the 429 day long wait is finally gonna be over...in less than 30 days when qatar airways touches down at Chennai Meenambakam airport in the early hours (3:45A.M to be precise....atleast thats what is expected) of 22nd July 2008 i would be setting foot in singara chennai...cant wait to get out the plane filled with a crowd which is equally excited to be there as me...
The scene outside the airport is already getting set in my mind....mom dad...chittapa chitti...cousins....nu one big welcoming committee would be there...given the fact that me an my cousin both of us are coming together....
what would i do?? who will i see first?? who will i hug first??? will i fall at their feet?? who will my eyes search??? who will it be happy to see?? who will it miss??? will i kiss the ground as how my annathai does when he comes(gosh now i know why he did that...now i know how he used to feel.... )i don't know what i will do....well am not thinking of anything right now...But one thing is for sure...am getting prepared to have the best 30 days of my life....no stopping for anything...no thinking before doing anything...no stone left unturned...no road left undriven...No food left untasted...(do these even sound right!! who cares!!!)
An yes....i am really really happy for one more fact....am gonna be there for one of my closesttt friend's birthday...really missed being there last year..but not this time....
life is where fun is...fun is where home is....home is where chennai is!!! C ya Soon Meri Jaan....Chennai Meri Jaan....
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Indo-US....No not the Nuclear Deal....thats not my cup of tea!!!
According to Consul General in Mumbai Michael S Owen there has been a 80% increase in the US Visas for Indians this past year (approximately 2.26Lakhs as against 1.25Lakhs issued in 2006). This comprehends the brain drain that has been happening for quite a while now from India.I am no exception as i sit today in Bloomington IL wondering when i would get back to my motherland.....
something worth wondering..why is this drain happening...when the Indian education system is arguably one of the best in the world...why are there so many people coming here for their higher studies...why do people come here for work when there are so many multi nationals and industry leaders In our own country....why do people come over here face what they face rather than staying back and contributing to the place that has given them so much all these years....
My favourite scene from one of my favorite Movies "Swades" comes to my mind..."Apne Chaukat ka diya and giving light to the neighbours house"(or Taking the candle from our house and giving light to the neighbours house)....
Is money the sole reason?? Is it lack of appreciation?? is it lack of exposure?? is it lack of potential for growth?? what really drives the Indian Brain which aspires to crossover to the pastures which look greener in Uncle Sam!!!
something worth wondering..why is this drain happening...when the Indian education system is arguably one of the best in the world...why are there so many people coming here for their higher studies...why do people come here for work when there are so many multi nationals and industry leaders In our own country....why do people come over here face what they face rather than staying back and contributing to the place that has given them so much all these years....
My favourite scene from one of my favorite Movies "Swades" comes to my mind..."Apne Chaukat ka diya and giving light to the neighbours house"(or Taking the candle from our house and giving light to the neighbours house)....
Is money the sole reason?? Is it lack of appreciation?? is it lack of exposure?? is it lack of potential for growth?? what really drives the Indian Brain which aspires to crossover to the pastures which look greener in Uncle Sam!!!
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
The latest composition of the mozart from chennai...A.R.Rahman has created a stir among listeners...being quite the rahman fanatic i couldn't control for long...just finished listening to the songs...the entire album seems pretty ok....undoubtedly the best song is Kabhi Kabhi Aditi sung by rashid ali and fittingly is being promoted extensively first....what i believe is the second best song is Nazren Milana Nazrein Churana sung by an array of talented singers bringing alive the college spirit and the fun and frolic that is college life...the guitar which dominates the song is worth making a special mention. This song has the Rahman touch to it....Tu bole Main Boloon rendered by the maestro himself is the title track of the movie and is funny take on how a guy and a girl have two different perspectives to everything....for the people who like soft slow numbers Kahin to Hogi woh is a treat...All in all the soundtrack of Jaane tu ya Jaane Na is sure to be a winner at the box office...
Kabhi Kabhi Aditi...
try and listen to the entire album...
