TeaShopSociety

Independence day again!

2010-08-15T09:14:00.004+05:30

Independence day is here, again, as it has been here so many times before. Do we really care for an Independence day? Yes we do. Most of us Indians are eagerly waiting for the I.D. (Independence day) that we get public holiday, so we can take a break and have fun, of course, "Have fun" is half the motto that every man has in our country. So what do we do on this particular day? We celebrate I.D. by watching T.V., by going to restaurants to have sumptuous meals, by going for a picnic or some outing, by sleeping all through the day, by sitting in front of the computer until our eyes grow tired, etc.

But there are people who actually celebrate I.D. around the street corners, in public parks and play grounds, and even at their homes wearing the flag on their shirts and hoisting the flag on the rooftop. But again most of them do it just for fun. Leave the common man, all the politicians and high officials celebrate giving elaborate speeches, wishing all, eventually getting their names in the media headlines.

But there are still some people who 'genuinely' celebrate I.D. with true and heart-felt patriotism. But even these people do they really care about our nation except for the I.D. celebration, maybe or maybe not.

Among all these people we are yet to find the true Indian, who can really care about the nation, who can watch his actions when he steps out on the streets, who can not spit but swallow his saliva, who can pee in a toilet and not in the shady corner, who can walk in the platform and not in the middle of the street, who can drive his real massive, branded car in a highway and not in a narrow street jamming all the traffic, who can hold the fumes from his cigarette as well as his vehicle and not give cancer or asthma to person near him, who can drive using his steering wheel and not his horn, who can obey all the traffic rules and not jump signals, who can say "thanks" or "sorry" and not yell, who can drop a coin or two in the beggar's open palm and not turn to the other side, who can stand in queue and not take shortcuts to the counter, who can stop a minute to answer politely to the door-to-door salesmen and not slam the door shut, who can talk and help every other man and not be oblivious about even the people next door, who can provide something to a poor family and not buy an LED TV replacing his LCD, etc. This list will go on and on, might need pages or even books to complete.

This day, and every day, all of us must think and evaluate this endless list. We must try to become a good citizen and above that a good human. When that happens, all of us can really celebrate and enjoy true "Independence"!

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நித்யானந்தா, ரஞ்சிதா மற்றும் பலர்!

2010-03-04T12:20:00.000+05:30

நித்யானந்தா & ரஞ்சிதா மீது விமர்சனக் கணைகளை வீசி வருகிறார்கள் பதிவர்களும், பத்திரிக்கையுலகமும். நாம் மட்டுமே உலக உத்தமர்கள் போல், இவர்கள் மீது தீர்ப்பு வழங்குவதற்கு நமக்கு யார் அதிகாரம் கொடுத்தது?

நானொன்றும் விவிலியத்தைக் கரைத்துக் குடித்த ஆன்மீகவாதி இல்லையெனினும், விபச்சாரம் செய்த குற்றத்திற்காக அழைத்து வரப்பட்ட பெண்ணிற்கு என்ன தண்டனை கொடுப்பது என்று யூதர்கள் அழைத்து வந்த போது, இயேசு கிறிஸ்து கூறிய வசனமொன்று நினைவுக்கு வருகிறது "உங்களில் பாவம் செய்யாதவன் இவள் மேல் கல் எறியட்டும்".

Sting விபச்சாரி ஒருத்தியின் வாழ்க்கையில் ஓரிரவைப் பற்றி எழுதி, பாடிய Tomorrow We'll See என்ற பாடலின் வரிகள் சரியாக பொருந்தி வருகின்றன.

Don't judge me

You could be me in another life

In another set of circumstances

Don't judge me

One more night I'll just have to take my chances

And tomorrow we'll see

The biggest loser competition

2009-11-04T10:22:00.001+05:30

Xmas is not too far away and I need to lose 5 kgs within the next 50 days.
I know it's not so easy but I'm going to give it a try.

I was 69 kilos in Feb 2008 and now I weigh 78 kgs in Nov 2009. I mean, for someone who's 5'9" tall, I'm pretty much in the obese category now.

I registered in the office gym a month ago but I wasn't able to work out regularly as the project schedule was hectic.

I started working out again from last Friday and if I sweat it out for an hour each day, I should be able to lose at least 3 kgs.

