Life in the fast lane!!!

Am Back & Happy Diwali!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:45:00 +0000

It’s been quite a while, since I’ve posted. There has been lot of things happening, that for sure deserves at least half-a-dozen posts! Hope I’ll frequent this space a lot more. Until then, bye and Happy Diwali!!

My Five!!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:23:00 +0000

The Hindu's Saturday edition of Metro Plus features a column called My Five. It is a personal list of the five greatest tracks in popular music. Ever since this column started to feature I had always wanted to nail down my personal my five songs. So here it goes my five…

1. Metallica
Nothing Else Matters
Singer and guitarist James Hetfield wrote it to a former girlfriend, and it is widely rumored that it meant “no matter how far” (Metallica constantly toured), he was still "so close" with the heart. It was first released in 1991 on the self-titled album Metallica. Initially the response to this song was lukewarm, as Metallica fans were treated to some heavy metal thrashing in their prior albums. But as the song grew in them, this became one of the most powerful soul-stirring rock ballads of all-time. A Metallica signature song! Many rock stations still play it frequently.

2. Pink Floyd
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Written by Roger Waters, this song was a tribute to Syd Barret, who was instrumental in the construction of the band, Pink Floyd. Since his behavior was too erratic, he was soon shown the exit doors. Lines such as “Remember when you were young, You shone like the sun” and “You were caught on the crossfire Of childhood and stardom” took a direct rig at Syd’s unpredictable behavioral pattern. ‘Shine on…’ is a nine-part composition and was first performed on their 1974 French tour. With the trademark David Gilmour’s guitar genius and Roger Waters philosophical lyrics, this song is a treat to listen.

3. Guns n Roses
November Rain
A wonderful rock ballad written by lead singer Axl Rose for their 1991 album Use Your Illusion I. One of the longest songs from GNR which runs to 8 Mins and 55 Secs and it features a sweeping synthesized string backing arrangement. Slash sizzles with the guitar riggs, and this song is listed at number 6 in the "The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" by Guitar World. November Rain had an extended run at the top of Billboard charts during the 90’s. The music video for this song, released in 1992, quickly became the most requested video on MTV and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography.

4. Led Zeppelin
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" continues to top radio lists of the greatest rock songs. A Led Zeppelin classic number, that oozes lyrical brilliance and mind-blowing composition by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant. Recorded for band's fourth studio album, Led Zeppelin IV, it quickly reached global acclaim and very much defined the rock music of the 70’s. It was voted #3 in 2000 by VH1 on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs and in 2004; Rolling Stone magazine put it at #31 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

5. Nirvana
Smells Like Teen Spirit
A smash hit from the album Nevermind, this song had put Nirvana on the music map and announced the arrival of the prodigiously talented Kurt Cobain. The song begins with Cobain strumming the main riff, adding distortion when the rest of the band joins in and progresses to a pre-chorus, that is dominated by the phrase "Hello, hello, hello, how low?". Cobain yells the lyrics quite often and in the final verse Cobain screams the refrain “A Denial” repeatedly. A Nirvana special!! Rolling Stone magazine put it at #9 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Those that almost made it:
Bryan Adams - Please Forgive Me
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean, Just Beat It
Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water
Eagles - Hotel California
Aerosmith - Dream On
Phil Collins - Another Day in Paradise
Scorpions -Winds of Change
Metallica - One, Enter Sandman, Unforgiven -2
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb, High Hopes

'Fedex' Derailed!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:53:00 +0000

History repeats itself! Bjorn Borg's dream run at the Wimbledon was halted by a left hander, but not before the Swede had won 5 successive Wimbledon crowns ( 1976-1980). Federer who had high hopes of surpassing the legendary Swede's feat, was also halted by a south-paw again in a grueling 5-set encounter.

Fans, Media and Players themselves have started drawing comparisons between the 2008 Final and the 1980 epic final between Borg and McEnroe, latter is considered to be the mother of all Wimbledon finals. But McEnroe himself confessed that final between Federer and Nadal (2008) was the best of all time. The match lasted for a marathon 4h48' testing the mental and physical toughness!

Federer looked out of sorts in the first set, came hard next set. But Nadal made a swift comeback from 1-4 down to win the second set 6-4. Nadal won 5 straight games and pocketed a handsome 2-0 set lead. Rain, ' the divine intervention' for Federer gave him a break to quickly regroup his game and concentration and immediately Fedex was on a roll and at his menacing best.

Federer staged one of the best ever comeback in a grand slam final, produced some scintillating stroke play and won the third set 7-6. Federer won points at net at will. The fourth set again headed for a tie-break, and just when everyone thought Nadal was running home with the crown, Federer displayed unbelievable tennis to save 4 championship points. To be more accurate, when Nadal was serving for the match 8-7, Federer came up with an incredible backhand winner, only to save the match! Spectators at the centre court and millions of people around the world must have had the heart in their mouth for a split second. Federer won the fourth set, again 7-6.

After an agonizing rain interruption, match resumed again and both the finalist used all possible weapons in their armory to clinch the Grand slam. In what was supposed to be most dramatic fifth set final ever, Nadal had the last laugh. Spaniard won 9-7, and he couldn't hide the emotion. If Pat Cash, was the first to start the tradition of climbing up to the Guest Box, to get a hug or two from family and friends, Nadal( if I am right )was the first to climb up to the Royal Box! Glorious moments, Nadal would cherish for the rest of his life.

On a personal note, I would rate this final on par with 1980 final between Borg and McEnroe, 1990 final between Becker and Edberg and of course the 2001 final between Ivanesivic and Rafter. Incidentally all the six players, are serve & volleyer's , which is a rare breed these days!

This year, has not been a smooth sail for Federer! But adversity brings the best out of champions. Federer has found a new and perhaps his first adversary in Grass!

Happy Birthday Raja!!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:03:00 +0000

On June2,1943 a musical marvel called Daniel Rasayya graced upon this earth only to rule the hearts of hundreds of thousands, with his mellifluous music. Saluting the legend of Ilaiyaraja and wishing him a Happy Birthday!!!

Raja, Vazhga pallandu..pala kodi noorandu...

12 Great movies, I wish I had seen it in the big screen...

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:44:00 +0000

"Laksh, that’s the word"! Farhan Akthar's simple account of a boy turn into a man, left me in splits yesterday. I fed my eyes to this amazing movie Lakshya, and I wanted to watch the movie all over again and again and again!!! The moment I was done with the movie, I retorted "Wish I had seen this in the big screen"!! Well, then I thought why not come-up with a list of movies which I gave it a miss in the big screen ( theatre) … Bingo!I ended-up with this list( in chronological order) which deliberately took into account, movies releases post-1990 only(to make my job simple :-)) . Without much ado, here we go!!!

