:45.877-07:00Wonder why?Recently I chanced upon one of the "Coffee with Anu" series on Youtube and one of the guests on the show was Prakash Raj. In many forums he has expressed how his mother braved against many tribulations in life when his father had abandoned them. He said one of his biggest motivational figures was his mother. And in this programme he said something like: "I like her (mother) a lot, I admire all her qualities - her strength, her courage, her loving nature. Maybe in my next birth, I would like to have her as my wife".<br /><br />I can sense that many of you who saw that or read the statement above would've gasped in shock but I was in complete awe of his statement. Infact it goes on to show how - when we talk of certain relationships - we often lose focus of all the goodness which the relationship holds and dwell on aspects which would possibly cause a frown.<br /><br />Its considered healthy to compares one's relation with another in the likes of a brother, sister, mother, father, uncle, aunt or a friend. Imagine this : "He is like my father figure", "She is another mom to me", "I don't have a sister, but I found a sister in you". But there is only one relationship we can't attribute it to someone else - spouse. Why? Its only because when someone says that someone else is like his wife or her husband, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is... obvious, you know where I am getting at!<br /><br />Is it that we push all the real, worthy attributes of a spouse to the rear and just focus on that one aspect when someone mentions as her/his spouse?<br /><br />We all talk about beauty being just skin deep, the physical attraction not mattering at all, that the love between a couple trascends all wordly things and a husband-wife relationship is steafast and life long and yet... if someone were to equate a true, loving, caring relationship to a spouse, we just cannot think it to be "pure". Why?<br /><br />A spouse is an amalgamation of all relationships one can think of - a dad/mom, a bro/sis, a lover, a friend and yet its always inappropriate to draw comparison to this relationship if he/she is not one. Maybe we *are* hypocrites, its not the love, care, understanding, counting on each other, sacrificing for each other, sharing - not just happiness but troubles as well, the little fights, the little frowns, the many tears that come to the fore front as we talk about husband and wife but only the physical bonding which strikes an instant chord?Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-65108664014797692172007-06-11T09:56:00.000-07:002007-06-11T10:09:51.770-07:00My Favourite Fountain PenHmmm... the title sounds like one of those essay writing exercise topics in school isn't it - in the lines of "My pet", "My Self"? Well probably the post is too like one of them ;-)<br /><br />From time I can remember, I have always fancied stationery items and pens top the list! Even today, more than the trendy ball point pen, I adore the ever elegant fountain pen - more commonly called 'ink pen' during school days.<br /><br />The first time we ever had to write using pens in school was in the fourth standard and we were strictly forbidden to use ball point or micro tip pens. I think Pilot was the only or rather the most famous micro tip pen then.<br /><br />And being the first exposure to ink and ink pens, there was always the usual "supplements" attached - staining a white shirt, ink on white walls, ink on the floor, ink on desks and leaking pens blotting the school bags, notebooks, pencilboxes. Almost every pencil box had a chalk piece or a blotting paper or a peice of cloth to counter a leaky pen. Ofcourse many relied on their hair too - which I totally despised. Most pens would have teeth marks around the nib area. A few extreme cases had even a bit of blue stain on their teeth.<br /><br />The classy Hero pen was ever a luxury. I remember the few different models - one with round smooth ends, the other with a metal ring and the other just plain flat ends. There were just three distinct colours - black, green and maroon. Buying a Hero pen would cost a fortune. My first Hero pen was priced at Rs.25! Though I loved the Hero pen, my only fear was going dry on ink during exams. I always felt the inner rubber sac in the Hero pen could not hold enough ink for an exam though time and again I was proved wrong. No matter how much ever I was convinced by my friends and parents, I would never take a Hero pen to an exam. But the best feature of Hero pen - apart from its elegance and flawless nib - is the ease of refilling and the no-mess mechanism. Besides, it was a matter of pride to have a Hero pen showcased in the pencilbox.<br /><br />My long time patronage was for Camlin. I liked the model which had a little transparent space in the body to see how much ink was left out. And they were not that leaky as well. And I always knew they could literally fill a truck load of ink! Later, during my 10th, I liked this special suction model of Camlin where the tail end of the pen had to be unscrewed to release the ink and screwed again - with the nib dipped in ink - to refill.<br /><br />There were hundred other local brands - very fancy and cheap but the biggest risk of buying them was the leaking factor. So I always relied on Camlin or Hero.<br /><br />And when it came to feeding the pen - my choice was obviously Bril ink. There was another brand in use called Chelpark, a bit expensive than Bril; but I always felt Chelpark never had the right viscosity as Bril. Chelpark ink was generally too watery and too light. There was also the Camlin brand ink but still Bril stood a class apart or atleast I felt so! But one advantage of the Camil ink bottles was that they came in plastic containers with a squeeze cap. So it was rather easy filling a non-suction pen. But we had ink fillers and re-used syringes which came in handy for the Brill-like open bottles. And almost each household had this one big bottle of ink to refill the small bottle from time to time.<br /><br />I don't know why but more than the colours which I was supposed to use, which were blue and black, I've always had a liking for the other exotic colours - red, pink, green and later turquoise blue! I would get them - nevertheless - just out of interest and have separate fountain pens filled with red, pink or green ink and use them for 'other' purposes like scribbling, writing letters or signing greeting cards and ofcourse putting tick marks on old notebooks (as mentioned in <a href="http://kondattam.blogspot.com/2007/04/summer-vacations.html">this</a> post);-)<br /><br />I still relish the habit of writing with an ink pen and I still do buy ink pens. I know fountain pens are hardly in use these days other than in schools. But even there, the students prefer other pens while writing board exams. But as the tradition goes - its good to start with an ink pen, which definitely gives a better handwriting than the ball point pen. Long Live the fountain pen!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-9440984493197690102007-05-29T13:52:00.000-07:002007-05-29T14:11:56.084-07:00Summer Special<p>I am ever a foodie as a previous <a href="http://kondattam.blogspot.com/2005/09/food.html">post</a> of mine would suggest and summer is one of my most favourite seasons as <a href="http://kondattam.blogspot.com/2006/02/summmer.html">this</a> post would prove. With summer already here, what is it that is running on my mind? Wish if I could gobble these now!!</p><p><em>Thanni saadham</em> : Rice cooked the previous day, soaked in water, curd, salt, shallots, curry leaves and finely sliced <em>maavadu</em>. The best combo for this would be... NOTHING. The <em>thanni saadham</em> itself is a delicacy and the magic it creates on your body especially during summer is<br />amazing.</p><p>Vanilla milkshake : A thick, cold, frothy, vanilla milkshake in a tall glass and slurping it till the last drop is total bliss.</p><p>Icecream : I am 'all ready' for an icream - anytime, anyday!! And no discrimination here on the flavours - I just love 'em all! I love it best when the whole package is a <em>jugalbandhi</em> of different flavours, nuts, jellies and sauces!