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Showing posts from April, 2016

Demonizing demography

Intha newspaperkarangalaam headline newsnu etha venumnaalum poduvanga. Majora edhum sikalaina Page 3 itema munnadi thooki poatu intha hero vs antha heroine, yaar ipo yaar kooda irukagannu ulagathu karuthu solla aarambichiduvanga. Summa pozhuthu pogalaina intha NewYork Times, Washington Post ivangalam will start aaraichi on the demography of the Amrikan country. Evlo per vellaikaaran evlo karupu evlo brown nu irukara oru color vidama ellathiyum eduthu vachitu will perform analysis like in the year 2257 how would be the demography. Yentha kootam adhigama irukum. Adai padhargala bhooma devi siricha at a time athana perum ulla poiduvom apdiruka intha aaraichi thevai thaananu oru paya ithu varaikum kekala. But one couldnt miss the sinister angle behind such articles, from the view point of a paranoid. Till now whatever article i've read, always quote that while the "colored" section of the population has been growing leaps and bounds the milky complexioned ones have seen ste

The grand reveal

A while back, had mentioned about this book - 300 days, authored by my friend blogger Bragz here The wait is almost over with him releasing excerpts from the book in his blog Do read and post your reviews on his blog. Eagerly waiting for the book launch. Way to go Mr.Bragz.

The real game of thrones

Just like the Iron throne which is at the heart of the Game of Thrones drama series, the tag of being branded as minority is something which every caste group with more than one person is aspiring for in present day India. Be it Mandal or Ambedkar or any of those luminaries who set about in restoring social parity amongst all classes and caste in India, in their best intentions, framed rules, intending to benefit the needy. Now that every single person has become needy, needy for power and freebies, the very rules that were supposed to safe guard has become moth ridden. The problem is, though the concept is based on numbers, one cannot simply look at it purely from numbers perspective. Minority doesn't just refer to lesser count of people. Theoretically, practically and for all literal purposes, though that is the definition and the way in which its perceived, its highly impractical to view it from numbers perspective alone. How does one quantify a sect/religion/caste as minority

The other side

As a follow up to the previous post there was another thought process that was running through mind while half way into the post. The familiarity factor. Till few years back, the same concept of recruiting lads from local villages, grooming them up so that they can find feet in their own business set up was the norm in another industry - hotels. Most of the Bhavan group of restaurants used to bring in people from the native of the supervisors or the owner so that they would be loyal to the group and also would be flexible in their work. Majority of those kids were abused to say the least and were paid pittance in the name that they are being given job and are taught tricks of trade free of cost. Same applies to all those school kids who for the sake of supporting their families slogged on the provisional stores. But off late that crowd of local faces seems to have all been replaced with people from North east. Makes me wonder if calling all of them as North easterners is also racism

The entrepreneurial annachi

Till last decade, any Provision store or petty shop in our area would've some or other kids doing all odd jobs. Over a few years time, by the time they are in their late teens, they would've formed their own network of clientèle amongst the regulars and would soon branch out with a store of their own. Those kids, who won over their clients, with their cheerful attitude and going the extra mile in providing service, especially during odd hours and inclement weather, for elderly people, were often known by their name and i've seen in person, many of them grow into big time shop keepers in my area. There was a sense of trust which was easy to build and maintain, the reason for which could well be attributed to the character set of people on either side of the relationship. But at the base of all lay the familiarity factor. Even though those kids were totally unknown to the customers of the shop, with the shop being the only visible, viable link, they spoke the language of the

Desperate times

The outside temperature yesterday in Vellore was 43.7 degrees centigrade. That's right. 43.7 and we are only in April!!!!! Its scaring the sleep out of everyone to hazard a guess as to what May and June have in store. Add to the sweltering unforgiving raw white heat, comes water shortage. Is this the city that was drowning in a deluge of rain water few months back!! Almost all the wells in our area, that was one of the worst affected have gone bone dry. There is not even an inkling of water nor even any remote evidence for its presence on any of its wells that resemble those huge water pipes, left to rot on the pavements by our water board, in vertical position. The icing or rather the hot chocolate lava topping on the scenario would be power cuts during night times. The sheer humidifying raw heat that permeates the surroundings is maddening. And to think that the worst is yet to come..!! Be scared. Be very very scared. Whenever i read about doomsday scenario of water shortage in

