Remember those childhood days when all it took to cheer you up was a long drive in Appa's car or a cycle ride along an unexplored path? The weak hearted me had one of those days today. Some aspects of life are definitely worth reliving. :-)
Jun 25, 2011
Jun 3, 2011
#WhyRaajaIsGod
In the past decade, A.R.Rahman has been my music idol. But nonetheless there is another greater legend who single-handedly changed the face of Tamil music in the late seventies and the eighties and still continues to do so. His works still remain one of the best forms of music from Tamil industry, and there is no denial that his musical arrangements specifically the violins and the percussion are the best in the country. He was the man who put raagam (melody) into the mounam (silence), and vice versa. And this is #WhyRaajaIsGod
Raaja sir, wishing you many many more happy returns of this day. Your discography is a wonderful lesson in music for many of us. Thank you for all the music.
A few of Ilayaraaja's films/songs that will find a place in my list of all-time favorite songs are listed below:
- Mouna Raagam: It is hard to single out a favorite from this soundtrack. I oscillate between Mandram Vantha, Nilave Vaa and Pani Vizhum Iravu.
- Poo Maalaye - Pagal Nilavu
- Chinna Thayaval and Sundari Kannal - Dhalapathy
- Thoongatha Vizhigal and Ninnukori Varnam - Agni Natchatiram
- Naguva Nayana - Pallavi Anu Pallavi
- Anjali - Anjali
- Yedhedho Ennam Valarthen - Punnagai Mannan
- Katril Varum Geethame - Oru Naal Oru Kanavu
- Enakku Piditha - Julie Ganapathy
- Ilangathu Veesudhey - Pithamagan
- Poo Maalai Vaangivandaan - Sindhu Bhairavi
It's no surprise that his association with Mani Ratnam has yielded some of the best soundtracks in the late 80s and early 90s. As much as I like A.R.Rahman's association with Mani Ratnam, I yearn for a Mani Ratnam-Ilayaraaja soundtrack. I wish that happens sometime in the near future! :-)
And I definitely want to attend a live concert of this great legend!
Pic Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article75875.ece
A few of Ilayaraaja's films/songs that will find a place in my list of all-time favorite songs are listed below:
- Mouna Raagam: It is hard to single out a favorite from this soundtrack. I oscillate between Mandram Vantha, Nilave Vaa and Pani Vizhum Iravu.
- Poo Maalaye - Pagal Nilavu
- Chinna Thayaval and Sundari Kannal - Dhalapathy
- Thoongatha Vizhigal and Ninnukori Varnam - Agni Natchatiram
- Naguva Nayana - Pallavi Anu Pallavi
- Anjali - Anjali
- Yedhedho Ennam Valarthen - Punnagai Mannan
- Katril Varum Geethame - Oru Naal Oru Kanavu
- Enakku Piditha - Julie Ganapathy
- Ilangathu Veesudhey - Pithamagan
- Poo Maalai Vaangivandaan - Sindhu Bhairavi
It's no surprise that his association with Mani Ratnam has yielded some of the best soundtracks in the late 80s and early 90s. As much as I like A.R.Rahman's association with Mani Ratnam, I yearn for a Mani Ratnam-Ilayaraaja soundtrack. I wish that happens sometime in the near future! :-)
And I definitely want to attend a live concert of this great legend!
Pic Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article75875.ece
May 12, 2011
A City’s Love and vice-versa
Not many of us have been a big fan of the IPL this season. Not giving us cricket-buffs even a week’s gap between the World Cup and the IPL was blasphemy, especially after India won the World Cup. Probably, the commercial and the glamorous elements of the IPL eluded the organizers from giving us more time to rejoice, after all this is a multi-crore extravaganza with very little cricket remaining in it.
The lines were drawn. There were 10 teams. Most of us vouched for the team from the city/region we belonged to, or the team that had a star player. #ForSachin was a big key for a majority of us to support the Mumbai Indians. Dhoni’s World Cup triumph was a huge factor for people to support Chennai Super Kings. The recent addition of ‘Dada’ into the Pune team was a reason for a few of us to get back to watching this season of the IPL, and he sure didn’t disappoint.
