Naanthaanga

Is Dowry a Crime?

2012-02-05T06:24:00.018Z

The Hindu opinion column - 'The Other Half: Burn dowry, not women', briefs how dowry is still prevalent in India even in this age. The article also shows numbers indicating how the number of deaths and cases registered against dowry harassment has constantly increased. Definitely burned to death and any physical abuse in the name of Dowry is a crime, but is the act of seeking Dowry itself a crime?

Today Dowry is more or less portrayed as an expectation and demand only from the bridegroom and his family. Also as mentioned in the above article it is believed to an extent that only women are bought and sold in a marriage. Though this might appear to be true at a superficial level, it might not be the case if we look deep inside. There are some obvious invisible hands behind the act of Dowry. Before declaring Dowry as an act of crime one might have to take a step back to see how marriages work in India and the role of Dowry in it.

Arranged Marriages:

Even though love marriages are becoming common in India, still a significant number of marriages are arranged by families. In case of arranged marriages there is no pressure whatsoever for a family to get their children married to a particular bridegroom. Besides, given the population and sex ratio of India, there should be enough bridegrooms available for the brides. So if at all there exists Dowry then it should be demanded by the bride's family and not vice versa. At least this is how it should be theoretically.

What we see in reality is the reversal of this and often the bridegroom's family is held responsible for the prevalence of Dowry in the society. Assuming that the groom's family is the one that is demanding Dowry, is it possible that without a perennial source of supply, such a demand would have sustained for such a long period of time? In other words Dowry itself wouldnt have survived without a constant support from the bride's family.

This raises the question of why something considered so evil for the bride and her family is supported by themselves.

In a typical arranged marriage, the bride's family has a set of expectations about their son in-law and how their daughter's future family should be. This expectation may vary anywhere from a steady monthly income to an accomplished professional with a solid financial background. Of course there is nothing wrong in this as every parent would want to get their children married into a better family irrespective of their own status.

So in order to secure a groom of their expectations the bride's family is ready to give what the groom's family expects and sometimes even if the groom's family doesnt expect anything. This is just to ensure that they get their groom of their expectation and also to make their daughter feel that she has some something to hold on when entering into a new family.

One might state that marriages are union of minds and the groom's family should not insist or demand anything materialistic. But then shouldn't we also insist that the bride's parents should not seek a groom with any materialistic expectations like steady income, family background, type of job etc.? So the price of the groom or how much Dowry a groom's family can demand or insist is to an extent set by the bride's family. So in cases like this Dowry is a mere price for how much the groom and his family is worth of.

Even though the bride's family has no compulsion to get into a marriage with a family who seeks Dowry, they still get into it voluntarily with a desire to provide a life of their expectation to their daughter. In such a non coercive arrangement, where the bride's family has every opportunity to not get into an arrangement with a family seeking Dowry; the dowry is just a voluntary exchange of what the individuals are looking for.

In this case can seeking Dowry be considered as a crime ? If so then seeking a groom of certain expectation should also be considered as a crime ? After all this expectation is the one that sets the price of the Dowry or sustains the Dowry in the society.

Love Marriages:

In case of arranged marriages its not a surprise when parents seek or pay Dowry for the reasons mentioned above. Its really a surprise in case of love marriages. Unlike arranged marriages the bride has more say in a love marriage and the groom is decided irrespective of the parent's expectations. So unlike arranged marriages, here there is no demand-supply or expectations issue. In spite of this if Dowry is transacted in a love marriage, then it must be voluntary. Moreover, in a love marriage a bride has more opportunities to say No to any form of Dowry if she thinks it is is immoral or illegal and so does the groom. So again here Dowry is just a voluntary transaction and there is no compulsion for any of the parties to comply with it. In spite of this if Dowry was taken or given should it be considered as a crime?

Post Marriage:

Not often a prospective groom and his family are accused of seeking Dowry. As long as the groom is ready to get married, the bride's family is happy. The problem starts mostly post marriage when the girl is being physically or mentally tortured for further dowry. Even here the physical or mental abuse is definitely a crime, but the act of seeking Dowry? How something that was not considered as a crime before marriage by the bride's family turned out into a criminal act after marriage?

In cases where Dowry was transacted before the wedding, it is unfair if the bride and her family were silent before the wedding and later use the anti-dowry laws to accuse the groom and his family for seeking Dowry especially when the marriage turns into a failure. Shouldn't the bride's family be accused as well for being accomplice in the first place if Dowry was paid before or during the wedding ?

Obviously there may be cases where the groom's family didn't seek or promised not to ask Dowry initially and later when the marriage is over start insisting on it along with physical and mental abuse. Cases like these are no different from extortion and are clear violation of individual and property rights. No individual has any form of right over the other's property unless it is voluntarily given. These cases might most likely fall under under any existing laws for manhandling and property disputes.

Moreover, another question to be asked here is, is Dowry the only reason woman being abused in a household. Earlier there were cases about women being abused for not bearing a child, then for bearing a female child, then not bearing a male child, for their social behavior etc. So if not not Dowry then there is going to be something else as long as woman are being dependent on their husband's and in-laws and treat them as demigod. As Amit Varma writes here Women should learn to be independent and able to walk out of bad marriages if required. Only when women especially wives are not taken for granted in a household, that's when all these abuse and burning to death will actually come down.

Now going back to the original question, is Dowry still a crime? Given that in most cases its been a voluntary transaction between two families which doesn't affect the society itself as such, and any coercive way of seeking another person's wealth would/should fall under existing property laws, do we still need to criminalize Dowry and have laws to control it?

Dowry may be a moral or ethical issue depending upon an individual's standard of ethics but definitely not a legal or criminal issue when it is done voluntarily without affecting others rights.

Enforcing moral correctness by means of man made laws is not only a violation of individual rights by itself but will eventually result in abusing the law as well.

Anti Dowry laws are no exception to this and has already gone through a lot of criticism for its misuse.

Links:

Amit Varma article in India Uncut:

http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/we-should-celebrate-rising-divorce-rates/

On Dowry Law Criticism in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry_law_in_India#Criticism

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

2012-02-03T20:41:00.008Z

'In Other Rooms, Other Wonders' is a collection of short stories by Daniyal Mueenuddin. Most of the stories, in fact all the stories are told in the backdrop of Pakistan's rich and poor. The characters and the narration doesnt reflect much about the period in which these stories are told.Simple language, narration and characterization keeps the book engaging.

The uniqueness of fictional short stories are the way they are ended. A nicely engaging story abruptly ends leaving it for the reader to decide what happens next. Such abstract endings are like double edged sword; they make the most memorable as well as easily forgettable stories, not only in books but in movies as well. 'In Other Rooms, Other Wonders' is no exception.

The interesting part of the book is the way the characters have been related. Though each story is about different individuals, some of the characters are cleverly borrowed from the previous stories which makes it look like the lives of these characters are interconnected but not their story itself. In a way this type of characterization portrays how the stories of people around us are closely overlapped but still there exists a disconnect. Disconnect in such a way that each one is oblivious of other's joy and sorrow. May be that's what the title implies - In Other Rooms, Other Wonders.

My picks are 'Nawabdin Electrician' for its ending, 'Lily' for the farm house and 'A Spoiled Man' for Rezak.

Rights of Man

2012-01-29T19:34:00.010Z

'Rights of man' - Thomas Paine's response to Edmund Burke's 'Reflections on the Revolution in France'. The book is divided into two parts.

In part 1, Paine starts with explaining the rights of individuals, the distinction between natural rights and civil rights, how every civil right is derived over a natural right and that these civil rights should not invade the natural right of the individuals.

He goes on to explain the evil of aristocratic or hereditary Government and how despotism is not restricted only to the Kings but also spreads all the way to the end of the system. Paine's Government is a system elected by the people and not the one formed arbitrarily. Paine's idea is that any Government principles and policies should be built over a strong Constitution like the one proposed by Marquis de La Fayette in the French National Assembly: 'The Declaration of the rights of Man and of Citizens' .

In a separate section Paine also provides his observation on these fundamental rights and explains how the below first three declarations form the basis for the rest.

Men are born, and always continue, free, and equal in respect of their rights.Civil distinctions, therefor, can be founded only on public utility.
The end of all political associations, is, the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty,property,security, and resistance of oppression.
The nation is essentially the source of all sovereignty; nor can any INDIVIDUAL, or ANY BODY OF MEN, be entitled to any authority which is not expressly derived from it.

Complete list here.

Though the book was written in simple direct language, it was not easy to comprehend without any background on the French Revolution and history of France. Besides this, as the book itself being a response to Burke's book, it was difficult to understand the context having not read Burke's.

Nevertheless one can still understand the core thought of Paine from his quote in the very first page of the book: "Society is in every state a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil"

Paine believes that Government,Tax and War are interrelated. The tax collected in the name of war is actually the revenue collected for the Government as the primary revenue for the Government is from tax. To Quote Paine:

"Whatever is the cause of taxes to a Nation, becomes also the means of revenue to a Government. Every war terminates with an addition of taxes, and consequently with an addition of revenue;" (pp:93)

Through his response to Burke, Paine covers some of the prominent issues prevailed during the French Revolution and the necessity for not only the French Revolution but also the earlier American Revolution.

Its been 200 years since this book was written, but many of his thoughts are still relevant, especially the ones on individual rights and Government.

