Anything is possible

Now, this has to be the best ad for a sports franchise. A rich Tamil + Telugu flavour, accent, local Chennai mix, a few finer points of the game and terrific creativity - its right out of the top drawer.



A few things worth noting

--> Toss... "Baetting"
--> The runner starting to wear sun glasses when the bowler is about to deliver
--> "Staap", "Releeese" and the runner's reaction at that time
--> Volume increase and its background score
--> Jujupee

Now go back and view it all over again :-)

And I must say, the ads of the other teams are about a light year away from that of the Superstars, who by the way are living up to their name so far to be the only unbeaten team in the league right now.

Atlast...

Google has launched "Group Chat" or conference chat as we know it. Waiting for more...

How to save $13

Book tickets for Azhagiya Tamizhmagan. I sure did. But the theater did not receive the prints on time. (Sir, theater-kku potti varala sir). Now... you know what to do when you live abroad. Bang! Save money!

Next is Vel and Polladhavan.

Black Friday...

err... Bongu (போங்கு) Friday!

Biting the dust(?)

He can be called the Asoka de Silva among Tamil cinema directors. He terrifies people making guest appearances in his movies. He is widely acclaimed as the "king of screwing up" heroes' images with movies christened after places in TN. His spell did not even spare the one and only Gabtun!

Here comes the king of crap Perarasu with his next venture, teaming up with Arjun. Huh!

Saawariya - சாவரியா?

Saawariya - is a recently released Hindi movie. If you are from Tamil Nadu, you would read it as சாவரியா.

Now here comes the beauty of Indian diversity. Saawariya in Hindi means "beloved" (source: google search results). And look what Tamil has in store for you. The word, in Tamil is always used as a question. Example : pOi saavariya? (meaning, why don't just go and die). Just like "gaandu" which means "irritate" in local slang. And we all know what it means in Hindi.

I heard Chak de India made brisk business down south and so if Saawariya runs to packed houses in Sathyam theater, imagine how black tickets will be sold - "சாவரியா, சாவரியா 40 rooba"...

என்னக் கொடுமை இது?

Thinking further in Tamil, what could be a sequel to Saawariya? How about "Seththu Poittiya"? ;-)

Festival Season and Ads

I caught up with this year's Deepavali special programms on Sun TV after missing out last year's. And whenever its a festival in TN and there are special programs, Leo coffee starring Arvindswamy leads the way. And of course there is, "VeLLikkizhamai... mangalam ponga" Meera seeyakkai thooL. இந்த pattern-அ மாத்தவே மாட்டாங்களா?

And I must say there are a plethora of pathetic ads out there - lead by 3 Roses and Reliance. On second thought, let the old Leo coffee and Meera herbal ads remain.

Now, this is ROTFL stuff - right at the top along with Fevicol, Tata Indica etc. simply brilliant!

=))

Kalaasals

I stumbled upon this piece which gives suggestions to deal with the innumerable "do you want a credit card" telephone calls. I tried one that's not in the list about an year back and got immediate rewards.

Rep : Sir, I am calling from citi bank. Would you like a credit card sir?
Me : I am from ICICI do you want one?

The rep instantly hung up the phone. More ideas/suggestions that would work or that have worked please...

Receptionists playing Solitaire...

... seems to be universal.

Back home, Windows + D or Alt + Tab saves them when a supervisor is cited in the near vicinity whereas lack of knowledge of keyboard shortcuts among a majority of the population could easily land them in trouble here. For example, people choose Format -> Background colors -> More colors to shade a cell in an excel. Even worse, to IM a person, they do not double click the person's name. It will be File -> Instant Messaging -> Find last name -> Chat... Phew!

Back in college days, I remember Sundaram using his hands trying to cover the monitor when "smarty" Saravanan opened an inappropriate picture in the computer lab. Sundaram will never forget Alt+F4 in his life.

Why?

Day light savings adjustments were annulled last weekend with a 25 hour Sunday. I learn that day light savings are done to conserve energy etc., in the interest of the nation but even a large majority of the people here do not buy the theory. One must have seen the chaos that prevailed on the roads at around 5PM and everybody I saw were literally cribbing about the time change.

Adding to this are a couple of things that let your body metabolism off the hook

• You get up an hour early (its good in a way). But you do not know what to do getting up at 5 when your first bus to office is at 7!
  
• You get hungry an hour early. This is the worst part! Junk items come into picture here.

Now another friend of mine reports that one of the applications at his work place "ran twice" on Sunday. Now who needs this? Adding insult to injury is the change in the dates the savings will be made which came into effect early this year.

Why is it one needs to have a 23 hour day sometime in march, a 25 hour day 6 months later and the whole world to adjust to these timings?

Why can't one just go early to office and avail all daylight?

Why do Arizona and a few other states not enforce daylight savings? Why does the place Navajo Nation in Arizona observe DST? Pure confusion. Read this for more info.

If DST fosters a better economic effect, if DST reduce the % of accidents, why can't one retain the DST settings throughout the year? I know the current timings are the actual ones, but its certainly better than tweaking clocks everywhere twice a year leading to application level checkouts in work environments at 2AM on the day of change, adjustments in body metabolism, having the entire world adjust and public curses.

Two clock changes per year since DST's inception in 1907. That's 200 times the clock has tinkered with already. How about one simple change and the whole world lives happily ever after?

The pleasure of driving

I was amazed on seeing a car ad - I guess its the Hyundai Azera, a few months after coming here. The ad demonstrated the ability of the car to do parallel parking pretty easily. My instant thought was "parallel parking" in downtown and how these kinds of vehicle would be a hit!

Now, read this. Driving can't get any better after MIT's project rolls forward.

Sense and Nonsense

Sense - A cricket match in Chennai in March (that's versus SA).

Nonsense - Non-stop cricket. Does anybody think about the players?

Suggestions puh-leez?

Mukesh Ambani has become the richest person in the world in the back of a bull run at the markets. Good news isnt it?

Better news - Now there are people in India who tell (read determine) you what to wear and what not to wear in your daily routine. For example, they tell you not to wear shorts while jogging. What should one wear then? Sherwani?

Suggestions puh-leez?

Red Sox win!

12.12AM - Boston Red Sox wins the MLB World Series 2007.

Waiting to watch Jonathan Papelbon do his river dance. He has promised to pull in Beckett too!