Playlist forever

My playlist would probably be one of the most dynamic of the song lists ever i guess. No song stays in the list for more than a day. Despite my shuffling and changing, certain songs always manage to find a way into the list. There are always, associated memories with each of them and when they do get played, as the song goes forward, mind rewinds and relishes those situations. Its a tough choice to pick from memory and whatever best i could recollect have compiled as my all time favorites. Restricting it only to tamil and 3 hindi songs without which the list would always be incomplete. Obviously there are more. But this would be the top of the lot :) Here goes.. Kaadhal konjam..Kaatru konjam from pachaikili muthucharam Maalai neram from Ayirathil oruvan Paadava from Little John Enna idhu from Nala Dhamayanthi Oh shanthi shanthi from Vaaranam Aairam Kaathirunthaai anbe from Naveena Saraswathi Sabadham Osakka from Vanakkam Chennai Thendrale from Kaadhal desam Veesum ve

The question - part 3

Previously "Hey i just met you.. And this is crayyzzeeyy.. But here is my number... So call me maybe.." Ram keeps humming the song much to the annoyance of Anil.. "Nee pannitu vanthiruka velaikku intha Carly Jepsen song saria varaathu.....Aambala padathula Vishal paadra mathiri "pazhagikalam whats your name and your number" thaan karecta varum" "Ka.Ka.Ka.po" " Enda dai....juice oothina mathiri sooda tea coffee oothirunthaalum ipdi thaan paadirupio" asked Anil "hehehee" "hmm..naan oru velangaathavan..phenol oothirunthaalum nee ipdi thaana iruppa" "dei.." "Nee yaara pakka pona..ennathukaga pona nu konjamachum yosichia raasa...unga veetla..kattam paathu katadam paathu katti vaikka ponnu thedi pesitu vara anupi vacha..kattika pora ponna vitutu kottitu varavala sight adichitu vanthiruka..rascal......shabbba..soda please..evlo "ka...Athepdida...oray oru smile..athukulla lovea"

All that matters is love..seriously.

This weekend happened to go to a function. It was similar to Shastiabdha poorthi in concept, but the thing is, instead of the couple hitting the 60 year old mark, it was an event to celebrate the fact that, they had been celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary!!! 60 years of wedlock. Wow. There are a few more things that makes it even more Wow-ier, if at all that's a word. They were the land lord of the house we were previously staying. The entire street advised us against taking that house for rent, for the notoriety of the house owner was that much well established in that area. He was like Manal Kayiru S.Ve.Sekar, with a huge list of conditions for tenants and he would ensure that, whoever resides would either vacate unable to follow his rules or would get into a fight with him on the very first month with reasons aplenty and would vacate out of frustration. No wonder people hated him. Right from the milk man to the tailor to the news paper boy, he fought with every single

Litter+Mature=Literature?

A while back there was a discussion thread in FB where people were crying hoarse on what makes a good literature. Or in other words, how do you filter out something as literature from...hmm..crap, to make it simple. Though i keep hearing many words, whenever controversy arouses around them at that time only i try to gauge the real meaning of them, rest of the time riding on contextual sense. Wiki says that literature means a collection of written production that are perceived to be aesthetically excellent, contrary to belief that every single creation is a literature. Literally-a-ture nu artham pannikiten pola. I can put vidhandavaadha query as to what if there is only book/poem written by a person which becomes super duper hit in celebrated authors circle!!?? That throws back the question, who decides if a production is aesthetically excellent. What makes the review of a select few the norm for others to follow. Allowing time for the question to settle and moving on to that thread dis

