:: SPEAK THY MIND ::

District 9 - a different alien movie

2010-06-14T13:21:00.000+05:30

I know that this review is long due but finally I managed to sneak in some time during my lunch break to write this up.. quick and fast.. no denial.. district 9 is an alien movie.. but unlike the other alien movies we have seen which are either full of gore or melodrama like our own Koi..mil gaya.. this movie is definitely different where aliens have got stranded on earth and have learnt to co-exist with humans but are treated as outlaws..the movie kicks as a part of a narration from new comer Wikus van de Merwe played brilliantly by Sharlto Copley who is a part of MNU (Multinational United), a private military company that is hired by the South African government to relocate nearly 1.8 million aliens to a new district 10 after their ship gets stuck due to a technical flaw.. now the movie picks up pace when Wikus goes in person to the alien dug out to hand over eviction notices to them.. during this process he comes across 3 aliens led by Christoper who have created a mysterious fluid and store it in a canister.. Wikus discovers it and when handling it accidentally sprays the liquid all over his face.. he then starts to feel it.. and the physical transformation happens.. his whole life falls apart as he starts to develop a physical form like the aliens themselves.. he now becomes a named fugitive and escapes from the clutches of the MNU which wants to use his dna for creating anti-alien weaponry..He also manages to gather some weapons and escapes from the clutches of the paralyzed warlord, Obesandjo.. he joins hands with Christopher and retrieves the canister containing the liquid from the MNU lab..somehow as they try to make good their escape.. Christoper reveals that it will take 3 years for him to go back to his planet and get the cure for Wikus which irks him and he knocks Christopher down.. in a series of events the MNU swoop down on Wikus before he can take off in the ship and shoot it down.. the war lords also strike at the same time and in the battle that ensues Wikus ends up fighting for the aliens and Christopher and his son make good their escape.. finally as there are on going commentaries about the whereabouts of Wikus, his wife gets a flower shaped out of scrap metal and she knows Wikus is out there.. the end shows Wikus, now a completely transformed alien making a flower out of scrap metal.. whether Christopher comes back for Wikus is not known.. the screenplay is brilliant.. Sharlto Copley as Wikus is brilliant.. in the initial scenes as the man in charge, speaking to the aliens.. the transformation.. the emotions he goes through when he knows he is going to be utilized.. he is a revelation.. the others also play their role equally well.. Jason Cope as Christopher.. the alien is good as well.. the Eugene as the paralyzed warlord Obesandjo looks terrifying.. on the whole, its a very different alien movie with a wonderfully weaved story line that is racy and keeps us at the edge of our seat.. definitely a dvd collectors edition.. if you are a fan of movies of this genre..

Will be back soon.. yet again :-)

2010-05-19T16:47:00.000+05:30

I know its been the nth time where I have said I will be back soon but blame my lazy behind.. I just need to make time for this and write.. I recently watch district 9.. loved it :-) I also watched another one called deception.. so so.. am yet to watch up in the air and the hurt locker.. both serious movies that need a lot of my concentration.. I also want to watch angadi theru.. heard it was brilliant.. and of course waiting to hit the theatres as it has been quite a while.. probably iron man 2 and then singam? too much to do.. will keep updating my posts..till then.. adios..

Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya - a love story well told

2010-03-17T18:02:00.000+05:30

I have been wanting to write this review for sometime now but found the time only now.. I went and watched VTV primarily because it was a Gautham Menon movie.. I like the way Gautham tells his stories.. there is nothing mind blowingly different about them except the way he weaves them on screen.. it is refereshing, it is different and it is very matter of fact with a big under play of melodrama.. I have watched all of his movies from Minnale which of course had a lot of masala in it but then the progression from Minnale to Kakha Kakha was tremendous.. I have watched a few of Simbu's movies but have been largely discouraged to avoid his movies because of his trademark antics viz waving his hands.. unwanted punch dialogues, smirks etc on screen.. but what Gautham has done to Simbu in this movie is just mind blowing.. though I feel his dialogue delivery could have been slightly better.. most of the situations in the movie are sequences that anybody who has been in love would have definitely gone through.. Simbu has underplayed his natural mannerisms and mellowed himself so much so that it would be difficult to get out of this image.. Trisha was good.. for a change.. her acting was good in a few scenes.. pretty natural.. though I did not get the reason behind her sloppy walk.. was it intentional or wasn't she just not comfortable in the saree..considering her other costumes are just a little bigger than a hand towel :-) the ending was totally different.. it is not the typical guy falls in love.. tension in the middle and all is well that ends well kind of a story.. apparently the telugu movie has a happy ending because the producers of the telugu version wanted it that way.. it is also good to note that tamil audience are a lot more mature and have adapted themselves to endings like this as well.. it shows that the maturity of the film going audience in Chennai is definitely improving.. it was great to see Babu Antony on screen after ages.. except for some slight signs of aging.. he still looks great.. I still remember him for his terrifying role in Poovizhi Vasalile.. nice performances from the other supporting cast as well.. especially Simbu's cinematographer friend who provided good deal of laughs in most parts.. Kitti, Uma and others.. this movie is definitely not for the so called "C" class audience so to say.. like Varanam Aayiram.. Gautham has again targetted the A and B centers.. if am getting the industry terminology right.. I just hope someday Gautham makes a movie which is a complete village subject with tharai thambattai et all.. or probably a hybrid one which involves both village as well as some city thrown in to it.. knowing him.. am sure he will make that interesting as well.. Go watch VTV.. it is definitely worth a watch.. I watched it for Gautham and of course the mind blowing music of ARR.. shot fabulously by Manoj Paramahansa :-)

3 idiots - my take..

