Friday, April 29, 2005

Good Boy Me!


Saraswathi namasthubhyam, varadhey kaama roopini
Vidyarambham karishyaami, sidhir bavathumaesatha

My last blog was about Mallika Sherawat and Liz Hurley and I got a standard message in the comment box - "Go study!" What to say, I was flattered..ivalo akkarai-a en maela :-D

Another accusation - my blogs are getting adult oriented. I assure you...you can read this problem with your children**!

So, this being exam time, is this blog appropriate? Saraswathi thalai-la ice katti vechirukkaen paarunga? Ok-va? :-)

Besides, this blog just emphasises my goody goodness. If you have the eye for it, you'll see a halo above my head. For those who have the disability to spot it, atleast look here --> Questions like "rendu rekkai irukkae angel-ku, does it mean you are a parakkavetti?" are strictly prohibited on my blog!

Just to make this post a useful one, I'll say this stuff : That my first exam was good. Damn lengthy paper. But attempted 90 marks and din make any mistakes. So good enough? :-)

So adutha exams varai kutti vetti blogs seithu vidai peruvathu....nalla pullai Praveen :-)

**Conditions apply. If your children understand what I write, you may have to think again before calling them children. They are not children, but kaedis! So the author is not responsible for kaedis!

P.S. : Please click on the image to observe the nuances! :-)

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Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Kutti News

By kutti, I meant a small bit of news, not the Malayala kutti. That clarified first.

Mallika Sherawat's recent interview...

Interviewer : How do you feel about acting with Jackie Chan?
Mallika : I am disappointed.
Interviewer : Why??
Mallika : It is not my kind of subject. The hero shows his butt and not the heroine. That doesn't suit me.
Interviewer : Jackie Chan takes action films madam, not matter films!
Mallika : This is action too, isn't it?
Interviewer : Have you decided on your dress for the Cannes festival?
Mallika : I will order 4 kerchiefs to cover myself up.
Interviewer : 4 pieces snot enuf! You say just for jetty?
Mallika : No, no, never! You for mistake! I say full dress.

So watch out for the Cannes Film Festival. Aishwarya Rai wore a torn piece which served the purpose of a dress : exposing the intricate details! ;-) This time it is Mallika whose intricate details we already know! She may end up with body paints, watch out! :-)

All the animals are grateful to Menaka Gandhi. The cotton plant, silk worm, sheep and thankful to Mallika Sherawat :-)

Mallika has all the chances to be a bond girl. Minus the fact that she cannot act, she is a really good actress. Aish refused to lock lips and expose on screen. Mallika-ku idhu ellam illati padam pannadha thrupthiye irukkathu! Acting dhaan konjam varaathu, but thevaiyaana expressions ellam nalla varuthu! Abdul Kalam paattu kanavu kaana sollitaar, mukkalvaasi paer kanavula Mallika dhaan irukka-nu avarukku eppadi theriyum paavam! Vaazhga Mallika! Valarga avarathu samooga thondu :-)

Disclaimer : Indha extra build ellam unmai sambavangal alla! Chitharikkapattavai! :-)

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Saturday, April 23, 2005

It is growing!

Respected vetti makkal,
Sub : Wisdom teeth growing.

This is to hereby inform all the vetti people who read my blog that my wisdom teeth is growing succesfully. So you may, in all probability, see a brainier Praveen in future. Be prepared to be blown away by a brainwave! :P

Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Praveen

P.S. : Kiruba got 70 odd suggestions for a deo, I need atleast 35 odd appreciations! :P

P.P.S. : Tried capturing it on digicam, but looked like those Doctor Solgirar aruvai sigichai's. So you guys escape! :-)

Serious Doubtu : Why is it called wisdom teeth??

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Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Exam Time!!

My semester exams begin on the 29th of this month. Yeah, next week :-(

I guess you people wouldn't mind if I use this space for some revision work. Gotta see if I've got all of what I've studied in the past three years right! Nothing too complicated though, just the basics, so you may read on :-)

Semester : 3-4 months of vacation in a remote location called college.

Engineering College : A place of entertainment which must definitely not lie within the 100km radius of a city.

College Library : A huge space which has books, a librarian and a couple of flies.

College Canteen : A store-house of food items which may cause Jaundice or Typhoid depending on your luck.

Figure : Any girl who wears high heels, uses powder like pesticide, lipstick like Lakshman Rekha, speaks only in English and whose face nobody knows.

Porikki : A guy who agrees with the above definition.

Machi : A friend who either has a beautiful sister or has enough money to share in the present or future.

Less than 75% Attendance : Ineligible to write exams.

Greater than 75% Attendance : Eligible to have arrears.

Tuition Fees : Money which is unfortunately not covered by any insurance.

Exam Fees : Money spent to increase the scope of arrears.

Hall Ticket : A piece of paper which gives you the authority to stare at the question paper for 3 hrs maximum.

Exam Hall : A room where 50+ people stare at the question paper.

Unit Test : Free hour

God : Invigilator who allows you to copy.

Dog : Invigilator who doesn't allow you to copy.

Arrear : A compulsory subject from 2nd Semester.

Graveyard : Anna University

Any grade 1 bad word : Mr. Balaguruswamy, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University

Other bad words : Refers to Principal, HOD or the Lecturers depending upon the severity.

Fate : Results

The purpose of this blog is to change the fate of Curses and myself with the power of your prayers! Help us!! :-)

Sakthi ellam ondru saernthaaley...ooooooo...sorgam varum indha mann maeley..devuda devuda ezhumalai devuda, choodu da choodu da enga pakkam choodu da :-)

Update : Got my first good news already! Balaguruswamy is no longer the Vice-Chancellor!! :-)

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Monday, April 18, 2005

M.E. disappoints ME

The weekend was great for me, except for the journey on Mumbai Express. I had heard enough from my friends that the film was average and so I never had any big expectations for them to be satisfied. I still found it to be a disappointing effort.