Movie	Release	Director	Why Theatre?
The Godfather: Part III	1990	Francis Ford Coppola	Anything for the Godfather! The final installment of the epic, The Godfather Trilogy, punctuates the effort of Michael Corleone to legitimize the crime business. The final scene (Al Pacino crumbling from the chair to bite the dust) embodies the very spirit of Pacino's nonchalant acting!
Michael Madhana Kamarajan	1991	Singeetam Srinivasa Rao	A rib-tickling comedy. Kamal dons four avatars and pulls them off with consummate ease. Climax scene, atop the hill in the ruined house involving all the pivotal characters in the movie is just one reason why I feel this movie ought to be watched in a theatre.
Roja	1992	Mani Ratnam	Movie that catapulted Mani to national fame and ear-marked the arrival of the musical prodigy A.R.Rahman. Movie broke all box-office records and the music went on to become TIME magazine's Top 10 greatest musical albums ever.
Schindler's List	1993	Steven Spielberg	A biographical film about Oscar Schindler a German businessman who single-handedly saved the lives of 1000 polish lives. Ben Kingsley ( of 'Gandhi' fame) as Schindler's accountant Itzhak Stern blew my mind away . A black & white classic of the 90's!!!
The Shawshank Redemption	1994	Frank Darabont	Morgan Freeman's Narration! What else.
Braveheart	1995	Mel Gibson	Mel Gibson's directorial debut couldn't have turned more fairy! The movie received as many as 5 academy awards, and got nominated for an additional five. Arresting dialogues, scenic cinematography and Guerrilla wars against English forces makes this movie a wonderful cinematic experience.
Kurudhi Punal	1996	P.C. Sreeram	Slick. Laconic. Lighting. Three words that describes the very essence of the movie. Based on Govind Nihalini's plot on infiltration, movie unfolds brilliantly with an out-of-the-world screenplay sans regular doze of songs. Kamal and P.C Sreeram dished out a movie which gave Hollywood production a run for their money!
Titanic	1997	James Cameron	Cameron's genius to interlace a love story amidst the infamous ill-fated 1912 maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic ship, proved to be a wise bet and made him an overnight hero! The film garnered as many as 11 Oscars. I still cant digest the fact I had let go the opportunity, when my friends saw the movie in Devi theatre when we were in our twelfth standard.
Lagaan	2001	Ashutosh Gowariker	India's most recent entry to the Oscars. The movie rekindled the national spirits of many people. It’s a victory of a nation and it must be savored only in a theatre!
Shrek	2001	Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson	A pioneer of sorts in the animation industry. This movie defied standards! Gave the audience something else to see! People from all walks of life were enchanted about the foul-smelling Ogre and the donkey and the rescue tale. This movie is a like a painting and paintings look good only in a canvas!
A Beautiful Mind	2001	Ron Howard	One of the few movies which disturbed my mind! Two days, I was completely occupied with this movie, I couldn't come out of it!!! Who could forget Prof.John Nash?? I felt like kicking myself for not watching this movie in Sathyam.
Lakshya	2004	Farhan Akhtar	Farhan Akhtar. Lt. Karen Shergill . Romila Dutta. Christopher Popp!

Pudhucherriel oru Kutchery!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 04 May 2008 12:12:00 +0000

March 29, 2008, a bunch of travel enthusiasts hit the EC Road for a 300-Km journey to Pondy, leaving the coastal road with a trail of blaze! And this blog is a brief account of what went right and not-so-right at the sea-coast!!!

Wee-hour Start:

Trip to Pondy had lot of moot points like the non-elaborative itinerary, exact dates of the trip, confirmed list of enthusiast et al. But one thing that held sway right from the day one was that we would commute only in bullet/bike. A strict no-no for buses and trains!!!

We kick-started as early as 4AM and reached the ECR in 30 Min. After drooling over the Royal Enfield Bullet from the pillion seat for more than half-hour, I got the opportunity to be in the driver's seat. It was really a ride of my life! The odometer was hovering around the 120Km mark and it was sending currents across my body. To sum-up the exhilarating drive in two lines, I’d better resort to say ‘Fuckin awesome'!

Pit-stop - 1 (Kalpakkam):

The clock was ticking and sun was about to show-up, and we were aimlessly searching for a perfect locale to capture the sunrise. As luck would have it, we bumped into Kalpakkam township and all the while sun was patiently waiting for our presence.

Finally, she came out and enthralled us with her wide gamut of colors and incredible contours. After half-hour of satiable photo-shots, we bid our good bye to Kalpakkam.

Pit-stop - 2 (Alamparai Fort):

Intrigued by time-immemorial history of Alamparai Fort, we ensured that this place featured in our itinerary.But I must admit the fact that it was quite a let down, not because it had bad architecture or any other similar attributes, but because of its poor maintenance.

We knew it would be in a dilapidated state, but there were hardly any remnants of the fort. It was in a state beyond dilapidation, in complete ruins!!! Our tryst with history was indeed a bitter disappointment!

There will be blood…

Since we already drove down 100Kms, I said 'Folks, we will exchange ends, let the rider assume the position of pillion'. One fellow-bud did not pay heed to my words, and bore the brunt of a freakish accident along with the pillion rider.

Things weren't serious though, as they sustained only minor injuries, but it did dampen the spirits for a while.The fact that the accident took place only from a striking distance of Pondy, only rubbed more salt into the wounds. They swiftly took medication from a local doctor and after moments of brief pause we screamed in unison 'the show must go on’ and hit the roads again!!!

Welcome to Pondy!

We criss-crossed Pondy for 2-hours relentlessly found an economy-meets-elite kind of hotel which was lying in close proximity to the Pondy beach.

Without an iota of hesitation, we booked the hotel.
After dozing-off for a couple of hours, we visited the Aurobindo ashram in the afternoon, and went to Tic-Tac for shopping DVD's, amassing more than 50 films and bills were running to the tune of thousands.

A fine evening, rocking night and wonderful morning…

Around 4PM, we headed to Chunnambar, a boathouse near the Cuddalore bypass road, by the time we reached the exact venue it was around 5:30 PM, and the boathouse closed down at 4:30PM. Momentary disappoint faded in a jiffy as we witnessed a brilliant sunset near a dam just opposite to the boathouse. 'Perhaps a blessing in disguise' I quipped to myself. Snap after snap, roll after roll we were hunting the sunset crazily!

