Mayakkam Enna

To put it simple ... One selfish,drunkard, psychic husband with a equally psychic wife if not more and a bunch of so called friends along with a trendy modern dad and a sister makes Mayakkam Enna. The movie was one hell of a dis-appointment and I curse myself that I missed a wonderful test match for this @#$%^&. use your imagination. :D

I seriously want to understand where Selva gets inspiration for such creation. I really pity Sunder of all the characters in the movie for obvious reasons. I am sure there is no such idiot in real world or at least I hope so. Yamini, cold and calculated who uses her date to win her man. Impressive stuff and the way the crazy girl defends her man in the car after the reception though looked nice on screen was ridiculous. I am sure it makes no sense to be with a man who is molesting and man handling her. Defending him is in a different league and I would never understand why anyone would want to do that. I would suggest girls not to be inspired to any extent by that scene. I don't know how long these people are going to project women in such mean way.

People who is going to argue that it was the accident which made Karthick do all the stuff he did please understand that if he can rationally think about the kid he killed in Yamini's womb and push her for sex he can do everything rationally. It is just that he is so obsessed with his passion and affected by the failure and unfair deal he go that he lets everyone around affected and disturbed. As for the friends are concerned I think I am yet to be matured to appreciated these kind of relationship. I don't even think if we can call them friends. May be they are acquaintances with benefits. What kind of benefits is only known to the director :D

The tagline for the movie was good one"Follow your Heart"....But Selva missed the trick of adding another line to it "Carry your brains with it".The climax was a little bit emotional which we have seen throughout the existence of Tamil industry with the huge flaw in the time frame defined. Overall it is a not movie worth spending 3 hours of our time.

Yamini's Eyes were glowing throughout the movie and I liked that facet of her a lot.

Just for Laughs

Strauss:Hey MSD u must know that the edge to the Slip by Bell was not intentional.

Dravid:Yeah...How we will feel if Sachin or VVS or Me had edged and we are caught.

Indian Team:Oh no...(Everyone feels bad...)

MSD:Ok I guess in the Spirit of game we should bring back Bell.

Strauss:Thanks Gentlemen

In England Dressing room....

Strauss : That's unbelievable ... I never thought Indians are this stupid ... Mate go score a Double century, I believe these idiots doesn't tour us for another 3 yrs or so .... :D :D :D

The whole team laughs and Bell chuckles" I know I was naive but not as naive as the Indian team..."

Pepsi

It was a time when One rupee meant a lot and people were happy with the treat that we have in the Bhaji stalls and Tuck Shops where it generally costs us 10 rupees or less for almost 6 people.I still remember flavoured or rather coloured ice cubes sold in plastic tubes for just 50 paise and 75 paise. There was even a variant for 60 paise which tasted a lot better than the other two. Interestingly it was named PEPSI and that was the way before we knew about the actual Pepsi. Vimal was the leading manufacturer of this Pepsi and I tried my best to get a picture of the same without much luck.

It was Sports Day for us and teachers made sure that everybody from the lower classes participated at least in one event. I just came to the ground from school in school van and I didn't know who will take me back to home that day. We didn't know much about the houses except for the fact that we wore different colour dresses or about the points awarded for each and every event or about the trophy my house captain will hold at the end of the event. We were split into teams of 10 and our objective was simple take the small balls for one circle to next in steps and do it in quick time. We were completely ignorant of the consequences and it was total fun. I remember I was in green house standing in the second half of the team and I have no clue who was in my team or even the opposition that day. The circles were placed in the track and there was a huge crowd awaiting us at the end of the last circle. At the blow of the whistle we started our routine and people were clapping and shouting like crazy. It was my turn and I finished placing all the balls in the intended circle and ran to the end. I was just clapping for the other members of my team hoping that we would come first.

The race was done and it was total chaos and I didn't know who won. There was this hand in that crowd which pulled me and handed over a 50 paise Pepsi. It was melt completely and once I split it open I was able to empty it in seconds which would have taken at least 10 minutes back then. It smelled and tasted weird didn't know carcinogens brought that effect. Recollecting the event today I am now able to realise the love my mom had for me. She was too excited and she didn't even know if I had won or not. She had come all the way from my home to pick me up walking almost 2kms in hot sun. She is not that educated and probably didn't know how Pepsi was going to taste once it melts down. All she had in mind was to get something cold for her son to have after the event. It was ignorance and love at it's best. I don't have half of the love what she had or have for me. I have no clue why is that so but then I have this feeling that I should probably should do what I can do the best to keep her happy within my limits.... :)

The reason that made me recollect this event is yet another Ignorance and Love at it's best bringing me masala idlies hoping that I would eat them hot in front of my office which is highly polluted and is the most in appropriate place to have. By the time I got to the idlies it was dry and close to in edibility but still it was full of love or rather stupid love :D I hope I am blessed to have it throughout my life.

