Variety is the spice of life

 Kolai kolaiya munthirikka -6 “Dei Ram..andha police kitta Royapettah kannamapetta nu edho alandhu vittiye.. nejamavay ..ipo naama enga thaan poganum” asks Anil “Iru google map la paathu solren..moodhevi..enga porathunu theriyama thaana nanay muzhichitruken…idea!!…ipdi panna enna..pesama koovathula poatutu poidalama” wonders Ram Sivaraman, tied securely inside the veshti, starts sweating. “Adapavingala…nejamavay enakku sangu oothiduvanga polarukkay”  Unable to control himself he shouts “Noooo”  “Aaah…enda ipdi kathhara..idea pudikalaina medhuva sollu..kaadhu goiiinnn guthu” shouted Ram “Dei..neeye kolaiya pannitu…neeye idea kuduthutu..neeye No nu sollitu en mela enda pazhiya podra”argues Anil “Innoru thadava naan thaan kola pannen sonna..nejamavay kolagaran aaiduven..bayathula ekkuthappa ularikitay irukka nee” “Dei Ram…seekrama edhavadhu plan pannuda..maatinom sethom” While they were wondering, suddenly a scooter comes out of nowhere and crashes into them, sending the “bo...

The decade beginning mid sixties till late 70’s is probably the most favorite of many, cutting across different fields, be it technology, art, music, politics or sports. Something happened in that time where in there was a tremendous spurt of activities across the globe, which has pushed the human race to the point where we are now. Some call it great leap forward and considering the thought process maturity, the critical inventions and discoveries that happened, it is no less named. May be the devastating war which just got concluded and the great depression that befell the world as an aftermath, played a catalyst. But there had been wars before and there were even severe depression cycles, be it financial or otherwise. None had resulted in such a rich explosion of events, that has virtually sealed the top spot for humans on the eco cycle pyramid.  One can find so many reference points as to why the 70’s happen to be the golden age of mankind across the arts and crafts that give u...

I often used to hear this term or come across it on editorials and political discussions, without fully understanding the context or reason. When I stumbled on this movie, was pleasantly surprised by the content and it was quite engaging as well. Pity that I saw the watered down version as the original version of the 60’s which was a direct adaptation of the novel, seemed to have more spine than the later version that I saw, where in the makers had bent over backwards in ensuring that the Chinese market for the movie is not affected by the original storyline nor to antagonize the sleeping dragon over nothing. The theme being so unique and fresh that even on a dumbed down remake it felt fresh. Wonder how much hysterical it would’ve been and the effect it might have had on the audience then, polarized by cold war. The story deals with brainwashing of an US soldier, who happens to come from an influential political family, headed by a headstrong ambitious woman, who is hell bent on making...

“Was it him?”  The thought rang out loud on his mind, ever since he saw that guy on supermarket. Some one once wisely said that, if you feel Déjà vu of having met someone quite frequently, it means you are old!! When that someone happens to be your grand-daughter, she can never be wrong!! Off late I seem to run into people who give me similar looks, confused whether we know each other or the creepy version of “why this guy is staring at me?!!!”. When he responded back with same quizzical look, it was my turn to look down, doing an imaginary search for an unknown lost item. “Are you…are you Ram by any chance?”  “er..yes. And you are..Anil right?” “ENDAAA DEI……Ethana naal aachu unna paathu” the same baritone voice with mild yet noticeable tremors, caught the attention of all shoppers on aisle 3. “You are Ram from Viveka right?” he asked silently “Idha mudhalla ketutu apruma kathirukanum…ipo illa sonna enna pannuva”  “Nee theravay maataa nu appovay theriyum…epdida irukka? In...

I often used to wonder how my dad managed to go through things that he would’ve during his mid-life. I have specifically avoided the word crisis, not that he never encountered one, but quite sure he never made any of us at home, realize about it. He was adamantly strong person, physically and mentally, yet retained his childlike innocence at heart. Considering that he had to feed 4 mouths in his meagre salary and ensure that top notch education are also made available for his kids, slogging through an organization that rarely recognized him, I never remember him cribbing majorly about his office situation. I do remember on and off cases when he actually felt bad about the lack of recognition for his efforts or how they take things for granted when a task is given to him, but even in such scenarios he would be telling that with pride how he solved that situation for his organization more and less on how they don’t realize his worth. He served in the same company for more than 3 decades ...

 I m on a vintage drama series binge watch. Considering that Fresh Prince was first aired in the early 90’s and it is already 30 years old, says something about the speed with which time is passing by!!! There used to be on and off episodes of this series shown on DD sometime back and was never a fan. I specifically wanted to give this a try while reading some trivia about black people in entertainment, when watching Star Trek. And Will Smith was always an exceptionally likeable character by people world over. There is a positive, unbridled energy about him that even dull and sad characters come alive on screen. This being his first attempt on screen, having started his career as a rapper, it was quite surprising to see his performances. In fact of all the other senior members of the cast, it felt as if he was the only person so sure of the story line and performances. The confidence displayed, for a new comer was amazing. May be it tripped the performances of others possibly, as t...