A Year-end

With 2012 coming to a close soon; wisdom from a series that gives me so much joy - Peanuts!


Click on the image to view it in large-size!

All copyrights reserved with Charles M. Schulz

2012-Hitlist

This is an entry for the Blogathon hosted by fellow cineaste Murtaza Ali

It is that time of the year again, when I sit back and look at the movies, which I had the pleasure of watching and those movies, which I endured for the sheer sake of letting others know - 'don't waste your hard-earned money on these movies.'

With priorities at work changing and my mother's health taking a turn for the worse I did not get to see as many movies as I would have loved to and the list of independent and foreign language movies finding a release in India remains as pathetic as ever. My friends who download movies Ravi Kiran and Lijoy and the trusted shops at Burma bazaar ensured that the supply of movies would not end!

Numero Uno Movie:

Undoubtedly Moonrise Kingdom, for bringing back the innocence of puppy love, for putting a bunch of unknown child-actors who stole the thunder from seasoned performers like Edward Norton, Bruce Willis and Frances Mac Dormand - take a bow Mr. Wes Anderson!

Paan Singh Tomar:

Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia this movie is based on the true-life exploits of a an army-man athlete who ended up as a dacoit. A remarkable portrayal by Irrfan Khan and his effort and transformation into a long-distance runner is seen to be believed. How cruel Indian administration is as some of our greatest sports-persons end up in penury and ignominy!

Pizza:

This Tamil movie stands apart for its innovative script and takes the cake for delivering chills and thrills. How a pizza-delivery turns traumatic forms the crux of the story. But then don't believe everything that you see! Vijay Sethupati does a fantastic role here! A rollicking sound-track and taut direction by Karthik Subbaraj deserves special praise.

Kahaani:

After watching Kahaani there were a number of questions about how dumb could an intelligence network and the cruel terrorists be? But all was forgotten in Vidya Balan's masterly performance as the lady searching for her her husband and Nawazuddin Siddiqui announced himself with a bang and went on to deliver brilliant performances in the Gangs of Wasseypur and Talaash!

No.22 Female Kottayam:

Directed by Aashiq Abu and starring Rima Kallingal, Fahaad Faasil and Prathap Pothen this is a no holds barred revenge saga, of a nurse who has been brutally raped. How Tessa the lead character played by Rima avenges the injustice meted to her and a brilliant music-score make this a memorable movie.

The Pirates:

Charles Darwin, a bunch of motley pirates, a dodo, the Queen of England and a monkey make this a thoroughly enjoyable ride of laughs with an immensely funny script. There is a sequence when the pirate captain mistakes a baboon's kidney to be a gold doubloon, that left me laughing like mad! Don't miss this movie!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo:

Masterly adaptation by David Fincher and a superb performance by Naomi Rapace. Sadly graphic content of the movie prevented a theatrical release in India!

Avengers:

Big-budget Marvel pot-boiler that brings all our childhood comic heroes and heroine together on-screen; the Avengers rocked the screen with the Hulk played by mark Ruffalo pipping Robert Downey Junior for the maximum applause in the theatre.

The Diamond Necklace:

This Malayalam movie directed by Lal Jose and starring Fahaad Faasil, Samvrutha Sunil, Gauthami Nair and a host of others is a convincing tale of love and tribulations faced by a young doctor in the UAE and the complications of his affairs with three women and how he comes to terms with his love for each of his ladies.

The Dark Knight Rises:

Christopher Nolan gave a fitting finale to his Batman trilogy and Tom Hardy had the tough task of matching Heath Ledger's Joker from the previous installment. Tom Hardy accquited himself remarkably well and the climax hints at Joseph Gordon Levitt starting a new franchise of caped-crusader movies!

Skyfall:

There was an agonising wait for 007 to be back after the turkey called Quantum of Solace. Thankfully the wait was worth it and a fantastic villain who deserved a better death made Skyfall special!

Ordinary:

A loud-mouthed bus-driver, a newbie bus-conductor and a host of villagers in a remote hill-village. A strange premise and a rollicking comic chemistry between Kunchako Boban and Biju Menon made Ordinary a surprise Malayalam hit of 2012.

At the time of writing this, I am yet to see Life of Pi, Lincoln, Frankenweenie, Cloud Atlas and a bunch of other movies! Hoping 2013 provides enjoyable cinema and there are lesser turkeys unleashed upon the unsuspecting public!

A Blog Award

All these years here on blogger and someone finally gives me an award :)

Kalyan's bestowed the following award :)

The Liebster Blog Award and The Awesome Blogger Award.

I am truly honoured. Thank You Kalyan!

Now that I’m tagged, here are the rules I need to follow:

RULES:
If you are tagged/nominated, you have to post 11 facts about yourself.
Then you answer the 11 questions the tagger has given you & make 11 questions for the people you are going to tag.
Tag 11 more Bloggers.
No tagging back.
Person you tag must have < 200 followers Eleven Facts About Me:


1.I am a POET and a die-hard romantic!

2.Curd-rice and aloo-masala fanatic!

3.Worship Illayaraja, The Beatles, RD Burman, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi.

4.Am a self-taught kick-boxer; interested in mixed-martial arts.

5.Hate men who abuse women physically and verbally; have bashed up a few guys to drive sense into their heads.

6.Hate two-faced people - I can't decide which side of their face to slap first!

7.Love cooking, but for the life of me am not able to roll out a perfect chappati !

8.Dog-lover!

9.Hope to become a movie-maker some day!

10.I believe that ‘Love never fails’ - the people whom we may choose to love may fail us but the purity of Love can never ever fail!

11.Have toyed a lot with the idea of becoming a masked vigilante and clean up the criminal elements that abound the world-over! Alternatively, a career as an assassin!


If you can write a testimonial for me, what would you write?
Have met Kalyan about thrice, a nice and jovial person and as he claims a flirtatious nature and a great photographer :)

What’s the strangest talent you have?
I can whistle the complete audio-tracks of some of the most popular Illayaraja songs!

Do you have weird habits?
I have hair-cut every 20 days, I wish I could grow long hair but even a bit of hair on top of my ears, I get a nasty cold :(! So I have had the lawn-mower hair-cut since nursery-school!

If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do in your last living hours?
Dash to someone special's house with a ruby-encrusted platinum ring and ask someone-special to marry me! I will tell her - 'Dearest, the world is going to end and when it ends I want to hold your hands and share a laugh with you!'

Have you ever felt jealous of friends or fellow competitors’ success and how did you suppress it?
We all get out just rewards, so not jealous of friends and colleagues, but jealous of cricketers who do not play properly and make millions in IPL-deals!

Have you ever been betrayed? If so, how did you douse the flames?
Let bygones be bygones! Nothing further - forge on as one would say in sales!

List down 5 music tracks which you would always listen to and would never get bored of.
Chehra hai ya chand khila hai - Saagar
I Wanna Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
Sundari kannal oru seidhi - Thalapathi
Zindagi kaisi yeh paheli bujhaye - Anand
Janani Janani - Thaie Moogambigai - Illayarja

If you are a guy, have you ever been got slapped by a girl? If you are a girl, have you ever slapped a boy?
By God's grace nothing so violent with the other gender; but I have bashed up quite a few roadside romeos for misbehaving with girls; had my fair share of fights in high-school during cricket-matches as well.

What qualities would you be prescribing to a girl/guy to be ideal for you.
Vegetarian, dog-lover, book-lover and I promise to remain faithful to her till my last breath :)

Do you believe in life after death? If yes, what would you like to be reborn as?
Yes, I do believe in rebirth; I would like to be reborn as a monk in a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas.

Please explain ‘Einstein’s Relativity Theory’ in layman terms. (I know the Hot stove – Girl analogy. Please use something else!)
The Twin Paradox Theory - Twins - one sent to travel in outer-space in a space-capsule travelling at a high velocity and the other living on earth. After 20 years the chap on earth would have aged 20 years but the chap in the space capsule would be considerably younger!

Eleven Questions for 11 special bloggers:

Your pet-name / nick-name
Your celebrity crush
Your favourite book
Who was your favourite teacher
Which dish can you cook best
Your idea of a dream-date
Should cricket be banned in India
Rajni or Kamal
The one possession that you would like to save if your house were on fire!
Love marriage ya arranged marriage!
If you had the power to give one tight slap to three people - who would they be!

Karen
Dr. Ganesh
Padmapriya
Ashwini
Vandana
Sowmya Sarag
Shashi
Priya
Karpagam
Anand
Aravind

Some in this group might have already rec'd this award! Keep the faith and know that someone loves to read stuff that you write!

Keep blogging, keep the love of writing alive!

Cheers to life :)

Chennai Bloggers for Social Action

It was a fascinating Sunday evening when I had a long conversation with Shashi and Dr. Ganesh over cups of black coffee on how we could utilize the inherent strength of the team - Writing or actually Blogging to promote social causes and highlight issues both good and bad.

The conversation was enlightening in many aspects:

1 - Social Action need not always be for a negative issue; there are a number of good and positive things happening around us; we can highlight them as well.

2 - Social action has two primary and distinct aspects:
a - Online activity wherein we write about issues and promote them using social networking tools.
b - Off-line (or) ground-zero activity - the actual task of visiting orphanages, slums, old-age homes etc, and doing constructive work.

