As the summer semester draws to a close (not the season), it is now time for a brand new semester to begin. My second year at Graduate school would officially begin and I hope to finish my MS thesis on time and defend it as my PhD Qualifiers too, after all the delays. I also will be teaching full-time this semester along with 2-3 courses. I will also have two papers due for a conference sometime beginning of October. Hopefully, I should be able carry it all through well. There are going to be quite a few long weekends this semester, one in September first week and two in November. Also, the India shopping spree should begin sometime too(that is if I am making a trip to India this December-January).
Good luck to me ( :) ) and to others!
Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts
Aug 15, 2007
Jul 28, 2007
2005 and Two years later......
A sudden gush of hot air greeted me, when I got off the aircraft on Aug 6th 2005 at 2 am. I was like - 'What place have I landed in?', 'Is this the place I am going to spend a significant portion of my life?(Then it was 2 years, though it is a lot longer now....)'.
Excluding the two month long lazy trip to Bangalore last summer, I really have been around Tempe all while. So it does make sense to put some thoughts about my life in this _____(read blank) town.
This guy who's never been away from home had set his foot on the US soil (read concrete) and was raring to go. A lot of expectations from within and from others made him pretty responsible and not take things too lightly. But would this thing last.....
No more relatives around, all friends(mostly new ones), roommates, (who could be the best thing to happen to you, or at times the worst too!), professors, bosses at work, students of other nationalities in the classes all would seem new to this person, who has never been in a hostel either. A not-so-frequent call to back home, counting the number of minutes spoken(or the duration the calling card would last for) used to be the case with most of us. But thanks to the ever reliable company, it did seem reasonable to talk to loved ones pretty frequently. Weekends used to be fixed for webcam chat and voice chat, by those who felt 'Seeing is Believing'. For me, weekend meant sleeping for long. I still believe so.
A totally new variation in teaching style, asignments, labs, exams seemed wierd initially, but not anymore. Waiting outside a professor's office, during office hours to ask help with assignments or to talk about being prospective research assistants(read funding!) all took place. And I did land up with a very sweet professor too! There's no feeling for an exam here as back in India, and the grades really don't matter after a while. Research does matter a lot though!
A sudden change from eating cooked food to preparing food without a transitional phase in between was something shocking. But it was handled comfortably, thanks to tips from mom, cooking turns amongst roomies and free food give-aways by the hotels here. Why would I speak more about the food, it should be more emphasis on other stuff done in these two years!
Shopping was something that fascinated me in this country and I would shop away to glory, after all there is a credit card to pay! Be it groceries or other things, I would enjoy it.
The types of people I came across would be either good or bad, opportunistic or helpful. This stint did teach me a lot and made me more independent, patient(after all who would listen to me shout, other than my family). I also figured out it improved my time-management skills etc. I found myself at the receiving end, when people helped me initially. But, I am able to do it now much to my satisfaction!
After all, these two years weren't two bad and hope the next couple of years would be as smooth as this, or perhaps smoother!
God bless me and the world!
Excluding the two month long lazy trip to Bangalore last summer, I really have been around Tempe all while. So it does make sense to put some thoughts about my life in this _____(read blank) town.
This guy who's never been away from home had set his foot on the US soil (read concrete) and was raring to go. A lot of expectations from within and from others made him pretty responsible and not take things too lightly. But would this thing last.....
No more relatives around, all friends(mostly new ones), roommates, (who could be the best thing to happen to you, or at times the worst too!), professors, bosses at work, students of other nationalities in the classes all would seem new to this person, who has never been in a hostel either. A not-so-frequent call to back home, counting the number of minutes spoken(or the duration the calling card would last for) used to be the case with most of us. But thanks to the ever reliable company, it did seem reasonable to talk to loved ones pretty frequently. Weekends used to be fixed for webcam chat and voice chat, by those who felt 'Seeing is Believing'. For me, weekend meant sleeping for long. I still believe so.
A totally new variation in teaching style, asignments, labs, exams seemed wierd initially, but not anymore. Waiting outside a professor's office, during office hours to ask help with assignments or to talk about being prospective research assistants(read funding!) all took place. And I did land up with a very sweet professor too! There's no feeling for an exam here as back in India, and the grades really don't matter after a while. Research does matter a lot though!
A sudden change from eating cooked food to preparing food without a transitional phase in between was something shocking. But it was handled comfortably, thanks to tips from mom, cooking turns amongst roomies and free food give-aways by the hotels here. Why would I speak more about the food, it should be more emphasis on other stuff done in these two years!
Shopping was something that fascinated me in this country and I would shop away to glory, after all there is a credit card to pay! Be it groceries or other things, I would enjoy it.
The types of people I came across would be either good or bad, opportunistic or helpful. This stint did teach me a lot and made me more independent, patient(after all who would listen to me shout, other than my family). I also figured out it improved my time-management skills etc. I found myself at the receiving end, when people helped me initially. But, I am able to do it now much to my satisfaction!
After all, these two years weren't two bad and hope the next couple of years would be as smooth as this, or perhaps smoother!
God bless me and the world!
Jul 22, 2007
Self check out
The supermarkets in the US have this Self checkout option, to avoid making their customers wait in the forever serpentine queues. All items, except discrete vegetable and fruits have a bar code on them and you would scan the bar code.
The experience last week at the 'Always Low prices' store was not all that desirable. We keyed in the bar code number more number of times, than actually scanning the barcode. The machine/bar-code reader isn't sensitive at all, and even a Walmart employee who came to help, couldn't do it himself. It was worse, if one got multiple quantities of the same thing, since it didn't scan the second or the third piece of the same item. I wonder how cashiers do it all the time. Hats off to their efficiency.
At the Food and drug store, it is way better off, though I've faced the same problem, but not to this magnitude.
The experience last week at the 'Always Low prices' store was not all that desirable. We keyed in the bar code number more number of times, than actually scanning the barcode. The machine/bar-code reader isn't sensitive at all, and even a Walmart employee who came to help, couldn't do it himself. It was worse, if one got multiple quantities of the same thing, since it didn't scan the second or the third piece of the same item. I wonder how cashiers do it all the time. Hats off to their efficiency.
At the Food and drug store, it is way better off, though I've faced the same problem, but not to this magnitude.
