Modi,Media and Mortality.......

A true terminator in so many kinds is here today to say "I am Back". Pun intended. Atleast disproved the theory that the media catering only to the english understanding, bollywood watching people are the biggest watchdog of Indian Democracy. They, like politicians are just dogs with a different fleas. After all Mortality is for everyone to deal with.

Jus a small long post....

PASSION is a kind of double edged Knife. It leads to prejudices of both what you believe and what you don't. prejudicative belief or non belief isn't anyting uncanny at all. All are just as myopic as it can be. There is no degree to passion. Eihter you are or you ain't. Simple. And there is no wrong in not being passionate about something or anything at all. Life is a boon. So much so to enjoy in one life , that being lithy helps to derive more out of it. Deviousness is not daring all the times. All that takes is to desist trying to be intelligent everytime. No , you can't and why try so?. Well this is no philosophical rant. Philosophical, though debatable ain't rant for sure. I bet you relate to them. It all starts with every hyped up release. This time it was billa. If you had the faintest idea as to what to expect from the movie you are still welcome. Having to know what we might get out of a movie needs just a little intelligence. But getting in to see billa expecting a kurosowa or for that matter any of legend to unfold is being so preposterous. They are not the benchmarks and as a matter of fact there is no such benchamrk for the art of filmmaking. It is so much so personal and different as every individual on this earth. Accept that it as your mistake as to have unmatched expectations. And being the human you are no wonder that you chose to blame some one else. Here in you easily blame the film and the maker. These are the pundits who as much accept or discard any movie without a premise of their own. For them movies like Kallori and Evano Oruvan are good movies and billa, Sivaji kind of movies are damp squibs. What they fail to ever understand is any movie is only as good as it reaches peoples heart. Just a simple thing they fail to assimilate and keep cribbing that billas and Sivajis are detriment to cinema. It is something different to analyse a movie and wigh its pros and cons. It is stupidity and utter nonsense fromt hese half baked prejudictive peopel which are real detriment to cinema than the one who are ready to assimilate all kind of movies and digest their own kinds. More to come.......

Why IR is GOD....

Almost a decade now. Thats approximately 500 intoxicated weekends. 500 blissful weekends of IR's music and you still yearn. Music is God. Music is IR.

Kallori

"Saamurai" was a remarkable movie. It stood testimony to the directorial abilities of Balaji Sakthivel. The movie, part of the vigilante band movie of that time and the one that was quite sensible too, wasn't something unexpected of a shankar's protege. In Kaadhal, a genuine attempt to capture a real rural love, balaji found a new love towards realism. Also looks he has fallen in to a trap. Or rather S films has trapped him in to make such formulaic movies. You can draw parallel to each and every frame of his latest venture Kalloori with that of Kaadhal. A citation could be the characterization of ramesh (the guy with the native slang and the witty onliners) is just another sort of the mechanic kid from kaadhal. But comparisons apart, the director has genuinely yet again ventured to capture life from yet another rural milieu. CAPTURE , is the keyword. Its almost like a candid camera stuff with each characters being as natural as possible. But what is the point in just capturing. Its like seeing on screen what you knew. Everyone knows there is a muthu, ramesh,kayal in every arts college and not necessary together as friends as much like in the movie. Movies, definitely ought ot be reflectionsof realitties. But no viewer goes yet again to see what he sees in real on screen to. What he ponders is if the movie helps him read between those realities and find some entertainment or enlightenment amidst such happenings. And thats the role of a story in a movie. And balaji fumbles big time in not having a solid story. Like my friend rightly commented "it's like seeing kana kaanum kaalangal on a big screen". Cut. To give a snapshot of the story. A group of friends after schooling, also have opportunity to share friendship by opting fr the same course at the local arts college. Also , a city bred girl out of circumstantial constraints is fored to take up the course. The girl though initialy feeling lost, slowly gels with the gang of friends and becomes very much a part of them. There in it is all about the small happiness, small fights, small tragedies that happen for them and among them. And the natural process of friendship turning to affection and wanting to turn to love. However there is a vigil in the form of one of the ever ethical , ever being politicaly correct friend. And henceforth the trauma of wanting to be in love, but being unable on counts of, whatelse again reality. Cut. So the story is definitely the one of beaten to death kind. Though balaji breaks the all cult exaggerated notions of student gimmicks, lousy professor kindof colleges shown in cinema for ages still creates his own cult of exaggeration. Like the duo character, which do evoke laughter but aint anything real. So balaji do falters in being consistently real. And there is no necessity to be consistently real at all. Also the college culturals are just like those mansion scenes (the ramp show) from kaadhal, trying to show them as real as possible only to get the audince wrath, for by then the CAPTURING concept goes a bit overboard. By this time there is so much realism, that you are wanting for some cinema ism in the movie. And comes bang the bastardly contrived climax. That makes u forget the feat (to take real people and picture them in reality) that the director managed to pull about the whole movie and hate him. Balaji saktivel, still does not convince us of having given a near perfect picture as much he has convinced us of his directorial abilites. But is that too much an ask.

PS:But, if there is one reason u need to watch this movie then it is tamanna. She is fantabulous, fitting the character to tee.Given the fact she is the most expereinced of the cast, plays true to her character and emotes excellently. It was a kind of revelation to watch her in some scenes. Say the one at bus stop, stopping to pick up muthu and yet not trying to pick him up. Undoubtedly shes quite fabulous too.

What the hell does one do.......

Despairing is a jinx. Devout allegiance to heartfelt needs, not desires isn’t easy at all. Donning to deliver and ditch is detrimental, as one disdains self. What the hell does one do, but dwell and deal perdition.

ATM -Aaravaramatra Thoivaana Mettuhal....

ATM songs on a first hearing gives a damp feeling. Some graceful dance and grandeur picturization , which is almost guaranteed for any vijay movie these days might save the songs on screen. Kaetta A R Rahman paatu, kaetka kaetka thaan you can realise the layers of music embedded and appreciate it nu solranungha. appdi yellam onnum illai. paatu yellam maaaanga maaari irukku.

Vengsarkar warns senior cricketers to perform....

Remember Imran khan once commenting on the ongoing feud between Inzamam and late Bob woolmer. "At end of the day Inzamam is definitely a great cricketer than woolmer and he naturaly would not be at ease with all ideas from a less greater cricketer than him". So at the end of the day the trio to whom allegedly vengsarkar warned are definitely the greatest cricketers India have ever produced and i definitely want them to give a shit to less greater cricketer like vengsarkar. What an horrible sort of an administrator is he! He sucks.

Katrathu Tamizh (A) Tamizh M.A

In a recent interview to rediff the director ram of Tamizh M.A attributes the reason of cinema being a powerful medium as the reason for his transition to a filmmaker from being a literary personality. It is the very same reason i despise him and his film. Having acknowledged the efficacies of cinema the medium it would have been only sane for the director to be clinically precise in his deliberations, especially when handling a sensitive issue like economic inequalities. The movie is all about a first hand narration of vicissitudes of the protagonist who is supposedly a tamizh graduate. I, after all those out of blue sky rocketed pre release hype for this movie , still managed to not carried away by all those hypes, which is very difficult for the movie buff i am. Let us be clear that the movie has nothing to do with tamizh. It is a story about a psychotic protagonist. And tamizh cinema as such has seen many such characters. The most recent one being selvaraghavan's protagonist in kathal Kondein (Interestingly the psychotic protagonist in here is an engineering student). So again am emphasizing that this is a movie about a psychotic guy and nothing to do with tamizh. And that was one perfect reason that made to not like this movie. Why do they want to promote a movie on something which they have not done? Also the director who manages to capture the varying timeline across the whole movie fails miserably to capture the exact time line where in the protagonist pursues his M.A at all. What a lackadaisical effort for a movie whose original title was TAMIZH M.A? So is the movie all a bad one. No not at all. Many a things sans the pseudo tamizh affiliation is perfect in the movie. A top notch casting, a riveting performance delivered by the cast, aided to their best by other technicians like music director, cameraman, sound engineer all makes this nothing short of a brilliant technically sound movie. A heartful applause for jeeva to have submitted himself yet again to a director. That is how actors are born and groomed. To cut a real long story short, Jeeva who though not sufficient, doesn’t complain either and sails with life with his Rs.2000 salaried tamizh teacher job. A petty incident, which could happen to anyone on the street, leads him to kill a railway station clerk accidentally. It is from here he turns completely psychotic and runs amok, roaming around like a vagabond and finding solace among doping saints. Amidst all the squalor nomadic life he murders 22 people for no reason or rhyme. And it is not all about that accidental murder. The director, flashbacks a little to show the growing of this protagonist, jeeva. Right from his childhood the protagonist is suffering separations from his relations by all sorts. Be it his father who is a military man or a horrid accident which deprives of him his entire family. So in all those transitions of life he also gets separated from his childhood sweetheart anandhi (played aptly by Anjali) with whom he shares a different world and lives a entire different life. These scenes indulging a kerela border location and the children are pretty plain sans any amusement, which is a natural outcome of children acting. Then he proceeds to do some more killings, meets his childhood sweetheart in the most obvious of the cinematic situations and spends some boring time with her before they end their lives, as it would have been totaly unsatisfactory for the director to let them live having had killed almost anyone and everyone in the movie.
Although it is a movie about a psychedelic person, still the director goes overboard in many sequences. Especially the sequences where in the director thrusts his apathy for software, IT people whom he portrays as sinners who have done indelible betrayal to their mother tongue by having learned english. Such a myopic portrayal it is. There is this scene with the call centre employee, which is a shit load of nonsense. It was the most shameful depiction of a bharathiyar's poem on screen. The director cum music director fails here in the most miserable way. And about the other scene in software company the less said is better. The directors’ intention whatsoever it was for these scenes are not real. So why try spreading what you don't believe. And at the end in a hurry to pass on some message the director makes the hero to mouth some angry lecture on the economic inequalities. And he defines economic inequalities as the difference between people who can afford to be inside a Spencer or a sathyam Cineplex and those who couldn afford and are forced to stay outside them. Yet another myopic, non self-believing view of the director.