The first card which came on screen while I was watching Chandramukhi read : "Sincere thanks to Padmasri Kamalhasan", which confused me. After watching Mumbai Express, I understood that Kamal was being thanked for releasing this film alongside Chandramukhi :-D

I never expected any story in the film. Went there just for laughs, but nothing effective was delivered in the two and half hour long movie. I've read in newspapers which talked about the movie that the laughter was heard outside the theater. I was waiting for such a moment, but honestly I din get to witness many.

A group planning to kidnap a kid for ransom. How confusion arises during the course of this and how new emotional bonds are formed is the story. I gravely missed Crazy Mohan in the film. Kamal has managed to create confusing incidents, but had failed to bring out enough humour from it. In this, Crazy Mohan will remain the undisputed king.

The first half of the film moves at express pace. The plot has been carried out to near perfection. But the dialogues lacked spice which is normally present in a Kamal comedy movie. I usually laugh so hard that I nearly hurt myself on the seat in front of me. I remember doing that for Panchathanthiram. Even in the fast-moving first half there were very few scenes for which I laughed out loud.

A few reasons why I did not find the jokes hilarious... I could predict what was in store. I spoke along with the characters on the big screen. Comedy is all about delivering the punch lines at the right moment. If you already know what they are going to say, I feel, a part of the joke is lost. I am not speaking for the majority in here. People burst out laughing at more incidents than I did. But still, it was less when compared to Kamal's remarkable efforts in his earlier movies. There was a guy who sat right next to me who kept clapping. He claps over his head, to the left, to the right, below the seat. It was more fun watching him and saying to myself - "Gummi adi rasa gummi adi, kenai payal maadhiri gummi adi". A few of the jokes were intellectual. It was not explicit and not many people understood it. Even for those who understood it, like yours truly (!), it catalysed a smile and not laughter.

One scene which is different and at the same time brilliant is the way the student sings Vande Mataram at a school function. Something which cannot be described, but can be truly enjoyed when seen on the screen. I felt it was soooper!

The second half is chaotic. Before I witnessed it, I was under the impression that the film was decent. A major part of my disappointment is attriubuted to this part of the movie. Big sentimental scenes were going to do no good to a comedy flick. Appa sentiment and amma sentiment were really out of place. I am just satisfied that there was no thaali sentiment coz there was enough scope to include it too! This is precisely how the second half begins which really disappointed me.

Pasupathy would take maximum benifits out of this movie. He was simply remarkable. Proving his skills as a comedian, I am happy he would not get branded as a Tamil cinema villain. I would have enjoyed the movie if the story had enough scope for him to perform in the second half too. I laughed the maximum for his jokes.

Kamal, without doubt, has acted well. A brilliant performer as always. He was out of shape though. A few scenes show it pretty badly. I was surprised by it. And is this a no make-up film? Looked like it, but can anybody clarify?

Manisha deserves special mention. She gets an awesome intro! Those who have seen the film will know it :-D. She needs two people by the side to hold up her saree. Looks pretty old. Kamal seems to have had enough of her, he just kisses her once in the entire movie..on the cheeks that too :-)

Vaiyapuri, Ramesh Aravind and Nasser have done their role well. No character has been wasted, which is a good aspect.

Ilayaraja's BGMs were good as usual. It would have paid off better, in my opninon, to have a couple of extra songs instead of dragging the story.

Digital Movie...I don't know if there was any problem with the screening. Some scenes appeared to have grains or whatever you call them. Looked like one of those clips on TV News taken from the file. Had a very old, dusty effect to it. I really did not understand why. Why does this happen?

On the whole, the movie disappointed me. I did laugh at times, but I felt the movie pales in comparison to Kamal's earlier attempts at comedy. Honestly speaking, I do not understand why Kamal wishes to get into every aspect of film making. He is a genius, no doubt. But I wish he does what he is best at - acting. Virumandi proved other dimensions of his skills too, but dialogues for Mumbai Express are definitely a let down in my opinion.

I can force myself to say the movie is between ok and good. Majority might wish to diagree, but as I explained earlier, the jokes failed to catch me by surprise. A usual Kamal comedy has an array of jokes in a single scene which keeps you laughing throughout. That is missing in this film. You have enough time to laugh and wait patiently for the next one to come. The second half defines what dragging is. Could have been better.

Kamal + Crazy Mohan : A killer combo is being gravely missed in this film.

The film is however getting decent reviews. I din get the satisfaction of watching a Kamal comedy. While watching the film, I was thinking, "Gosh, I should have stayed at home and watched the India Pak match instead of this one". After I came home and switched on the TV, I was thinking, "Thank god I watched the film"! So, by Einstein's theory of relativity, I liked the film :-)

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Friday, April 15, 2005

Chandramukhi : Totally Unexpected!


Watch the intro scene here and bits of Devuda Devuda here. Don't be bothered about the audio, that's the fans screaming. Unbelievable! :-)
Clips courtesy : Maverick

Watching a thalaivar movie on the first day was just unthinkable for me until today. Thanks to my friend Prashanth I managed to get tickets to 7 o'clock show on the first day. This has been the longest April 14th for me. I was waiting for the sun to set soon, I need to watch thalaivar in action. I was just praying that Chandramukhi do better in the box-office against Mumbai Express and Sachin. In the meanwhile good news started pouring in. Hearing good reviews for Chandramukhi just made the day longer. Finally, I found myself roaring in the cinema hall when the trademark Super Star Rajni card flashed on the screen with ear-deafening Annamalai music. Super Star rocks!!