The Man for every season

Epdi start panrathu..hmmm...When i was in US of the America i stumbled on this blog group called CBC - surukkama Chennai bloggers club. Chennai vantha epdi pozhuthu pokrathunu balatha sinthanaila irunthapo it was a pleasant surprise to find so many like minders in one group. Antha groupla silar became friends for life. The best part about that group is, any one can become friends with them. Such a warm bunch of people who would go to any length to keep the people around them feel secure and happy. This guy, is bit more special amongst that bunch. He is much more mature for his age and lot more child like in his approach to life - two best qualities anyone will cherish to have in their repertoire. Added to his amazing social skills, he is an inherent leader, which is quite obvious from the heights the club has reached under his administration. Needless to say he is well supported by equally dedicated fellow admins, but i would stick my neck out and say he would surely be the first amo

Game of Thrones

"Naalai mudhal kudikka maaten...sathiyamadi thangam" nu sollitu daily sarakadikaravan mathiri, i keep insisting that i've seen the last of my drama series, only for the list to get newer additions. Have been hearing about GoT a lot over a really long while and had been resisting the temptation all along. Some of my friends who started watching the series, dropped off midway, stating they couldnt quite follow the storyline. But those who continued, well, that's a different feeling to cherish altogether as, yours truly, falls in that category. I've often wondered how the European kingdoms would've been. Their lifestyles, culture, art, warfare, relationships, strategies and tactics. Compared to Indian counterparts, they've all been pretty low lifes bordering on primitive has been my unshakable mindset. While our guys were busy establishing their foot hold across the world, empowering masses, building magnificent structures and literally creating history,

After the Darkness - book review

Book vanthu pathu varusham aaguthu. Ithaan un takka nu kelvilaam kekkapdaathu. Had a chance to read it only yesterday. I learnt most of my English diction by reading Jeffrey Archer and Sidney Sheldon with little bit of vocab from Hindu editorial. While Sheldon's novels were usually the same template of having a lady protagonist, who, even while being a Brunette will start off as a dumb blonde, trusting everyone at drop of the hat, only to be screwed royally by the very same on whom she will wreak vengeance with help from unexpected quarters. Of course, there would be a mandatory jail sequence, where either she would be beaten or violated or both and would escape from prison in laundry box or some truck that take things in and out. Almost all of the novels would've some explicit "matter" scenes and in some editions the cover of those books would put Mills and Boon to shame. Even with such a masala framework, with almost predictable storyline, every single character c

Avvvvv.....Midilaapa

"Hey...ennada semmaya weight potuta" "Hey...epdida ipdi weight loose panna...back to gym?" These are otherwise normal questions but since they are being mentioned in this post, obviously they are not, as they were both asked to me on the same day, but of course by different people. The first questioner was a friend who met me after a small gap of six months. We bumped into each other in Citi Center and the pleasant engagement began with this very question on my weight. How nice it always feels to meet people so concerned about your waistline and weight. It literally moves me to tears. Self promise. While we were talking about what we missed in past 6 months on each others life, came in the second questioner, who has been meeting me after a really long while. Not sure if the first guy noticed, the question again was on my weight but the reaction totally different. Dont know if its a common occurrence, but it happens to me often which leaves me confused if i

Sethupathi - movie review

When i heard about the movie, i thought it would be yet another cop movie and yet another movie star who wants to increase his fan base and play to the gallery. Couldnt quite imagine Vijay Sethupathi as a strong police officer, after seeing him as the local ruffian in innumerable number of movies. Also he doesnt have that vocal strength to carry punch dialogues that are essential for a cop hero. Considering the fact that from the time of MGR till Surya, every single aspect of a cop's character being done and dusted, there are hardly any scope for a new script in cop genre any more in Indian cinema as such. Amidst all this non-expectation hype came the movie. First thing that struck was the meesai. To me, that murukku messai of Vijay sethupathi would be the USP of the movie. Enna gethu. Just a twirl and a cut to a few tuft of hair, it transforms him into a totally new persona. As mentioned above, a strong voice would've added icing to the character. Even while shouting his is

