Royal Magnum Icecream Launch

Product - Royal Magnum Icecream

Venue - The Hyatt Regency - Chennai

PR company - Edelman

The Royal Magnum ice cream launch at Chennai's Grand Hyatt was a brilliant success; the programme started a bit late, but then the great spread of snacks was enough to keep me occupied! Met lots of CFG friends for the first time - Fazil, Danny, Lalitha, Kamali, Sara.

The chef spoke patiently and Cary the host took over, there were a couple of kids who were the spotlight of the show answering honestly to the questions asked by the chef!

We were made to choose from chocolate nuggets and identify the origin of the same - Swiss, Belgian or French chocolate.

Then we were given the actual Royal Magnum classic flavoured icecream bar to eat - made in Thailand and priced at Rs 75. I am not someone who is that much into icecreams, I am more of a fresh fruit and flavoured wafer chap :)!

The icecream was rich and the Belgian chocolate made the experience divine!


Then we were asked to create sundaes of our own using 5 ingredients, a chocolate sauce and the Royal Magnum icecream bars!

We chose orange cake, pepper, mint instead of rosemary, kiwi fruits and chocolate sauce to make a delightful sundae, which we named Harry's Citrus Blast / Delight - dedicated to the original angry cop Dirty Harry - Clint Eastwood :)


An enjoyable experience - thank you CFG, Edelman and Royal Magnum :)

The Liebster Blog Award

I have been awarded the Liebster Blog Award by blogger Gayathree Ganeshan. She has a way with words and I admire some of her poems! She has also written guest posts on some websites and is a singer as well!

http://gayathreeganesan.blogspot.in/2013/03/the-liebster-blog-award-is-mine.html



Essentially one states 11 facts about oneself, answers 11 questions presented by the person who gives us the award; we then proceed to set up 11 eleven questions and pass it on to 11 other bloggers.

I have tagged people for quite some time, in the recent past at least three tag-posts to friends and bloggers and I have realized that not everyone has the time and patience to sit and answer questions posted by others. Plus a few bloggers by principle do not publish tag-posts. A few I have noticed readily publish and answer tag-posts initiated by others but choose to discard my questions without batting an eye-lid.

Hence this time around I am not selecting anyone - it is an open post; every blogger is special and every blogger deserves an award!

If you wish to accept the award feel free to answer my questions!

11 Things About Me:

Crazy about books, movies, Ilayaraja, The Beatles and dogs.

Aim to make a movie some day.

Believe that TASMAC should be banned and state-sponsored alcoholism should end.

I have played Brutus, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony in a play at school! From class 10 to class 12, every year I played a character! Brutus is my personal favourite :)

I find myself more comfortable in the company of four-legged friends and young children than adults!

I love cooking but for the life of me cannot roll out a perfect chappathi.

Curd Rice Rocks :)!

I analyse movies frame by frame scene by scene and usually pin-point which scene in a Tamil or Hindi movie has been lifted from which foreign movie - this drives my friends crazy!

I believe that rapists, child-molesters and men who physically and emotionally harass women deserve to be deported to an uninhabited island and left there to rot - cut away from all civilization.

I usually remain very calm and composed even during the craziest situations; but woe betide if you anger or rub me the wrong way - I promise I will hunt you down and make you pay!

I dream of a better tomorrow where merit gets precedence over what community I was born in or what religion I practise!

Q-n-A - Gayathree's questions and my answers:

1. If you were born a saint, what would your message to the society be?
2. How did you start blogging?
3. Why do you think modern poetry is not well-recognized in the world of literature?
4. If you are to become young again and shape your career afresh, what would you choose to be?
5. What is the first thing that you would do if you wake up to find yourself (alone) stranded in a uninhabited desert?
6. What is your take on water conservation?
7. If you are in a powerful position in the government or the UN, what would your reforms be on poverty alleviation?
8. If you are born to a terrorist father, can you keep the same composure and non-violence that exists in you now?
9. If you are secret agent who is appointed with a mission to find the root cause of terrorism, what will be the first thing you will accomplish?
10. What is your opinion on the sky being blue? (NON-SCIENTIFIC)
11. State one compliment and one criticism about me deserving this liebster blog award.


