Listen to Lucky

Absolutely stunned by the philosophical and lyrical beauty of the song.....illaiyaraja once again proves why he alone can deliver such a song with substance. Even though it has been reused in the "Naan Kadavul" Film - the original version sung by Raja was class apart - with more meaningful / insightful rendition. Thanks Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi for bringing out a masterpiece from IR. பிச்சை பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன் ஐயனே என் ஐயனே யாம் ஒரு, பிச்சை பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன் ஐயனே என் ஐயனே பிண்டம் என்னும், எலும்போடு சதை நரம்பு உதிரமும் அடங்கிய உடம்பு எனும் பிச்சை பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன் ஐயனே என் ஐயனே பிண்டம் என்னும், எலும்போடு சதை நரம்பு உதிரமும் அடங்கிய உடம்பு எனும் பிச்சை பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன் ஐயனே என் ஐயனே அம்மையும் அப்பனும் தந்ததா இல்லை ஆதியின் வல்வினை சூழ்ந்ததா அம்மையும் அப்பனும் தந்தடதா இல்லை ஆதியின் வால் வினை சூழ்ந்ததா இம்மையை நான் அறியாததா இம்மையை நான் அறியாததா சிறு பொம்மையின் நிலையினில் உண்மையை உணர்ந்திட பிச்சை பாத்திரம் ஏந்தி வந்தேன் ஐயனே என்...

I always loved SelvaRaghavan movies and in particular the movie Ayirathil Oruvan (Referred hereafter as AO) was my favorite of SelvaR. AO had a fantastic story in place where a group of people scouting for missing people in a remote island eventually landing up the island to meet the Chola tribe. I would request the reader to watch the movie from here to understand it better in case you had watched it. To cut the story short, after watching AO - the impact of lost Chola tribe reminded me of Lankan Tamils (with Reema resembling the Madam...Parthiban - the Savior/leader of the tribe...resembles whom...u would got it by now...and with army resembling IPKF). On top of this whenever a Lankan ethnic crisis discussion appears....there was a question lingering on the mind... as such who are the real sons of soil - was it people from Mahinda dynasty / Cholas from TN ?...as If I can recollect only after the Kalinga Battle and influence of Ashoka...Buddhism had its roots in Lanka. From Movie...

If at all there is an evergreen character which I (many would have) loved in Tamil Cinema, it would be Manohar (Karthik's Character in Mouna Raagam). This scene is evergreen scene and nobody could have performed better than Karthik Muthuraman. The highlights of the scene was when Karthik innocently asks the name of the Revathi's Father and one particular dialogue which blew me was "Irumma Sir kitta Pesittu Irukenla"...is ultimate... I wish there are many more loveable characters like manohar in future... ~Lakshman

I used to be curious about the music which comes from our own jalatharangam - particularly from Mr Ananyampatti S Ganesan, which is an undisputed master in the art. It needs greater knowledge to have the cups of different sizes, Water levels etc to play a song... I came across a similar guy who played with bottles with skates, which i saw through You-tube. I was just wondering how it would be if somebody can play a keerthana similarly ?.. ~Lakshman

The first time, if at all I do remember, I heard this Raaga in Trichy when a girl played a beautifully krithi on her veena in one of the competitions and I came to know from her that that was of a Raaga Kuntalavarali. That was my first crush for Kuntalavarali....probably like many a love story ours ended there without much fanfare. Last evening I was listening to Ganesha Pancharatnam by MS Amma and the fourth stanza of the song rang bells to me again after so many years. Its the same Kuntalavarali which I missed for so many years...listen to the 4th stanza of this song, you would love the raaga (for people who can't appreciate the beauty just listen to the tune...its an absolute gem of a rendition)... watch out for these lyrics: Akimchanaarti Marjanam Chirantanokti Bhaajanam Puraari Poorva Nandanam Suraari Garva Charvanam Prapancha Naasha Bheeshanam Dhananjayaadi Bhushanam Kapola Daana Vaaranam Bhajaey Puraana Vaaranam. This video has lots of Ganesha Idols (which I adore and the be...