3 - We as a network of bloggers can do a lot; one post by our revered doctor on marital / domestic abuse has been making the air-waves online. Similarly if we plan and write on one topic every month; there will be a theme for every month. Just imagine the impact of 100 plus bloggers writing on a topic and publishing it simultaneously, say on a given day and then promoting the post through Twitter and Facebook. We are sure to draw attention for any noble cause or good positive trait of Chennai that we choose to champion / highlight.


Building the core team:
We are looking to build a core team of partners (the Starbuck philosophy where everyone is a Partner). The team will have to identify issues that need to be popularised and highlighted and moderate / review the posts submitted by bloggers from all over the country.

We are looking for volunteers who can offer their time, knowledge and expertise. Meetings will be held on a regular basis and if the core-team partners can attend the meets it would be great!

The Future:
We shall be starting the Chennai Bloggers for Social Action - CBSA as a group within the Chennai Bloggers Club and everyone is welcome to help us in our initiatives. The CBSA will be a part of the larger Indiblogger for Social Causes / Action network as well. Our work as part of CBSA will be highlighted and used to set up and start similar projects in other cities in India. So team we are part of a hugely challenging and interesting pilot-project for change!


The Competition:
To start on a positive note; we announce a blogging competition; the topic is - Magical Melodies of December in Chennai - As the topic suggests it is about the music-scene in Chennai during December when sabhas run to packed houses with concerts. Write about your experiences and explain why you feel the event is special to Chennai. Word-limit - 450 to 600 words.

There are three prizes:
First prize - A voucher for Rs 1000.
Two runner-ups - Vouchers for Rs 500 each.
Deadlines - Contest closes on January 1, 2013.

End your post with the tag-line - "This post is part of CBSA's 'Magical Melodies of December in Chennai' blogathon!'


The Beginning:
These are exciting times ahead for us; with a whole new world of possibilities and challenges; let us have the self-belief in ourselves that we as bloggers can truly contribute to making an instrumental difference in society.

The Edge of the Machete - Book Review

This is part of the Blog Adda Book Reviews Programme.

Title - The Edge of the Machete (paperback)
Author - Abhisar Sharma
Publisher - Westland
Genre - Journalistic Fiction / Terrorism Thriller
Number of Pages - 333
Font - 9/12 pts Linden Hill - 333 pages
Cover Image - A masked terrorist
Price - INR 250

Author Profile - Abhisar Sharma is a renowned journalist in India with about twenty years of experience in covering topics of national and international interest. This is his second book in the trilogy of Afghan novels. His first book being 'The Eye of the Leopard'.

There are three primary characters:
Ed alias Sarfaraz - a CIA agent.
Shaun Marsh alias Shahid - a white British Muslim.
Rahul Sharma - a leading Indian journalist.

The book traces the adventures of a CIA specialist Ed who is heading to Afghanistan to avenge the execution of his closest buddy Jason. (People note the reference to the most famous agent in international fiction Jason Bourne). Ed stages a killing of CIA agents and makes an escape assuming the identity of Sarfaraz and hosts a clip of the killing with his face visible to become the darling of the jihadi world. This trick works and he infiltrates the core group in the Khyber.

Shaun a son of a British cab-driver and a Kashmiri woman is in a state of emotional conflict coming to terms with his mixed identity. He decides to embrace Islam and ends up in Belmarsh prison after a scuffle. Here is brutally raped by white supremacists; but he avenges this insult by biting a portion of the penis of the leader of the white supremacists. This makes him a hero among the Muslims in prison and he decides to reach Pakistan to trace his roots and find the purpose of his life. Inevitably he ends up in Afghanistan after a miraculous escape from police captivity in Pakistan. The escape scene is done well.

Rahul is a high-flying journalist who lands up in Kabul to interview a terrorist leader. He is kidnapped and held captive for ransom by a fringe group; then in turn he is kidnapped by a larger group.

Amanda / Meera - Amanda was in love with Shaun but they split because Shaun would not give up on his suicidal Islamic quest; Amanda comes to India heart-broken meets Rahul in a spiritual camp in Haridwar. they fall in love and get married. Amanda changes her name to Meera and she continues to work for Amnesty International.

The Beast:
This is a massive complex of caves and caverns in the Khyber where all factions of terror outfits from the Laskar-e-toiba, the hizbul mujahideen and a bunch of other names meet and plan a massive attack. The most daring of all 'a dirty bomb' attack - a nuclear weapon attack on the USA.

The novel traces the intertwined tale of Shahid, Sarfaraz, Rahul and Amanda. Do they manage to fulfill their promises? Does Ed / Sarfaraz avenge Jason's execution? Is Shahid forced to execute Rahul? What happens to Amanda?

Read the novel to find answers to all your questions!

My judgement - The story is a cross between - Frederick Forsyth's - The Afghan and Mani Ratnam's fim Roja!The font-size was a bit too small for my liking! The book could have been racier; a poorly written sex scene involving Jason and a Pakistani lady, some inadvertently comical torture scenes and uneven-pacing are the negatives in the book.

Positives - In-depth research of Pak-Afghan-ISI-terror nexus, awesome description of 'The Beast'; emotional turmoil of characters well brought out!

My rating - 3 stars out of 5!

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

A Tag Post - Completed

I was tagged by vandana!

So, the rules of the game are :

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
2. They must also answer the 11 questions the ‘tagger’ has set for them.
3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.
4. They must then choose 11 bloggers and tag them in their post.
5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.
6. There are no tag backs.

My answers:

1.I am a POET and a die-hard romantic!

2.Curd-rice and aloo-masala fanatic!

3.Worship Illayaraja, The Beatles, RD Burman, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi.

4.Am a self-taught kick-boxer; interested in mixed-martial arts.

5.Hate men who abuse women physically and verbally; have bashed up a few guys to drive sense into their heads.

6.Hate two-faced people - I can't decide which side of their face to slap first!

7.Love cooking, but for the life of me am not able to roll out a perfect chappati !

8.Dog-lover!

9.Hope to become a movie-maker some day!

10.I believe that ‘Love never fails’ - the people whom we may choose to love may fail us but the purity of Love can never ever fail!

11.Have toyed a lot with the idea of becoming a masked vigilante and clean up the criminal elements that abound the world-over! Alternatively, a career as an assassin!

Answers to Vandana's list of questions:

What is your favourite post in your blog and why?
http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/05/if-onlyyou-would-say-yes.html

Am still waiting for a ‘yes’!

What is your favourite song/movie?
Song - Chehra hai ya chaand khila hai from Saagar! Film - It’s a Wonderful Life!

What’s the reason why you love blogging?
I get to share my thoughts with the world!

Suggest me a good book or movie!
Book - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Film - It’s a Wonderful Life


What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever come across in your life?
The thinnest folks are the ones who eat the most!

What’s the one thing that you regret doing?
Not chasing my dream!

Who is your inspiration?
Charlie Chaplin!

Your secret ambition?
If I told you would it remain a secret - a career as an assassin

Tell us a new fact or info which others don’t know much about.
That I want to be an assassin :)!

Create your own question and give an answer to it.
Most annoying celebrity?
Paris Hilton, Karan Johar and Arnab (timesnow)

Favourite historical figure?
Tipu Sultan!

Eleven new questions!

Your pet-name / nick-name
Your celebrity crush
Your favourite book
Who was your favourite teacher
Which dish can you cook best
Your idea of a dream-date
Should cricket be banned in India
Rajni or Kamal
The one possession that you would like to save if your house were on fire!
Love marriage ya arranged marriage!
If you had the power to give one tight slap to three people - who would they be!

The following people are tagged:

Susan Deborah

Sahi Sridhar

Sowmya Swaminathan

Ganga Bharani

Jaishree

Kalyan

Ashwini

Karpagam

Karen

Nabanita

Sowmya Sarag

“Journeys Never End” - My entry for the Get Published Contest

The Idea
This tale has its origins in a moving tale that was narrated to me when I undertook a trip to Rameshwaram a few years back. I have retained the names of the characters as narrated to me by the story-teller. It is a love-story of a Tam-Brahm senior architect and a Bengali trainee architect.

What Makes This Story ‘Real’
I cannot verify or ascertain if the tale is 100 percent true; but I had this story narrated to me on a long train journey and I feel that anyone who has ever been in love will find something special in this story.

Extract:
It was 9:35 PM and my train to Rameshwaram was scheduled to leave Egmore station at 9:40 PM. The Tambaram-Chennai Beach local train reached Egmore just in time for me to run like Usain Bolt and get into the Rameshwaram Express.

I tried to catch my breath as I settled into my seat L-21. I looked at my fellow-passengers; a middle-aged couple eating their dinner, two nuns praying and a man in his thirties; with a copper urn in his hands.

Train to Rameshwaram and a copper urn - probably his parents' ashes I surmised. How wrong was I? I would learn what true love meant in the next fourteen hours of my journey to Rameshwaram - a story of love that overcame all odds!

A parting thought:
Does true love transcend boundaries of space and time? Can someone grieve the loss of a loved one - forever? Is not this life too precious to be just just grieving on and on; instead of moving on with one’s life and duties?