Believe that God exists in every living creature animal or human; respect every living creature!

Free time at work and the necessity to write!

Poetry does not deliver the thrill of a crime-novel; publishers need to create incentives for aspiring poets and promote them! Can a poetry book see the same fanfare as the release of a JK Rowling novel????

A monk in a Buddhist monastery!

Go back to sleep!

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink! Re-use waste-water, ensure that your offices and residences have rain-water harvesting resources!

Freeze all black-money accounts in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, London, Monaco, etc. and use all that money to ensure that no one starves to death. Make it mandatory for every company having an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore or more to invest 1 % per crore of their turnover towards social awareness and food-sustainability and drinking water projects!

Terrorism does not only mean that you need to carry a gun and blow up people and places; any man who does not know how to treat his wife and children with respect is a terrorist! I have suffered and seen my mother and sister suffer and my only promise to myself every single day of my life has been - if and if I ever get married I will treat the lady whom I get married to with the same respect, love and admiration that I shower on my mother and sister. If I have children they shall be showered with affection and care and never be hurt physically or emotionally! Read Roald Dahl's - 'Danny the Champion of the World' and I wish to be like Danny's dad for my kids!

Freeze all suspected money-laundering accounts! Ensure that all state and central intelligence services and the police-forces come under one unified command. Initiate a Zero Dark Thirty like operation to flush out Dawood Ibrahim. Zero-tolerance to veiled attacks on us by Pakistan and Bangladesh. Focus with the central and state governments to make the Northeastern states of India secure, as China is slowly brain-washing the people by supporting insurgents there!

Because the Lord decided that whenever you have the 'blues' just look up at the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars and thank God that these are free; smile and face every problem as it comes.

The poems are a big plus :) Nothing negative to say :) You can only improve and be a better blogger and writer :) Keep smiling, keep blogging :)!

11 questions for those who choose to answer:

Can a man and a woman just remain friends?

What ails Indian television?

If you could dedicate two hours every month to a social cause of your choice - what would that social cause be?

If someone offered to kill someone for you - no questions asked - who would you choose to be 'bumped-off' and why?

Did you cast your electoral vote?

Will you be ready to contest the elections as an independent candidate?

If God exists, why would so much of unrest and chaos still exist? Your thoughts on this!

Who are the most under-rated actors / actresses in Indian cinema!

Does another dimension of time exist? Are there parallel worlds existing on this planet that we call earth?

If you were just allowed to keep one book with you; which book would you choose?

Sometimes one tight slap works wonders instead of an hour of talking! Your thoughts on this statement!

Maa, Didi, Behna aur Khushi

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club series of posts by men in the group to celebrate a week long "marathon" in the honour of womanhood.

Four women who have played a major role in my life; and perhaps I shall play a major role in one person's life!

Maa:
Married at 15,
Pushed away to a distant land,
Mad-cap dysfunctional family,
That only gave you tears,
A man who did not deserve you,
A man who stifled up your dream,
But you chose to shoulder all responsibilities,
Bore two children - Didi and Me

Years of abuse,
Emotional torture,
Made you strong,
You just studied till Class Seven,
But with your basic knowledge,
A simple girl from a nondescript village in Kerala,
You travelled all over India,
And let your children grow with love and knowledge.

Sacrifices that you have made,
Are too many to be listed here,
You are special,
For the Lord chose your womb,
And made me see the light of day,
And grow in your loving care!

As old age takes its toll on you;
As various illnesses torment you,
And the both of us battle them every day.
I hope I can live up to your expectations!
And always see you happy.
Whatever I do -
I hope never ever hurts you!


Didi:
A second mum to me,
A special person,
Who got me pens and comics,
When I was young,
Who would shield me from the wrath of elders,
When I perennially flunked the Maths tests.

Of visiting pooja pandals,
In the streets and by-lanes of Calcutta,
Of helping you pick dresses and hand-bags,
During the shopping-sprees!

