I'm back!

I guess that was too long a hiatus from the world of blogging.Guess who's back, back again!! is the song that strikes me at this juncture.

I recently read a book called Man and Superman ,subtitled A comedy and Philosophy,by G.B.Shaw.Was a wonderful book,I thoroughly enjoyed it.Well,the word Superman of the title,is derived from the writings of Freidrich Neitzsche.

The other book I read,rather re-read was, Surely You're Joking Mr.Feynman!!!An awesome book and I would classify it under the must-read category.The whole book was in simple terms,but the underlying thoughts were...really Fantastic! Wat a physicist- Feynman is! Especially the chapters about cracking the safes,called "Safecracker meets Safecracker" was too good. My favourite verse is, about the problem on introspection:

I wonder why.I wonder why. I wonder why I wonder. I wonder why I wonder why. I wonder why I wonder!

I was right!!!

I was right about the fact that they are showing Roja today too!!! Where else, but on Doordarshan!!

Independence Day!

Well....tomorrow we are celebrating the 58th year of Independence!!!

Happy Independence Day!!

During my school days,we used to have this Independence Day celebrations.Actually,I learnt a lot about the Freedom Struggle,our Leaders and about Patriotism from the plays that were being staged.All these instilled in me a sense of belonging to this country.

One of my activities on Independence Day was to watch the movie Roja that was aired on Doordarshan.They made it a practise to air that movie on 15th of August,every year.I don't know why,but it made sense!!Especially,the song Thamizha Thamizha,wow!! it gives me goosepimples,every time I listen to it.

Was watching a Tamil movie the other day called Kapalottiya Thamizhan,it was such an inspiring movie.Shivaji had donned the role of Va.U.Chidambaranar(Kapalottiya Thamizhan) and portrayed the "struggle" for Independence!!

But the sad part is,nowadays they don't broadcast such "patriotic" movies and instead play some new flick....that din't even do well in the box office.Its that,why don't they play some of the movies or some archived material on freedom struggle??Else I feel the cliched saying will come true-

Did a man like Gandhi,ever live???

Oh no.....

Potter Fans out there.....please check this out....

There is porn in Potter VI

Thanks to Prashanth!!!Else...would'nt have known it.

Ah-Aah!!!

I am recently hooked to this!!Well......its the latest tamil flick,music by-ARR!!!! :) This movie called Anbe Aaruyire, has 6 tracks.

Vaali,the lyricist has done a very good job.Most importantly,one needs to strain their ears to find out whether the fact I've mentioned about the lyrics is true or not.The music overshadows the lyrics.
Still....ARR is ARR!!!

All the songs are good.One unique aspect of this movie is,all the songs are written in TAMIL !!! Definitely unique!!! Is'nt it??Of course an exception exists,in "Maramkothiye" (woodpecker!!),where Blaize comes into picture and is very much on a techno note.

The other songs are - "Mayilirage" sung by Madhushree (Sujatha Bhattacharya) and Naresh Iyer,has a hitch,regarding the pronunciation."Thigu thigu" by Sadhana Sargam and Naresh Iyer gives a rustic feeling."Thazhuvudhu" is sung by Shreya Ghosal and SPB.Wonder how SPB manages to maintain his voice!!!

ARR fans are definitely bestowed with the opportunity of enjoying the rawness of his voice in "Anbe Aaruyire"............

"Aaru Kodi pergalil oruvan adiyen thamizhan naan ungal nanban"

symbolically expressing "ARR" !!!!

Dis"BAND" ??????

Yesterday was Friendship's Day!!Well...Happy Friendship's Day to everyone who's reading this!!!I was reminded of my school days(sounds like....romba varusham munnadi......soo many years back..well its 4 years back to be precise).We used to have this ritual of tying bands called the friendship band to all our friends.

The best part will happen only the day before...All of us...with our "saved up" pocket money will go to a shop....and will spend hours together on trying to choose the proper one.

In this....it'll be like,this friend of mine likes black,so this one is for her,and this yellow one is for her and so on.And we'll be interested in certain bands so we'll ask the other person to get it ......and announcements will be made..."This is for me!! I've reserved it!! :)

I know...all this.....now sounds really funny!!But...I've cherished all those moments!!And its just the natural phenomenon of what is termed as- Growing Up!!!!

And this year...it was sooo different.No friendship bands nothing.We just met up and we were "reliving" those moments....and in the end it turned out to be another typical my (former) type of Friendship's Day....cos' my neighbour, she came upto me...and held my hand,tied a friendship band and said...Happy Friendship's Day!!!