Endnote:
This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Moonrise Kingdom - Movie Review

Can a movie be described as delicious?

Well I found ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ by Wes Anderson to be simply delicious. It is a quaint little tale with a stellar star cast - Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Frances Mc Dormand, Bill Murray and a bunch of lovable kids.

Set in the 1960s - The story is based in a scout camp managed by Edward Norton and starts with the disappearance of a scout Sam. In the town where the camp is set a girl Suzy goes missing as well. Bruce Willis is the town cop who starts a kid-hunt for both the missing kids.

Sam and Suzy are twelve year old kids who have fallen in love and have run away. Sam is orphaned after the death of his parents while Suzy is living in a dysfunctional family of a lawyer couple - Murray and Frances. Frances has an on and off affair with Bruce, which does not help matters either.

The story is how Sam and Suzy are found, separated and then reunited again!

I am not going to reveal anything further except that this is a must-watch movie for everyone. Intelligent scripting, lovely music, top-notch cinematography and sound-recording and flawless performances from even the most minor actor.

Do not miss this movie it’s one of those rare movies that puts a smile on your face and shows the perspective of love from an adolescent’s point of view.

Skyfall - The Reboot's Done!

With Quantum of Solace bringing down the chips on 007 - MGM's huge financial mess, buy-back and take-over issue and a hundred other problems one kept wondering if Bond-23 would ever see the light of day.

The wait was worth it - in Skyfall Daniel Craig is back in form as 007 chasing a group which is in possession of a disk-drive which has the identities of secret-agents embedded in terrorist organiations all over the world.

An adrenaline-rush inducing start sequence in Istanbul funnly similar to an animated Tintin on his motorbike earlier this year and a fight atop a train and a shot - that plunges 007 down into a river in Jason Bourne style.

007 is presumed dead, MI-6 is rocked by bomb-explosions and agents are killed. M played by Judi Dench is called for an enquiry and we have Ralph Fiennes making in an entry as the next head of MI-6.

The bomb-attack brings 007 back to London - a bitter man waiting to find justice and to know why he was shot - "If you had trusted me I would have had the disk-drive for you".

After a new Q - who looks suspiciously like Rajendra Kumar's son Kumar Gaurav - training and reassesmment of fitness - 007 is back in the hunt landing in Shanghai attempting to discover the mastermind behind the attacks.

The trail thickens as an assassin falls to his death - a gambling chip takes 007 to Macau where more intriguing stuff happens as we meet a seductive lady who loks like a cross between Sophie Marceau and Lucy Liu.

Finally we are introduced to the villain - an ex MI-6 operative Silva - played with aplomb by Javier Bardem. The parallels with Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight' do not do justice to Bardem's portrayal.

There is a moment when we almost expect Silva to grab 007 and kiss him but the moment is diffused when 007 states nonchalantly - 'What makes you think it's my first time?'

Silva expertly gets arrested - hacks into the MI-6 system creates chaos as he escapes from his high-security cell and sets up an explosion and crash in the London Metro.

All this to avenge the injustice meted out by M and the 'spy-masters' on him - when he was betrayed many years ago and left to his Chinese captors.

007 foils the plan and then starts the final chapter.

007 taking M to safety in the classic silver Aston Martin and driving to Bond's family-abode - Skyfall in Scotland. Here we meet the caretaker Albert Finney who steals the show with a classic line - "Son I was ready even before you were born".

The three wait with limited ammunition, innovate and come up with traps and wait for Silva and his goons to land. Shoot-outs and explosions and a final climax in the chapel as Silva, M and 007 come to terms with their inner demons.

Watch the movie for Sam Mendes does a reboot in style - ticks all the right boxes, fights, Bond-babes, intrigue, stunning music and cinematography and Adele's lovely rendition, crackling humour. There's even a quotation from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Watch the movie to witness a Bond who is the truest to what Ian Fleming envisaged in his novels.

My only grouse - a villain of Silva's stature deserves a better death!

Three and a half stars!

An Evening To Remember - Reliving a Royal Experience

This is in celebration of the lovely preview meet organised by Indiblogger and the ITC Grand Chola Luxury Hotel in Chennai on Saturday – October 27. Some of my fellow bloggers have written beautiful posts recounting their experience at the ITC Grand Chola:

Dr. Ganesh Puttu

Ganga Bharani

Karpagam

Now for my presentation:

It was a lovely Saturday morning,
I woke up with a smile,
Knowing it would be a special day,
For I was part of a lucky group,
Who would get to visit –
The ITC Grand Chola Luxury Hotel.

I took a train,
A long journey again,
To reach the destination,
A beautiful palace,
Straight out of the history books,
From an era of forgotten kings and queens,
Of grandeur and awe-inspiring statues.

A security check with a smile,
Efficient service is always beautiful,
Being welcomed like a prince,
Who has returned from a conquest.
I walked into the palace of my dreams.
With attendants in white-finery guiding me
To Rajendra Hall.

I walked in and met a lovely lady,
Who asked me to sign-in,
Voila I was already registered so no hassles I was in!
And there I met my dear friend and mentor – Dr. Ganesh.
A man with a delightfully wicked sense of humour.

Soon others walked in as well.
Some known faces some unknown.
Camera-man foodie Kalyan,
Gitanjali the bird-lover with her friend Jenny,
Karpagam who writes inspiring short-stories!
But I walked up to Renie first and thanked him,
For setting up some more seats for the event.
He truly deserves a round of applause!

Introductions and 60 seconds of fame.
As famous bloggers like –
Fashion-expert and biking queen - Bhushavalli,
Next J.K. Rowling - Ganga Bharani,
Social-activist, media-campaigner - Banu,
Deiva-darshanam guide - Padmapriya
Serial comedian – Chris Prasoon Robin
Talked about their blogs.
It was a pleasant experience to meet passionate bloggers,
Who blogged on diverse topics,
And interact with them on a Saturday afternoon!

Then we had Monsieur Philippe,
Speaking about the ITC Grand Chola,
And signing off with Nanri,
And when we cheered him he said – Romba nanri.
Merci Monsieur Philippe –
Keep up the good work.
More ITC staffers like Prakash spoke
And reiterated their goal,
Of making the ITC Grand Chola – India’s finest luxury hotel.
Of ice-breaking events and Gagnam style dancing and musical chairs
All rolled into one!

Then we broke for high-tea,
What a luxurious spread,
Sandwiches and vadas,
Pakodas and samosas,
Juices and coffee,
Mint-coolers and banana shakes,
Chocolate and fruits,
Nuts and cup-cakes,
Australian cookies and English brownies,
Ooh truly a feast fit for the kings!

We were divided into teams,
And assigned a guide each,
Our guide was a lovely lady,
Called Smriti – truly pretty who,
Patiently answered our umpteen questions.
Thanks a lot Smriti!

We began our exploration,
It was not unlike a time-travel experience,
We were magically transported to –
Both the past and the future,
As we examined chandeliers and 48 different
Varieties of marbles,
Sculpting inspired by the Brihadeeshwara Temple
Then the futuristic rooms,
With a scene straight out of ‘The Jetsons’
As an I-Pad could control practically every function,
From opening and closing doors,
To ordering food.
What a sophisticated room!


Our walk continued,
Of marble work and tiles,
Of chandeliers and pillar-less corridors.
Long-winding stairs that led to probably heaven.
Of spas that smelt of herbal oils and aromatic essences.
Of restaurants that served delights from Italy and the North West Frontier Province.
A lounge-bar where we sampled mock-tails,
A smoking-room where cigars were on display!
A gymnasium that would put the Olympics Federation to shame!
A lovely walk it was through the hallowed corridors of beauty and power!

The evening ended-
With announcements of prizes,
Won by fellow bloggers,
Everyone went home happy as everyone won something!
Truly a generous gesture by ITC Grand Chola and Indiblogger.

As the evening gave way to night,
It was time to bid goodbye and go home,
With beautiful memories,
The joy of meeting bloggers in person,
Making friends with people,
Whom you like immediately!
Life is indeed beautiful!


Thanks again to Indiblogger and the ITC Grand Chola for such a beautiful evening. We hope to come back more often and enjoy your hospitality!

All the best in your endeavours to become India’s finest luxury hotel. You have ticked all the right boxes, be it energy-efficient, courtesy or food and beverages, everything looks promising. Hope by the time you become fully operational perhaps the few people who had some minor complaints would be satisfied as well. – Cheers to a wonderful beginning!

I have been Tagged

Yipee :) I have been tagged by Karpagam, fondly known as Kappu. I met her first at the mid-year lunch meet organised by the Chennai Bloggers Club. Since then have spent many an hour reading her blog. Short stories, musings on life, reviews of books and movies, recipes - a truly entertaining blogger. Keep writing Karpagam!!!!

Your most beautiful post:
This is a tough one - I shall mention a short-story that is very close to my heart.
http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/04/meenu-kutty.html

Your most popular post:
http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/08/crunch-munch-lunch-with-lovely-bunch.html

Your most helpful post:
Perhaps every movie review that I have written which lets people decide if they want to spend money at the theatre :)

Your most controversial post:
Surprisingly nothing! I am the epitome of the 'Unknown Citizen.'