Partying all-night-out we quickly regrouped in the wee-hours next day, to capture the sunrise again. Completely mobbed by the clouds, we had now only a fat-chance to capture a vivacious sunrise. But our long wait bore fruits, as we had the opportunity to snap an ultimate shot (the pic in the right side). In my opinion, this was the best pic (k) of the whole trip!

On the road again!

After a brief stay at the Manakula Vinayagar temple we decided it was time to pack our bags and check-out of the hotel. We headed-off to Auroville!!!! Serenity, tranquility or placidity… I am running short of adjectives to describe this place! This should be an obvious-must-visit in anybody's travel plan to Pondy.

We had a delectable lunch at Auroville and we hit the highways again! Reluctantly we bid adieu to one of the finest places known to humankind, Pondy… And this is not an over statement!!!! Be it the eclectic French culture, staggering architecture, plethora of travel spots, strange street/ avenue names, and of course dime-a-dozen liquor, everything about Pondy leaves us spell-bound! This place would surely draw you again and again and again…

Choa!

Off to Pondy - Roadies set the road ablaze...

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:31:00 +0000

After months of meticulous planning, persistent persuasions and unsolicited dilly-dallying, we would be finally setting-off to Pondy in just about 15 mins. As am writing this, I could suddenly see, adrenalin pumping hard and suddenly rushing through ...Am doubly excited about the fun and frolic associated with back-breaking 300 Km long ride... The plans are well chalked out and hope we discover something new in Pondy... Will post a descriptive blog at once after am back! Signing off! Vrooooommmmmmmmmmmm……

Anjadhey - Movie Review!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:27:00 +0000

It's an ace form Mysskin! Exactly two years back, he sprung a surprise-hit with Chithiram Pesuthedi! He's back again with a bang! With the same team re-grouping, success only had a slim chance to elude them… Anjadhey has been declared a critically-acclaimed movie and can be easily cherry-picked as the best movie of the year so far.

Mysskin has intricately woven a plot based on a famous storytelling technique called twist-of-fate. The story is set in the backdrop of a police colony and revolves around two pivotal characters Sathya (Naren) and Kirupa (Ajmal) who share a very good relationship with each other. Kirupa aspires to be a SI (Sub Inspector) and slogs tirelessly in pursuit of his dream. Sathya cools his heels as a hooligan often engaging in petty brawls.

Relentless pestering from his friend Kirupa and mordant words of his father (M S Bhaskar), conspires Sathya to appear for the SI interview and by crook means, he lands up with the job. Kirupa is denied of the SI job and he accounts Sathya as responsible for snatching the job from him and develops hatred towards Sathya. Kirupa seeks redemption in life and becomes a hoodlum. This sudden twist-of-fate which sees an exchange-of-ends in character feeds the rest of the movie and makes it a compelling watch.

Naren and Ajmal have played their role to perfection. Naren's mannerism while he engages for each fight is riveting. Ajmal has handled two extreme natures of good and evil diligently. Two surprise packages in the movie are the villains. Kudos to Mysskin for casting Prasanna, chocolate-boy of Kanda Naal Mudhal as Casanova and Pandirajan ( Kadhanayagan fame) in negative shades, who once ruled the roost with his comic prowess. Prasanna as Daya with his weird-hairdo had essayed a different role and has challenged himself and succeeded. M S Bhaskar, as Naren's father has stunned with his sublime acting. Other casting accolades include Ponnvannan, Livingston, Kuruvi and Vijayalakskmi (Chennai - 600028 fame).

Sundar C Babu has done an impeccable job as a Music Director. He haunts with his BGM, a perfect coup for a thriller. Talents such as Sundar C Babu ought to be given more chances. There is a fine thread between 'Dabban Gotthu' and Folk and Babu has walked meticulously on that fine thread with élan. 'Kannadhasan Karaikudi’, 'Kathazha Kannalae' are fine examples. The dream sequence song 'Manasukkul' was quite captivating as well. Theme music was pulsating.

Mahesh Muthusami has done a fabulous job with the camera. His effort to foster the eerie mood of the film is evidently visible in the big screen. The climax shot at Karumbu Thottam which must have gobbled-up incredible lengths of film role certainly praise-worthy and a feather in the cap for the lens men. Certain angles were really extraordinary and songs were well shot. Sadagopan Ramesh has done a crispy work with his scissors.

Minuses include Ponvannan's dubbing (done by someone else or he had a sore throat?), Confession of Kirupa in the climax which seemed totally illogical and lastly the unbearable length of the movie. I must confess I don't mind watching a movie even 4-hr-long, but industry doesn't work that way. Mysskin has failed to understand in spite of bearing the brunt on the last occasion with the pre-mature fate of Chithiram Pesuthedi. Box office declared CP a failure, not before Oscar Ravichandran intervened. He edited out close to 20 mins and re-released the film which ran to packed houses. I wonder what the fate has in store for Anjadhey?

But take nothing from this talented director, Mysskin. He arrived with Chithiram Pesuthedi and he is here to stay with Anjadhey!

Kamal Hassan - The unsung singer!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:49:00 +0000

Kamal Hassan, is very well known as a multi-faceted actor, hell-bent film-maker, and an avid dancer. But few people must have adored Kamal Hassan as a singer. It might raise an eyebrow, if I were to tell you that Kamal has sung close to 75 tracks, and as it turned out be, most of the songs were runaway hits. Lot of the people though denigrate Kamal, accusing him that, he forcibly persuades music directors to have him sing at least a track in films he's casted on. But people, fail to understand Kamal is qualified enough to do the singing himself(occasionally). Why???

Kamal under the tutelage of Dr Balamurali Krishna has practiced carnatic music and Mr. Krishna was so impressed with Kamal, that he asked for 2 and a half years while Kamal continued with him, and he would make sure to get Kamal on stage with him. Kamal engrossed with movies couldn’t really afford the time! Dr. Krishna was so fond of Kamal, in the Miley Sur Mera Tumhara short film, he wanted Kamal to sit next with him on the Tanpura, but Kamal humbly declined saying it'd be unfair.