Of watching you get married,
To a gentleman from a distant land,
Of me getting into an emotional tangle,
On seeing you go away,
To your new home.

I am proud of you,
Of being a lovely wife,
A loving mom to a smart son,
And being my dearest Didi,
Love you always!


Behna:
Dear little sister,
You bring so much joy,
To all of us,
From travelling abroad,
For higher-studies,
Winning scholarships,
Visiting countries and cities,
That I can only see in movies.

A splendid dancer, singer, artiste,
You are everything,
That I always aspired to be.
I am happy for you,
As you inspire the younger generation,
In the extended family,
Who now look up to you,
As their idol.

Wishing you joy and success - always!


Khushi:
I have told you -
What you mean to me!
I stand by what I said,
Every smile that you smile,
Every good luck wish,
That I always get from you.

You have a special place,
In the little heart of mine.
Whatever you say,
Whatever you do,
Wherever you go,
Wherever life takes us,
Far or Near,

I want you to know,
That you shall always,
Be that one true love;
I know this is foolish,
I know I am being an idiot,

I can never,
Ever see you feeling hurt,
Sad or in tears,
I will never ever hurt you,
By word or deed,

I can't bear,
To see that
Precious smile of yours,
Change into anger or sorrow!
So I shall wait,
With hope for you to say - 'Yes'

Khushi for you....forever!


My promise - Wherever I go - I shall not watch women being abused physically or verbally - consider every lady and child as my own family-member and fight for them!

My Prayer to the Lord - never let me succumb to temptation or be misguided into hurting any lady or child by word, deed or thought!

FRIENDS

Who is a Friend?
Is a friend someone:
Who is always there to listen to you?
Who patiently listens to your advice.
Gets tickets for a movie for you.
In spite of you saying something nasty.
Smiles at you and says - "Chal Yaar Jaane De"

Can someone whom you have never met before!
Be your friend!
Ages back we had pen-pals.
Now we have Facebook friends and Twitter followers.
Then those who blog and photograph-
We have followers and commenters!

Then there are folks at work!
Who are colleagues!
But do colleagues qualify as friends!
And how does one distinguish between:
Friends,colleagues and acquaintances?

Who is a Friend?
There have been best of friends!
Who have parted because of another man or woman!
There have been friends,
Who have let us down!

On close self-examination,
We shall find that-
In the past, we too might have let down---
Some of our friends!
Does it hurt to think of them now!
Is there a tinge of pain or regret?

Who is a Friend?
After all these years of existence-
If I asked you to name one friend-
Who would give your life for you?
Would you have an answer?

And will you ever-
Gladly give up your life-
For at least one friend of yours?
Is this tough to answer?
Who will shed tears for you?
When you leave this mortal world?

Who is a Friend?

A Tale of Two Weddings

Two weddings this week - one that of a friend's sister - typical Hindu Malayali wedding at Mahalingapuram Ayyappan Temple; great food in traditional Kerala sadhya style! The bride and the groom all happy and hopeful for a new life. Wishing Ramya and Praveen a happy married life. Excessive crowd of people and met friends from school and days gone by when this same batch would play and fight over cricket and football!

Dearest - Note to you - kab samjhogi humein!

The other wedding was unique - the first Marwari wedding that I attended - a colleague's brother's wedding and I am great friends with both my colleague and her brother. I missed the baraat as there were some calls and never-ending meetings at work. When I finally reached the venue - I was flabbergasted at the sheer number of people; it looked like all of Sowcarpet had landed up to bless the couple.

Loads of children everywhere; running about playing versions of chor-police and hide and seek. The groom Sourav who looked resplendent and royal like a prince and Preethi bhabhi dressed like a princess made a handsome couple. Sourav's sister and my colleague looked like a princess from an Arabian fairy-tale with a stone studded crown-like hair-band on her head.

It was a royal affair as elders from both families blessed the couple. The music group belted out some hit songs - Pal pal dil ke pass, Tujhe dekha to ye jaan sanam, Sau Saal Pehle humein tumse pyaar tha. It was great fun!