KO

Two months of World Cup and now almost one month of IPL has managed to keep me glued to the TV sets in the weekends. The reason is not because I was so interested in watching the matches but because of the fact that there was no one to release any films for the past 3 months or so :( .... Finally "KO" was released few weeks back and It was very difficult to find tickets in all the multiplexes and finally I ended up booking in Devi complex. There was a huge expectation on the movie thanks to the songs which were topping the charts already. "Ko" in short is not a classic one but for sure you would find very little to keep you away from the movie. Simbhu for sure has missed a trick in refusing to take up project. May be he is following his favourite hero is rejecting good scripts... :)

It is a complete commercial entertainer with a clichéd story set in a different backdrop with new characterisations. The director should be appreciated for staying away form an exclusive comedy track as we find in most of the commercial movies today. That way the flow of the movie was not disturbed. The same cant be said about the songs though. It is sad to see that even good songs can stop the flow of the story considerably. Placement of the song "Vennpaniyae" could have been altered. If there is no reason that would make me go back to theatres would the cinematography and the locations of the song.

The story was well narrated  though there were few loopholes which were not explained till the end.The way present day politics was brought out was exceptional and I appreciate the producer who has refrained from deleting those scenes :) Of course the story is a fantasy and is no way closer to reality even for a considerable future. All the characters in the movie played their part to perfection and the character Saro needs a special mention as she keeps the audience light hearted in the intense story narration. The female lead has height to her advantage. I cant think of anything else special about her. Many think her eye brows were good but I had an opposite opinion on that. The male leads were perfect and has done a fabulous job throughout the movie especially Vasanthan which had more scope for acting than Ashwin.

The movie on the whole can be watched once for sure. Kudos to the entire team for meeting the huge expectations and K.V. Anand is turning out to be a successful commercial director without any kuthu songs :) 

Selections .....

So far I have had 5 of my friends get married this year and few more are planned in the near future. Not to mention the umpteen number of friends who are in a desperate hunt for a life partner. This seems to be the most discussed topic these days no matter where we go and it is the same even when I talk with my family members. Now I realise that I am growing older and older and it is the perfect age for my friends to get married and it is high time for girls of my age.

The selection process for a life partner varies to a great extent from each and every individual. Parents have a different criteria while children have a completely different criteria or rather contradicting ones. I would be highly surprised if people are able to find a perfect life partner after passing through both the filters. From what I have seen and heard so far Religion,Caste,Creed, and Horoscope is the first filter in selection process. There is little compromise on these when it comes to arranged marriage. It's a shame that needs to be accepted. Pushing this aside there have been few peculiar expectations I came across like one girl wanted to know the fitness regime of the guy she intend to marry. Though the expectation is a practical one it sounded weird.

Most of the rejections from the brides are based purely on salary cap and work location which these days have been a major factor and when it comes to guys the rejections have been mostly due because of the external beauty. Guys are always guys :) We are never going to change. While the previous has a scale to measure the later is totally left to the person's discretion and one can never draw a scale for that. It is pretty difficult for the parents and guys to have similar taste when it comes to the beauty.

I have seen my share of girls getting married to guys settled in USA. The reasons can be debated and I remain a stranger about them till date. I have even seen a profile where the expectation column had nothing but the salary and work location mentioned. I was literally flabbergasted to see a profile which read something like below "I would like a partner with a good job earning handsome salary in the following countries 
a. USA
b.Europe 
c.Australia 
d. New Zealand"

I don't want to pen down my perceptions here as it might not sound rosy and will even offend many who pursue their masters with sponsorship from their better half :) I have heard my own friend from college who has settled in USA for close to 4 years saying  "Dei I am more than willing to sponsor for her course da. Vera enna machi panna mudiyum. Illati ponnu kudukka maatanga machi. :D It is after all part and parcel of the marriage deal." Few others are very particular in making sure that that they don't have to live with their in-laws and they convey it with a high degree of diplomacy and not point blank.... :) Some even define that living with in-laws to be a joint family. It sounded ridiculous but couldn't help it either it is all because the family structure these days which is getting more and more nuclear these days. I would prefer rather want to live with my parents and in-laws in the same house which I believe will be the perfect way, but that has got it's own complications. :)

I am sure everyone these days are very clear on what they are looking for in their life partners. It is good to see many sticking to their expectations and waiting for their right one. But at the same time I also feel that we have to make some compromise at some point of time. It would be good for us if we can appreciate the imperfections in people and get along with the life instead of being stubborn. It is damn difficult to find partner matching our expectations to an exact measure.