Driving and Sehwag

It is always a pleasure to drive in an organized environment where people mind their business and respect the law to a good extent making lives easy for themselves and others. My first driving experience in the US, a long one to Scranton - 3 hrs one way, all alone by myself. Except for the nasty rain in CT, it was a wonderful experience and gave me great confidence to go on for long drives.

There is one aspect that stands out in the US among drivers - courtesy to pedestrians and to other fellow drivers. Now this is something that is unheard of back home. I will not say it was a shock when I first saw this in US, but there was an instant feeling - oh boy how good is this!

I showed this video to my friends in between our weekly dose of Lollu Sabha and yes, the thought of driving back home scared the bejeezus out of them. There is no concept of yield there for all practical purposes - its all about adjustment and co-ordination. You are speeding on a road and bang comes another vehicle. Or even a buffalo. What will you do?

All you need to possess for driving in India is some street smartness and a good eye-leg coordination. Just like Sehwag - known for his hand-eye coordination.

Free Taco

Taco Bell has offered a free taco for every stolen base during the ongoing MLB World Series between Boston and Colorado. Guess what, we had the first stolen base by Jacoby Ellsbury in Game 2 at Fenway.

Now, this is an offer - cya at Taco on Tuesday.

Azhagiya Tamizh Magan - Music Review

A.R. Rahman is back - with a bang. Fresh voices, peppy numbers and an added folk touch constitute Azhagiya Tamizh Magan. Rahman has introduced a couple of singers - Benny and Ujjayinee and selection of singers should be really appreciated - they sing in Tamizh, if you know what I mean.

6 songs in the album - each one in a different genre.

Ellaa Pugazhum - No prizes for guessing this is the intro song for Vijay. The lyrics is as usual - hero mass masala material interspersed with junk. But its Rahman's high energy rendering of the song that stands out.

Nee Marilyn Monroe - Sung by the two debutants, the song is so so stylish with some peppy lyrics by Na. Muthukumar. The song ought to be shot in picturesque locales - should be a Namitha song. I am hearing it again and again already.

Maduraikku Pogadhedee - A superb folk song from Rahman zestfully rendered by Benny and co. Pa Vijay is the lyricist and does full justice. Starts with "Karpoora Kannikaiye Vaarai" and all the village elements are in total unison. Folk makes its way into a Rahman album after a long time and in great style.

VaLayapatti Thavile - My pick of the album. The song has funny lyrics by Na. Muthukumar and Rahman has taken it to a totally different level with the fresh sound of Nagaswaram and Thavil. Naresh Iyer is bound to go places with his rendering of "mayakkuriye!". Oh boy what a voice he has!

The lyrics is funny and at the same time quite creative - using harmonium and hormone as rhyming words is one example.

நீ நெருங்கும் போது கரண்ட் யேருதே உங்க ஊரு கல்பாக்கமா
நரம்பெல்லாம் முறுக்கேறுதே யேண்டி நீயும் மணப்பாறையா

This song is bound to be a fan favorite and the piece below suggests this could be another song for Namitha.

உன் கை கால் என்ன மத்தளமா
உன்ன வாசிக்க பின்னால் சுத்தணுமா

KeLaamal Kaiyilae - A soothing melody rendered by Saindhavi and Sriram Parthasarathy. The techno beats inbetween the classical rendering transcends you into a different world. The start reminds you of "Aagaya Vennilaave" from Arangettra VeLai. But the lyrics of the song itself is suggestive of it - clever!

கேட்டு ரசித்த பாடல் ஒனறே மீண்டும் இன்று நியாபகம் தூண்ட...

PonmagaL VandhaaL - yet another remix and its good in its own way.

Is it a rule now that each movie should have atleast one? Perhaps remixing songs is a better and simple option than remaking yesteryear movies. And when the right song is taken for tampering, it does stand out in most cases - "Ennamma Kannu" from the recent Dhanush starrer is one.

Overall...

• Rahman is on course for back to back super hit albums
• Vijay's movie for once has no yelling by Shankar Mahadevan
• No Madhushree and Udit Narayanan - nobody to kill the language.
  

மலைக்கோட்டை

Started watching Vishal's "Malaikottai". Stopped after 20-25 minutes... முடியல. KG asked me if it was as in Vadivelu's "Mudiyala". Yes it was.

After "Malaikottai" Vishal seems to me like another Vijay in the making. He already has a stupid title "புரட்சி தளபதி" that is the copywright of Tamil cinema. You would know it better if you had cleared the TOTPM (Test of Tamil movies as Ph.D material)

The best comment came in "Madhan's Thirai Paarvai" (courtesy: Vijay TV). Here we go, the cartoonist in submile form...

"விஷால் வந்து... நெரய்யா நல்ல படம் எல்லாம் நடிக்கணும். நல்லா வரணும். ஆனா போர போக்க பாத்தா, அவர் படத்துல வில்லன் வந்து "உன் பின்னாடி யாரு டா இருக்காங்க"-னு கேக்கும் போது ஆடியன்ஸ பாத்து "இவங்க தான்"-னு சொல்லுவாரோனு கொஞ்சம் கவலையா இருக்கு"

Joke of the year

This has to be the joke of the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. In an even lighter vein,

S: Manmohan Singh is the boss of UPA
M: என்னைய வெச்சு ஒண்ணும் காமெடி கீமெடி பண்ணலியே?

திருக்குறள்

Sreesanth doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. Here is yet another piece of his on-field theatrics. He for sure has already fixed an appointment for him with the match referee after this series is over. Or we can say...

அடக்கம் அமரருள் உய்க்கும் அடங்காமை
கூப்ட்டுவைத்து கலாசப் படும்

Boorish and Boring - ?!?!?

This is the title of Nirmal Shekar's article in today's Hindu about Sreesanth's on-field behavior - which is quite pathetic to see (and hilarious too).

After reading the first paragraph, I had a doubt as to what the title will be more apt for - Sreesanth's behavior or the writer's repeated attempts writing articles assuming the readers are the judges of a literary contest?

It's deja vu, if you regularly read (or avoid reading) his articles.

I made an effort to finish reading it. I must confess - its simple english by his standards - % incomprehensibility is quite less. The matter is largely conveyed inspite of English language's own speedbreakers in between.

Special Occasions

Murungakka has lamented about how special programs aired in TV channels on national holidays are getting increasingly monotonous and மொக்கை and also suggested that TamBrahms make a special bakshanam for Gandhi Jayanthi.

How about "உப்ப"ு கொழக்கட்டை? It can be patented for Gandhi Jayanthi just like சீடை for Krishna Jayanthi.

?!?!?