Jul 19, 2007
Summer in AZ - My Experience
If there was an alternative to an hair dryer in the amount of hot air blown, it would be the wind in Tempe or in general the wind in the valley. It was this gush of hot air that greeted when I landed in Tempe. I never knoew I would be associated with it for this long. Last summer, I was in India, enjoying the monsoons, But this summer, here I am, enjoying the heatwave in Tempe.
It was a late summer, May was particularly pleasant compared to the last May. This June was like how last May was, the summer has had a one month offset. Hope August doesn't get too hot though. The temperatures scorch at 112 F on most days and have gone upto 117 F. This is the temperature in the shade apparently. So the really one is a few degrees higher. The worst time to walk in the sun would be between 3-5 pm. The least temperature would be 85 F at 4:30 am and may last till 5 am. I have seen the temperature hit 100 F by 7 or 8 am. The beginning of this week had some showers which made the next morning very humid. It was like Chennai, sticky and sweaty!
I chose to teach this summer, to keep myself occupied and for monetary benefits too. It would have been really boring if I had to immerse in research all the time, even though I am finiding it good to do that now. I didn't make a trip to India, in order to facilitate a faster MS thesis defense and PhD qualifier. Also I am working on a few conference-level papers, which I definitely need to have, since I have been researching for so long. I feel it was good decision that I made to stick around during the summer, since it is so relaxed and my only focus is on research.
My teaching experience this summer is something that I need to make a mention of. I was handling the basic Circuits class for the first time, even though I have TAed for the next course in circuits. But this was an experience, since it was mostly non-EE students and most of them had this as their first course in EE. The labs that I taught were pretty simple and not too demanding. I tried to experiment around introducing a new lab and giving guidelines for their reports. It did help me a lot, since I saved a lot of grading time. I should probably implement it in the next semester, if I am let to handle a lab all by myself. Also, I had the opportunity to set a lab final and it was like reliving my BE lab exam experiences. I did receive good feedback from the students, though there were these usual complaints. But one thing that I was surprised was that 'I was rude/impatient' from a particular student, so I learned what I had to control. Be it my saccharine tone or liberal attitude or my impatience, it needs to be offered only in moderation.
I didn't watch too many movies, probably because I found a lot of company to talk to. But I did watch Hrishikesh Mukherjee's two classics, Khoobsurat and Chupke Chupke, thanks to Kumar. I watched Sivaji, in a movie hall, and at home I saw Flavors, and a few other ones that I don't remeber at this point in time. I prefer watching TV, now that lot of India channels are up on the net for free. Also, I tried to build my music collection and I felt happy doing so.
Also my work at the administrative office in the university was of great relief from the stress and boredom :)
Overall, not a bad summer!
It was a late summer, May was particularly pleasant compared to the last May. This June was like how last May was, the summer has had a one month offset. Hope August doesn't get too hot though. The temperatures scorch at 112 F on most days and have gone upto 117 F. This is the temperature in the shade apparently. So the really one is a few degrees higher. The worst time to walk in the sun would be between 3-5 pm. The least temperature would be 85 F at 4:30 am and may last till 5 am. I have seen the temperature hit 100 F by 7 or 8 am. The beginning of this week had some showers which made the next morning very humid. It was like Chennai, sticky and sweaty!
I chose to teach this summer, to keep myself occupied and for monetary benefits too. It would have been really boring if I had to immerse in research all the time, even though I am finiding it good to do that now. I didn't make a trip to India, in order to facilitate a faster MS thesis defense and PhD qualifier. Also I am working on a few conference-level papers, which I definitely need to have, since I have been researching for so long. I feel it was good decision that I made to stick around during the summer, since it is so relaxed and my only focus is on research.
My teaching experience this summer is something that I need to make a mention of. I was handling the basic Circuits class for the first time, even though I have TAed for the next course in circuits. But this was an experience, since it was mostly non-EE students and most of them had this as their first course in EE. The labs that I taught were pretty simple and not too demanding. I tried to experiment around introducing a new lab and giving guidelines for their reports. It did help me a lot, since I saved a lot of grading time. I should probably implement it in the next semester, if I am let to handle a lab all by myself. Also, I had the opportunity to set a lab final and it was like reliving my BE lab exam experiences. I did receive good feedback from the students, though there were these usual complaints. But one thing that I was surprised was that 'I was rude/impatient' from a particular student, so I learned what I had to control. Be it my saccharine tone or liberal attitude or my impatience, it needs to be offered only in moderation.
I didn't watch too many movies, probably because I found a lot of company to talk to. But I did watch Hrishikesh Mukherjee's two classics, Khoobsurat and Chupke Chupke, thanks to Kumar. I watched Sivaji, in a movie hall, and at home I saw Flavors, and a few other ones that I don't remeber at this point in time. I prefer watching TV, now that lot of India channels are up on the net for free. Also, I tried to build my music collection and I felt happy doing so.
Also my work at the administrative office in the university was of great relief from the stress and boredom :)
Overall, not a bad summer!
Jul 1, 2007
Sivaji Thiruvizha at Tempe
Having been in the sleepy town of Tempe for close to two years, I have heard of a few carnivals, and event that have had record number of participants. I have seen classical music concerts that have attracted lot of Indian crows, say 200-250. I have seen movies like Vettaiyadu Vilayadu attracting a huge crowd to the theater in such number that, extra chairs had to be put behind the existing seat and I was sitting in the first row. The crowd was all calm and composed except when Kamal appeared on screen for the first time. But this time it was different and had to be different.
Rajinikanth, the hero of the masses and classes had his second release in two years and it meant the union of the celebrated director Shankar, music wizard ARR and this great actor. So there was no shortage of hype at all. Any movie-based site, news-based site had atleast one article on the movie everyday. The advance booking begun a while ago and the tickets for a month were sold out in India on the first day itself.
Here in Tempe, the movie was getting released on the same day as the rest of the world, except for the time difference. Dilip got the tickets for this one, almost four weeks in advance. And I saw that the tickects were all sold out 3-4 days before the movie itself, something that rarely happens here. I expected to see a big Indian, Tamil crowd at the theater.