800

Ettu Etta blog posta padichiko Ipo entha hospitalil admit aagiruka terinjiko Ikkada raa raa raamaiyaaa 800 post poatachu raamaiyaa Hehehehe....My dear makkas and makkis...kitta thatta oru pathinoru varushathuku munnaadi..yarumay illatha kadaiya aatha aarambicha tea...innikum..athey positionla irunthaalum...inbetween gapla oru 800 posts thaandidichi. Ithukaana muzhu mudhar kaaranam, kandippa oc la net connection kuduthu officela blog open aaga allow panra admin punniyavaangalaye saarum. As a patron, sila pala perai ingey kuripitaaga kadamai pattirukiren. First - Thala Ramesh. Ivar comment podatha ennoda postay illa solalam. Of the 170K hits..he should be credited with a major portion of it. Oru commentukum innoru commentukum idaila evlo post irunthalum...athelam evlo kolaveri mokkaiya irunthalum..padichi comment podra punniyavaan. Avaroda perunthanamaikku en siru siram thaazhthi nanri. Ipdilam usupethi uda aal irukarathala thaan kadai innum oduthungarathu side matter Mister mag

Jill Jung Juk - review

Somehow the so called movie critics have an altogether different view point than average movie watchers like me. Maybe watching movies day in and day out make them more immune to watch out for finer aspects in any movie and make them miss out on simple sheer fun aspects of a masala movie. You can also factor in the charm of the lead or clout of the production house, which results in, almost always, a not less than 3 star rating, for any hindi movie with a who's-who cast. The critics pour their pent ire on any other B-grade movie which they would've never watched otherwise. Till now, Tamil movies are somewhat insulated to this concept is my naive belief for i often found the review to match the movie content. Jill jung Juk, came in the aftermath of chennai floods and with over pouring sympathy and support for Sid for his true efforts during the floods, the word of mouth support for the movie was tremendous. The teaser for the movie was unique in its deadpan way and was a rage. W

The question - part 2

Previously ...Now @CafeCabana "aaha..ulaga athisayama seekrama vantene...enga ukkararathu.." Ram starts scanning for a place to sit. "hmm...romba orangatti seat paatha already pala thadava ushaar panna try pannirupano nu doubt varumo...natta nadula seat pudicha privacy irukathay..epdi pesarathu...intha seat a/c ku directa keezha irukku..namakkau nalla naallaye naaku thallum..ithula ivan vera antartica effectla temperature set pannirukaanay...pesama ninnukittay irupom..antha ponnu vanthu enga sollutho anga ukkanthiralam...avvvvvvv...ponnu select panratha vida seat select panrathu peria kodumaiya irukkay...intha imsaikku thaan earlya vara koodathu solrathu..." Ipdilaam egapatta mindvoice mandaikulla oditrukarapothaan he realised.."aaaha...per thaana theriyum...aal theriathay..enniko photo paathathu...atleast phonelayachum save pannirukalam...number save panena" while searching his contacts he gets a call from some new number. "Hello..is it R

Parody called sports

"So..did you saw the match yesterday" Whenever India wins or loses a key match, be it the semis or quarters or the very rare and occasional finals appearance, this would be the question on every lips. (Note: Every refers to followers of cricket. And it doesnt cover the Naan- goli- gilli- thavira- vera- edhuvum- paakamaaten- how- can- you- generalise- my- clan- into- your- "every" crowd. Vara vara posta vida disclaimers perusa poda vendirukku.) The question is the equivalent of "Ganga snaanam aacha" on Diwali day or "Ponga paana vachacha" on sankaranthi. Such is the madness for the game that, during the match time, major cities in the country forget its mad rush routine and stops short to catch a breather of excitement, paradoxically. The adrenaline rush from the restricted confines of the stadium more than makes up for the mad max races on road. Now that India has lost, kudos that they did put up a good total to defend whilst their attempts