Junk

This is மொக்கை time yet again. VK has unleashed two in a row over the weekend.

Spicing up everything is Gabtun's gimmicks in Kollywood. VK calls this the funniest link ever. KG researches alternate sources of battery power for laptops.

Agency sources in Seattle say that s/w companies are vying to hire Gabtun for integrating spreadsheet and data processing cababilities (yeah, spelling is correct) into Windows Media Player

Closing note on Gabtun's inspiration: Abdul Kalam என்ன சொன்னாரு? India will become a superpower in 2020. ஆயிட்டோம்ல??

Put a sock!

I chanced to read this article in IBNlive. Come on, put a sock in it! When are we going to stop finding faults in everything?

• If Shahrukh watched the game in Jo'burg, its his own business.


• Even if he promoted the movie, its his movie, he has to publicize it and he can do whatever he wants to do about it. Why should it bother others?


• Why should movies/persons be linked to cricket just for the sake of it? Already the word "Chak de" is in my word hate list simply because too much is being made out of it for no big reason.

As an aside, no cricket fan in India or Pakistan will care about any other damn thing when an India-Pak match is going on, leave alone a Hindi movie!

So, stop crap. Enjoy your cricket!

The Perfect Script

The Twenty 20 World Cup that concluded in South Africa yesterday was perhaps the most popular and successful cricketing event since Ashes 2005, the 2007 World Cup in the Carribbean being an obvious mismanaged flop.

This tournament had everything packaged such a way that it culminated in a terrific success with a marquee final

• Brilliant management
• Great organization
• Cheaper ticket prices
• Zero torture in the name of security
• Cheering dancers lined up in the stadia for the games and several other intangibles.

Adding to this were various happenings on-field that spiced up the proceedings the most notable ones being the following

• 'Ga(y)le' storm kicked off the tournament with such brutality that it woke up people to make note of some sensational action that was about to follow.


• Australian attitude - Its so typical. If they win, its because of practice and the training camps. If they lose, its because they just had fun. Lackadaisical attitude cost them dearly in the initial stages while youthful exuberance knocked them out of the championship


• Minnow Bashing - Courtesy Sri Lanka


• All tied up - The spectacular tie at Durban followed by the un-spectacular bowl-out to decide the result


• English Special - The inventors of the newest format of the game were the vanquished yet again. Deja vu


• Violence - India rubbed salt on England's already sore wounds as Yuvraj and Co. went berserk at the Kingsmead. Off the field, Durban - 600028 made waves over the internet


• "Choke" de South Africa - The number games proved elusive yet again as the hosts digged themselves into an ignominious exit


• Stop 'em - Australia sent tumbling out of the contest in the semi-finals by India


• The showpiece of 'em all - a nerve wracking "India - Pakistan" final, India taking home the first ever T20 championship. No one can ask for a better script to a final

Everybody opined that the tournament was going to be a bowler's graveyard but its the bowlers who won the games for the teams barring the opener. This factor has contributed to the terrific success of the tournament.

Now, T20 is being talked about (yeah its just the media, no one else really) as the future of the game. But yes, this format of the game will spread like fire in Cricket's biggest market. Take out the cliched terms - purists, classic etc. If you think from a public perspective. what do they love - belligerent hitting, delirious fun all inside 3 1/2 hours, half the duration of a 50-over game. Right? But what happens to the game?!?

The ICC for once has been prudent enough here allowing just 7 T20 games per year for a team sandwiched between Tests and ODIs - yeah yeah, the classical form and the instant form of the game. That number is a bit high but a definite stranglehold on traditional swindlers like the BCCI. Pat Pat Pat.

Too much of anything is bad. So toast the success of T20. Enjoy Test Cricket.

Oh yeah!

Got this as a forward. Brilliant creativity yet again. வாழ்க தமி்ழ் சினிமா

...

If you drink Ethanol, you will dance
If you drink Methanol, others will dance for you

-- With inputs from ரூம் போட்டு யோசிப்பவர்கள் சங்கம்.

Exploring Vettiness

Selva has posted about the infamous jelly-bean incident during the Trent Bridge test.

இத வெச்சு நம்ம ஆளுங்க புது level-ல பெட்டிங் பண்ணுவானுங்களே! Opponents would be paid to throw jelly beans when Indian tail is batting - நம்ம ஊர் கிருக்கு மாய்க்கானுங்க செஞ்சாலும் செய்வானுங்கோ!

BCCI's own Cricket League?!?

Oh boy! ICL has apparently scared the bejeezus out of BCCI that they have announced the start of Professional Cricket League. BCCI has asked Sunny Gavaskar to format the new league.

They say "Haste makes waste", don't they? Let's wait and watch...

And by the way, this will come as a bolt out of the blues for BCCI. Mr. Pawar & co, its India - think twice before you do anything. The politicians are available 24x7 to screw things up. In hindsight, is it Dalmiya who is giving Pawar a taste of his own medicine?

Bheema - Music Review

Sublime lyrics, undecipherable syllables, zestfully rendered songs with some brilliant score and a "deja vu" feel make up "Bheema" - Harris Jayaraj is back again. 6 cool songs in the album with varying amount of "Harris Gibberish" (yeah, the unreadable, undecipherable syllables that he is so fond of and starts his songs with).

We can probably have Gibberish Quotient (GQ) for all Harris' albums :-)

Oru Mugamo - Terrific lyrics suggest a potential Vikram intro song. It may be picturized on the lines of "Karka Karka". Krish and Naresh Iyer on song here - My pick of the album!

Harris Gibberish - 2%.

Mudhal Mazhai - Beautifully sung. Sweet Lyrics. Hariharan-Mahathi combo after Saamy take you to a different level altogether. A slight feel of "deja vu".

Harris Gibberish - slightly pronounced.

Rangu Rangamma - Anybody who claim to have passed the Test of Tamil Movies as Ph.D material (TOTMP) should find out w/o even hearing the song that this is an item number. It sounds good, a deja vu feel... yet, a must have for long drives!

Siru Parvaiyaale - Karthik/Harini special. An overdose of Harris' fond syllables makes this song sound a bit irritable at times. Thamarai's lyrics deserve special mention.

Harris Gibberish - 4%

Ragasiya KanavugaL - Sweet melody from Hariharan and Madhushree. I do not understand why do music directors go for North Indian singers who cannot pronounce Tamil syllables ('zh' et. al) properly? There are a few exceptions - Shreya Ghosal is one. Madhushree emulates Udit Narayanan - Tamil Roadkill!