A post whose success surprised you:
http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/08/meri-teri-teri-meri-prem-kahani-hai.html


A post that didn't receive the attention it deserved:
A true writer does not expect that every piece that he / she writes will win accolades, one writes for the sake of writing! So I leave this question blank - as it is the Lord who decides what just desserts one will receive!

A post which you are most proud of:
Two posts again a short story and a poem:

http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/09/mission-melbourne-assignment-for-jackal.html

http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/05/if-onlyyou-would-say-yes.html


Now I tag the following bloggers:

Kavitha Karen Xavier Fernandez:
http://summer--breeze.blogspot.in/
An ex-colleague and friend who introduced me to the motley bunch of fun-loving bloggers that make up the Chennai Bloggers Club. Immensely talented singer, pastry chef, camera-buff and book-lover.

Dr. Ganesh Puttu:
http://audialtempartem.wordpress.com/
Living life king-size - extra large :) immensely witty and intelligent he is a doctor with degrees that run from A to Z and he writes short stories, is working on an e-novel, and is the humour-man of the group.

Gitanjali Naidu:
http://rhapsodic-xana.blogspot.in/
Landmark Quiz team-mate alongwith Dr. ganesh :) Immensely talented, fiercely independent, animal-lover, Blue Cross volunteer, trekker, the list goes on and on.
She blogs on her travel experiences and about life in general.

Sowmya Swaminathan:
http://myspace-ss.blogspot.in/
The kid of the CBC :) a student, Facebook addict and Harry Potter PhD holder :) she writes short stories, poems and her writings have been published in newspapers as well.

Murtaza Ali:
http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/
Self-confessed cineaste; his movie reviews can give established movie critics a run for their money. I am hoping I can collaborate with him and come up with a book / website on the Masters of Cinema.

Friends now you have been tagged; follow the format listed below to publish your tag-post!

Rules of the TAG
A) Write an introductory of the person who has tagged you! In this case me :)
B) Give us links of your

Your most beautiful post.
Your most popular post.
Your most helpful post.
Your most controversial post.
A post whose success surprised you.
A post that didn't receive the attention it deserved.
A post which you are most proud of.

C) You select five bloggers for passing on the tag and inform them about their being tagged.

The Strange Case of the Strider and Warrior Princess Xana

This story is part of a fiction-writing workshop initiated by two legends of the Indian blogosphere Karthik - The Fool and C.S. Suresh who blogs at http://jambudweepam.blogspot.in/

The plot is credited to Karthik - plot available here.


My story starts below:

Meghana stared at the mirror – she pouted her lips and then smiled. She was 32 but she did not look a day older than 25. Hazel eyes, luscious jet-black hair, she was stunningly beautiful. Aggressive, ambitious and fiercely independent, she was an electronics engineer with an MBA in International Business from IIM-A. She was the vice-president of Integra Solutions a leading player in the Indian I.T. sector with offices across the globe.

Meghana’s no-nonsense approach was treated as haughtiness by many and there was perhaps a shade of truth in it. Meghana had no friends at work as she believed that work and pleasure did not mix. Her only pressure-reliever was the MMORPG – ‘Invasion’. There she was – Warrior Princess Xana and was part of an elite group of warriors headed by the enigmatic shadow warrior Strider! If only she could find someone like the Strider in real life?

Meghana reported directly to the CEO and treated her colleagues with careless disdain it was part of her demeanour – her philosophy was – ‘Come what may! Work must get done!’ Her attitude had won her many enemies over the years, people who could not bear the rise of the young college beauty; as she rose from one post to the other with ruthless ease.

Arup was Integra’s ‘Network Support Engineer’ a simple affable guy, always ready to help anyone with a smile. Arup understood the meaning of ‘dignity of labour,’ his had been a story of hard work, determination and perseverance. His father’s business had crumbled and unable to bear the loss he had committed suicide; with two younger siblings and his mother to take care of – Arup had dropped out of college and started at Integra as an office-boy.

Read the full story here:

http://indifictionworkshop.blogspot.in/2012/09/the-strange-case-of-strider-and-warrior.html

The Sensei and his Disciples

A Zen tale that I think is worth reading and meditating upon :)


Sensei and the monks had gone for an early morning walk, along the ridge of the valley, located behind the Monastery.

As they were walking, they came across a charred, burnt house.

Sensei stopped the monks and asked, "Does anyone know how the house got burnt?"

Knowledge Monk said, "It was a short circuit."

Wisdom Monk said, "I believe it was a forest fire that burnt the house."

Sensei nodded and said, "When will the house get rebuilt?"

Inquisitive Monk said, "The owner will start construction later this year."

Sensei nodded again and said, "Is there anything the owner can do to guarantee that the house will not burn down again?"

The monks concentrated hard on the question but could not think of a correct answer.

Sensei looked towards Head Monk for his reply.

Head Monk bowed to Sensei and softly said, "The only way the owner can ensure that the house does not get burnt again is by not building the house...."

Sensei clapped thrice and said, "Life and its rebirths are like these house fires. They keep happening and the reasons remain mysterious. The only way to break the cycle is make sure that you are not reborn...."

Captcha Removed Finally --- I Hope

To my dear beloved readers who keep egging me on FB to remove captcha and comment moderation - please see screenshot below:

Please let me know if you can post comments without a hitch now!

Thanks :)

Prayers for You

When I saw you,
Frail and tired,
On the hospital bed.
With tubes and needles,
Stuck into your veins.

The pain that was evident,
On your tired face.
Your mom in tears.
And you looking dazed!
I was crying within.

But I stood calm,
Comforted your mom,
Sat next to you,
And held your palms in my hand.
They had gone stone-cold.
And your angelic smile was nowhere to be seen!

As I spoke to the doctor,
And then to your mom,
Patiently trying to explain,
That you will get well soon,
And she should stop crying.
She finally calmed down a bit.

As we coaxed you to eat,
So that you would regain your strength,
I knew you were in extreme pain!
And I felt your pain too.

The four spoons of porridge,
That I managed to make you eat.
As mom looked at you and then me -
In amazement - I just prayed that you would heal soon!
And your angelic smile would come back!

Meeting your family,
And seeing the love and affection,
That they shower upon you;
You don't know how lucky you are -
To have such loving parents and caring siblings;
All of whom want you to get well soon.

Get well soon.
May your angelic smile,
The twinkle in your eyes,
The sweet little,
Sing-song voice,
All come back to you,
With twice the strength, sweetness and beauty.

These are my prayers for you!

Mission Melbourne - An Assignment for The Jackal

The instructions always came in a blue envelope. This time for a change it came in a yellow envelope and contained a photograph, an address, flight-tickets and a crisp message - “It is your time to visit Melbourne, NOW”.

There was a sudden tinge of joy and sorrow on knowing the location - Melbourne - where I found my one and only love and lost her as well. I wondered how Lisa would be now? 25 years is a long time.

Lisa and Me:
The Qantas flight departed right on time and I relaxed in the comfort of my Executive class seat. It was time to reminisce on my only love-story. Melbourne in the 80s was much different from the high-rise super-tech, honey-mooners destination that it has turned into today!

I had landed up at the University of Melbourne on a 1-year student-exchange programme. The summer of 83 - India had just won the Cricket World Cup and I was among the few college cricketers who got a chance to visit Australia as part of a sports programme that would involve the training of fast-bowlers in Australia. It’s funny when I think that now Chennai has the MRF Pace Academy and Glen McGrath an Aussie heads it now.

The University of Melbourne was a lovely place a perfect mix of old-world and new upcoming modernist architecture. The rigorous training that our physical fitness instructor Mr James Larwood would put us through would build and mould me into what I would become in my later years.

Lisa was the stuff dreams are made of - a cross between Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep she walked with a fluidity of a ballet dancer and was studying sociology. I met her at the 'International Student Orientation Programme' where she guided a bunch of us new students about life in Melbourne.

We saw 'Terms of Endearment' at the Astor Theatre and something clicked deep within - me the tall fast bowler and she the fair golden-haired sociology student. It was an affair that we knew might never last but it was a beautiful summer of visiting museums over the weekends. Going cycling exploring the hidden by-lanes discovering some quaint cafe and trying out wines and cheese. Being in love was such a beautiful feeling.

We moved in together and we were contemplating marriage and then I received an international telegram. - 'come back immediately - Das'. Mr Das was our Man Friday and he looked after the needs of me and my elder brother. My elder brother was in the export business and exported handicraft products to the USA and UK. I showed the telegram to Lisa - she hugged me and told me 'Come back soon Honey - someone's joining us soon and smiled at me'. I was mad with joy and took her into my arms and kissed her. She playfully hit me and said 'Hey Tiger go visit your brother and return'.

To Kill a Mockingbird:
Mr Das was at the airport to greet me and when I reached home I was shocked to see Dada's body in an ice-box. I broke down and Mr Das comforted me. I said 'Kaku what happened?' Then the bitter truth came our Dada was an assassin and he had been killed when a hit-job went horribly wrong as someone had double-crossed him. Universal Exports was a front and was headed by the elusive Mr. Ranganathan who sent in details to the group of ten assassins - now reduced to nine.