What I saw was definitely a lot of Tamil people and a equal number of non-Tamil people. The name Rajini is just magic to attract people to the theater. The parking lot was full, at 8:15 pm itself, even though the movie begins at 9:30 pm. All the cars had their speakers blare out Athiradee, Ballelakka and other songs from the movie. The serpentine queue to get into the theater to catch the seats never seemed to get smaller. It was a reunion for a lot of friends who least expected to see their friends at this event. For a few of them, it was a reunion after a couple of years. A big crowd of people without the tickets went back home dissappointed.
The students group from Tucson, came in with special shirts for the occasion and took the first row of seats. The theater was full at 9 pm itself. Sivaji songs along with songs from Shankar's other movies were played. There were long trains of people that went around the theater hall. It was indeed fun to watch the same excitement as in any theater in India.
The trailer for 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' was played and none of us wanted to see it and all of us juse wanted to see Rajini. Next came the trailer of the animation film on Rajini 'Sultan', which was enough to stir us up. Next came the AVM logo and then Superstar Rajini logo, which was entirely new and drew whistles and claps in great numbers.
Flowers are not that widely available in Tempe, but that didn't prove to be a problem to the fans. Shredded bits of paper did the job, and it was only those bits of paper in the air for the first 10-15 minutes, and every time when Rajini had something really stylish to offer.
There was no dearth of whistles, claps, laughter throughout the movie. And that's entertainment too. The crowd onscreen was entertaining and the crowd offscreen was entertaining to the same extent too. It was indeed a fun filled outing. I doubt if this is going to happen again. It is something that happens once in a lifetime.... a lifetime of Rajini's film.
In short, it was a Thiruvizha with lots of people, flowers, praises etc. The only thing missing was a Rajini cut-out. Is that too much to ask for?
Rajinikanth, the hero of the masses and classes had his second release in two years and it meant the union of the celebrated director Shankar, music wizard ARR and this great actor. So there was no shortage of hype at all. Any movie-based site, news-based site had atleast one article on the movie everyday. The advance booking begun a while ago and the tickets for a month were sold out in India on the first day itself.
Here in Tempe, the movie was getting released on the same day as the rest of the world, except for the time difference. Dilip got the tickets for this one, almost four weeks in advance. And I saw that the tickects were all sold out 3-4 days before the movie itself, something that rarely happens here. I expected to see a big Indian, Tamil crowd at the theater.
What I saw was definitely a lot of Tamil people and a equal number of non-Tamil people. The name Rajini is just magic to attract people to the theater. The parking lot was full, at 8:15 pm itself, even though the movie begins at 9:30 pm. All the cars had their speakers blare out Athiradee, Ballelakka and other songs from the movie. The serpentine queue to get into the theater to catch the seats never seemed to get smaller. It was a reunion for a lot of friends who least expected to see their friends at this event. For a few of them, it was a reunion after a couple of years. A big crowd of people without the tickets went back home dissappointed.
The students group from Tucson, came in with special shirts for the occasion and took the first row of seats. The theater was full at 9 pm itself. Sivaji songs along with songs from Shankar's other movies were played. There were long trains of people that went around the theater hall. It was indeed fun to watch the same excitement as in any theater in India.
The trailer for 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' was played and none of us wanted to see it and all of us juse wanted to see Rajini. Next came the trailer of the animation film on Rajini 'Sultan', which was enough to stir us up. Next came the AVM logo and then Superstar Rajini logo, which was entirely new and drew whistles and claps in great numbers.
Flowers are not that widely available in Tempe, but that didn't prove to be a problem to the fans. Shredded bits of paper did the job, and it was only those bits of paper in the air for the first 10-15 minutes, and every time when Rajini had something really stylish to offer.
There was no dearth of whistles, claps, laughter throughout the movie. And that's entertainment too. The crowd onscreen was entertaining and the crowd offscreen was entertaining to the same extent too. It was indeed a fun filled outing. I doubt if this is going to happen again. It is something that happens once in a lifetime.... a lifetime of Rajini's film.
In short, it was a Thiruvizha with lots of people, flowers, praises etc. The only thing missing was a Rajini cut-out. Is that too much to ask for?
Jun 15, 2007
SIVAJI - The movie - Review
SIVAJI..... I have no words to describe the movie. It's been ages since I have seen a masala movie that's been really entertaining. Be it the slow and insignificant first half or the fast paced and well shot second half, the movie SIVAJI : The Boss, definitely does justice to the name of Chevalier after whom the movie is named. There ends the relationship between the two. Also in the name of M G Ravichandran, there's an MGR who is really the surprise element. Rajini will be the only artist that could even carry off a totally shaven head with a style.
Rajinikanth had a nice exemplary show of his style skills and there were songs that were exclusively shot to showcase his style alone. Even though the style defies gravity and would make Sir Isaac Newton think about his law of gravitation, it entertained. At the end of the day, it is important that you get entertained by a movie, if not a message. And that is exactly the plus point of this movie and the USP of any Rajini movie.
The story is fairly simple and weak compared to Shankar's earlier movies. But this is a Rajini movie and he needs to make compromises on the plot. This movie seems to take off from the point where Shankar left in the 1993 classic Gentleman that starred Arjun. It is a proper concoction of Gentleman, Mudhalvan and Anniyan with ingredients picked uo in the right amount from each of the movies in the right quantity and served well with a main dish called Rajini. It is about an NRI, who wants to do service to Indians by providing quality education, good healthcare, jobs to educated and make even a small village prosper. We resorts to the whitening of Black money, after he is robbed of all his money by the existing corrupt system.
His love interest in played by Shreya. She doesn't have a big role in the movie as in other Rajini movies, but she definitely had more songs with him than in any of his recent movies. The actress Kanika apparently dubbed for her and it does suit her. (All other remarks removed due to change of mind, she does look vulgar in a few songs! She was exploited!)
Vivek plays the uncle of Rajini and is a fun to watch with his one-liners and his style. The first half was with him and Rajini trying to woo Shreya and her parents. The concept of Rajini trying to become fair, though illogical, did bring a lot of laughs from the audience. Nayanthara in the title song Ballelaka looked really slim compared to her Ghajini and Chandramukhi days. The villain role played by Suman seems intelligent in a few scenes, but villains always become an non-entity in Rajini's movies (except Padayappa). Raghuvaran is back as a doctor, and shows some life-saving trick that defies the rules of medicine. Raja and Uma Padmanabhan as Shreya's parents are a funny couple, so is the Solomon Paapaih's family. Vadivukkarasi and Manivannan are the usual Rajini's parents who support him in everything.