Enadhuyire - A very very different number rendered by Chinmayi and Nikhil Mathew.

Overall, this album may not please the music purists but its certain to go down really well with the masses. Expect it to be a chartbuster already!

P.S: GQ - 2.5 on 5 [On the lines of Figure of Merit ;-)]

தத்துவம்...

தத்துவம் after a long time. Here we go...

"பரோட்டா மாஸ்டர் மைதா மாவ போட்டு அந்த அடி அடிக்கரான். ஏன்டா அடிக்கர-னு கேட்டா வாய்க்கு ருசியா பரோட்டா கெடைக்குமா?"

:-)

நண்டு புடிக்க North Carolina

I was a little surprised to hear that several people in the US have "crab catching" as a hobby. A very different one indeed. And at the same time, they are passionate and patient enough to find out a nice spot to do this and do not mind travelling a whole lot.

My friend and I had a chat on Friday and he was enquiring about a manager whom we worked for. Pat came the reply "அவர் நண்டு புடிக்க North Carolina போயிருக்காரு"

He shot back "நண்டு கூட அதே area-ல கெடைக்காதா? அத அவ்ளோ தூரம் போய் புடிக்கணுமா?" Such a valid question. But என்ன பண்றது? இந்த ஊர் காரனுங்க இப்ப்டிதான்.

இதே நம்ம ஊரா இருந்திருந்தா, ஒரு பாலார் வாட்டர் தொட்டி கட்டி வெச்சா அழகா நண்டு வரும். இத உட்டுட்டு... அய்யோ அய்யோ!

What next?

After Shilpa Shetty, its now the turn of Bipasha Basu to get smoochy... So what's next in store from idiots wrapped in morons back home?
...
....
.....
......

1. First of all, a call for a ban on all MANU and Portugal's games on Indian Television courtesy Shivsena and PMK (in the south).
2. Writ petitions and "பைத்தியக்கார" interest litigations from you-know-who of you-know-which party to take legal action and trial the player in India (இவணுங்க செஞ்சாலும் செய்வாணுங்க!)

Ronaldo ji, வெளயாட்றதோட நிருத்திக்கப்டாதா?? எங்க ஊர் கிருக்கு மாய்க்காணுங்கள பத்தி பேப்பர்-ல எல்லாம் படிச்சதில்லையா?

Bommari - பொம்மரி

Ever since the telugu movie "Bommarilu" became a hit, I used to think about the possibility of it being remade, who would do it and also the names it could have.

The answer to who would remake it is fairly straight forward. It will either be Vijay or Jayam Ravi and his brother. Now that Bommarilu was intended for the A,B centers, Vijay is an automatic ejection. So here they come... Jayam Ravi and his brother with "Santosh Subramaniam" - yeah thats the movie's name.

I was thinking "Bommari" as the only possible name if it was ever remade in Tamil... but you never really know :-)

P.S: Dr. Rajesekar of இது தாண்டா போலீஸ் fame is coming to Tamil - obviously a dub and its called "உடம்பு எப்புடி இருக்கு"

Over to the next level of insanity.

Only we can do it...

Its always mighty funny watching bloopers and its additional comedy if its about cops. So how about official records in the Government valuing a bicycle at 90K, a bike at over a lakh, a boeing at Rs.1,600 and guitars classified under agriculture? Thats what the Tamil Nadu police have in their records.

Well, the best is yet to come - 15000 buffalos reported stolen in a single case and close to 100 FIRs getting filed before the crime was even committed!

இதெல்லாம் நம்மளால மட்டுமே முடியும்... என்ன சொல்றீங்க?

Think about this in another direction... We've just got the story for Vijaykanth's next movie :-)

I am just wondering what the case will be if we move up North. Bloopers volume 1,2,3... nu release பண்ணிட்டே இருக்கலாம்

Options...

Aleem Dar handed out the worst umpiring decision in cricket for a 5 year span 2005-2009 in the 3rd ODI of the recently concluded Future cup series between India and South Africa ruling a catch taken at first slip a feet and a half above ground as "not out".

There were uproars from a few fanatics asking him to be suspended/banned etc., So thinking a bit out of track, lets assume the ICC does remove from the elite panel. Here are two definite things that he can do.

• Take a cue from Anuradha Sengupta and banish movies of other languages that you do not know
  
• Take a cue from the jokers in Congress party and file dumbest of law suits against movies

Any takers?

P.S: The fact that ICC is "//SYSIN DD DUMMY" can be well understood from the fact that Asoka de Silva is still an umpire.

Time Pass

Anuradha Sengupta of CNNIBN has written a blog in their website about Sivaji and boy, it received close to 1000 "bashing" comments within a day. The comments made terrific reading and great timepass.

This is her counter to all those comments.

What's this?

An excerpt from Nirmal Shekar's article in "The Hindu" on Wimbledon

"Ah, the languorous pleasure of waiting to watch grass court
tennis at Wimbledon, and then, being seduced into a reverie as
tiny rain drops keep falling on billowing court covers!"

As if we are the audience of a literature contest? This is one reason I have always made it a point not to read his articles unless its about a really favorite topic of mine.

I remember the character Ray, in the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" reading a book in exchange for his wife watching the ballgame with him on TV. He would read the first sentence as "Imagine a rain so beautiful that it actually never existed". The reaction on his face would say it all :-)

Sivaji

22nd Jun, '07
New Haven, CT

First time theater experience in US. A few natives turned up at the theater and we were saying "நீ எந்த hall-ல வேணாலும் போய் படம் பாரு... சத்தியமா ஒண்ணும் காதுல விழாது இன்னிக்கு". It was as expected a raucous crowd but as most of them were repeat audience, the raucousness was less pronounced. The theater management looked awe struck!

Something about the movie

• It's a colorful extravaganza. The movie is a visual treat!
• Newark Airport received a terrific applause with high decibel levels. Obviously!
• Udit Narayanan - as usual காதுல ஈயத்த கரச்சு ஊத்திட்டான்

Overall, a colorful technical fest with Shankar's good old formula executed via Rajni's beaten storyline of rich->pauper->rich again.

Watch the movie only in theaters. It doesn't fit anywhere else.

And nothing is cool anymore. It's "cooooool"

Its all about the head

Here comes that day, once every 35-40 days when I feel terribly uncomfortable, as uncomfortable as I can ever feel. Reason? Haircut. Yes, you read it right. Haircut it is. A good haircut is one thing that always eludes me. Right from the day I started to go alone to the Salon, I've always had bad to very bad haircuts only (come on, how long can my dad accompany me to the barber shop?).