"As war is the system of Government on the old construction, the animosity which Nations reciprocally entertain, is nothing more than what the policy of their Governments excites, to keep up the spirit of the system. Each Government accuses the other of perfidy, intrigue, and ambition, as a means of heating the imagination of their respective Nations, and incensing them to hostilities. Man is not the enemy of man, but through the medium of a false system of Government. Instead, therefore, of exclaiming against the ambition of Kings,the exclamation should be directed against the principle of such Governments; and instead of seeking to reform the individual, the wisdom of the Nation should apply itself to reform the system." (pp:93)

My favorite one was about Ignorance:

"Ignorance is of a peculiar nature: and once dispelled, its impossible to re-establish it. It is not originally a thing of itself, but is only the absence of knowledge; and though man may be kept ignorant, he can not be made ignorant. The mind in discovering truth, acts in the same manner as it acts through the eye in discovering objects; when once any object has been seen, it is impossible to put the mind back to the same condition it was in before it saw it." (pp72)

This reminds me of what Michael Sandel had said :"Self knowledge is like lost innocence. However unsettling you find it, it can never be unthought or unknown."

Overall, part 1 of the book could make an interesting read for some one with the background of the French Revolution and has read Burke's Reflection. Otherwise the book might excite only at places, but still there is enough food for thought.

Wake Up

2012-01-28T03:56:00.004Z

This time of the night

when you wake up

wake up not midst of an awful dream

nor by an unsettled mind

but to wake up

like a seamless horizon

between sleep and awakening

and with a serene mind

is a pleasure in itself

The Checklist Manifesto

2011-10-16T07:36:00.010+01:00

A study conducted to analyse why people fail to perform in complex situations identified two major influencing factors -Ignorance and Ineptitude.

Ignorance - The lack of knowledge. This could be due to lack of experience or it could be in rare, complex or unfamiliar situations.

Ineptitude - The lack of application. In other words, the skills and expertise to solve a particular problem are available and are known, but we either fail to apply them or apply them inefficiently.

The former requires more research and it's attributed to the lack of training. For the latter, there is already enough training and expertise in place, but we still fail to apply it successfully. But, why?

In health care, vital signs are measured to assess the most basic body functions. Though the number of vital signs to be measured may vary according to the situation, the four basic ones are body temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. In most cases, when three of the vital signs are normal, the fourth one also tends to be normal. When we begin to notice that most of the times the fourth sign is good, we stop checking it when the first three signs are good. And this is not just in health care. Here's another example.

A few years back when I was living in Hyderabad, we were using a padlock for the main door of our apartment. This lock was broken. But it was broken in such a way that you could actually make it look like it was locked even when it was not. Just press it and it would hold together nicely. To unlock it, all you needed to do was just pull it down and no key was required. Though we knew how risky this was, we used this lock whenever we forgot to handover the key to the last leaving housemate. We used it a couple of times and never had any issues.

In the initial days we warned ourselves not to keep using it, but as the days passed, nothing bad happened and we slowly ignored the risks and took it for granted. Everything was good except for the day when our house was robbed! The robber didn't even have to break the door to get in. You could call it carelessness, stupidity or whatever, but the loss is a loss.

Then, there is this human memory which is fallible by nature and a simple fact that many of us don't want to accept. How many times have we been surprised by or surprise others with this question, 'how could you forget such a simple thing?'. It's typical of how our memory is. Our memory cannot retrieve everything whenever and wherever we want. The more we learn, the more information the brain has to store and the more it stores, the tougher it gets to retrieve something quickly, especially in a highly pressurized environment. So in adverse situations, sometimes the brain fails to retrieve or remind us even the most basic stuff. These are some typical examples of being inept.

Experts in various industries started realizing that to tackle ineptitude, just skills and expertise alone would not be sufficient. It requires something more than that.

Dr.Atul Gawande an endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston who has done some extensive research in this area believes that the answer could be 'The Checklist'.

In the field of medicine, checklists are not completely new. They have been used on and off at different levels - for example, some nurses maintain a checklist to ensure that all the vital signs are tested. Dr.Peter Pronovost, one of the early advocates of checklists in the intensive care unit has reported that his checklists have saved 1500 lives and $100 million in the State of Michigan over a period of 18 months*.

In spite of these results, checklists are not popular and not widely accepted. That's possibly because of the way we define what checklists are for and who should be using them.

Ask yourselves a question, 'who do you think should be using a checklist in the real world?'

Was your answer just amateurs like beginners in a profession or for some one in a learning curve; or did it also include some one with extensive experience and specialization like a 'chief surgeon in an hospital who has some 15-20 years of experience in surgery' or 'a pilot with some 20,000 hours of flying experience' ?

If your answer didn't include the latter, then ask yourselves why you thought that an experienced professional would not need a checklist. If your answer did include both novice and experienced alike, then have you ever used or are using a checklist currently? If not why? Answering these questions would probably explain why checklists are not popular and why they are not widely accepted.

We often think checklists are silly. For the experienced, checklists are just a waste of time and its embarrassing to have one.

Few years back, when I was a Senior Tester I failed to test a basic business condition in the application. When the issue was escalated, I had no reason to explain why I had missed it. I just forgot to include the condition in the test case. As simple as that. Thinking about it now, I realize a checklist could have prevented it.

One might wonder what if we failed to include an item in the checklist itself. For this, Gawande insists that the checklist should be discussed with all the stake holders, optimized and made sure it is efficient. Moreover a checklist should neither be too long nor too short. It should be apt to the situation. When more than one pair of eyes are involved in preparing a checklist, chances are less for making mistakes in the checklist itself. Of course there will be exceptions and that's why Gawande suggests that the checklists should be inspected often and made sure they are relevant to the current situation.

During his research on checklists, Gawande observed that checklists have actually been in use for a long time now in other major industries like Aviation and Construction. The Aviation industry in particular has extensive checklists that are well organized and followed effectively. Gawande explains how emergency checklists helped experienced pilots to ditch the US Airways Flight1549 successfully in the Hudson river, saving all 155 on board resulting in the incident to be known as the Miracle on the Hudson .

Eventually when Gawande started working with the WHO on an initiative to improve safety in surgical processes around the world, he put forth the idea of using a checklist that could potentially save millions of lives without requiring the invention of any new medicines or technology. The Surgical Safety checklist was tried in 6 hospitals around the world to see how effective it would actually be. The outcome of the study indicated that, 'Postoperative complication rates fell by 36% on average and death rates fell by a similar amount'. More information on this study can be found here.

Below is the 2009 edition of the Surgical Safety checklist from the WHO. Some of the questions like - patient name and identity, operation procedure would sound so basic. But the reality is, even in the most advanced hospitals these basic things are often missed.

Dr.Gawande has observed multiple instances where checklists have repeatedly saved lives, even in the most improbable situations.

One such case was reported in this article 'The Checklist' - the scintillating story of a three year old girl who almost drowned in an icy fishpond in Alps.

The article published in 2007 in 'The New Yorker' was the forerunner of this book - 'The Checklist Manifesto'. An interesting and worthwhile read.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pronovost

Mulholland Drive

2011-10-15T18:23:00.003+01:00

Four years back when i saw Memento I thought it was one of the most complicated movies ever made.Today after watching David Lynch's Mulholland Drive i feel this could be the big brother of Memento.

I think Mulholland Drive is non-linear, but then i havent understood enough to confirm whether the narration is linear or not. The movie made some sense only after reading the wiki entry. Actually i didn't sit and analyze after the movie, but i dont think analyzing would have helped as such.

The movie was entangled and complex, and i found it tough to interpret. May be there is no single interpretation for the movie or may be there is no interpretation at all. Even the director has actually refused to comment on the interpretation and symbolism of the movie*. One of theories in Wikipedia speculates that the movie could be just a Mobius Strip with no beginning or end.

Anyways if at some point of time, if you are planning to watch Mulholland Drive, here is a cheat sheet* that could help you to understand the movie better.

Pay particular attention in the beginning of the film: At least two clues are revealed before the credits.
Notice appearances of the red lampshade.
Can you hear the title of the film that Adam Kesher is auditioning actresses for? Is it mentioned again?
An accident is a terrible event — notice the location of the accident.
Who gives a key, and why?
Notice the robe, the ashtray, the coffee cup.
What is felt, realized, and gathered at the Club Silencio?
Did talent alone help Camilla?
Note the occurrences surrounding the man behind Winkie's.
Where is Aunt Ruth?

Good luck and Happy movie watching!!!

*Contained within the original DVD release is a card titled "David Lynch's 10 clues to unlocking this thriller - Source wiki.

Doctors

2011-10-14T22:09:00.006+01:00

"I took his heart in my hand and began compressing it - one-two-three-squeeze,one-two-three-squeeze -to keep his blood flow going to his brain" **

I think Doctors, Surgeons in particular is one of those professions that could make a man feel extremely powerful and arrogant or meek.

Just imagine holding a heart in the hand (literally) and squeezing it to give back its life. Every time when a life is saved from a similar improbable situation, it could make them feel like a creator. But on the contrary, when a life is lost right in front of their eyes, in their hands, where their knowledge and expertise are mere spectators, they could become the most humblest, realizing how Death makes one null instantly.

** - Excerpt from "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande

Dhobi Ghat

2011-01-28T21:02:00.008Z

...is abstract.

Abstract like our life.

Life that started without meaning,

just with people,

people who are nothing but just characters.

Characters with their limitations,

with some that we adore,

and some that we despise.

But its the moments,

the moments that we share with these,

that gives meaning.