Dealing with economic inequalities is no new theme for tamizh cinema. People have gone to become stalwarts, superstars & chief ministers after depicting to have fighting all those inequalities. But here what we get to see is a colossally wry half hearted depiction of a issue and more also with a squalor premise, sauntering s & slipping screenplay and a somber feel all over it. Jus in case you thought this review is a mindless& meandering blame the movie, for it was one.

நள்ளிரவு நினைவுகள்

நாட்கள் கணக்காமல்
நகர்கிறது வாழ்க்கை

நினைவுகளுள் உழன்று
நிலாவுடனே உலாவந்த
நிதானமற்ற நாட்களை
நினைத்தாலே இனிக்கும்.

..............................தொடரும்..........

borne ultimatum

The ultimate expereince of watching a action thriller. It's been quite a while having had an experience like this. You never for once want to move your eyes away from the action on screen.

haiku for a haiku

chumma oru andharu...trying to define haiku with a haiku...


with words so least
a poem from the east
means a feast.

Enna mayithukku....

With most of my sunday evenings/nights being spent on the return journey from chennai to bangalore,, to get bck to be the schmuck i am, i rarely do get to see the TV programs. Reality shows and talent hunts are the current hotties on TV. Saw Sun TV's OOO La La a couple of times . It's a crisply edited no nonsense show. But for one thing i noticed ,the indifferent attitude of the judges. They for me ,look like they are not interested being there. Especialy this guy callled paul jacob. Enna mayithukku aven angae ukkarnthu irukkanu therleh.The longest and the most prolific comment he made ever was "gud work guys.keep it up".

Kill the Individual ..Kill the Idea.

Been contemplating on this for a while now.

Salman Rushdie recently said, "The thing I learned most at Cambridge was that you should be as brutal as possible toward ideas but as courteous as possible to the people who hold them. It is entirely proper that people not be discriminated against, whatever damn fool thing they believe. "

May be Godse missed the point.

That makes me remember the feeling i had after reading "My experiments with Truth". I felt it was a total shit. This was not the Gandhi i perceived. And sought to search for the real Gandhi.

Till now it's futile.

எனது ஹைக்கூகள்........

தன் தாகம் தீராமலே
தாகம் தீர்க்க திரிகிறான்
இளநீர் விற்பவன்.



கோயில் உண்டியலில்
போட்டேன் பிச்சைக்காரன் வாங்க
மறுத்த காசுகளை.

LEFT should be Left....

I dont understand the nuclear deal...but once cho said "If the left has a future in India there is no future left for India"...

Robert Altman says speak less

Robert Altman while reviewing Rashomon says this is perfect how a picture shud be with less conversation an goes on to add if people want conversation they better can switch on the radio...Films should always be a visual medium....Now i understand why charlie chaplin is a genius and what mani ratnam and RGV are supposedly trying!!!!..

SIVI Music rocks

DHARAN in SIVI simply rocks.....a refreshing album....

The Truth is.....

The truth is with some people around you having the habit of never acting reasonably you might though at time seem to be too silly.....

happenings

it has been quite a while i did write something in this space. Definitely being busy at work was not all the reasons.:-) A whole ot of events and issues happened over this period. First may be it is pure irony that Sivaji is cleberating it's 5oth day in box office or i just want a reason to write about thalaivar and this great good movie.

It's a known fact that Sivaji is a blockbuster to have busted all measures of records. It has set all new horizons of records.It is also known the amount of debate it has created about a unworthy movie and a unworthy actor being given more of attention and hype. I always make it a point to not defend thalaivar or his movies to anyone, atleast not to the levels of a fanatic. But in all those negative criticisms about the movie i see a common thread. It is more about rajiani bashing than actual criticism. Yes the whole point of these guys are wrong. Just smack them. These things apart, me still trying to ctach up with the movie for the 5th time. May be this 5oth day is the occasion, provided i do get ticketss...

The presidential election happened and we have our first woman president. Well the true fact is that the office of president is more or less redundant. And APJ by all his unconventional spirit did bring some dignity to that office. Apart from being there for signing documents he used his power to reach to as much as peopel to instill a hunger for knowledge and growth. No president has ever done that so explicitly. But APJ will only do that for wherever he is. The only people as usual who ruthlessly enjoyed in all aspects of the presidential election was the media. And the worst gimmick they tried was to make a hero out of APJ. The for once didn't know he was already one.

Haneef, the australian doctor i guess is contemplating with a hollywood studio to sell his story to be made as a movie in 2010. Such was the drama. With only the sole intention of wanting the world to be free od terrorism i wish haneef's claims of his innocence are true and he lives a peaceful life ahead. But i still have a feeling like Indian government did not react strong.

Well a lotz more happened airtel super singer junior, rains in chennai and bangalore etc. Don't know if all these things affect us or if at all we have to be affected.

Straight from my inbox

Some funny interesting good SMSs ....

Result naalu therinchidchina, leave naalu naragam aayidum.santhosham thaangha mukkiyam..!! -BY exam eh sariya ezhuthaama sivaji dialogue paesi samalippor sangam.

Beer ponguvathu pola un vaazhvil mahizhchi pongattum

CIGARATTE pugai pola un puhazh paravattum

PAN pARAG suvai pola endrum un vaazhvu inikkatum….!!BY entha ketta pazhakkamum illatha vaalibar sangam

SMALL lOVE STORY: There was a blind girl who hated every1 except her boyfriend, She would tell him “If I had eyes I would marry you”.After somedays someone donated eyes to that girl. She saw her boy friend and was surprised b’coz he was blind. The boy asked her “now u have eyes,will u marry me?”The gal was calm for some time and said “NO”. The boy walked away and told her softly “Take care of my eyes”.

Pasangalukku pudichathu –ponnungha konjurathu

But ponnungalukku pudichathu –pasanga kenjurathu..BY innum yaarayum kenjatha vaalibar sangam.

Mudi valarntha vettalaam,naham valarntha vettalaam, aana moolai valarntha????kavalai padatha un nalla manasukku appadi yellam nadakkathu

Tea-la oru china pali sethukadantha poison nu sollurangha.But biriyani-la oru kozhiyae sethu kedakku..yosingha…BY biriyani saapidaama kuska mattum saapiduvor sangam.

Uzhaikkum vaiyathil uranga ninaithaal urangum vaiyathil uzhaikka naeridum

Interviewer:if earth starts rotating 30 times faster than now what will happen?

Sardar: I will get salary daily…

Think differently to gain success….

New friends may be a poem but old friends are like alphabets,so if u forget the alphabet u cannot read the poem

Ammavin anbu,kuzhanthayin sirippu,,kaathaliyin mutham…ithai yellathayum vida inimaiyaanthu nee sonna ntha 3 vaarthai…”quarter vaangi tharraen”..

2 men searchin for their lost wives..

1^st: hw ur wife look like?

2^nd: 5’11,36-24-36,fair,bold,blue eyes,sexy.what abt urs?

1^st: forget mine.letz search urs.

Puli ku munnadi pona maanum

Ponnuku pinnaadi pona aanum nalla vaazhnthatha sarithiramae illa.

Petrol potu car ottalamnu solraangha

Diesel potu car ottalamnu solraangha

Gas potu car ottalamnu solraangha

Thanni potu car ottina mattum police aen pudikkiraanga?

Mini scissors-59mm

Scissor-68mm

Scirs filtr-69mm

Gold flake 68mm

Gold filter-69mm

Wills-74mm

Kings-84mm

Kaja Beedi-59 mm

Information is wealth.