</p><p><em>Nongu</em> :Is it called palm fruit in English? I love it when chucks of <em>Nongu</em> are immersed in sweetened milk, flavoured with cardamom and chilled.</p><p>Elaneer :Tender coconut wins hands down when it comes to thirst quenchers and I love the taste of water when the coconut is in its <em>vazhukkai</em> stage.</p><p>Mangoes :Mango might not be a good choice in summer because of the heat it generates but who cares? I could have mangoes all day long - with breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks!! And mango with a dollop of fresh cream or vanilla icecream is.... need I say more?</p><p>Jackfruit : Another speciality during summer. I love the extreme ripe ones especially their aroma. But I would love to have the luxury of someone separating the <em>palacholais</em> from the whole fruit. More than cutting, I dread the feeling of the fruit sap sticking onto my hands and deciding not to leave for a while. By the way, I read recently that the origin for the word Jackfruit is from the Portugese word "Jakka" which inturn is from the Malayalam word "Chakka" for Jackfruit.</p><p>Water Melon : There was a juice parlour in Bangalore where we used to frequent and there, when ordered for water melon juice, we would get a glass filled with water melon juice, along with a long stainless steel spoon and small chunks of water melon and a dash of chat masala. And when you take the first gulp of the juice and nibble the water melon chunks on a hot summer day, you would literally see heaven!!</p><p>Lemon/Lime Juice : Whatever said and done, the simple lemon juice never loses its charm not just for the taste but for the affordability as well. Many a time I used to opt for lemon juice so that I could gulp down a few glasses of the juice for the same money I end up spending for a 'higher-end' juice.</p><p>Water : Coming to the basics, eveything boils down to the tasteless, flavourless, plain "Adam's ale". And just like anything else in this world, its value is seldom known unless we are deprieved of it. So in summer time, drink lots of water and also make sure you don't waste it!</p><p>Have a hot, happy Summer!!</p>Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-87896504418518417522007-05-15T03:39:00.000-07:002007-05-15T03:46:33.795-07:00Mythical CynicismI have great respect for our mythological works. More than being stories, they impart valuable insight into theories of life, how to be and how not to be. But I am quite cynical about certain aspects in the mythological works. Ofcourse, please view them as my take on stories only, not as my take on God or any exihibition of atheism. I am very much a theist ;-)<br /><br />Rama's treatment of Sita :<br />Rama is always potrayed as an "<em>eka pathini virathan</em>". But I still cannot relate to the ending chapters of Ramayanam where he abandons his wife on hearing a washerman's rant against his wife. So how does Rama deserve the reverence when after having fought a war, after taking the hard way in the forests and having putting so many other people to hardships/sacrifices, got carried away by a single statement? So is it that he had the poison tree sowed already and the statment of the washerman was like the 'last straw'? How does it matter if he was an "<em>eka pathini virathan</em>" when he had subject his wife to the biggest toture - of doubting her celibacy?<br /><br />Slaying of Vaali :<br />The reason, as quoted by Rama, for slaying Vaali is that he (Vaali) had wished for another man's wife, which is immoral. But... Vali and Sugriva are not human beings but <em>Vaanar</em> kings. Animals do not have such rules. It is survival of the fittest. Infact in most animal races, the males fight it over for the female.<br /><br />Draupadi :<br />Instead of taking her wrath on her husbands who pledged her during the dice game, she takes a vow against the Kauravas. There is an interesting anecdote in the movie "Bharathi". When Bharathiyar is a kid, he watches a streetplay of "<em>Paanchaali Sabadham</em>" (he later went on to create a work on the same title). In the play when Draupadi vows to take revenge against the Kauravas, the little boy Bharathi interrupts and says "Why do you get angry over Kauravas when its your husbands who pledged you. Women should also pledge their husbands. If all women were to pledge their husbands in a game, will one husband be spared?" and the whole audience bursts into laughter applauds his rational thoughts.<br /><br />Karna :<br />My most favourite character in Mahabaratha is Karna. But more than anyone else in the epic, it is Karna who was subject to atmost discrimination - right from the time when he was rejected by Dronacharya (owing to his caste), the curse by Parasuram, the way he was (tried to) deceived by Indra in taking his <em>kavasa-kundalam</em>, the promise taken by Kunti asking him to spare Arjuna, his charioteer abandoning him in the last minute owing to his caste, till the end when Krishna takes all his good deeds (<em>punyam</em>) so he could die. Though he was wary of Duryodhana's acts, he stood by him only as a token of gratitude. And Karna ever remains an epitome for friendship, gratitude and generosity.<br /><br />Ekalavya :<br />Though he was turned down by Dronacharya because he belonged to a tribal clan, Ekalavya still considered Dronacharya as his guru, made a statue of him and practised before it every day. And he proved to be better than Arjuna. Since Dronacharya had promised Arjuna that Arjuna would be the best archer ever, shamelessly, he asked for Ekalavya's thumb as <em>gurudakshinai</em> so that he would never be able to use the bow and arrow in his life and Ekalavya complies without hesitation.<br /><br />The Kauravas' wrongful act is well known but Krishna/Pandavas were not far behind. Krishna's advise to Duryodhana to cover his private parts when seeking Gandhari's blessings (which would give him immsense power), weakening of Dronacharya's morale by falsely declaring his sons Ashwathama's death (by blowing victory trumpets when Yudhishtra says "Ashwathama, the elephant, is dead") are all not honest acts, which were done aimed at getting victory at any cause.<br /><br />Maybe there is a reason for everything. Though Krishna played a very cunning role in Mahabharata to ensure Pandavas' triumph, when being questioned by Arjuna about their act, he says "Everyone's fate is based on karma and destiny". And his words proved true in his case too as a dejected Gandhari seeing all her sons dead and the kingdom devastated curses Krishna that he would never have a heir and Krishna gracefully accepts it.<br /><br />I am sure I might have missed a point somewhere and that's for you, my blogger friends, to fill up in the comments section :) Thanks!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-33476057459964874122007-04-24T02:28:00.000-07:002007-04-24T03:57:04.720-07:00Summer vacations<a href="http://srisviews.blogspot.com/">Sree</a>, had some time back <a href="http://srisviews.blogspot.com/2007/04/childhood-vacations.html">posted</a> about summer vacations and asked me to do so too. And being the kind of prompt blogger I am, its taken not so much a while to post this ;) [Well, seriously, the blogspot site was acting up and so it delayed my posting further though I had the draft ready]. Now here's my post :<br /><br />The very thought of no school, no studies, brings an unsaid joy onto any kid's mind and in my school days I was no different. The last day of final exams was like the ultimate D-day. The first thing I remember doing was to get back home and put tick marks with a red pen on all my notebooks with "Good", "Neat", "V.Good" remarks.<br /><br />During my primary schooling, I was out of India along with my parents and during then, we had 3 long months of summer vacation and this time was when we made our annual trips to India and these trips meant fun, fun and only fun. We would be pampered to the core. And going back we had the loads of goodies to take.During one such trip, we made a big tour of Tamilnadu. It was more like a truck van with the tarpolein cover. My uncle made seats at the back and other than that, it was mostly mats and beds. We went till Kanyakumari starting from Madras and covering a whole lot of places inbetween.