2010-03-05T10:52:00.000+05:30

Quite a long pause before I managed to do this review.. 3 idiots.. what do I say? in short..brilliant in some parts because of the histrionics, filmy in most parts.. cleverly altered so that it does not become a replica of the book though some portions show through enough that it has been ripped straight off the book.. After all the controversies around this movie.. I would say that it is a contorted version of the book.. what ever directorial changes or script changes might have been done to this.. it was a good thing that I read the book first.. I have a great deal of respect for Raju Hirani as a film maker and Iam a big fan of the Munna Bhai series.. I have no big deal of respect for Vidhu Vinod Chopra because he has always come across as a dude with a loud mouth and a bad attitude.. whatever said and done..whatever changes you might have done to the script..change the protagonist.. change sequences.. blah blah. the basic idea.. the seed for the movie was the book and I think Chetan or rather any author is entitled the due credit for this.. From an acting part.. I think Aamir was at his best as always.. undeniably one of the best talents the hindi film industry has.. Madhavan I felt did not have much to do but his talk post the movie has been a bit too much on how choosy he is about this movies blah blah.. Maddy.. do not forget you did movies like rendu, thambi etc when the hindi film industry ignored you :-).. Sharman, for me, was a revelation but he was getting too teary eyed too often.. Boman was great..as usual.. I will not comment on Kareena as I do not comment on people I do not like.. in fact the person who played her sister did a better job than her.. though the vaccum birth sequence was a bit too much to stomach.. my thoughts.. good movie but great marketing raked in the moolah for this one.. certainly not a mind blowing movie.. have seen better ones than this..

3 idiots

2010-02-09T14:28:00.000+05:30

Finally managed to watch 3 idiots this weekend.. the movie was beginning to look like one of those jinxed movies that I forever plan to watch and never do.. I will come back with a detailed review shortly.. my quick feedback.. I do not feel its a movie that needs to be raved about :-) this is purely my personal opinion.. I will explain why it is that way purely from my opinion when I get a chance.. as work is keeping me real busy now.. cya in a bit..

2 states..

2010-02-05T14:13:00.000+05:30

Finally.. I completed two states.. the second novel am reading of Chetan Bhagat.. as I had mentioned in my earlier post.. Chetan is not a classy writer who uses hard to understand English words which only a say.. PG in English literature can understand.. its just plain simple english that you and I talk.. well the IIT slang has not gone away a lot from FPS though the character has graduated from an engineer to an MBA grad :-) Its a nice love story between a Punjabi boy and a Sounth Indian Tamil girl.. fiery one I should say cause she is not "your" tamil iyer girl.. she is an IIM grad, she is fiery, she is sexy, super confident and according to the Punjabi boy.. super hot too.. yes.. thats a very very rare package to find but at the end of the day its all in the eyes of the beholder.. I liked the way Chetan builds up the story.. some places it gets a bit filmish like for eg:- when things fall out temporarily between them and the boy grows a beard.. some devdas feelings thrown in ;-) the bottle and dog were missing.. but loved the fights between the two families.. took a slight offense to repeated mention of south indians as madrasis and dark people.. but overall a nice read.. all for 60 bucks or so.. go get it.. now let me look out for the other books of Chetan..

2 states is funny

2010-02-03T16:00:00.000+05:30

Iam currently on to 2 states in full swing and Iam almost done with it.. its hilarious and funny.. Chetan is not a writer who uses swanky english words.. it is very very straight forward english..let me finish the book and get back with my comments.. btw, am yet to watch 3 idiots :-)

Tamizh Padam - LOL through out

2010-02-01T13:44:00.000+05:30

There is not one movie that has been left out.. nor has a single mass hero been singled out.. all of them are in and spoofed.. for people of my generation..movies like thalapathi (being a hardcore rajini fan for life), mouna ragam (the times when karthik used to look decent and act the same way), basha, nayagan etc where unforgettable.. having watched it so many times during our school days, these movies left an ever lasting impression on our minds.. off late very very few movies have managed to do that like Run, Kadhalan, anniyan etc.. I went in to the movie expecting anything but a story.. but CS Amudhan has also tried to induce a story aspect in to this comic caper.. for people who have watched the above mentioned movies.. some of the scenes like Karthik meeting Revathi in the library and she asking him to announce to the entire world about his love, Devarajan going and seeing his man smothered by Rajini in the hospital replete with Maniratnams mono-syllable dialogues changed completely with Devarajan talking to the wrong guy, Madhavan running down a tunnel in Run escapes from the thugs by placing a mole on his face which changes his identity :), Rajini and Raghuvaran's timeless piece of an encounter in Basha (with Kandhasami thrown in..HAHAHA).. Siva's new style of Bharathanatyam.. where there are mudras of opening various fruits like a banana and the end result is a beautiful chimpanzee sketched with his leg etc.. brilliant stuff.. Siva's time has come and he will be recognized.. this movie will be a landmark film for him.. MS Bhaskar, Venniradai Murthy and Mano Bala as his college mates add to the thrills and the theater was nothing but squealing in laughter..even Paravai Muniamma's comic timing was A-class.. and so are all the characters in the movie.. I do not want to disclose any more details for the want of killing the suspense.. but wait.. there is no suspense or thriller aspects at all.. for anybody who wants to have a blast.. forget their worries.. feel better (actually my tummy ache vanished after laughing like hell) and generally have a fun time.. go and watch this movie with your family.. and yes.. do not miss the "Oh Mahaseeya" song.. melodious duet with no actual lyrics.. my sincere advise.. do not see ratings by any reviewer and have doubts.. just go watch this for 2.5 hours of pure unadulterated fun..