The food spread was unbelievable with mind-boggling varieties of food and the special moment was when the groom's sister came and personally fed a rasgulla and jalebi to me and three of my colleagues!

Wishing Sourav and Preethi bhabhi all the best for a beautiful and joyful married life!

CBC - Tablog - Three Cities - Three Phases - One Individual - Many Lives

This is part of a series of blog posts written by various members of a motley group of people who have a 'Chennai Connection'. Visit The Chennai Bloggers Club on Facebook for more information.

I was passed the baton of writing by my friend and former colleague Karen an amazing lady of many talents - fabulous cook, pastries and cakes made by her are worth their weight in platinum, an artiste - she has a way with colours and paper and lamps, check her photography blog as well.

The next post will be by - Destination Infinity!

Now to head to my attempt; a warning this might meander aimlessly; so be prepared for a long read and I hope you will care to share your valuable thoughts and feedback! So without any further pretensions of literary merit - my post begins....

I was born in Calcutta; Feb 23, 1982 at 5:30 PM in the evening to be precise. It was an extremely difficult delivery for my mother and I was a miracle baby - born 12 years after my sister. I was born silent and still and the doctors were at a loss as my tiny heart that was still beating slowly with an abnormal rhythm. As my uncles waited outside in despair and hope the good doctor who attended my mother's delivery tried a trick; he gave a whack on my buttock as a last desperate measure. 'Waaa' the wail rang loud and clear and I was born. Naming me was never in doubt as I was born after my parents prayed at Kashi and a mystic had blessed my mother on Shiva-rathri saying that 'Beti, bholenath aayenge - har-har mahadev' and since then Lord Shiva has played a mystical role in my life.

After this my mother took me to Gorakhpur, Auranagabad, Calcutta and finally Poona; where my dad finally found a good job and invested in a beautiful flat. Poona is what I call my first city whose memories remain clear, we lived in a mini-township called Ajmera Cooperative Society and that's where my spirit of adventure and cricket started. Playing with friends, celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi and Christmas with equal fervour and devotion. Another transfer and pack bag and baggage and land in Calcutta.

Calcutta where I had to unlearn Marathi, learn Hindi and eventually pick-up Bangla; learnt that I had an elder sister who doted on me, a cousin, a sister my younger maternal uncle's daughter, maternal grand-parents; so much love, care and affection. Around ten years in Calcutta; where I grew up, learning to love books, movies and dogs in that order. Years of Durga Pooja and Kali Puja, football in the rains, first childhood crush; adrenaline rush of hitting the winning runs in a local club cricket tournament and the tears of saying goodbye to friends and moving to another city - Madras!!!!!

May 1, 1998 - The Coromandal Express arrives at Madras Central and the weird smell of jasmine flowers, filter coffee, sweat and piss that is the fragrance of Madras Central and which continues to remain an integral part of my everyday life assailed my senses.

We lived in Tiruvallur about 44 kilometres from Madras, every given opportunity I would land up in Madras hunt for books in Moore Market; watch movies at Devi Theatre - the Rs 6.50 paise ticket - first three rows - Armageddon was a masterpiece that I enjoyed there. The Marina Beach - the ocean has a strange aura to it; more than the beach it is the ocean that always intrigued me and I learnt its fury first-hand during the Tsunami!

College was at Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College - English Literature; what else? The three years the best years of my life when as a team me and my mates won practically every collegiate quiz and debating / oratorical competition in the city. If not first, a podium finish in about 85% of the events we attended - from Loyola to WCC to Stella Maris and Ethiraj life went by in a flash!

These were the years when I learnt many sad truths that pushed the envelope of responsibility, made me understand the sacrifices that my mother had made for me and I realised the value of every single paisa. As I worked part-time, doing a smattering of jobs from tuition-classes to selling savouries and coconut bolis made by my mother; the importance of money in one's life and a mad urge to make money; money and more money got deep into my mind. I had plans; huge plans to do this, do that, set up a restaurant offering simple, high-quality food at affordable costs.