<br /><br />Another place which we used to often take retreat was Chidambaram. I know summer in Chidambaram is not a good idea but the load of fun that was in store did not deter us even a bit. The excitement started the moment you got down at the <em>kanji thotti</em> bus stop. What else? A horse cart ride!<br /><br />The house we headed to was the the ever charming - tiled roof (<em>oattu veedu</em>) type with a centre courtyard. Cooking was done by sitting on the floor. The toilets were outside the house. You had to draw water from well, no pumps or taps (again, an indication how exercise inter-twines with daily chores in villages). But the best of all was the huge swing in the neighbour's house and we were a big cousins' lot and the neighbours were kind enough to let us in all the time. This was the typical traditional <em>oonjal</em> with a wide and long teak plank hung with metal chains. We would look foward to touch the ceiling everytime and few years down the line, we realised there was another version which is the <em>kappal raatinam</em>. In this the chain are criss-crossed and the <em>oonjal</em> swings sideways as against the normal front and back motion. This was just too thrilling and ultimate. The plank would literally touch the ceiling with a jerk leading to shreiks and screams.<br /><br />Another best thing here was the <em>kuchchi</em> icecream. The little ice factory was not far off from the house and fresh ice was made at around 3 pm and so we would all gather at 3 and our aunt would lead us all with a big ever-silver bowl. Grape ice, orange ice, semiya ice, rose milk ice, <em>paal</em> ice... yummy. The rose milk flavour sticks came in trainglular shapes, the orange ones the normal shape. I liked the <em>kuchi paal</em> ice the best, which came in a thin cylindrical shape. All the big ones used to be wrapped in short butter papers. Probably the manufucturing methodology was hygienic, thats why we had no problem even after eating them day after day. Costing just about 25 or 50 p, each would grab atleast 2 and slurping, licking all the way back home :)<br /><br />Is a trip to Chidambaram complete without visiting the Natarajar temple? We would head to the temple just an running errands especially during night times. We felt the temple was our second home and not to miss the <em>puliyodharai</em> and <em>sakkarai pongal</em> served hot on lotus leaves at the Lakshmi <em>sannidhi</em>. The sound of the huge bells during the <em>kala poojais </em>cause goose pimples and transforms you to another divine eternal world.<br /><br />The best of all during summer vacations would be the regular days at Madras. Being in Besant Nagar, it meant a daily evening trip to the Elliot's beach and getting drenched and coming back with loads of sands in pockets. And in the day time, all the indoor games would come out - trade, monopoly, scrabble, carrom and cards. Almost the whole street would ensemble in our house. We had to use 3 card packs to play Rummy.<br /><br />I could just go on and on with summer vacation but I have listed just the instant few which flashed right away on reading Sree's posts. Thanks Sree for helping me take a ride down memory lane (yet again!).<br /><br />Thinking of all those now, I can only envy the school kids. I wish if offices also follow suit and declare a month long, okay-let me not be too greedy, maybe atleast a week!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-54129275490335805312007-04-03T05:46:00.000-07:002007-04-03T06:24:23.218-07:00Beginning of the endInspite of climax being an important aspect of any movie, many movies have failed miserably on the climax part. And the oft heard comments from people walking out of movie halls would be "The last 30 mins was pathetic, the director did not know how to end the movie". Generally climaxes which have deviated from the norm impresses the audience but that again only if its impressive. Many directors, with an eye of ending their movies differently, have only invited criticism from audience. So I thought I would dedicate a post on climaxes which impressed me. Ofcourse the opinions could be very subjective. They just reflect my taste. [In the interest of fellow bloggers, I've tried my best not to quote the actual climax in most cases so that it does not turn out to be a spoiler in case you have not watched any of the movies before]<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Kaadhalukku Mariyadhai</span></em> :<br />A very novel theme where lovers part ways for the sake of parents (did any movie prior to this have a similar theme?). I especially love the scene when Srividhya watches Shalini and breaks down in the end. Its amazing how Srividhya's eyes literally "speak" in those scenes. I saw the original Malayalam version climax as well (<em>Aniyathipraavu</em>) and its equally good.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Love Today</span></em> :<br />The story would not have made a mark had Vijay accepted Suvalakshmi's love. A fitting end indeed.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">KB's movies</span></em> :<br />Almost all of KB's movies have interesting climaxes including <em>Sindhu Bhairavi</em>, <em>Iru Kodugal</em>, <em>Avargal</em>, <em>Kalyana Agadhigal</em>. K.Balachander is a director who's movies were mostly ahead of his time. People often ridiculed the logic in <em>Aboorva Ragangal</em> about father in love with daughter and son in love with mom. But again, the end was amicable and there is even a dialogue by Sundarajan who advises against such "rational" actions.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Vaaname Ellai</span></em> :<br />For all those dejected souls, Mr.Ramakrishnan comes as a tonic. Infact the scene in which he gets off his car and the reaction on the faces of the actors - I literally get goose pimples every time I watch it.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Bharathi Kannamma / Porkaalam</span></em> :<br />Cheran's first movie definitely made a mark. A very decent movie and this is one of the best movies of Meena (who is mostly projected only as a wax doll - another movie which harnessed her acting skills is <em>Rhythm</em>). And also the climax in <em>Porkaalam</em> is worth mentioning and especially the dialogue of Vadivelu when he makes a poser to Murali as to why he did not think about him (Vadivelu) as his sister's groom.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Kaadhal</span></em> :<br />When I knew this was a true story, the "effect" was multi-fold. I was curious to know the actual person who narrated the story to the director. What a character he should have been!! Hats off to him.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Kolangal</span></em> :<br />Its not the climax exactly but I like the scene when Jayaram tenders apology to the media. The dialogues are very sharp and fitting.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Kai Kodutha Deivam</span></em> :<br />Clearly, Savithiri takes the cake here. A slight over acting would have made Savithiri seem like an eccentric.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Ei Nee Romba Azhaga Irukka</span></em> :<br />"How can you hate somebody whom you loved so dearly?" is the theme. Definitely a good advice to people who have gone thru' love breaks and rejections and turn hostile towards their ex-lovers. It was a very nice movie but I guess the title played spoil sport ;-)<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Five Star</span></em> :<br />I always used to feel Prasanna was a highly talent actor but did not get his dues. And this movie was one of those nice movies which did not fare well in theatres. Again, a movie with a nice ending.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Mugavari</span></em> :<br />The movie was kind of okay but the end was definitely not on expected lines. Sacrificing ambitions for family was another novel theme and quite touching too.