That's when Mr. Ranganathan walked in - he walked straight up to me and said 'Chottu, your brother did not deserve to go like this - I am giving you an opportunity to avenge his death and take his place!'

Thus started my journey from being a budding cricketer to one of the world's most feared assassins!

I wrote a long letter to Lisa - apologizing for my inability to return to Melbourne! She sent me a reply with a photograph of us standing in front of the Astor! That was it...

Now so many years later when I had decided to retire this last job landed - Melbourne! Would I meet Lisa again? Had she left Melbourne?

To Kill or Not to Kill:
My assignment was to kill a chap named Peter Markham - 24 years old he had made the mistake of falling in love with Supriya Hirani - scion of India's biggest oil company. The two were deeply in love but Mr. Hirani was looking at acquiring Patel Steels by marrying of Supriya to Bhavesh Patel. Who was I to deliberate on love I was just a professional who was paid to do his job.

It was a weird twist of fate that Supriya was majoring in Sociology and Peter was a research associate working on an alternative fuel source project at the University of Melbourne. I had Peter's address and did a recon of the place an old two-storey apartment and that's when my heart skipped a beat - could it be - was old age finally catching up with me - could it really be Lisa?

She had aged with grace those golden strands of hair that smile still intact! The biggest shock was when she unlocked the flat where Pete was supposed to reside - was Pete Lisa's son? And then it hit me - no it could not be...

I walked out slowly and approached Pete's flat and rang the door-bell; the door opened after a minute - and Lisa stood before me. She said - 'Oh! My God is it really you?' and she started sobbing - she hugged me and I stood there bumbling not knowing what to do!

I comforted her and took her inside - 'Lisa tell me who is Peter?' - She wiped her tears away and smiled and said - 'Guess!'

Then it hit me - Peter was my son our son!


How could I kill my own son?
At that moment I decided - enough was enough - I quickly asked Lisa to change and pack her belongings and take her valuables. She was flustered but I told her who I was and then said - 'We need to reach Peter soon' Call him and tell him to remain in the research lab and not to come out till we reach there.'


Universal Exports functioned on a back-up plan always - if one assassin missed there would be another assassin to finish the job. Now that I had deliberately missed my target the wheels would already be in motion - who would be the back-up plan - Panther, Eagle or Cobra?

I asked her where Supriya was - Lisa said Supriya had gone to Sydney for a seminar and would only be back next week.

I took Lisa to my hotel room and asked her not to open the door till she heard either my voice or Peter's voice.

She hugged me and said 'Honey please come back safe and bring our son back safe!'


The Eagle and The Jackal:
I was code-named Jackal and I had to stalk the hunter who would bring down my son. The research-lab at the Faculty of Science and Engineering was on level-1 and I needed a either a student or a lecturer's ID card to get into the research facility. I bumped into a middle-aged man and flicked his wallet. The wallet had the access and ID-card that gave me access to the research facility. I moved inside with ease and scanned the huge laboratory for any suspicious activity. Peter was busy sitting in front of his computer and playing 'Angry Birds' I smiled at my son - I wanted to go up to him ruffle his hair and say -'Kiddo, I am your Dad!'

Then I noticed a red dot on my son's white lab-coat a laser target for an accurate shot - I followed the trajectory and stared above to notice Eagle adjusting the sniper. I had one chance to redeem myself - I took out my customized K-7 fitted with a silencer and shot Eagle the bullet met its mark. Eagle fell down with a surprised look. No one noticed anything.

I walked up to my son and said - 'Kiddo, I am your Dad, we have lots to talk come lets pick-up your Mom and go out for dinner!'

Melbourne gave me back my one true love and my son!

Melbourne the city where dreams turn into reality!

Visit Melbourne - rediscover your love or find your true love!

A Musical Quiz

Conducted a musical quiz at work recently!

The questions from round-2 are here :)

http://www.slideshare.net/areukiddingme/musical-quiz-round-2

Try them!


Image courtesy - My colleague Gandhi Sakthivel! He put in the tags not me :)

RIP - Oh gentle giant!

When the cryptic TOI headline screamed Michael Clarke dies - I was wondering what happended to the Oz captain?

Then to my shock I realized the gentle giant Mike who portrayed an Oscar-worthy role of the prisoner with magical powers in The Green Mile had died of a myocardial arrest!

Son of a single-mother who quit college to help his ailing mother and struggled as a bouncer and bodyguard before landing small roles; wowed everyone as John Coffey in The Green Mile. Tom Hanks was simply over-shadowed!

Other roles include Armageddon, Sin City, The Whole Nine Yards and voice-work in animation movies like Kung fu Panda.

Somehow he never got roles that would showcase his talents; a hulk of a man he would end up playing secret-agent second-fiddle roles or gang-member kind of roles.

RIP - oh gentle giant!

(Image courtesy - thescreeningroom.ca - Copyright reserved with the website administrator)

A Walk in the Rains

How happy I am..
To see you again,
In front of me.
To see that beautiful smile,
To see that twinkle in your hazel eyes.
To listen to you speak slowly in your sing-song voice!

As we walked together,
In the gentle drizzle,
Me holding an umbrella for you;
And listening attentively;
To every word that you spoke;
It was a walk in the rains.

A walk to remember,
Or rather a walk that-
I will never forget!
You looked troubled,
And as you spoke;
I noticed the sadness in your eyes and voice.

You know that I am there,
Just a phone-call away!
I am no Superman to work miracles;
But I can listen to you with care.
And try my best to help you;
In anyway to make you feel happy and see you smile.

Let your worries,
Vanish away in the dust,
That the rains wash away,
Let there be just happiness,
That we can share with each other.
A walk in the rains!

Journeys Never End - A Love Story - The Story Idea

The week leading up to August 15 was exciting because Indiblogger and Harper Collins had promised to provide a platform to bloggers to get published.

Please visit - http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/ and participate!

My effort to 'get published' - my story idea presented below:

It was 9:35 PM and my train to Rameshwaram was scheduled to leave Egmore station at 9:40 PM. The Tambaram-Chennai Beach local train reached Egmore just in time for me to run like Usain Bolt and get into the Rameshwaram Express.

I tried to catch my breath as I settled into my seat L-21. I looked at my fellow-passengers; a middle-aged couple eating their dinner, two nuns praying and a man in his thirties; with a copper urn in his hands.

Train to Rameshwaram and a copper urn - probably his parents' ashes I surmised. How wrong I was? I would learn what true love meant in the next fourteen hours of my journey to Rameshwaram - a story of love that overcame all odds!

Crunch, Munch, Lunch with a Lovely Bunch

So the big day was here - the day of the Mid-Year Blogger Meet. After so much planning by the organisers and so many questions, answers and counter questions, threats of only 15 seats available, etc., the day - Sunday, August 19 was here.

As I live in the 'back of beyond' - Tiruvallur 42 kilometres away from Chennai Central it was again a long train-ride. The days leading up to Sunday was suspenseful in a way - who all would be coming - Gitanjali, Dr. Ganesh, Susan, Sowmya, Bhushavalli, Chris Robin, Ashwini, these were the few bloggers with whom I interacted. Plus I would be meeting my former colleague Karen Xavier after a long time.

First I came to know that Karen had a family emergency and could not make it :( that was sad as was really keen to meet her. Then there was a long Q at Beach Station and I had to stand in silence staring at the back of a bald-headed Gujarati guy talking about dhanda kaharab hai on his mobile non-stop.

Got the ticket and boarded the MRTS train and revisited the Vivekananda College route; went into nostalgia as I looked at the beloved Beach - the renovated Chepauk stadium through the train-windows.

Life has changed or has it really? I am still single, still carry a back-pack with a water-bottle and a book to read and wear a cap and sun-glasses. Perhaps this is what LIFE has in store for me.

Got down at the Lighthouse station and walked to Al-Arab where my dear team-mate the good Dr. Ganesh was in deep conversation with a lovely lady (Sinduja) and a gent (Anand) who suspiciously looked like a Telugu movie-star.

Slowly other bloggers came -in Ashwini, Karpagam, Sandhya who had to be given directions to reach Al-Arab from Citi-Centre - practically bang opposite :)! A mild confusion about a young girl who was looking lost and we thought she was a blogger as well. Followed By Gitanjali, Kalyan the photographer and then finally Nirmal Anand who came in after the lunch started.

Food was decent but over-priced! Lunch dragged for about two hours and 15 minutes and then Karpagam and Gitanjali decided to go to their respective homes - at this juncture DRUPAL expert Jothivel Murthy came in and the rest of us proceeded to the beach.

There was an aha-galatta moment as Dr Ganesh changed from Clark Kent to Superman at the traffic signal and Sandhya had the shock of her life when she stared at our car from Anand's and the whole group cracked up at the traffic-signal with raucous laughter and the other bikers got scared :).

At the beach we sat in a huge circle and there was conversation about what we do what we blog and other random stuff and pulling of legs and healthy jibber-jabber.

Then the highlight of the evening Quizzing with the Dr on his love-stories with celebrities!

It was real fun! The Doctor was the real life and soul of the whole group providing us with entertainment both intentional and unintentional.

Sinduja left as she wanted to catch a movie - How was the movie? Review please!