I need to cut down on the amount of food taken at nights, no more snacks at 7 pm, no more booze parties on Friday nights, no more buffet dinners with friends (well... at least not for the next 50 days! :-D )

My friend & room-mate Suresh and I competing against each other in this weight loss competition. He would follow GM diet, exercise a bit and I would sweat it out in the gym for an hour, jog / walk everyday for an hour. Let's see who loses 5 kgs or more before Xmas.

Wish me luck!

ITIL certified!

2009-06-29T12:55:00.000+05:30

Hope all of you had a great weekend.

I was busy studying for ITIL V3 certification.

My friend John & I registered for for ITIL training course in vyomlabs, Pune.

It was held in Quality Inn (OMR), Chennai for two days.
The first day training was pretty vague, most topics seemed relevant for Service Delivery Managers, Account Managers et al. I didn't get 65% marks in the assignments, so I was kinda hopeless that I would pass the certification.

The 2nd day, things were better, the topics were more relevant to what we actually do in a support environment, incident management, problem management, continous service improvement, etc.,

Instead of writing 3 mock exams before the real exam, many candidates opted to go for it at 6 pm, after completing only 1 mock exam. After completing the exam within 35 minutes, I reviewed the answers again for another 20 minutes and when I clicked on submit I got an error and my answers were lost.

I went back this morning and completed the exam within 35 minutes, after clicking submit, the next page showed "You passed the exam, Congratulations!".

I have to look for openings for ITIL certified Analyst / Manager within my organisation or ...
Wish me good luck!

P.S: John passed the exam yesterday, I forgot to mention it.

DISASTER RESPONSE EMERGENCY FUND

2009-05-25T23:49:00.000+05:30

There's a line in the song "Hazard" by Richard Marx, which goes like

"Here was I surrounded by a thousand fingers suddenly
Pointed right at me".

That's exactly how I felt for the past few months, watching the news of Srilankan Tamil population being massacred. I was deeply pained and I was terribly ashamed that I had not donated a single penny to help those who were suffering. I felt like those Tamil people suffering in hospitals & refugee camps in Srilanka pointing a finger at me saying "We always thought you were like a brother to us and what have you done to help us?"

We are all talking about it, renowned writers are writing columns in newspapers / magazines, fellow citizens are writing about it in blogs, we say that we are shocked and pained to hear the killings of thousands of people, we weep for those are suffering in the refugee camps. But then most of us, have opted to switch the channel and watch some comedy scenes, share market news, gold prices, job news, etc.,. "It's miserable that those people are suffering but then we can't do much about it, sorry, let's move on with out daily activities" seems to be our attitude.

Why have we become so numb? Is saving all our money more important than being humanitarian? Are we so heartless that we can't donate Rs. 1000 to Red Cross in Srilanka, which may help the Srilankan Tamil people who have lost their limbs, their homes and their properties? It's probably the amount anyone in India, may spend over a weekend. Can't we sacrifice it for a week and donate it to those who really need it?

Let us NOT go into the argument whether LTTE was a terrorist organization or was fighting for the freedom of their own Tamil nation in Srilanka.

What is more important at this hour is to help the men, women and children who have suffered injuries in the war zone. Thousands have lost their homes, make-shift houses have to be built for them, they can't be living in refugee camps forever.

Why are we all turning a blind eye to the misery of our brethren living few hundred miles away?

A fellow Tamil blogger had mentioned that donating money to them, would be like giving them alms. He had mentioned that we must visit refugee camps, we must conduct rallies, we must actively participate in the upliftment of those people, who had lost so much in the bloody battles in the last few months.

I feel that we must start donating to Red Cross or any other organization, which helps those people. Quite obviously, I would not send my hard earned money to a relief fund collected by any political parties in India. And then we may start working on the steps mentioned in the previous paragraph.

You may send cheques / Demand drafts favouring

Disaster Response Emergency Fund

Sri Lanka Red Cross Society

307 T.B. Jaya Mawatha, Colombo 10

Telephone: 5347000

A/c no. 5783021

Bank of Ceylon - Hyde Park branch

If there are other means by which we can help, please do so and also let me know.

பசுமையான மரங்களும்,சலசலக்கும் நீரோடைகளும், நீண்ட, நெடிய ஆறுகளும் எங்கே?