Then I attended a campus-interview and got placed at Sify e-learning and the restaurateur's dreams were traded for long hours in front of a computer; understanding there existed a world of writing beyond poetry and crime fiction. It was about software, hardware, automobiles and turbines - the fascinating world of Instructional Design!

Since that fateful day, when I attired in full-formals with my mother's blessings walked up to a corporate-induction; 8 years have gone by; these years have seen me change jobs, but my love for writing has never diminished; similarly my love for Madras beloved city - I can never fathom it being called Chennai has increased manifold.

There was a time when Calcutta was the whole world for me! It all changed on that fateful day - May-1, 1998 when I landed here! My God what a long introduction!!!!!!

Madras Nalla Madras

The smell of freshly ground coffee,
The intricate kolams at the front of the house,
The divinity in temples be it Kapaleeswarar,
Or the simple charms of Luz Church or the Sunday Mass at St. Theresa's.
The craze for first-day first-shows.
The rush for the 'rasikar-mandram shows' -
Mad celebrations when the film can would arrive at 3 AM
The customary pooja and whistles and claps during the special 4 AM show!

Getting claps, smiles and congrats from unknown girls at collegiate events.
Being the guy who would help lovers unite.
The joy of helping friends getting married!
Getting honoured at the naming ceremony of their first-born!

Of getting seriously injured,
Going into a coma,
Losing all sense of time and being,
Labelled a mental wreck.
Of rehabilitation, rejuvenation and proving detractors wrong!
The will to fight and survive and smile and move on!

Life in the professional lane,
Rushing in and out of trains,
Getting scolded for coming late,
Getting applauded for completing projects ahead of time.
Seeing Devi Theatre giving way to Sathyam Cinemas.
Landmark becoming the one-stop destination for all books, music and gifts.
Attending the Landmark Quiz every August-15
Watching tests give way to the madness of IPL.
Spencer's losing its sheen to Express Avenue and Citi-Centre!
The joy of buying a house in my name!
And seeing the smile of contentment on my mother's face!

The pangs of never mushrooming the courage to walk up to someone special -
And say 'Lady, you mean the world to me! Will you marry me?'
Of never having tasted alcohol despite of so many opportunities!
The sorrow when the one time I managed to confess my feelings,
And tasting the bitter pill of rejection,
Dejection changing to a sense of gratitude,
When she said - 'Let's remain friends!'
The idiotic optimistic self-belief!
That the purity of my love,
Will melt her heart!

These are all the beautiful gifts that Madras has bestowed upon me!
Madras a mocktail of memories pleasant and bitter!
The city that made a man out of a boy!
A city that I will always love - whatever its shortcomings be!
There is no other place in the world that I would care to be!
For my friends reside here and without me being here,
How would I ever have become a part of the Chennai Bloggers Club :) !!!!

Oh! Brother Where Art Thou? - A Post for a Competition

This post is inspired by the writing-style of my dear friend, mentor, guide and brother - the one-and-only, first and foremost XXX blogger from Chennai - Dr. Ganesh Puttu!

This is on the lines of the movie 'Being John Malkovich' - this is a fictitious post and this is imagining me entering the mind of Ganesh and living his life. Ganesh and Mahesh only two letters difference :)!


May 12 - Saturday - 9 PM

What a week! What a week I say! The number of patients landing up at the Government Hospital seems to be increasing like the mercury in the thermometer. 'Kathiri veyil' is too taxing; damn I have to change three shirts in a day now within my compact car.

The sacrifices that I have to make for my lovable patients!

Tomorrow is Sunday, I would love to sleep till 10 AM and then relax with some nice piping hot idlis and amma's filter coffee, but then I have promised to be a part of the Chennai Photo Walkers gig - the 49th one to be precise!

May - 13 - Sunday

I wake up bright and early and after a quick shave and bath and suitably attired I land with my camera at Sydenhams Road sharp at 5:30 AM. The early morning cold, forget cold I am joking, it was sickeningly warm and I dreaded at the poor souls who would be toiling in the boiling sun later in the day!

As the remaining members finally arrived, we began our walk and we surprised a flower-seller, some stray dogs, a couple of early-morning walkers, a traffic cop with our cameras and took some intersting pictures.