Before I proceed, I assure you that there are no spoilers in this review :-)

As always every Rajni fan awaits his intro with bated breath. Baba was disappointing in this regard : a fifteen minute wait to get a close up of a totally screwed up face. Things are much quicker in Chandramukhi. To tell you honestly, this is one of the most awesome intros ever in Rajni films. Thalaivar flips a bubble gum into his mouth with panache, in a manner only he can. A typical Super Star walk to follow it up and there you go...thalaivar kicks bad ass!

And you know what? That's the end of the stereo-typical Rajni we all know of, but still enjoy. No style. No cigarettes. No punch dialogues. No political remarks. A film which relies purely on the story and the performers is what people are in store for. That is Chandramukhi for you, neatly done.

Rajni plays the role of a psychiatrist called Saravanan. His best friend Prabhu and his wife Jothika movie into a supposedly haunted house. Disturbing things start happening. How Saravanan solves the mystery is the story. And yeah, this is a Rajni film :-)

Rajni looks amazingly young in this movie. He looks rocking young, to an extent that even the close up shots do not bother you! It is a total make-over. Baba was a complete let down in this aspect. A walking stick would have suited Rajni better in Baba than a funky knife! But it remains a mystery how they managed to give thalaivar this refreshing look. Some scenes, yeah, the patches are kinda visible. But on the whole Rajni is awesome!

There are just two stunts in the entire movie. They have tried their best to maintain the larger-than-life image of Super Star in these stunts. The popular wired stunts ala Matrix. Timeslice shots have been avoided. Instead they just freeze the frame to give an impact. Works out effectively at times and not so effectively at others. Some moves are a little bit overdone. But when Rajni is in action, who cares?!

Special effects. Hmm.. again positives and negatives. Certain scenes are boosted up with beautiful effects. A small portion looks like animations in Toy Story. Always happens in Tamil films, the inefficient usage of graphics. So I feel they did a decent job on this one.

The songs fit amazingly into the movie. Cannot be better woven. Vidyasagar, I now feel, has done full justice and played his part effectively. Good BGMs are an essential part of a suspense film. The re-recording is very good too. But as always, ARR is ARR. Baba BGMs rocked completely! I miss ARR!!

Picturisation of songs is also brilliant. Devuda Devuda being the intro song and shot in an expected manner to the complete satisfaction of Rajni fans. Athinthom is simple and sweet. Konja Neram has been shot in astonishing places of Istanbul. As expected, Annanoda Paattu is what got that fans dancing. One wondered how Rajni was going to shake his legs for such a fast song. Infact, I was just hoping somebody like Prabhu Deva did not make life miserable for Rajni with dance steps ala Baba Kichu Tha. It turned out to be a mockery then! But glad here that Rajni has not tried too much. Just his trademark steps. Nothing that would cause too much strain and trouble Rajni. Some dance formations resembled the drill/march past formations though which could have been avoided! Honestly, I would have loved a Maya Maya kinda dance for this one, but that was missing.

I believed this was a full length comedy film before I saw it. But this one was more of a different genre. Comedy has been wisely sprinkled throughout the movie. No hilarious stuff to get you roll on the floor and laugh. All timely jokes which you possibly cannot share with others. Gotta be done with it then and there. Next moment its poof! Vadivelu is brilliant. There was a period I just fumed at the mere mention of his name. That was during the Kovai Sarala adi thadi days. After that, he has really grown to be a great performer and I love him now. There is infact a scene where Rajni narrates a ghost story to Vadivelu. Reminded of Nagesh Balliah in Kathalikka Neramillai? So was I. Obviously, that was sheer class. But this evoked good laughter too. Rajni as a comedian needs no special introduction.

A commendable perfomace by Jothika. She was brilliant with her acting. A bit over at times, but I can't think of any other current actress who would have done it better. A person whom I found irritating in the movie was Nasser. I have a feeling he over did things. Too much of shouting spoilt it. Some jokes have literally been killed bu this man. The timing was remarkably poor! What happened to you Mr. Nasser? Mookku mattum dhaan valarutha?

Another good thing about the movie was that everybody had a small part to play. It is not a Rajni centric movie which often people (non-Rajni fans) complain about. Infact, Rajni is missing for a good 15 minutes in the movie, at one stretch that is, which is very much unheard of and unimaginable. Nayantara is not gorgeous, but she is ok, probably good. She has done justice to her role too.

I did not like Rajni doing one thing - he spokes bits and pieces in English. It seemed very odd. Probably director's way of saying he is practising in America, but he could have done away woth it. Afterall this is not an important part to stress on. Nobody would have actually bothered about such logic, especially in a Rajni movie :-)

I have a little disappointment too which I do not wish to conceal. Being a hardcore thalaivar fan I so desperately wanted punch dialogues and Rajni styles. I mean that's what I love. I spent the first half of the movie re-assuring myself : "Ok, Rajni will do it somehow", I kept saying to myself. Afterall a hardcore fan like Vinod specifically messaged me and told me the film rocked, so there has got to be something in it. It was only after the interval that I made up my mind to stop expecting stupid stuff. It was very clear that they were going to treat Rajni only the way the role demanded.

But there was lot of scope in the movie to get things in. Chewing gums replacing cigarettes would have got the fans screaming mad. A few dialogues here and there would have been amazing too. That way the film would have satisfied the front bench audience a lot better. Having a clear winner in hand, such things would have spiced up things catering to the taste of every single person. They could have probably capitalised on that one to make it really big especially when Mumbai Express doesn't seem to be pleasing its passengers.

But, but, but...there will be no end to ifs and buts! I appreciate this new effort from Vasu. Not often do people rely on story when they have the charismatic Super Star on their side, but he did. Forget the larger-than-life image people........Chandramukhi Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Update : No superstar ingredients. But you know what, I want to watch the film again! Something seems to be missing today. I am missing thalaivars screen presence already! Gawd, what a fanatic I am! :-)

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Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Stop the Peter!