2009-04-05T12:35:00.000+05:30

இந்த தேநீர்க்கடைகழகத்தை எனக்கு மீண்டும் ஞாபகப்படுத்திய அன்பு நண்பர் ஜோவுக்கு முதற்கண் நன்றியை தெரிவித்து கொள்கிறேன்.

நண்பர்களுக்கு ஒரு அவசர செய்தி, ஒரு நிமிடம் அமைதியாக நாம் வசிக்கும் இவ்வுலகத்தை பற்றி சிந்திப்போம். பசுமையான மரங்களும்,சலசலக்கும் நீரோடைகளும், நீண்ட நெடிய ஆறுகளும் எங்கே? மாறி மாறி வீடுகளையும் அடுக்கு மாடி கட்டிடங்களையும் கட்டி இயற்கை சமநிலைக்கு மாறாக கான்க்ரீட் காடுகளை உருவாக்குகிறோம். ஒவ்வொரு கோடையும் அனலின் கொதிப்பு அதிகரித்து கொண்டேபோகிறது. குறைந்தபட்சம் ஒவ்வொரு வீட்டை சுற்றியும் மரமும் செடியும்கொண்ட ஒரு சிறிய தோட்டமாவது நாம் வளர்க்க வேண்டாமா? நான் குடியிருக்கும் வீட்டை சுற்றி, வீட்டின் சொந்தக்காரர் சிமெண்டைப்போட்டு புல்பூண்டு கூட முளைக்க முடியாதபடிக்கு நிரவிவிட்டார். சொந்த வீடு கட்டும் அல்லது வாங்கும் நண்பர்கள் தயவுசெய்து சுற்றிலும் ஒரு தோட்டம் அமைக்க மறவாதீர்கள். இன்று முதல் ஒரு சிறிய தாவரத்திற்கும் தீங்கிளைக்ககூடாது என்று பிரதிக்கினை எடுப்போம்.

Few tips for first-time air travellers

2009-02-25T12:34:00.000+05:30

Based on my frequent trips to Japan, I'm putting down some points for fellow travellers from India.

These points may be useful for any first time air traveller too.

After 9/11, immigration & security checks have become stricter, as many may already be aware.

#1. Don't carry the spices like chilly powder in hand baggage. It's ok to keep them in the check-in baggage.

#2 : Some folks may not be able to eat other types of food, so they carry rice, spices, etc., so that they may cook & eat their own food, which may add up to the luggage weight. But try to keep the weight +/- 2 kgs from the weight limit written on the ticket. 7 kgs for hand luggage, not even +1 kg allowed! If you had packed sweater/winter coat in the hand baggage (so that it may be easy to pull them out and wear as soon as you get out of the destination airport) try to wear them or keep them in the trolley, so that it may reduce some weight.

#3: Don't carry parfumes/body sprays/liquid bottles in hand baggage. Even if they are allowed, body sprays / shaving gel cans above 100 ml will be thrown in the dustbin.

#4: Mention your destination clearly when you get the boarding pass at the ticketing counter. This way, you may avoid the trouble of your check-in bags being offloaded in transit airport.

#5: Wear a smile, greet the officer in the immigration desk with a "Hello", "Good Evening", etc., Answer the questions clearly & slowly. Even if the questions are stupid, don't answer arrogantly but try to explain in a simple manner.

#6: Expect a 2nd round of thorough check of your hand baggage & few visa related questions in the transit airport, before boarding the next flight to your destination. Some countries may even ask you to fill in a form again. It's annoying, you may think "I had got this bag checked already and I answered the questions related to my visa before embarking the flight in India" but you don't have any choice, so be patient.

#7: Make sure your bags have got security check stickers after the scanning was done (or seal stamped on the tags)

#8: Make sure your boarding pass have immigration & security check seals stamped, before you reach the respective gate. There had been instances where travellers had missed one of the stamps, probably due to the mistake of the immigration / security folks and then had to run back to get it at the last minute.

#9 Even if you have 5 hours in transit, reach the respective airlines desk immediately after getting out of the plane, get the boarding pass, or get the gate number written clearly if you had already got the boarding pass in the source location. Take a walk towards that gate, confirm that the gate# & flight# match, your next flight is on schedule through the displays on TVs and then proceed with roaming around chocolate shops, browsing the net, sipping coffee, resting in a hotel lounge or whatever you please. Avoid roaming around and rushing at the last 30 minutes to get the boarding pass & search for the gate.