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Karpoora Mullai</span></em> :<br />Fazil is one of my favourite directors but sadly many of his initial movies did not become hits and this movie is one such movie and tremendous acting by Amala and Srividhya. This climax is one the most straight forward and "un-cinematic" endings I have ever seen. Among Fazil's movies <em>Bommukutti Ammavukku</em> also had a very different ending.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Thulli Thirindha kaalam</span></em> :<br />An off-beat movie - which maybe many would've not even heard of. The advice bit of Kushboo in the end to the youngsters is very apt.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Mahaanadi</span></em> :<br />The climax was kind of in expected lines but what was soul stirring in the movie was the one in which Kamal sees his daughter in a brothel and when he hears his daughter talk in her sleep. Infact this movie earned the highest score till date in Ananda Vikatan's film review (I think it was 70%). The movie lingered on to my mind for a week - the scene of Kamal seeing his daughter in the brothel kept flashing repeatedly in my mind as if it had happened to me.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Azhag</span></em>i :<br />More than being a love story, I felt this movie reflected about life. Nandita Das, who was from a well to do family ends up spending her life on the road whereas its the other way round for Parthiban and yet life has to go on and both of them take it in their strides. Nandita Das's acting was just mind blowing in this movie.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"><em>Kannathil Muthamittal</em></span> :<br />The one which I would call "The scene" is in which Keerthana stops with her list of pre-written questions when she hears from Nandita that she (Nandita) had not lifted her in her arms even once. The reaction of Keerthana was enough to make her win the best child actor National award that year. And needless to say about Nandita Das - when she hugs Keertana finally (after Simran's insistence) and how the sky opens up. Simran too had a very different role and did full justice to it.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"><em>Thulaa Bhaaram</em></span> :<br />I would never want to watch this movie again for the kind of emotions it generates. I read that the movie "Pasi" also has a similar ending. Very very moving.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Sirai Chaalai (Kaala paani)</span></em> :<br />Many Indian freedom struggle movies have fascinated me like Kappal ottiya Thamizhan, Veera Pandiya Kattabomman. In Sirai chaalai, the ending makes your heart go out for Tabu and Mohanlal. For Mohanlal because he is executed during the tail end of his term in jail and Tabu because she keeps hoping that her husband would return one day.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"><em>Mudhalvan</em></span> :<br />Shankar movies' screenplays are very narrative and the flow is pretty interesting. In this movie, when everyone would expect Arjun to shoot Raghuvaran, the story takes a different twist - totally unexpected but interesting.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Gokulathil Seethai</span></em> :<br />I was amazed by the way Karthik handled his role (or maybe even director Agathiyan deserves credit here). His role was literally a walk on the edge of a knife. The role could have made him a total negative character had it not been potrayed the way it was done. <br /><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"><em>Dil To Pagal Hai</em></span> :<br />Movie wise, I would not regard this as a very logical or very impressive movie but somehow the movie created a good feeling when watching. I like Akshay Kumar's signalling and the dialogue of Madhuri in the end.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">The Associate</span></em> :<br />I don't know if this movie was even a hit but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and more so because Whoopie Goldberg is one of my favourite Hollywood actresses. The ending dialogue is a fitting reply to a casteist and male dominant society.<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Cast Away</span></em> :<br />To know what perseverance, will power, grit, determination is, one has to see this movie. The climax is heart rendering in that the reason for Tom Hanks' motivation to endure his life on the lonely island gets defeated when he gets to know that his lover has since married and has a little daughter. The scene when Helen Hunt comes running in the rain hugging Tom Hanks and the dialogue of Tom Hanks after that to his friend is something which would defintely make your eyes moist.<br /><br />So what are your favourite climaxes? Would love to read your list too. So do post them in the comments section or in your blog and post the link here ;) I am sure there are many more which I probably missed and maybe you have them in you 'list'.Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-65997275029103602572007-03-23T10:28:00.000-07:002007-03-23T10:35:46.995-07:00Fashion, accessories, beauty parlours et alI recently read a comment in Aval Vikatan from a student of NIFT, Chennai. She said that "Fashion is wearing what suits you best". How true! I have always been quite simple at dressing (ahem.. ahem...) - never the fashion freak - but also made sure I did not wear something which I felt I would not look good in. Somehow I hate the boot cut jeans. I tend to choose almost anything in black. I prefer T-shirts without collars to the ones with collars. I detest all garish colours (we used to call this "Govinda" colours) like red, mittai pink, orange and for the complexion that I have, these colours would only make me look very "fair". I don't use coolers or powder for face. No perfumes. No hair gels.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I had always envied the choice which women get to wear - both in terms of colours, designs and types. We men are left with just pant, shirt and at the most - veshti, kurta-pyjamas. And adding to the huge list of garment types for women, are the accessories - right from the "pottu", ear rings, rings, necklaces to the many many fancy things which keep cropping up in T.Nagar every other day.<br /><br />At times when men fancy such accessories, they are often ridiculed as being effeminate :( But I guess going by the current trend, the men folk are also catching up with the women.<br /><br />I was surprised when I read in "The Week" a few years ago that men also resort to eyebrow threading, waxing and stuff. To me that just seemed "yuck". As I expressed my astoundment to my friends, it looked like I was the only one who was part of the "ignorant lot". I even had a classmate (guy) who would go for hair straightening once a while. And friends who often do bleaching and facials.<br /><br />I am really apprehensive of trying anything un-natural. I am okay with home made treatments which do not cause harm and also produce good results though not instantly but to all those chemical applications - its a strict "NO NO". [As it is, I have a very "attractive" face, won't it be sensible if I don't make it worse lest make it better??!!]<br /><br />Once, when I was in my regular salon, my inquisitiveness made me ask the barber about face bleaching techniques. Thinking I would be his prospective customer, he explained at length the process and even asked to book a time! but ofcourse, I had no such intentions. That day, jokingly, I told this to my friends and said I would probably try it over the weekend and the comment which my friend gave as a reaction discouraged me for such things for life!! He said or rather sang : "தங்கம் வச்சு தேச்சா கூட எருமை நிறம் வெளுக்காது" (in the "தில்லிக்கு ராஜானாலும்..." tune).<br />[Bad translation : "Even if you were to scrub a buffalo with gold, its colour wouldnt change"]Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-11487915939454003952007-03-04T02:36:00.000-08:002007-03-04T05:45:02.208-08:00தில்லு முல்லு<span style="font-size:85%;">வெகு நாட்கலாக தமிழில் பதிவு போட வேண்டும் என்று ஆசை. ஆனால் எப்படி என்று தெரியவில்லை. திரு </span><a href="http://dhinamum-ennai-kavani.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">சியாம்</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> அவர்களின் ஒரு பதிவால் அது நிறைவேரியது. நன்றி சியாம்.