I had listed out the pathetic instance of consumer service in India. Many a time, we as such we never care of Consumer Rights and we are being taken for granted. Telecom Revolution in India has come in a big way, but the way Telecom companies do work in a sh*tty way. The Following are the excerpts of my letter to nodal officer of karnataka (when i was in Bangalore and this letter contains few derogatory references to the company and the way they treat their customers. If you kick few asses in India, things get done. I would encourage all people to write to their bosses, in blogs, to media to promote consumer awareness so that we don't we don't get shitty customer service. You have every right to screw them as they do if we don't pay. The moral of the story - Screw them. Madam R, I have just got your details from the Airtel website and if you ask me, i can publish reams of grievance and concerns about the poor customer care standards maintained by Airtel India. This is not ...

I had read this poem after watching Hey Ram and forgot to capture the beauty of the lyrics written by Jibonanda Das, probably mesmerised by the piano recital composed by Illayaraja (I am not sure whether it was stephen devasi who played the piece for IRaja - Nee partha paravaikku or Nandri...) The original lines of the bengali poem is described here (which was recited by Rani Mukherjee in the film)... Akashe jyotsna Phuler pathe chita baagher gayer karam Hridoy amar horin jano Ratrer ei niraboder bhetor, kondike cholechi? Rupali paatar chaya amar shorire Kothao kono horin neyi Aar joto door jaayee, kaashter moton banka chaand Shesh shonale horin, shorsho khete niyeche jano Taar par dhire dhire dube jaache Shata shata mrigedaar choker ghumer andhokaarer bhetor The translation goes here.... Moonlight in the sky On the Forest Trail the Scent of the Leopard My Heart is like Deer In the Silence of this night, which way am I going? The silvery shadow of leaves on my body No more deer anywher...

Voter's Paradox - I always have this guilt feeling of choosing the best of the worst leaders as my candidate representing my constituency (which means i haven't chosen the right one anyway). If i fail to choose the one among the worst, I have another feeling of guilt, which reminds that i haven't even chosen the candidate (whether the right one / wrong) to do good. I am not sure how to answer this paradox. If some intelligent person convinces me and tells me that "Arey ! you have to vote for the right candidate, say XYZ, what is the chance of my vote contributing to his win, when somebody offers free television sets, other ones offers 2Rs / kilo Rice, another idiot offers 25 kg of wheat..burning the exchequerer. My next question would be - Is there any way to canvass / convince all my voters in My constituency to vote for the right candidate, so that my vote/right to franchise picks the right candidate - to do good for the people. I neither have the money / muscle powe...

I always have a fascination for Test cricket compared to ODIs / T20s as they are not for the mass (or) a mundane crowd. To watch test cricket, to understand the nuances of Test Cricket, you need to fair amount of cricketing knowledge to understand the Climatic conditions, New ball funda, Grass on the wicket, Seam positions, Shuffling Batting Orders, Pace of the Cricket etc. Most of my words in the previous paragraphs may not mean much to Modern ODI watchers particularly in television sets. VVS Laxman's innings / just a leaning drive on the backfoot on Napier Test is more on the lines of a camera angles of a Kurosawa movie, a neraval in a song by MS in a Kutcheri. I am pretty amazed by anybody who talks to me/anybody on Cricket, that a particular XYZ should have played this way (or) the other. To me playing, Observing Cricket in itself is an art. I would love to follow VVS/Azhar's Ondrive/flick with their wrists as much as a piece in synchronised swimming / dancing on the skates...

To say this in an optimistic way, its close to 2 months, I have been at home relaxing at home. To really paint the gloomy picture, I am without a job for the first time in my life for more than couple of months. Its quite frustrating and enjoyable in parts. Whenever you work/slog, you expect a break, you want a longer weekend, a late start for a monday, early friday party. But when you're without a job, the initial period is relaxing for a week or two, but beyond that you start to feel the realities of life. Recession / loss/want of a job teaches great lessons in your life. It teaches the importance of money, the value of whatever you wish to spend, the time you need to spend which matters most to you, the people who you will be in touch (who helps in crisis hour) in all walks for the rest of your life, the liabilities and assets you need to dispose off to save your face. Life is a neither bed of roses nor cot of thorns. How many times in your life you get rejected for a job being ...