And haircut day is always fun time for my mom who would give all possible comments about my head like "எலி பொந்துக்குள்ள தலைய விட்டா மாதிரி இருக்கு". And the trend became worser in October '95 during my Upanayanam when an act to uphold "Saasthram" screwed up whatever was in the top floor and I had to put up with that for many years until I received a peach of a haircut in June 2006. It was the first time I went to that shop near my home and I was so happy to leave with that to the United States.

I was told by my friend that it is mostly ladies who give haircuts in US and they are so professional etc., Overall, it was hyped up with all the necessary elements. The best haircut received in June 2006 was nulled by a factor -100 in Aug 2006. Bad (lady) luck with haircut continued in US and its been a different Salon every time here till today. I did get a good one from an old man near my home but his timings did not suit me :-(

The ladies always find different ways to screw with my hair and it takes a good 2-3 weeks to restore parity. The next haircut can be only after a good 2 months. Such is the impact :-(

I woke up with the same apprehension this morning courtesy an April 2k7 cut lined up right behind Aug 2006. It was yet another new shop this time and boy it was a guy atlast. End result - temporary relief for a few months... huh!

And I completed an year away from home today - one petty reason to feel happy :-)

Ring #4

11.50 PM Eastern : The San Antonio Spurs have done it yet again - they've just won their fourth NBA championship sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers 4 to zip.

Tony Parker for the MVP.

Go Spurs Go!

Indian Cricket...

is in shambles. Period.

Deja vu

I was on my way to office in the 8.30 bus and there was this guy in the bus in front of me who every now and then looked deeped down into a bag that he carried along. I was wondering if he had something prized inside and was afraid of being mugged. A little later, there was this weird smell that spread inside. பாத்தா அய்யா ஒரு quarter யேத்திட்ருக்காரு.

நம்ம ஊர் பஸ்-ல போரா மாதிரியே ஒரு பீலிங் :-)

MooLai... and the lack of it

The recent law enforced by the TN government to make it mandatory for two wheeler riders to wear helmets and the corollary to the law a couple of days later showcases two incredibly contradictory things

• A conscious effort on the part of the govt to enforce something that alleviates the lack of common sense on the part of the two wheeler riding public
• Lack of willingness to enforce the rule with whole heartedness. The second part exposes "government" mooLai or rather, the lack of it.

With the kind of people we have in our states, it is seemingly essential that there must be a rule to have common sense prevail. The govt. took a bold step in this direction with the intro of the helmet/seatbelt rule eff. June 1. The decision was conveyed in Feb and that gave sufficient time for everybody to get set and go ahead from June 1. Negligence led to last minute shopping and as a result many people ventured out w/o helmets at their own peril. The result - மாமாவுக்கு குடுமா குடுமா... field day for cops!

The rule is still not clear for several people especially in the suburbs who ask "Is this rule applicable in Tambaram?" That's a superb question because Tambaram is considered part of the city whenever the govt feels it has to be - CAS is one example.

Then comes the shocker of the decision to revoke the rule for lady and child pillion riders. Do any of those law enforcers have something called "Brain"? Its the pillion riders who get fatal injuries most of the time. And the obvious next qn is "What about men in the pillion"?

A step ahead... from the crooked thinker - "what about people getting a free ride on the way?" Are they expected to take and wear helmets? ;-)

A step further ahead, the whole exercise seems to be an effort to sell helmets and make commission eh?!? Another scam in the making?!?

Google again...

Got some good free time yesterday and so I ventured into organizing my google homepage a bit. There was a new "Themes" section that I found new even though it has been there for a month or more now :-)

Here comes the best part. I chose a theme and after clicking save, I was asked for my zipcode and boy, the theme would change itself according to the weather based on zipcodes!

Here is a sample... One late in the afternoon and one at night.

This is indeed holy crap!

Cry Babies

It's time cry babies Mike D'Antoni and his Phoenix Suns stop whining and start playing basketball. Whatever happened in Game 4 happens always come playoffs. And while what Horry did was bad, I thought Nash flopped in a bit too. And Amare and Diaw were supposed to be on the bench having known how stupid the league rules are. And D'Antoni said "we have the best cameras in Phoenix". The league used the very same cameras to review the play and suspend the players. What a shame!

And they say the Spurs are dirty. The spurs are the only team that play the game the way it should be played. Well, they play technically perfect, grind-out defense solid basketball. That's San Antonio basketball. And that's why they have 3 championship rings and are possibly on their way to a fourth.

And you call it boring? You call Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili playing as boring?!? Then you do not know baskeball. Period.

So Phoenix, stop whining. Its playoffs. Save yourself from elimination.

Go Spurs go!

Wild Wild West

1:15 AM EDT May 04, Oakland, CA : Confetti streaming their down way from the Rafters at the Oracle Arena. Golden State Warriors have just thrashed 2007's statistically best team in NBA - Dallas Mavericks by 25 points to storm into the Western Conference semi-finals.

But why the confetti? It was Golden State's first playoff appearance in 13 years and they became the first #8 seed to knock off the #1 seed in a 7 game series. They played tough basketball, very physical, tough 'D' and great offense. Dallas had 67 wins in the regular season while Golden State made it to the playoffs on the final night of the regular season. As expected everybody wrote the #8 off, but nobody seemed to remember that Golden State were the only team that swept the season series against Dallas 3-0. I have always hated Dallas and that scoreline was one reason for me to believe Golden State could pull off an upset and they did that!

It was one of the best ever play off series I've ever seen. Infact I will hold this a step above the SA-Dallas semis last year. The warriors played like real warriors. They came back everytime their back was against the wall and responded like warriors. Baron Davis played game six with practically one leg after pulling a hamstring and still managed a double-double. Such was the determination of the Warriors and Stephen Jackson led the team with Davis injured with 7 on 8 shooting from downtown. And above all, Nowitzki was held to 8 points for one of the worst games in his career.

The Warriors had nothing to lose. They played with passion, they played for the city of Oakland. And kudos to the city. Close to 90% of the people had turned up with the yellow "We believe" t-shirt in the stadium and they stood all thru the second half. Boy! thats a real crowd! Easily one of the best and biggest at about 20,700. They did really believe and so did the 15 warriors. They have pulled off the best and biggest upset in NBA history.