Love the 1 who cares 4 u, care the 1 who shares with u,share the 1 who knows u,know the 1 who miss u, but don miss the 1 who is –“MADE 4 U”

Commonly my heart is gold,one competition comes will lion,truth telling,good doing,victory up victory come,dancing,singing,celeberating,happiness seeing everyday..can’t understand translate to tamil.

People are made to be loved and things are made to be used. The confusion in the world is people are being used and things are being loved.

Failure should never go to ur heart and success shud never go to ur head..be simple..think positive..

Life is small-Live it

Love is short-feel it.

Anger is injurious-dump it

Troubles are momentary-face it.

Memories are sweet-remember it

Problemis just the distance between expected and the reality.So either expect less or accept reality.Problem is no more.

Once all village ppl decided to pray fr rain. On d day all ppl gathered.Only one boy came with umbrella. That is faith. Believe in urslef!

Balance sheet of Life:

Birth-opening balance

Death-closing balance

Soul-Fixed Asset

Brain-Fixed deposit

Heart-current asset

Thinking-current account

Creative-capital

Character-stock in trade

Friends-general reserve

Behavior-goodwill

Patience-interest earned

Love-dividend

Children-bonus issue

Education-patents

Knowledge-investments

Experience-premium account.

Diary kurippuhal..

It was some time in the dawn of millennium, 2001 ,when i occasionally used to visit classes at CEG. And in all those occasions for almost a couple of years I managed to carry a diary with me. In that diary I did a lot of scribbling. A lot. Some decipherable, some idiotic, some poetic (supposedly). In this section I would like to share some of those scribblings. One such …on lines of thinking of that age (22 or 23)...and also guess halfway through i ve abandoned the english (an incompleteness prevails) version and hopped to tamil...both versions here..

SSIk.....

Lady on my lap

A hand on her hip

My lip on her lip

We just start with a sip

With increasing grip

Inside her will I dip

A feeling that rip

My heart away..

மங்கையவளை மடியிலிட்டு

மல்லிகை கொடியிடை பற்றி

பெண்பூ முகம் வருடி

பனியிதழில் புதைந்து

இதழ்த்தேன் பருகிட

பற்றியது தீவிரவாதம்

பார்ப்போமே ஜெயிப்பது யார் வாதம்,

பருகினோம் மாற்றி மாற்றி தேனதை

பிறவி பயன் தந்தனள் தேவதை.

பசியும் தீராத

தேனும் தீராத

புனித தேடல் இது.

தேடல் மேலும் வலுக்கிறது

தேன் மேலும் சுவைக்கிறது

ஊண் உயிர் எரிகிறது

கடவுள் புரிகிறது?

முயலொத்த பருவ வேகத்தில்

முற்றில்லா அன்பின் யாகத்தில்

முடிவில்லா மோக தாகத்தில்

முத்தத்தால் மாண்டும்

முத்தத்தால் மீண்டும்

முழக்கமிட்டோம் காதலை,

கடவுள் புரிந்தது.

Rambles- SIVAJI is the BOSS

There seems to be no satiation with SIVAJI. True to the name (BOSS) thalaivar has stamped his authority over the box office. I would not just want to end up writing a review of the movie. I know it is already too late to review Sivaji. Let me try and talk in general about the movie, more about thalaivar and even more about comments,reviews i had come across in th past week. To be frank there are people who have written off anything and everything about Sivaji as mere hoopla or sorts. Some of them have reviewed the movie and in all those i see a common thing. A Kind of oblique remark in the beginning of their reviews like, "Fans of Rajini may not like this review and hence do not read beyond". As like that , people who never believed rajini is a seasoned versatile actor, down to earth humble person ,an unchallenged SUPERSTAR can still read further and know how wrong you had opined all your life.

The movie is simply a riotous relish to be reveled. That simply sums up the Sivaji expereience. First and all it's about thalaivar's look. Right from the first snaps of the movie was released everybody was convinced that thalaivar has been picturized in the best of his looks. And it is evident in each and every frame of the movie. Thalaivar simply rocks. what i loved about his looks or in general about thalaivar was how he has stretched himself to unimaginable limits. Shankar definitely has done the trick. Thalaivar doing a RAP,appearing fully bald ,rewinding his hairstyles, all exciting hairdos, scintillating transformations to MGR,Sivaji,kamal all were just fascinating. And whatever thalaivar does he does it so convincing.A special mention has to be made about his looks in the vaaji song. The roman emperor kind of looks (one with beard and one without) is simply style & majesty redefined. As to the acting part thalaivar does it at ease. The first half comic sequences are easily acted by thalaivar as like breathing . The way thalaivar holds on to the act of "vaanga pazhahalaam" is easily admirable. It is a deceptive way prevelant in general to keep emphasizing on a particular thing,only to make all look silly and easily win the opponent. and the other track of being black is also an easily relatable sequence. Some people say it was a cheap comedy based on racial attitude. All that one can say is you people are really going overboard and this is a very very much relatable sequence. Watch out the scene where in thalaivaar suddenly pops out of a tub filled with some sandal paste kind of thing and everyone around is scared and thalaivar mouths "Kazhuvittu vantha chumma kamalahaasan maari iruppaen". Itheh rasikka theriyathavangala enna nu solla?And he convinces us as the frustrated citizen who faces obstacles in his path to his goals. And when finally he decides to take on the baddies and the system is when the screen starts spitting fire. The tea kadai scene is easily the pick of the movie. one should see the elan oozing every inch of that scene. the way thalaivar whistles (in this he makes a statement like ,naangha yellam basic eh conductor di...), mouths those dialogues "bajji saapdu, athuleh paathi kudu...haan bajji leh illa kanna". Tailor made dialogues executed to precision by thalaivar. What thalaivar starts as a personal revenge gets converted in to a mission of noble cause. Thalaivar gets the taste of black money and decides to unearth them to be used for all useful purpose. To get a bit euphemistical even Gandhiji took up the noble cause only after some personal inflicts. So does thalaivar takes up the issue on a larger scale. Also it is a bit of robinhoodic like robbing the thieves. And i really don't get when people say there is no big story in this movie. May be a lackof full length,amma,thangachi senti or kathal ethirppu makes look like a story is absent. AndFYI shankar's movie always had a one line story and his movie is all about how he presents that one line. With themomentum picking up with every second in the second half, all hell breaks when the bald rajini enters. It is jus exhilarating rajini at his best. Thalaiavar could at any time beat the best villain hands down. And towards the end of the movie when he is supposed to turn as bad as the villains, the trick is more than done by the bald get up. Watch out thalaivar flashing into the room and saying "Boss,Mottai Boss"....then fingers some beats on his bald head. Gooose bumps yaar. Just imagine any anybody else to do such a shot without you laughing. I must admit here that every section be it the story,screenplay,music,editing had scope for improvement. It will always be there. But one man stands to defy all those shortcomings and enthrall you,excite you and maek you feel entertained at last.

There has been comments from neutral people (Mostly in US) like tickets are overpriced and this might lead to a trend of overpricing for tickets in general. And they say "Rich (Rajini) get richer...poor(fans) get poorer"...namma dialoguenamakkae...enna kodumai ithu sir?? Every sick movie with some saleable star gets a good opening and the tickets are always overpriced. Rajini has definitely been there in those mad sickness. But thalaivar has really grown beyond that and these are genuine demands. The genuine demand in me to see thalaivar on screen allows me to spend some extra bucks. So are millions and millions of fans. The monetary aspect is very important and the most importnat in any business. And here too it applies. But thalaivar's movie is something beyond that. "Vonaaya irunthu paartha thaan athoda nyayam puriyum". Another hilarious comment i read was when some one scathingly remarked "all hype for an old one time bus conductor" and there was this reply "Yes , a one time BMTC bus conductor who earns more than BMTC now".Nethi adi. Another general feeling is that the first half comedies were a bit childish or amateurish. Well thalaivar's fan are cut across age and class. What might seem silly to one may seem merrier to another. And thalaivar has the obligation to cater to all of them. This is also th case with the fights.Life is about being everything. But unfortunately practically it is impossible. So we need superstars and fascinations on screen to satiate all our undefinable,unexplainable, may be queer feelings. You need a thalaivar to sit like that and say with arrogance "MGR um naan thaan Sivaji um naaan thaan ". Again goose bumps.Thalaivar does that impeccably. People without such feelings, better luck next birth.

PS:seen the movie only once. Will see it again this weekend and will be back with more on Sivaji and especially on thalaivar and his dialogues.

One Tight Slap

So Finally , Ford refuses to coach ego bloated Indian team. A heavy blow rather. OR is it Graham Ford was offered less?(prime reason cited for refusal is the one year contract tenure!!!)....maybe his emotional stress willnot break even with a years remuneration. Hell!! so lets see what the nuts at BCCI are gonna do now.

cricketing controversies continues...