Busy Weekend coming up

2010-01-28T13:30:00.000+05:30

Have a busy weekend coming up.. already booked my tickets for "Tamizh Padam".. looking forward to it.. saw a special programme about the movie.. it was hilarious.. the team itself seems to have had a riot on the sets.. for more information about the movie you can check out the wiki link -also going to an alumni meet at my school.. first one Iam attending after I got out of school.. long long ago.. yes it doesn't seem like ages but it is ages since I finished school.. but considering the fact that there will be some seniors.. that is consolation for now ;-) will write up stuff on how tamizh padam was once I see it.. till then.. stay safe.. be good..

5 point someone - loved it!

2010-01-13T14:32:00.003+05:30

Loved 5 point someone.. it has been quite sometime since I have done this kind of voracious reading.. 267 pages in 2 days (that would make me sound jobless or "vetti" as some of my friends call it) or rather 2 nights flat.. the book was very very interesting.. there were times when I laughed out loudly much to the astonishment of ppl at home who were wondering why I was LOL suddenly from inside the room and came in to check if I had gone mad.. nevertheless.. a few things I could make out was the language was of a typical IITian.. the reason also being that I have moved with quite a few of the IITian lot to make that out.. I already have a few "assumptions" running in my mind on how the characterizations of 3 idiots might have been done but I will put them to rest once I watch the movie.. in the meanwhile have started reading his next book.. two states.. but I will go easy on this one :-)

Tiger's new endorsements

2010-01-08T13:21:00.002+05:30

Got this as a forward.. FYI..these are not real advertisements.. but nevertheless hope you enjoy them.. not sure if these can work adversely for Trojan..

Book is on the way - waiting to get my hands on it

2010-01-08T13:14:00.000+05:30

Term it pure laziness or lack of time as I say it.. I did not go to a book store and get 5 point someone but ordered it over the web and the book is on the way.. I cannot wait to get my hands on it :-).. also because of the pressure that am going through to watch the movie..

Will watch the movie only after reading the book - ppl can call me an idiot :-)

2010-01-05T19:17:00.000+05:30

Iam not going to watch 3 idiots till I read five point someone.. I want to see for myself.. all this commotion about the adaptation and due credit/s.. cheers

Vettaikaran - the possible return of Vijay? hmmmm

2010-01-04T12:46:00.004+05:30

Hi Guys - just when I was wondering if I should repost on this blog which I have not done in ages..I just thought why not.. ok.. coming to the point.. this blog post is about Vettaikaran.. I have been planning to watch this movie now for a couple of weeks but what works according to a plan? NOTHING :-).. whenever I planned something would come up.. and to top it all my wife's cousin told me that the movie was so unbearable that he walked out during the interval..not sure if it was a movie or a call from his friends bcos I got contrasting reports that the movie was kind of a gilli part 2.. I was also skeptical considering the fact that the recent releases of Vijay were disastrous.. Villu, Kuruvi and et all..

Finally on Saturday night.. as I was wondering what to do considering the fact that this new year's eve was probably one of the most boring ones and I slept off at 11:45pm.. I thought why not go for the movie.. and was browsing my phone for the names of somebody who could come along with me.. my friend Ash decided to come with me..thanks to him.. why thank him? cause hes a father of not one but two kids.. one is an extremely teeny weeny baby..and yeah thanks to Lata his wife who dreads Vijay movies for allowing him.. or rather I was 200% confident she wouldn't come if the movie was Vettaikaran :-)