First of all let me assure you that I am not doing a Maruthuvar Ramadas stunt here. Name your films Mumbai Express or Mumbai Sexpress, I really wouldn't complain. That's definitely not the issue I wish to touch upon. I don't believe naming a film as Mumbai Viraivu Rayil or Pasanga or Puthusu or Uyir Thozhan would enlighten the masses about Tamil and press the need to use it. That is just bullshit...or to put it in the way those people like it...maattu saani!

But I cannot tolerate the vetti scene people put up. Both guys and gals, in their own ways.

"Machi Gilli padathula Appadi Podu pattu super da, Vidyasagar kuththi eduthutaan!"-nu pesikittu irukkara naayi, oru figure kurukkala nadantha udaney, "Mayn have u checked out Eminem and Linkin Park? They just rock dood! Tamil songs are just stooopid"-nu yaen Peter vidanum?

Idhu varaikkum class-ey attend pannatha naathaari, azhagaana ponnu vandha "What did our prof cover in class yest?"-nu yaen scene-a podanum?

Sila pasangalukku English rathathula oorinathu. Adha onnum panna mudiyaathu. Idhunga ellam "Hey dude wassup" case-unga. Adhunga kitta standard reply "Yo maan, cool" appadina mooditu poiduvaanunga. Adha thavira kai-la sila fingers-a random-a madichu appappo moonjikku munnadi neetikinae irupaanga. Kannu eppo kuththuvaanga-nu bayamavey irukkum. For safety purposes idhunga kitterunthu thalli irukkarthu nallathu. But idhunga ok, ivanga ellam Thamizh pesaama irukkarthu dhaan nallathu.

But pasanga kooda saadharnama pesarchae local-a pesittu, figure vandha "Aww man, our college doesn even have a bloody ac, the Princi should be kicked right on the butt!" appadinu pesuthunga paar, idhungala dhaan seruppala adikkanum. Seri ok, figure kooda pesarthukku peter vidunga ok, adhukkaga andha ponnu munnadi English thavira vaera enna pesinalum umaachi kanna kuththiduma enna?! Enna maadhiri English theriyaatha pasanga kooda pesarchae neenga paatukku peter vitta naan endha ____-a ____-arthu?! :-)

Pesarthu dhaan pesareenga, ozhuna pesa varuma? Adhuvum illa. Ponnu kitta poi propose pannu da-na, "I wanna make love with you"-nu sonna seruppala dhaan adippa. Appadi varaatha baashai-a verum scene kaaga yaen kadichu kotharanam? Therinja baashai-a ozhunga pesalaamey?

Seri ippo pasanga over, ponnunga...

Indha Shakespeare-oda family tree-a aarayanum. Mukkalvaasi ponnunga direct descendants of Shakespeare. Atleast college days-la appadi dhaan sollipaanga. Oru class-la 20 gals irundha, adhula 15 paer indha category-la dhaan irupaanga.

Over-a English therinju vechukittu pasanga uyira vaangara ponnungala Mary-nu solluvaanga. Female equivalent of Peter. Indha Mary thollai perunthollai da saami. Idhunga kooda pesanum-na indha kaathula oru dictionary-um, andha kaathula oru thesaurus-um maatikittu thiriyanum. Nammala maadhiri pasangalukku velaikkae aagathu. Naan sonnaen-la, andha veral-a madichu moonji-la kuththara pasanga, adhunga usually oru indha maadhiri group of gals kooda dhaan thothikittu irukkum. Five Mary gals and one Peter boy. College mudinju varathukulla indha Peter boys Mohan Vaidya maadhri abinayam pudikka aaramichuduvaanga though.

Aduthu sila gals vaenumnae English pesuvanga. Seriyaana vetti scene oattara group. Indha Vivek comedy-la vara Vaalai Pala Thol Valukki Vaalibar Uyir Ooshal group idhu. Adhaavathu avunga Thamizh-a kooda English infuence pannuthaama! English pesi pesi thamizh-ey maranthu poachu-nu fashion-kaaga kattikara gumbal. Indha gumbal oda dhaan andha vetti scene oattara pasangalum seruvaanga. Idhunga 5 paeru, adhunga 5 paeru...car eduthukittu full sound-la puriyaatha English paattu onnu poattu Beasant Nagar-la round adikkara group. Indha group-la ellarumae vendathathu dhaan seyyuvaanga. Ponnunga ellam sleeveless T-Shirt dhaan podum, Bindu Gosh maadhiri irundhaalum seri. Pasanga jeans pant keezha falls thekkara alavukku kizhinju irukkum + thoppi thiruppi poattirupaanga. Kadalai varukka seriyaana idam :-)

Innoru doubt. Indha bad words ellam irukkae, adhu endha language-layum bad dhaaney? But I've heard some gals go, "Cha, u cheap F bastard" when I say some Tamil bad word. Sinna pulla thanama illa? :-)

Aana onnu...pasangala vida ponnungalukku nalla English varum. Adhuvum oru talent dhaan :-)

Indha maadhiri mukkal vaasi paeru English-laye pesikinu thollai pannara idathula sila nallavangalum irupaanga. Pasangal-la example - saakshaath naaney dhaan :-) Ponnungal-la examples - en blog padikkara ella gals-umae!! (Nalla gavaninga!! Puthu varusham adhuvuma enna sabikkatheenga!!)

Naan English-ey koodathu-nu solla varala. Infact sila English words-laam saadharname pesarchevey varum. Paarunga..Infact, English, words..ellamae English :-) So yaarum ungala Karunanidhi maadhiri pesa sollala!

English enga thevaiyo anga pesina poraatha? Rendu thamizh therinja friends boy-boy or boy-gal or gal-gal yaen English-la Peter vidanum-nu dhaan enakku purila? Appadi pesina oru status symbol aagi poacho-nu me thinkings. Which is pathetic!