Enough is enough !!! After watching 3 days of news, live action on Terror, Counter Insurgent Operations, Commando Operations, Combing Operations and Sanitisation. The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, still lingers in my memort as the second most prolific monument and stamp of Mumbai, next to Gateway of India was literally raped. Thousands of people who were pushed to states of horror and grief. Hundreds of people who suffered for couple of days in locked rooms and toilets in luxury hotels. Lakhs of People are watching them helplessly with fingers crossed expecting a superhero (as in hollywood movies to save them !!!). And here, we have Spineless Prime Minister, Incapable Home Minister who attends press conferences after each and every blasts and waiting for the next one. Thanks to Politicians for literally looting this country like the erstwhile mughal rulers of ghazni and khilji dynasties. And here on the D-day, there wasn't even one single politician to take charge of the whole situati...

Following the reports of last few weeks regarding the financial Tsunami which is sweeping America and also the other parts of the Interdependent world, I was wondering how "coupled" we are with other parts of world. Probably this tsunami/pralayam might be good example of Chaos Theory which Kamalhassan tried to explain in Dasavatharam. There was a good article on ET by Mr S Iyer terming them whether this is the end of the beginning / most likely beginning of the end of US economical supremacy. Even though India has not fully opened up its markets (thanks to Left Front and few other political Geniuses), I fully understand the implications of this crisis which might have an impact on India as everybody understands except India's FM (with continuous rebuttals and playing safe with Media on the crisis). Even though i observe markets from the India's point of view, the first major symptom which shook me of was the sale of Bears and Sterns. 6 months later, we saw the fall of...

Are you a Vadama ? atleast a Tam Brahm ? Do you have H1, if yes can you please move closer to bay area ? I am 5ft 2 inches, I need a boy who is atleast 5'10" if not shorter than kobe bryant ? We prefer iyers from Palakad, if not preferably from pittsburgh. Give me a break. Broadminded / like minded / Innocent Divorcee / Chennai Only / H1B holder / East (or) West Coast - The List is endless.If you look into / get a chance to browse any of the matrimonial sites / the sunday edition of Hindu / vernaculars / matrimonial communities which are located in different pockets of Chennai / South India, you would have definitely come across these above stated preferences. What does H1B / anywhere in bay area going to do with your partner ? If i have preferences of settling in US, I would have accpeted to live as an american and marry an american. What do they mean broadminded ? - I might be broadminded but not to the extent of Shoba de. I have seen profiles of Innocent Divorcees on paper...

After a long hibernation, i am back into blogging. I am not sure whether i can blog that frequently as i used to do it before. Life has been on a fast lane after i had moved back to india. Everyday something or the other i learn in my life / job and it has been a steep learning curve. Initially, it was more like a cultural shock when you visit india after a long time (even though i had my visits every year, it is too small to notice a change). I went to a extent where i never used to honk when i drive for the first 15 days, and even it is more a nuisance to me if somebody honks just for the sake of fun/thrill. I had so many thoughts to pen down which ranges from Driving sense to the way the no-confidence motion was conducted. But I have decided to keep my mouth shut in my personal's interests and decided to observe more of late rather than reacting to all the things which happen (bound to happen) around you. The two things which i seriously enjoyed in India are my mom's food an...

It has been a fantastic two and half years of my life in UK mostly in Maidenhead and Reading with the fitting finale in central london. It resembled as if it was yesterday, but it has been tremendous couple of years, in which i had beautiful experiences of life, great friends, enjoyable vacations, tantalising tours to neighbouring countries, critical projects and what not. I had struggled my first month in this country, not knowing anyone (i was new to TCS as well), but i had great roomies in Veeru and Anand, with whom i shared one of the best parts of my life. There was so much of camaraderie among the three, but the relationships grew from good to great as each day passed by. Apart from the two, I shared a great relationships with Sreedhar Bhumaraju a.k.a Chirugaru, with whom, we had a gala time including vijayadasami celebrations. It would be unfair on my part if don't thank my friends viz., Jegan, Sandy mone, Dharam, sudip, Dinesh, Krishnan (affectionately mama) with family, Ga...