Ilaiyaraaja was the first MD to spot the singer in Kamal and gave him ample opportunities to sing all-along in their long term illustrious association. Memorable films include Aboorva Sagotharargal, MMKR, Virumaandi and the recent Mumbai Express. Kamal has also sung for other music directors which includes ARR, Karthik Raja, Bharadwaj, Vidya Sagar, Yuvan Shankar Raja…

I thought it’d only be befitting a post to come out with a compilation of my personal favorites

Kamal has sung for Ilaiyaraaja and other Music Directors…

So here it goes for the ultimate connoisseur of music!

Vizhiyorathu Kanavum - Raja Paarvai
Vikram...Vikram… - Vikram
Ammammamma Vandadhingae - Per Sollum Pillai
Potta Padiyudhu - Sathya
Raja Kayya Vecha - Apoorva Sahodarargal
Sundari Neeyum - Michael Madhana Kamarajan
Kanmani Anboda - Guna
Inchi Iduppazhaka - Thevar Magan
Thanmanam Ulla Nenjam - Mahanadhi
Ram Ram Salaam - Hey Ram
Sanyaas Mantra - Hey Ram
Unnai vida - Virumaandi
Maada Vilakke - Virumaandi
Ninaivo Oru Paravai - Sigappu Rojakkal
Yaar Yaar Sivam - Anbe Sivam
Alwarpettai Aazhuda - Vasool Raja MBBS
Muththe Muththammah - Ullasam
Peek Into Assasin's Life: Neruppu Vaayinil - Pudhupettai
Kadhal piriyathu kavidhai - Pancha Thanthiram
Injirango Injirango - Thenaali
Kadavul Paadhi - Aalavandan

A funny incident!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 04:39:00 +0000

After a grueling day at work, I came down to Tidel Park to board my 7.30 PM bus to reach home. As usual, Rajiv Gandhi Salai was bustling with traffic, where bikers define their own rules, pedestrians cross the roads at will, overcrowded MTC buses defy gravity and the share auto(the mangled remains of a crashed Auto Rickshaw, when rehashed gives birth to a strange thing called Share Auto ) wallas beckon the tagged gentlemen and women for one-helluva-ride!

It was 8PM, I was still waiting with bated breath, wondering whether the bus had already left! When the clock ticked 5 min past 8, bus finally arrived and I puffed away a huge sigh of relief. People (fellow employees) took-off like a bat out of hell, to ensure they got seat. I was the last to board the bus, and fortunately I got a window seat. Moments later, I noticed that the person who was sitting in the front seat was a Mobileaholic,a conclusively proven fact, for he was talking ever since I had reached the bus stop, CUG was doing the trick, I guess. 'He is a non-stop-non-sense' I thought to myself. His antics were irritating me… And what surprises me the most is, these are the same people( both men and women) who notch a vociferous 110 Decibel while a striking normal conversation, and invariably drop down to a feeble 30 Db, while talking to their special-someone. This is a trick, these people posses up their sleeve. And I wonder what these people talk all the time, all day long…

Coming back to the story, The trip sheet which is normally passed in the bus, is supposed to be filled-in by every associate which captures the basic details like Associate ID, Destination et al, and this gentleman, seated at the front did not care to fill it when it was passed to him, nor did he care to pass it to me. I was waiting patiently for my turn to fill it up, and I would then doze-off happily. I was closely monitoring him, he would just go about start filling-in, and then be immersed in the conversation doing all sorts of non-verbal gimmicks. He would then again have a look at the trip sheet, start filling-in and again would get lost in the conversation. Finally he made up his mind and started filling-in something concrete and just when I thought he was done with it, he puts aside the trip sheet pad and again started talking. I got enraged and by the time the bus reached Guindy, I totally lost my cool and said 'Boss are you going to pass that trip sheet or not' and he responded saying ' The pen doesn't write'!

I sheepishly smiled and curled up in my seat…

Sathyam 'Extravagant' Cinemas!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:34:00 +0000

I really detest starting-off blogging on the break of a new year, with an unpleasant experience. But then, I couldn’t help it! While most of the Chennai-crowd were merrily celebrating the New Year at party halls, beaches and resorts, I chose to visit Sathyam Cinemas!

I quickly discovered Sathyam had something new in store for us. What??? LCD screens at restrooms, gaudily displaying the new releases and show timings… What a crock of shit that was! Sathyam Cinemas hitherto had done some significant renovation, reorganization and restoration. Worth a mention is the plush seating, RDX, Magic-Hat, Fuel, Pure Cinema et al…

But this one??? How on earth is this going to command a better movie-watching experience for the viewer? Looks Sathyam were left with surplus funds, and decided to piss it over… Utterly Preposterous…

It wouldn't spring up as a surprise if Sathyam shoots-up the ticket price in the name of such barren benefits and make ‘stinking’ profits! Beware where your money goes!

Vodafone Alerts!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:36:00 +0000

The recent Vodafone ad campaign ' Make the most of now’ primarily marketing mobile alerts, is simply mind-blowing. Tune in to your television sets (any channel) during a prime-time slot and you would end up watching these TVC's. Simply amazing ads!!

Coming from the house of ad behemoth, O&M (Ogilvy and Mather), this ad leaves the audience awe-struck for its simplicity, novelty and brevity. TVC's are ramified into four sections, viz,. Astrology Alerts, Art of Living Alerts, News Alerts and Beauty Tips (Forgive me if I had missed out something).

If you take a closer look at these ads, you would find only the talkie( soundtrack) portion ( no mono/dialogue) , which makes the ad even more interesting. It keeps you guessing each moment… And also, one-ad-fits-all, I mean the process of translation/dubbing the ads to cater to the regional languages is absolutely negated.

Out of the four ads, my favorite was Astrology Alerts, a fascinating ad with a fitting cast (man, girl and the lift operator). A soul-stirring (Take me away song) background score! Unbelievably shot! The other ads were also really good. When I saw these ads for the first time, just moments into it, I was able to smell the cookies… I knew it was definitely an O&M ad!A league of its own!

All the four ads can be downloaded here!

Happy New Year again :-)

Evano Oruvan'in…Review.

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 09:08:00 +0000

Voila!!! Year 2007 has been glorious for Tamil Cinema. Sivaji, Billa and Pokkiri set the cash ringers ringing, drawing huge profits for producers, distributors and theater owners. Sivaji , was the most talked about film in Bollywood and it became even popular when it made it to the UK top ten. Not only the masala cinema clicked, but offbeat movies such as Paruthiveeran, Thamizh M.A , Onbadhu Roobai Note, Veyyil were also received well at the box-office....A very good sign indeed… And I almost forgot Mozhi.. A feel-good entertainer from Radha Mohan!!!