En kitta pesara payyana irundhaalum seri, ponna irundhaalum seri over-a English-la pesina naera thitti vittiduvaen. Ellarum adhaye follow pannunga :-)

Ellarum inimae namma Captain paecha kaettu ozhungu mariyaathai-a Damil-la pesunga :-)

Thamizh Puththandu Nalvaazhthukkal :-)

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Monday, April 11, 2005

Gooooooogle!!


My bloody Google ad!! It's called Google Ad Sense. The problem is that is just too sensible!!

I blogged about Dupattas alright. But this makes me look like a worker in Naidu Hall! Pure cotton sarees, silk saress, shipped withbslouse underskirt, free sarees, salwar kameez, saree petticoats in all colours!! Petticoat-la enna ya colour-u?!!

Brought to you in association with...
Jacky : SRM-la padichuttu selling petticoats-a?
Curses : oru vaarama ur google ads showing "saree petticoat"
Uma : Plugu, inimael yoschu blog sei
Ferrari : Next Naidu hall ad dhaan!!

Adhu ellam feedback! :-)

Ivalo paeru eduthu solreengaley, evanaachum adha oru amukku amukkineengala? Paavingala! :-)

I talked about Pamela, Britney and J Lo in my next blog. But it's still not bring recognised!! All men watch out for nice links :-D

Hey Google, get this clear. Here are some Googlatives or whatever you want to call it. Hollywood, Oscar, Ferrari, Schumacher, Cricket, Sachin, Cinema, Golden Globe, Nikon, Intel, Computers, Vitamins, Greeting Cards, Microsoft, IBM, Google, Tourism, Holidays, Basket Ball, Base Ball. Got it? You better change my ads soon!!

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Sunday, April 10, 2005

Bloggers Meet @ St. Thomas Mount

Date : April 9
Time : 5:00 p.m.

Attended By . . .
  • Ravages : The bike starting macho man.
  • Ravi : Tourism Thillalangadi.
  • Curses : Dog, lover. Don't mind the comma ;-)
  • Sudhir : Meet update man.
  • Nirenjan : He there, his velai there man.
  • Sophia : Teacher amma
  • Sandhya : Aakasha vani, Chennai vaanoli nilayam.
  • Aravind : Mr. Peter
  • Shekar : Father Teresa.
  • Shiva : Multi 'stock' analyst.
  • Praveen : Me, the oattai bike owner!
Absentee : Hyperactive Visithra

Minutes and Pics Here!

A great confusion prevailed before I left for the meet. A confusion which was confined to Curses and myself. We were unsure whether to reach the place by bus or by my bike. I was terribly unsure of what to choose. As unsure as Ganguly is whether to duck for a short ball or to nick it to the slips. There were calls from Ravi and Shekar asking me the exact route. I routed the call to Sophia as I was similarly unsure of yet another thing - the route. Curses reached the place along with his friends, Sandhya and Arvind, by bus. I came on my bike.

To my relief, the meeting point was on the main road itself and it became all the more easy after I spotted a group of people. After we were done with the intro stuff, we were waiting for Ravages to arrive. The first thing which I spotted and pointed out to Curses was "Rahmaniya Fast Foods" on the opposite side. Being Rahman fans, we considered it a great insult! :-( We learnt from Sudhir that Visthra had been held up in Coimbatore. It seems her tour agent her messed up the dates and she would arrive in Chennai only later in the night. That was bad news.


As we drove to the church on St. Thomas Mount, Curses clicked a few photographs, which he described as P.C.Sriram photography. Check out the picture caption for more details :-)


Sudhir took Nirenjan, Aravind and Sandhya in his car. Ravages, Ravi and Shekar came by bikes. I said I'll take Curses along coz he's the only one whom I alk to freely. He was pleased too :-) The short ride uphill was super cool. We were talking all along.

Me : Dei, kallu, mannu, maedu, pallam ellam photo eduthu vei da, site-la poatta wah!-nu appreciate pannuvaanga artistic people.
Curses : Ya ya, PC Sriram range-ku photos eduthirukkaen paar (referring to the pics on the rear view mirror!)
*kallu, mannu-nu sonnaen..enga rendu paeru thalai-um eduthu great damage pannitaan!*

Me : See! Jesus standing in Titanic pose! I'll slow down, click that
Curses : Okie, done!


We parked our bikes and started walking uphill to the church. Ravages was already busy with his archeology works. Not that he dug up places, but you know..! Anyways, on our way up started a storm called Sandhya. I have never seen somebody so enthusiastic and bubbly. Thamizh-la solla pona aarva kolaaru-nu sollalaam :-) Ok Sandhya, if you take offence, relax, I was just kidding! If not...I am obviously serious! She talked about literally everything that you would probably not find even if you google. This was highlighted more coz she had a really silently companion - Aravind.

Exchanges in * were between Curses and me alone!!

Sandhya : We should all thank Sophia for this lovely meet.
Sophia : I would say I din do anything. These two people (pointing to Curses and myself) did the work.
Me : *Psst...dei, namma enna da panninom?*
Curses : *Yaarukkum theriyum?!*
Me : *Appo seri, edho sollaraanga, perumaiya accept pannikalaam, we organised THE meet!*
Shiva : Ok Sophia, shouldn't the organiser provide us with refreshments??
Me : *Oh!...then we did NOT organise the meet!*
Curses : *hehe...did he overhear us?!*

We reached the church after a few minutes. Ravages was busy watching everything around as though he had a short sight clicking a few snaps here and there. I never knew people with a T-Shirt, jean and a CBZ would be so interested in history. I always thought of them with a half-Einstein hair. This guy seemed to be redifining it.


The watchman aapesar spotted us taking pics and took us to the higher aapeesar. We had to donate something to the church if we were to take pics. Okie machi, its hot-nu sollitu we were roaming about taking pics.