I quickly booked a couple of tickets online at Satyam and we reached there much ahead of time.. the movie is racy.. its an entertainer..nevertheless.. it was a fully crowded theater.. yes folks.. it was a full house.. and the moment ilaya thalapathi did his typical entry.. whistles were blowing.. the plot is simple.. Vijay wants to follow the footsteps of an IPS officer and become like him.. but failing in the +2 exams four times like his idol? that was a bit too much.. he then comes to the city.. joins the same city college that the IPS officer went too and drives an auto too.. part time job :-) to pay for his education... romba too much.. there can be no other stylish auto driver except for the one and only Manickam a.k.a Manick Basha.. but Vijay does try to come close to that sometimes.. here he bumps in to a gang of rowdies.. obviously.. and how he takes them head on forms the rest of the story.. the screen play is racy.. Salim Ghouse as Vethanayagam the villain is good.. it is nice to see him back on screen after a long time.. Anushka is back as the hero's sweetheart after a not so great debut in Rendu along with Madhavan.. one of the reasons for me watching Vettaikaran was her.. leaving her acting skills aside, she is extremely good looking and tall.. slightly sloppy during some of the dance movies.. probably because of her height.. she was as tall as Vijay and looked taller than him in a few sequences :-) why the re-emphasis on tall? Iam just wondering the plight of Suriya in Singam.. cause he is shorter than Vijay but considering all the tricks that our camera guys can do.. suriya can pull it off with ease :-)) there are a few senior artists (like Delhi Ganesh) who have been wasted.. Vijay himself has done most of the comedy track himself and he is good..

This movie is an absolute treat for Vijay fans.. ppl out there looking for realistic cinema or cinema where you need to use your brains.. leave them behind at home and watch the movie..

Meramec Caverns and Paruthiveeran

2007-03-19T03:37:00.000+05:30

Hey All..as promised..am back..first I shall be speaking about my visit to Meramec Caverns..Meramec Caverns is the one of the largest cave formation and is the largest in the State of Missouri..it is close to 400 million years old..there are various fun activities that you can do in and around the caverns..the caverns have the stalacties, limestone deposits and fossils to boast of..there was one stalactite that was supposed to be one of the biggest..it was close to 40 feet in height..this cavern was also the home to one of the notorious outlaws Jesse James who used this cavern as a hideout after his robberies..Jesse's story can be compared to a rather modern day Robin Hood..

The caverns are well illuminated with appropriate lighting and the guide took us patiently around the whole place..this was an exciting first outing for me after landing in the US and there are some visuals that I will cherish in my memories forever..

Moving on to the other topic..it was a tamil movie I was waiting to watch for a longg time..and that was "Paruthiveeran"..I have always liked Ameer's movies for the freshness he aspires to bring in to all his creations and I should say Paruthiveeran stands out amongst all of them..

Though it is Karthi's first movie, he has acted his character with great ease and done a tremendous job..especially in the final scenes when he has to bring out a lot of emotions..though am also a good fan of Surya..compared to Surya's launch movie, I think this is an excellent break for Karthi and he has to leverage on this performance and opt for more such meaningful movies..

Priyamani has also done a great job..the first time I saw her in Bharathiraja's movie, I thought she was another glamor doll product but she has carried out this totally deglamorised role with ease and with a lot of substance..

It is a good break for Saravanan and I only hope this reopens doors for more opportunities for him in Kollywood..

Overall what struck me about Paruthiveeran was its striking closeness to nature and the people we see everyday..it also gives us a glimpse of how life is in the rural areas..their emotions and their lives..

To conclude, if I were to grade Paruthiveeran on a grade of 1 to 10, I would give it a good 7 on 10..suggest that very young kids dont watch this movie for some objectionable language and some gory scenes..

Karthi am sure is on his way to get the award for "Best New Comer" :-)

Cheers

~N~

Miramec Caverns and Paruthiveeran

2007-03-18T12:40:00.000+05:30

Iam going to write in length on two things..one is about Miramec Caverns..an amazing place I visited this weekend and Paruthiveeran, a good movie..I know they are two totally different and unconnected topics but I would like to write about something that I liked..afterall this is my blog you see :-)..cya all soon..

Cheers
~N~

In Yankee Land

2007-03-07T09:59:00.000+05:30

Hey All..am back and its been quite a while since I actually did some blogging at all..well it has been quite a few hectic 3 months for me now..Iam currently in "Yankee" land as everybody says..yes am in the US on a long term project assignment..It was a lot of firsts for me I should say

First time to the US, first time on an international flight that lasted almost a day and a half, first time where I was a passenger at the airport and somebody came to say bye to me :-)..

Its been a month since I have landed here and Iam kind of enjoying this place..US is a free country..you can do what you want..but as many percieve, it has its own set of restrictions as well..as long as you play by the rules..it is a good place to be in.. nobody bothers about the kind of person you are..

My first experience of visting a huge shopping mall like Wal-mart was fab..its like an entire world in itself..there is not a single thing you wont get there..you would feel like buying everything there..one thing is..if you dont have a big wallet then dont dare to burn a hole in it..something that we got to remember always when going shopping..

Food is plentiful..there are loads of varieties..though I definitely miss the awesome food my mom cooks..I miss eating the puliyodharai, the avial, the payasam..and on and on and on..

Last but not the least, I have been renting cars as buying one immediately is not very easy here..and I got to drive a variety of them as well..from a chrysler PT cruiser to a Mercury Mountaineer SUV..SUV's have always made me crazy and driving this baby was an awesome experience..just hope I can test drive my favorite, the dodge viper some day :-)

Thats all for now folks..but I will keep posting some new adventures from Yankee land henceforth..probably the next one can be about some of the television programs here? :-)

Keep checking back in..

Till then..take care and be good..