Really getting on one's nerves when browse through channels for the evening news and u hear those lines on the title. This time it's about the coach. Senior players (now that this term is being often used some one should clarify as to who actually constitute this gang) and the interim coach after thorough research has recomended Graham Ford for the post of coach and the man who heads the committee for ppointment of coach, sunil gavaskar in a unprepared manner has recomended john emburey as the coach. And seems the meeting failed to finalise on the appointment of a coach and apparently the senior players are unhappy with Sunil gavaskar's attitude towards the meeting. So why don't you senior players just slap sunny and jerk on his face. what empowers him so much to jeopardize the proceedings however miniscule might it be of importance as pertaining to national interest. Hight time BCCI opens up more about it's management . I can assure that offlate cricketing interests have plubged to all time low. So "Sunny ur dinner is ready (remember the goodold solidaire ad)". Just go eat em and shit em in ur own bathrooms u idiot. Not in the public u asshole.

R the Power

Over tea break , while fumbling names for a coleagues due baby another colleague just threw in a phrophecy thatNames containing the letter "R " have a special power in them and suggested to chose such one. well of the seven peopel we were there, 3 people had R in their names. Now just on a genreal look MohanDas KaRamchand gandhi, JawahaRlal NehRu, IndiRa gandi, Rajiv gandhi, M.G.R, kaRunanidhi, Jayalalitha, Anna, PeRiyar, Amithab Bachan, AishwaRya Rai, IlaiyaRaja,A.R.Rehman, R.D.Burman, George Bush,Bill Clinton, Rajinikanth, kamlahassan,maniRatnam, Abdul Kalam, PeRvez MushaRRaf, Sachin TendulkaR, Kapil Dev, Vivian Richards, Mao tse tung, Joseph stalin, Lenin, Che GuveRa, SubRamaniya BhaRahiyaR,Mayawathi,Sonia gandhi, N.T.R,...oooppps...etc...thatz a whole lot of people who were, are popular, famous, powerful. But still being powerful is more different than being famous and popular. So doe the R ring in those powerful names?

on t he loose

last weekend june 2 and 3 was in chennai and saw how literally every inch of soil was used to prate about 84th B'day of MK.now that is what one can call a B'day bash.well am not bashing anyone here. Some observations out of the closing meeting they had on june 3rd.

1)The oratory skills of the next generation of DMK leaders looks so bleak. Both in language and content wise they still (s)talk like nymphs. The fledglings, it seems, never learnt from the guru.

2)Paeraasiriyar, though most of the time is seen in his own world of nose scratching and pan fumbling mouth is one revelation before the mic. Hell he still raises hairs with his speech. In a short and sweet, unlike his apperance he summed up his party's and Mk's journey with a thumping elegance.

3)MK, neengha nallavaara?kettavara?. Whatsoever you may be "lest you gone, there is no leader whom a tamilian can look up to grow".Neeyae tamizhanin kadaisi muzhumuthal thalaivan. There is going to be a great void after you. What?JJ, VAIKO, Gaapdan.....chumma moodikitu pongappa.

ramble of a rapscallion mind.

There in the middle of the day you sit, staring, trying to subterfuge the cacophonic puerile, ineluctable though might they be, scream that might serve catharsis. Nay , spook ain’t me. Dour seems to be all. All is not all. Palliate extenuate as can’t I deign to spite thine. Ache abut abound. Swirl the nape. Butt the ache. Rake ya will to Jake. Live for a sake. Sake that keeps ya wake. Need a break? Besot with wine and song. But, not for long. Day doesn’t long for ever. Every day added only make thy life.

The World of majidi-COLOR OF PARADISE (Rang e Khoda)

With this movie majidi scales exotic heights in tems of visual beauty and subdued scintillating story telling style. In one of my previous posts i had penned my thoughts about the tamil movie mozhi. Actually i would have raved so much about that movie and would have sort of said that to be a definition of a feel good movie . And it on a whole got a spectaular reception across movie buffs. Both these movies handle the world of differently abled. But let me tell you frankly that Color of Paradise proves a ton times to be better than mozhi. No idea of belittling a movie or a director. Just wanted to compare and scale them so as also to understand the void in tamil cinema to create more sensible pictures. With no further digression let us get back to he world of majidi.

Majidi in this movie captures the world of a 8 year old Blind boy Mohammed. Mohammed studies ina school for the blind in tehran far away from his family. His family comprosis of his widowed father, 2 sisters and a doting grndmother. Now the father has a problem. He wants to get re married and mohammed could be a possible barrier. As it might take his whole life to care of the poor blind boy. He tries to plead with the scool authorities to have him with them for ever. The school refuses , as it is customary to shut down all activities for 3 months and all children will have to be taken back to their families. Which the father does, rather without a choice. The movie takes off with this plot. And the director captures the myriad emotions that undergo between the boy who craves for love, the father who hopes he still commands a more better life than just to support his blind son, the doting grnadmother who only loves and keeps loving to see both her son and the grandson are happy for ever. As like any other majidi film the plot remains simple. It never thickens or wades. You might even get a feeling if at all will the movie gather to a momentum. But majidi's world as such is like that. He keeps the plot and narration as simple as that.

Let me Reinforce the opinion that i have never ever seen a movie to depict so sensibly the world of differently abled. The mouth in general should only be a mouth piece of the heart. But in many circumstances it isn't. In such cases the eyes speak for what the heart needs and the mouth will not. But a blind child does not even have that option. He can only speak his heart with his mouth. So is mohammed. Like any blind child, also as told by the boy himself he uses his fingertips to understand this world. He feels everything, be it his braille lessons, his sister, the blossomed flowers, his adoring granny, the beach sands, the bird, everything. He constanlty feels them and still he is in pursuit of feeling only one. GOD. He eternally searches for him. The boy who has acted as mohammed is a revelation especially given the fact that he is no professional actor. Watch out the scene where he breaks down to the blind carpenter (to whom mohammed is ent by his father to live his rest of the life) as to how he yearns for love, to see God and many more and all that evades him only because he is Blind. Any heart should melt for this. The Father who is always in a dilemma , has been well acted by the concerned actor. He is just another ordinary man who wants more in life. But at cost will he get more and will he consciously pay that? Caught between them is the boys grandmother who fights her best to keep the boy. But when finally loses she is just shsttered. Shattered as to care for whose future.her son or her grandson? The characterization of the grandmother is shown to be very strong,sympathetic but only with the limitatations of a woman. Each character simply speak their heart.

I was stunned by some shots in the movie. The opening sequnce, in which the screen is just blank and the characters only keep speaking. It might get annoying, but the director simply fixes in our mind how the world of blind works.No visuals , only sounds. Such a exhilarating sequence is that. Also the constant use of animal sounds to portray emotions like fear (grunt if a wild animal), happyniess (birds chirping). Also the director establishes the mohammed's character as one which constantly studies everuthing he hears and feels. he tries to decode everything fromt he beach sandes to the wood peckers peck. He wants to know everything in his world. And for the closing sequence as in where the boy and fahter are caught in a flood and the boy is about to drown. The father is now contemplating if he has a choice. What choice does he take and what exactly happens is brought out in a stunning visual sequence. We have seen innumerable movies where we all are supposed to be gasping in the final sequnce as to wether the protoganist is live or dead. And they end with a toal goof up of a sequence Here in with the aid of camera and music the director lays a definition for how such sequences should be made. I can sure tell you it is the most haunting and stupendous scens i have ever seen. Majid's world is always stupendous.

The World of majidi-BARAN.

It has been some time now that i have been introduced to the world of majid majidi by a good friend of mine. Majid Majidi , the Iranian director makes films that stamps the notion that a perfect frame or visual can tell more than what infinite words can tell. I had already written in this blog about “Children of Heaven”, my first tryst with the then unbeknownst majidi’s beautiful world. Now I had opportunity to see two more of his fils “BARAN” and “Color of Paradsie”. With Baran i shall be honest that it did not exactly create the same feeling as children of heaven did. Nevertheless it is definitely a great movie to be watched. And guess what the movie enlightened me as to how beautiful and exotic a geographic is this country called Iran. Some visuals in the movie are simply exhilarating. May be the reason why I baran did not strike too much a cord was may be my expectations of majidi wre soaring sky high after a children of heaven. The story of Baran is simple. Well some days back I received a SMS titled “A small Love Story”. The SMS read like this “ there was a blind girl. She hated everyone except her boy friend. She used to tell him that “if I had eyes I would have married u.after somedays some one donated eyes to the gal. She saw her boyfriend. Surprised! He was also blind. The boy asked her “now u have eyes will u marry me”. The girl was calm for some time and said “NO”. The boy walked away silently and told her softly……”TAKE CARE OF MY EYES”. Well the movie’s story is in those lines. Majidi explores how a naïve obscure adolescent boy falls for a girl. Like umpteen Tamil movies here in also the boy and girl start as enemies. But only here it is so sensible and hearty. The love the boy beholds for the girl and the transformation it brings in to him are brought out in a simple, neatly etched screen play. I find a striking character in majidi’s movies. He cans a particular shot many times. If in children of heaven you were often seeing the scene where in the brother and sister meet to exchange the shoes here it is the scene where the boy stealthily tries to get a glimpse of the gal when she comes to work daily (They both happened to work in a the same construction site). As like the former case this oft repeated scene is a pleasure every time you watch. These just might be enough to make a interesting picture. But what takes Baran to greater heights is the Circumstances the director have handled to etch out this simple story. The director picks up the concept of Afghan refuges who fled to Iran and the generations who have never been in their mother land. The girl here is basically a refugee. What does that mean. She is not legally supposed to live or earn a life of her own. She does not possess a identity. She does not have any rights for anything. All that she can do is just wait for governments to decide their fates. She is nothing as such. So are millions of refugees. Does such a refugee girl have a right to fall in love? Find out the answers from the face of that girl in that movie. Majidi makes us understand the plight of these refugees, as simple as a nursery poem. As via the boy character majidi establishes how powerful love is and what transformations would it bring in an Individual. How sacrifice shall become integral part of any love. Sacrifices, for not some one to understand, appreciate and expect reciprocation in any possible manner. Sacrifice-just to ensure the happiness of your loved ones. And do such sacrifices have a limit? Again find out stunning answers from majidi’s boy. Thanks Shaik for introducing me in to this fantastic world of majidi.