Don't tell me its true

I read an article recently....and I was AGHAST.It was regarding the use of human hair in commercial food especially the ones from the bakery.It does'nt stop with the use of human hair....but also the use of feathers from duck and chicken.

It seems the dough that is prepare to make pizzas,toasts,cakes,etc., when they are baked,the corners roll.This is where the human hair comes into picture.

The human hair,is dipped in Hydrochloric Acid,which recovers L-Cysteine.And the presence of this L-Cysteine prevent the rolling and also facilatates the movement of the dough through various bakery equipments.Does'nt the whole thing sound disgusting???

I lost the appetite for such stuffs the moment I read this.

Good Old Days!!!

My friends left to the U.S yesterday.I mean..........till then it was like....ok fine,they are leaving.But those last few minutes that I spent with them was really memorable.

It's like..........I've never felt this way before.It was very different.We've been togther for the past ten years.The amount of fun we had....can't be imagined.The conversations we've had,ranging from pin to porns!!!I know.........I can still keep in touch,thanks to technology, but its not going to be the same anymore.

Especially,the last few moments we guys spent together......we were just blank.We din't know what to talk.But one thing was for sure....... we'll miss each other like crazy.

Sad and happy for 'em!!

Today morning I get up with the "hard" fact in my mind,that they are gone.But I jus kept saying to myself..........."Everything happens for good"!!!

Wat a day!!!

I stepped into T.Nagar.......I guess now everyone would agree on how apt my title was.Whew...I wonder from where people have the cash even at the end of the month.They seem to invest a lot on clothes.when I was walking down the road,I was thinking,probably like...if u climb the whole Great Wall of China,you will be awarded with a certificate,which serves as a proof that you have indeed climbed it fully.

I guess the authorities could have awarded me a certificate for manoeuvring the road succesfully!!!Truly........I deserved it!!

12 Angry Men

I watched a movie called "12 Angry Men".What a movie!!!Awesome Movie.The story line was very simple.The movie was directed really well and every frame of it,made sense and was very logical.A Henry Fonda starrer.

The best part of the movie is,its shot in a single room.Throughout the course of the movie,it can't be realised.But in the end,when all the 12 men leave the room, the final glimpse of Fonda will suggest that the "whole thing" happened inside a room.

And U might wonder that there's no mention about the 11 men of the movie.As one of the members of the jury says, I don't remember the other people who acted in the movie", for which Fonda replies where

"I'm sure you were'nt under any emotional stress"

..........for which my reply is also 'YES'!

Resist the Temptation???

For the past few days...open any paper or any magazine.....its all about Potter.And today is "THE" day.But the most saddest part is.......the book is in my sister's hand and its as if I'm playing a game of Quidditch,the book being the snitch. I'm unable to catch it.Even a Nimbus 2000 would'nt be of any help to me.

The only way out is ,to wait for my sister to finish it.So I decided to turn my attention (very difficult though) to MUSIC!!!

I sat and watched the videos of the recently held G8 concert.Liked the tagline -

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY

.

Was listening to Pink Floyd!! And seriously...wished "I was there".I miss Syd tooo.My all time favourite number is Comfortably Numb.

Even then couldn take Potter out of my mind.Remembered that I had my music class.And could'nt believe the fact that I was romancing Kambhoji for an hour.Then it was Nattakurinji's turn.A Blissful Feeling!!!!!!

Hope I catch it too!!!!

And now......still playing the game of Quidditch.

Smells like...................

Perfumes......have an interesting history!!!!! And a well established one tooo!!!! Perfumes...started as incense....and can be dated back to 4000 years.It was discovered by the Mesopotomians.Its history is entwined with evolution of the human race.

The word comes from Latin phrase for "per" meaning through and "fumus" meaning smoke.It came to be known as Parfum,as christened by the French.

During the Biblical times ,Perfumes were an esteemed commodity as seen from the frequent mentions in the New Testament

the three wise men carried gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus

Egyptians have said to have made it popular.They carried it right from their birth to the tomb.Cleopatra is said to have been pretty lavish with scents.Its said that-

clouds of perfume indicate her arrival before her barge comes into sight.

Romans have even gone to the extent of spraying essential oils on the animals.

Perfumes are basically made of specially denatured ethyl alcohol along with essential oils.There are various categories under perfumes ,like floral,oriental,chypre,fruit,green marine and floriental.