People focused on different objects and were busy snapping stuff, I was waiting like the proverbial Hamlet waiting for something brilliant and unique and walked with self-belief and resolution. I found my moment, sharp at 6:41 AM I clicked a photograph, a solitary white bullock being goaded by an energetic young lad to run faster as two boys lay asleep on the cart and a black dog stood erect on the cart barking to motivate the bullock to run faster. I had captured a moment when man and beast worked in synchrony; there was a bit of irony as well as the lad whipped the bullock; but then that's the way the world moves. I was fascinated at the two boys asleep in the cart; so early in the morning to which destination was this motely crew headed? Some questions in Life remain sadly unanswered; perhaps some questions are better left that way - unanswered!

OK-OK no more philosophy! Sorry for transgressing from the topic :) - I continued to walk with the other members and we clicked some nice pics.A flower-seller who asked me to take his picture; the smile on his face will remain in my mind for a long time - 'a son of the soil'.

The highlight of the walk was the imposing architectural beauty of St. mathias Church in Vepery. I need to return to this beautiful church alone sometime later. It was an interesting motley group full of enthusiastic photographers amateurs and professionals. I made some interesting chit-chat with a few people! The walk culminated with masala dosas and filter coffee at Doveton Cafe.

Then it was time to go home and relax! What a beautiful photo-walk; the flower-seller, the boys on the bullock-cart; the charming church; memories that I will cherish for quite some time. Damn, I am becoming a bit too sentimental these days!


This piece has been submitted for a photo=post conducted by The Chennai Bloggers Club. The CBC is a Facebook group where bloggers with a Chennai connection interact with each other. The prizes for this contest have been sponsored by Cuponation. Cuponation is India's largest coupon portal, specially designed to meet the needs of all online shoppers.

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 :)

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

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.

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!

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 :)

Shopping, Blood, Cinema and Marriage

It has been a while since I wrote something on the blog. Lot of events have taken place, a short visit by sister and my nephew, shopping for them till late into the night a mid-night drive to reach home at 2 AM, taking my mother to Express Avenue and Citi Centre - my mother's absolute surprise at seeing obscenely-priced shirts and sarees, lots of stuff.

In between, I had time to fall seriously ill with the doctor not able to diagnose my condition properly. I spat blood for a couple of days and ended up with complete bed-rest for four days effectively ruining a weekend and taking sick-leave for two days. By God's grace I am better now and back to work albeit still weak.

A huge good news is my classmate from college Ashwin getting engaged in Bengaluru! As I propheised on his blog earlier this year my friend is hitched and will be getting married early next year. Congrats Ashwin :)

Being ill and lying down in bed gave me time to see some movies.

Bodyguard - Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston in a romantic movie with some good songs thrown in - timepass stuff.

Unknown - Liam Neeson ages like fine wine and after the phenomenal success of "Taken" last year returns as a professor facing memory-loss in Berlin. Great stuff with an interesting twist. Good car-chase sequences shot in Berlin's busy streets.

Urumi - Prithviraj's maiden production venture is an absolute mess of history, but is good fun with special appearance songs by Tabu who continues to entice another generation of movie-goers. Prithvi and Prabhudeva play friends who plan to kill Vasco da Gama. Amole Gupte as Thampuran and Jagadhi as the effeminate minister excel in their roles. Genelia as warrior princess Ayesha does a good job too.

404 - A medical college hostel - a room which witnessed a suicide, ragging by seniors, spirits and ghosts, a professor who researches on the paranormal, a student who is haunted by the spirit. Good movie, no gimmicks, script-driven and great performances. Worth a watch!

Last Tango in Paris - Sick and nauseating, porn disguised as art-house cinema - Marlon Brando whom movie-lovers can only view as the Godfather reduced to a middle-aged sex-maniac of sorts. Hated the movie for its nudity and titillation!

KO - Jeeva gets a hit. K.V. Anand packages stunning visuals, well-shot songs, fight sequences to give a blockbuster, but personally I felt the movie was just average. Ajmal gets a good role as the idealistic young politician who is the real villain.