P.S. one more Kollywood connection if you noticed the video...Genelia Dsouza...well the heroine of the movie...
Kabhi Kabhi Aditi...
try and listen to the entire album...
P.S. one more Kollywood connection if you noticed the video...Genelia Dsouza...well the heroine of the movie...
This is Cricket my dear....
The players were auctioned...the teams were picked...interesting names were christened...the colors chosen...theme songs were made...videos were shot...players became actors... singing and dancing to tunes...and then finally the cricket started...
The IPL was certainly a risky venture in an uncharted territory. A game which was traditionally played over five days got shortened to one day and now has been reduced further to 20 Overs a side game. The idea was to get in some international players along with top indian players side by side with the players playing the little league so that they get a feel of the competitive game that is cricket...
The tournament certainly had its opposition...boards not wanting to send players...rebel leagues and tournaments being announced...countries banning players from playing for their national side who signed up for the IPL...players getting banned for other reasons just before the tournament started...players being banned for a friendly pat on the cheeks(otherwise called as the slap) and pouring water over dreams of having the Hummer....
but when all the dust settled...the tournament had its share of surprises...the team expected and pipped as the strongest and favourite to win the cup, started strongly "riding" the waves... but then just ran out of gas....falling into total darkness as that of the "night"...failing to meet expectations by a long way....
the thunder from down under (naah not australia..this is India we are talking about...down under in India get it....) had a wave too...spur of victories...then followed by some mediocre performances leading to string of defeats before bouncing back to surprise everyone by reaching the finals....
the "devils" from the capital had a some what similar run....they might have had the orange cap(for the leading run scorer)...the best opening pair...the most explosive batting attack...but were stopped midway by the "kalakal rajas"
the "indians" no the other indians from the financial capital were like the pheonix....a string of losses initially....people just wrote them off..then suddenly started jus toying with everyone....winning consistently till the final moments of the tournament they had a setback and had to settle for 5th place...
perhaps the underdogs of the tournament....the royals...no not the ones from caribbean but the one from the desert land....surprised everyone with a wonderful performance all the way to the finals losing only 2 encounters...and were convincing enough to take home the cup...fittingly crowned champs...
All in all...a success in every aspect...its really good for the international players because they get a feel for the indian sub continent....good for the local players....since they get the required top cream experience....good money....bt whether it is any good for the game on the whole only time will tell...
The IPL was certainly a risky venture in an uncharted territory. A game which was traditionally played over five days got shortened to one day and now has been reduced further to 20 Overs a side game. The idea was to get in some international players along with top indian players side by side with the players playing the little league so that they get a feel of the competitive game that is cricket...
The tournament certainly had its opposition...boards not wanting to send players...rebel leagues and tournaments being announced...countries banning players from playing for their national side who signed up for the IPL...players getting banned for other reasons just before the tournament started...players being banned for a friendly pat on the cheeks(otherwise called as the slap) and pouring water over dreams of having the Hummer....
but when all the dust settled...the tournament had its share of surprises...the team expected and pipped as the strongest and favourite to win the cup, started strongly "riding" the waves... but then just ran out of gas....falling into total darkness as that of the "night"...failing to meet expectations by a long way....
the thunder from down under (naah not australia..this is India we are talking about...down under in India get it....) had a wave too...spur of victories...then followed by some mediocre performances leading to string of defeats before bouncing back to surprise everyone by reaching the finals....
the "devils" from the capital had a some what similar run....they might have had the orange cap(for the leading run scorer)...the best opening pair...the most explosive batting attack...but were stopped midway by the "kalakal rajas"
the "indians" no the other indians from the financial capital were like the pheonix....a string of losses initially....people just wrote them off..then suddenly started jus toying with everyone....winning consistently till the final moments of the tournament they had a setback and had to settle for 5th place...
perhaps the underdogs of the tournament....the royals...no not the ones from caribbean but the one from the desert land....surprised everyone with a wonderful performance all the way to the finals losing only 2 encounters...and were convincing enough to take home the cup...fittingly crowned champs...