As the sun-light dimmed and the evening set in we decided to call it a day and left with the hope of a bigger bash next time and having made new friends.

Let this beautiful little group grow, let there be no ego-clashes or tantrums or misunderstandings within this group. Let the Chennai Bloggers Club become something more than a bunch of motley friends - let there be concrete steps to do something for a social cause - it could be as simple as providing your old clothes to an old-age home, sponsoring a child's education, adopting a stray pup or kitten, planting a tree, etc..

With the seeds of the genesis of a collaborative project sown-in - I can foresee exciting times ahead!

The woods are lovely dark and deep, we as bloggers have many promises to keep :)


Keep blogging, keep smiling - God bless!

Meri Teri - Teri Meri - Prem Kahani Hai Mushkil

This is a piece of fiction written for the (Sony Entertainment Television’s the “Love Marriage ya Arranged Marriage” IndiBlogger contest- Check out - https://www.facebook.com/LoveYaArrange

The vaadhiyar was chanting the mantras at a ferocious pace looking at his watch, probably he had to head to another hall, another muhurtam and another marriage. Meenakshi was dressed in the traditional red silk saree, Anand was looking dapper in his pattu-veshti and angavastram. The parents of the bride and the groom looked happy and there was a glow of happiness and contentment all around. The usual galatta of a Tam-Brahm kalyanam, the kids running about, the mamis decked in their finery trading tips on losing weight, the hunt for a prospective U.S.-return mapillai everything was synchronised to perfection.

Then why the bloody hell was I feeling like Simbhu in the introductory sequence of 'Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya' or Prateik Babbar in 'Ek Deewana Tha'.

Childhood and College:
Anand was my best friend right since class five when he had moved to our apartment complex in Mylapore. We studied at P.S. Senior Higher Secondary School and college was at Vivekananda; life seemed complete with the blessings of Kapaleeshwarar and we thought Madras or Chennai was the whole world for us!

Hired on Campus:
It was a remarkable quirk of fate or the strength of our friendship that the two of us got placed on-campus in a K.P.O. - one of the largest in the world head-quartered out of Seattle with branches in places ranging from Colombo to Manila and Sydney to Nairobi.

Pehli Nazar main Pyar ho Gaya:
It was the first day of work and there she stood right in front of me breaking my twenty-year old heart into smithereens - Meenakshi - another fresher and campus recruit - she was from Ethiraj College and had studied Literature! As all of us freshers went through the rituals of induction, corporate etiquette and a hundred other training things compacted into a three-week program.

The training went well and the three of us Anand, Meenakshi, and I bonded well. At the end of the training program the three of us were assigned to a team. Each team within the firm worked using code-names we were never supposed to reveal the actual name of the client for whom you worked. Everything was coded - so you had teams named - FAST, Skywalkers, Big Fish...
The three of us were put into Team FAST and ended up working for one of the largest accounting and auditing firms in the world.

On the floor:
Work started in full earnest, there was no day, no night, working for American clients meant you slept in the mornings and afternoons and slaved through the nights, but no complaints great food, good pay and a great atmosphere! Three years went by in a flash.

Three years:
All through these years the three of us stuck together through thick and thin, even when others from our batch quit, we stuck to our company the company that chose us! I never realized that Anand had a soft corner for Meenakshi as well; it came out during Anand's birthday bash. Meenakshi had gone to Trivandrum to attend a wedding in her family, and it was just me and Anand.

Bottled up emotions:
Between the two of us we had managed to finish a Seagrams 100-pipers and 2 Fosters' each. And then Anand said - 'Matchan - do you know something, promise - don't tell this to anyone!' And then the birthday boy puked on me ruining my denim! It was crazy the two of us on the beach with Anand puking away to glory and me not knowing whether to cry or laugh!

Anand or Meena:
It was weird, because before Meenakshi had left for the wedding I had penned all my emotions in one long letter and given it to her asking her to read and revert. When Meena returned to work she went up to Anand and said - 'Anand why did you have to tell this through him (pointing at me). You could have told me directly?'

And then it struck me - I had not signed the letter with my name!!!!! Blistering barnacles and thundering typhoons - three years to pen a love-letter and this idiot does not have the guts or memory to sign his name. As usual she had believed that it was Anand who wanted to convey his feelings through me. Their love story started on the premise of a lie and a poem - a beautiful lie written by me.

Things moved at a feverish pace and the marriage got fixed and now I stand before them in the kalyana mandapam. The Kashi yatra is over and the groom has been welcomed in - Meenu stands staring at me in a weird way! I look at her and smile as well.

I notice a tug on my veshti and look down to see a small girl about seven years old with a note in her hand, she gives it to me. I open the note - in it written in Meenakshi's clear and crisp writing was a single query - 'Did you write the bloody letter you fool? Anand said this to me just before heading out for the kashi-yatra!"

I did not know what to say as - Anand suddenly came up to me took my hand and led me up to the homa-kundam and gave my hand to Meenakshi - "Matchan - sorry da - I realized that Meenakshi loves you - the poet not me!"

There was utter chaos in the hall as someone shouted 'Abacharam yenna nadakaruudhu inge?' - "What the hell is happening here!"

Friendship reigns and Love prevails:
In that one instant friendship redeemed itself and true love prevailed as Meenakshi's Appa looked at Meenakshi and she said with tears in her eyes sorry Appa - I am in love with him and planted a kiss on my lips in the hall!

The mama who shouted 'Abacharam' earlier said 'Nassama pochu - Ivalke kalyanatha paniveyungo!' - "Blazes - get these two married!"

Getimellam:
In all this confusion Anand pushed the thali - mangalsutra in my hands and I tied it around Meenakshi's neck!

Thus goes the story of my arranged-love marriage!

Lines for You - Will You Give me a Chance?

The shortest of SMSes from you,
Makes me smile;
Even if it's just a simple -'Yup',
Or a single smiley that you,
Send in reply;
It still makes my heart fill up with joy!

It's well more than a month,
Since I saw you last;
When do I meet you again?
I never know.
Will you ever-ever understand;
That you are someone special for me.

If I lack something,
Let me know,
I will refine myself to suit your tastes.
Once earlier when I spoke to you about this;
You just moved away from me.
Those few days I kept kicking myself;
You never will know how much pain I went through!

The joy that I got,
When I got you to smile again;
Well it is unexplainable.
I write pages and pages of poems,
All dedicated to you.
Not a single moment passes by,
Without me thinking of you.

Will you my dearest,
Say 'Yes' when I ask you the 'question'?
Or will you just smile cryptically,
Get up, walk away and make me cry again!
I know it will be a tough decision,
For you to go against the wishes of your loved ones.

But give me a chance, that's all I ask of you!
A chance to prove that I can indeed be the man for you!
Will you give me the chance?
If only I could fly?
I would spread my wings and fly up to you,
And caress you with my wings and stand by you!

If only my dearest, you would give me a chance?
Is it too much to ask?

Musical Quiz

Conducted a quiz for the employees at my work-place!

Employee Engagement :)

Simple quiz for Illayaraja and RD Burman fans :)

Try this http://www.slideshare.net/areukiddingme/musical-quiz-round-2

Do post your answers in the Comments Section :)

Happy quizzing!

Today's train accident!!!!

Early this morning close to about 4:30 AM The Tamil Nadu Express heading to Chennai from New Delhi caught fire near Nellore. Coach S-11 and at last count 42 people have been charred to death.

Some questions to the great system that governs this country:

Millions on sporting extravaganzas like the Commonwealth games or the running joke that is the IPL.

Scam after scam by politicains from all major parties.

This development, that development - sending a man to land on the moon.

Space exploration, defence program, nuclear energy and all such things for the so-called progress of the nation!

How much does it cost to install a smoke-alarm / fire-alarm in every coach of the train?

Fire extinguishers in every coach?

There is no value for a human life in this country!

This is the state-of-life in my nation, I am proud to be an Indian :( - The media will go mad - Arnab Goswami willhold a discussion at 9. Half-a-penny celebrities will speak, mud-slinging by former railway men and women will happen and the whole damn system reeking of human and animal refuse will continue to run as if nothing happened!

I spend 4 hours on the local train every day - I know first-hand how pathetic the system is!

Forget Metro-rail, forget monorail - this land will never ever move from the status of developing to developed!

Even when I reach the ripe old age of eighty India will still be developing and some statesman would have coined a new term India 2100 to aim complete growth!

The Dark Knight Rises - Review

There is a strange sense of joy when you manage to sit in the AC comfort of a plush cinema-hall and get to watch a movie for TEN bucks right in the first row. The joy is compounded when the movie is The Dark Knight Rises - before I go into the review a prayer to the dear departed souls whose lives were snuffed out by a deranged psychopath in the US.

All tickets in the executive class were full and the helpful attendant gave me a Rs 10 ticket to my shock and surprise the three gorgeous (make-up magic) girls who stood behind me in the queue managed to get the executive tickets! 'Anything for you madam' seems to be PVR's new mantra :)

Before the movie started there were trailers of Superman to be released in 2013 and The Bourne Legacy (am not going to miss it). The movie started finally and the incessant chat of two dumb chaps in Telugu was beginning to irritate me. Before I could say anythin another chap a Sardar methinks said - 'Oye chhhup kar yaar picture dekh'!