Cheers
Naaryan

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T23:34:00.000+05:30

Hey all..wanted to wish all of you a very very happy and a fanstastic year ahead..New Year's eve was great fun when I met up with all my old friends.. (atleast most of them)..and had a great party..partied till the wee hours in the morning..me, my friends and old monk :-) of course with some ok music..

Will be back soon with some gibberish :-)

Have fun till then..

Cheers
~N~

The plight of public transport commuters

2006-11-27T12:05:00.000+05:30

Hi All..today I have decided to write a bit on our public transportation facilities, atleast in the city I live in and how commuters have to go through a lot of disgust and irritation..

I have been a commuter for a long time..atleast till I was in college..the way the conductor or the driver behave towards commuters has been unacceptable in many ways..

To quote one such incident, I was in Adyar on Saturday, to pick up lunch from one of the famous city hotels..as I was leaving..a bus came to a grinding halt near the place I had parked my bike..an old man, probably in his late 60's..who was waiting to get off the bus, just fell off the bus because the driver had just decided to stop the vehicle..the old man had a bad fall..and his head hit the road..he fell inches near the wheel and he was bleeding badly ..the driver and the conductor just peeped out of the bus to ensure the person was alive and drove off..the old man who was still bleeding profusely was then helped by a few onlookers (which included me) and was in a state of shock for sometime before we got to know where he lived..we then put him inside an autorickshaw (some of them are considerate..but auto's will be an other topic we will speak about :-) ) who said he would take him to a hospital and then drop him home..fortunately the person was staying close by and he was able to manage himself..

This brings us to a discussion on how good are our public transport services, especially bus services. Chennai has always boasted of frequent bus services but we are treated daily to the sight of a flurry of over crowded buses with people hanging from all corners of the bus and stranded passengers beside buses that have broken down..thanks to the poor maintenance..we also see buses "cutting" signals as if they own the roads..and one wonders why our cops never catch them..or were fines made only for the two wheelers and four wheelers (cars)?

The State Government needs to take a serious stand..it is not only responsible for providing good roads for people to travel on but also ensure that the millions of people who use public transportation use the system with the confidence that they will reach work and reach home in peace and in full shape..

Cheers
~N~

Casino Royale

2006-11-23T00:04:00.000+05:30

Hey all..the last weekend..I suddenly decided to take my wife out for a movie (not that I havent) but since our little one has been born..my wife and myself have never got a chance to go out on a date per say..I have already been having this feeling of being ignored for long..but from what I heard from experienced guys..they say its natural and you have to live with the fact that once a kid is born..preferences change..well..its good in one way..not so good in another way but am kinda getting used to it..

So..I just wanted to rekindle a little bit of that romance and told my wife that we will go for a movie..without the little one of course..hmmm...she thought for a while and said "ok..straight back home from the movie..no other plans.." It was as though I was being granted a favor..anyways..we landed the theater..pretty close to the movie start time..thanks to my wife getting ready..and then she looked at me and said.."hey I hope you didnt forget to stop by at the ATM.." I got the message..I acknowledged and we rushed to the counter to find the "Tickets Full" message..

But then a person offered to give us a couple of tickets he had booked extra..in "black"..and we went into the hall to watch the Bond movie..I watch a lot of movies..kind of a movie buff..but this was my first movie with Daniel Craig..

The guy has been so underplayed and touted as a failure in the shoes of Bond even before the movie release..the first half of the movie totally changes your opinion about Craig and the movie..the action scenes are phenominal.. (especially the one where he chases a guy through a half constructed building..and the car chase where they almost hit the skyliner)..

Casino Royale was Ian Fleming's first novel with the James Bond character..and it was also the novel for which he took the shortest time to write..Daniel Craig has done full justice to his role..the guy unlike Pierce Brosnan...has a more macho and sturdy image..is well built and very agile especially during the action scenes..can be a bit more romantic in the romantic scenes :-)..prolly one of the places where Brosnan would excel..but this guy will be a definite hit as Bond..

The movie was a bit of a drag in the second half but Craig sails through well along with Eva green..pity that both the lovely women die a sad death..Bond is back and this time hes good..I would rank Daniel Craig in the same league as Sir Sean Connery..just hope he continues to do a good job..

Adios
~N~

Our new house

2006-11-07T00:55:00.000+05:30

Hey All..it has been a desire of both my wife and myself to have a small house with a huge garden..lots of trees..and most of all..peaceful surroundings with no interference of traffic, pollution and people..something that we city animals have got so used to and long to go away..

We finally bought a new house in a small village called Alavandhipuram near Swamimalai..Kumbakonam has always been one of my favorite destinations down south..not only because am a temple freak, not also because of the lovely taste of the juicy betel leaves for which its famous for, also not for the lovely breakfast that you get at Venkatramana's or Mami's mess, not only for the lovely rava dosai and godhumai alwa you get at Aaduthurai..but the place just makes you feel different..fresh..energetic..even if its a two day trip to Kumbakonam, I look forward to it cause its a super break from the madding crowd..

The house is more than 80 years old..with the traditional "mitham"..a traditional well with a tulasi madam behind the house..the most exciting place is a small wicket gate which when opened leads to a huge garden in the backyard of the house..it is so green..the air is so fresh that you would want to quit your job and stay back there forever (not that I can do that right now..unfortunately) :-(

I dont know when I will settle down there but both my wife and myself are confident and sure that we would like to do that someday..