Meaning to the relationship,

relationship that defines life,

the life that started as abstract.

So... when was it

2011-01-16T18:17:00.008Z

So when was the last time you actually wrote something more than a line or two, i mean not typing, mere writing.The last time i remember was a few discreet lines of notes that i took during my project meeting.Before that i guess its again another few lines of notes during a training sometime early last year.

Thinking about it, its been years together since i wrote something continuous, something long.Long and continuous like the way we write exams in college.Probably that's the last thing i wrote continously for hours together i guess.

When i happened to write today a line of 5 words for about 44 times continuously i realized how my hands have actually forgot to write for years together now.

Its not that i miss it badly(though its nice to write at times),it just that my hands are not able to actually afford it now. I started feeling a bit of pain or uneasiness after i started writing a few times.There was a discomfort for sure.

Don't know if this is because i had to write the same sentence again and again repeatedly or is it because of the lack of physical writing or lack of exercise.

I can still type for long hours and carry a decent amount of weight, so i can excuse lack of exercise. Given that, I wish its because i was writing the same thing, but i guess its more because of not writing for a while now. Its just five years from college and i seldom write already. I wonder how the future is going to be.

Children of the future don't have to know how to cursive write, just CTRL+I and CTRL+B is what all they need. Probably they may not even have to type, just tell how they want it.

Technology is the Wor(l)d.

Songbirds

2011-01-13T18:13:00.011Z

The difference between a Nightingale and a Chicken is just not their voice alone. Looks like there is more to it. In an article about songbirds, the author explains why some are special than the other.

“Vocal patterns are hardwired in animals like chicken and frogs because they do not have to hear to be able to vocalize” remarks Dr. Ofer Tcernichovski

A nightingale, the Mozart or MS Subbulakshmi among the avians, on the other hand, has over 200 different songs in its repertoire. And it can improvise. First it might sing the note sequence ABCDEF and a while later it might sing BEDF

And it doesn't stop there.

Songbirds, just as humans, learn from listening and the younger ones learn and create more music than the older ones. Analysis of the brain circuitry (neuro-anatomy) of some songbirds shows a remarkable similarity with those of we humans.

It makes me wonder if it is from the nature humans learned to identify musical notes and its compositions.

Probably nature was the first teacher.

Thanks to wikimedia, you can listen to a song of Nightingale here

The full article on songbirds is here.

Principle

2011-01-03T22:22:00.009Z

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. - Thomas Jefferson

The above quotes looks fancy to say, but its not that easy to stand like a rock when it comes to principles. When the incentives are high, let it be positive or negative, people could get easily tempted to compromise or give up.

When Hashim Amla was offered to play for South African cricket team, a dream for any sports man, he stood for his principle. He requested the alcohol logos to be removed from all his playing gears and he is successful so far*.

The point here is not about what his principle is,but the courage to speak up and stand for the principle. His stance is quite impressive and appreciable.

Just in case if he happens to be at crossroads in the future,where he has to give up one of them, it would be interesting to see his stance.

Next time when you see Amla playing cricket, you might understand why his t-shirt alone is different from rest of his team mates.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/43906.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashim_Amla

புத்தாண்டு

2011-01-01T19:33:00.001Z

சென்றாண்டுக்கு நீ மற்றொரு ஆண்டு

நேற்றைக்கு நீ இன்னது ஒரு நாளை

வெள்ளிக்கு என்றைக்கும் சனி

மணிக்கு வெறும் நொடி

மனிதனுக்கு மட்டும்

நீ தனி.

முதன்மையை வழிபடும் மானிடனின்

மற்றும் ஒரு முதன்மை திருவிழா.

Conviction and Sentence

2010-12-21T21:19:00.019Z

Felton spent fourteen years in isolation in a supermax, where he was repeatedly refused to let out of solitary confinement by the state prison director in spite of a request form the senator.

Few years later the same prison director was convicted and sentenced on a different case. When Felton was asked if he would release him from solitary if he wrote to him, his reply was spontaneous.

Felton didn't hesitate for a second. “If he wrote to me to let him out, I’d let him out,” he said.
This surprised me. I expected anger, vindictiveness, a desire for retribution. “You’d let him out?” I said.
“I’d let him out,” he said, and he put his fork down to make the point. “I wouldn’t wish solitary confinement on anybody. Not even him.” *

I was wondering what made Felton to let the prison director go. From the above statement, it doesn't look like a forgive and forget kind of thing.I only think it is because Felton didn't want any one else to go through what he had experienced.

Assuming so, given an option, how many would actually let some person go free, who was fully or partly responsible for what they had to experience.

In other words, in a hypothetical judicial system in which the victim is allowed to sentence a convict, how many victims would want the convict to go through what they had experienced physically and mentally.

Will the judgement and conviction be aimed only to correct the convict or will it have a sense of revenge (fairness ??) that would make the convict to go through what the victim had experienced.

Now exaggerating a bit more, what if, the victim or the people associated with the victim has to execute the sentence themselves , in case of death sentence or something similar like solitary confinement, will the victim(s) be able to execute the sentence themselves ?

Convicting some one with death sentence or something similar seems easy to say, but if one has to do it on their own hands, I wonder how many will be able to do it.

I guess the human mind should have experienced extremes in order to do something like that.

*The complete article on Felton and Solitary confinement http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande

2010-12-19T20:18:00.003Z

Death is the termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. The word refers both to the particular processes of life's cessation as well as to the condition or state of a formerly living body - Wikipedia

I wish it is so simple in reality as well. Thinking about it, its just not the termination of biological functions, its the complete cessation of the person.

Don't know how it is for the deceased, but for the people around, its like a camphor, vaporized right in front of your eyes, witnessing its existence a second ago and realizing its absence a second later.

What left behind in between these seconds are just the memories, the fading memories that could never re-take its position in reality.

Ever again.

In memory of

P.Senthil Kumar -

17 August 1983 - 19 December 2010

SRT

2010-02-24T21:57:00.007Z

Like lot other cricket fans in India, Sachin was one of the primary reasons for my early interest in cricket. Thinking about his marvel today, i just remember how i made made my family to sit in front of the TV to watch the 1996 world cup in spite of their little knowledge of the game.

His gesture after the double ton, reminded me of the days i used to wake up in front of a huge poster with Sachin looking up the sky with his bat on one hand and the helmet on the other; his acknowledgement after almost every century.

Every time when Sachin scores a quick hundred, i used to wish if he can score at the same pace and convert it to a double century, and today was no exception.

I may be wishing for the same even the next time i guess.

Recent Reads

2010-01-30T08:57:00.017Z

A short review on my recent reads..

My Experience with the Truth :

Though i am not a fan of Gandhi, i wanted to read this to see what the Father of our Nation has to say. A better title for this book would have been 'My Experiments with India and its people'. The autobiography goes till 1921 after which Gandhi says

'My life from this point onward has been so public that there is hardly anything about it that people do not know'

If only he had to write, i wonder if he would have ever talked about these unknown experiments.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday:

I guess this is the authors début novel. Salmon Fishing comes with a simple story with an unorthodox narration. Refreshing and interesting light read. Give it a try, you may not regret :)

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown:

Would recommend to read Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons again if you are a dire Dan fan.

Lord of the Rings -JRR Tolkien:

I could easily call this as a multi-fold Ponniyin Selvan happening in the middle earth with the wizards and Hobbit. Undoubtedly one of the best i have read.

The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them - Sunday Times .

The Black Book - Orhan Pamukh:

One of the most complex book i have ever managed to complete till date, the others being Fountain Head and Satanic Verses.

Though its was very to tough to comprehend, i liked this book more than i thought i would. A very different read. Would recommend for those who like to explore different genres of writing.

The Great Indian Novel - Shashi Tharoor:

An excellent adaptation of Mahabaratha with the Indian Historians as its characters (see Wiki chart). Read this for its sarcasm and its take on Indian History. If only Tharoor knew that he would join the Kaurava party at some point of time, i doubt if he would have ever written this book.An interesting read about Indian History on a different light.

The Wish Maker - Ali Sethi:

Not too many twists or surprises. Neither too good nor too bad from the first time novelist.

Fall 2009

2009-11-29T15:56:00.005Z

Fall 2009 - Bracknell and Slough.

Couple of interesting info from Wiki, when i was looking for something related to Autumn/Fall

Since 1997, Autumn has been one of the top 100 names for girls in the United States.

(If twins, then they will name them as Autumn and Fall i guess)

In Indian mythology, autumn is considered to be the preferred season for the goddess of learning Saraswati, who is also known by the name of "goddess of autumn" (Sharada).

(Wonder why they preferred this season as goddess of learning, its so tough to be active only during this part of the year, dunno how some one will study)

The Unsung Singer

2009-11-22T00:00:00.002Z

The unsung singer, whose voice, which is often mistaken as the voice of one of the greatest legends of the South Indian Film Industry.

The latter being SPB, the former is Mano.

Like a lot, i was thinking of Mano as yet another singer in the industry. Its only in the recent times I realized that many of my favourite numbers were in fact sung by Mano and like many, i have been assuming it as SPB.

Mano's hit numbers are from late 80's when he sang one of the greatest hits of all time for Ilayaraja in "Enga Ooru Paattukaaran" for the song Shenbagame Shenbagame.From there, Mano has rendered his voice for quite a good number.