It is always better to bend rather than break.

Frantic 50 minutes.....

It was a Saturday and I was to travel to Yercaud for my friend's engagement late that night. The train was scheduled to leave at around 11 PM. It was just six in the evening, so I decided to take a nap for a while before I pack. Packing is always done at the last minute for my travel no matter where I travel and what the purpose is ... :)  As I was just getting into sleep I had a flash of a thought about the file that I got from my college on an ill-fated convocation day. Pity that my grey cells failed to recollect where I had placed it, after taking few photo copies of all the certificates. The thought of taking a nap just vanished away, my brain was working as fast as it has ever been, trying to recollect where I had placed the file with little luck :( ....

I had the experience of loosing my passport once before and I could still feel the pain I had to go through to get a new one. This time it was all the mark sheets right from 10th std to my UG certificate which also included Community Certificate and few others. I just couldn't stand the thought of having to apply for duplicates for that was lost ones. Standing in long queues in the government offices, bribing for each and every and everything, time it would take to get them back, facing the negligent attitude from all the government employees, and not to mention the procedure to obtain a certificate from the police for the lost file. All these thought were haunting me to a great extent. It was a humongous task which was highly impossible to pull off without going through the back doors :( ....

I ransacked the entire house 3 or 4 times in a gap of  just 15 minutes and was still left with no hope of finding the file. I was trying my best to stay calm and composed as much as possible but was sweating like a pig because of the tension deep within me :) As my mind raced on what can be done next some intuition prompted me to check my office locker as I did carry the file for some purpose to the office. I decided to go ahead and started my bike as I received a call from my dear friend Prudhvi after a very long time. It had been ages since we spoke but I was in no position to have a conversation with him at that moment. I tried to convey him the chaotic situation on hand but the poor line made me dial few times only to hear a voice instructing some crap in Finnish.

I chucked the phone call for the moment and started racing towards my office. Saturday traffic didn't help my cause forcing me to jump most of the signals ignoring the policemen standing there to pounce on the violators and also all the calls from my friend. Not to mention the number of risky maneuvers I had to attempt on the way. It took me about 25 minutes to reach my building which was great considering the traffic on the way. In a frantic attempt I reported about the lost file on my way to the 8th floor where our office was located, to the security officers in the building. I was offering prayers like never before as I do in difficult times in the lift till I reached my cubicle. As I opened the locker there was nothing but disappointment in front of me  :( All I could find was few papers and an empty box. I took a sulking ride back home and I was completely shaken by this whole thought of having to go through the pain of getting my duplicates. The worst part of all is facing the police for a NOC for the lost file.

I reached home after preparing my mind to accept the fact that the file was lost with great difficulty. I started arranging all the stuff that was strewn all over the place in my attempt to find the file. I was half way through with the stuff when I found the file in the very same locker sticking to it's wall. I couldn't figure out how that had happened but I took a huge a sigh of relief and went back to call my friend. We spoke for almost an hour then, taking it from where we had left the last time and it was good talking to him as always after quite a while :)  I packed for the trip at the last minute as usual and left home just in time to catch the train .... :) I never had the chance to take the nap I wanted to before the travel finally :)

They say sky diving , bungee jumping to be thrilling,exciting and brings in an adrenaline rush. I say lose your all certs and you will know what an adrenaline rush is really like :)

What was in his mind ????

It was yet another lunch break and we were standing in a long queue, for the lunch was delayed due to heavy rains that day. There was this girl who was new to the company and was standing at a foot's distance away from us. She had a glowing skin,silky hair flowing like a wave over her sleeves with cute little eyes and looked just like an angel in a bright white plain salwar.Obviously I was staring at her and only at her :) Little did I notice of another guy standing in front of her neatly dressed in perfect formals. That was for a company which does not insist on a dress code. Only then I realised that there was a recruitment drive happening that day and the written tests were just completed. Having realised the fact, I was so concerned that I may not see the girl around in future.