And finally, call this as attitude. Nowitzki in a pre-game before game 4 said, "If we lose this, its pretty much over". Steve Nash, with Phoenix trailing 1-2 said this before game 4 last year "If we could win this game, we can turn the series around". Now, Dallas lost game 4, somehow managed to win game 5 courtesy plenty of Golden State's errors and shades of Nowitzki's brilliance but lost the series 2-4. Phoenix also lost game 4 to trail 1-3, but came back to win the series 4-3.

As sick as it gets

One could not have asked for a more sick finale of a sports major

• Reducing the contest to 38 over a side. Come on, why do we have a reserve day?
• The dumbest of formulae - Duckworth-Lewis method deciding the outcome of the final
• Umpires offer light to the batsmen who accept it and the Aussies start celebrating only for the men in black to inform the Aussies that they can celebrate only when the three remaining overs are completed the next morning.
• Upon protest from both the captains, the three remaining overs are played in pitch darkness

End of a really boring, mis-managed cricket Worldcup. Period.

Uncle Sam

Its been just over 10 months since I have set foot in the States but till last weekend I really never got a feel that "I am in another country", leave alone the thought "I am in the States". The spectacular road network is an aberration of course. No one can beat these guys in that. Washington D.C gave me a slight feel of being in a foreign country with its royal splendour when I had been there early in March but again it was more like seeing Delhi. So I was still wondering as to when I would get the feel.

Luckily I did not have to wait any longer. The city of New York gave me an instant answer. Parking in NYC is a big headache and so we had our parking slot booked in 43rd street in Manhattan the previous day itself but my friend took the route for 43rd street in Brooklyn! yeah, a different island altogether. And we did not realize this till we called up the parking company after trying in vain to locate the space in Brooklyn. And just as we were roaming in Brooklyn looking for 43rd street, we saw this Ad,

"Divorce at $399"

Spouse's signature not required

Of course I am in the States. Who am I kidding?!?

Oh ho ho Joey...

Joey Crawford has been suspended indefinitely for the Duncan episode. A sports analyst has comeup with Duncan as his MVP pick ahead of Nowitzki and Nash for tossing Crawford out of the play-offs :-)

Hey... he he... he he... I am very happy... Start meesic!

What are you upto Mr. Joey?

Sunday April 15, 2007: The place, Dallas. An NBA game between I-35 rivals Dallas and San Antonio towards the fag end of the season.

1:16 left in the third quarter and there comes arguably the "worst" piece of refreeing ever, all sports put together. Tim Duncan tossed off from the game for "laughing". You read id right, "LAUGHING". Referee Joey Crawford was apparently provoked by Duncan - technically the most perfect player and amongst the nicest individuals ever to have played the game - that he gave him two 'T's while "sitting on the bench". Yes, when Duncan was on the bench!

It was just ridiculous.

Duncan never speaks a word unless its absolutely needed and he never said any on Sunday. Joey did what he did to the utter disbelief of players and fans in a nationally televised game. He has always had his temper taking control of situations in games in the past and one can always expect something to happen when he is around. But imagine what will happen if he does something similar in the playoffs or in the championship game - it will turnaround the contest!

Hey Joey, we don't watch games to see you flaunt your so called authority w/o thinking. David Stern can atleast do something for the players now.

மொழி

I chanced myself to watch மொழி and I have just one word to describe it - Refreshing. Certainly so, I've watched it three times within two days... :-)

System Abend 0C7

I know this was going to happen somewhere down the stretch when this happened, but certainly I did not expect it to happen the way it happened.

Oh my God!

Check this one out!

கோவம் வந்தா என்ன கத்தக்கூடாது சொல்லிட்டேன்!

போங்கு...

I had been to a mall last weekend and just could not digest the fact below.

A good plain jeans/carpenter/boot cut - $15~20
முட்டி, தொடை and other areas-la நாய் கடிச்சு விட்டா மாதிரி இருக்கிற Jeans - $70.

I asked my friend... "என்ன டா இது சொறிஞ்சு உட்ட Jeans ellam 70 nu சொல்ரான்?". He said "workmanship skills cost".

நல்ல போங்கு டா டேய்... ஒரு blade இருந்தா நான் கூட தான் இத செய்வேன்!

தத்துவம்

Yet another "தத்துவம்" from the stables of வெட்டி people - Sports this time

விக்கெட் விழுந்தா விக்கெட் கீப்பர் சிரிக்கலாம், ஆனா
கோல் விழுந்தா கோல் கீப்பர் சிரிக்க முடியுமா?

ரூம் போட்டு யோசிப்பாங்க போல

சங்கு

"Sehwag, Please don't make this Sachin's last game in WC's" - This was a placard in Port of Spain enroute to India's humiliating exit from cricket WC 2007. Do you see the anguish in those words? KG has observered another placard in the same game

A couple of quick observations at this instant

• Fans are going to go berserk back home. This time, no construction sites... வீடு பூந்து அடிப்பாங்க. இன்னிக்கு rod தான் டி!
• India may be the first team to catch a flight back home as Pak may be detained in Jamaica.

How is this?!?

Boo Boo Daylight Savings!

-> Bugged by the spring tradition of setting the clocks forward?
-> Waking up early because you are still not accustomed to the time change? I belong here... infact I don't even need an alarm now-a-days :-(

Here is something you can take solace from.

Time for crap...

Come World Cups or big events in popular sport, "vetti" people come up with crap lined up from nowhere and predict who would win the World cup. They came up with one last year after Italy won the football WC and have now extended it to the cricket WC currently underway in the Carribbean. Here is the theory.

ஒக்காந்து யோசிப்பாய்ங்களோ? Of course, I want India to win the WC. அதில் எந்த மாற்றமும் இல்லை :-)

But still, I found a flaw in that. Pope did not die in 1981 - there was an assassination attempt and he survived. எங்ககிட்டயேவா? :-)

I am not taking it back...

Whatever may have happened today, call it even a St.Patrick's day reverse carnage from the minnows, I am not taking my word back on this.

P.S: Pak is out of the world cup for all practical/theoretical purposes, India are in their footsteps.

P.P.S: This is my 50th post :-)

Minnow Bashing

Cricketing records kept tumbling in St.Kitts. The reason? Heavy-weights South Africa are playing the minnows Holland. The Dutch were torn apart so bad had it been a 50-over game, SA would have plundered 500 runs, a record no one has ever thought about so far. The rain gods ensured that it does not happen. But it could soon become a reality with 6 minnows waiting to get bashed in this WC.

A quick look at the records that were shattered today.

