Simply Irresistable!!

A winter evening.
Four friends.
One barsaat.
Four glasses of chai.

Hundred bucks of gas.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.

Maggi noodles.
A hostel room.
4.25 a.m.

3 old friends.
3 separate cities.
3 coffee mugs.
1 internet messenger.

Rain on a hot tin roof.
Pakoras deep-frying.
Neighbours dropping in.
A party.

You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of coconut oil.
A head massage.
Gossiping about absent family members.

(From a mail from one of my friends!!)

Halloween Party!

Well this October 31st 2006, I got my first chance to attend a Halloween party. It was good fun especially when you get a chance to see some of the academically serious folks dressed up in funny costumes to keep up the spirit of the party. Even in my college department, there was a pumpkin patch created in the administrative office with one pumpkin dedicated to each professor :-). Well this said, it enthused me to know more about the history of Halloween and so here is this blog with my findings about it.

Halloween, variously called Samhain, and other names based on the pagan region that celebrated, falls at the midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox (around Sept 20th, give or take) and the Winter Solstice (Dec 21st, give or take). Of course, equinoxes have the day/night of equal length (12 hours each). Recall that when people did not have electricity or other modern comforts, and relied in a more direct fashion on what they grew for themselves, it was important to pay attention to these solar cycles.

So, after the Autumnal Equinox, the days become shorter and the night becomes longer, until reaching the Winter Solstice, when the night is longest and the day is the shortest. However, the Winter Solstice is usually considered a more positive time, because the days begin to get longer from that time. So, All Hallow'sEve, is considered the darkest time... the days are getting shorter and shorter, and will continue to get shorter until the Winter Solstice, still a month and a half away. It was this growing darkness which associated that time of the year with the "spooky" feeling that Halloween is characterized by. It was thought that during this time, the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was thinnest. But some considered this time to be the best to worship their ancestors.

The tradition of wearing scary masks and costumes was developed, supposedly, to scare away the dead from the world of the living, and make them want to go back to the land of the dead.

Since most of these traditions developed long ago, often in cultures that did not have much literacy, it is probable that one cannot fully answer in a definitive sense what Halloween is, especially since there is so much regional variety to how it is celebrated. However, Halloween is one of the most pure pagan traditions still going.

I had also sported a mask on my face just for the fun sake of it. I shall upload that picture asap :-)

Anything for love!!

Well recently I came across an article about Tamil Nadu's superstar Rajnikanth's son-in-law Dhanush :). Recently he was in news for reasons other than his movies - he had become a proud father. He was married last year with Rajnikanth's daughter Aishwarya.

But before the marriage between Dhanush and Aishwarya, there were many questions raised about the feasibility of their marriage. The very reason for all kinds of questions being raised regarding the match is the 'glaring and obvious differences' between Dhanush and Aishwarya.

Aishwarya was educated in Australia. She studied Corporate Law in Ashram College run by her mother. She is also taking care of administration of this college. But Dhanush is entirely different. He studied up to just 10th standard only. Aishwarya is older than Dhanush. Dhanush is 20 and Aishwarya is 23.

Despite these obvious differences, there is just one thing that had joined them together, that is their love for each other. Anyhow, when it comes to love, even Super star is also just another father!

The Life Of PI

"It was a story that would make you believe in God" says the author Yann Martel in the beginning of the book. Though there are may be arguments about this, a consensus can be easily reached about the fact that the book is a treat to savor.

Piscine Molitar Patel, is a young man in Pondicherry, a tiny area in southern India which was once part of French India. The first part of the novel tells of Pi's childhood as the son of the zookeeper in Pondicherry. Growing up in the zoo, Pi learns a lot about animals. He educates us in the ways of animals, both penned and wild, and in how to keep them content and controlled. Infact, these lessons turn out to be his saviour in the later part. He is especially interested in Religions and infact does not confine himself to one religion as Love of God is his belief. Pi does not want his parents to know about this and it is witty when he says "They didn't know that I was a practicing Hindu, Christian and Muslim. Teenagers always hide a few things from their parents, isn't that so? All sixteen-year- olds have secrets, don't they?".