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">அப்போ அப்போ சில பட காட்சிகள் நினைவுக்கு வரும். அப்படி தான் இந்த பட்த்தின் நினைவும் வந்தது. எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த நகைசுவை படங்கலில் "தில்லு முல்லு"வும் ஒன்று. அதில் வரும் ஒரு காட்சி.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">ரஜினி (சந்திரனாக) தேங்காய் ஸ்ரீநிவாசன் (தே.ஸ்ரீ) வீடிற்க்கு செல்வார். [தே.ஸ்ரீ ஒரு நிறுவனத்தின் Managing Director]. அப்பொழுது தே.ஸ்ரீ வேட்டி, பனியன் அணிந்தபடி தோட்டத்தில் செடிகளுக்கு நீர் ஊற்றி கொண்டிருப்பார். </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">அவரை ரஜினி பார்த்து :</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"ஏய் தோட்டகாரா...", என்று கூப்பிடுவார்.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">தே.ஸ்ரீ அக்கம் பக்கம் பார்த்து திரும்ப ரஜினியை பார்ப்பார். </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">ரஜினி திரும்பவும் : </span><span style="font-size:85%;">"உன்னைதாய்யா தொட்டகாரா... உன் முதலாளி இருகாரா?" </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">தே.ஸ்ரீ : "செடிக்கு தண்ணி ஊத்திரவன் எல்லாம் தோட்டகாரனா? ஒரு நிமிஷம் இரு.."</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">என்று சொல்லி விட்டு உள்ளே சென்று டிப்-டாப்பாக dress செய்து கொண்டு வருவார்.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">ரஜினி முகத்தில் ஆச்சரியம். தே.ஸ்ரீ-னை சுற்றி வந்து அவரையே உற்று மேலும் கீழும் பார்பார்.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">தே.ஸ்ரீ : "என்ன? ஆச்சரியமா இருக்கு இல்ல?"</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">ரஜினி : "ரொம்ப ஆச்சரியமா இருக்கு சார், நீங்களும் அந்த தோட்டகாரனும் ஒரே மாதிரி இருக்கீங்களே..."</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">தே.ஸ்ரீ : !!!!</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">இந்த comedy/படம் எவ்வளவு முறை பார்த்தாலும் சிரிப்பு மூட்டும்.</span>Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-84114992736652135892007-02-19T02:51:00.000-08:002007-02-19T03:04:14.379-08:00DD News thenRemember the old days when Doordarshan News was the only TV news available?No breaking news flashes, no news tickers, no "paraparappu" seidhi, no over made up news readers. But thinking back about them now, the news then, with much less antics and hype, was lot better than what we see on hundreds of channels today.<br /><br />In the local channel, that is DD-1 then, we had the "Seidhi Surukkam" (news in brief) at 7 and then the detail news at 8.40. Infact the first versions had this typical blarring music and a hand written, no-graphics note (at home, we used to envy the lovely caligraphy and wondered who was the man behind it). Then the graphics version underwent lots of changes before finally settling on the current one (quite impressive at that).<br /><br />The first time when DD-1 became colour, it was the Seidhi surukkam which got the honours. H.Ramakrishnan (who also featured in "Vaanamae Ellai" and later became News correspondent in DD) was in all smiles when he was shown in colour.<br /><br />Among the news readers, Shobana Ravi was the darling of the viewers. Those days, the talk doing the rounds was that she never featured in the same saree more than once on TV. And ofcourse, our women folk wondered the number of sarees she would have amassed (a worthy doubt indeed!!). Then came Fathima (I used to read her name as "Ahh.. Fathima" - the way its written in Tamil starting with the Ayudha ezhuthu "Ahh"). She became an instant hit with her diction, style and that soft smile while reading. She was even considered a rival to Shobana Ravi. Infact she was one of the first Muslim readers (women from Muslim community still hadn't ventured so publicly). I used to feel, a pottu was all that was missing on her cheerful face and used to place a sticker pottu on the TV to see how Fathima looked with the pottu.<br /><br />Sandhya Rajagopal, Koperundhevi and a few others who also donned the show. The now popular Nirmala Periyasamy (her characterisitc "Vanakkkkkam" was not known then) was a TV announcer in DD then.<br /><br />Among the men it was Arasu, Tamilzhanban (more known for his pencil meesai (he also used to figure in pattimandrams, also read recently that hewas a Sahita Academy award winner) and a few others. One thing common amongst all of them was their flawless diction.<br /><br />The ones at the National level (English news) were popular at "All-India" level. My personal favourite was the soft spoken Nithi Ravindran who had this stylish grey hair and simple dressing. Among the men it was Tejeshwar Singh who had this deep manly voice. I also liked Rini Khanna, Sukanya Balakrishnan, Mini, Sunit Tandon (the frail looking bearded guy), Bhaskar Bhattacharji (with his thick brush musch and military haircut), Sangita (who was one of the youngest then and very cute looking) and the manly Shivendra Kundra. The names of Geetanjali Ayyar and Sukanya Balakrishnan suggested that they were from the south but the way they pronounced the names of places in Tamilnadu... urrgh... definitely puts a Tamilian to shame. We used to wonder, initially how to pronounce the last name of Usha Albuquerque. Komal G B singh, another famous reader, who always read with a smile, went on to become an official announcer in government functions like the National Awards.<br /><br />Even in those days (late 80s), the readers were paid about Rs.2500 per sitting, which even today, is quite impressive.<br /><br />Without much media attention in those days, its amazing to note the kind of adolation and fans the news readers gained in those days.Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-33782337100519107882007-02-10T07:21:00.000-08:002007-02-10T07:19:24.330-08:00Birthday bashes in hostelI always felt that atleast one year, everyone in his/her college days should be away from home - preferably in a hostel.<br /><br />Being in a hostel makes you learn so many things. The foremost thing is to be indepent and next is you learn being accomodative. You might have room mates who have dress sense, hygiene level, etiquettes exactly in contrast to yours. There might be people who would use your combs, your shirts, your bathroom slippers - but the real challenge is to live cordially with them all.<br /><br />I had great time when I spent 3 years in hostel during my post graduation days. We definitely had lows too but they were all part of hostel life. The worst ordeal, according to me, was when we run out of water in the toilets. Not taking bath is no big deal, but imagine not having water to... (hope you get the picture?).<br /><br />The most exciting times were the birthday bashes. Actually we had improvised on the strategy each time. The speciality was the "solution". We used to make this solution with... hold your breath - ink, shoe polish, blue, soap, shaving creams, perfume, powdered incense sticks (this is to counter the awful odour), shampoo and any other harmless elements which is available. We even once used cowdung powder (which is readily available in stores there).<br /><br />We would separate the solutions into three. First stage is dragging out the birthday boy and smashing with eggs. This, at times, is very painful especially when the egg hits with full force on your bare skin. And then we would cover our hands with plastic covers and smear the "solution". Then drag him to the bathroom and lift him aloft and drop him into the water tank (which is in every bathroom and is know for its "cleanliness").<br /><br />Then we allow him to take bath and as he walks back on the corridor to the room, the second round awaits him. And then the third...<br /><br />The first time we tried this "strategy" on our friend, his face and whole body was covered with bluish black stains (because of the solution). The next day he had to face our class girls to get their wishes and so it was important (to him ofcourse, why would we bother!) that he looked good and so as he was busy scrubbing his face (he thought he could cover his body with clothes anyway and so was just concerned about his face). He even had to use a scrubber to get the stains off. After rigorous scrubbing, he opened the bathroom door and showed me his face "Has it gone Ravi?". Before I could even reply, I burst laughing because inspite of all his efforts, I could only see his white teeth when he peeked out!