PS: i do not know if the readers get a bit weird about me oft repeating the director's name , majidi. I have a reason.A recent tamil movie called "Paruthi Veeran" which was a brilliant work by the director Ameer. However due to some differences with the director the producer tried to overshadow the director by minisculing his names in promos and other stuffs. However nothing could stop from the director getting the appropriate accolades. Movie will always be a director's forte. And my fascination for them will be for ever. And i naturally tend to be a more biased towards them.

The Gal Factor-Decade of Undecayed Friendship-Part IV

If colleges are heaven then gals are angels.

Hail from sky

Angels are thy.

Beauty abound

Birds are they all around,

Lascivious some bound.

Whoever thou art

Wedge my heart.

At distances so long

Sky doth kiss the sea a song

When thou nigh

Shall see how high

the sea rise for the sky

only but returns with a sigh

so am I.

A thing of beauty is joy for ever. Hail Keats. He definitely would have said these about the women. Blah blah blah. This could be a very ordinarily existent ramble among any average college guy. But you tend to forget we were no ordinary average guys. We never liked gals. We did know keats, but we did not buy his argument. Atleast with gals. May be a true maxim is that they never liked us. But why one should always be liked. So shall, we ask great logical questions. Guess it is time for a disclaimer. Now it is only I share what we have experienced in our college life. That might or might not depict the big picture or in general about gals. I will leave that for you to decipher.

One could say that more than not liking gals we never felt them to be a part of us. Well to have that said in a crude manner would sound like we had no necessity whatsoever a kind with them. Now in my previous blogs I had discussed about the general characters, habits, habitats, about the fantastic 14. Now no good gal would like to be part with that. So we are left only with the bad gals. But knowingly why would you ever befriend a bad one? A bad one by our standards be it man or woman does not become our friend. Not even our enemy. Once in a while philosophy is allowed.

Ok all said and done, is that am saying that all we were misogynist. No way. As I think no man on this earth could ever be misogynist. At the best one can be a hypocrite. We never knew to be a hypocrite. And misogynic being non existent, all that drives the same point we only did not need them. Not need them for what? To whatever we did. Add to that all those crazy stuffs boys do for gals that makes them so unnatural, on does have several reasons to be on their own.

Now those crazy stuffs are hallmark of any college. The LH gate being the worst breeding ground of so many spoofs. People sitting, standing, doting, and dying there, as if that is the only good spot on earth and the only worthy job they have. When you hate something so much how could you ever think of being a part of that. We have always been to ourselves. Been the natural what we are. No not we were still in the stone ages. But in an age where men and women acted like stones rebutting all existence.

So whatz life without women. We definitely are not gays. We just only did not and will not stoop even a little to befriend a gal. stoops like acting smart before women, trying to over impress them. Well a point here is in doing such acts they make a great mockery of themselves . In course they might achieve something but only at the cost of wrath of peole like me who wouldn mind slapping such guys. And It could only get so insane when people just spend 26 hours of 24 hours thinking only how could they ever be like this without a gal friend. Spit on them. C’mon we might have missed some joy without this gal factor. But look at you. You have missed a whole lot of fun man, only just for some faking fun and pleasure with gal friends. And there exists a character in all college, the supposedly romeo who all gals flock. Smack em. Name it jealousy, desperation. But just smack em. One good reasons boys go around gals is that they are regular to class,sincere ones who writes all notes. So they can be helpful in studies. Here also they fail our standards.

So there was no space within us for the gal factor. Until only they decide that they will not enter. But every gang has a black sheep and in our case it shall be a liberal plural, black sheeeepssss. All bout the black sheeps and their sheepiness , wait and watch.

தொடர் வதை

On that rhapsodic note, i did write many similar so called kavithihal.கவிதைகள் துளிர்க்க பெருங்காரணம் ஒன்று கற்பனை காதல்கள். அந்த வகையிலான ஓர் கற்பனையில் எழுதப்ப்ட்டது இது. I do not know when exactly I scribbled this. May be sometime around 2001-2002.

தொடர் வதை

பூத்திருக்கும் மலரெல்லாம்
அவளை நினைவூட்ட
காணூம் கனவுகளில் அவள் எனை வாட்ட
தனிமையிலே அவள் நினைவாலே
புது ராகம் நான் மீட்ட
குளிர் நிலவும் கூட
அவள் முகம் காட்ட
நித்திரை நான் கொள்ளவே
தென்றலாய் எனையவள் தாலாட்ட
விடிந்து எழுந்தாள்
என் கடமைகள் எனை விரட்ட
அவள்தனை மறந்து வாழ்க்கை தேரோட்ட
முற்படும் போதும் முடியவில்லை
என் நினைவின் நிழலாய்
அவள் தொடர்வதை
ஆகையல் எனக்கு
தொடர் வதை

My Rhapsody-II

So back to haunt you with some translational poetics. This time it is a Alfred Tennyson Poem "The miller's daughter". The central theme is just lavshing praises about a beauatiful woman. I do not know if i have been able to be true to the original author's composition. My lesser knowledge denied me equivalent tamil words for words like "GIRDLE"(no it is not ஒட்டியானம்)..In any case the premise remains same as to heap praises for a beautiful lady. Here it goes.

The english Version:

The Miller's Daughter

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

It is the miller's daughter

And she is grown so dear, so dear,

That I would be the jewel

That trembles in her ear:

For hid in ringlets day and night,

I'd touch her neck so warm and white.

And I would be the girdle

About her dainty dainty waist,

And her heart would beat against me,

In sorrow and in rest:

And I should know if it beat right,

I'd clasp it round so close and tight.

And I would be the necklace,

And all day long to fall and rise

Upon her balmy bosom,

With her laughter or her sighs:

And I would lie so light, so light,

I scarce should be unclasp'd at night.


The Tamil version

மில்லர் வீட்டு மகள்

நரேந்திர பிரபு, 10-5-2005

சீமான் வீட்டுத் தாரகை

மோகன மேனகை

மலர்ந்தனள் மறைத்தனள்

உலகின் ஏனை அழகை.

காதோர ஜிமிக்கியாய்

கரை நான்.

கரை தொட மறுக்கும்

கடல் அலை

அவள் பூவிதழ் புன்னகை.

செங்கழுத்துச் சங்கிலியின்

சிற் மணிகளில் ஒன்றாய்

சாகும் வரை

சல்லாபித்திட , வேண்டும்

சிவனிட மிருந்து வரம்.

மானின் மா மார்பதை

மஞ்சமென

மையல் கொள்ளும்

மாண்புறு நகையாகிட

மண்றாடுவேன்

மனிதனாய் யெனை படைத்திட்ட

மகா பிரம்மனிடம்.

நகையாய் நானாகிட

நங்கை நெஞ்ச வெளியில்

நாளெல்லாம் நானாடிட

பஞ்சென புரள்வேன்

பாவை உடலெங்கும்.

புவியிரும் வரை

துடிக்கும் அவள் இதயத்தை

படிக்கும் பயன் எனக்கு.

My Rhapsody

For some strange reasons completely unknown to me I started scribbling contents into the formats of poem. I do not know if I am grammatically correct or even versed with the basic necessities of writing a poem. But as in any other case no body judges me. So being, my poems are born. Within whatever rules I can accept and within whatever less I know or have learnt I scribble these poems. There is too many “I”s in the previous sentence. Never mind them. Poet. You can catch a glimpse of my poetic thoughts and what they mean to me at www.narenbuzz.rediffblogs.com. I am currently in the process of integrating those poems into this current active blogspace of mine.