For me, IPL has always been about the support for The City. Whether the team is playing well or not, whether the Liquor Baron had players from The City in the team or not, or whether the team was disjoint/disorganized or not, didn’t seem to matter to me. At the beginning of this season, I seriously thought if I really had to support this disjoint team, whose whole was lesser than the sum of its parts. My love for The City forbade me from doing so. If you call it lame, please read the PPS below.
It’s amazing what your love for a city can do to you. It turns you back into being a fan of the game once again, after you gave up following the match-fixing drama. And not to mention, my sleep-vaas still continues, but it’s rather a forced one, thanks to the unearthly hours that the matches take place.
And the team strikes back! The team with the Gayle-Kohli effect had found something in itself. Better late than never. And whether the team makes it to the play-offs or the final or wins the IPL this season, or not, is quite immaterial.
And I can’t wait to wear my jersey soon! Go RCB!
PS: If you think that the games are fixed, you have a supporter in me too! But, ‘who cares?!’
PPS: If you think this support is lame, then why you shed tears of happiness when India won the 2011 World Cup semifinal and the finals? Tell no, tell no?
The lines were drawn. There were 10 teams. Most of us vouched for the team from the city/region we belonged to, or the team that had a star player. #ForSachin was a big key for a majority of us to support the Mumbai Indians. Dhoni’s World Cup triumph was a huge factor for people to support Chennai Super Kings. The recent addition of ‘Dada’ into the Pune team was a reason for a few of us to get back to watching this season of the IPL, and he sure didn’t disappoint.
For me, IPL has always been about the support for The City. Whether the team is playing well or not, whether the Liquor Baron had players from The City in the team or not, or whether the team was disjoint/disorganized or not, didn’t seem to matter to me. At the beginning of this season, I seriously thought if I really had to support this disjoint team, whose whole was lesser than the sum of its parts. My love for The City forbade me from doing so. If you call it lame, please read the PPS below.It’s amazing what your love for a city can do to you. It turns you back into being a fan of the game once again, after you gave up following the match-fixing drama. And not to mention, my sleep-vaas still continues, but it’s rather a forced one, thanks to the unearthly hours that the matches take place.
And the team strikes back! The team with the Gayle-Kohli effect had found something in itself. Better late than never. And whether the team makes it to the play-offs or the final or wins the IPL this season, or not, is quite immaterial.
And I can’t wait to wear my jersey soon! Go RCB!
PS: If you think that the games are fixed, you have a supporter in me too! But, ‘who cares?!’
PPS: If you think this support is lame, then why you shed tears of happiness when India won the 2011 World Cup semifinal and the finals? Tell no, tell no?
May 2, 2011
All it took...
It was a Friday afternoon. Teardrops rolled down her cheeks, with the two guys standing by her clueless on how to console her. What made the otherwise-joyous girl have this outburst? Was it a bad day? Probably! Like an undefeated king who is never used to a debacle, this bright student probably never had anyone reprimand her.
Tears continued to roll down her cheeks, as she began to mention the event that led to this. A silly issue, as it might seem, which this perfectionist girl thought was the end of the world, was just a routine issue faced by many, due to circumstances.
Tears continued to roll down her cheeks, as she began to mention the event that led to this. A silly issue, as it might seem, which this perfectionist girl thought was the end of the world, was just a routine issue faced by many, due to circumstances.
All it took to cheer her up, was listening to her sob tale, some cliched consoling words and a tiny piece of chocolate. Well, this was surely an easy task. This girl was easy to cheer up. But then why are women so unpredictable and tough to please?
Mar 31, 2011
World Cup and my Sleep-vaas
There have surely many many posts about the Cricket World Cup 2011 in the desi Blogosphere. Capturing the attention of cricket fans nationwide and worldwide for more than a month, the biggest match happened today. India played Pakistan in the semifinal today at Mohali. Being a jinx factor, I chose to sleep all through this match, as with the previous matches that India played (except for the India-Ireland match, which I thought India would surely win, but the bad fielding by our team was exposed then too!). And I surely didn’t want to incur the wrath of a few folks on Twitter.
Here’s some of the Twitter junta’s reaction on this self-imposed/forced sleep-vaas:
And I wake to the news that India won against our (so-called) arch-rivals to meet Srilanka in the World cup final. With the cliched ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this!’ pre-match hype to ‘This was surely fixed’ post-match analysis all over Twitter (and probably Facebook), this match surely caught everyone’s attention. And a cliched answer to this, ‘In the end, cricket is the winner!’