The movie starts with a plane flying with a CIA recovery team who have seemingly captured a nuclear physicist and some mercenaries who work for Bane! Then we are introduced to the menacing Bane himself played by Tom Hardy attired with a Hannibalesque mask! A crash is engineered and Bane escapes with the physicist hanaging from another plane! What an introduction scene :)

Commisioner Gordon's homage to Harvey Dent and then introduces us to the now retired Batman / Bruce Wayne. We are also introduced to the ravishingly seductive Catwoman / Selina Kyle played by Ann Hathaway:)!

To cut a long story short we have a stock market attack initiated by Bane in which Bruce Wayne loses control of his company. This follows Bane terrorising the city by blowing up parts of the city specially the stadium when an American soccer match is in progress.

He threatens to blow a nuclear device if his demands are not met and unleashes a reign of terror and revolution wherein the commoners hold mock-trials and punish the upper class society members.

There is a parallel track of a rookie cop who holds the key to the climax!

SPOILERS AHEAD - I guess half the readers of this blog would have seen the movie already!

The caped crusader wears the mask again and tries to fight Bane. But Bane overpowers Batman and sends him to a dungeon at the bottom of a well-like structure and there we see Bruce Wayne recovering from his bashing supported by two old men in the prison.

During this period complete unrest and anarchy breaks out in Gotham City while a whole contingent of policemen are trapped in the underground tunnels.

The movie keeps shifting from Gotham to the dark dungeon - apparently a few shots of the exterior landscape depicting the location of the dungeon were shot in Rajasthan!

Bruce Wayne rebuilds his strength and attempts to climb out of the well, fails a couple of times and then climbs out without the aid of a rope!

Gordon and the rookie cop meanwhile try to prevent the nuclear bomb from detonating. Batman returns to Gotham and a massive fight ensues and good triumphs over evil.

We have a lady who sleeps with Bruce Wayne turning out to be Ras al Ghul's daughter who seeks vengeance and the Catwoman becoming Batman's saviour!

The movie ends on a positive note we are to believe that Wayne / Batman escapes a nuclear blast and lands in Florence with Selina Kyle in tow and a memorial gets erected for Batman in Gotham City.

The ends also brings the option of a new Batman franchise. Watch the movie!!!

Special mention as always for Michael Caine as Alfred the butler and Morgan Freeman as Fox the tech-guru!

Nowhere near the Dark Knight because Heath Ledger was a villain in another mode and Tom Hardy has to portray a more physical and brutal villain.

I wonder how Bane eats / drinks and if the mask is to be there always, how come there is no beard or side-burns if he can't shave :)!

Vijay Divas

Today is Vijay Divas - July 26th how many of us remember the day!

It is in honour of all the soldiers who lay down their lives to secure victory for India in the Kargil War!

A prayer for all the martyrs!

Jai Hind!

I want to Fly

Part of a fun-competition organised by the Chennai Bloggers Club about flying and the first flight! I chose to write a poem :)

As a child:

I would look up at the sky,
And smile in wonder,
At those magnificent machines,
That flew through the clouds,
With such power and grace!

It was a real joy,
To say 'tata'and wave my hands,
At the aeroplanes that flew,
Carrying unknown people,
To destinations that I might never visit.

As a teen:

Watching Top Gun and Broken Arrow!
There was a passion,
For flying machines and Aviator glasses.
A craze for posters and magnetic aeroplane stickers.

Now I am a man - or am I still a child :) -

It's all about revenues,
Value-distance and cost-per-clicks,
Tracking advertising revenue and monitoring clients.
Life goes on and I am still stuck
In a city that binds me!

The rare vacation that makes me travel!
Is still by Indian Railways!
Air-travel is still something of a dream!
Funny isn't it - in a world of low-cost airlines :)

If an air-trip materialises:

It should be to a city,
That I never visited before,
A trip without hassles,
Possibly on time departure and arrival :)
And perhaps someone interesting on the seat next to me :)

Life goes on....as this dream too remains unfulfilled like so many others!

The Hare and the Tortoise

Someone sent me an email with this picture - too funny :) read, think and then laugh :)

Quick Movie Reviews

The Spirit - Malayalam
Starring - Mohanlal, Kaniha, Shankar, Kalpana and others

The movie is a social commentary on how alcoholism is becoming a big issue in Kerala. Every day the number of alcohol-related deaths are rising. This movie is about the writer cum media-person Raghunandan played by Mohanlal who is a chronic alcoholic and is divorced but maintains a friendly relationship with his ex-wife her new husband and the mute son from his marriage.

His friend and poet dies in his arms spitting blood and tissue because of alcohol dependency forces Raghu to change the way he looks at life.

A documentary is shot titled a 'Day in the life of an alcoholic' as part of his TV show - the documentary bit shows the frustrations and problems of an alcoholic.

Definitely worth a watch Ranjit's script and direction is top-class.

Three and a half stars!

Pan Singh Tomar - Irffan Khan, Mahie Gill, Raghuvir Yadav, Nawazuddin Sidiqqui and others. Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia.


Based on a true story of an army officer cum athlete who ends up becoming a dacoit and is shot dead in a brutal police encounter. The movie is stunning for the sheer intensity that Irffan brings in his portrayal as the long-distance runner and then the dacoit who wreaks vengeance.

Have not seen Gangs of Wasseypur yet so cannot comment on Manoj Bajpayee's acting but Irffan deserves an award for the sheer effort he has put in to portray the champion runner.

Deserves four stars :)

Once again at the cross-roads?

After almost two years at the current work-place - the first signs of dis-satisfaction are here :(!

It might be time to say farewell here - and start something new!

The mind is in a state of turmoil - EMIs on the home-loan need to be paid.

Life has to go on....

Once again I stand before the fork in the woods and have to choose which turn to take - this time I might just turn around and walk away to a whole new destination!

More to follow!

Yes and No

Some of the wisest bit of advice by mentor, friend, philosopher and guide - Gandhi Sakthivel


Jo tumhari hai vo kabi NA nahi boleygi...aur jo nahi hai kabi HAAN nahi bolegii,,,

Zaroor vo HAAN bolney wali aayegi zindagi mey...usko dil jaan sab kuch dho...its worth the wait...

When translated it reads:

She who is destined to be yours - will never say 'NO'!

And she who was never meant to be yours will never say - YES'!

And for sure the girl who will say 'YES" will come into your LIFE!

And when she does come - give her everything that you have!


Truly great :)

The Tale of the Poet

Behind every poem,
Lies a poet,
Behind every poet,
There is a love story.

Some poets find joy,
And write in happiness,
Sharing their joys -
Of courtship and togetherness to the world.

There are many nameless faces,
That have thousands of tales,
Of rejection and failure,
Of broken promises and lost love.

Of going to the brink of despair,
Seeking solace in the bottle,
Or in music or in the arts.
Or just re-discovering oneself in a brand new city.

There is a story behind every poet and poem.
Every lover has a weird story to tell.
Sometimes silence means acceptance.
Many a time silence means rejection.

No wound in my heart,
But still it pains,
I left your city,
Trying to forget you.

I feel that you broke,
A piece of my heart -
And kept it with yourself.
If only you would say - Yes!

A House-Warming Ceremony

Me during the ritual - yes I do look funny - I know that :)- The belt is to prevent the veshti from falling down and embarrassing me in front of my niece, nephew and other relatives :)


In old Tamil movies specially the ones made by Vishu the dialogue - "Summa va sonanga kalyana tha panni par, veetai ketti par" - I thought it was a running joke - but after all the efforts that I put into building / buying a home - I realized what a monumental effort it was.

The past two years were spent on attending countless property-shows chasing adverts / builders listed on Hindu - Property Plus and visiting places as distant as Urapakkam and Thiruvotriyur.

Finally by God's grace I found a small simple flat that fit my budget in Kakallur a village in Tiruvallur District. The place is about 40 kms away from Chennai Central enroute to Arakkonam.

Payments to the builder, loan processing by the bank, everything went super quick in a flash with the well-wishes of elders and friends and a very special friend whom I kept pestering to wish me good luck every single phase of the way :) I know you are reading this and I thank you as always from the bottom of my heart :)!

The arrangements for the priest, catering everything went well. The only complaint was that a lot of food went waste :( Well you can't win them all and lots of people backed out at the last moment, obviously the long commute prevented even the most good friends coming to the place!

It was fun and a learning experience and the smile on my mother's face was the biggest joy that all these pains, troubles and efforts vanished in a second :)!

By end of July I should be moving into the new house.

A house to call my own

After so many years,
After so many false starts,
So many broken promises,
And endless pursuits,
For the right size and price!

Finally a house,
That I have gifted to my mother,
Fulfilling a promise,
That I made to her.
Seeing her smile in contentment,

Was the biggest joy of all :)

I have a Dream!

I have a dream,
Of a life,
That I can share with you.

Of being with you,
Through thick and thin,
Through every day of the rest of my life.

I keep trying,
To walk up to you,
And tell you - what you mean to me!

You said 'No' once,
When I gathered all my courage,
And shared my feelings!

It took a long time,
For me to win back,
Your smile!