Fag-end of 2007, witnessed a critically acclaimed movie Evano Oruvan, plainly adapted from a Marathi film Dombivli Fast(2005) directed by Nishikant Kamat. Madhavan was so intrigued watching this movie that he immediately called up Nishikant, asking him to cast him in the movie if the movie is ever remade in Tamil. Nishikant and the technical crew made their debut in Tamil and Evano Oruvan arrived. Evidently mesmerized by the movie, Madhavan decided to don the mantle of dialogue-writer under the wishful/watchful eyes of Seeman and co-produced the movie with Abbas Mastan and K Sera Sera. Double-debut for Madhavan, as Dialogue-writer and a co-Producer.

Made with a shoestring budget, Evano Oruvan is a circumstantial account of a middle class man who inadvertently becomes an overnight notorious criminal. Sridhar Vasudevan(Madhavan ),a bank employee, leads a monotonous Mon-Fri-9-5 life… He is agitated by the fact that everything in the society is powered by money, where moral and ethics are only dictionary-bound. Vasudevan manages to keep his emotion in leash, until corruption knocks the door of his bank in the form of 'Cherian' .After a steamy confrontation with Cherian, Vasudevan runs amuck and eventually takes a Krishna-avatar (with a cricket bat), to fight against the evil of the society. Finally, a fiery police encounter spells doomsday for the Anti-Hero who waged an Anti-Social War!

Movie has lived up to its tagline 'Ungalil Oruvan'… I was easily able to identify myself with Sridhar Vasudevan. There are so many things contributing towards that identity factor. Am a middle-class salaried employee living in a suburb of Chennai ,just like the place Nanaganallur. Electric Trains are my mode of transport and I also hanker for Jannal orae seats. And the most important thing, I've seen for myself, the corrupt face of society. Enraged and pent-up, I flee, I quit, I retire... unlike Sridhar Vasudevan!

Actor Madhavan has done immense justice to his role and the same holds water with Sangeetha( as Vathsala). Seeman as a cop is a complete misfit, a square peg in a round hole. He doesn’t suit the character and his dialogue delivery is sporadically artificial. Madhavan as a dialogue-writer has excelled. Some of the dialogues stunned me and left me reeling. Worth a mention are 'Unmae Sudum,adhuku munnadi Unmayae namma suttudanum', 'jannal seat'a pidikarthukulla uyirae pordhu' ( one has to see the movie to understand the profound sense of this dialogue). Nishikant has diligently worked on the screenplay, to ensure the film doesn’t sound like a documentary. It is slow, but really doesn't consume your time. Really doesn’t. It takes a lot of courage to direct a film without songs and Nishikant has done it with Evano Oruvan. No songs. No frills. Pure cinema!

Without an iota of doubt, Nishikant has presented the problem of 'Corrupt Society' dutifully, but the solution?? Well, the solution is left up to YOU!

Stain your hands( with blood) or

Join your hands( against corruption).

Wish you all a Happy New Year!!!

Hope Year 2008 is even better for Tamil Cinema!

Ilaiyaraaja & Counterpoint….

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 09:21:00 +0000

Yesterday, I bumped into this word called 'Counterpoint'! I had absolutely no clue what this word meant and I started wading through innumerous websites and journals to get the hang of it... Here you go!!!

Counterpoint is often defined as the art of combining independent lines. The term derives from the Latin contrapunctum, meaning ‘against note'. When there is more than one independent melodic line happening at the same time in a piece of music, the music is said to be contrapuntal. The independent melodic lines are called counterpoint. Bach's counterpoint, often considered the most profound synthesis of the two dimensions ever achieved, is extremely rich harmonically and always clearly directed tonally, while the individual lines remain fascinating.

The Musical Saint, Mr.Ilaiyaraaja, know for his out-of-the-world novel compositions, has incorporated the counterpoint technique during his prime (Late 70's and 80's) with élan. The brilliance lies in the fact that the counterpoint technique is so native to western music and Raaja has adopted that into the musical patterns of Tamil songs nonchalantly. The way Raaja has blend the western music with east is simply riveting. Sheer Genius!!! Raaja has also experimented a two-voice counterpoint in conjunction with a third voice, amid mellifluous interludes … Also, Raaja celebrated this Bach-smitten- technique with instrumental counterpoints in his illustrious musical journey!

Here are some of the songs which has shades of the counterpoint technique, and all these years we've been listening (at least I've been listening) to them without actually understanding the technical nuances of it!!!

But do we need to really understand them to appreciate Raaja??? Well, yes… We'd appreciate him even more!

En Kanmani Un Kadhali, Chittu Kuruvi ( 1978)
Poonthalir Aada, Panner Pushpangal (1981)
Kanmani Anbodu, Guna ( 1981)
Poomalaye, Pagal Nilavu(1985)
Vikram…Vikram, Vikram ( 1986)
Nee Partha, Hey Ram ( 2000)

P.S: Am not an expert in music. This is just an honest attempt to exemplify, counterpoint technique and glorify the brilliance of Maestro. Please let me know if you find something incorrect!

Onbadhu Roobai Note & Evano Oruvan - Movie Review...

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:05:00 +0000

Whhhhhhhhoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… Over the past few weeks I am treated to the hilt, when it comes to movie-watching… I've never felt so glad and content watching Tamil movies. First it was, Ram's novel 'Kattradhu Thamizh' , last week eyes soaked watching Thankar Bachan's biopic 'Onbadhu Roobai Note'….And icing on the cake was Nishikanth's 'Evano Oruvan', which I saw last night, at a rather lesser-conspicuous Anna theatre at Mount Road…

Thankar Bachan's 'Onbadhu Roobai Note' chronicles the life & times of Madhavar Padayachi (Sathyaraj). The first half sees Madhavar's rise, as a self-contented, hard working and upright individual hailing from a remote village Pathirakottai, near Panruti. Madhavar, a philanthropist by nature, leaves no stone unturned when it comes to helping the people in his village. This selfless nature of Madhavar sows the seed for a perennial camaraderie with Khaja Bhai and his wife Kameela (played by Nasser and Rohini), then struggling to come-up in their life. As time rolls, movie sails through to the second half and punctuates Madhavar's downfall. Madhavar's brother spills venom, and influences Madhavar's sons and in-laws to rebel against the monarchical rule of Madhavar. Sons and in-laws are reduced to mere puppets at the hands of guile-natured uncle. Madhavar, infuriated by their action, decides to desert the family. He along with his wife Velayi(Archana), leaves the villages and seeks help from Khaja Bhai(Nasser), who by then grows in stature and wealth. Khaja Bhai(Nasser) readily helps Madhavar, and sets-up cattle poultry for their living. Misfortune never comes single, and Madhavar loses his long-time company(Velayi) in a freak accident. Devastated by wife's demise, Madhavar languishes in seclusion and decides to return to his village. The very next day Madhavar resigns his soul at Pathirakottai!