Limitless - What would you do if you got a magic-pill that would let you use the full capacity of your brain? Bradley Cooper and Robert de Niro in a decent comedy. Nothing exceptional! Wish Bradley Cooper gets to play a homicidal villain of sorts in his upcoming movies. He has the dramatic potential and is not experimenting enough with his roles all stuck in a comic-rut.

Rango - A fascinating revisionist Western in animated form with Johnny Depp voicing Rango a chameleon who saves a desert town from the unscrupulous Mayor who diverts the town's water supply. Great fun!

Animals United - Animation not on par with Pixar and co. but a good story-line about man's uncontrollable greed for developing forests into tourist resorts and how animals unite and reclaim their land and water.

The Lincoln Lawyer - Nothing great Matthew Mc Connaughey plays the wise-cracking lawyer who defends a murder-accused. Is the accused guilty? Watch the movie for answers. Run-of-the mill movie nothing great.

600 and counting

600 posts and a number of friends who continue to read and post comments, have lost out on a few who have distanced themselves away from me, but I am sure they still read the blog but their massive ego prevents them from emailing me or posting a comment on my blog.

I thank each and everyone who still continue to spend some time and read my blog, SMS me asking when is the next post, or suggest ideas about potential topics to write.

Thanks to everyone:

Ashwin - college-mate and dear friend.
Antony - Social networking king :)
Priya - former colleague and friend who writes on a wide variety of topics.
Kavitha - former colleague and friend whose blog is a delight for food and photography lovers.
Rajesh - former colleague and very good friend.
Neha - former colleague and a very good friend - do post comments :)
Nithin - Who's blog sparked this pursuit.
Shiva & Sudha happily wedded in matrimonial bliss now.
Revathi & Sukumari at SFY whose early reviews and encouragement were of great help.

Life goes on and I hope I get the time and energy to maintain and monitor this blog.

Thanks again to everyone !!!

Serendipity

She stood there,
In front of me,
As pristine and calm,
As I remembered her,
From a time long gone by!

Sometimes life brings,
Memories and surprises,
In the strangest of ways,
Is this serendipity?
One can never tell!

Wishing you all the best as always!

Rediscovering Friends

It is a feeling of absolute joy and the heart feels happy when one rediscovers a friend from college-days on a social networking site.

I am happy:)

A New Friend

Well after four years of company in which you provided me joy, good news, sorrow and fun. I decided to move on. But do not worry you will still be with me.

Well folks I got a new mobile phone. The Samsung Star. It looks awesome and is loaded with features. A huge screen and only three buttons at the bottom. The phone is a total-touch enabled one and has a host of widgets. A 3.2 megapixel camera with lots of photo-composing features. Dedicated music player and FM radio. The phone is black in colour and cost me Rs 9500 plus taxes.

My old friend the Sony Ericsson z530i is safely secured in its original package in my cupboard at home. Too many memories of using Ziggy. Well you can stare that's the name for my old mobile. I have spent many an hour talking to someone whom I can no longer claim to be mine. Tracked cricket match updates while traveling on the train by calling up friends. Shot a whole lot of pictures in Ooty. The list can just go on and on. Ziggy thanks for being such a good companion. I almost had a shock when someone tried to steal the phone in the bus, but by good luck and presence of mind I got you back in one piece.

Thanks for all the good times!

Now it's time to keep moving with the times with Sammy! That's my new friend:)

An Eventful Day

E-mail 1

There is a bomb scare at XXXX.The bomb squad has been summoned to carry out necessary precautionary checkup.

YYY is coordinating with them and they have informed us that there is no need for panic. They are in constant touch with us. We request all of you to maintain your calm and carry on with your work.

E-mail 2

Dear All,

With reference to our previous mail on the subject, the bomb squad has declared that the building is safe and informed that it was a hoax call.

We thank all the associates for the spirit displayed and the co-operation extended.