The place was beautiful. So was the climate. We were enjoying a pleasant view of Chennai. Just then, my mobile vibrated. A message from Airtel??? What the heck, I use Hutch! The message read : Dear Customer, Airtel wishes you a pleasant stay in Chennai. What the?? Naan enna ippo Dhindivanam-laendha varaen?? Paavingala, naan enna Kodaikanal-laya irukkaen?? Oru 10 ft malai yaerinathukku roaming-a?? Bloody dogs!

Speaking of dogs, there was a cute little pup up there. Poi nillu da, photo eduthu, "Magix on the right"-nu caption podaraen-nu sonnaen. Koocha padaama poi ninnan! Seriyaana naai paithiyam!


And if you are wondering why he is wearing his cap all the time... One, istyle!! Two, hair cut was pretty close! ;-) I wanted to call him Mottai Magix :-)

Aravind and Sandhya were without doubt students of B.Arch for the way they admired at things. If they were not from B.Arch I would have said pattikaattan and mittai kadai. So I give them the benifit of the doubt and put it in a polished manner :-) Sophia was talking about her school days, how they used to come up to the Church during free hours.

Magix was as usual spotting unsual stuff. He spotted funny boards which were not meant to be funny!

Curses : Look at that board! It says "Banian Tree"!!
Me : Sudermani-a Tantex-a nu podaliye??

Curses : And that one says "Jesus is burried"!
Me : Idhu engalukku theriyaatha, idhukku edthukku board-u?!
Curses : Dei adhu illa, it says burried, not buried!


Anbu called up and helped my balance get to 75 bucks from 89, thanks to roaming!! I let Shiva and Sophia do the talking coz all I knew was we were at a slightly elevate place! No idea how to get there.

We made our way into the church. There was a pretty gal in there who everybody stared at but pretended not to! Ravages was, as expected, interested in the year in which they painted the building! Kidding! But this one is for true...he wanted to know what some Senora Expecta Blah Blah, written on the arch, meant. I don't even recollect it. Its like one of those phrases in Harry Potter. But I couldn believe he chose me of all the people to ask this question! Enna pathi avarukku innum seriya therila! :-)

There was this picture of St. Peters in there. Curses was curious to know if he was the one who brought the English language to India!


Sandhya and Aravind were ready to obey anything that was said. They were asked to pray and they did so immediately. Tappunu sonna edathulaye mandi poattutaanga! Yesu pithaave ivargalai ratchipparaaga!! :-)

Taking advantage of their obedience, Shiva, Magix and myself played a small trick on them. There was this box called "The Dumb Box" in one corner. None of us knew what it was. So I asked Magix to call out for Sandhya to make her put money in it and snub her!

Curses : Hey Sandhya, look at that box there?
Sandhya : Yeah?
Curses : You are supposed to put money in it.
Sandhya : (taking her purse out) How much?
Curses : Anything. It is meant for people like you!
Sandhya : What??
Curses : Read what it says!
Sandhya : Dumb Box!! You idiot!!
Shiva : Adhu eppadi ma edhu sonnalum udaney seyyara nee??! :-)

Ravi was all the while taking pics of everything other than people! If you want to get an inside out view of the church you can possibly check out his blog :-)

We were out at a nice place to sit and chat. I found it pretty comfortable we kept splitting up into randomly reshuffling groups. I get along pretty well with Curses always (I've known him for 3 yrs afterall!) and got along pretty well with Shiva too. Sandhya is ofcourse not being considered here coz her group is always the most talkative! Any idea why? I dunno :-)



Sudhir and Nirenjan got messages in their mobile which said they had roaming too!! Relief!! It was a silent hurray!! Magix was the only guy to still have the normal thingy!

Sophia's profession was earlier disclosed as rag-picking! Now we got to know the real her...the kutti gal on her blog is now a teacher amma. She like Anna Univ canteen but hates the system there. The prof student distance is something which she doesn't like. Magix and myself were trying to get our question papers through her :-D She is a really really nice person. An angel in disguise. Very helpful to people. Sophia, are u reading this??

Sandhya now had Mom-trouble! She had to leave at 6:30, her mom kept messaging her. Probably the silence was killing her mom. With Sandhya out here it would have been really dull there, I understand...do you?! :-)

Now, we were witnessing what we were there for. The sunset. It really was a treat for the eyes. But it disappeared pretty soon.


We kept getting updates from Anbu, but nothing was all that clear. Uma messaged asking us to enjoy our bajji! Sadly we din have any :-( Next was Ferrari's call. He called me up. But enakku YEZHAVU roaming! So he called up Magix. The spoke a couple of words to Ravages and Ravi before the signal played spoilsport!!

Beep. Message for Magix. Hurray!! Roaming!! :-)

Just then he got a call from Sandhya's mom. What timing?! Hats off to you lady!! :-) Paanch rupaiya outtu!!

Sandhya : Hey should I pay you those 5 bucks?
Curses, Shiva and Me : Aaha!!
Curses : Yes, 10 bucks with interest!
Me : And 10 for me, am standing near him!

Ravages wanted to stay a bit longer to capture the lights on the runway. I wasn't pretty sure it would come out well on cam. So there we were taking pics of trees!! :-)


There was this tiny nail which tore Magix's shirt. He caught it on cam, just for the memories! :-)


Ravages caught a couple of pics of the aircraft. Really blurred ones.

Ravages : This is it!
Sandhya : Oh wow, how did u take it?
Me : Aaha, photo suthama purila-na wow-nu sollidaraanga pa!
Ravages : Dei yaenda ippadi irukeenga neenga?!
Curses : Enna move-ey aagala? Oh idhu pics-a? Naan video-nu nenachaen!
*Ravages bangs his head on a nearby tree* :-)

It was getting pretty late and we had to leave, Sandhya especially. She made a not of all our blog ids and mail ids, but has not yet mailed them!! *Fuming*


So we had to leave the place. Bajjis were due magix and myself reminded. Ravi and Ravages unanimously decided that people must go to Saravana Bhavan and have a cup of Coffee. Since it was getting pretty late for Sudhir, Nirenjan, Sandhya and Aravind, they left home. Sudhir dropped them on the way.