Thankar Bachan makes no bones about his penchant for village-centered subjects. And his later offering ‘Onbadhu Roobai Note’ suggests there is more in the offering. Thankar Bachan has marshaled his resources well, and Sathyaraj after 'Vedham Pudhidhu', 'Kadalora Kavidhaigal', 'Kadamai Kanniam Kattupadu' and 'Periyar' has got a fair chance to show his mettle. An once-in-a-lifetime role, for Sathyaraj and he has grabbed it with both hands. The film travels intensely on the shoulders of Sathyaraj and the shoulders have never drooped. After watching the film, I couldn't resist thinking, how an actor of Sathyaraj's caliber is wasted all these years by the Tamil film industry. Nasser, Archana and Rohini have enacted their role to perfection. The film’s treatment is raw, rurally-raw! Music doesn’t score much. Films set-up amid this kind of milieu has lot of scope for RR, and I must confess, Bharadwaj has not made the best of the opportunity. Thankar as a cinematographer has excelled in capturing the rustic-refreshing mood of the movie. Vairamuthu’s has penned the lyrics and deserves a fair round of applause.

Mr.Thankar Bachan - Take a bow!!!

Evano Oruvan review, coming soon…

Kattradhu Thamizh (2007)

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 05:39:00 +0000

Almost a month back I watched this movie 'Kattradhu Thamizh'… I was completely taken aback when I learnt Ram Subbu was a debutant-director. A fresh plot interlaced with a gripping narrative commending sustained interest, coming straight from a debutante did really surprise me. Nevertheless Ram has scored heavily with his first outing.

Since lot of ink is already spilt on reviewing this movie from all possible quarters, I shall be pithy in this review. A contrived attempt!

Prabhakar, a devout Thamizh fanatic fumes at the step-motherly treatment given for Thamizh (language), and the fact that it happens at Tamilnadu (Home of Thamizh language) only rubs salt into wounds. Piling on to the misery is his haunted childhood and lost-love. Manic-depressed Prabhakar goes on a killing-spree and finds solace in killing people brutally. Hackneyed, it may sound, he finally finds his lover again, after momentary happiness their efforts to reunite bombs, and they relinquish and perish their life at earth to join hands in heaven.

Ram Subbu deserves a pat on his back for spearheading such a beautiful-yet-complex story. But am hard-pressed to say, the screenplay sagged occasionally. And they were some sporadic glitches as well, for example, protagonist roaming scot-free after sabotaging 27 lives, lacked logic and reasoning. But that shouldn’t cast aspersion on this talented director. Tamil Cinema has found a new lease of life, and directors like Ram Subbu , Ameer, Gautham, Vasantha Balan should be given due credit.

Jeeva, made his debut with 'Thithikudhey', and has grown by leaps and bounds since then. He's become really choosy and has the ability to deliver- more-than-expected with aplomb. His penchant towards selecting roles of various hues is sure to take him places. And 'Kattradhu Thamizh' for sure will find a place in his repertoire. Yuvan has simply rocked. He's started earning more respect for his re-recording than songs. 'Paravaye engu irrukirai' sung by the maestro himself is the best of the lot. Kadhir, the cinematographer of ‘Kattradhu Thamizh’ deserves a special mention for his adept cranking of ARRIFLEX.

A must-watch for people who belittle Tamil Cinema!

A must-watch for people who believe Tamil Cinema is graduating to the next level!

A must-watch for people who indulge in hero-worshipping!

Happy Belated Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:52:00 +0000

It was not just another child artist who donned the greasepaint at the tender age of 6 for the movie 'Kalathur Kannama'(1960)… The world had little hindsight about this prodigious talent… Little did they know about the destiny of this child-prodigy…

A wannabe director, Kamal never wanted to face the camera, before he would be first spotted, cradled and nurtured by the ace-director KB, who persuaded him to take up acting and eventually proffered him meaty roles in his earlier years at the filmdom… The actor has come of age since then, taking success and failure into his stride with equanimity… 38 years at the tinsel town, he's ruled the roost and is hungry for more success as ever…

Perhaps he’s the only actor in the world to have dabbled with myriad arts of film-making such as Production, Direction, Writing, Lyricism, and Choreography …Saluting the legend of Kamal Hassan…The real thespian...

Happy Belated Birthday!

Raining cats and dogs in chennai...

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:25:00 +0000

It has been raining incessantly the whole weekend... The torrential rainfall has already wreaked havoc and thrown the city out of gear... Have a look at this...

Azhagiya Thamizh Magan(ATM) - Music Review!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:41:00 +0000

Albeit I never follow Vijay's movie/music premiere, I was hooked on to ATM, the moment I came to know that 'Mozart of Madras' has wielded his baton for this movie. After Sivaji's runaway musical hit, ATM's music piqued lot of expectations among hoi polloi. And has Rahman lived up to the expectations? Here's a peek at what ARR had to offer in ATM…

* Ella Pugazhum (Singer : AR Rahman)

A booming intro song! Typical ARR style. Promises to invigorate a drowned spirit. Preludes and interludes sounds just perfect, Rahman notching incredible decibels with his high-pitch( at times vociferous) is a good listening experience… Will throw ‘Vijay’ fans to an irrecoverable state of hysteria. Cinema Halls are in for a big diwali bash with this opening song… And be prepared for 'once-more' requests... They are going to be aplenty of them… However, after constant repetition of this song, I couldn't help noticing the residues of ' Ararai Kodiyil' song from 'Anbe Aruyire'…

* Kelamaal Kaiyile(Singer : Sriram Parthasarathy, Saindhavi)

My pick of the album. Fresh. Pristine. Never-heard-before tune!!! The blend of Sriram-Saindhavi duo is magical. And I guess this 'Kokilam-Kokilam' pallavi, will become ubiquitous… Sure, it will top the charts.