I am scared,
If I ask once again,
I will lose you forever.

The smile on your lips,
The twinkle in your eyes,
And the joy that you bring.

I am scared that -
I would lose all -
Of this - forever.

So life goes on,
And my dreams,
Continue to remain just a dream!

If only...you would say yes!

I look into your eyes,
And I wonder,
What secrets do they hold?

I watch you smile,
And I wonder,
How do you always manage to smile?

I listen to your laughter,
Which rings out clear,
And wonder how you always seem full of joy?

There is so much to learn,
From the simplest of actions that you do!
If only you would realize ---

What you mean to me?
Do I get a chance to express - my thoughts?
If I do so - would you refuse to speak to me?

I am scared,
That I would lose the joy and cheer of your smile,
The little conversations that we have.

If only you would give me a chance,
To prove that you are special,
Would you let me hold your hand?

If only you would,
I would show you a world,
That's different and simple.

Away from the daily complications,
Of a busy-rushed life.
A simple life - full of joy.

I promise to fulfill,
Every childish whim and fancy of yours,
If only you would say - yes - and be mine!

RCB Implode - DC - Charge - CSK - Sneak in

Well the unimaginable happened! CSK have been gifted a place by RCB who lost a match they ought to have won.

Now CSK need to win not just for the sake of their own fans but also for the fans of the Chargers!

Come on yellow brigade do your stuff :)

CSK - How the mighty have fallen!

CSK's entry into the play-offs now depends on the outcome of the remaining matches - with Gayle's carnage yesterday I guess CSK are out!

A mathematical possibility still exists that the men in yellow sneak through but RCB should lose their next match for that and none of the other contenders should exceed 17 points!

Asking too much!

Francois du Plessis should have played yesterday :( Dhoni's boys missed a trick if they would have won all these permutations could have had hardly any effect - now it's all down to net run rate :(

Let us see what happens now!

Movie Reviews

Aravaan - Tamil:

I have been a fan of Vasanthabalan since 'Veyil', not many know that he made a movie called 'Album' before it. Aravaan is based on a section from the award-winning Tamil historical novel 'Kaaval Kootam'. The movie set in 17th-18th century Tamizh Nadu focusses on a clan of thieves and their actions.

How a stranger joins their group, and what his secret is - forms the crux of the story. Good cinematography, below-par graphics, good songs and great performances by Aadhi and Pasupathi.

Definitely worth watching once :)

Second Show - Malayalam:

Mamooty's son Dulquar Salman makes a power-packed debut as a thug/drug-trafficker with the story starting in flashback-mode - worthy of a Tarantinoesque twist - the movie has great camera-work some wonderful lines a great support cast and Sudesh Beri as the menacing villain Vishnu Buddhan. Special mention for Rohini who plays Salman's mother :)

One line that remains etched in my memory - 'Annum, Innum, Ennum - pennunu pannam aana kamughan!'roughly translated as - 'Be it then, now or ever after for a woman - money is a woman's preferred lover!' - The intensity with which he delivers this dialogue when in jail realizing that the girl who promised to be with him through thick and thin has now married someone else has to be seen to be believed!

A great start by D. Salman :)

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT - A short story

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT

The private bus-stand was moved from the main bus-stand at C.M.B.T. or Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus to ease traffic. This move brings untold misery on all folks who have to take a bus to visit places like Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Trichy, Madurai etc.

It's absolute chaos as harried announcers look at a clip-board coordinate on the mobile phone and announce bus departures and arrivals on a public address system. The P.A. system functions on a strange audio frequency that mysteriously converts sound waves - 9:45 PM to 10:45 PM and vice-versa.

I was travelling to Coimbatore to attend a school-mate's wedding and looking forward to meet my batchmates after a gap of almost ten years. With great difficulty I managed to navigate through the crowd of passengers - mostly the 'IT-group' on their weekend getaways!

I found my bus - Bhagyalakshmi Travels - semi-sleeper non-A/C coach. The bus was painted in a combination of black, silver and shocking pink - a standout piece in comparison to the other demure and dull white and black buses in the terminus. I boarded the bus - J-18 window seat and looked at the other early-bird passengers. Seated in the adjacent row were a mama and mami enjoying a dinner of chappathis and brinjal curry - the row before me - a couple of nuns were arguing in Malayalam about a passage from the Gospel.

Suddenly - 'Kaadhalin Deepam Etrinale Yenn Nenjil...' started playing on the bus's sound-system and that is when she entered the bus dressed in a pista-green salwar kameez embroidered with rose-petalled flowers and silver sequins. She was carrying an Adidas adventure back-pack and held her mobile phone in her right hand.

My heart skipped a beat - what an angel - truly lucky would be the man who would get to marry this beautiful girl! She walked slowly looking at the seat numbers displayed atop the window-frames. She stopped next to the J-row - looked at her ticket said 'J-17' and smiled at me. Then the song changed to 'Inji idippu azhagi, kalla chirippu azhagi..' the smile turned into a full-throated laugh as I too joined shared her laughter and helped her put her back-pack in the luggage-rack.

A quick round of introductions followed - she was Priya a fourth year engineering student, she was going home to Coimbatore before she began work on her final-year project. The bus made it's way slowly outside the terminus and we spoke about each other family, friends studies, etc. - time flew by in a flash and I was lost in her hazel eyes and angelic smile.

The bus picked up speed as we left the city limits and the bus came to a scheduled stop just beyond Sri Perumbudur. The bus attendant announced a 15-minute break before the journey would resume.

Priya looked at me and said - 'Can you get me a couple of bananas and a Lays packet?'
I said yes and in spite of my protests she tucked a 100 hundred rupee note in my shirt pocket. The bus stood in a clearing and about 100 metres away on the opposite side of the road there was a petty shop a small hotel and further away a row of shacks that served as pay-and-use toilets.

I went up to the shacks took a leak and paid the attendant two rupees and stepped out making my way to the petty shop to buy the bananas and the Lays packet. Then there was a deafening blast followed by flames and burning metal everywhere. The impact of the blast hit me hard as I flew across the air and landed back near the row of shacks. I got up bleeding from my face and noticed that the bus was no longer there it was replaced by a strange metallic skeleton. With tears in my eyes I attempted to run to the bus but I was pulled back by the attendant from the pay-and-use toilet. He said - Saar vedigundu saar - evannum thapikka mudiyadhu - correct ka date a paatu kuri vechanga! - Then it struck me the last two weeks had carried news of the capture and death of LTTE leader Prabhakaran and there had been umpteen protests and gatherings throughout Tamil Nadu.

I fell down in despair crying thanking my lucky stars having escaped with a few cuts and bruises and then I realized that Priya had been on the bus and then realization dawned - when I had helped Priya keep her back-pack up on the luggage rack I had heard a discernible tick-tock sound and I had joked - 'Bomb' and she had said with a smile - 'No, no it's a fancy alarm clock for my younger brother.'

I felt at my shirt-pocket and took out the 100-rupee note that she had thrust so forcefully into my pocket - on it was scribbled - 'Sorry - May be in another life - Love P :(' - I fell down to the ground in tears - disillusioned, angry, hurt and as a range of emotions flowed through me the tears stopped.

The sirens of the ambulance vans and the police-jeeps broke the uncanny silence of the night. I got up and walked towards the approaching police-jeeps.

The Avengers - Movie Review

I have always been a comic book - super hero fan and have enjoyed Christopher Nolan's Batman renaissance and the Spiderman movies to a certain level. Iron Man with RObert Downwy Junior's sarcasm and with was an instant connect. The two Hulk movies did not actually set the cash registers ringing but were OK. Thor, Captain America well did not actually enjoy - felt Thor deserved better treatment because of the background material available.

Now to come to The Avengers - America's - super-force of super-heroes and 1 super-heroine - Black Widow played by the lovely Scarlett Johannson. Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury head of SHAFT and he calls in the elite group to rcover the Tesurrect an alien energy source now in the hands of the Norse God of mischief - Loki who plans to use it to open a portal in time and bring in an alien army conquer earth and become its ruler. That in a nutshell is the beginning - the movie narrates how the super-heroes fight against Loki and his army and save New York where the aliens launch their attack.

The chemistry between the actors is crackling - special mention for the exchange of words between the Hulk portrayed by Michael Ruffalo and Iron Man. Hawkeye - played by Jeremy Rattner and the Black Widow have some romantic angle which never came out on screen. Gymneth Paltrow has hardly six minutes of screen time but looks lovely and slightly anorexic in her short denim shorts and white shirt!

I loved the scene in which Loki in anger says - 'Enough you mere mortals - I am a God and you mere men....(or something similar to that) and the Hulk picks him up like a rag-doll and bangs him on the floor about 10 times.

The Hulk got the most claps and desrvedly so - Mark Ruffalo brought out the inner struggle in a much more believable fashion when compared to Edward Norton.

The last thirty minutes where the fight for New York is staged is a visual-effects spectacle and when viewed in 3-D really wonderful.

People don't miss the movie. It is worth every exhorbitant rupee that the cineplexes charge you - not to be seen on 'thiruttu DVD' - folks watch it on the big-screen in 3-D.

All credit to the director Joss Whedon :) and his script-writers!