A.R. Rahman was another hero of the film and Shankar as usual with his extravagant sets, made the good songs also look great on screen. Vaaji Vaaji song with the Middle eastern and European theme was very well shot. Hariharan's Aambal and Mavvals were depicted by Rajini in his own style. Madhushree's voice deserves a special mention. Ballelakka was shot in a beautiful location and I really want to know where are such locales in India. Athiradee was filled with style and was really enjoyable. The Oru kudai sunlight had Rajini in the fair getup after his trysts with Fair and Lovely mixed in bleaching powder(Courtesy Vivek), and Saffron Milk etc.(It was apprently a skin grafting technique on video) Shankar as always has extravangant sets and this time I really understood why he has such extravagant set of existing wonders, probably to save up on the airfare and living expenses for the 100-200 background dancers. It is just in the Sahana song that there aren't many background dancers. But that was compensated by a glass house setting. However, Sahana song disappointed me, since I expected it to be in a landscape setting but it wasn't.
The clothes for Rajini designed by Manish Malhotra were something that Rajini shone brightly in. Especially the yellow kurta in the Ballelakka song was something that I liked apart from his clothes in Athiradee. His Jingchak (or authenic Jingucha) hairdoes and clothes in Oru Kudai sunlight seemed just apt for him and he didn't look made up in them at all(Rajni looked younger than in Chandramukhi, espcecially towards the second half. And his getups as Sivaji, MGR and Kamalhassan were amazing and it did seem that those star were on the screen.
Shankar's way of telling was good as usual, but since this a predictable fare, there were not surprise events or twists. Shankar's idealistic Indian town/city might be a thing of the distant future. But it did give a good feeling of seeing a prosperous city. I hope things like that really happen in the near future.
Overall, a total paisa vasool. It was worth the ticket.
More post on this soon........
Rajinikanth had a nice exemplary show of his style skills and there were songs that were exclusively shot to showcase his style alone. Even though the style defies gravity and would make Sir Isaac Newton think about his law of gravitation, it entertained. At the end of the day, it is important that you get entertained by a movie, if not a message. And that is exactly the plus point of this movie and the USP of any Rajini movie.
The story is fairly simple and weak compared to Shankar's earlier movies. But this is a Rajini movie and he needs to make compromises on the plot. This movie seems to take off from the point where Shankar left in the 1993 classic Gentleman that starred Arjun. It is a proper concoction of Gentleman, Mudhalvan and Anniyan with ingredients picked uo in the right amount from each of the movies in the right quantity and served well with a main dish called Rajini. It is about an NRI, who wants to do service to Indians by providing quality education, good healthcare, jobs to educated and make even a small village prosper. We resorts to the whitening of Black money, after he is robbed of all his money by the existing corrupt system.
His love interest in played by Shreya. She doesn't have a big role in the movie as in other Rajini movies, but she definitely had more songs with him than in any of his recent movies. The actress Kanika apparently dubbed for her and it does suit her. (All other remarks removed due to change of mind, she does look vulgar in a few songs! She was exploited!)
Vivek plays the uncle of Rajini and is a fun to watch with his one-liners and his style. The first half was with him and Rajini trying to woo Shreya and her parents. The concept of Rajini trying to become fair, though illogical, did bring a lot of laughs from the audience. Nayanthara in the title song Ballelaka looked really slim compared to her Ghajini and Chandramukhi days. The villain role played by Suman seems intelligent in a few scenes, but villains always become an non-entity in Rajini's movies (except Padayappa). Raghuvaran is back as a doctor, and shows some life-saving trick that defies the rules of medicine. Raja and Uma Padmanabhan as Shreya's parents are a funny couple, so is the Solomon Paapaih's family. Vadivukkarasi and Manivannan are the usual Rajini's parents who support him in everything.
A.R. Rahman was another hero of the film and Shankar as usual with his extravagant sets, made the good songs also look great on screen. Vaaji Vaaji song with the Middle eastern and European theme was very well shot. Hariharan's Aambal and Mavvals were depicted by Rajini in his own style. Madhushree's voice deserves a special mention. Ballelakka was shot in a beautiful location and I really want to know where are such locales in India. Athiradee was filled with style and was really enjoyable. The Oru kudai sunlight had Rajini in the fair getup after his trysts with Fair and Lovely mixed in bleaching powder(Courtesy Vivek), and Saffron Milk etc.(It was apprently a skin grafting technique on video) Shankar as always has extravangant sets and this time I really understood why he has such extravagant set of existing wonders, probably to save up on the airfare and living expenses for the 100-200 background dancers. It is just in the Sahana song that there aren't many background dancers. But that was compensated by a glass house setting. However, Sahana song disappointed me, since I expected it to be in a landscape setting but it wasn't.
The clothes for Rajini designed by Manish Malhotra were something that Rajini shone brightly in. Especially the yellow kurta in the Ballelakka song was something that I liked apart from his clothes in Athiradee. His Jingchak (or authenic Jingucha) hairdoes and clothes in Oru Kudai sunlight seemed just apt for him and he didn't look made up in them at all(Rajni looked younger than in Chandramukhi, espcecially towards the second half. And his getups as Sivaji, MGR and Kamalhassan were amazing and it did seem that those star were on the screen.
Shankar's way of telling was good as usual, but since this a predictable fare, there were not surprise events or twists. Shankar's idealistic Indian town/city might be a thing of the distant future. But it did give a good feeling of seeing a prosperous city. I hope things like that really happen in the near future.
Overall, a total paisa vasool. It was worth the ticket.
More post on this soon........
SIVAJI - The movie - Preview
One word sums it all. Superstar......, no actor in the history of Tamil cinema or even the Indian cinema has ever had such an influence on the people, not just the commoners but the elite and the educated class. It is this guy Sivaji Rao Gaekwad, rechristened Rajinikant who casts a spell once in every 2 or 3 years with his movie. His movie 'Sivaji: The Boss' has been in the news since 2005 and is finally released all over the world. I am going to be catching the movie on the First day First Show here in Tempe, something that I've never done for a Rajinikant movie. It is a different feeling though, and I am beginning to get really excited about the supposedly 3 hr 10 mins movie.