* Maduraikki Pogadhadee( Singer : Benny, Archith, Dharshana)

As soon I was done with the first 2 songs, out of the blue I was confronted with this 'folk'ish number. And I must confess, ARR has not scored heavily with this song. I found reviews, drawing comparisons of this song with his erstwhile classics of 'Kizhakku Chemaiyile'… I could only pooh-pooh these Rahmaniacs... They want to praise him, regardless of whatever he does… Songs he composed for 'Kizhakku Chemaiyile' , 'Tajmahal' or 'Sangamam' were legendary… Beyond Comparison...And people are making a mockery, by doing such out-of-line comparisons…

* Nee Marlyn Manroe(Singer : Benny, Dayal, Ujjayinee)

This song started -off promisingly and sunk without a trace. Rahman's effort to sandwich a techno with Rap, has went in vain. Occasional Tamil lyrics interlaced with lackluster tune, makes it one forgettable song.

* Ponmagal Vandhal(Singer : MD Aslam, Ember Rap)

When Rahman first experimented with a remix ( Thottal Poo Malarum),I got despondent! Just because, this genius had lot of original music to offer, why should he resort to remix… Definitely I am not belittling people who venture out doing remixes and stuff… But what we expect out of ARR is fresh and original music... And this ain't one! The only consolation is the terrific husky-voice of Aslam...

* Valayapatti Thavile(Singer : Madhumita, Naresh Iyer, Ujjayinee)

I was hardly able to distinguish ‘Maduraikki Pogadhadee’ and 'Valayapatti Thavile' for quite some time… After repeated listening, I was comfortable… I still felt something nagging… Then I quickly realized it was very similar to 'Kummi Adi' from 'SOK'…

ATM music might be embraced with thumping hands by Vijay fans... But certainly not an album, Rahmaniacs can boast about… A complete let-down!

Clash of Titans...

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 03:30:00 +0000

After their epic-R16-encounter at The Wimbledon 2001, Sampras and Federer are due to clash one more time in an exhibition match at Malaysia on Nov 22. It seems just like yesterday, when the Swiss sent him( Sampras) home packing in a grueling five-setter! The fact that they've never played against each other since then, should generate lot of interest. Hope Sampras gets a sweet revenge!

Taxi Driver ( 1976)

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:39:00 +0000

Hailed as a landmark film of the 1970's, the story of 'Taxi Driver' piggy-backs on Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), an isolate-distorted-illusive- paranoiac-delusional-misanthropist-vietnam-veteran. Travis perceptibly smitten with insomnia, spends sleepless nights as a cabbie. The ugly face of New York City precipitated with scum, filth, and decadence sets off Travis to go on a reckless rampage, as he ends up rescuing Iris Steensma (Jodie Foster), a twelve year old prostitute from the willful custody of 'Sport' Matthew (Harvey Keitel), who runs a brothel. And Media catapults Travis an over-night-Hero!

Martin Scorsese has admirably skewed the movie through the eyes of Travis. Be it the loneliness, filthy streets of New York, non-chaste women et al… Scorsese has etched all these attributes and shades at will and with utmost perfection. Most of the scenes were shot with a pinch of dark, suggesting the estranged mind of Travis, and they were absorbing and at times very disturbing. The climax, shot for well over 5 minutes, unleashes a bloodbath, with most of the central characters involved. A massacre!!! Had it not been for the creative camera angles of Michael Chapman, bloody-scene could have doomed... Laconic dialogues penned by Paul Schrader are worth a praise, it had the stimulus to inject pain, and rarely pleasure. I really enjoyed some of the one- liners…

On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.

Shit... I'm waiting for the sun to shine.

Thank God for the rain to wash the trash off the sidewalk.

You're only as healthy as you feel.

Bernard Herrmann (remember the nerve-jangling music of ‘Psycho’), music was really instrumental in making the movie 'Taxi Driver' a classic… The subtle Jazz, occasional sforzando of drums took the movie to dizzy heights of haunt, suspense and hallucination.

(Just a day after composing the music for ' Taxi Driver' Bernard Herrmann passed away...)

Having said all this, I must admit I did not enjoy watching 'Taxi Driver' as much as I did enjoy watching 'The Godfather’, ‘Psycho’ or 'Raging Bull '. With all due respect to Martin Scorsese, I did not feel the pounding heart, lump to my throat, an occupied-cum-disturbed mind, intense emotion et al… Scorsese is masterful in generating such inexplicable feelings out of watching a movie…

Perhaps, the Italian Version of the movie (which I actually saw today) has played the spoilsport…Lost in translation :-(

I'll pick the English version and hopefully I should be made to eat my own words and may be I'll eat a humble pie … :-)

India, still a one-man-army?

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 07:27:00 +0000

After being steamrolled on earlier occasions, Indians were yet again brought to their feet by the invincible Aussies in the 5th ODI at Vadodara. More than the defeat, the meek surrender of the Indians was the real cause of concern… Barring Sachin's valiant 47 and last minute resilience from the tail-enders, the score card wasn't a happy reading… It was an excruciating experience to watch Sachin left reeling for partners, as the wickets kept tumbling at frequent intervals… Had it been not for Sachin timely knock, Indians would have bundled-out themselves for a paltry 80 or 95… Adding insult to the injury was the derogatory 'monkey chant’ off-the-ground-heroics of the notorious crowd against Symonds… Denounce those uncivilized assholes!

Now here's the million dollar question…Is India still a one-man-army??? Can Indian cricket survive without Sachin…?

Even though Sachin's batting has always been found under the scanner, invariably Sachin's knock has helped India in many a victories… The recently lost 3-4 ODI NatWest series at England saw Sachin amassing 374 runs at an enviable average of 53.42, with 4 half-centuries (3 half-centuries resulted in India's victory) under his belt... Of course there is huge junta who wouldn't agree with me on this point… Here's another fact-file for them...India's only victory in the current and on-going Future Cup came in the 4th ODI at Chandigarh and the Master' piled a gritty 79...

Sachin has always been the savior, when the Indian batting has been in doldrums… And am sure when Sachin hangs up his boots, he’ll leave a huge void… And these bad-mouthing journalists will understand what a force Sachin was to reckon with and how indispensable he was... But then it would be too late…

And without Sachin Indian Cricket will never be the same…

P.S: Latest update is aussies have scored a massive 317/8 in the penultimate game… And if India were to win this game, Sachin’s intervention is mandatory…

Engineered to Enthrall!

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:57:00 +0000

Here's my dream machine…Masculinity personified. Look at the dazzling metallic finish… Sexy curves… It is definitely a man-made-miracle… I just yearn to park her in front of my house some day… I don’t know how long the wait is, but it will be certainly worth it!