Metamorphosis - a.k.a "Parinama Valarchi....." How many times in life we would have crossed and seen a bud and would have missed the time to take note of that which has transformed into a flower ?. Similarly its very much possible that we miss the transformation of larva which struggles to become a butterfly. Quiet often we failed to observe our children / children of friends /relatives as they grow and we see them one day as grown up. Before observing others, if we introspect ourselves, how many times have stopped for a moment to observe that we have changed / transformed, before somebody realises and convey us that we have "grown up" before we observe ourselves. I see myself everyday both on and off the mirror (agathilum / purathilum - In/Out) to observe how much i have changed myself than the previous day. Very recently, I observed that i have transformed a lot within a week, probably this is what i believe that beginning of the metamorphosis. "Vedan valmiki...

The markets in India (as well as the other asian markets) were in red for couple of days following the tremors that the US markets are heading for recession. Of late, I have not been watching markets too keenly except for my portfolio, it was quite astonishing that the markets have time and again proved all the critics could go wrong. It is easy to be a Harsha Bhogle of Stock Markets than as a Sachin to face Shoaib Akthars' (markets plummeting to all-time lows). If at all i have understood few words of wisdom from pitamah of markets "Swami Warren Buffet Maharaj" of Berkshire Hathways Mutt, it is just not to follow anybody and use your own instincts / analytics to buy/sell in markets. I haven't escaped unhurt in this big bang, but one thing i would suggest and advise all of my friends is to be ready to take bloodbaths if required, as you cannot be playing Rahul Dravid in Markets. Stock Markets in India as became a fascination to anybody to enter more like a Exhibition ...

Thanks to Adoor Goplakrishnan for suggesting a new title for my blog. This is not going to be another movie review of his recent film which he has directed. This is just my own observation of 4 different women, who belong to different genres, ethnicity, roots and profiles who are basically striving to push hard and move in their lives. Whenever i walk into one of the famous Indian restaurants which has branches even in UK apart from Chennai, I have observed the way P1 works in the restaurant. (It would be wise on my part to make the references and hide their original names). Basically she is from Poland, her langauage is different, her lifestyle is different, but she needs to survive and compete in this country which is as alien to her as it is to me/ to you. P2 works as a lecturer in one of the tutorial college and she also works in nearby supermarket store. I know her, as she stays as my neighbour and they are also from a hindu country which is marred with violence in the recent year...

What an excellent title (first of all, thanks to Marati director Nishikant Kamat without any english tag lines and titles) for a beautiful (infact, you can say it as a thoughful movie). I was fascinated by the first 4 minutes of the movie where they showed a shot which describes the protagonist's daily routine. There are lot of movies which has projected the heroism of the hero to fight against the system by taking the law in his hands and killing people mercilessly. This movie was quite different in that front. The hero erupts in anger after he is being criticised for his honesty, his loyalty and belief in this system that every single individual has the right to live a decent and calm life in this world. Beautifully set in typical "brahmanal" location on Nanganallur, Sangeetha played the role of "vatsala" with such ease and elan that it reminded me of many vatsalas which i had seen KK Nagar / Pazhaya Mambalam (West Mambalam). Typical middleclass house, cute l...

To spell bharathi's words "Ethanai Kodi Inbam Vaithai Iraiva"....I couldn't control my moments joy of touching and feeling my new Keyboard (Yamaha PSR E403) which i had bought after postponing my purchases and controlling my temptations for the last few years. Postponements were not made bcos of the price/issues surrounding them, but purely on the basis of how am i going to bring that to India (which is still a nightmare). But when i started playing for the first time i enjoyed every moment of the whole night. I had a small session of trying my hand on few songs of Raja (few background scores etc), it was a fun which cannot be described in words, it has to be experienced. My next sessions would be on the christmas day and i am looking forward to it so eagerly. ~Lakshman