• Gibbs clobbered Dan van Bunge (pronunced van Bunga) for six sixes in an over - a record that so far had its place twice in first class cricket. Look at that kid. I instantly remembered this Vadivel dialogue on seeing van Bunge - ஒரு பச்சை மண்ண போட்டு துவச்சு த்வம்சம் பண்ணிருக்கியே டா யேன்டா இப்புடி?
• Maximum number of sixes in a WC innings - 18
• Maximum number of century partnerships in an innings - 3

And as if this were not enough, Johnnie Walker had pledged $1 Million in charity if someone hits six sixes in an over. That has become a reality now :-)

All these lead me to the question - Why do these teams win the toss and put the opposition in? Perhaps they think getting bundled out for a cheap score is more embarassing? But the duration of the travail would be much less batting first. They bat second, its the TV companies that ring their cash registers.

Next question - What is the need for 16 teams to play in this WC? Agreed that the game of cricket needs to be developed in the associate nations. Use "Money" to get the infrastructure ready in those countries. Conduct tournaments among the countries so that their game develops and then launch the top two in the international stage with the others. Not all 8. And please don't let them make their debut against the professionals. This certainly does not augur well for the associate countries who would certainly be distraught at the prospect of the "bashing". The matches that associate nations play must be accorded International status.

Michael Holding drew flak when he chided the concept of a 16-nation WC but one would realize how true he was after today's carnage in St.Kitts.

And finally, contributing to news as always is Messers Duckworth and Lewis with their dumb formula. The formula has helped the referee arrive at this conclusion - "to win the game in the event of rain, the Dutch will be required to make (their eventual final total) 132 in less than a single delivery". (Source: Cricinfo)

T.Nagar in Downtown Hartford

5.45PM - My friends and I were waiting for the bus to go back home. There was a huge traffic pile up every street and even in nearby Interstate ramps. "Mama" was omnipresent controlling traffic. The bus that usually comes at 5.40 and starts at 5.45 did not arrive till 6.30.

A cop parked his car on the road in an attempt to regulate traffic on a one-way street! He supposedly didn't know what he was doing. Buses usually turn right and arrive at the stop. Courtesy the cop, all buses were forced to divert towards the left (its a 50 degree turn only).

An official from the transport dept came around announcing that buses would start from a different place and so a crowd of close to 75 people ran towards the other boarding point which was about 250 feet away.

Based on our experiences in Chennai, we firmly believed that the cop will move his car and so, did not travel the full distance towards the new boarding point. We were waiting on the pavement and guess what? the cop moved the car away and the transport official came about apologizing to everybody asking people to go back. One could not hear the flurry of words people had reserved for that cop... siva sivaa... தேன் வந்து பாயுது காதினிலே...

This summarizes a daily routine in T.Nagar or any other big terminus in Chennai albeit with a difference... The transport official wouldn't have had any courtesy in Chennai, first to go about asking people to move and then apologize and ask them to move back.

//SYSIN DD DUMMY

I was thinking that Parliament was one place where our மாண்புமி்கு மஹாபாவிகள் did not bully/throw things at their fellow colleagues. But it is not to be anymore. The Union environment minister T.R.Balu was man-handled by a group of morons from West Bengal and the reason for that - misinterpretation of an amendment by the attackers. Who have we elected to represent us? All மஹா மேதைகள் eh?!?

One way that I can think of inorder to prevent the jokers that we have elected from rushing towards the "Well" is to create a real pit inside the premesis.

And by-the-way, what was Mr. Honorable Speaker doing in the melee? Shouting "Pleej, pleej take your seat"? We don't have speakers, do we? All we have is yet another SYSIN DD DUMMY

Veerasamy

"Veerasamy" - A truck load of Vijaya T.R's insane family dreck on our laps!

People watch T.R's movies for "unintentional comedy" but this one is a heap of crap - Just Irrrrrrrritating. If you have not watched the movie yet, here is more reason why you should not watch it.

"Sourav" Saris

Even if Sourav Ganguly tries his best to stay away from limelight, there are people waiting to bring some focus on him - this time, its the "Sourav" crazy Bengali handloom weavers.

Handloom weavers? Yes. Guess what they have planned - "Sourav Ganguly Saris". The man who has made a fairy tale comeback into the national cricket team and is rearing to go on the 22 yards in the Carribbean, will make an appearance in the 6 yard and 9 yard saris back home.

Its a known fact that his fans in Bengal are die hard and will do anything right from burning effigies on the street to preparing a "green" wicket in Eden Gardens, but this one is out of the box. It will be interesting to see the response of people. குடும்பத்துல குழப்பம் வராம இருந்தா சரி :-)

Sourav is supposedly featured in the "Tangail Tanter" saris and the weavers seem to have put in a great amount of painstaking effort to weave the piece. More details here.

ஒரு மனுஷன நிம்மதியா இருக்க விட மாட்டாங்களே...

...

இயற்கையின் மொழிகள் புரிந்துவிடில்,

       மனிதனின் மொழிகள் தேவையில்லை...

இதயத்தின் மொழிகள் புரிந்துவிடில்,

       மனிதற்க்கு மொழியே தேவையில்லை...

What amazing lyrics! Just reading these beautifully poetic verses transcends one into a totally different world that conveys a plethora of feelings. Vidyasagar's music certainly helps you in that cause.

Now, I just can't wait to watch "Mozhi".

எல்லாம் Black and White-ல் தெரிகிறதே...

It was the first real big snowfall out here this morning and the entire place was up in royal black and white. Yes, those two accounted for 98% of the colors outside when I set off for office till I saw some skyscrapers downtown, cleaned up driveways and new cars in a showroom. There were a few snow showers earlier in the season including one scary freezing rain on Valentine's day when we were forced indoors but nothing to beat this - it was fresh snow everywhere, spotless white everywhere and it was indeed a sight to behold.

The trees stood majestic with snow caps on each of its branches. And there are these bushes near the entrance of my office some of them beautfully perched out of compound walls - all draped in white. As the wind blew over hard, they were just like white teddy bears hanging from trees.

And one thing I just love - walking in semi hardened snow. There would be an extra grip on the shoes and we won't slip and fall. Infact it would be safe at some places to walk on snow rather than the sidewalk. I ventured to do the same but my feet went about a foot deep into the snow and so I had no other option but to walk on the road :-)

Get well soon Dwyane...

Dwyane Wade, the reigning NBA finals MVP has a dislocated left shoulder after a nasty tangle pursuing a rebound with Shane Battier in Houston. Miami, the defending champs are already having an injury plagued season with Shaq and Wade injured at different points earlier and are starring down the barrel with Wade out of the line-up for atleast six weeks.