<br /><br />And all this would be followed with inquiries from our warden the next day for all the mess created in the corridor. The eggs give a very awful stench. Though we haven't tried this, we were told (by the other "experts" that eggs buried in sand for a day, turns rotten and would give a even worse smell which is supposed to stick on to the birthday boy for days!!!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1168614223693768462007-01-12T07:01:00.000-08:002007-01-12T07:03:43.726-08:00Of the Karupayees and MuniyandisParents these days are very choosy about their kids' names. Nothing wrong there. But most feel the old names are not "fashionable" or they rather feel would impact the child's psyche when they grow up. What? I agree, to some extent that some names these days, do make an impression, like say "Karupayee" or "Muniyandi". Maybe on the first day roll call in college, all eyes would start looking for owner of the name, and also produce naughtly smiles but eventually Karupayee or Muniyandi could turn out to be a very lovable person.<br /><br />So aren't people, seeding wrong prejudices, dislikes onto their kids' minds? What is in a name? Its just because people have started giving importance to trivial things, that we are losing out some good names. I am sure Krishnamurthys, Ramasamys are on the decline.<br />But its good to see that some people still choose very native and traditional names. But again, this constitutes a very low number.<br /><br />I dont say its wrong to choose very trendy names (which again is very subjective) but if we don't show advocacy to our lineage, who else will?<br /><br />And if one thinks trendy names are in and old names are out, I can only retaliate with this : "A Rose by any other name will smell as sweet... ".Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1161166078306670752006-10-18T03:05:00.000-07:002006-11-13T02:33:38.240-08:00The other draping stylesOf the many "many-ies" in India, saree tying is one of them. I know of quite a few in other states like the "Coorgi" style in Karnataka, the Bengali style, the Gujarati style, the Andhra style, the Marathi style, the Orissa style, the Kerala style and the normal style. But in Tamilnadu alone we have the <em>madisaar</em> (Iyer and Iyengar <em>kattu</em>), <em>Kandaagi</em> and the normal one (and a few more like the <em>thodas </em>and other regions).<br /><br />With the situation today that wearing a saree itself has become a rarity, I wonder what would happen to the other styles. Is it not sad that a whole tradition in saree wearing is slowly fading away?<br /><br />I have known a couple of <em>maamis </em>in my own street who used to wear the <em>madisaar</em> as a daily norm, whereas the rest confine themselves to <em>madisaar</em> only during <em>sumangali poojai</em>s, weddings and such other rituals. In a way I am happy that the tradition is still being carried forward atleast on such occasions.<br /><br />Women of today lament about not being comfortable in a saree and what if they have to do their regular household tasks in a saree? But imagine a woman in <em>madisaar</em>, who drapes a 9 yard saree (as against a 7 yard normal saree) and do all the household work in it. I bet it would be considered as an almost impossible feat by today's women.<br /><br />And then the <em>kandaangi</em> <em>selai</em>. I esp like the lovely <em>kosuvam</em> (pleat) which is tucked behind. It gives a nice fancy look - something like a peacock's tuft on its head or a little pony tail. If you notice, both the <em>kandaagi</em> and the <em>madisaar</em> styles have the saree tied a few inches above the feet - which is rather understandable, else it would be tough to manage the saree with a floor kissing length and that too for the kind of work the womenhood are indulged in.<br /><br />I know it might appear strange for a guy to write about sarees but remember a saree is one of the true reflections of our culture and these styles are specific to our own region. For me, saree means elegance, dignity, richness in simplicity. Ofcourse, more importantly, the dignity lies in the way it is draped as well. Sadly, maybe due to convenience, wearing saree is on the decline these days - even among the rural youth folk. For more on a saree's pride, listen to the <em>Chingunchaan</em> song from the Tamil movie <em>Porkaalam</em>.<br /><br />I still pass a second look seeing a <em>maami</em> in <em>madisaar</em> or an <em>aachi</em> in <em>kandaangi</em>. Hey, don't get me wrong, its because I wonder if I would be able to see women in such styles again in the future. [For some pictures of differet saree styles in India, click <a href="http://www.cbmphoto.co.uk/saris/index.html">here</a>]Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1158748084032258222006-09-20T03:24:00.000-07:002006-09-26T06:12:29.073-07:00Saare jahaan se achchaa...Being away from my place makes me terribly home sick.And when its a different country all together, things are even worse. Though I do enjoy the new culture, people, cleanliness, good manners, I terribly miss our own "Indian-ness" which makes our India so very special. Even the so called negativeness seems so positive now. And going thru' the posts of fellow bloggers who are based in India, I can't avoid saying to myself "How lucky they are to be in their home country!".And no, this is not my first trip outside India and therefore the "first time travel abroad"syndrome does not count here ;-)<br /><br />Whatever said and done its always "<em>Sorgamae endraalum....</em>". Initially I used to laugh at the lyrics of this song and the backdrop of this song is Singapore - one of the cleanest cities. One ofthe lines goes as "<em>Vethalaiya madichu, maaman adhai kadichu thuppa oru vazhi illaiye</em>" (Rough translation :There is no way you can chew betel and spit it on the roads). Hats off to Gangai Amaran / Ilayaraja for penning the song - it has almost become a trademark song for all foreign travellers.<br /><br />That's the truth - so what if the city is clean? so what if the traffic is amazing? so what if the transport is fantastic? so what if people mind their own business? More importantly a city should have LIFE and I can see such "live" cities only in India! If you don't get what I mean, visualise a Ranganathan street, area surrounding Mylapore temple and compare it with a place abroad - maybe US or UK or Singapore. See the difference?<br /><br />Maybe this is what many say as the "essence" of India!! JAI HIND!<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#993399;">26-Sep-06, As I was reading "The Hindu" online yesterday, I was surprised to see an article on similar lines. Crazy Sir, I fully agree with you. You can read the article <a href="http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/09/25/stories/2006092500020200.htm">here</a>.</span></em>Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1156236847854413882006-08-22T00:56:00.000-07:002006-08-22T02:02:45.176-07:00Where have they gone?My current place of residence has been my home for many many years and looking back, there is a radical change in the neighbourhood. The most obvious one is socialising with fellow neighbours which has been on a drastic decline (sadly!) and other is the absence of many many street vendors. In due course, we even don't seem to notice their absence. Here are some of the 'once-familiar' tones which is on the decline or completely absent these days.<br /><br /><em>Ammi polayalayo</em> (or whatever that is!) : The lady with a hammer and chisel. The eye-catching attire is when she bundles the hammer and chisel onto her head and carries her baby in her saree. She is the one who chisels the often used <em>ammi</em> and <em>kozhavi</em> (mortar/pestel). When the mortar-pestel are used often, the rough surface becomes smooth, thereby taking more time for the ingredients to get ground. More and more people turning towards mixies and motor grinders, seemed to have had a big effect on these poor people.