Even though it doesn't star my favorite stars, I am happy that ARR the genius is a part of this movie and has excellent pieces. My personal favorites are Vaaji Vaaji, Sahana Saaral and Ballelaka. Chinnmayee has done wonders to the song Sahana Saaral Thoovudho, which is otherwise butchered by Udit Narayan(but to a lower extent). Her hummings at the end of the song is simply out of the world. It bears close resemblence to Ennuyir Thozhiye from Kangalal Kaidhu Sei. Vaaji Vaaji Vaaji en Jeevan Sivaji is sung really melodiously by Madhushree who is accompanied by none another than Hariharan who springs about Aambal and Mavval(whatever flowers they are). But her rendition of Azhagai Saniyida, instead of Azhagai Sanaiyida, makes me puke. Ballelaka being the opening song apparently has the ever enthusiastic SPB along with Rehaana. It has really authentic lyrics that would make any Indian outside India get the feel of India.
Shriya in the female lead is something that I am still yet to digest. I haven't seen her in too many movies, so wondering how apt she is for the role.
No idea of what the story is like. The story and the rest of it, will be something that I'll know in a few hours time......
Vaaji Vaaji Vaaji, En Jeevan Sivaji.............. Vazhga Sivaji
Even though it doesn't star my favorite stars, I am happy that ARR the genius is a part of this movie and has excellent pieces. My personal favorites are Vaaji Vaaji, Sahana Saaral and Ballelaka. Chinnmayee has done wonders to the song Sahana Saaral Thoovudho, which is otherwise butchered by Udit Narayan(but to a lower extent). Her hummings at the end of the song is simply out of the world. It bears close resemblence to Ennuyir Thozhiye from Kangalal Kaidhu Sei. Vaaji Vaaji Vaaji en Jeevan Sivaji is sung really melodiously by Madhushree who is accompanied by none another than Hariharan who springs about Aambal and Mavval(whatever flowers they are). But her rendition of Azhagai Saniyida, instead of Azhagai Sanaiyida, makes me puke. Ballelaka being the opening song apparently has the ever enthusiastic SPB along with Rehaana. It has really authentic lyrics that would make any Indian outside India get the feel of India.
Shriya in the female lead is something that I am still yet to digest. I haven't seen her in too many movies, so wondering how apt she is for the role.
No idea of what the story is like. The story and the rest of it, will be something that I'll know in a few hours time......
Vaaji Vaaji Vaaji, En Jeevan Sivaji.............. Vazhga Sivaji
Jun 3, 2007
Cart thieves
A Graduate student in US, who does not have access to a car to go to the nearby grocery store invariably struggles in carrying the couple of gallon-cans of milk, cola cans, juice cartons, watermelons, along with other stuff, back home. Most stores in Tempe
A year and half back, me and 'Dream' bought half the (store which is on a the Safest path) and not being able to carry the stuff, tried to lift the cart across the wall and miserable failed. This was a disastrous experiments and I vowed I would never try it again.
Not so long back the trio, without the lord went to shopping, but we made sure our vow of being frugal was followed, since our good employers hadn’t turned in our information to the HR and we didn’t receive a pay. ‘God bless the employers.’ Each of us took a cart to try the trick, and a shocking thing happened. The trick didn’t work. The cart wheels were stuck. But ‘song’ saw a unique thing. It was just the front wheels that were locked, that too only from in front. So she gave us the ‘Nobel Laureate’ idea of pulling the cart backwards. Even though it meant complicated handling, it did wonders to the cart, it did save us that day.
The accomplices in Cart 'Thallufying'
But the only hassle is that the front wheel tries to rotate and it can pose a serious problem to you pushing. However the ‘dedicated’ is now a master in pushing it with dedication. I would want to try it with the ‘Always Low prices’ store, if at all I don’t get a ride then.
May 29, 2007
At the Canyon.... the Grand one!!!!!
A picture says it all.Well this was my first visit to the Grand Canyon, AZ, 20 months after living in the Arid zone, aka Arizona. I have almost overcome my fear for road-trips(well not totally, and will not go another one for 2 years atleast) and we were a group of 7 in a Grand Caravan going to the Grand Canyon.
We were also at the Arizona Snowbowl at Flagstaff, the San Francisco mountain. We were 11000 feet above the sea level(if thought Bangalore was at the same height too).
A detailed blog on that soon.
I captioned this photo 'The Grand Canyon - A wonder captured by another wonder.... oops me'. :)
Apr 21, 2007
Summer in AZ
I somehow dread the aspect of being in AZ this summer. Having been in Bangalore all my 21 summers, including the last one, I somehow cannot digest that I AM going to be here this summer. I've heard summer being the most productive time for research, since you cannot head out anywhere till 7-8 pm any day, it's best if you are in your office/lab by 8 am. I hope this does some good to me. I am also going to be teaching, and my class is a 1 pm and I pity my students who will have to come by at that time. Fortunately, for me, my lab is in the same building, so I am saved from the torture of walking in the mid-day heat, unless I wake up later on in the morning and need to rush to hold my class :).
Bangalore is blessed and has one of the spectacular climate(unpredictable at times though). The temperature there never goes beyong 35 deg C(95 F) on most days of the year. If at all it goes beyond 35 deg C, it is going to rain in a day or two and this brings the temperature down.
Having cribbed about those few 100 F days, I see this as a oven to get baked, a frying pan to get fried, and a dryer to get dry(literally). I remember the day I landed here in Phoenix at 2 am, and when I stepped out of the aircraft, a gust of hot air greeted me. I felt as if a hair dryer was targetted at me. For a portion of a last summer(1 month), I was here, and the AC in my apartment was being too very good and kept the room hotter than ever. I hope it is better this time. But one good thing about AZ is that, there is very little or no humidity at all. It saves me from the sticky days that I used to see in Chennai.
How I survive this summer might be a good thing to write at the end of summer(does it ever end?). I might live on fruits, juice(as usual), and icecream(something I have been limiting for a while). Sunscreen would be a tool, if not an umbrella to shield me from the sunshine.
Hope the summer ends soon.
Bangalore is blessed and has one of the spectacular climate(unpredictable at times though). The temperature there never goes beyong 35 deg C(95 F) on most days of the year. If at all it goes beyond 35 deg C, it is going to rain in a day or two and this brings the temperature down.