Some of my favourites from Mano, of which i thought many of them were sung by SPB

Anthiyile Vaanam
Malaikovil Vaasalil
Vaa Vaa Kanna Vaa
Vaanil Kaayuthey
Kudagu Malai
Manyie Mani Kuile
Yaarum Vilayaadum
Anbe nee enna
Potri Paadadi
Mukkaala Mukkaabula

Aayirathil Naan Oruvan

Thendrale

And here is the one which i was thinking all these days as sung by Kamalhassan
Nee Oru

I believe there are quite a good number of songs that can be added to the above list.

As many say, Mano's voice is very identical to SPB.The more i hear his songs, the more am able to identify his voice distinctively.
It always surprises me, when i discover that one of my old favourites was sung by Mano.

Idli Factory

2009-11-15T12:21:00.001Z

The outlet in the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad serves different varieties of Idlis like Mini Podi Idli, Kanchivaram Idli, Sambar Idli, Rava, Vegetable and couple of more varieties . Idlies are served with a combination of Sambar and chutney (Coconut,tomato and two other chutneys which am not sure of the ingredients :) )

A plate of 3 idlis is priced at Rs 75, an average price for the food outlets within the Hyderabad Airport premises. Assorted plates are also served with a combination of above idli varieties.In addition to the Idlis they do serve a decent taste alike of South Indian filter coffee.

A plate of assorted Idlis and a cup of Filter Coffee makes a decent South Indian break fast for the commuters from Hyderabad Airport.

The Idli Factory is located opposite to the Gate 22/23 in the Departure Area, inside the Airport.

Train to Pakistan

2009-11-11T11:04:00.003Z

"The fact is, both sides killed. Both shot and stabbed and speared and clubbed. Both tortured. Both raped. By the summer of 1947 ... ten million people - Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs - were in flight. Almost a million of them were dead"

- Khushwant Singh

Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan is a fictious story based on the events during the India-Pakistan Partition. The story is set in the backdrop of a serene village Mano Majra which turns into a restless chaotic border village as a result of the new geographical separation.

The book gives you a feel of what the partition has done to a village like Mano Majra, where Sikhs and Muslims live together like a family. The slowly changing mindsets of the Sikhs and Muslims, tells us how cruel the partition has been to these innocent villagers, for whom Independence is just a shift of slavery from the British Government to the Indians or Pakistani Government and partitioning the country is nothing more than splitting their own family.

The author gives different perspectives on the incidents happening through the eyes of Juggat Singh, Hukkum Chand,Iqbal, Meet Singh, Imam Baksh and the other villagers. As a common man we could easily put ourselves in any of these characters.

The photographs of the carnage taken by Margaret Bourke -White gives more life to this fiction. These photographs doesn't give a feel that our independence is something to feel proud about. Its shame on us if we still boast that our indepedence was through ahimsa and without blood shed. If someone should take responsibility for all these murders and lootings, then the onus is on the the Babus, Jinnahs and the Gandhis.

The narration of the incidents without taking sides of the Sikhs or the Muslims, makes Train to Pakistan a worthy read.

Second Innings

2009-11-09T18:05:00.000Z

Starting my Second Innings after a long break, probably the longest break since my first post.

Hoping to continue this innings with a better writing and less hiatus. Lets see what time has to say.

Interpretation of Vows or Pledges

2009-01-25T06:20:00.000Z

"A few observations about the interpretation of vows or pledges may not be out of place here. Interpretation of pledges has been a fruitful source of strife all the world over. No matter how explicit the pledge, people will turn and twist the text to suit their own purposes. They are to be met with among all classes of society, from the rich down to the poor, from the prince down to the peasant. Selfishness turns them blind, and by a use of the ambiguous middle they deceive themselves and seek to deceive the world and God. One golden rule is to accept the interpretation honestly put on the pledge by the party administering it. Another is to accept the interpretation of the weaker party, where there are two interpretations possible. Rejection of these two rules gives rise to strife and iniquity which are, rooted in untruthfulness. He who seeks truth alone easily follows the golden rule. He need not seek learned advice for interpretation. My mother's interpretation of meat was, according to the golden rule, the only true one for me, and not the one my wider experience or my pride of better knowledge might have taught me..."

-Excerpt from My Experiments with the truth

Gandhi had pledged his mother not to consume meat under any circumstances. Inspite of that, during his stay in England, he managed to bend the pledge by consuming eggs and fish (justifying with some theories that they are not considered as meat). Later he realized the true meaning of the pledge he made and how vows or pledges can be bent to our desire .

Humility...

2009-01-16T03:10:00.000Z

"When you look at what has to be done and what can be done, and then what you do, it looks so small. That keeps me going like an engine."

-Rahman after winning the Golden Globe

On his Shyness

2009-01-11T18:18:00.000Z

"I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been no disadvantage whatever. In fact I can see that, on the contrary, it has been all to my advantage. My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greatest benefit has been that it has taught me the economy of words. I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can now give myself the certificate that the thoughtless word hardly ever escapes my tounge or pen. I do not recollect ever having had to regret anything in my speech or writing. I have thus been spared many a mishap and waste of time. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man, and silence is necessary in order to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech; he will measure every word. We find so many impatient to talk. There is no chairman of a meeting who is not pestered with notes for permission to speak and whenever the permission is given, the speaker generally exits the time limit, asks for more time, and keeps on talking without permission. All this talking can hardly be, set to be of any benefit to the world. It is so much waste of time. My shyness has been in reality my sheet and buckler. It has allowed me to grow. It has helped me in my discernment of truth. ..."

Excerpt from My Experiments with Truth

Why?

2008-12-02T16:04:00.000Z

A moment of silence was maintained today to honour the people died in the Mumbai terror attack. People around me were praying(atleast thats what i thought), but i end up only with my usual unanswered questions. To whom i should pray, What for and Why for?

I dont know if i will ever get an answer for this...

Comments Please

2008-11-22T19:26:00.001Z

This is my first post about reviews on the places i dine out. I would like to know your comments on this...

Cascade@Celebrations

2008-11-22T18:27:00.000Z

Place: Cascade @ Celebrations, Hyderabad

Landmark : Ten minutes walk from Jubilee Hills Checkpost towards Ameerpet

Food : Indian & Chinese

Ambience: The caption says its a water side dining, but it doesnt look like that exactly. The seating is inside a bamboo structure and the water runs like a stream a little far. Dining in the bamboo surroundings gave me a dhaba feel.

Food: The dishes we tried were only chinese and the taste was typical. The best part of the food was the dessert 'Gulab Jamoon'.

Tag: This will be a decent place for people who dine out occassionaly. For someonee who frequently eats out in different places(like me), this will be a pretty ordinary experience i guess.

Silhouetted

2008-11-22T13:38:00.000Z

Some Silhouetted snaps taken against Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad. Conceived by Ram , realized by Ram and Vel.

Thanks to Ram for letting me use his works :-)

Impressed

2008-11-21T18:40:00.001Z

I happened to see some one like this today,physically challenged, busily drawing close to the main road in Madhapur. As a matter of fact, i have seen this person many a times on the same place, but never gave much thought about what he is doing . Today while passing by him again, i had a little thought and felt good about his act(drawing).

These days I see a lot of ppl and children begging in the traffic signals. Irrespective of however they beg (sometimes the kids touch our feet and beg), i never felt like giving anything.

This guy, though physically challenged, he chose to use his art to earn his bread rather than panhandling. I felt his intention should be something close to this (might not be also :-)). Instead of going around begging people for money, he wanted to show people his art\talent, there by letting the interested and impressed ones to donate if they wish.

I felt this one is far better than panhandling.I was impressed.

Section 377

2008-09-26T15:34:00.000+01:00

Looks like the Government of India has decided not to scrap the controversial section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

It should be interesting to see the Government's argument to retain the law. Possibly the Government might argue that criminalizing this practice might reduce STD and AIDS in the society. Surprisingly the NGO's and other human rights organizations also quote the same reason for scrapping the law, along with the recogonition to these people in the society.

Irrespective of whether the law will increase HIV awareness and prevent AIDS or not, the question here is whether is it right to criminalize an induvidual based upon his\her sexual orientation ?

I dont feel it is OK to criminalize some one based upon their sexual orientation. Irrespective of whether it is against natural order, moral ethics or causing health issues, i dont think it is OK to brand them as criminals.

Rather than defending the current law, the Government and Health Ministry can seriously think about scrapping the current law and enact new laws to recogonize such practices and insist on monogamy among them. This might have a positive impact on their relationship as well as in the health issues of the society.

A Twist in the Tale

2008-09-20T07:25:00.000+01:00

The view is not clear, looks distorted.. Not sure what day it is,infact not sure even what time of the day it is... The place seems to be familiar, but again not sure if i have been here before.. Walking around for a while.. No one seems to be around... looks like the place is deserted...

Have a strange feeling that some one is watching me.. Not able to see any one around.. Am looking at something weird.. looks like a distorted figure... The image is not clear.. Looks like the image is watching me.. Seems like an evil spirit...

Something seems wrong and I am running now, as the weird image gets closer. There is no place to hide around.. Am stilll running, the spirit is still chasing.

At last, a place to hide... Got inside something that looks like a house.. But still feeling unsafe. Searching for something that can protect me from the evil spirit. Something struck..A Feel that reading mantras from a holy book might scare the evil and save me from it.. Am searching the house for a holy book...

Found atlast. The book thats going to protect me from the spirit.. Started reading it with hopes without looking if the evil is anywhere around..

Am still chanting the mantras from the book without looking around..Things around me seems to be fine now.. The place is calm and serene..