All in all...a success in every aspect...its really good for the international players because they get a feel for the indian sub continent....good for the local players....since they get the required top cream experience....good money....bt whether it is any good for the game on the whole only time will tell...
அக்கு....
recently i have had the time off from work n studies...been watching so many movies that if you pick any movie that has been released over the past few months there is a good chance i would have already seen it...
i have never been an avid review believer hence when i wanna watch a movie i don waste much time trying to look up what the critics have to say about the movie...i jus find online streaming of the movie and start watching it...i don't expect much...my needs are pretty simple...all i am looking for is some timepass thats it...but honestly speaking...in this movie i got more than timepass...
dedicated to the sincere and daring policeman and politicians of the country "அக்கு" apprently is how a bomb squad expert (anu hassan) helps diffusing well a bomb...simple enough...but the twist is that it is not just your normal everyday bomb made of rdx but a new type never known to anyone (well not everyone...the bomb maker knows about it duuhhh!!!)which is fitted to the boot of the hero and is armed once he started running...an would explode if he stops...apparently planted by the leader of a major terrorist outfit headquartered in chennai...now for the reason...simple enough again...the hero is in love with the younger sister of the villan...how the hero keeps running from chennai to madurai to some other remote village...how the doctors keep him going....how the police track down the terrorist outfit and take them out in the process some of the officers give up their life...how finally anu hassan puts her life in danger for saving the hero and what happens next is the movie...all in a all...not a wowieee movie but one worth watching...
Pro: low profile star cast with people doing justice to their job.. a new concept attempted...the movie is not very long...infact it hardly runs for an hour and a half...
cons: Some of the stuff doesn't seem believable (for example the villan always seems to use real time tracking system which zooms in and shows real live pictures of what is happening where..hero running from city to city 100's of kms non stop...doctors able to see xray reuslts and scan results shot from a small video camera through video conferencing while the person at the other end doesn't seem to have the facility for the conferencing set up...)
overall...i liked it...even though at some point you would feel come on man give me a break....where in the real word do these things happen....but then again...thats what movies are for right...imagination....sometimes just trying to extend what we know as reality...
i have never been an avid review believer hence when i wanna watch a movie i don waste much time trying to look up what the critics have to say about the movie...i jus find online streaming of the movie and start watching it...i don't expect much...my needs are pretty simple...all i am looking for is some timepass thats it...but honestly speaking...in this movie i got more than timepass...
dedicated to the sincere and daring policeman and politicians of the country "அக்கு" apprently is how a bomb squad expert (anu hassan) helps diffusing well a bomb...simple enough...but the twist is that it is not just your normal everyday bomb made of rdx but a new type never known to anyone (well not everyone...the bomb maker knows about it duuhhh!!!)which is fitted to the boot of the hero and is armed once he started running...an would explode if he stops...apparently planted by the leader of a major terrorist outfit headquartered in chennai...now for the reason...simple enough again...the hero is in love with the younger sister of the villan...how the hero keeps running from chennai to madurai to some other remote village...how the doctors keep him going....how the police track down the terrorist outfit and take them out in the process some of the officers give up their life...how finally anu hassan puts her life in danger for saving the hero and what happens next is the movie...all in a all...not a wowieee movie but one worth watching...
Pro: low profile star cast with people doing justice to their job.. a new concept attempted...the movie is not very long...infact it hardly runs for an hour and a half...
cons: Some of the stuff doesn't seem believable (for example the villan always seems to use real time tracking system which zooms in and shows real live pictures of what is happening where..hero running from city to city 100's of kms non stop...doctors able to see xray reuslts and scan results shot from a small video camera through video conferencing while the person at the other end doesn't seem to have the facility for the conferencing set up...)
overall...i liked it...even though at some point you would feel come on man give me a break....where in the real word do these things happen....but then again...thats what movies are for right...imagination....sometimes just trying to extend what we know as reality...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Chronicles of the foodie....
been a while since i scribbled smthing...so why not something on my day so far...
