இனிய புத்தாண்டு நல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்

My year end post. Haven't been updating much lately (in rough seas).

This year end has not been a very cheerful one for me :(. Setbacks in *every* front I'v taken a step forward against the odds. I am not very happy about em all, in fact bit depressed. But I do know that someday I will look back and understand the purpose of these turbulent times. I realize I am, because of all that has come to pass, good and bad. Looking back I am thankful for the turbulent times I'v had in the years before.

Last year I took a resolution to stick out my head and do all that I wanted to. To stop fretting over what I so called - "had to", and be proactive about it. Best part of this year is that I have made all such choices :). Oh YES! I finally mustered the guts to take the risks. Well, most of them for now. I don't know if they are worth it. But back then felt I had nothing much to loose. Now I fear I do :-s.

This year though I am having a tough time making up my mind on a resolution. The problem is choice! I know the choice I will make but am still having trouble accepting it. Thats plenty of ado ;).

Here is wishing you all a VERY HAPPY & FRUITFUL NEW YEAR!

Hope for the BEST, be ready for the WORST and DO your mosr LIKELY!

Go for it folks. Life is short, so live it in full and for thyself! Don't just live out a life. Make a difference in the lives of as many people as you can. They will bless you with the rest. (Not around for the New Year so here is a post dated post ;)))

Hunger Strike

I always knew there was something to these hunger strikes. So here is what its really about. No eating from 10am to 8pm, if I am not mistaken. The remaining hours they can load themselves up as much as they want. Like a camel :D.

Now our muslim friends do this for over a whole month towards their fasting. Eating only before sunrise and after sunset. Some don't even consuming water during these hours. All that these people who proclaim a hunger strike do are actually just fasting, which is good for health too :). They ain't gonna die. But they will give an expression and look as though they are parched and enroute to death.

Works well in the political scene thought ;). In fact very well, coz the media is always prowling to make a sensation of such incidents. Especially now that they have run out of good stories. More over people are naive enough to think that the person is going through hell for some cause. They are politicians and they have nothing better to do ;). They would do anything to be in the limelight. I am not informed enough to be judgemental. But am also wondering if the politicians are informed enough to stop acting silly. Or maybe they do and playing their odds to gain popularity. What a mind job #-o.

உள்ளே நுழைக

He he! I really find the google search homepage in tamil a bit funny :D.

The title of the post is the equivalent of "Sign In" in their english pages. Although literally traslated, it means "Enter" (not the keyboard-key but the antonym of exit). Maybe "Enter in" / "Come in" perhaps, put very literally.

Also turns out they couldn't find some equivalent words in tamil ;)). So here goes some literal suggestions from me (with help from my mom of course).

Desktop - மேஜை மேல் (might sound funny, but if it can be accepted in english, why not in tamil?)
Personalized Home - தனித் தன்மை வாயந்த வீடூ (I still haven't figured a more apt word in place of home :-? ... தளம் perhaps)

Wonder if they thought tamil speaking people wouldn't be using these services. On the contrary I think they'd be sizeable in number.

OMP: Open Manhole Protocol

This is for the benefit of those who are not very familiar with India / Chennai :P way of things. In India most things work only by mean of a mutual understanding and not rules. Traffic is the easiest e.g. to quote. Road rules don't quite apply :). Your survival skills does not depend on you driving skills but on your ability to judge what the others on the road or upto =)) ROTFL.

But this picture, you might not be familiar with. This is how open man-holes are marked down here ;). These guys are so cost efficient *phew*. All it takes is a few branches from a nearby tree to mark the danger zone. You might wonder, what if someone just mistook it for a broken branch on the road. But not too surprisingly, people seem to understand as to what it signifies.


If you think this is crude, then you should watch the news channels during the rainy season. Once in a while they get into act and cover such hazzardous situations where open manholes are unmarked on flooded roads. And yes, there have been incidents of childeren having drowned, although I don't remember one from the recent past.

So, if your in India, don't ignore such cryptic warnings. But I still appreciate the guys creativity, instead of not leaving it open :p.

My 1st pick of the season :)

I'll try to keep this as crisp as I can :).

I managed to make it to Sowmya's kutchery for a start. I love her kutchery for her selection of song. She rarely sings more than a couple of crowd favourites. Today was no different.

Another point that I should make. The Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium is an amazing place for listening to kutcheries. I.e. If you look for things such as plush interiors, comfortable leg space and such things. Acoustics are very good as well, though not the best around. With mostly the elite crowd comming there, it will be a very comfortable experience :). They do not have a catering service, probably because of the expected crowd. So make sure you drop by at Narada Gana Sabha's Woodlands or one of those close by before you hit for the kutchery.

• Varnam: karuNimpa (Ragam: sahaana)
• sObhillu saptaswara (Ragam: jaganmOhini)
• raagam + vazhi maraithu (Ragam: naaTTai kurinji, Composer:Gopalakrishna Bharathiyar)
• shree saraswathi namOsthuthE (Ragam: aarabhi)
• enna solli azhaithAl (Ragam: kannaDa)
• Unakkum Enakkum Isaindha Porutham (Ragam: charukEshi)

I couldn't figure out the rest even with the few verses of sahityam I noted :(. Never been soo unlucky.

But it as a very enjoyable evening. Even the violinist played clearly though I can't qualify it any more. As for sowmya, well it wasn't my first time to her concert, so I just enjoyed it. She sang raagam thrice, the last of which I felt was so vibrant. The song "Unakkum Enakkum Isaindha Porutham" sounded quite like "shree chakraraaja" in Chenchurutti #-o. Waaay off mark. In all an enjoyable evening, after having 2 idlis for Rs 8 ;).

December Season Spl

The festival has already begun and I am missing it. I hate being so grounded :(. Anyway, last year I collected all the kutchery information into a planner kinda excel sheet. I wanted to program it to pick concerts by my constraints, but I really couldn't sit at it.

Here is the link to my Dec 2006-2007 planner. I really found it useful in picking the kutchery of the day :)). Besides, it has helped me cover a good number of artists too. Hope some of you will find it useful. Hopefully by next year, the planner will really do more than just group em all by days.

WARNING: It is not an exhaustive list. I still haven't scratched a few good sabahs, so will update them soon :).

Note: The macro's that are part of the excel are to change the colours based on the day of the event. So unless you intend to edit it, you can safely choose to disable them. Its quite rudimentary, so don't bug me over the bugs :D.

Btw for those of you who feel lucky and can manage to catch it - Aruna Sairam is singing today, the 3rd at Narada Gana Sabha @ 4:30pm. In most likelihood the tickets would already be sold as always #-o.

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2:33pm: I am done with my DC'06 planner :) *phew*. I have tried to put in as much information as possible. I couldn't assimilate all the dance programs though. Hope it comes in handy. Do send me suggestions on how this could be improved.