At the right time, my super duper Honda Activa refused to start. Ravages, Ravi and Shekar were already downhill. Thank god Shiva and Sophia were still there. I tried my best, but it just wouldn't budge. Shiva and Magix tried their best too.

Shiva : Vandi-a munna pinna service vidarthu unda nee?!
Me : Vitta appuram dhaan indha prechanai-ey!
Shiva : Authorised service centre-ta vidanum, cycle kadai kaaran kitta vitta ippadi dhaan!


We decided to get it down to a mechanic downhill! I enjoyed the ride downhill though. Absolutely no power and the vehicle smoothed its way. It really was a super ride!! I din wanna risk slowing at the speed breakers though, so it was a bit bumpy! :-D

The people were waiting for us downhill. Ravi tried his part. No use. Then came the macho man! Ravages!! Kovil kattanum avarukku, kal vettum sethukkanum, appo dhaan avar sandhosha paduvaar! One kick and vroom!! Wow, what a man!! :-)

Then, our next stop was Saravana Bhavan. Bloody Bhavan! No bajji, no vadai nothing!! Sophia had tea and I had pineapple juice. All others had coffee.


Magix was targeted yet again. His blogs, his popularity, ellam eduthu sonnaru Ravi. He also became the official SMS boy after he sent a few Non Veg jokes which impressed Shiva and Ravi! Ravages talked about his communications class in which his sir used to read out notes!! Update from Anbu that he would join us sometime later...ippadi meet came to an end.

Sophia : The first time I called up Harish, he was shocked. I din reveal who I was. Just mention all ur girl friend names I said and there was no response!
Magix : Anyayam panniteenga neenga! Suthi ellam orey gals-a irundhaanga, appo neenga phone panni ippadi kaeteenga!
Me : Yaarum illatha samayama paarthu kaetta sollirupaan paavam! :-)

And that was it. Pleasantaries. Tata Bye Bye stuff :-)


But wait...I've got a surprise in store now!! Luckily, my mom made bajji today... So here is a dedication to all u bajji lovers......... :-)


Cheers :-)

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Friday, April 08, 2005

Madonna, Pamela, Britney and J Lo

Now, I wouldn't be writing this blog if model exam lived up to its name and tested this, this or atleast this. Models - reminds me of babes walking down the ramp on FTV which I watch turning the sounds off. Who needs the music? You turn deaf when you watch such channels. *Those who watched it after every one in the house is asleep would nod in agreement!* Anyways, getting back, the excitement of the name is lost when it has this most stupid word in the dictinoary viz exams coupled with it.

These exams are supposed to prepare one for the semester, atleast thats what they say when they put it on the circular and on the notice board. But I pity the person who sends these circulars. "Students are requested to take the exams seriously", the staff reads out, and everybody bursts out laughing! How much he should feel like a jackass right? But when he doesn't learn from such mistakes and puts it on the circular every time, he deserves to be called a jackass. So the jackass sends this circular each time...

Model exams start on so and so date.
*appadi, half-a day machi!*

Students will not be allowed inside the hall after 9 a.m.
*who is dying to get in?*

Students will not be allowed to leave the hall before 11:30 a.m.
*chi naughty*

Students are requested to take the exams seriously.
*LOL*

That's how they prepare us for the model exams :-)

The 2+ hours in the exam hall helps to relax my mind. I get to suruttify A4 sheets and bring them back home. I reach home 4 hours early and thus get good sleep. I have lots of free time at my disposal which I put to maximum use with such vetti blogs and paining you people to read it!

I prepare for half an hour and spit what I know. Once I am in the hall, I am capable of giving a stiff competition to Saurav Ganguly by getting out earlier than he does, as jackass said, students will not be allowed to leave the hall before 11:30 a.m. So I read through all the questions and be happy with whatever strikes me...

What is software engineering?
*Implants @ Pamela?*

What is software testing?
*Tommy Lee and many others would know*

What is coupling?
*A game like Dikkilona and jalabalajangs*

What is an exception?
*Saurav Ganguly in the Indian team*

How do you handle it?
*Just bowl, it will take care of the rest*

What is a compiler, interpreter, parser and translator?
*One which compiles, interprets, parses and translates?*

What is Tomasulo's algorithm?
*A set of sequential steps given by Tomasulo*

What is a child class?
*Michael Jackson?*

Obviously those are just things which flashed in my mind. If I had those on paper, I would be a an ex-student of my stupid college. So I just take some important points and beat around the bush. Discussing the history, geography and economics of each of the points would ensure a big para. Just say the same thing again and again, but take care to say the right thing again and again :-) ... And I'll average better than Ganguly by the way, I'll surely be in double figures.

After answering the questions, the toughest part comes. You are dying to get out but you are not allowed to. We start the maaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmm screams at around 10:30 and get on her nerves first. She refuse to give us this piece if twine to tie the paper, that's how they manage to keep us inside the class. We are pretty smart for all that. We take an extra twine the previous day and keep it in our pockets :-) *Ain't my college filled with jackasses?* Some of these JAs (u should know what it means by now, or else call urself a JA! :P) tell us, "I won't collect your papers." *Who asked you to?* We'll leave it on the table and leave :-)

I hate it when these JAs try to act smart and snub the students. I wait for them to come to me, but nobody picks on me, my bad!

Why are you disturbing the class? Why don't you write something?
Finished ma'm.
How much have you written?
Three 16 marks and five 2 marks.
Idhu podhuma? So who will write the rest?
If I knew so much I would be in IIT, not here.