Well, here’s hoping that Dhoni’s men bring home the cup for ‘Him’! Thank you God, I will assure you that I will sleep through the final too!
Update:I might end up watching the final on the big screen. Don't spit on me.
I followed the ritual of my sleep-vaas during the final too. And look what happened! :-)
Here’s some of the Twitter junta’s reaction on this self-imposed/forced sleep-vaas:
And I wake to the news that India won against our (so-called) arch-rivals to meet Srilanka in the World cup final. With the cliched ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this!’ pre-match hype to ‘This was surely fixed’ post-match analysis all over Twitter (and probably Facebook), this match surely caught everyone’s attention. And a cliched answer to this, ‘In the end, cricket is the winner!’
Well, here’s hoping that Dhoni’s men bring home the cup for ‘Him’! Thank you God, I will assure you that I will sleep through the final too!
Update:
I followed the ritual of my sleep-vaas during the final too. And look what happened! :-)
Mar 14, 2011
#StoryOfMyLife
(A personal blog in a long time. And have tried avoiding a Twitter influence on the blog, except the title.)
Never in the wildest of my dreams, I’d have imagined that I would be pursuing my PhD, and more importantly I’d be finishing it up while in my twenties. This was the state of mind, I was in a good 10 years back, with just a thought about joining a good engineering college and then plan for the future while in college. Isn’t that everyone’s (parents’) dream? Having joined the engineering college, I realized it was going to be four long years, and I had a lot of time to plan my future. But I was wrong. Before I realized, I was out of college, and I was on the flight to the US to pursue my graduate studies (Masters).
Not withstanding the pressure in graduate school, there were days in the first semester here, when I wanted to run back home, and just take up the ‘software engineer’ job, I had declined before getting to the US. There was soon a tide of change, and a pleasant phase in graduate school followed, after I got my PhD admit. This meant I was going to be in school without the outer world’s pressures for five more years. And as with anything, these 5 years passed by like a generation change in Ekta Kapoor’s serials, and of course with a change in looks, sans plastic surgery.
And here I am, almost ready to graduate, once I find a ‘suitable’ job, with the least idea of what I want in life next. On a professional front, it is probably an easier decision to make considering the economy and the demand (or lack of it), around. But, on a personal front, I am not too sure where I am headed.
Who on earth brought down the age for marriage for guys to early twenties? Is it the neighbor aunties/maamis or the marriage brokers, who had a loss of eligible single poor souls or business, following the sudden increase in the number of ‘love’ marriages? Or is it the insecurity of the single guys to get hitched earlier for whatever reason? And I’ve not been spared from this torture either. Or rather, my mom has not been spared of this. I pity the thought of her being accosted by maamis in the weddings she attends, with the maamis saying ‘the girl is in New Jersey, give me Viju’s number, let them get to know each other. And we can then see how it goes.’ Never in the wildest of my dreams, I’d want to get hitched this way (a blog on my ideal wedding, which will never take place, coming up soon). And I must truly appreciate the guts and the continued enthusiasm of the maamis in trying to help me settle down in my life. However, my mom uses the vajrasthram (some destructive weapon) ‘Viju is still jobless, has no clue about life and I feel he is too young for marriage. We are waiting for a couple more years.’ I love my mom for that. But, I am sure my mom will be having a secret thought of getting a daughter-in-law soon, and has a strategy planned for something soon after I ‘settle’ down professionally.
However, my reaction at this point of time, ‘Who cares? I need to graduate!!!! Thank you.’
Never in the wildest of my dreams, I’d have imagined that I would be pursuing my PhD, and more importantly I’d be finishing it up while in my twenties. This was the state of mind, I was in a good 10 years back, with just a thought about joining a good engineering college and then plan for the future while in college. Isn’t that everyone’s (parents’) dream? Having joined the engineering college, I realized it was going to be four long years, and I had a lot of time to plan my future. But I was wrong. Before I realized, I was out of college, and I was on the flight to the US to pursue my graduate studies (Masters).