More interesting stuff in my next blog..

Cheers
Naarayan

I will be back

2006-08-29T23:57:00.000+05:30

I know its been quite a while since I got back to my very own online space..work has been crazy and I have been literally glued to the computer for work reasons alone :-) except of course for chatting with my wife who is returning next week from the land of doughnuts..along with my cute lil son..

But I decided to post in a little note that this weekend am gonna take time off and start working on my blog..hell..when my friend and colleague Jams..an active blogger has got a google page rating of 5 on 10 (not that he was boasting about it)..I should atleast try to get there sometime..

So..till this weekend..have a good rest of the week ahead..if I was wishing myself..it would well be with work alone..as thats what I have been doing almost the whole day offlate..

I will be back :-)

Cheers
~N~

2006-05-15T00:42:00.000+05:30

The most irritating thing can be when you have composed a huge mail at the end of which finally when you are ready to send it, you get a "page cannot be displayed" error..you press back as a final last resort to see if there is any last chance of recovery and lo! the session has expired and you are staring at the page where you had logged in..awwww..this is what happened last week when I had logged back into blog something and when I was about to publish it..there it went..blank file, blank page..

Ok quickly moving onto what I wanted to say..before I loose it again.. elections over.. a new chief minister for TN.. Many are happy, many are sad..many are suprised at the results..but one thing is for sure..now that MK is back..IT will survive because of his nephew :-)..hope they atleast now lay those roads from Tidel park and we get to see the much hyped and spoken about "IT highway" finally..before the next rains come..

But thinking about it.. whoever comes to power, goes out of power..just becomes a matter of discussion.. as long as our life goes on without any interupptions..does it really matter? We talk about the rising prices of rice (avaliable soon at Rs.2/kg supposedly), rising petrol prices, rising diesel prices, paying to watch your favourite channels..the list is long..its just group discussions that we do but finally we do pay.. dont we.. ok enough serious talk..I tend to speak some seriuos things once in a while but if you are not in a mood you could always visit my friend and colleague Jammy's blog and have a good laugh..

I hope to frequent my blog frequently..prolly with some non-serious funny stuff..

Till then..all of you out there..take care..have a great week ahead..

Adios
~N~

2006-04-24T11:45:00.000+05:30

Well Well I know its been quite a while now..but quite a few things both at work and home have kept me quite busy.. one thing thats made me feel cool atleast is my new look..am bald..yes bald.. after having grown my hair for sometime (about a couple of months).. I finally went to Tirupathi and got my head shaved..right now am in the mood to try out some real cool "facial hair dos" to suit my bald look..was checking out the list of famous bald people..which includes the likes (also my favourites) of Yul Brynner, Vin Diesel, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis etc actually the list goes on and in the ladies category I have loved Natalie Portman in her bald look..and of course in sports entertainment..for being a long time enthusiast of the WWE, I have liked the Rock..

Apart from the new look, work has got more tougher but more exciting..I hope to get back to blogging more frequently..

Cheers
~N~

:: SPEAK THY MIND ::

2006-03-19T23:40:00.000+05:30

:: SPEAK THY MIND ::

2006-03-19T22:18:00.000+05:30

This weekend was good..it was oscar weekend.. managed to finally watch the two movies (actually 2 out of the 3) I had borrowed from my colleague and friend Leena..I watched "The Accused" and "Rain man". The Accused was good..starring one of my favourite onscreen hotties Kelly Mcgillis (she joined my "favorite hotties" list after Top gun)..and Jodie Foster in a stunning potrayal as a young carefree teenager who is gang raped in a bar.. and who wants to desperately put not only the guys who raped her but also the ones who cheered and clapped behind bars.. I then watched Rain man..after a long time..this is one classic I would love to watch over and over for one man.. Dustin Hoffman.. well in the movie hes termed as autistic..the english dictionary defines a person affected by autism as

"A psychiatric disorder of childhood characterized by marked deficits in communication and social interaction, preoccupation with fantasy, language impairment, and abnormal behavior, such as repetitive acts and excessive attachment to certain objects."

But I would say he does not seem like a person who has a disorder, you cannot call a guy "autistic" when he can count the toothpicks falling out of a box in a matter of seconds :-) 246 is the number he says as soon as it falls.. but what is nice to watch is the relationship that slowly changes from hate, gradually to love and caring to a brotherly bonding (they both are brothers) that develops between Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Cruise as an aggressive car dealer who is on the verge of loosing his business and whos initial intention of taking care of Hoffman is to get his share of the property that his father has not bequeathed a pie of has done a great job as well..hes probably a bit loud in a few scenes where he wants to show his frustration because of Hoffman's behaviour..

I have one more movie to watch, "Serpico" which I will watch during the course of this week..it features another one of my all time favourites, Al Pacino..will write more on that in my next..

Till then adios and have a great week ahead..

Cheers
~N~

2006-03-09T01:33:00.000+05:30

Just to give you a quick update, the cable finally came on Tuesday evening..well I did give the technical head of hathway a piece of my mind..(of the little I had)..and he apologized profusely though Iam really not sure of what action he actually took.. on Monday it showed me glimpses of coming by showing me the program listing but actually nothing coming..