#10 Try to reach the airport 3 hours before the flight's departure time. Most people travel on Friday/ Saturday night, so don't let the traffic jam get you stuck on the way. Talk to neighbors who may have travelled to the airport recently and find out the approximate time taken to reach the airport from your residence.

மீண்டும் ஒரு ஜப்பான் பயணம்!

2009-02-22T04:16:00.000+05:30

சென்ற வாரம் ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை நண்பர் ஜெயக்குமாரின் திருமணத்துக்காக திண்டுக்கல் சென்று விட்டு திங்களன்று அசதியாக உறங்கிக்கொண்டிருக்கும்போது, ஜப்பானில் இருந்து ஒரு தொலைபேசி அழைப்பு வந்தது 7.45 மணியளவில். இந்த வாரத்துக்குள் ஜப்பானுக்கு வர முடியுமா என்றார் எதிர்முனையில் இருந்தவர். இல்லை என்று சொன்னால் விடவா போகிறீர்கள்? என்று கேட்க நினைத்தேன், "முடியும்..." என்று இழுத்ததுமே அவரே சிரித்து விட்டார்.

அங்கே ஒரு ப்ராஜெக்ட் முடிவடையும் நிலையில் இறுதிகட்ட நடவடிக்கைகளில் உதவி செய்யுமாறு கோரினார். செவ்வாய் கிழமை எல்லாம் உறுதி செய்யப்பட்டது.
புதன்கிழமை டிக்கெட் ரிசர்வேசன் செய்ய முயற்சி செய்தால், உயர் அதிகாரியின் சம்மதம் கிட்டவே 2 நாள் ஆகி விட்டது. பிறகு வியாழன் இரவு தான் அதற்கான மெயில்-ஐ மீண்டும் அனுப்பி, வெள்ளி காலை சம்மதம் வாங்கி, அட்வான்ஸ் சம்பளம், டிக்கெட் எல்லாவற்றையும் வாங்கி சில பல துணிமணிகளை அள்ளி (புதிய கோட் சூட் Rs.8500, மற்ற துணிகள் சேர்த்து Rs. 15000க்கு மேல் ஆகி விட்டது)

ஒரு வழியாக சனிக்கிழமை இரவு 11 மணிக்கு கோலாலம்பூர் வழியாக டோக்கியோ செல்லும் விமானத்தில் ஏறியாகிவிட்டது. இங்கே 6 மணி நேரம் ட்ரான்சிட் டார்ச்சர்!

இன்று இரவு 9 மணிக்கு டோக்கியோ சென்றடைவேன்.

பிறகு பேசுவோம்!

புத்தாண்டும், நண்பரின் பத்தாண்டு கொள்கையும்!

2009-01-16T12:17:00.000+05:30

கடந்த பத்தாண்டுகளாக நண்பர்கள் யாரையும் தொலைபேசியில் தொடர்பு கொள்ளாமல் இருந்து, அதே கொள்கையில் தீவிரமாக இருக்கும் நண்பர் சுதாகர் அவர்களுக்கு என் மனமார்ந்த பாராட்டுக்கள்.

குறைந்த பட்சம் அவர்களின் அழைப்பை துண்டிக்காமல் பேசியதற்காக அவருக்கு நன்றிகள்.

இந்த புத்தாண்டிலும் உங்களது தீர்மானத்தில் உறுதியாக இருந்து பல ஆண்டுகள் இந்த கொள்கையை கடைபிடிக்க உங்களுக்கு வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

நன்றி!

8 pack ஒரு வியாதியாம்லே? நல்லா கெலப்புராங்கடா பீதியே?

2009-01-14T19:11:00.000+05:30

இந்த சினிமா நடிகர்கள் விவரம் தெரியவில்லையென்றால் வாயை மூடிக்கொண்டிருக்க மாட்டார்களோ?

இன்றைக்கு ஒரு தொலைக்காட்சி பேட்டியில் தனுஷ் சொல்கிறார் "8 pack" என்று எதுவுமே கிடையாது. "6 pack" தான் சரி, அதற்கு மேல் இருந்தால் அது வியாதி என்று.