<br /><br /><em>Krishnaaaaa...aayil</em> : This was how the kerosene vendor went about marketing his 'krishna oil'. I wonder if the blue tint given to kerosene (to prevent illegal trading) gave this common name. The vendor used to pull a bright yellow coloured cylindrical steel tin mounted on two tyres.<br /><br /><em>Uppu thatha</em> : The frail thatha with a contrasting white moush and hair was a friend of the kids. The only dress we saw him in was a cotton cloth wrapped around his waist. He used to tirelessly go about selling his <em>uppu</em> (salt) from street to street. I hardly see him these days.<br /><br /><em>Saana(m) pidikaradhe...</em> : The man carrying a cycle wheel structure attached to a wooden structure with a pedal and a sharpening stone used for sharpening blunt knives, <em>aruvaal</em>s and importantly <em>arugamanai</em>s. I am sure the whole 'machine' was his own design and self-made. Sad that many of our conventional inventions have either gone unnoticed or unappreciated.<br /><br /><em>Jodrippair</em> : Maybe it was 'Jot repair'. I know people refer to shoes as jot (as in '<em>jottala adippen</em>'), but don't know if its the same. I used to go ga-ga over the cobbler's tool bag. Almost all of his tools are made from a used product. The needle would be nicely packed in a rubber stamp handle, the scrapper would be a shoe polish tin lid and the way he makes the stitches - wow! For me, its a treat to watch anyday!<br /><br /><em>Kulfikaaran</em> : Though I do see them in the beach, their daily rounds in the streets seem to have reduced a lot. The bell was the <em>kulfikaaran</em>'s trademark sound with a petro-max light hanging on his tri-cycle. In our street, our family was probably the only one buying kulfi from him but nevertheless he was popular in many areas. What is reminiscent of the <em>kulfikaaran</em> is his sweat clad face seeming very ghost-like when seen above his petro-max light. I used to watch in awe the way he takes out the kulfi from the metal/plastic-rimmed containers with a knife and slice it up. He would place it on a dry leaf (forgot the name of that leaf). The taste used to be awesome though I used to get odd tastes in between. Some of my friends have warned that the water/way of making might not be very hygenic but the kulfis haven't troubled me so far!<br /><br /><em>Soan papadi wala</em> : Just like the <em>kulfikaaran</em>, the <em>soan papadi wala</em> is confined to the beaches these days. When I think about the son papadi boy, I am amazed when I realise that I have not spoken a word with him nor have I heard his voice. His arrival was signalled by his bell and the huge bell jar would be tied firmly with a rope to the wheeled cart.<br /><br /><em>Kadalai vandi</em> : Very similar traits as the soan papadi boy. His trademark sound was the roasting sound of sand and groundnuts on an iron wok with an iron spatula. He would bang the spatula on the wok to announce his prescence. I still remember the words 'MINIMAM 25 paisa' written in a very bad handwriting and bad spelling in front of his cart. It was 10p earlier, then it became 25, later 50 and now I think its 1 Re minimam, sorry minimum! Whenever I got groundnuts from him, my eyes would fall upon the books which he probably got from the old paper mart for selling his groundbuts. Most often, there used to be some kind of text books like Chemistry, Maths and I used to wonder then "aah! what is this guy doing? This guy doesn't know its worth"<br /><br /><em>Kaikari paatti</em> : Though the tri-cycle cart vendors still visit our streets, the <em>paatti</em>s (grandmother) carrying the vegetable basket are not to be seen these days. One should see how the different varities of vegies are neatly arranged in that one round basket. A cloth bundled as a bun on her head would act as a support for the basket and she would sit in the verandah for hours chatting with the ladies of the house. I remember helping the paatti lift the basket and place it on her head when she is about to leave and boy! that is some weight! Imagine having to carry such weight in the scorching sun across many streets. Hmm... what grit!<br /><br /><em>Paal cover, buddi, papaaar</em> : The old newspaper man is still prominent but the number of them has drastically reduced. In those days, scent bottles, plastics were his best buys and so was iron. During our childhood days, we always used to mimic his tone and the nice <em>paperkaaran</em> used to smile back - not minding our childish mocks. One of the paperkaarans of our street who has been around for a long time has his son studying in one of the good schools in our locality. Isn't that great news?<br /><br />One thing which is common among these people is their sincerity to earn money instead of resorting to cheap tactics like begging, stealing and other means. I can't imagine myself in their shoes. I can afford to be lazy on a day and forgo going to work but to them each day counts. Its not a question of wanting to become rich but to ensure their family gets their next course meal. My salutations to their grit, determination, hard work and endurance. They do teach us some lesson - don't they?Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1154596180589188042006-08-03T01:50:00.000-07:002006-08-03T04:08:28.173-07:00Shun the idiot box, well wait a minute...The television today, seems to have engulfed - almost - all other activities. Lots have been said how TV has literally spoilt social life, book reading habit, playing outdoor games, visualizing capabilities, made us couch potatoes, given early age eye defects, awful thoughts - what not! And not to forget the oft cursed serials (or the soap operas). Though I find almost everyone swinging brickbats on them, the viewership has not diminished a bit. If you are a regular "serial-watcher" and you missing a day watching it, you would still get the story, miss a week - no worries, skip a few months - you would still be able to decipher the plot! The soap directors think the audience are dunces and we, very earnestly, prove them right - don't we?<br /><br />Okay, enough of the brickbats - whatever said and done, the TV seems to be a very good companion - at times, the ONLY companion. I have had a stint with this kind of experience during my days away from home. Though I had my roomies, having had to work on shifts, loneliness was inevitable at times and loneliness to me - more than causing boredom and frustration - is haunting! And it was during these times that my friendly companion came to my rescue - who else? my little 14" Videocon TV. Believe it or not, I would just switch on the TV, tune into some song channel or to some insane soap and leave it as is and carry on with my brushing, attending nature's call, cooking, dressing, cleaning and so on - having just a faint idea as to what's going on the TV.<br /><br />And when I was even farther away from home, getting very little chance to rub shoulders with my native tongue or culture, TV again was my solace. Of course, there were other arenas too - like friends, internet, gazing around, roaming the city, getting to know the other culture, but still, during my times of solitude, I could rely on TV! Even the most irritable song, a disgusting actor, a lousy heroine all seem to have descended from heaven then. I am sure many folks who are staying/have stayed alone (especially the ones living abroad) would be able to relate to this state of mind.<br /><br />Agreed TV has taken many a quality time but to me, many a time, it has helped me maintain my mental quality :-)Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1152325182285152902006-07-07T19:05:00.000-07:002006-07-07T19:19:42.306-07:00Rasam for the soul"Chicken soup for the soul" is one of my favourite series - though most stories relate to the culture in America. I had also read a couple of blogs on the net which goes like "Vegetarian chicken soup for the soul" or something similar to that. Yes, rasam seems to be our very own chicken soup. I got a real feel of this wonder medicine last week. Having got drenced in the drizzle one evening, the next day seemed very sick - my body was aching and I felt heavy on the head (no, please don't mistake it for 'head weight'). I generally prefer not to take allopathic medicines and therefore shun any tablets for headache, cold which give instant relief - instead I leave the cold/headache to settle by itself or take home made remedies. That day, being at office, I did not have access to the home made <em>kashaayams</em>. But for lunch, my mom had packed <em>rasam saadham </em>(rice with rasam) and after I had it, by evening things became normal. Wow! I was truly amazed. No wonder, conventional remedy during fever/cold recommends a diet with rasam and it does the trick too! Maybe the cumin, mustard, pepper, chillies in the rasam do the trick.