In this part which I would like to call “My Rhapsody” I am gonna try and translate a few English poems I had come across in my life. A few they are, being learnt mostly in school days. The translated and original versions may not cognate in each and every aspect, but sure will in its central theme. I would like to kick start this series with the poem of William Wordsworth.

The Daffodils
by:William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of the bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

இனி தமிழில்

பூக்களின் பாக்கள்

ஆக்கம்: நரேந்திர பிரபு, 03-05-2007

விண் உலா வரு

முகவரி யில்லா முகிற்போல

வீண் உலா வரு நான்,

குளக்கரை யோரமாய்

காற்றின் இசைக்கு அசையும்

கவிண் மலர் கூட்டம்

கண்டேன்; கவித் தேன்.

வான மங்கை முகத்து

வனப்பு கூட்டும்

விண்மீன் பருக்கள் கணக்காய்

வரிசையாய் வரையற்று,

பார்வை யொன்றில்

பத்தொள்ளாயிரம் கணக்காய்

பரவச நடன மாடும்

பூக்கள்; பாக்கள்.

சிங்கார சிரிப்பினில்

சற்றே சிதறடிக்கின்றன

சிற்றலைகளின் சினுங்கள் நடனங்களை,

பசித்திரு பித்தன் எனக்கு

பூத்திரு மலர் தரு

பரவச நட்பு;களிப்பு.

பல நாட்களில்

புவி துறந்து

பிணக்கமற்ற தனிமையிலே,

உள்மனதில் மகிழ்வின்

ஊற்றாய் விரியும்

உன்னத மலர்களின் ஆட்சி

தீரா தனிமையின் தாகத்திற்கு

தேவாமிர்தம் தரும் காட்சி ;

மனம் கொள்ளும் மாட்சி,

அறியும் இறைவன் சாட்சி.

Children of Heaven & Cinema Paradiso

Children of Heaven: Much wisdom often goes with fewer words. This happens to be true with this Iranian movie . The movie is about two siblings. So much less is spoken in the movie. But yet these siblings enter your hearts at ease with all those solem expressions. The plot is simple. The brother, on his way back home after repairing his sister's shoes loses them. It is a grave tragedy for them. As his father canot afford to buy her sister a new shoe. He explains it to the sister and gets her confidence too about not informing their father. Now as they attend schools in different times they agree to share the brother's sneakers. How they manage to share the shoe, while their father manages to earn some money to buy new shoes for the kids is the film all about. The director Majid Majidi using this small plot crafts a masterpiece which brings before your eyes the plight of a poor iranian family. The boy always has a expression like he is always afraid but will never give up to try. He never shows his confidence on his face. May be rather his age would not allow him. But still he handles each and every problem so daringly only to make things comfortable for each and everyone he loves. The girl on the other hand too believes in his brother as she too believes that she can't trouble her father. This little girl's portrayal as to how she helps her mother, takes care of a little Kid all adds on to make this character more lovable. small scenes like how the family shares whatever little they have with the neighbour makes the movie more lovable. There is this scene where the brother waits on the streets for his sister to return and get the shoes and run late to the school every day. Though this scene comes again and again the newness, freshness in each scene be it the expressions of the kids makes us believe the remorse yet hapless kids' struggle. Two things that i reaffirmed after watching this movie

1)If an authentic classic movie is that without even a tithe of extra noise, music, expression,focus,..then this is a perfect Example.

2)Children are really from heaven....they can melt ur heart for whatever they are.


Cinema Paradiso: Biopics are really tough. Very few movies could make you engage with them and make you ask for more. Ironically sicily has been related with one of the finest biopic ever produced-The Godfather. Cinema Paradiso also has its roots from a small town in sicily where a fifth grade boy develops a unintended fascination for movies. The movie is actually a nostalgic trip of Salvatore (also called Toto) who returns to his native town after 30 years for the funeral of his mentor. After 30 years salvatore returns to get a glimpse of all those reminiscence only with a hope as to find the real joy and love. The move starts off around the period of second world war. The boy, whose father has been taken as a prisoner of war lives with his mother and his small sister. He does small errands for the local priest. The town has a movie hall called cinema paradiso where in people flock to forget all the war woes by watching movies. All such movies are censored by the local priest to delete kissing & other profane scenes. It is during one of such censor sessions that the small boy manages to sneak and get a glimpse of the movies. However it is not movie that fascinates him. Rather it is its origin, the projector room. The operator Alfredo though at first scares the boy away later due to circumstances befriends him and become a fatherly figure or a mentorlike for him. In an accident Alfredo loses his eye sight and the operator job is given to toto for he can support his family, as the news of death of his father is confirmed. Toto grows in that projector room only surrounded by cinema. It teaches him all. At the college he falls in love with a girl called Eleana. However circumstances lead to their seperation. Now Alfredo advises him to grow out of the memories of the lost love and move to rome and make a big career. So does Toto. He becomes a succesful filmmaker. But no happiness prevails. It is then when Alfredo dies and he returns to his native after 30 years. The movie is a perfect example where the sum of parts add to a holisitc entertainment. The childhood part of salvatore is so cutely picturised showing the pranks of Toto. The sufferings of the war is brought out euphemistically via the audience reactions to the movie. That part where in salvatore returns is poignant to every frame. The dialogues be it Alfredo's advice to Toto, Toto and his mother's conversation leave a indelible impression. They are soft, simpl yet powerful.Take this for example, Toto returns to his town after 30 years where he is received by his mother and she just asks the pretty normal question "Was your Journey Safe?".For this Toto replies "it was just an hours flight".The mother replies back "You don't have to say this after 30years". Cinema Paradiso is never melodramatic. Nonetheless never misses an expression or feeling. It captures them all at the right proportions and at the right intentions. This is one movie without which the classic collections may never be complete.

The Last Bench Leitmotif.-Decade of Undecayed Friendship-Part III

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.

I have no doubt that John Milton was very much our kinda person. We the EcCEntereic guys. Dictionary defines eccentric as deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd: We were all of that. To start off in Laloo style if sitting in the last benches was a crime or a demeaning act no class room should have last bench. But as much u can't do away with those last benches, so can't you with people who relish them. Relish for what??. Damn the tamil movies for always showing the college lives in a poor taste and the last benches in even deceitful taste. They are all but just cinematic and we never induldged in anything of that sorts.

We knew what we wanted out of each class we attended. Coincidentally it was the same that we were expecting from each and every class we had attended.ATTENDANCE. It is a ceremony which usually happens at the end of the class or sometimes at the very beginning. In any case of a one hour class you just need to wait for that one second to answer up ur called name. so you are still the recluse for the remaining 3599 seconds. Now being a recluse within certain boundaries sitting in a paradise of our own without getting disturbed by the hell surrounding you for a time period of almost an hour is no Joke. It is in a art by itself.

Many a professor have this habit of throwing intermittent questions to the classroom while teaching. And any time such questions prop up and before he completes the question only his eyes will drool over the last benches and the constant adage would append any question "Anyone from the last benches". Now you have to be intact like the Gladiators. All last benchers will bend down and see very much seriously into the diaries, notebooks, whatever they managed to grab it up for the class. You will have to create a impression as if no last bench exists. You will not relent until the professor goes to the next step of calling out individuals. Now if you are wearing a bright colour shirt or have a tonsured head sort of things there is a very much chance that you will get caught. Because no professor likes calling out names of the last benchers. they simply call "you yellow shirt", "you mottai" etc. Now if it is you who get fixed you will slowly raise your eyes from those empty pages of ur diary and rise slowly from your seat. You don't get excited or frightened of any kind. We just hold the attitude "Okay you want to play this again. Well am game". You do not give any definitive expression of knowing or not knowing the answer. You will just be as numb as possible. Never ever try to understand the question. There is a possibility that u totally misunderstand the question and goof up with stupid answers. So just apply the simple rules. Be expressionless, do not utter a word. May be the best choice is stare at the wall. You know no sorrow is not passable. All this only till your neighbour friend who all this while was a bit laughing outside and praying inside to not to be called gets caught. Now he also stands and you got a companion. Now you can transfix your stare from the walls to your neighbor friends eyes. And the routine continues till the whole bunch of last benchers are on their legs. Now you have every right to loosen up your body language and stare straight in to the face of the professor literally asking "When the hell would you guys grow up"?????". Now this is kind of battle. You keep winning each battle until the final war of degree is won. At any point of time you never lose your heart. Be assertive enough to Tame any professor. The ultimate achievement is when professors understand that we want nothing but attendance and they could grant that with only looks and not calling out the names. But what is important is that many a front benchers too will not know the answer. They always lived under our shadow.