அந்த எலும்புக்கூட்டு உடம்பை தேற்ற முடியவில்லை என்றால் மற்றவர்களுக்கும் வராது என்பதா?

அமீர் கானின் கஜினி பட புகைபடங்களை பார்த்து "8 pack" என்றால் என்ன என்று தெரிந்து கொள்ளட்டும்.

http://in.movies.yahoo.com/specials/How-Aamir-Khan-got-eight-pack/Bollywood/slideshow-40.html

இதே மாதிரி முன்னொரு நாள் ஒரு பேட்டியில் உளறினார், யாத்ரா என்ற அவரது மகன் பெயருக்கு அர்த்தம் புனித பயணமாம். யாத்ரா என்றால் பயணம் என்று தான் பொருள். இதில் புனிதம், பாவம் எங்கிருந்து சேர்ந்தது?!?

Funny man Dick Cheney!

2007-02-23T14:26:00.000+05:30

SYDNEY, Australia - Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday that China's recent anti-satellite weapons test and a rapid military buildup were "not consistent" with its stated aim of a peaceful rise as a global power.

This guy keeps getting better with time, doesn't he?

I mean, here we have, the head of Halliburton who benefits from Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who wants USA to build as many arms as possible and he talks abt another country which is building up its military power?!? Come on, man, give us a break!

He is definitely one of those ammunition lobby war mongers, who want to start a war in some country, somewhere, somehow! We can see thru you Mr. Cheney. Even Americans aren't gullible to enough to believe you and George Bush's strategy of creating wars! (atleast 67% according to the latest survey)

And then comes the funnier part, there were 3 men holding placards "We need more men like Cheney, We love America!". Tell you what, even Japanese love America a lot more than you people do but they aren't idiots to believe that your wars in any way related to creating peace on Earth!

Merry Xmas

2006-12-26T23:19:00.000+05:30

This blog is pretty much dead like the1 who started it.
But anyways....

Wish you all a Merry Xmas and a happy New Year 2007.

Have a great year ahead!

Check out this video abt Tamil genocide in SriLanka

2006-11-12T01:24:00.000+05:30

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bqn74kCWWDU

Disgusting dowry system!

2006-11-09T22:43:00.000+05:30

My friend's sister was supposed to get married last weekend but her family called off the wedding due to dowry harassment by the groom and his parents.

It's disgusting that even in 21st century dowry harassment is still a huge menace in the life of Indian women.

I tried to get a ticket to my native town, at the last moment. I called up my friend to check if he can arrange for a return ticket. He told me that there was no need to hurry back home as the marriage was cancelled. The groom and her parents wanted a car, 80 sovereigns of gold and kitchen utensils be gifted by the bride's family. They had agreed to a simple wedding with minimal amount of dowry earlier and started harassing the bride's family just a week before the marriage. Unable to bear the torture, the girl's family called off the wedding 2 days before the wedding.

I was totally shocked by the news and I couldn't sleep well on that day.

"Why, oh God, why?" was the words I was uttering in my mind as I rolled on my bed from one end to another like an insomniac. She is a wonderful person, very cute, sweet, affectionate. She treated me like an elder brother when we lived together in the same neighborhood. Why should such a horrible thing happen to her?

Have they filed a case against the groom and his parents for dowry harassment? I really don't know. I wish they get the guilty behind bars as soon as possible.

I hope God blesses her with strength and courage to move on.
Hope she concentrates on her work so that she can forget about this unfortunate event.
Hope that someday, she meets someone who wouldn't break her heart.

God bless you girl, it's his loss!
Carry on smiling!
Walk on with your head held high!

Rains...

2006-10-28T23:12:00.000+05:30

Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
Joe Anand wants to play,
But Chennai doesn't have a good drainage system even today!

Mobile manners

2006-10-25T10:27:00.000+05:30

Perhaps you have already noticed, every 2nd chap on the street has a cellphone in his hand or he/she has earphones plugged in to make you wonder why the hell he/she is talking alone.

I really appreciate the economic growth and the power it has given to Indian consumers. We can be proud to say that we can afford to buy whatever an American can buy (even though most goods cost 10 or 20% higher, we can still afford them thanks to the 0% interest schemes and/or low EMIs schemes.)