Hoping that everything is fine around, i raised my eyes from the book for the first time to see if the spirit is still there...

The ghost is there right in front of me... Right in front me, without looking at me...

Chicken skin all over my body to see the Ghost's act right in front of me

The Ghost is also chanting mantras from the same holy book that am chanting !!!!!!!!!!

Losing all hopes, I screamed aloud ....

....To wake up and realize that it is 11 in the morning and with the chicken skin still on me.. :D

P.S. The crux of the above writing was a real dream my room mate had recently. I was fascinated with the little twist he had in the end, the ghost reading the same book that he was reading :D .

As Kamal said

2008-09-14T16:24:00.000+01:00

As Kamal said in Dasavatharam "Kadavul illannu enganga sonnen, irunthaa nallaa thaan irukkumnu solren"..

Keep off the Grass

2008-09-06T18:25:00.000+01:00

Karan Bajaj - an IIM-B grad comes up with an impressive debut work Keep of the Grass.A Fiction from another B school grad sounded like it might be something similar to Five point someone.Albeit the initial hostel day events reminded five point.., this book is quite absorbing. The story is about an American(born to Indian immigrants) Wall Street investment banker,Samrat, travelling to India to pursue management degree in one of India's top Business school as part of his search towards self realization and happiness. While the farangi's experinces of chasing grass in the streets of Banglore, sharing a joint with the Aghori's and selling shampoos to rural Indians are fictious, the Sarkar's ideologies and Vinod Singh's principles adds pinch of philosophy to the fiction.

Karan,being an IIM grad shows a quite snapshot of the competitiveness and the trauma prevailing in the atmosphere of the top business schools.Its pathetic to see students giving in, unable to face peer competition in such institution. The farewell speech by the alumnus shows sense of reality.

A nice blend of fiction,reality and philosophy makes Keep of the Grass an interesting read.

Fear Factor

2008-07-06T06:25:00.000+01:00

"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies.

Isn't it true that we stop following our heart\dreams just because of this fear of failure and its sufferings. We often fail to realize the strength and confidence that we gain when we follow our dreams, irrespective of whether we achieve it or not. I think Barathiyar's Acham Thavir (Puthiya Aathi Soodi) is not a mere verse just to pass our grades in school. I guess it is a verse for the life.

Not alone our dreams, Fear stops us from being righteous, stops us taking right decisions at cross roads. Unless we Kick off this Fear, It is going to imprison us and create our destiny. If not we, then expect none to stand for us.

Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction

2008-06-08T21:08:00.001+01:00

Blaft publications private limited, a chennai based publishing house has published this book - "Blaft Anthology for Tamil Pulp Fiction ". I had to literally postmortem the title to find what it means :)

Blaft - The publisher
Anthology - Collection of literary works
Pulp magazine or pulp fiction - Inexpensive fiction magazines

The book is a collection of fiction stories, translated into English, written by some of the great Tamil Pulp authors . The anthology includes stories of Subha, Rajesh Kumar, Vidya Subramaniam, Indra Soundararajan, Ramanichandran,Pattukottai Prabhakar, Pushpha Thangadurai, Tamilvanan,Brajanand, Resakee..

I was surprised to see such a publication. Its a welcome approach and a honor to all these great writers. Am not sure how good the translation version will be, as am yet to read it. But it will be a good read for the readers who will not be able to read Tamil. I guess the book should be available at all leading book sellers.

The publishers also have a vision of translating other South Asian Regional language books into English. With this we will get a chance to read the good works of writers from other languages too... Good work Blaft .

Green Vs Red

2008-06-08T20:41:00.000+01:00

This one came to my mind, when i saw the symbol in the pizza box differentiating a Vegetarian Pizza and and a Non Vegetarian Pizza . The Vegetarian one had a Green colour and the other one had a Red Colour..

What does these colours signify..?
Green for vegetables and Red for the blood?
Is this a global representation used by the food outlets and manufacturers?
I remember seeing the similar green color symbol in a chocolate wrapper...

When i tried to Google for the global standard symbols, i was able to find a set of symbols for Vegetarian . But none for Non Vegetarians :(

The Three Mistakes of My life

2008-05-27T19:45:00.000+01:00

The Three Mistakes of My life - A story about Business,Cricket and Religion.

Chetan Bhagat comes up with another fictitious story, whirling around the streets of Ahmedabad blended with business,cricket and religion. Simple narration, realistic characters and witty dialogs looks like his forte. Unlike Five point some one, this time the story involves more serious characters,historical events and reflects how politics and religion are inseparable in our country.

Though a little part reminds one of his previous novels it doesn't make you feel bored. This book is a decent read for fiction readers.

Hope

2008-03-15T07:10:00.000Z

When ever i hear this word hope or hear someone speak something related to hope, the thing that often comes to my mind are these dialogs from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption".

Here is a small back ground if you have missed to watch this movie. Red (Morgan Freeman) and Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins) are life time prisoners and Andy is convicted for a crime that he has not committed. Red delivers this dialog to Andy when they are in prison. Years after this, Andy escapes from prison and places a letter in a spot from where Red can pick it when he is released from the prison. This is one of THE MOVIE.

The Shawshank Redemption

Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

Andy : [in letter to Red] Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

These are one of my favorite dialogs and this movie is one of my all time favorites. :)

It's a Wonderful Life

2008-02-25T08:26:00.000Z

This is wonderful....

Many a times we never know what difference we make to the life's of people around us. Here is a man, whose dreams are just dreams throughout his life and makes him feel better not born . Trying to kill himself, he experiences a wonderful thing. A thing that makes him realize what he has done to the people around.. Thats the beauty of the movie..

There are certain movies that makes us feel good after watching.. This one belongs to that genre for sure..

This movie is available online in Google videos.

P.S Nandri Hi to Bala for suggesting this movie :)

Do it

2008-02-09T08:03:00.000Z

Until we do it, we will never know "how" "much" we can do something....

The Kite Runner

2008-02-03T05:54:00.000Z

After reading Ponniyin Selvan for months together, i picked up "The Kite Runner" three days back, hoping to complete it in a months time. But to my surprise i completed it quicker than i expected. Easily it becomes one of the best books i have read so far.

The Kite Runner derives its name from an ancient Afghan hobby of dueling with kites. When the opponent's kite has been downed, then the real battle turns into a race, the kite run, to see who retrieves the fallen kite. In 1994 the Taliban regime banned the kite flying

Khaled Hosseini's first novel unfolds a remarkable story of parenting, love, remorse and pain between two young children Amir and Hassan..Life is not same always, it changes for them too and puts them in a spot they would have never imagined. It brings you back your old memories and shows how life gradually changes in course of time.

Besides this the book gives you a picture of how the social and political climate in Afghanistan has made thousand of people homeless and made them live as refugees in other countries. Its sad to see how th monarchies, the Russians, followed by the Talibans and the anti terrorist wars(???) has made Afghanistan into a land of turmoil.

The story starts with a beautiful saying "There is a way to be good again", and ends with a hidden message, "Learn to stand for yourself, else their will be a day you will regret for not standing up for your loved ones"

Ponniyin Selvan

2008-01-30T08:15:00.000Z

Ponniyin Selvan - Many of us would have heard about this novel. But only very few would have got the pleasure of reading it.. Written by Amarar Kalki, the story was initially published as a serial in his own magazine Kalki, for three and half years and later it got published as a book in multiple volumes.

It started like a pretty ordinary historical novel, but later it turned into a roller coaster ride with all twists and surprises.Mr. Vanthiyathevan Vallavarayyan's kusumbu and heroism, Kunthavai's saamarthiyam, Poonguzhali's attitude, Nandhini's revenge, Manimegalai and Amudhan's kadhal, Arulmozhi's gesture ellamey super.. The way the author has depicted the human feelings, their desires and the extent they go to achieve it, is the real beauty of the book. I was reading it like a mega serial, slowly and intermittently and when it got over i felt little empty.. :(

Reading it even after 50 years from the time it got published,this book gives you an immense pleasure .This is a must read for all Thamizh readers..

Spoons and Forks

2007-12-29T18:08:00.000Z

Why do we use spoons or forks while eating ? Back in India most of us don't use forks or spoon while eating at home.. But when we go out to restaurants or parties we manage to use them efficiently ;). What is the reason behind using this..?

If eating with spoons or forks is a good or healthy habit then why we are not following them at home ?

Its just a dining etiquette to be followed in public places ?

Is it just a eating style being followed from the western or the other parts of the world ?

Considering them as a healthy habit is a convincing reason, because our hands are maximum exposed to germs and dirt compared to the spoons and forks. In fact these utensils are sterilized in most of the places which makes them more safer..

Here is an article which speaks about the different ways of eating various kinds of food. Just curious to hear the history behind the usage of these spoons and forks.. :)

The fall of Benazir..

2007-12-28T03:01:00.000Z

Moments before and after the the fall of Benazir.... Here are some facts about the leader..

My New Camera :)

2007-12-25T19:14:00.000Z

Few snaps from my new camera :) These places are in and around The Mammoth Lakes, 5 hours drive from Los Angeles, California..

On the way to The Mammoth Lakes

Lake disguised as a snowy land

A house decorated with snow

Skiing zone @ The Mammoths
(apparently we missed this adventure :( )

With The Sun all set to rise, The Moon is about to wane
(Few minutes before sunrise)

Of course its not taken by me ;)

Can You?