Then came the tough act of having the same SRM (Sambar,Rasam,More which is nothing but buttermilk) yet again. As the caterers started arranging them in the respective slots before serving, the sambar can which was completely filed tumbled and they spilt it over on the floor. The guy I mentioned earlier had to take few steps back to avoid any havoc before getting into the interview. Unfortunately he bumped into the beautiful girl accidentally. As he apologised and walked away I was startled by the girl's reaction. She just mumbled the words indecent fellow and gave him a dirty look as though he had committed a sin. He walked away with his head drooping for no mistake of his.She didn't even bother acknowledging his apologies. She was cursing him the entire time she was standing in the queue. I felt sad for that guy and was lost trying to understand they way she reacted.

We settled down in a table adjacent to the one where she was sitting alone still mumbling something. Discussion that day revolved a lot around that girl and what had happened few minutes before in the queue. One of my friends exclaimed "Man she is such a gorgeous one da". Another replied "Machi vetti bandha da. Yevlo Alagha irundhalam evalavu scene kudumbathukku  agaathu machi". We burst into laughter on that comment and that continued for another 30 odd minutes. We enjoyed the discussion more than the lunch as always. I wish she didn't hear what we were discussing that day.

I was done for the day and was heading home after a tiring day. I had to take a share auto to the station from where it took another 30 minutes to reach my place. The worst part of the travel is the share auto where you have to share a ride with anyone and everyone. We can never see anyone sitting that close anywhere else. I always prefer sitting next to driver just to avoid the congestion at the back. The only Auto in the stand was completely filled and I had to a take a seat at the back that day. As I entered the auto there was the same girl whom I saw in the morning sitting already in a discomfort next to some guy. I had no choice but to ask her to move a little bit and squeeze my huge frame into the available space. I settled down for the 5 minute ride and while trying to place my hand comfortably I had to put it on the guy sitting next to her. You know how difficult to travel in a share auto :( ....

As I turned to apologize to that guy I couldn't control smiling. The guy sitting next to her was none other than the same guy she insulted back at the office. He was on his mobile talking to someone with a smile in his face and she must be cursing the share auto ride for obvious reasons. I was ................... Does it really matter how I felt at that moment. I seriously wanted to know how the other guy felt at the moment. ! ! ! That remains a mystery till date :) :) :)  Life is highly unpredictable.

PS : No offence intended to any girl out there. It was just a incident that I came across in my life :)

2011

I have been in Chennai for almost a decade now and this is the first time I stayed back for the New Year. I know it sounds weird but that's the fact. I make sure that I always go to my native Madurai for the new year and I attend midnight mass in a church close to my house. This has been the routine right from 12th standard for some reason and I continued with that :)

So having decided to stay back I somehow wanted to go somewhere for the new year celebrations instead of sleeping at my home and after lots of confusion we ended up paying close to 2000 bucks for a night at the Radisson in the GST road. That was the cheapest and safest considering our residents. As we entered the hall there was nothing spectacular. We started of with the food and that was the best part of the night for me. They had a wide choice which included kerala style fish and few other continental dishes of which a desert made out of rum and brownie was yummy. Being a foodie the purpose for me was already served even before the celebrations started :)

As we started having our food there was this guy who started of the celebration with some simple games which were quite familiar to us and the only different thing here was that all old people played in front of the entire crowd. There were few intimidating games and it was a common sight to see husbands kissing and hugging their wives in front of the crowd which I believe is quite a culture in these places these days and I was not startled by any of these but few were. I could see them looking with an awe the way people behaved in front of the crowd. I was just wondering how my parents or for that matter even my sisters would feel had I brought them with me for this celebrations. For sure it would have ruined a nice day for me :)

Most among the crowd were people from the upper class or the upper middle class people with an apt outfit for the occasion and they looked so among the crowd. The dads and husbands found nothing odd with the length of the dress theirs kids or wives wore which would have irked common people for sure. They just got along with the celebrations and it gave an indication that this was yet another New Year party for them unlike us and another bunch of bachelors in the corner of that room.  Everyone was playing and enjoying each and every moment there and danced their way into new year 2011 with great joy. It was a memorable night for me too as that was the first New Year party I have ever been in my life.

But there was this section of crowd who were so stuck to their orthodox attitude and were trying their level best to look normal among this high class crowd. I assume that they have come just on the compulsion of their husbands and few even tried playing and dancing with sarees and it is obvious why it has a special mention here in the post. Few were even drinking in front their small kids and that's the only thing startled me on the night. They looked so lost in this world and were just trying their best to imitate what others were doing. I don't understand why would they want to do it in first place. They somehow think that it adds some brand value to them but it is worth nothing. It is always best to be what you are and what you feel.

I really feel sad for all those who are just trying to be an !@#$% when they are actually not one.