Soon thereafter, Pi, his brother Ravi and his parents decide to emigrate to Canada along with the animals in their Zoo. Unfortunately the ship sinks and Pi finds himself in a boat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a huge Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. As the animails fight for survival in the boat, eventually only Pi and Richard Parker are left in the boat. Though Pi fears that Richard Parker might come and attack him anytime, he decides his only hope is to try to show him who is the alpha male in their particular highly restrictive jungle. He succeeds in it with the help of a whistle and makes sure that whenever he blows the whistle, Richard Parker listens to him as instructed (though after many initial failures). Pi also makes sure that he has defined his boundary within the boat very clearly so that Richard does not intrude in his area! Pi is forced to become a non-vegetarian, starved of food for many days and almost becoming blind in the end!! But after all these struggles, he still maintains his belief in life and never lets his faith down.....Though the readers guess it correctly that Pi Patel survives all these in the end, the story still keeps you engrossed till the very end!

Probably here is where he teaches a beautiful lesson that life is infact a struggle. Though there may be obstacles in the form of Richard Parker, one must never lose faith upon oneself to overcome the difficulties.

The master is back!

For those who had voiced the end of the little master's cricket career, Sachin Tendulkar came back with a bang in the DLF cup. The innings against the carribeans in the second ODI was a testimony to that....It's been sometime now since we have seen such a wide array of stroke play from the champion himself. The cover drives and the pull shots were a treat to the eyes and especially the lofted six in the final over of the match stood out!
Having been booed by his home crowd and subjected to "Endulkar" headlines over the past year, the challenge to perform was even more. But the poise with which he handled the situation definitely showed that there are many years of cricket left in his willow. Though it may be argued that India was out of the series before the finals, it is defintely the failure of the team as a whole in the match against Australia. And if the innings against West Indies are any indications, then we definitely have many more days of the cricket fiesta from the Little Master!

Wishing them a happy married life!!!

Me!

Vettaiyadu Vilayadu (Hunt & Play!)

Well....here is a movie that promised a lot before it's release. Hyped as sequel to the blockbuster 'Kaaka Kaaka' with Padmasree Kamal Hassan in the lead, Harris's music setting the right stage and Gowtham's so called hatrick hits! After running into a series of problems, there was a question whether this movie would ever be released? Finally much to the respite of Kamal and Jo fans :), the movie hit the screens last week.

The initial introduction of Kamal where he just walks into a group of gangsters with an open challenge, even though cliched, glues the audience to their seats. The follow up song Karka Karka with stills from his heroics during his police encounters is just the right beginning. Right from here, the screenplay is very fast paced....Even before you realise, there are a series of murders, a flashback with Kamalini and Kamal reaches New York to trace the criminal! Here begins the cat and mouse game and the rest of the movie just unfolds solving the riddle behind the gruesome murders.

The introduction of Jo in New York is natural and just brings her character into the story. But a couple of songs and a few more "romantic" scenes gives a slight feeling throws a question over Kamal's mission at New York !

Kamal's performance in the fight sequence is to be watched out in this movie...the climax chase and the stunts gives a feeling that it is technically advanced cinematography. The ending though appears a bit contrived and gives a slight impression that it may have been modified just to satisfy the viewer's demand.

Well...all in all a movie that can be definitely watched for its fast paced screenplay, technical supremacy and Kamal's performance even though there are points that Gowtham missed out compared to its earlier version Kakha Kakha!

Starting off

Well...to write my blog in the net. Thot I would be the last one to put down the happenings or thoughts which come to my mind to the world through the internet! But here I am somehow managing to post my first post.

But as of now, keeping my fingers crossed about the frequency of my postings! Letz see...how far this goes ;)