2007-12-21T01:36:00.000Z

Recently when i was commuting to office, i happened to see a small kid (should be around 5-7 yrs old) with an innocent face in a local bus. All of a sudden something made me feel how this kid is going to be after few years..May be a respectable person in the society or may be an anti social element (my 12 std master Mr. Sella paandi use this word very often :)) . This event triggered me a sequence of questions and facts.. Everyone is innocent when they are born. In that case, what makes them turn into a terrorists or anti social elements.

Is it the background they are born ?

Is it the environment they grow?

The extra ordinary circumstances or events that changes their course of life ?

I feel that the surroundings (which includes all the above) in which the child grows plays a vital role in determining his\her future.. Born in a decent background, with all conducive environment and factors to grow better, am sitting in LA and writing this blog.. What if i had born in a remote village of Kashmir or Sri Lanka with an environment that is not as conducive as i have now ? It is quite possible that i would have become a member of Al Quaeda or Tamil Eelam and fighting for its ideologies ?

Let us assume people like Osama, Prabhakaran, Phoolan are the victims of this vicious environments and background. Is it fair enough to judge and brand them, just because we had a better environment to grow?

I am not able to say for sure that I would have not become another Osama or Phoolan, if i had been brought up in their environment. Can you?

Hey Ram

2007-12-16T08:28:00.000Z

When i was listening to this song "Gokulathu Kanna " from the movie Gokulathil seethi, this lyric "Raavanan nenjil Kaamam illai (Ravana had no lust in his mind) struck me something. As far as what i have heard about the epic Ramayana, Raavanaa captured Seetha and prisoned her in Sri Lanka.. And later Ram rescued Seetha and from their she took the Agni Test (Not the one Abdul kalaam tests, this is kind of fidelity test) to prove her integrity

Coming back to the lyric

The line "Raavanan nenjil kaamam illai" made some sense to me.. Though he captured Ram's wife (which cannot be justified for any reason), i am not sure if he did forcefully exhibited his desires\lust on her when seetha was in Lanka.. If it is true then so is the lyric.

When i felt Raavanaa's act of capturing Seetha is not justifiable, I felt that Ram's act of Agni Test is also not justifiable.. Was it really necessary ? Once you lose faith on your partner, their breaks the relationship then why need a test? May be Ram trusted her but to prove to this world, he wanted seetha to take it.. But again why do you want to prove to this world about someone whom you know better than the world....? An why it is only Seetha, and why not Ram's integrity is questioned here.. ?

One reason may be Ram is another man made God, or because Ram belongs to one of the most powerful dominating genre of the society,"The Men". I am not able to find a better answer for this. Do you?

Stance..

2007-12-04T08:27:00.000Z

Here is an equation. A is in love with B , But B only likes A, but not in love with A. You should understand here the difference between love and like. When a person say they like you, it is not equal to or almost equivalent to loving you. Both are different. So get yourself cleared when some one says they like you :) . Coming back to the equation again, B only likes A. A is disappointed with B because B is not understanding or accepting the love of A. But B has its own valid reasons not to accept A.

To make this equation little complex, here comes C. C knows A is in love with B. In spite of that, C is loving A, like how A is loving B. When all the three comes to know about each other, what stance should they take?

A knows the pain of waiting for B. So A can easily understand how C will feel. Understanding C, should A accept C's Love?
or
Sticking to its stance, should A go ahead and keep on waiting for B? Doing this A is reacting to C, the same ways how B is reacting to A..
or
C knowing what love is, should it help A in its love for B?
or
B, coming to know C's love with A, should persuade A to accept C?

What will be your stance if you were A, B or in C's position?

Trip to Las Vegas

2007-12-03T02:37:00.000Z

It will not be an exaggeration if Las Vegas is called as The City of Lights. The enormous night activities,the Casinos,rides, shows and night clubs in this part of the world, makes the visitors nocturnal.

Las Vegas - The city of Lights

The hotels and casinos in Las Vegas are not just conventional Multi-storied sky scrappers alone. Here is the casino Paris Hotel - a replica of Eiffel tower . This replica is half of the height (appx 540 foot) of its original one in Paris.

Paris(Hotel), Las Vegas

Paris - Bellagio casino -in the back drop

Bellagio is another hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Inspired by the Lake Como in Italy, this casino has an artificial lake set up in 32000 meter square in front of its massive building. The specialty of this casino is the Fountain of Bellagio that takes place every 15 minutes in this artificial lake. This is a real beauty to watch.

The Fountain of Bellagio

Its more beautiful to see the water dancing to the tunes, from the top of the Eiffel tower. Here is the video taken from the top of the tower at a height of 500 feet.

The fountain of Bellagio - from Eiffel Tower

For those who have watched the roaring MGM lion in their movies and shows alone, here is the Lion Habitat set up inside the MGM - Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc. Casino, to symbolize their mascot. The Lion Habitat - a glass protected lion cage, has two, two years old siblings (though they doesn't appear like that ;) ) well trained by instructors.Its amazing to see the instructors moving so closely with the lions like pets. We saw a trainer teasing the Lion in his tail playfully :)..

Inside MGM Lion Habitat - The Lion King and its Trainer

MGM and Bellagio are among the three casino vaults targeted along with The Mirage, in the George Clooney, Brad Pitt starer Ocean's Eleven.

After Paris, it is Venice now. The Venetian is another Casino in the Las Vegas strip area. Venetian's internal architecture is a replica of the Venice city itself.

The Venetian - Replicating the canals in the Venice

A part of the Venetian casino is designed with Venice like canals. Any guess about the timing of these photographs..

Inside the Venetian

You would have noticed how dark the sky was in the first few photos. Those photos were taken around 10 - 11 pm in the night. The above two photos were taken two hours after the first few photos (i.e) 12:15 am midnight. Yes. The Venetian interior was designed with a spectacular day light effect that makes you feel that you are at outdoors in day time. For a moment i was wondering which part of the day i was. I was stunned for a moment about the light effects they had inside the casino. Amazing !!!

Above all, the most unforgettable experience was in the Thrills of The Stratosphere. The Stratosphere Casino has a tower which is the tallest observation tower in The United States. At a height of 1149 feet, The Stratosphere has three thriller rides,The X scream, The Insanity, The Big shot. These are real thrillers.

'Triple Thrill Ad - posted inside The Stratosphere

Though we didn't get a chance to ride The Insanity, The X Scream and The Big Shot was too good. The X Scream is a ride of my life. The tower seen in the picture is at the top of The Stratosphere at a height of 1100 feet.

The X scream ride goes vertically down towards the ground at an elevated angle,from the top of the tower (1100 feet) with a quick momentum and then stops, then makes a jerk pushing you little more down, then lifts you elegantly. This is repeated for 3 times i guess. I rode this thriller sitting right in the first seat (you can imagine with the above picture).

Sitting there i was wondering what would happen if something goes wrong. What else ? I would not have been writing this now :)

Here are the few other photos taken during this trip.

Inside The Venetian @12.15 am

In front of the Eiffel Tower

Inside the Eiffel Tower

(Gopi*, Naanthaanga, Ganesh, Srivatsan*)

Last but not the least, Las Vegas, from The Stratosphere

Las Vegas - From the Top of The Stratosphere

*The photographers of the trip :)

Adaptations

2007-12-01T09:46:00.000Z

In recent times, movies has become a pleasure for me to watch rather than a time pass. This is mainly because of the movies which portrays a powerful art in the form of motion picture rather than being an entertaining medium alone. A significant number of beautiful movies that are pleasant to watch are being produced and directed without any lingual or regional barriers. They may not be always thought provoking or inspirational, but they will give you some sense of joy (like reading a book). And interestingly many of such good movies are adaptations from novels. There is always a opinion that books are always better than their movie version. This is mainly because movies cannot provide all the small minute details that a book can provide and the movies cannot fit an abridged book version within a frame of two hours. This gives books an edge over the movies,but still these movies are enjoyable.

Seeing these movies (most of them made in Hollywood), i wonder why such kind of adaptations are not being made in the Indian cine industry. Having watched a considerable number of Indian movies am able to list only a very few numbers which i have watched under this category.

The Namesake -Hindi/English (2007) -Adapted from The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Parineeta - Hindi(2005) -Adapted from Parineeta by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

Aalavandhaan - Tamil(2001) -Adapted from Aalavandhaan by Kamalhaasan

Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal - Tamil(1975) -Adapted from Sila Nerangalil Sila
Manithargal by Jayakanthan

Pather Panchali - Bengali(1955) -Adapter from Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhushan
Bandopadhyay

It will be great to see quite a number of Indian movies to fall under this category. Especially for books and movie lovers like me.. :)

How do you convey?

2007-11-28T03:39:00.000Z

When you feel bad for what you have done to someone and you want to let him know that you regret for what had happened but you don't want to speak with him for other reasons, how do you convey?

Pudhumai Penn

2007-11-21T06:41:00.000Z

Here is a strange or shocking or welcome (how ever you want to name it) thought/perspective by one of the participants in a TV debate program (neeya naana - vijay tv). The topic was about marriage expectations and the question was which ceremony(sadangu) is not wanted or boring among youngsters in a marriage. Many expected answers like nalangu (sandal bath for gals), Jaanavaasam (road show for the bride groom) came from the youngsters.