Having cribbed about those few 100 F days, I see this as a oven to get baked, a frying pan to get fried, and a dryer to get dry(literally). I remember the day I landed here in Phoenix at 2 am, and when I stepped out of the aircraft, a gust of hot air greeted me. I felt as if a hair dryer was targetted at me. For a portion of a last summer(1 month), I was here, and the AC in my apartment was being too very good and kept the room hotter than ever. I hope it is better this time. But one good thing about AZ is that, there is very little or no humidity at all. It saves me from the sticky days that I used to see in Chennai.
How I survive this summer might be a good thing to write at the end of summer(does it ever end?). I might live on fruits, juice(as usual), and icecream(something I have been limiting for a while). Sunscreen would be a tool, if not an umbrella to shield me from the sunshine.
Hope the summer ends soon.
Apr 7, 2007
Hariharan's concert in Phoenix
It was the 23rd March, a few days before couple of submissions and meetings. I knew it was going to be a nasty weekend ahead, but I couldn’t give up something that I’d planned a few months ago. It was singer Hariharan’s concert ‘SRISHTI’ that was to take place in Mesa Phoenix
The concert supposed to begin at 7 pm started with an atrocious introductory speech, and a dance for a medley of ‘Nahin Samne’ from Taal, ‘Premalekha’ a song from a Telugu movie(sounded close to a song in a Tamil movie called ‘Nee Varuvai Ena’, probably a remake), and a song from a Tamil movie Ullasam. If this was an indication to the kind of songs he was going to be singing, I definitely felt I was going to hate the concert, since except for the first song, I didn’t enjoy listening to the other two.
I expected him to sing a couple of Ghazals as well and I was not wrong. I am not a person into Ghazals, but love listening to them whenever I get a chance to listen to them. He started with a couple of Ghazals and the strictly normal audience (nothing to do with the probability distribution), was getting bored and people began to talk and he was forced to cut them short and start singing movie songs. He made a mention at the beginning of the concert that he was going to be singing ‘Urdu Blues’ and some ‘Sufi Music’. The terms ‘Blues’ was coined because the uniform for people singing blues was Blue in color, seems interesting.
A list of songs/Ghazals that Hariharan sung that evening:
Kash Aisa Koi Manzar
Usne Jab Mujhse Kiya
Eh de Masti Hain – He began this song by teaching a few swaras to the Phoenix people, and made them repeat it, but ultimately ended up in a faster rendition which no one could repeat J. With this began Ga Ga Ni Ga Ri Sa Sa, Eh De Masti hain, Log Kehte Hain.
It was by this time that the audience became restless and began with an unusual song, but loved by everyone.
Nila Kaaygiradhu – This is from a Tamil movie Indira, set to music by ARR. He also gave an English translation to the song.
Yeh Lamhe Yeh Pal Hain
Ennai Thalatta Varuvaalo – A song from ‘Kadhalukku Mariyadhai’, something that I didn’t expect nor did I enjoy this one. This might be because I am biased against the Tamil actor Vijay.
He finally came up with the song from’Yaadein’, Baatein Bhool Bhool Jaathein Hain, Yaadein Yaad Aathi Hain. This song end with the
The Sankara Eye foundation that organized the concert, had a 10 minute show of what they were doing in
The second part of the concert had a greater number of songs. Hariharan was joined by one of his students Chandrayi, who was the female lead for the few duets he sung.
Bahon ki Dharmiyan – This was a really soothing number from ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’
Nelloru Nele Jaana - the dubbed version of immensely popular ‘Kurukku Sirithavale’ from Mudhalvan. He however seemed to sing a few lines from the Tamil version in the middle. But neither Hariharan nor Chandrayi could get their Telugu right.
He then began with a classical rendition of Krishna Nee Begane Baro, and followed it up with the Colonial Cousins version of the songs and ended it on a classical note. Only Hariharan can do it.
He next began ‘Tuj Pi Kahan…?’, and none of us knew this song, but ultimately it was a beginning to ‘Chanda Re aka Vennilave’ from ‘Sapnay aka Minsara Kanavu’ in typical Hariharan style.
It was the same with ‘More Saiyyan Ghar Nahin Aaye’ which ended in ’Roja Jaaneman’. Till then I didn’t know SPB and Hariharan had rendered that in Hindi. It seemed really good in Hariharan’s voice too.
He then sung his latest hit from the Jyothika-Kamalhasan starrer Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu – ‘Manjal Veyyil Maalaiyile’.
Next was the most awaited song – one of his recent hits, one of current favorites and what he called Sufi Music. Aye Hairathey Aashiqui from Guru. One of the features of this one was that Hariharan himself sung the ‘Dham Dhara Dham Dhara Chashm Chashm”, with great ease. Chandrayi sung this better than Alka Yagnik in the original.
Yamuna Theeram from the Telugu Movie Anand was his next song.
He had Ghazal next and a few Thukdas for an old friend in
It was then he said he was going to sign three songs before ending the concert.
He then sung Taj Mahal’s Apni Zulfen. This was followed by Nahin Saamne from
Mar 25, 2007
Hariharan's concert
The singing sensation Hariharan was here in AZ for a concert. More on this in sometime. It would definitely come up in a week, not like the unfinished SPB concert blog.
I got a picture taken with him and Shanta got his autograph. Really exciting moments.
I got a picture taken with him and Shanta got his autograph. Really exciting moments.
Mar 24, 2007
Khaana.. Saapadu... Oota...
In the Indian languages Hindi, Tamil and Kannada that is what 'Food' is called. Something that a Indian Graduate student in the US craves for apart from the usual pizza, burger, burritos, tacos etc.
Having been in this sultry Arizona desert for close to 17 months(excluding the 2-month long trip to India), I've had an opportunity to dine at most of the Indian restaurants in and around Tempe, including two of them in Scottsdale. "I am a connoisseur of food and appreciate good vegetarian in any form."(disapproved by Dilip and Supraja, I don't eat half the vegetarian stuff apparently) My self-cooking is something I dread the most, but I need to do it thrice a week, given the financial and health constraints that prohibits one from eating out everyday. And I have no clue why people appreciate my food at times :). Enough of self-criticism and self-praise.