Once after completing the paper (by which I mean attempting 50 marks), I was too bugged and decided to draw a few sketches. I was lying down on the bench and drawing a few thingies on my question paper. Just got up to sit straight and there was somebody smiling by my side. It was sir, a nice guy, not a JA!


He : Ok pa, don't waste time, go watch the match!
Me : Thank you sir :-)

And off I went!!

I din try that technique again, instead I was messaging a few people from my exam hall.

*sigh* So much for model exams! :-)

P.S. : You know the Google Ad thingy on the right? It scans the content and puts up an ad. So a title like Pamela or Madonna would get better ads than a sober one like Model Exams. It also increase the chances of a click. That explains the title. He he :-)

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Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Bloggers Meet etc etc

There is another bloggers meet coming up this weekend.Details have already been put up here, here and here.

April 9, Saturday, 5 P.M. @ St. Thomas Mount

Landmarks : Opposite St. Dominics School. Near Halt 'n' Shop shopping complex.

Everybody is invited!!

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My feet are currently itching really badly in this little place which is supposedly a browsing center. Thanks to mosquitoes. *itch* Everything here is high funda. The monitor I am staring into is some Mazellan brand bought @ an MNC called Vel Computers. *itch* I never knew Amkette made mouses until I took a look below my palm. *itch* It's a multi-coloured piece manufactured in Andhra most probably. *itch* The cabinet is an open-air model. *itch* So you guys can understand why I am not on your blogs :-(

*********

This guy is probably the next lucky one. I have always wanted to be James Bond myself. I love the detective work, the girls, the new places, the girls, the freaky gadgets, the girls and ofcourse the girls. Sigh!! :-)

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Just two more model exams and I have study holidays in which I do everything else other than studying. Looking forward to it!!
Ok, I am done with this quick post. Tata, bye bye :-)

Update : It is raining in Chennai!! One thing which I wonder is how all girls look beautiful in rainy seasons! Minus the fact that most of them are wet :-) Sondha beauty illatiyum indha maadhiri samayathula natural beauty thookkuthu pa!! Has anybody else experienced this? Why does this happen? :-D (Naalaikku model exam vechukittu..hmm...keenjuthu!)

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Monday, April 04, 2005

Dupatta Dupatta

"Dupatta dupatta, un kannathula appatta", Sathyraj sings in Maha Nadigan. I get the same feeling too. According to me, dupattas serve some purpose and they are not for fashion. If you are going to disagree with this, directly read the disclaimer, abuse me in the Comments' box and get out!

First let us analyse the different ways of wearing a dupatta...

A formal, pleeted, V-shaped manner i.e the way guys hate. This is the best way to force guys to maintain good eye-contact. Wearing dupattas like a garland also brings about similar results.

As a slight variation of the above method, girls also wear it without pleets. This is the Mandira Bedi technique of covering oneself up. She had a deep...i mean impact on the viewers. Technique to be follwed if you know zilch about what you are talking. The listener turns deaf.

Wearing it around the neck, one of the most common methods which girls prefer. Guys like to see gals this way too :-) A variation of this would be to wear it the way watchmen of Ooty Estate Bungalows (as shown by Kollywood) do so. Just the monkey cap is missing.

I have a doubt here. Usually girls from this part of the world believe that having long hair is really irritating in the stupid hot climate coz it would cause them to sweat a lot behind the neck. Given this, does wearing dupatta around the neck generate, by some sort of aerodynamics, a gentle breeze to combat the humidity?

Some girls tie it around their waist at times, like when they want to play. The "Vanthaenda Paalkaaran" style. No comments about this one.

And ofcourse, a dupatta may be used to cover the face too. May sound stupid but this is highly useful stuff. Used by girls especially when they are on their boyfriend's bike to conceal their identity since there is a high risk of being spotted by some family member, or still worser, the guy who took her out yesterday. The other place this method is widely prevelant is in yezhavu houses.

Ok, coming to the point..where a girl wears her dupatta is absolutely left to her discretion, there can be no second opinions about this one. What one wears is entirely their wish. But when one decides to wear it the way guys like(!), then learn to live with certain inevitable things and stop whining!

A common question asked, "Chi neenga ellam akka thangachi-oda pirakkaliya?" (This is one of the few sentences girls speak properly in Tamil). Ok, we have sisters, but in what way would they be special if we treat everybody as our sisters??! The word 'machi' would lose its wonderful significance! Who can we marry then?? We are not saints! Naanga enna mutrum thurantha munivar-a? Even Vishwamithrar was disturbed during his tapas! Me afterall chota bacha :-)

Friends and relatives are always special. But road-la porava, road-la porava dhaan, site dhaan adippaen! As Bala Gangadhar Tilak said, this is my birth right :-) I don't think this is anywhere near perversion.

Now people just answer these questions for me....

What is the purpose of a dupatta? Is it just for fashion? :-)

Disclaimer : This is by no means a generalisation. Just talking what I observed in a few girls. I am not talking about all the other Mahalakshmi's, Paradevadhai's and Annapoorani's! All girls who still wish to behead me, I am really sorry, wear it around your neck, I will not complain, promise :-)

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Friday, April 01, 2005

Revolutionary Changes

The BCCI has brought about some revolutionary changes to improve India's perfomance. Firstly, Ganguly is being given immense
training to perform well in the match. They have also given him a new, broader bat so that he can play his strokes with ease. Moreover, they have also requested the Pakistani's to bowl with a new ball designed exclusively for Ganguly. If Ganguly fails to perform inspite of all these changes Indian team will have a captain

They are also trying to help out Laxman with his footwork by designing exclusive shoes for him. Another item in Laxman's kit would give him the feeling that he is always playing against Australia and help him play with conidence.

The Government introduces VAT from today. The traders happily welcomed VAT after "fully" understanding what it is.

And after reading this, the USA Government has finally issed visa to Narendra Modi.

Happy April 1. Cheers :-)

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