Surprisingly/shockingly one gal didn't find tying thaali(sacred thread with a piece of gold tied around the neck in Hindu marriages) as a necessary thing in a marriage ceremony. Her point was this. Rituals and ceremonies don't determine or strengthen a relationship. Marriage is all about mind.. :) Hats off to that gal :) . After her answer a question was posted to the parents whether any one of them will accept her as their daughter-in-law. But no surprises this time. There was not a single Yes from the parents side :(

I do agree her point of view. Marriage (Thiru Manam) should be the union of minds. No physical entity can or should determine it. But unfortunately in the so called culture at home, marriages were never Thiru Manam. All these years they are only exhibited as Thiru Caste, Thiru Religion, Thiru Language, Thiru Money, Thiru Status. The feel of togetherness should come from inside and not from all these rituals..

In the same show there was a reply from a gal about how pride she feels about her caste.. Thought of writing something about that...But no comments. .l. :)

****

2007-11-19T08:52:00.000Z

Computer clock shows as 00:52. This is not going to make sense to many a people. May be not even to me. I am writing because i wanted to write something. But no idea what i am intend to write..Like free speech,free spirit, this is going to be free writing.. just keep writing whatever comes in mind.. This is not going to be coherent nor relative.. May be discrete pieces of junk from my mind.. Its not that easy to put what ever you feel in words... It needs a lot of writing skills to put what ever you have in mind on paper with appropriate words.. I am lacking of that. Whenever i have write something here i think for hours before i post it.. But this time am not going to think much before posting.. Whatever time its gonna take is the time taken to type it.. Till now i have deleted 4 lines and have retyped it again... 5 times.. It doesn't make any sense why i have to write like this.. Now thinking again whether i should post it...6 times..Started thinking again.. 01:03.. I wonder how all the sadhus try to concentrate on one particular thing. They do really concentrate or they dream closing their eyes .. Am trying to write this without distraction.. but its distraction that made me write this.. Trying to distract myself i started something and got distracted again because of this something...For sure its not going to make any sense to any one.. When i read this again sometime its going to be funny.. May be not.. Probably i alone can understand how i feel tonight..not this night alone.. Many a nights like this.. May be to many a people their might be nights like this.. I may not be the only person.. But i still i have to go through this. I cannot console myself seeing some one else also being like this.. Probably i can understand to an extent how much it takes out of them. Everyone has to go through what they have to . Others can only feel sympathy for it... This is not gonna get over very soon. 7 times. 01:12.. 8 times.. 9 times. when do i stop this. i stop when i sleep.. when do i sleep? i sleep when i stop.. I don't want to do both but have to do one for the sake of other.. I want to sleep so i want to type . i want to stop typing so i can sleep.. Thinking again whether to post it or not.. My idea of free writing is defeated here... 10 times...11 times. Sleep wins over writing... eyes are closing.. Wish this all is a dream. but it is not ..............................................
..........................................................................................Trying to think if i can write anythingsensible..But not able to think. feel the free..... 01:25

Godavari

2007-10-25T02:16:00.000+01:00

A beautiful movie from Tollywood - the Telugu movie industry. No plots, no surprises, no scintillating fight scenes, but still the movie is pleasant to watch. All praise to the national award winning director Shekar Kammula (Masters in Computer Science, University of New Jersey and Masters in Fine Arts, Howard University) and actress Kamalinee Mukerjee for her beautiful on screen appearance.

The movie is a package of good screenplay, direction, cinematography (For showing the river Godavari so beautiful), decent background score and a wonderful song uppongle godavari sung by SPB.

A worth watching movie.

what love is?

2007-10-13T16:11:00.000+01:00

Who said only humans know what love is?

Yes, animals are more deluded because of their capacity of their
physical body, but
occasionally some of them might be able to show us the love that we have
forgotten on
our 'busy road'. Just like this story.

this is real touching...

Hey, wake up! wake up!

A dog was knocked down by a car and died on the middle of the road.
Later, another dog is
seen beside the corpse of the dog, he tried to wake his friend up using
his leg.

Let's move to the safer side of the road...i will move you to the safer
side!

When his attempts to wake his friend failed, he tried to push his friend
to the side of the
road. But the weight of his friend was proven too heavy for him.

Anyone help, tell me what to do.

Though the traffic is busy and dangerous, he just will not go away from
his friend. Just
stand beside his friend howling and crying.

A lot of people saw this incident and feel very touched. How even a dog
can show his loyalty and love to his friend.

It a pity that we humans are taking photos of the entire incident
instead of taking some action on the
incident....................fools!!!!!!!!!!!!

Courtesy: e-mail Forward

Not everybody will get some one like this.. Lucky doggie..

Etiquette

2007-10-12T04:32:00.000+01:00

Matter of Etiquette:
Respecting the dictum of first come first served, a crow awaits its turn to pick up some food particles that a squirrel is busy nibbling away

-Courtesy: The Hindu

This is one of the very few clicks that impressed me on the very first sight.. I think Love at first sight is quite possible .... :)

College Life..

2007-10-07T07:52:00.000+01:00

Kaalaila oru 8 manikka ezhunthiruchi
rendu moonu raja song enque pannitu
pal thechittu moonji matum wash pannitu
pant ,briefs mattum ennudayatha potuktu

College ku polaama venaamaanu yosikraanga..

Appadiye ethavathu oru room la namma fiitingku yetha maathiri iron
panna shirt ah maatiktu(mostly shankar ramanan thiyagu shirts)
Joel(My proud room mate) ah rendu thadava ezhupi paathuttu
appadiye padi erangi mess la poi pongal vada kesari saaptutu
aaripona coffe ah kudichitu
podi nadaya class poi sera mani 8.30 illa 8.45 aaidum

Appadiye konjam neram class gavanikra maathiri gavanichittu..
notes edukra maathiri eduthutu, kelvi kekra maathiri kaetuttu..
ponnunga side konjum paraag paathutu.
sms panniktu
ovoru periodukkum thanni kudikka veilya poittu
neratha kadathitta light ah pasi edukka aarambikkum..

Our final year class room;last days of college life

Antha mathiyaana veiyilla appadiye nadanthu poi,
messla thatta eduthhu kazhuvi..
Saatham paruppu ellam pottu,
Queue la ninnu Omlette rendu vaangi
Vandhu ukaanthu kadha pesiktey saaptu mudicha
classku time aairukkum

In front of Hostel Mess

Nera mela poi
note books ah thooki pottutu
vera notes ah eduthuktu..konjam neram paduthuttu..
appadiye salichiktet kelambi classku pogavendiyahtu thaan

Hostel Corridor

Class la ukkaantha unda mayakkamum, Veiyil mayakkamum senthu,
nalla sugamma thookam varum.
Thirumba kaalaila pannathaye pannitirunthu
appadiye time paatha evening aayirukkkum.

Final Year Class Room

Appuram enna appadiye hostelukku nadanthu poi
mess la Tiger biscuittum, Puffum saaptuttu, tea ah kudichittu
oru vetti maangaaya pottutu roomukku pongavendiyathu thaan

Rommuku poi appadiye konjum arattai, illa paatu kaetukktu,
padikrathukku ethavaathu iruntha padikka try pannaa
appadiye konjam nera kazhichi thirumba pasikkum..

Oru 8 manikka appadiye kootatha sethu
kizha erangi vandhu
quela ninnu chappathiya vaangiktu
chappathiya vida neraiya Chicken kozhambu oothiktu..
avan thoorathla nammala paathaley moraikla alavukku kuzhamba mattum
gaali panni
antha plate ah elumboda aduthu varavangalukku koduthutu
pazhatha saaptuttu mela poi
vazhakkam pola vetti niyaayam

Appurm oru 10 mani vaakula light ah vai namanamannum..
kaila kaasu irukkaathu..
Anga inga thethi appadiye oru 8 rooba collect panni
porumaiya nadanthu poi
NMB la horlicks ah kudichitu ..
Chilra kammiya iruntha tea ah pottutu
thirumbi vanthu paatha mani 11 irukkum

Hostel Premises

Sila nerathula konjum chilra thethi
Snack bar pakkam poi
appaiye antha basket ball courtla ukaanthu
chips korichiktey
irutta irukkra LH ah paathu dream ah otitu
thirumba nadanthu vanthaaa mani 12 aagidum..

appuram enna,,, appadiye yaarukoodayaavathu kathaya pottutu
sms pannittu..
appadiye raja songs ah pottutu
yeri bed la paduthu
vaazhkaiya pathi konjum yosichiktey
thoonguna

Read again from top...

otnemeM

2007-09-30T02:25:00.000+01:00

Many a times i have felt good, some times bad, sometimes even irritated after watching a movie..But first time am little confused after seeing a movie... I was bowled while trying to understand the crux of the story.. In fact I knew that the movie is not conventional and i was even expecting some little surprises here and there. But never thought i will get baffled. It even made me feel dumb headed. But the set of FAQ available in the IMDB answered most of my questions with some probable and possible answers.. But still some of my questions are left unanswered.

Was Lenny's wife murdered by some one or by Lenny himself like what Sammy did to his wife?

Is Sammy a character imagined by Lenny or it did exist?

What ever told by Teddy aka Gammell in the climax is true or did he make it up?

I would suggest all movie lovers to watch this movie so that some one can answer my questions :)

On a serious note, Memento is worth watching for its incredible screenplay, direction and editing.. Do watch it once. viewers like me have to watch more than once ;(

Of course don't forget to answer my questions if you ever happened to watch...Blease.. :)

Attitude

2007-09-22T02:47:00.000+01:00

You are what your attitude is,
Change your attitude,change yourself

Nagai (Ornament)

2007-09-19T04:36:00.000+01:00

Aval Punnagai aninthirunthaal....