I landed in the beginning of August 2005, and didn't get an opportunity to eat outside food until Oct 2nd, when the restaurant Gandhi was opened close to the campus. It was their first day and free food was given away. Starved for good food for close to 2 months, the best use of it was made by us, the Fall 2005 admits. My friend Sapna had her status on Yahoo! messenger set as 'Grab the free food in Gandhi'. There was naan wrap with rice and curry along with Mango lassi. This was the first time I tasted outside food in US, and it did taste a lot different from the same in India. We made the best use of it and got 2-3 wraps for each of us. It was such a shameless thing to do, but who cares anyways.
Then the Fall 2005 semester took it's toll on me and finally I was done with my three courses. It was in October 2005 that 'India Bistro' was opened on Forest Avenue and University Drive. My roommate Praveen and his friends were a regular visitor to that place right from start till it's end an year later. It was Rupa's graduation treat at India Bistro and it was my first proper dinner outside(after than the wedding in Atlanta). It was a buffet with the usual dishes which seemed extraordinarily out of the world then. I would give a 7 on 10 to this place, since it had a quite a bit of vegetarian food and most of them were good too. Their standard menu had chole, spinach curry, rice pudding, gulab jamoon, pulav apart from other curries and non-vegetarian items. It was not a surprise that I went there just for the gulab jamoon and the rice pudding. I went there a couple of times, and they scrapped the buffet off the dinner menu and it was just buffet for lunch. It closed in Sept/Oct 2006 and he opened Madras Cafe, in the place where Gandhi was, but this was short-lived too.
Gandhi too had buffet for both lunch and dinner, and during the crisis months of November and December, we would run for a quick dinner there. There were totally 6-8 dishes on the menu, with 3-4 being vegetarian. It was run by a Punjabi lady, and it was no wonder the dishes were too oily. They used to have two curries and two rice dishes with mango lassi and rice pudding. The thing that interested me more about this place was the large world map that they map on one side of the wall. I would give it a 5 on 10. I was there last, when I was done my Spring 2006 exams. It closed sometime when I was in India and was never opened again. Madras Cafe replaced it for a while.
Kohinoor the closest one to my apartment has been one thing that I dread to go to. I have heard about its dirty kitchen and more about its owner and the lady who scares me whenever I am there. I am there only when I am seriously hungry and have no other option. It's been 6-8 months since I've been there. I give it a 2 on 10. I have heard that the Copper Kettle express close by is better compared to this one but never been there.
Madras Cafe was a short-lived one, but had good dosas for cheap and some good curries too. I would give it a 7/10.
Leave behind the shortlived ones and the so-so ones. Now comes the really good ones here, and that have been around for quite sometime too.
India Plaza on Apache has a good variety of chaat and it pretty nominally priced too. I discovered this just a couple of weeks back. i would give 8 on 10 for it's chat. It has dahi puri that tastes the same as in Bangalore. It's bhel puri was good too.
Little India is the place you need to be if you want to have awesome chaat. It is managed by an irritating Gujrati guy, but it is okay considering the chaat stuff they have. They have Samosa chaat, Kachori chaat, dhokla, paranthas, papri chaat, golgappas and anything that you can think of. I'd been there 3-4 times and loved it each time. I would give it a 9/10 for its chaat. The only drawback is you need to wait if you are there on a weekend, since it is jammed packed and they have very few tables.
Tandoori Times is one restaurant we went to recently. It has good tandoori stuff and the vegetable biriyani at this place is awesome. Prathap says that the chicken biriyani is good too. But the curry dishes like Navratna korma were ordinary. We got a bread basket with Onion, Garlic, Aloo and Plain naans. It was a good buy and tasted good too. I would give this place a 8 on 10. It doesn't have too many vegetarian options though. But on weekends there is a belly dancer, which made us feel a little too uncomfortable.
Delhi palace, on University Drive and Rural, is one of the oldest restaurants here and my favorite. They have a really good dinner menu and it is the variety that attracts too many people to this place. They have all varieties of north Indian dishes. I don't like the lunch buffet too much though. The Malai kofta, paneer dishes here are simply out of the world. And not to mention, the Samosas. I've never tasted better ones in the US. They have a nice variety of dishes and the it is my most frequented place. I've always seen more non-Indians than Indians here :), no idea why? And it was here I dined the last before going to India last summer and it was a really nice taste of India I got before reaching India itself.
Udupi cafe on Scottsdale Road, is one of the oldest restaurants and the pure vegetarian restaurants and is my favorite for the south Indian food. It is the only place that serves Dosas other than the India Plaza. I am not too sure if Pasand serves Dosas though. They have a proper menu of south Indian dishes starting with idli, medhu vada, masala vada, dosas, uthappam, apart from the north Indian dishes. But I would suggest, get the south Indian dishes here. I don't like the chutney though, since it is made from dessicated coconut. The lunch buffet on weekends has a lot of variety with pongal, vada, idli, dosa, jamoon, payasam and other north Indian food. I wouldn't mind going to this place at any time, just for the dosas alone. They have normal plain dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa, rava masala, chettinadu cauliflower dosa, tirunelveli spinach dosa, coimbatore ...(some dosa), spring dosai etc. Just the same dosa with different stuffing inside. It fills you too, and it is a good dinner. There are good starter on the menu which themselves tend to fill you. I would give Udupi a 10 on 10.
Jewel of the crown in Scottsdale would have been the real 'Jewel of the crown', but for Udupi Cafe. I have been there twice, and it has a good set of vegetable curry and gravy dishes, good paneer dishes, good naan, parathas. It's garlic naan is something that is out of the world. And it has a nice sitting area outside and during the 'pleasant' months of October, November and March it is good to sit outside and relish the good food in the good Arizona weather. They have a good set of starters too. Overall a good place to eat, and easy on the pocket too. A 10 on 10 for this too.
Pasand and India Gate are places that I've not been to, so cannot say how they actually are. Will update this when I go there.
I agree that the Indian restaurants in Tempe are not upto the same mark as in the Bay area and Chicago area, but that's the thing that we are offered here.
Having been in this sultry Arizona desert for close to 17 months(excluding the 2-month long trip to India), I've had an opportunity to dine at most of the Indian restaurants in and around Tempe, including two of them in Scottsdale. "I am a connoisseur of food and appreciate good vegetarian in any form."(disapproved by Dilip and Supraja, I don't eat half the vegetarian stuff apparently) My self-cooking is something I dread the most, but I need to do it thrice a week, given the financial and health constraints that prohibits one from eating out everyday. And I have no clue why people appreciate my food at times :). Enough of self-criticism and self-praise.