What bothers is me is the noise pollution these folks create.
Inspite of posters in every church gate, cinema halls and other public places where cellphone use must be restricted, people still keep their mobiles on and let their phones ring in high volume.

Every now and then you have some1 sitting next to you yelling at the top of his voice abt some crap on his cellphone. Go ahead and flaunt your latest cellphones but please reduce the volume.
Nobody really wants to hear your romantic stories or your family affairs.
Ranting is ok but keep it low.

Diwali in Chennai...

2006-10-21T23:18:00.000+05:30

It's Diwali today and it wasn't a lot of fun.

It's so damn cliche to say that it wasn't as good as last year. But that's exactly how it went, It was probably the most boring Diwali ever... (But as a matter of fact, I didn't celebrate Diwali last year, I was in Tokyo and I didn't bother to go to Diwali function organised by the Indian embassy)

On Saturday morning, we woke up early to watch the special programs on TV (which doesn't happen on Saturdays) We ate some chicken n mutton for lunch, Stel & I lit some sparklers n fireworks in the evening. Alan enjoyed the fireworks 50% courtesy other Hindu boys in the neighborhood). We had to go back as Alan didn't like the noise pollution torture of crackers & I couldn't put up with the drunk security guard who was bugging me Diwali inaam for 15 minutes! (Azim premji doesn't give a sweet box to his employees even after making 40% increase in profits last quarter and this bugger expects Diwali inaam from a Christian! Go f*&k yourself man!)

I don't remember celebrating Diwali after moving out of St.Joseph's colony.
Living in an apartment in Chennai, where I don't know 80% of the residents, I wasn't surprised abt none of them coming to my flat to deliver some sweets, or to exchange greetings. Perhaps most of them had already left for their native towns on Thursday night.

I wish I could go to St.Joseph's colony where I can meet my childhood buddies, chat abt every trivia, fire some crackers, eat some sweets prepared by Babu athai & Parithi athai but unfortunately none would be around to shake my hand!

We are all completely scattered out now but can we all meet in St.Joseph's colony someday?
It would be "Mission Impossible" but I would like to think that we can meet someday...

Xmas 2007 may be?

Traffic chaos...

2006-10-19T11:27:00.000+05:30

Raingods blessed Chennai and it's so cool outside.
It rained for more than 5 hours continuously and as usual the roads are filled with water, the drainage not being put in place even though it happens to be one of the 4 metros of India.

We can very well imagine the state of affairs in the suburbs when the city itself drowns everytime it rains. I remember Stalin promising as a Mayor, to make Chennai as beautiful & organized as Singapore. It's been more than 10 years since he said that. Governments changed and the people are still waiting for government officials & politicians to fulfill their promises!

I was standing near Tata concorde motors in Velachery main road and signals went down. (We, Indians need 2 policemen in every signal even if it's working.) Our folks just can't seem to understand that red light instructs them to stop, amber asks them to slow down and be prepared to stop and green lets them go! Damn, isn't that as simple as a, b, c?!? There's one policeman trying to regulate the traffic in velachery main road intersection near Tata concorde motors, wearing a raincoat which hasn't covered him completely and what do our folks do to respect him? They just don't listen to him and make everyone's life miserable. Wipro shuttle bus scheduled to reach Tata concorde motors stop at 9.30 arrives at 9.55. It has taken the driver 30 minutes to cross a distance which isn't even 2 kms, thanks to signals not working and the chaotic behaviour of fellow citizens on bikes and cars, who refuse to obey the rules.

Everyone wants to occupy the whole road and move ahead. If you don't try to follow the rules and don't stick to your lanes, the traffic jam will only get worse! It's time Indians learnt the basic rules of traffic and made our lives easier!

VV flaws...

2006-10-16T12:39:00.000+05:30

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu is a great film that captivates you for 3 hours. But then it has a few flaws as well.

1. Why would a super-intelligent cop with gifted intuition hunt for a dangerous serial killer without any weapon in his hands? Cops going abroad for a joint mission are allowed to have guns. Even chinese martial arts gurus who dodge bullets by bending their bodies to impossible angles, possess guns if they are featured in a hollywood movie.

2. In the climax scene, Raghavan ridicules the serial killers' sexuality. If they are homosexuals why are they lusting to rape every beautiful woman? If he has to be politically correct, they are bi-sexuals not gays.