Finally, the picture showed up on Tuesday evening after I had to show a little more of how desperate I was and how much I really missed my favourite programs on Discovery, History Channel and CNBC.

It felt good to watch some cable on Tuesday night :-) after all that waste of energy finally..phew !

Cheers
Naarayan

cable wars

2006-03-05T11:47:00.000+05:30

Well well..this weekend had my tempers soaring..all because I was what everybody would call the fooling uninformed customer who had been taken for a ride..well this is got to do with the cable wars..am sure everybody who is in chennai must have gone through this at sometime or the other.. the eternal fight between SCV better known as Sumangali Cable Vision and Hathway..the two providers..I have subscribed to hathway as they were willing to provide the set top box on a rental basis instead of a outright purchase..I agreed to that..but all the trouble started when I wanted to shift the box to the house I have currently moved into..

The house was in an area which came under the SCV belt.. I spoke to the operators who were the providers and told them that I wanted to shift the set top box..I was surprised that they had an agreement between themselves (Hathway and SCV) that it was ok to intrude into one anothers boundaries..but lo! as I was thinking it was all over..and I had paid the money came the surprise..the hathway office staff told me that all arrangements had been made and once the SCV technicians have connected the set top box the service would be activated within one hour..

Finally after everything was fixed, I called up the Hathway office and surprise surprise, nobody was left in the office but for the most bad mouthed, foul mannered hathway technicican who said that activation is usually done from Mumbai, their head office. I repeatedly told him that I was told it would be activated in 1 hour but he said it was not possible and it is not possible to do anything about it now..he also rudely said that as public, I can do anything I want and hung up the phone.. I tried accessing the hathway website..the contact numbers and the contact email addresses do not work on this website..

More than not getting the connection, what pained me was the way the technician spoke to me. Rather, it is the customer who has to bear the brunt of these illogical wars..more so the painstaking fact is these operators do not understand how important customer satisfaction is..

Iam sure there are hundreds more like me who are facing similar problems..there should be a common forum where the "public" can speak to the concerned officials of these organizations and operators who do not behave amicably or know to behave with the customers should be strictly dealt with and their agency should be closed down..

To reconcile to the fact that I wont be having cable for the weekend, I went and got home a couple of movies to watch.."Narnia" and "Underworld Evolution"..Narnia was fantasy..just felt like getting back to watching a movie like Lord of the Rings :-) and Underworld was all battle between the vampires and werewolves..pretty well shot movie..

But come Monday..Hathway..here I come

Till then

Cheers
Naarayan

2006-02-27T23:24:00.000+05:30

I had jokingly told my wife on a weekday in the middle of the never ending confusion at work that I would cook over the weekend.. I never expected her to take me so seriously and she promptly reminded me on Saturday that it was my turn to take over the kitchen on Sunday morning.. I readily accepted the challenge.. laughing inside that she did not know what she was going to eat :-) I finally decided that I will prepare vegetable pulao..

I got up tired and weary after watching TV late on Saturday night..and suddenly realised that I did not have the recipe for it..I then hurriedly logged onto the internet and asked my trustworthy online buddy google for some results and lo! there it was..I hurriedly wrote down the recipe and went about preparing the dish..finally after two hours of "reasonable" turmoil and sweat in the kitchen, I completed my first ever dish..and yes, it did not taste bad at all.. well am not saying it because I did it but it was WCVP - Wife Certified Vegetable Pulao :-)..

We finally sat down and had the meal together..and it finally felt good..from being branded as a person who would never step foot into the kitchen to preparing vegetable pulao..well..I have finally arrived :-)

Cheers
~N~

2006-02-23T23:11:00.000+05:30

I used to be an avid reader of books..infact at one point of time it almost became like a disease as however tired I was, I would come home and make it a point to read a book atleast for about half an hour to forty five minutes and then go to sleep..

Some of the books that I read with great vigor recently would include, Kalki's "Ponniyin Selvan", which is according to me on of the greatest epics I have read after probably Rajaji's "Ramayan" or R.K.Narayan's "Mahabharatha". The way the story has been woven, the characters have been chosen, the intricate details are simply stupendous and there is no way a reader would want to keep down the book because, there are many authors that have written great books but this book of Kalki will go down in time as one of the greatest epics..well I read the english translation as my tamil is not all that strong..though whoever I recommend this book, I ask them if they know tamil and if they do, I ask them to read the tamil version as its the original..whatever said and done.. anything original is best enjoyed in that form..In terms of keeping the reading audience spell bound, Kalki did a Dan Brown long back..and I mean very long ago..about 30 years back..

Currently Iam reading "Malgudi Landscapes", a collection of all the stories of R.K.Narayan and it is with out a doubt one of the books that I will always be proud to own. I literally felt Iam being transported into the imaginary town of Malgudi..more updates on how the reading session went..when I get a chance to finish it :-)

Till then..

Adios
~N~

2006-02-20T14:11:00.000+05:30

WOW..amazing..fantastic..mind blowing are just a few words that can be considered an understatement of India's performance in the last one day international at Karachi..The last one day international and what a way to finish off the series at 4-1.