After about a weeks break am working today and that too 8 hours straight(yea its sunday but am working!!!)...an the saddest part is none of the cafeteria's are open (being a sunday and some renovation going on around campus) so i have to survive the day on a muffin n a bottle of fanta...i walk out an none of the proper dine in restaurants are open and am greeted by a board We are open MOnday thru saturday 9:00am to 9:00pm (can you believe it they close down by 9;00pm when we generally decide where to have our dinner...and yea if you din't notice they are not open sundays at all...they are generally closed sounds strange isnt it...well thats my town for ya!!!)
i stroll pillar to post for about half an hour and at the end am still unsuccessful to find even a single potti kadai open or a brother selling pani poori or samosa channa or mulaga bajji(whom am i kiddin there are no potti kadais here...these guys don't even know the definition of a pani poori or a samosa channa or the hot mulaga bajji... to them its baked rice cake with potato filling and crispy fried lentil dipped in hot and sweet sos and fried hot pepper dipped in gram flour!!!)...dejected i return back to my office hoping to call up the pizza guy to get something delivered atleast a bread stick or a veggie delight...
well lookie here its almost 3 and my break is almost over...so bye bye pizza man... i should probably just gulp down the last bit of fanta that is left and get back to work and convince myself thats its jus couple more hours and then am home scot free...where something more nice would be waiting for me to dig into...
moment i step into my cabin...my boss is waiting with lunch...exactly not what i was expecting to eat but it was inviting none the less....veggie lasagna with mashed potato....we share a few laughs over lunch not bothered about the time or the work that was supposed to be completed...
Once lunch was over it was time to get back to work...before i realize its 5pm an time to go home...i head home and what awaits me at home was nothing short of a treat...my friend had made urulaikizhangu cauliflower kai...roti...Gujarati style parupu...rice...without a second thought i sit down and start enjoying this meal while watching the latest bollywood blockbluster hastey hastey (which by the way means laughter....and it jus din make me laugh one bit...)...really a nice end to a day of unusual happenings....
After about a weeks break am working today and that too 8 hours straight(yea its sunday but am working!!!)...an the saddest part is none of the cafeteria's are open (being a sunday and some renovation going on around campus) so i have to survive the day on a muffin n a bottle of fanta...i walk out an none of the proper dine in restaurants are open and am greeted by a board We are open MOnday thru saturday 9:00am to 9:00pm (can you believe it they close down by 9;00pm when we generally decide where to have our dinner...and yea if you din't notice they are not open sundays at all...they are generally closed sounds strange isnt it...well thats my town for ya!!!)
i stroll pillar to post for about half an hour and at the end am still unsuccessful to find even a single potti kadai open or a brother selling pani poori or samosa channa or mulaga bajji(whom am i kiddin there are no potti kadais here...these guys don't even know the definition of a pani poori or a samosa channa or the hot mulaga bajji... to them its baked rice cake with potato filling and crispy fried lentil dipped in hot and sweet sos and fried hot pepper dipped in gram flour!!!)...dejected i return back to my office hoping to call up the pizza guy to get something delivered atleast a bread stick or a veggie delight...
well lookie here its almost 3 and my break is almost over...so bye bye pizza man... i should probably just gulp down the last bit of fanta that is left and get back to work and convince myself thats its jus couple more hours and then am home scot free...where something more nice would be waiting for me to dig into...
moment i step into my cabin...my boss is waiting with lunch...exactly not what i was expecting to eat but it was inviting none the less....veggie lasagna with mashed potato....we share a few laughs over lunch not bothered about the time or the work that was supposed to be completed...
Once lunch was over it was time to get back to work...before i realize its 5pm an time to go home...i head home and what awaits me at home was nothing short of a treat...my friend had made urulaikizhangu cauliflower kai...roti...Gujarati style parupu...rice...without a second thought i sit down and start enjoying this meal while watching the latest bollywood blockbluster hastey hastey (which by the way means laughter....and it jus din make me laugh one bit...)...really a nice end to a day of unusual happenings....
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