I landed in the beginning of August 2005, and didn't get an opportunity to eat outside food until Oct 2nd, when the restaurant Gandhi was opened close to the campus. It was their first day and free food was given away. Starved for good food for close to 2 months, the best use of it was made by us, the Fall 2005 admits. My friend Sapna had her status on Yahoo! messenger set as 'Grab the free food in Gandhi'. There was naan wrap with rice and curry along with Mango lassi. This was the first time I tasted outside food in US, and it did taste a lot different from the same in India. We made the best use of it and got 2-3 wraps for each of us. It was such a shameless thing to do, but who cares anyways.
Then the Fall 2005 semester took it's toll on me and finally I was done with my three courses. It was in October 2005 that 'India Bistro' was opened on Forest Avenue and University Drive. My roommate Praveen and his friends were a regular visitor to that place right from start till it's end an year later. It was Rupa's graduation treat at India Bistro and it was my first proper dinner outside(after than the wedding in Atlanta). It was a buffet with the usual dishes which seemed extraordinarily out of the world then. I would give a 7 on 10 to this place, since it had a quite a bit of vegetarian food and most of them were good too. Their standard menu had chole, spinach curry, rice pudding, gulab jamoon, pulav apart from other curries and non-vegetarian items. It was not a surprise that I went there just for the gulab jamoon and the rice pudding. I went there a couple of times, and they scrapped the buffet off the dinner menu and it was just buffet for lunch. It closed in Sept/Oct 2006 and he opened Madras Cafe, in the place where Gandhi was, but this was short-lived too.
Gandhi too had buffet for both lunch and dinner, and during the crisis months of November and December, we would run for a quick dinner there. There were totally 6-8 dishes on the menu, with 3-4 being vegetarian. It was run by a Punjabi lady, and it was no wonder the dishes were too oily. They used to have two curries and two rice dishes with mango lassi and rice pudding. The thing that interested me more about this place was the large world map that they map on one side of the wall. I would give it a 5 on 10. I was there last, when I was done my Spring 2006 exams. It closed sometime when I was in India and was never opened again. Madras Cafe replaced it for a while.
Kohinoor the closest one to my apartment has been one thing that I dread to go to. I have heard about its dirty kitchen and more about its owner and the lady who scares me whenever I am there. I am there only when I am seriously hungry and have no other option. It's been 6-8 months since I've been there. I give it a 2 on 10. I have heard that the Copper Kettle express close by is better compared to this one but never been there.
Madras Cafe was a short-lived one, but had good dosas for cheap and some good curries too. I would give it a 7/10.
Leave behind the shortlived ones and the so-so ones. Now comes the really good ones here, and that have been around for quite sometime too.
India Plaza on Apache has a good variety of chaat and it pretty nominally priced too. I discovered this just a couple of weeks back. i would give 8 on 10 for it's chat. It has dahi puri that tastes the same as in Bangalore. It's bhel puri was good too.
Little India is the place you need to be if you want to have awesome chaat. It is managed by an irritating Gujrati guy, but it is okay considering the chaat stuff they have. They have Samosa chaat, Kachori chaat, dhokla, paranthas, papri chaat, golgappas and anything that you can think of. I'd been there 3-4 times and loved it each time. I would give it a 9/10 for its chaat. The only drawback is you need to wait if you are there on a weekend, since it is jammed packed and they have very few tables.
Tandoori Times is one restaurant we went to recently. It has good tandoori stuff and the vegetable biriyani at this place is awesome. Prathap says that the chicken biriyani is good too. But the curry dishes like Navratna korma were ordinary. We got a bread basket with Onion, Garlic, Aloo and Plain naans. It was a good buy and tasted good too. I would give this place a 8 on 10. It doesn't have too many vegetarian options though. But on weekends there is a belly dancer, which made us feel a little too uncomfortable.
Delhi palace, on University Drive and Rural, is one of the oldest restaurants here and my favorite. They have a really good dinner menu and it is the variety that attracts too many people to this place. They have all varieties of north Indian dishes. I don't like the lunch buffet too much though. The Malai kofta, paneer dishes here are simply out of the world. And not to mention, the Samosas. I've never tasted better ones in the US. They have a nice variety of dishes and the it is my most frequented place. I've always seen more non-Indians than Indians here :), no idea why? And it was here I dined the last before going to India last summer and it was a really nice taste of India I got before reaching India itself.
Udupi cafe on Scottsdale Road, is one of the oldest restaurants and the pure vegetarian restaurants and is my favorite for the south Indian food. It is the only place that serves Dosas other than the India Plaza. I am not too sure if Pasand serves Dosas though. They have a proper menu of south Indian dishes starting with idli, medhu vada, masala vada, dosas, uthappam, apart from the north Indian dishes. But I would suggest, get the south Indian dishes here. I don't like the chutney though, since it is made from dessicated coconut. The lunch buffet on weekends has a lot of variety with pongal, vada, idli, dosa, jamoon, payasam and other north Indian food. I wouldn't mind going to this place at any time, just for the dosas alone. They have normal plain dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa, rava masala, chettinadu cauliflower dosa, tirunelveli spinach dosa, coimbatore ...(some dosa), spring dosai etc. Just the same dosa with different stuffing inside. It fills you too, and it is a good dinner. There are good starter on the menu which themselves tend to fill you. I would give Udupi a 10 on 10.
Jewel of the crown in Scottsdale would have been the real 'Jewel of the crown', but for Udupi Cafe. I have been there twice, and it has a good set of vegetable curry and gravy dishes, good paneer dishes, good naan, parathas. It's garlic naan is something that is out of the world. And it has a nice sitting area outside and during the 'pleasant' months of October, November and March it is good to sit outside and relish the good food in the good Arizona weather. They have a good set of starters too. Overall a good place to eat, and easy on the pocket too. A 10 on 10 for this too.
Pasand and India Gate are places that I've not been to, so cannot say how they actually are. Will update this when I go there.
I agree that the Indian restaurants in Tempe are not upto the same mark as in the Bay area and Chicago area, but that's the thing that we are offered here.
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