-Vairamuthu

Next time..

2007-09-11T04:53:00.000+01:00

One might have a next time in the life
But not, the life itself...

Anbey Sivam

2007-09-09T09:41:00.000+01:00

"Anbey Sivamaayin avar kayil yen Soolaayutham"

- from 'Vedham Puthithu' a tamil movie

Thozhlil

2007-09-06T02:56:00.000+01:00

Seiyum thozhliley Deivam,
Archagarukku mattum...

Poi...

2007-09-06T02:53:00.000+01:00

Unmaiyum, kaadhalum sollaathathaal
Poiyaagidaathu..

Barter...

2007-08-30T03:31:00.000+01:00

forGIVE and forGET..
one of the toughest Barter..

Hierarchy...

2007-08-28T05:07:00.000+01:00

Maadha,
Pidha,
Guru,
Deivam.

Life la adi(beatings) vaangura hierarchy...

Aasai...

2007-08-26T05:37:00.000+01:00

Makkal aasai pada koodathu endru
Buddhar aasai pattaar

-Anonymous..

kaadhal...

2007-08-11T09:49:00.000+01:00

Uruvathukkaaga alla kaathal..
Kaathalukkaagavey uruvam..
Uruvam maaralaam..
Kadhal maarumo??

Prendship Day

2007-08-05T22:46:00.000+01:00

Every year the first sunday of august is celebrated as Friendship day. Three years before, August 1,2004 the Aztecz* went to Hari Bhavan** to celebrate friendship day. Here are some of the snaps that we took on that day. Though most of us are now geographically separated, we are virtually still in touch with almost everyone.

Antha nijathin sila nizhalgal......

This one in front of Hari Bhavan... Everyone eagerly waiting for the lunch.. Pasi mayakkam pola.. Ellarum serious ah pose kudukraanga..

During hostel days most of us were bankrupt almost round the year. So intha maathiri ellarum onna senthu velila saapda varathu is not that usual.

Maasam muthal thethi veetla irunthu vara kaasu athukkku munmaasam vaanguna kadan ah settle panrathukkey correct ah irukkum.. To come out like this most of us used to plan like Chidambarm to allocate finances for that month..

Gouthaman giving some tips how to eat and maintain complexion..

Pakkathula pavan measuring Joel hip size. Saapta mudicha piragu Joel evlo saaptaanu check panrathuukaga ippavey alanthukraan.. :-)

Ellarum ippa vettaiku thaiyaaruguraanga... Thanni ellam thelichu ishta thevathaiya vendikraanga...

Vazhakkama ippadi elai ellam clean panna maataanga.. Chumma oru changeukaaga intha maathiri panraanga...

Server antha side parimaara aarambichutaaru.. Ready start music 1..2..3

Statutary Warning: Pure vegetarians, Poor eaters, ellam ini keezha vara pogum photos ah thavirthidalaaam. Athukku appuram enna ippadi saapduraanga intha pasanga appadinu solla padathu...aaman. sollilten..

Server:"Intha curry pothumaa innum konjum venumaa?"

Shankar: "na..ulla irukratha appdiye kondu vanthu vachidungana.."

Doops oh da Multi tasking thiramaya paathu Joel,Gouthaman,Eswar ellarum bramichi poi saapdratha niruthitaanga..

Aana pakkathula enna nadakuthu appadinratha pathi konjum kooda kavala padaama Bala and Sai thangal kadamaiya seppena(corricta) senjiktu irukkaanga... Avanga mugathula oru reaction irukkutha? Seigh..

Sai Vs elumbu.. Obviously Sai won...

Gopi:Saapdumbothu photo edukaathada..appuram azhuthuduven.....

Saapaadu thaan adhigam naa tumbler koodavaa... hm hmmm.

VB eppadiyaavathu tiny ah Gunda aakidlaamnu try panraan.. Aaana innaiku varaikum tiny appadiye thaan irukkaaan...

Enna koduma Sir ithu?

Paasakaara pasanga...

Oruthan saapdamaa innoruthan saapdamaatainga..

Saaptaachu.. Ippa relaxation..

Vithyaasamaaan muraila trousers ah lose panna paakuraaan.. Baley killaadi..

Sai Vivekh kammiyaa saaptutaano appadinnu shankarukku kavalai..

Ellaarum saapta piragu evlo weight increase aairukaangannu check panraanga.. Naan 1.5, joel 2.. Mathavanga evlo increase aanangannu sariya niyapagam illa...

Jabbyum shankarum eppadi alatikkaama hostel poi serrathunnu yosichiktu irukkaanga..

Jabby's master plan of taking rest there itself and going for second round was rejected..

Poor jabby.. :(

Kadasiya oru group photo.. Kammiya saaptavanga ellam kelambitaanga.. Ukkanthuktu irukravanga ellam saaptu move panna mudiyaam irukravanga....

Kada ownerku chinna bayam, enga intha pasanga thirumbi vanthuda poraangannu..Athaan veliya ninnu paathuktey irukaaru...Very Bad...

Three years gone by this time..Time keeps going and there's a lot to come still..

"Life is like a Box of Chocolates. You never know what you get next"

- Forrest Gump

*Aztecz -2001-2005 Batch. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

**Hari Bhavan - Restaurant in Anna Salai, Near RTO office, Coimbatore.

12 Angry Men

2007-08-04T21:34:00.000+01:00

"12 Angry Men**"

One of the movies that i watched recently.. 12 Jurors, one room, their prejudice: itha suthi thaan the story will move. 5 minutes thavira full padatha orey room la mudichitaanga. Ithu romba^infinity low budget padamaa irukkumnu nenaikren.

Thigil scenes, Athiradi sandai kaatchigal, Kavarchi kannigal, Brammaandamaana sets, colourful locations, kanna parikra costumes.Itha ellam neenga oru padathula ethir paarpinganna appa ungalukkaana movie illa ithu. Ithu oru Karuppu Vellai thirai chittiram (Black and white movie i say :) )

Padathula suber duper plot ellam ehuvum illa. 12 jurors is about to decide the verdict of a case in which a boy is trialed for killing his father. Every one feels the boy is guilty except one. Antha oruthan kooda avan thappu pannalannu sollala.. He is only not sure whether the boy had done it or not. So he doesn't want to vote for guilt until he is fully convinced.The way the director has shown the mindsets of the jury is fantastic.

Intha padatha namma ovorutharoda personal life la easy ah relate pannidalaam. Every one of us at some point in our life would have reacted or will react like any of this 12 men. The way we make judgements, our arguments, our prejudice towards society, culture, ppl, the face values we give to others without knowing them, reacting emotionally without thinking logical.. itha maathiri naama daily panra pala visahyangala ilai marai kai ah* solli irukkanga...

Good screenply and direction makes the movie worth watching...

*ilai marai kai - its a tamil phrase which means "hidden meaning" . The literal translation of the phrase is "fruits hidden by leaves" . So if u read plainly u wont understand the meaning. If u read between the lines u can get the real meaning.

Muthal Murai.....

2007-07-28T09:35:00.000+01:00

Ithu thaanga enakku muthal murai.. Ithukku munnadi intha maathiri blog ezhuthi ellam enakku pazhakkam illa. Konja naal munnadi Diary ezhutha try pannen.. Aaana atha continue pannala.. Diary ezhutha aarambichathukku kaaranam yen friend. Niruthunathukku kaaranam ......vera yaarum illinga naan thaan. Neraiya somberithanam neraiyanga enakku. Intha maathiri ukkaanthu paduthuktu ezhuthanumnaa romba kashtam..

Aaaanalum athayum meeri ippa blog ezhuthurathukku kaaranam enakkulla irukra fire.Appadi ethavathu solluvennu mattum ethirpaakaathinga. Fire Water ellam onnum illa.. Chumma vithyasama ethavathu pannalaamnu blogspot la register pannen.Naamalum ezhuthi thaan paapomnu oru aasai.. avlo thaanga.

Sujatha novel onnu "Ethaiyum oru murai" . Athula vara lead characterku ellathaiyum oru murai try pannidanumnu aasai. Kathai mudiyarathukkulla oru kolai panni athukku appuram tharkolaiyum pannipaan.

Namakku antha maathiri periya periya aasa ellam kedaiyathu. Etho chinna chinnatha ethavathu vithyasama try pannalaamnu . Aaana ithu varaikkum ethuvum urupatta maathiri theriyalinga.. School padikkumbothu aarambicha hindi class la irunthu ippa ezhuthura blog varaikkum neraiya try panniktu irukken.. Ethuvum uruptta maathiri theriyalinga. Inniku varaikkum enakku Hindi ezhutha pesa theriyaathunna paathukkonga namma vida muyarchi evlo non stopping ah irukkunnu..

Vithyasama try pannanumnu sollumbothu thaan innoru matter came to mind.. Naan ezhutharathu ellamey ippadi thaanga irukkum. Tamil ah Englishla thaan ezhuthuven. Englishayum english la thaan ezhuthuven. Ithukku reason, enakku engish,tamil redumey urupadiya theriyaathu. Full ah english la ezhuthunaaa grammar mistake kuviyum. Full ah tamilla ezhuthuna spelling mistake kuviyum. palli(school) balli(lizard) ellam interchange aaidum...So namakku ethu comfortable ah irukko appadiye ezhuthalaamnu..

Ippothaikku ivlo thaanga.Marupadiyum ezhuthuvannu nenaikren..

Paapom...