3. In the 21st century, when even Indian homosexuals are out in the open with most fashion designers in our country openly declaring themselves as gays, should a movie with such quality ridicule some1's sexuality?

4. If Raghavan is gifted with a great intuition, wouldn't he ask for z-category security for himself and his family? After all, he's hunted by 2 maniac serial killers (and going by the opening scene, anti-social elements in Chennai want him dead as well). The serial killers give him a near-death-experience in USA and even then he has only a sentry with a lathi to protect him and his family. A super-brainy cop wud've asked for security cover for his prospective bride as well.

5. US immigration uses forensic technology to regulate passengers in and out of USA. If NYPD knew the list of 8 or 10 suspects, Raghavan & Anderson come up with, after checking the manifest of passengers from Chennai to NewYork, they would've arrested Amudhan & Ilamaran in the NewYork airport as they try to fly back to India. There is no possiblity of the culprits flying back home!

6. The last one is not exactly a technical flaw. But "Yaar" featuring Sivaji Ganesan, released 50 years ago without any songs was a super hit. I feel, Indian cinema needs to move on and make movies which narrate only the story. The hero & heroine dancing around trees, singing melancholic songs are so "yesterday". The 2 songs in the 2nd half of the movie "neruppe" & "uyirile" hamper the smooth flow of the narration and they cud've been deleted.

The weekend...

2006-10-16T11:49:00.000+05:30

I boarded Bangalore mail on Friday night and reached Bangalore on Saturday around 5 am. Inspite of all the windows being closed, it was pretty cold in the train and my sweater didn't seem to be good enough.

My brother-in-law Jerald's wife Reena confused the route directions a bit and we were stranded on jogupalya main road for a few minutes. A shopkeeper came to our rescue and provided us instructions to reach the destination but before we move ahead Reena & her son Euvan Bryan arrived to the spot and led us to their house.

The house wasn't big enough to accommodate 5 guests, so slept on any space that was available.

The landlord of the building wasn't worried about giving the tenants enough water, so we were stuck up with no water to take a shower. I had to go to Jerald's friend's house to take a shower in the evening (no heater, so I took bath in cold water in Bangalore chill weather!)

Beats me, why a network engineer with 36k p.m salary should take such a terrible house in such a bad area!

Tired of being stuck up in the small house with nothing to do other than watching TV, I tried to catch up with my friends but unfortunately Frank was sick with viral fever. (Frank is one of those guys who doesn't have to ask the medical shops to provide fake bills for medical reimbursements in the company. He falls sick for 2 days every quarter and gets bills more than his medical reimbursements limits!). My MCA classmate Doss called me up and asked me to meet him on Sunday evening for dinner.

So I was looking forward to Sunday, the birthday party at 12 noon and some wine & dine plans with Doss in the evening. My bother-in-law, oops I meant father-in-law, fell sick on Sunday morning around 6 a.m and had to be hospitalised for half a day. The birthday party plans were postponed to the evening and Doss's party goes for a toss.

I spent two days in Bangalore and I couldn't have a pint of beer! What a waste of time & money!

Alan had a good time playing with Bryan, I guess that was the only good part abt this trip!

Old friends...

2006-10-12T23:49:00.000+05:30

I got a mail from an old friend accusing me that I am following the footsteps of another friend X , who doesnt send more than one email in a year to friends. Ironically he had asked another friend for my phone#, who has never bothered to keep the phone#s of other friends who stay in other cities.

Even though the thought that I'm being remembered made me feel good, the accusation put me off.

I am reminded of the song by Eric Clapton "Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself". (Even though it's about a slutty girlfriend who leaves him, it suits this context perfectly fine!)

Before accusing me, my friend should check his sent items or dialled calls in his phone, if he has initiated a conversation with me in the past 3 months. The answer would be NO. So how am I supposed to write paragraphs on emails to a friend who only writes two lines once in a blue moon like "how are you & where are you" ?

Simply put, friendship lives on reciprocation.
If you don't seem to act concerned abt me, sooner or later I would mirror you. May be it's a bad choice but I am not inclined to spend my time & money on friends who don't even reflect 10% of what I do.