Its said to be a prized possession in every Woman's fragrance wardrobe.Infact,I myself am a parfum fanatic.I feel,Parfums define a person.It represents their personality.My collection includes parfums from Christian Dior,Gap and Burberry.There are always parfums which are said to be reserved for occassions.And there 's also a proper sequence that is to be followed while wearing a parfum.It should be worn in the pulse points to enhance the feel of it.

Well......this is my Prized Possession!!

Currently,its a billion dollar industry.In fact there was a recent article that I came across.In China,due to the overgrowing population,people who travel by trains,started complaining to the government regarding the problem of overcrowding.The solution which the Government is expected to offer is,increase in the number of rails,but in fact that din't happen. Instead, the Government asked the people to clean themselves atleast twice a day....in order to combat body odour!!!!!!!

Smells funny rite!!!!!

Chakkani Raaja.....

Well...this is one of the most popular krithis in the world of Carnatic Music.This krithi is sung in Raagam Kharaharapriya set to Adhi Taala.This Thyagaraja Krithi is identified as the benchmark by the Rasikas....to find out whether a musician is really capable of rendering Kutcheris.

Tracing back to the history about this raagam,it derives its name from a Raakshasa called 'HARAN' in Ramayana,meaning "slayer of Haraa".Hence it is called Kharaharapriya.Its the 22nd Mela Kartha Raagam.

Another highlight about this raagam is...Among the TRINITY,Saint Thyagaraaja alone had composed Krithis in Kharaharapriya.This krithi is so beautifully crafted and set to an apt raagam.

Chakkani means beautiful and Raaja means royal.The Pallavi of this Krithi says...O mind( Ooo Manasaa),Why do you have to think about the narrowest paths when you have the royal path to attain salvation.

And anybody who talks about this krithi,the Veteran who comes to their mind is Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer,popularly known as Semmangudi Mama.

In fact he popularised the krithi and the kalapna swaras he renders are unimaginable.

Another highlight of this Krithis is,in olden days when there was this Poonu Parka Varadhu (Guy,seeking the Girls's hand,will visit her place with his family),the Girl is asked for her wish and which she expresses it through this song.When the Girl sings the first line of the Charanam..... "Kantiki Sunadara"(O, the one, who is pleasing to my eyes), 3 times, means she likes the guy.

My Journey!!!

Well I should have started this a long time back.But as usual......there's this thing called laziness that creeps in too often!I was still pondering over about what to write while walking down the road...when i realised that I should be starting with My Journey to my Bus Stop!!Sounds a bit weird....but truly..it is a Journey.

Well to start with...I ve been walking to my college bus stop,as it is called,for the past 4 years.It takes around 8 minutes from my place to reach the stop.And take that Fateful bus to reach the Fateful Place called College.Those 8 minutes....oh...can be really boring if there's no company.

In my first year....I had my friend....and both of us use to walk and gossip soooo much such that we wont even realise that we've reached.We've had terrible times too in the Bus stop.My bus stop seriously has Mad people.There was this guy.....who used to pop up from nowhere and stop people and ask them...what's the time?? Irrespective of the replies he got....he used to beat them with a stick or shoo them away!!And a mention about the drunkards is necessary....He scared us one day....by having a bottle of wine in his hand and drinking it standing right in front of us ......that tooo.....early in the morning.Me and my friend,at the site of this act just dropped our Civil Engineering books....and just hid ourselves.

And yeah....bus stop is the place where we'll realise that we had to finish our records or assignments!!!Or bring a dumb Blazer.....on wearing it..will make us look professional it seems...Was our College's notion.And look at our professional attitude...we'll be too busy thinking about borrowing!!!!

All this fun...well....won't say stopped....rather....the pace slowed down when my friend left to stay in the hostel....I had a tough time.There was practically no company at all.Believe me........I've even dragged my dad to the bus stop because I used to get bored.Thought that was too much.So walked all alone to the bus stop....It would look like I have a journey of some 1000 miles ahead.I even started counting the number of shops.At one point of time....started to play with the numbers on the number plate...trying to multiply 2 four digit numbers....( I know) before the vehicle disappeared in the traffic.

Once I reach my stop, I had few of my seniors and we had a good time......which of course,lasted only for a few minutes cos by then the bus would come.And the next year........even they graduated...Again I felt like I was left in lurch.Even wished that my wolud end soon.

At the site of my bus....... the song by The Doors,used to keep ringing in my ears.... "The blue bus....is calling us!!!"

But now...........not anymore!

My first attempt!

This is my first attempt to blog.....but i promise....its an EARNEST one!!! And I'm still wondering where to start.