Well folks to cut a long story short, some chap who needed a break from his monotonous job called the building administration office and said that a bomb has been planted. All mayhem broke out and the building was quickly evacuated and the bomb squad, dog squad and the police were called in. Our company decided to remain silent as the smokers gang spotted the sudden rush of people trooping out from other floors. A while later the first e-mail confirmed our worst fears. But even then no signs of evacuation and the blokes joked about "End of Days" and "The Apocalypse." Some of the women staff were really worried and began to panic.

Two hours later some of the brave guys went out and found out there was no danger. Another two hours later we received the second e-mail.

Now just imagine if the hoax had been real. Well I cannot imagine anything. Any way the folks at the company are a sporting lot and continue to work without too much complaints. A great company and its brave employees.

I traded on the stock exchange today. Spent close to Rs 2000 and already I am running a loss of Rs 300. Hope things turn for the better tomorrow.

Folks Chennai are thru' to the semis with a win over Kings XI Punjab in yesterday's low-scoring spinners'-thriller.

This was my post no. 400.

Thanks to the encouragement of my beloved readers and friends.

Thanks Ashwin (Common Man Dreamer), Priya (cool dudette), Kavitha (The Book-Lover), Sowmitha (Editorial Trainer and dog-lover), Siva(handsome rocker), Sudha(wish you posted an actual comment), Sevi(Great News Soon).

Thanks again everybody!

The Vellore Diaries-2

Then we returned to Vellore town and went to the the Vellore Fort. The fort is home to the famous Jalagandeeswarar Temple. The temple is pretty old but well maintained and had a number devotees visiting it that day. The consort of the presiding deity is Goddess Akhilandeshwari.

There was a Shivalinga to which one could perform an abhishekham by paying Rs 10. There was also a wishing well in which one could drop coins and make a wish. Somehow I did not go near the well and decided to convey my wishes to Lord Shiva through my prayers. I got a book about the temple's history and a Navagraha yantra.

I took some snaps of the temple. Then we proceeded to the outer walls of the fort and sat for some time at the top of the hill and got a magnificent view of the town from the top of the hill.

Then we went to Saravana Bhavan and had lunch. At the restaurant a group of school students from some international school, some Bangalore school(bus registration number:) had KA on it) created absolute mayhem and the poor waiters had a tough time managing them. Madhu joked and Said that Srini would make a perfect teacher and manage the students brilliantly! Srini gave a glare and continued to eat in silence.

Ratnagiri Murugan Temple


Then we visited the Ratnagiri Murugan Temple. Ratnagiri is around forty minutes by bus from Vellore en route to Arcot. The temple on a hillock is beautiful and the sculptures and paintings are an art lover's dream come true. We climbed hundred plus steps to reach the top of the temple. Both Srini and me felt tired but Madhu kept climbing without any signs of fatigue and beat both of us to reach the summit first. The temple is clean and well maintained; a factor that was common to all the temples that I visited in Vellore.

We got the darshan of Lord Muruga and then sat on the marble steps enjoying the cool breeze and got some excellent snapshots of the view from the temple. While returning we chose to use the road, then Madhu said lets climb on the rocks and take some pictures. Both Srini and me got really worried when Madhu climbed on to the rocks, then she proceeded downhill searching for a shortcut to reach the road below. We tried to stop her, but as adventurous as ever Madhu completed the trip, found that the path had been barricaded and returned to the top.

We climbed down and had tender coconuts. Then we purchased prasadam-Panchamritham and Ladoos.

By 18:00 hours we were at Srini's place. En route we also visited a small Ayappa and Anjaneyar temple.

We were really tired after all the traveling. We had dinner at a restaurant and it was time to bid adieu to Madhu. It had been more than a year since we had met and it was a wonderful experience to meet her after such a long time. I gave her a birthday gift and was really happy when I too got a birthday present- a beautiful pen stand from her.

I returned to Srini's place and got an early morning bus to Chennai the next day.

So the Vellore Diaries officially end here , these lines describe one of the happiest days of my life. I really thank Madhu and Srini for being such caring friends and making my trip such a pleasant and memorable experience.

Hopefully I will be making one trip to Vellore in May and visit Sholingar and Amriti.

So till then.... Until we meet again.