"why do you try to follow bad examples? After all friends don't keep scores and you should try to keep in touch with your friends even if they are trying to reach you", opined another friend. Well, I did try to be nice and call up my friends & email them whenever I could, inspite of them never returning a call. (free sms, emails & phone calls from the office, clearly don't count) But after a while, I felt like knocking on the wrong door and decided to cut off friends who aren't really inclined to talk to me on their own. Probably I'm a bit immature for my philosopher friend, but I like my friend to call me at least once in a year, otherwise I delete his details from my contacts. I believe there's nothing wrong in it.

After marriage, most guys tend to go into a shell. They go out with some colleagues for lunch & coffee and over the wknds they are with their family. They remember old friends once in a while but they don't bother to spend some time & money to reach out to them.

If you suffer from shell-complex-syndrome and stay out of touch, I am not going to complain. So be kind and don't complain abt me either. You burnt the bridges behind you and not me.
End of the story!

P.S: Was it Pink Floyd who said "everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend"? We all have a few real friends, others are bound to fade away in due course of time, after all shedding is only natural.

Another Happy Gandhi Jayanthi day...

2006-10-02T10:59:00.000+05:30

Today is Gandhi Jayanthi! It's a national holiday. Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest souls that ever walked upon this earth. Aren't we proud to have such great men in the Indian history? Ofcourse we all are proud. Ofcourse we salute the Father of our nation, and enjoy another holiday watching tv, shopping, entertaining ourselves, in every way possible. Then again, not a single channel seems to show a good programme, celebrating Gandhiji's birthday. In and out of any channel, it's movie, movie songs and movie stars all the way. It's as if we've totally forgotten how much Mahatma meant for us when India got it's freedom. He taught us great principles like truth, non violence, equality and peace. He stood for the one common teaching of all religions, love for all. Are we atleast remembering any of it today?

Our generation was not there when our nation had to struggle a lot to achieve our freedom. So may be we didn't get a chance to breathe the air and the feel of freedom, when it was born. In short we don't understand the importance and value of freedom. Today we, the citizens of India, are ready to fight each other on the road at the slightest excuse. Not to mention our politicians, always ready to trigger violence, run riots, and bomb the whole nation to death and destrution for their selfish ends.

It all looks like we are slow poisoning our lives, our culture, our nation, jeopardizing civilization along the way. The nation is on a destructive collision course. Not a day would suffice to talk about the many ways in which our nation has deteriorated. It's time each and everyone of us learnt the value and meaning of being a good citizen. Let's take an oath today, and try to resurrect and keep alive all the great values of Indian civilization as taught to us by our great leaders and wisemen. Jai Hind!

Traffic now

2006-09-29T19:17:00.000+05:30

Chennai's traffic is awful. Some guys keep honking their horns, without knowing what they are honking for. It's a real task to keep your cool and ride a bike in these roads. Thanks to the autorickshaw drivers, we get a free
'Patience Test'. Fellow bikers ride their bikes like 'professional killers', looking for the perfect chance to murder us. You can feel your pulse getting back normal, once you get off the road and off your bike. No wonder they say 'No place like home', literally.

Joe, think this blog's gonna be run by a two men army... :-)
Probably big shots like rafi and ganesh haven't checked out my invites.
Once becoming a member, I think you should be able to post messages directly ,instead of comments.

Welcome all

2006-09-28T21:50:00.000+05:30

Surprise , surprise... ganesh not able to get into the blog, kick started a chain of mails back and forth between us... so good to get together... Joe's comment on yuvan shankar raja and other composers is very true. Yuvan's high pitch almost breaks at the top, rahman somehow manages the high octaves... Some one tell me if there is a way to display the comments as well in the main page of this blog... Ganesh always worries of no access to other sites, wonder if he still haven't got a net connection at home... Our US Romeo , getting in the conversation is appreciatable...(joe forgive the intentional typo) love sudhakar

Music today

2006-09-27T21:17:00.000+05:30

The rhythm of 'Machakkari' and 'Sikki mukki neruppae' is really getting in the jugular..
As usual rahman has it rhythm-wise and harris melodywise. Rahman this time has slightly altered his stuff to balance beautifully the tamil and western elements. He is not leaning too much either ways. Harris is picking up good with his rhythm patterns. Tamil music rocks... Hope my buddy joe likes listening them...

Hi

2006-09-27T21:07:00.000+05:30

Hope this blog will serve to share my thoughts and experiences.