It has been the 13th one-day match that India has chased a total and so convincingly won it. Of all these 13 matches, this one stands on top. At an asking run rate of more than 8 runs an over and a Pakistan bowling attack that surprisingly was tight for a few spells..I was thinking that the Paks might want to finish off this one day series with a win and save some disgrace..but eventually as the match progressed what the current Indian team showed was that the fate of the match did not rest on a "rested" Tendulkar's shoulders nor did the wall of confidence break when Rahul "The wall" Dravid fell after a fine half century.

The youngsters, Yuvraj and Dhoni showed that this team is made of enourmous grit, courage and consistency and has shown that nothing is impossible. Even at that daunting asking rate they did not seem to be deterred one bit and continued making runs, slowly but consistently. I was getting impatient at one point thinking what these guys had in mind by taking singles and the two runs and whether they had any idea of the rising required run rate but when they finished the match with three overs to spare, I realised that these guys and the current team means serious business and they will go a long way.

The credit goes to quite a few people for this tremendous victory. First of all to Rahul Dravid for captaining the side not just as a captain passing on orders to his "boys" but letting them do what they are best at and leading from the front with some impressive performances of his own. Coach Greg Chapell who has changed the mind set of the entire team and last but not the least the boys themselves..well am justified when I say the boys themselves because, all of us go through rough patches at various times in our lives, but to come out of that rough patch, nobody can help us but ourselves and that is what these guys have done and proved..

Iam eagerly looking forward to the series with England which Iam sure will be exciting. I sincerely hope Mike Vaughn has something seriously effective in store for this Indian squad or Iam sure he is going to be the first one to be called for the presentation ceremony as the loosing captain. As far as Inzy is concerned, his team has a long way to go, interms of bowling, fielding and most importantly confidence and consistency.

England, welcome home and have a pleasant stay.... hopefully :-)

Cheers
~N~

Second post

2006-02-15T22:18:00.000+05:30

Hey its my second posting today.. Iam totally enthusiastic about the blogging world now..with encouragement from my good friend, colleague and active blogger Jammy I decided that by hook or crook, I will definitely make an attempt to "just blog it" every day..

Well I know work kills and will continue to but yes this would definitely be my much needed daily relaxation break..today at home it was good as my son seemed to be getting more used to me..well its good in a way as the only time he actually sees me is for a few hours everyday..sad but true but am glad am finally getting to play father :-) when I look at him a stark reality strikes me and am sure all dads will agree and dads to be and who are planning will also agree with me sooner or later that its the only period of our lives that we actually live without a care in this world..how good it would remain this way..the daily tensions, the thrills and frills, the pressures..no sweat.. the reality is also that only when we see kids to we sense this reality as we have long forgotten that we used to be like this someday..well lets not speak more about this as I know its not possible..but atleast let us aim to make our daily lives as enjoyable as possible with whatever we are doing..be it work, taking a little tea break, having a chat or even blogging :-)

I will be visiting a lot of blogs henceforth to get some good tips on the art of survival in the blogging world, but from the little of what I have seen..the plain simple truth is..just dont get too worked up by it.."just blog it"

Till next time..which is very soon..

Adios

~N~

The Blog World..Here I come :-)

2006-02-15T12:13:00.000+05:30

OK, I have decided finally to start off on my blog..just felt like it..as I suddenly felt a bit boring and probably a bit kind of writing types..usually dont cause the interest wears out pretty fast..well I cannot blog like my friends Ari or Jammy do but sure will try to improve over a period of time..its like am just beginning to crawl in to blog world :-)

I watched the Oprah winfrey show after a long time today and today was a really touching show..it was about child abuse and the damn pedophiles.. spoke about a little orphaned girl from Russia who was adopted by a jerk in the US who said he had lost his daughter..imagine the jerk went all the way to Russia and got her to the US.. he then treated the girl like his sex slave for nearly five years and traded her pictures all over the internet for money..well later turned out that he had metted out the same treatment to his biological daughter as well..the damn SOB..pardon me for the bad language..the little russian girl was only five years old..the guy was tracked down by a police officer who had posed as a guy interested in the pics..the jerk is behind bars.. the police officer, the biological daughter and the little russian girl (shes grown up a bit now) met today on the Oprah winfrey show for the first time today.. It was good to watch the three of them together, especially the police officer who had taken so much of pains..imagine entering a chat room which has thousands of pedophiles..yeeks..the thought of it is so grose..but finally the satisfaction you get when you have helped somebody is unexplainable isnt it? As a viewer I was happy the jerk was behind bars..his sentence is nothing less than 45 years in prison..well If I were the judge, instantaneous death sentence..

As responsible users of the Internet, we need to make best use of it..well am saying that porn is something that cannot be erased from the face of this goddamn cyberspace..whatever said and done its business for many but that business presents opportunities to a race of jerks..
All said and done..this was my first blog entry..I know its kind of a serious topic to start off but this kinda stayed in mind the whole day..so wanted to share it.. will come back very soon..

BTW, Happy Valentine's to all of ya :-)

Cheers
Naarayan