<br /><br />Rasam is one of the seemingly simple recipes but it definitely requires some kind of <em>kai manam</em> to induce that real taste and flavour in it; and to add to it are the vast number of the variations... I had always envied the paruppu rasam of my mom's. The aroma would fill the whole house. How much ever I tried, I could never get that taste when I made it myself. There is also this sharp distinction between rasam made at a vegetarian home and a non-vegetarian home. I love both though! Rasam with <em>paruppu usili</em> is my favorite combo and so are rasam-potato fry and rasam-potato chips.<br /><br />Hail rasam!!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1149570444040085712006-06-05T21:28:00.000-07:002006-06-09T01:06:48.626-07:00The other side...Almost all Indian bloggers have touched upon the reservation topic! So would I be far behind? ;-) As far as I know, I have always opposed reservation (hold on - this is NO anti-reservation post again) because I always felt the person with a better score is being deprieved of a chance over a person who has got a lesser score. But, can the score be the only criterion to entry? Okay, let me give a background story to substantiate this :<br /><br />Sarasu, the lady doing our household chores has 3 daughters. She is a single parent as her husband, who was a bit mentally challenged, left them one day. Not that his presence helped things any better but it seemed they had no 'male support' (as the neighbourhood would put it). She took great pains to marry off her first daughter. The dowry thing was not much of a problem as Sarasu got her daughter married to Sarasu's own brother. The second daughter did her schooling (in a corporation school ofcourse) till 9th and then joined a fancy store as a sales girl and would also do house hold chores in the evenings. She also managed to go for typing classes in her spare time.<br /><br />The third daughter - Ambika, was also quite inclined to studies. She too was in the same corporation school as her sister. She also worked in the houses in the day and evening times. Many considerate landladies did their little best to help the girl - like buying notebooks (books and school fees were waived off - being a Corpn. school). Seeing a little girl in her early teens, rush to school after the household chores in the day and then seen in the evenings sweeping the front yard in her green school uniform was definitely a heart-kindling sight. How many of us are really lucky and blessed - we never realise until we see people like Ambika.<br /><br />With the meagre money that the whole family manages to earn, the girl could not think of any other luxuries like a study table, guides or even tuitions. So she would approach me or my mom for any doubts in Maths and English. Inspite of all this, she managed to score close to 70% in her 12th standard board exams this year!<br /><br />Now would this 70% be comparable to 80% which I would score given the fact that I have access to all the luxuries that I can afford which the girl cannot. Above all there lies the simple fact that I can choose to just study study study whereas Ambika would first think of ensuring that her family gets atleast 2 meals a day and then comes studies, degree and whatever!<br /><br />Okay - but should I be deprieved of a seat inspite of getting 80% and Ambika be given the seat inspite of getting just 70%. That definitely seems unfair but what is the repurcussion of me not getting the seat and Ambika getting it? A degree, a job, a better salary would do great wonders for Ambika - probably change their whole lifestyle whereas me not getting a seat is kind of okay, I can manage to get into a private college or a payment seat or worst case try for an improvement and get into the same college next year.<br /><br />But one thing which I fail to agree is caste cannot be an assessment factor here because though many downtrodden families have made advancements, there are many many really worthy candidates who are left out. I remember, during my PG days, a candidate who got about 5000 Rs. as SC/ST scholarship, would be seen on a shopping spree every Sunday - so now you know how the scholarship money is spent? At the same time I have also known a boy belonging to SC/ST category not knowing about scholarship but still has a dream to study and also another who made good use of the scholarship and got a plump job and thereby uplifted his family to a better level. There is also the son of a poor temple priest I know who was left behind - just because he belonged to the forward community. He had to settle for something other than his desired course because he missed the bus by a narrow edge!<br /><br />The main drawback in our country is that the government has failed miserably on the primary and secondary education front. A student studying in a corporation school is absolutely no match for a student in a private school that too with the same sylabi. Instead, the government is all bent to give reservation at top level education, which is definitely not a welcome decision. The credibility of instituitions and the candidates would go for a toss if merit is comprised at *that* level. Instead primary and secondary level education should be upgraded and improved to higher standards - at par with good private institutions. Reservations could be given to children of hapless families - their fees waived off, all amenities provided and enough encouragement given upto say school and under-grad level but beyond that it seems meaningless.<br /><br />So my take? Reservation is definitely necessary but where, for whom, till when is something to be debated upon!Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15250722.post-1148369180237253322006-05-23T00:13:00.000-07:002006-05-23T00:26:20.253-07:00UrbanisationDoes Urbanisation really help? And what is urbanisation? More often people (including myself) seem to attribute urbanisation with "modernisation". A city is deemed fit to be called developed if it has posh hotels, all steel and concrete buildings - preferrably high-rise ones, glitzy malls, lot of English speaking around, less of saress and chudis and more of jeans, t-shirts and skirts, san the flowers, bindis and bangles, more of coffees rather than kaapis<em>...</em> but is this development?<br /><br />Okay, let me think... urbanisation or development would probably mean better roads, better transport, better access to heathcare, better sanitation and better availability of basic goods and services. But why is that such urbanisation always comes with a tinge (maybe a little more than a tinge) of moderness? I don't say being modern is wrong but our perception of moderness seems to dwell in the west. Anything western is modern! For heaven's sake NO! Eventually we tend to lose out on our very own, special, unique traditions and practices which even the westerners awe and at times emulate.<br /><br />Yesterday, as I was returning home, I passed by a quiet alley with lots of trees, vast open lands. I saw people in most houses place a cot in the open area adjacent to their houses, with the FM radio mellowing some songs and the members lazily lying on the cots gazing the sky with little chit-chats. With the IT revolution catching up in the area, wonder if the trees, vast land and probably even the house would cease to exist!<br /><br />I don't know if my thoughts have become like an old timer but I strongly feel we are losing out on something BIG in the name of urbanisation (read IT revolution!). Is there a way out?Ravihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374870799975670noreply@blogger.com14