When all these drama gets over you get back to your business. You open you diary and start refining your signature. You keep practicing and refining them by signing your name page affter page. When that gets a bit tedious and you feel you are tired of that, you pull up one of your neighbour friend for a game of word building. Now that is a highly literary game. In any case do not forget to give the regular momentary glances at your professor. Only just to mark your presence in the class. Meanwhile you sort out various issues like whether or not to attend the next class, prvious night dinner accounts settlement, wherzz the destination for lunch, why some gal is looking too good today, pursuing your artisitc abilities by trying to draw some meaningul figures and logos, wrting down your name in bold, italics, etc.

There are lot of activities happening there. somtimes something can really get so good.
Crosswords. simply the best. Just shows the height of literary activities happening at the top of the class. kavithaihal. Now that you have professors, pandus all around you , you simply have enough reasons to shun this materialistic world and enter your own utopian world. Then words flow out to create all those memorable poems. Still remember the poem by this guy duniya who was yet again nicknamed "Loosu". The poem was about his infatuation (or was it the real love?) for another real loosu. the poem was touchy, comedic and classic. No doubt that such gems would have never seen the light of the day if it was not for the Last bench leitmotif. So much the last bench has become an integral part of our college life. In any classroom and any circumstance our legs would only move towards the last benches. because that is where exactly our hearts are. The divine place where we had enough time for everything but to study. But who the heck wanted to study. The holy place where we learnt the virtues of patience. The place where we learnt every sorrow is passable, as every class will have to end. The place where we dreamt of all those unattainable loves. The place which definitely made us being more knowledgeable if not for being more educated.

நட்பின் பரிணாம வளர்ச்சி-பாகம் II ..The BASICs

முரண் என்றொரு வார்த்தை உள்ளது தமிழில். எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த ஓர் வார்த்தை. இரவு பகல்,காலை மாலை, வெயில் குளிர்,காய் கனி எல்லாம் முரண்பட்டவை. ஆயினும் ஒவ்வொன்றும் அழகே. பிறிதொன்றோடு ஒப்பிட இயலாத தனி தனி அழகும் சுவையுமுடையது அவைகள். பெரும்பாலும் புறக்கணிக்க இயலாத இன்றியமையாமை ஆகிவிடுகின்றன் அவைகள். அதி காலையும் அந்தி மாலையும் எப்பொழுதும் கிறக்கம் தரும் கவிதை ஊற்றுகளாகும். ஆழ யோசித்தால் அவை தம் தனி தன்மைகளே அவைகள் முரண் பட்டிருக்க காரணம் ஆகும். மனிதர்கள் மட்டும் விதி விலக்கல்லவே. ஆறாம் அறிவுடைய ஒரே காரணத்தால் மனிதன் கொண்ட முரண்கள் மோதல்கட்கு உட்படுத்தப் படுகின்றன்.

அது போலவே தான் fantastic 14 இல் உள்ள ஒவ்வொருவருமே. ஒவ்வொறுவரும் முரணே. இருப்பினும் பத்தாண்டு காலமாக எங்களை பிணைந்திருக்க செய்திருக்கின்றன சில பல அடிப்படை விசயங்கள். The BASICS. எவ்வளவு தான் உயரப் பறந்தாலும் ஊர்க்குருவி பருந்து ஆக முடியாதுனு சொல்லுவாங்க. நாங்க எல்லாம் ஊர்க்குருவியானாலும் சரி பருந்தானாலும் சரி நாங்க பறக்குறது தான் உயரம்னு சொல்றவங்க. இதை நீங்க confidence nu சொல்லலாம். இல்லை திமிர் பிடித்த தெனாவட்டுனும் சொல்லலாம். அதை தங்களின் எண்ணப் பிதற்றலுகளுக்கே விட்டு விடுகிறேன். நாங்க அதை “நாங்க எல்லாம் BASIC ஆவே” அப்படினு தான் சொல்லிக்குவோம். சில forward mails வரும். 50 facts about men னு குளிக்க மாட்டாங்க, துணியை துவைச்சு போட்டுக்க மாட்டாங்க அப்படி இப்படினு. ஆவைகள் பெரும்பாலும் கூடுதல் சுவைக்காக சற்றே exaggerate செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கும். ஆனால் இந்த facts about “எங்க Basic’s” எல்லாம் உண்மையே. உண்மையை தவிர வேறொன்றுமில்லை. இதை சொல்வதில் எனக்கு எந்த கவலையுமில்லை. Fantastic 14 ல இருக்க மத்தவங்க..hmm..அவங்கள பத்தி எனக்கு கவலை இல்லை. ஏன்னா நாங்க எல்லாம் BASIC ஆவே அப்படி தான்.

Disclaimer:

The following characteristic are very much the character of each and every guy of the fantastic 14.

1) நாங்க எல்லாருமே ரொம்ப understanding. ஆனால் பிரச்சனை என்னவென்றால் எங்களோட அந்த understanding eh யாருமே understand பண்ணுறதில்லை. With an incredible sense of understanding and when we move to the next step people obviously get a feeling that we never understood what we had crossed. And this fact does not apply to academics.

2) ஏதாவது மிக மிக தவிர்க்க முடியாத காரணத்துக்காக மட்டும் தான் காலையில் சில நேரங்களில் எழுந்திருப்போம். இது ஏற்கனவே சொன்னது தான். ஆனால் எழுந்துவிட்ட ஒரே காரணத்துக்காக கடமையைச் செய்து முடித்துவிட மாட்டோம். We have the knack of dismissing any pending duty to be silly just for the cause of sleeping. This very much applies to academics.

3) பொதுவாக மற்றவர் புண்படும்படியாக நாங்கள் பேசவோ , செயல்களில் ஈடுபடவோ மாட்டோம். ஆனால் நிறைய பேசுவோம், நிறைய செயல்களில் ஈடுபடுவோம். அவ்வகையில் மற்றவர் புண்படும்படியாக ஏதேனும் நிகழ்ந்துவிட்டால் பாவ மன்னிப்பு கேட்க கூட தயங்க மாட்டோம். பிரச்சனை என்னவென்றால் மற்றவர்கட்கு மேலும் புண்ணாகலாம். We don’t hurt until some one really comes to us and tell that he is really hurt. You know I was saying we highly understand.

4) வாத்தியார்களை நாங்க ரொம்ப மதிப்போம். ஆனால் அவங்க தான் எங்களை மதிக்கறதே இல்லை. ஆதலால் அவ்வை சொன்ன மாதிரி மதியாதார் தலைவாசல் மிதியாதே னு பின்பற்றுவோம். இதை புரிஞ்சிக்காம வாத்திகளும் I & U Grade களா குடுத்து தள்ளுங்க. அப்போதெல்லாம் வள்ளுவன் சொன்னதை போல இன்னா செய்தாரை ஒறுத்து விடுவோம். அந்த வகையில் எதிரிக்கும் நண்மை செய்யும் குணம் கொண்டோம்.

5) பெண்களை பிடிக்கும்.

6) வீண் சண்டைக்குப் போக மாட்டோம். வம்புச் சன்டைக்கும் போக மாட்டோம்.ஆனால் வம்பு பண்ணிகிட்டே இருப்போம்.

7) சினிமா பார்ப்போம். மற்றவர்கள் மாதிரி வெறும் மூன்று மணி நேர பொழுது போக்காக மட்டுமல்ல. சினிமாவில் பார்க்கும் character களை நிஜ மனிதர்களுக்கு superimpose பண்ணி இன்னும் நிறைய களி கொள்வோம். I will bet you will get life time entertainments this way. J.மத்தபடி சினிமா பார்த்து கற்றுகொண்ட விசயம் வாழ்க்கையை எங்கள் அளவு படிக்காத பல பேர் சினிமா எடுத்து torture பண்ணுறானுங்க.

8) களவும் கற்று மற . அந்த வாக்கின் பெரும்பகுதியை கடந்துவிட்டோம். இன்னும் “மற” மட்டுமே பாக்கி. But I should say here that whatever we learn we learn it to the roots.

9) காதல். என்ன சொல்ல?அது ஆணித்தரனமாக எங்கள் யாரிடமும் இல்லாததே காரணம் என்று நினைக்கிறேன் இந்த “நட்பின் பரிணாம வளர்ச்சிக்கு”

10) நகைச்சுவை உணர்வு கொஞம் அதிகம் எங்களுக்கு. எத்தகு நிகழ்வாயினும்

அதன் தாக்கம் சிறிது நேரமே தாக்குப்பிடிக்கும் எங்களிடம். பின் அவை நிச்சயமாக நகைச்சுவையாக்கப் பட்டுவிடும். This is a very contagious habit we possess.

இன்று காலம் எத்துனை மாற்றங்களை எங்களுக்குள் ஏற்படுத்தி இருந்தாலும் இப்படியாக எங்களுக்குனு ஒரு உலகம், அதுல நாங்க எல்லாம் ஒரு type ஆன villainy hero. நாங்க எல்லாம் ரொம்ப நல்லவங்க. அப்படிங்கிற கூட்டுக்குள் வாழ்வதையே விரும்பறோம். மேலும் பரிணாமம் தொடரும்.