Wade's injury has come up at the most crucial juncture of the season - post the All-star break. He successfully defended his title at the Skills challenge in the all-star weekend in Vegas beating Kobe, LeBron and Chris Paul enroute. Miami had beaten San Antonio just before the break and were poised for a good outing when the unfortunate incident happened.

Wade has evolved as a phenomenal talent after he was drafted in 2003 - A potential hall of famer, a gentleman in the game and in my opinion the best of the famed 2003 class.

Get well soon Dwyane, the Heat are awaiting your return to the line-up.

The All-star break

The 2007 NBA season is at the half-way stage and has currently made a stopover at the entertainment capital of the world - Las Vegas, for its mid-season classic - The All-Star weekend.

Friday was the Rookie challenge where the Sophs steamrolled the freshmen by a 41 point margin. The hardness in the Sophs' game bears testimony to the embarassment their seniors handed them last year in Houston. Just for the stats - there were 35 dunks in the game.

Yesterday was All-star Saturday and the events lined up were the Shooting stars, Skills challenge, 3-point shootout and the show piece event - the Slam dunk contest where Gerald Green of the Celtics prevailed over defending champ Nate Robinson with 4 spectacular dunks.

And today is the All-Star game and it kicked off an hour ago with a classic comment, "For one night, whats happening in Vegas is shown around the world" :-)

திருவிளையாடல் ஆரம்பம்

திருவிளையாடல் ஆரம்பம் directed by Bhoopathi Pandian has Dhanush and Shreya in the lead with Prakashraj playing the hero's nemesis (he is not the villain).

The movie is all about a cat - mouse game between Dhanush and Prakashraj and its a racy entertainer with a lively screenplay. The movie never sags at any point and they have pulled it off with lot of comedy w/o any violence or vulgarity.

Its a tailor made movie for Dhanush and he does a neat job. Take this as a sample.
Policeman: உன் பேர் என்ன டா?
Dhanush: Police தானே... கண்டு புடி...

Shreya just comes, dances, cries and goes. Prakashraj has done his part very well especially when Dhanush takes him for a ride.

The Karunas-Dhanush combination has worked again with some sublime timing from Karunas. The tasmac shop scene is one.
Mayilsamy : Glad to meet you
Karunas (intoxicated) : என்னது கெழவிய காணுமா?
You must watch the scene... :-)

One other character who I liked very much was the kid who plays Dhanush's brother. He really does give Dhanush a ride in the scenes they are together. Mouli and Charanya do a neat job as the hero's parents.

Special mention has to be made about the dialogues. They are just stunning in many scenes. Another sample here.

Dhanush to Prakashraj : "கேக்கரவன் கேனப் பயலா இருந்தா K.B. சுந்தராம்பாள் R.B.செளத்ரி படத்துல நடிக்குதுனு சொல்லுவியே..."
Prakashraj's aide to Prakashraj : "அவன் பொங்கலுக்கே வெடி வெடிப்பான், இப்போ தீபாவளினா சும்மாவா இருப்பான்?"

One scene that's a bit too much is where Dhanush comes out of an SUV with bluetooth in his ear in a politician's get up - இது ரெம்ப ஒவர்!

Amidst the crap movies currently doing the rounds, this one is really a whiff of fresh air. Go and watch it! Its worth it.

Media Frenzy

What is so big about a celebrity engagement that makes every form of the media in a county go crazy about it? The hype, the build up etc., what does it really mean to the people?

What is the common man really going to gain from such widespread publicity provided in several dimensions by both the print and visual media about a couple getting engaged?

Agreed that the good news is happening in a celebrity household but there is a point where the media has to restrain itself and concentrate on issues begging for attention. And the private news channels are the worst having opinion polls and all other crap - a public discussion forum on National TV.

After doing all the publilcity work the same channels would conduct another poll "Are we delving too much into these things?" Why do it and then do a post-mortem thereby doubling/trebling the effect that has already been caused? But afterall, Bollywood and media feed each other.

Well, somebody well known is engaged?? Fine... great. Please leave them alone. Everyone in the country will be happy.

And after all the hype and hoopla over the past one and a half days, this is what I saw in a website "Marriage Advice for Ash-Abhishek : Click here".... Damn it!

ஏன் இவனுங்கதான் பொறந்தானுங்களா இந்தியா-வுல?!? நாம எல்லாரும் தேவையில்லாம பொறந்துட்டோமா?

New Year Celebrations

My first New Year outside home, and what a place to celebrate - New York times square. Can't ask for anything better? So did I think before making there.

4.30PM - 10 of us started from NJ in a bus bound towards NYC and boy! I got a preview of what is in store for that night right inside the bus (purinjukonga). People were all set to welcome 2007 with gusto.

5.15 PM - Arrival at NYC. Came outside the port authority station and made our way towards the destination. The place was chaotic to say the least. And it was pretty much like Ranganathan street. So it was easy for us to make our way through the crowd.

6.55PM - Arrival at Times Square.

7PM - The ball was raised atop for the drop at midnight. Mini fireworks accompanied it. That was the moment we realized how much the event was hyped up. It was a small ball supported on a stick like object. We confirmed with NYPD as to that was indeed the ball and when he said yes we heard "aw, crap!" from a guy who had come all the way from Maryland. People who heard the cop say that were very disappointed. We were within 1/2 a mile from the times square so we could spot the ball quite well. But all the expecations created by the hype had already come down with a thud.

It was getting colder and colder and we were considering other options as well. Except for the ambience there was nothing really in store!

So, exit 7th avenue, reach 8th avenue via broadway and enter Papajohns - delicious garlic bread, cheese pizza and soda. Some shopping enroute to the bus station.

11.45 PM - Back home in NJ watching New year celebrations around the world on TV. Syndey was at its glittering best as ever. At last came the ball drop - pathetic! Oru kuchchi-la ball keezha erangithu followed by fire works nothing of the highest quality...

Midnight - Exchange of new year greetings followed by a round of delicious masala tea. Then phone calls to makkal followed by some real good vetti arattai till 3AM before we were off to bed.

We were happy for two reasons at the end - one, for not being out in the cold watching a dumb event and two, for the quality time we got to spend with friends at around midnight and the tea! :-)

I miss this... :-(

Having been out of India for close to 7 months now, this is what I miss the most :-( Thanks to Vikhyath for sending and hail the "punniyavaan" who uploaded uploaded this!