Have a look at some of her incredible dimensions:

Displacement: 346.00 ccm (21.11 cubic inches)

Engine type: Single cylinder

Stroke: 4

Power: 18.00 HP (13.1 kW)) @ 5000 RPM

Torque: 27.00 Nm (2.8 kgf-m or 19.9 ft-lb) @ 2875 RPM

Compression: 7.3:1

Bore x stroke: 70.0 x 90.0 mm (2.8 x 3.5 inches)

Fuel system: Carburettor

Cooling system: Air

Gearbox: 4-speed

Transmission type final drive: Chain

P.S : Lot of people say, it's inane to opt for a new bullet, instead a second hand bullet with a face-lift is the intelligent way to own the beast … Do you agree???? Please share your thought…

A stroll down memory lane...

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:15:00 +0000

Prelude

It's such a wonderful feeling to reminisce about the good old college days. Many a times, we grope for the 'rewind' button to travel back to the time when we once wore a carefree-careless-care-a-damn attitude as college students and bunked our classes loitering around the city with weird hairdos, torn denim pants and other wacky stuff… Gone are those evergreen days… But if you ever get a chance to relive/recap those effervescent moments, sure you'd grab them with both hands. Wont you? Period.

Train to Paradise

Param made a rare visit to Madras and we (Hari, Param & Me) decided to pull the time machine and hit the ‘rewind’ button. We planned to visit our college! Well, I’d like to rephrase that… We planned to go to college, again!

Hari and myself (minus Alfy, Madhu and Satish) boarded the Suburban Electric Train (prominently known as EMU) at Chromepet, which actually was our routine mode of transport during our college days. We slipped into a tête-à-tête and after momentary time-lapse, train was fast approaching T.Nagar. Param was expected to join us. He was late. Gee, he had to sprint all the way to board the train, in the end he made it in the nick of time (as he always does). We (the trio) couldn't resist from getting on to the footboard of the train...

After all we've traveled in the footboard counting post after post, station after station during our college days… We had enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) every inch of railway tracks laid by the Englishmen. It was just a tribute to the endless footboard travels we had done all through our teens.

The moment we stepped on to the footboard against the strong gush of wind, we sensed a sudden rush of blood to the head!!! Kodambakkam passed in a jiffy...Presto, we alighted the moment train entered the Nungambakkam railway station (we normally do). Took the staircase to reach our college. I still remember those days when we were fresher at college, and we took the shelter out of the staircase to escape from being ragged.

And as we strolled the lean passage, we were there (we did miss the peanut shop on the way).

The Paradise

Loyola College! 'Man, things have changed. Just like our lives… ‘We thought to our self looking at the huge edifices cropped up recently, for they never existed when we did our bachelors. Some of the buildings were CUT and PASTE to different locations. Nevertheless the aura hadn't changed. The vintage Loyola was still intact. We criss-crossed our college in length and breadth. We went to the canteen, Betram hall, and the church, playground, meadows and hostel premises.

Although we never stayed at the hostel during our bachelor days, Param was a hosteler during his MBA days. But he was ousted though, within a year for all wrong reasons (No pun intended ). He did have a lot of hostel stories to recount and time flew by (and we were busy searching for ice-cold water that param was harping about)…

After a brief stint at the hostel we navigated our way back to the concrete-seat-bench just opposite to our class. And on the way, we had a steaming elachi tea…

Flooded with trees on the either side, the seating pavement is the perfect place for a soul in search of a whiff of fresh air. We fondly recollected an incident. A blast form the past!Our college elections held exactly at the same place. A no-hoper by the name 'Harikrishnan' won the election hands down… I could still remember that day…

And it was the same place where Hari and myself were waiting for Param, when he appeared for his arrear exam in mechanics paper. I shall take you through that scene… The exams were over. Param never expected us to present that day in the first place and the moment he figured it was us, he came rushing down from the third floor to meet us…I had never seen him so jubilant… And most importantly he passed the exam!

We had thousands of hundreds other instances to recollect. I took with me some memorabilia that I collected when we were in our college and we had fun scanning each and every one of them. It was thoroughly refreshing… To name a few…

Terminal Question Papers
Alfy's answer sheet (we normally take the q.paper and the answer paper with us after the exam… Alfy, remember ‘The one’ – From Metallica)
Farewell Gift ( One hell-of-a-fortune for Vaidy)
College Diaries
Loyola Fast Food Bills

We then headed straight to clerks room…Near the display and sign boards… It was nostalgia again… Let me detail... Attendance was marked on a day-to-day basis against each student and it was displayed on the display boards. In case of any discrepancy (cases like you were marked absent when you were present et al), you can report to the admin and get things sorted out... The only time we ever had a look this display board, was when the Lack-of-attendance list was displayed. We knew for a fact our name would definitely figure in that list. But what we were really concerned about was the fine amount ... :-) And at times getting debarred for attendance was also on the cards… So with butterflies in the stomach we would show up at display board to check for our attendance… As luck would have it, we never got debarred for attendance…

The Paradise Lost

College days were heaven. It was so fast… It is gone... It has vanished so hurriedly…

We now had to press the ‘stop’ button and press ‘play’… Wish we could press the ‘pause’ button… And enjoy…

Epilogue

The entire evening was awesome. The only glitch, we missed the presence of 'Funky' Alfy, 'Silly' Anand and 'Innocent' Rajamani… Their presence would have been icing on the cake. At least next time around, we ALL should congregate at Loyola…

Signing off ambivalently...

Sam Walton's Made in America - Final Cut...

noreply@blogger.com (Susa!) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:53:00 +0000

I picked up this book, during the month of July and over these 3 months I feel like I had enrolled for a management program attending classes on a regular basis. That’s how interactive the book is… Sammy knocks my door each day to deliver a piece of lecture :-)

Well, to say the least the book was 'Breathtaking'… In the past, I've read the autobiographies of Iacocca, Branson et al… But nothing is quite revealing & revelling like ' Made in America ' … It is like a black-magician revealing all the tricks, he had learned all through all his life, to a commoner… Simple and Transparent, vintage Walton style…

I really do not subscribe to the thought ' If you are a Management Student/ If you are looking at entrepreneurship as a serious career option this book is must-read'… Nope, not at all…But having said that, I must admit there are lots of take-away from this book… Mammoth in number… Profound in sense… Just pick up and read this book, thou shall be delighted learning Walton's way of management!

One of the most absorbing book residing in my shelf, no second thought about it!!!