நட்பின் பரிணாம வளர்ச்சி-பாகம் I

ithu just beta version. Complete version soon.

கையளவு மனசுக்குள் தான்

உண்மைகள் பலவும்

வையத்தளவு உணர்வுகளும்

உலகறிந்திடாது உறங்குகின்றன.

உண்மையி னிடத்து உணர்வுகளும்

உணர்வி னிடத்து உண்மைகளும்

ஊமை யாகிடாத உன்னத

உறவு நட்ப தாகும்.

ஊரும் உறவும் அறிவாய்

உயிர் கொடுத்த தாயால்

உன்னை நீ அறிவாய்

உளமது கொண்ட நட்பால்.

Decade of Undecayed Friendship-Part I

It all started in August 1997. That’s when i stepped in to the humungous campus of College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University. It is a moment I cherished like never before. All my 17 years of past life looked so silly suddenly. First time I defied my dad's decision when he asked me to pursue Computer science engineering in REC . Nothing wrong. How else could one feel when you are going to study the second most sought after engineering discipline in the state's highest regarded campus? You have managed to top among lakhs of students to get into this coveted institute. And now it is universally accepted that I am the cream of Tamil Nadu. People around you are convinced that you have achieved almost everything in your life. Now that I am in Anna University my life is more safe, settled and secure. Enough reasons to be exhilarated. Stop it. All wrong. Wrong in all ways. No point in resurrecting those days. The mistakes were done and the damages were quite severe. It was severe to the extent of jeopardizing each and every aspect of your life. You have very few reasons to still keep hoping and fight back. I am no hypocrite in saying that friends were that for me. Because there were this so called friends who were so similar to me with so much same worries and miseries. That simply explains how understandings of friends were we? Hahahha…. may be konjam nahaichvayaha sollanumna..we were 5 people. Engalukku padippu na ennane theryathu. aana aasai irunthuchu mela padikkanum nu. So B.E kullayae higher studies padichom. puriyathavanghalukku a big sorrry. but go ahead the story will be more interesting. The story of “Decade of Undecayed Friendhip”.

It is very natural that certain relationships cannot be explained. The reason for that is that such relations become so omnipotent and omnipresent that it looks like almost does not exist, at least superficially. Hence u can't explain which does not seem to exist. Ippadi intha kathaya philosophical eh kondu pohalaam. Aana naangha basic eh appadi pattavangha illayae. Appadi aaha patta oru nanbarhalin pattalam patriya kathai ithu.

We would be the perfect cast if Steven Soderberg plans to return back to create the next mission of Danny Ocean. Ocean’s 14. If not Ocean’s 14 we were and are at least the Fantastic 14's. So you got it right, 14 members in the gang. Lets make things a bit clear here. Let me not take false pride that we 14 guys were and are the thickest of the friends for the last 10 years. Take for example my case, I happened to move along and join with this gang only from the second year of my college. So goes the case with few other members. But in any case under the current scenarios we have grown up our relations to the extent that we have been friends for centuries. So decade or less than decade of togetherness is just the superficious number. But the quality of friendship is like that one which has been immortal for centuries. No philosophy. controlllllll.

Ellathukkum oru pillayar suzhi irukkanum. Undoubtedly it was the two highly CIVILized guys. But it finally got rooted in because of Eight ECcEntric guys. To cut a long story short. ECE pasangha general eh nalla padikkaravangha. Civil pasangalum appadi thaan. irunthaalum namakku therinjha pasangah appadi pattavanghala illama poyitaangha. It was like those guys were more talented in various other aspects than studies. So CIVIL oda saerntha ECE um manakka arambichathu. Approm civil oda oors , roommates ECE oda oors roomamtes nu gang full form aahi set aahi rembha manakka aarambichuthu. Oorellam ore manam. suthatha theru illa. paarkatha cinema illa. pannatha saettai illa. CUT. Next shot

A peek into Fantastic 14's one day:

But for one or two guy the whole gang had no bloody necessity to start of the day by waking before 8:25 A.M . The problem with one or two guy was either they were too good (or had problems of insomnia). And the problem with the rest was we were also good enough to wake up at 8:25 A.M and go to the 8:30 A.M class at 8:45 A.M. Puriyuthu. Late eh poena vaathiyar ulla viduvara nu kaetkareengha? Appadi oru situation leh naangha 8:25 ku enthirikkave maatom. So no problem. So only for necessities, like missing out a class will lead to "I "grade or "U" grade (both grades are equivalent to failing) and with great stress only we would start our day by 8:25 A.M. Else waking up around cool 12 noon was the norm. You know you can't sleep in the terrace after that. It really gets too hot around 12. So you wake up at 12 noon and find that the guy who had gone for the 8:30 class is back and sleeping. Either he had enough of classes for the day or enough of aapu's for the day. In any case college for the day is over, but for some extreme reasons. So next target is lunch. Being in the rolls of mess was not a regular aspect. Hence we move out to Adayar or surrounding areas with our limited bikes. Now with the bikes there were two strict rules. Reservation is a priority. And whoever rides the bike will fill in the fuel. These are not like government rules. Strict rules. You ride and you will fill in fuel, though it is a different case altogether as to where from and how you source the fuel. So after a biryani or any sort of vivacious lunch you get so tired and u take a short nap. Short nap for 3- 4 hours. By the time you wake up its almost 7 P.M in the nite. Such a pleasant time to wake up you know. So all or available members gather to plan for the nite. Here is where the real problem starts. Too many opinions would flow in. The broader plan remains simple. Booze, Dinner, Movie, Mokkai (Mokkai means the art of unrelenting conversation you have over hours over various subjects. it could last as long as anything between one hour to 4 or 5 hours. The only conditions are that the subjects we discuss should be as useless as possible, and you take rounds in picking up on individuals. A great art though). Now that the broader plan of booze, dinner, movie, mokkai remains the same every day we just don't do everything every day. May be a combination of movie & mokkai, booze and mokkai, whatsoever fits economically and physically accessible for that day. But we were an immensely talented group and we never found it difficult to do all those activities in the same day and again and again. So after all master plans its time to be fresh and as presentable as possible. So at around 8:30 in the night after pushing some guys who love wandering with towels to dress up the real day starts. Depending on the availability of time you chose to sit or stand and drink amap (as much as possible) and again depending upon time have dinner in a restaurant or a roadside makeshift hotel, during which a couple of good samaritans would eat as soon as possible and move early to fetch the movie tickets. Basically we love to see good movies. But since we had no control in bringing out good movies we just were happy to settle down with those were coming out. In other words we will see all the movies. If my memory is intact, once remember a last bench activity of trying to list down the movies we had watched. And the figure came to something around 285 or 385 for 3 years. So the movie gets over and it is 1 A.M midnight. You are still so fresh and with loads of energy. Again suggestions start to pour in for the next move. Finally everyone decides to meet up at HI LOOK the 24 hour snacks bar. So 1:30 am at Hi look you order bread omlettes and juices and start off with the art called mokkai. This can be enhanced by midnight boozes possessed at premium prices & morning triplicane mess pongal ambitions. In any case the momentum is set and goes on strongly. It goes on and one when slowly one by one starts to retreat. But there are a few notorious guys who would not relent and keep the thread going. In midst of the mokkai you would have vowed to eat B'fast that day after ages. So you keep mokkifying till 6 am and start off to triplicane the bachelor's haven and diner's delight. Here again we do what we know best. Eat. Eat at least 4-5 varieties at least in minimum 3-4 hotels or mess as generally they are called. It is such a relishing experience that you just want to go to bed so much so happily. And that’s what you exactly do. Go to sleep. 7 A.M. Good Night.

I know many a people by now would have developed a hatred for our gang. Hold on. This is just to explain how raw we can be. But every one gets refined with time and more relations. But the basics remain as I had said in the beginning. Nalla Pasanga Naangha. That will and is remaining for the world to see. This is not the end of the story. There are a lot of branch stories. Like any other gang of friends we had every aspect and every character, the hero’s, the Romeo’s, The small fights, the ultimate fights, the most memorable happenings, The exquisite trips & tours, solliya kathalhal, sollatha kathalhal, vaangiya vadaihal, etc. The difference may be that we always go the extremes and we don’t stay too long on course. The final word is that you cannot carry everything every time in life. That is a fact and was also the same with us. We have lost, forgot whole lot f stuffs. But our friendship remains intact. Now that’s the fantastic 14 for you. And how incomplete it would be to not talk about all those girl’s factor. A related key note feature is that Internet was then a rapidly growing phenomenon. It would not be false to say that we were the one’s to have seen this internet phenomenon grow up. And the Internet in it’s own way did influence the lives of lot of us. All the more I want to write. But this is in itself such a big post. So I propose this solution.

I WILL TRY & WRITE SEPARATE POSTS ABOUT THOSE BLOCKED PHRASES. They definitely deserve one. And i get chances to write more. :)