Not withstanding the pressure in graduate school, there were days in the first semester here, when I wanted to run back home, and just take up the ‘software engineer’ job, I had declined before getting to the US. There was soon a tide of change, and a pleasant phase in graduate school followed, after I got my PhD admit. This meant I was going to be in school without the outer world’s pressures for five more years. And as with anything, these 5 years passed by like a generation change in Ekta Kapoor’s serials, and of course with a change in looks, sans plastic surgery.
And here I am, almost ready to graduate, once I find a ‘suitable’ job, with the least idea of what I want in life next. On a professional front, it is probably an easier decision to make considering the economy and the demand (or lack of it), around. But, on a personal front, I am not too sure where I am headed.
Who on earth brought down the age for marriage for guys to early twenties? Is it the neighbor aunties/maamis or the marriage brokers, who had a loss of eligible single poor souls or business, following the sudden increase in the number of ‘love’ marriages? Or is it the insecurity of the single guys to get hitched earlier for whatever reason? And I’ve not been spared from this torture either. Or rather, my mom has not been spared of this. I pity the thought of her being accosted by maamis in the weddings she attends, with the maamis saying ‘the girl is in New Jersey, give me Viju’s number, let them get to know each other. And we can then see how it goes.’ Never in the wildest of my dreams, I’d want to get hitched this way (a blog on my ideal wedding, which will never take place, coming up soon). And I must truly appreciate the guts and the continued enthusiasm of the maamis in trying to help me settle down in my life. However, my mom uses the vajrasthram (some destructive weapon) ‘Viju is still jobless, has no clue about life and I feel he is too young for marriage. We are waiting for a couple more years.’ I love my mom for that. But, I am sure my mom will be having a secret thought of getting a daughter-in-law soon, and has a strategy planned for something soon after I ‘settle’ down professionally.
However, my reaction at this point of time, ‘Who cares? I need to graduate!!!! Thank you.’
Feb 7, 2011
Ooru Sanam - Mella Thiranthathu Kathavu
The song from the 1980s that I've been hooked onto big time, off late, is this song from Mella Thiranthathu Kathavu. Ooru Sanam beautifully crooned by S. Janaki was composed by MS Viswanathan (trivia from Twitter said that it was MSV and not Ilayaraaja who composed this song).
The highlight of this song is the fact that the charanam notes end in the higher scale for one of the lines, while they begin with a note in a lower scale for the very next line and proceed in the same manner in the charanam for the first couple lines. If a composer had composed this song today, he'd probably have used two singers singing in the two different scales. But MSV used just one singer, and S.Janaki rendered it excellently.
This is probably my favorite song of S.Janaki of all time (the others being Chinna Chinna Vanna Kuyil - Mouna Raagam and Kaatril Enthan Geetham - Johnny).
And I wish I had more knowledge of Carnatic music to interpret this song's composition a bit more! Hopefully soon, or someone can provide with a more detailed description in the comments section.
The highlight of this song is the fact that the charanam notes end in the higher scale for one of the lines, while they begin with a note in a lower scale for the very next line and proceed in the same manner in the charanam for the first couple lines. If a composer had composed this song today, he'd probably have used two singers singing in the two different scales. But MSV used just one singer, and S.Janaki rendered it excellently.
This is probably my favorite song of S.Janaki of all time (the others being Chinna Chinna Vanna Kuyil - Mouna Raagam and Kaatril Enthan Geetham - Johnny).
And I wish I had more knowledge of Carnatic music to interpret this song's composition a bit more! Hopefully soon, or someone can provide with a more detailed description in the comments section.
Feb 6, 2011
Ordered pairs
A pair of eyes to view the beautiful things in life,
A pair of hands to work on a few creative things in life,
A pair of ears to listen to the music of life.
What else would I have liked as a pair in my life?
Probably an identical twin along with me; well I'd be wishing for one, at least until I get my significant other.
Edit after a comment: And many other ordered pairs ave been deemed #indecent and hence do not find a place in the list. Thank you. :P
A pair of hands to work on a few creative things in life,
A pair of ears to listen to the music of life.
What else would I have liked as a pair in my life?
Probably an identical twin along with me; well I'd be wishing for one, at least until I get my significant other.
Edit after a comment: And many other ordered pairs ave been deemed #indecent and hence do not find a place in the list. Thank you. :P
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