My First Attempt

Nirmal : Halloooo ... Whoo is this ? (in a frustrated tone)

Swetha : Hey this is Swetha …. Hmmm……

Nirmal: (Super Excited and completely out of sleep) Heyyyy ... Happy Birthday ... :)

Swetha:  ya thnx man ….

Nirmal: having a blast with your friends  ??? 

Swetha: ya just done with the cake cutting …..somehow felt a little weird not to find ur msg on phone by 12 ... Don't know why ! ! !

Nirmal: hmmm.... hey have a blast ... catch u sometime …. Take Care... See You ... (Hangs with a heavy Heart)

Swetha: hmm.... Ya Bye...

Dei machi it is already 6:30 ..Walking polaiya da nee ??? He wakes up just to realize that the conversation was just a dream. Hmmm … Good it happens at least in dreams .. J As he was getting out of the bed he heard his friend screaming from the other room ... " Machan you had a call around 12 da. I tried waking you up with no luck... It was from an unknown number so just left it unanswered.

Apadiya  ! ! ! He was still feeling sleepy and checked his phone to find a call missed and an unread message. Unable to figure out the identity of the number he just got into the message folder to find a new message again from the same unknown number …. And it read “Hey was waiting for ur msg which never came :) enna flata nethu night? “ with time displayed as 12:03 AM .

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5 years back…

It has been almost few weeks since Nirmal joined this college in Chennai and he was really excited about the fact that there were quite a number of figures for him to hit on though he was not capable of doing :) Well being from a remote place like Trichy there is no wonder that he is a little hyper to be in this college. He was enjoying each and every moment of his college life sitting behind the most beautiful girl in the entire college.


It was after a couple months did he take notice of this girl who was not that beautiful as many other girls in his college, she was a little fat but still he fell for her without any reason. Though it sounds clichéd that’s the way it was. He really had no reasons whatsoever. She was cute with those glittering ear drops and the complete black salwar suited her complexion to perfection. May be she was looking that way because he admired her a lot :) but his world was in standstill for now and it was that way for the next 4 years.


Fortunately she was in the same class as he was but that didn’t help him in getting to know her better which he always wanted to do. He at times got a few chances to talk to her and at other times he created a few chances to talk to her and he would cherish each and every moment he spent with her though not many for the rest his college life.

In one of the few interval break he got to talk with her ......


Nirmal : Hey Swetha …. Howz ur headache ????  are you okay now …..


Swetha: Ya ya I am okay now .... feeling a lot better .... Everybody calls me sweety why don’t you do the same....


Nirmal: Swetha sounds a lot better to me ... freeya vidu .... seri did u go to the doctor ???? 


Swetha: No no just took a paracetamol and that did the trick .... :) 


Nirmal: hmmm ... try avoiding self prescription it is not that good you know .... 


Swetha: atha vidu .... seri assignment panitiya ???


Nirmal: aiyo havent even thought about it ... what abt you ???? Let me know once u are done I will take a copy of it ... :) 


Swetha: Ada paavi ... seri tharen... aana konjam modify pannittu apram copy edu seriya ... illa adhuvum naanae unakku panni tharanuma ! ! ! ?


Nirmal: no no ... I will take care of that .... edhu kuda pannalana apram enna engineering sollu :) :) :) 


Swetha: Nasama po ... talk of the devil and there she is .... prabha saniyaen varudhu lets get in and sleep :) 


Nirmal : hmmmm .... ok ok .. lets go ...

This was one of their conversations and others were no different from this either during the 3 years of college life. They were a good acquaintance I should say and it stayed like that till the last day of the college. He never got the guts to ask her out nor had the luck to be her friend. He was always happy to see her from a distance and he enjoyed it being that way. If not for the little slam book none apart from his close friends would have ever known the feelings he had for her including she herself. He still wants to get to know her better like he always has done.

At present ....

Nirmal: Hey wish u a happy birthday…. Howz life??? Sorry I missed ur phone number… I lost my mobile last week….

Swetha: That’s ok… you generally wish me at 12 with an SMS right so was expecting the same this yr too….Thnx by the way …. I am good … howz you?

Nirmal: Not bad ….. Had a blast last night?

Swetha: Yeah it was great… My fiancé had come over to my home and we had a great time with all family members…… I am in a hurry now… catch u later ….

Nirmal: Oh great …. Have fun … see u …bye…

It is still the same even after 5 yrs of college life. Nirmal still relishes each and every little moment that he had spent with her though they are not many. His mind knows what he did and is doing is total crap. But then his heart still loves what he does and that is all it matters when it comes to ….. hmm….  ! ! !