Despite it all...

A few days ago, caught up by the craziness that is work, I thought that my next post would be different. It would be about all the things that I do not enjoy nowdays particularly work!

Still have half a mind to do that sometime later, but today, I felt better and decided to look at what I have enjoyed despite it all.

a) Watching little kids near my house on their way home from tution class, play with Bingo(my labrador) as I take him for his nightly walk.
b)Cooling off with a friend on a Sunday morning with a swim in the pool, a scrumptious breakfast and nonsensical chat after a long time!
c)Enjoying watching the movie 'Beethoven' on Sunday afternoon with my little cousin and hearing her laugh out loud at the funny parts.
d)Having a 3 way conversation with old friends from school on facebook...again after a long time!
e)Savouring amma's home cooked roti and rajma at work, taking a break from canteen food!

Thats all for now...

Mornings!

After 2 years of (sometimes hard) work, I took a long break of over a week. In fact I'd kind of forced myself to take it even though I had not made any concrete travel plans, as I had really become tired and jaded and needed to be by myself for a while.

So other than a 3 day temple tour, I was at home. Sure, I managed to finish a lot of chores which I am unable to sacrifice my precious sunday for, but for the last two days I just stayed at home. And realised what a relief that can be. Knowing to appreciate the joy of just living in the place that was after all,meant for living is surprisingly one that many people do not enjoy!

But not me. Spending the entire day at home once in a while is very much my cup of tea! And speaking of tea, what I love most of all about a weekday holiday is the morning (and a cup of mom's sweet milky tea!). As I'm not one to wake up late on holidays, I thoroughly enjoy the morning hours especially on weekdays when I am home so that I can watch the world go by. I watch people ready for work, standing in wait for their buses as I pass them on my morning walk and wonder how I look as I live my life on suburban railway time each morning. As I watch from the terrace, I see kids with shiny shoes waiting for their schoolbus and am reminded of my own blessed childhood days! I watch the grocer nearby open his store and wonder about how he manages to make a living.

Basically, I love to take a break from the usual hustle and bustle of daily life and think unconventional thoughts on a Wednesday morning. Maybe its just the feeling of having the leisure of doing so that's pleasurable. Maybe its just that I'm a morning person(yes, thats a word! Google it.) But I find that after that Wednesday, I am a much calmer person as I return to life from my break and am more inclined to say "Good Morning" and mean it!

Omana Penne!

Note: Written as I listened to the song, hence you are advised to read likewise!

I've always been fascinated by music review blogs...ever since I got hooked onto them about a year back...and wanted to try one myself. So all I was on the lookout for was a song for so long, when along came....'Omana Penne' from the Tamil Movie 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya'

Listening to the song without any background information, its easy to classify 'Omana Penne' as a Harris Jayaraj number (atleast it was to me) thanks to its western sounding beats but the nadaswaram which drifts in and out revals the characteristic west meets east, Rahman signature style.

This is one song which catches your attention right from the begninning - I guess its the expectation created by the tinkling bells that accompany you through the song along with the rhythmic percussion as "Ahh Ha....Ada daaaa...penne" in Benny Dayal's silken smooth voice starts it off.

The tempo of the song picks up around the "Hey" interspersed during the next few lines. Another faux attempt at speeding up the song occurs at "Yen aayiram iravu" which is revealed as false with the "Nee thaan.." and subsequent lines which bring down the tempo again. Incidentally its just before this that the nadaswaram bit makes it appearance for the first time, ever - so - slightly in the background only to slink away just as softly again.

As the unmistakable "Ohhhhh omana penne" comes around, you're hooked. This guy Benny can make any "Oooh" end at Omana Penne, you begin to think when he raises the bar even further. Deftly taking you through what can only be called as vocal acrobatics next, is Benny again with "Oooooh" for the most part before "Nee pogum vazhiyil nizhalagi.." followed by more "oooh" again!

Lending a beautiful touch to the whole song of course is Kalyani Menon with the lovely "Maragatha thotilizh malayaligal..." part. How exquisitely malayali the tune is, and yet how beautifully it blends in with the western beats in the background! And without missing a beat(or maybe just one) Benny is back with "Thalli ponaaaal...thei pirai"

As the next chorus of the title sets in, the nadaswaram gets its fair share of ear space amidst the heavy percussion as the song fades out... rest asured its only from your ears, it lingers on in the mind.

There has been much criticism I can see on the net on the use of the autotune to synthesise both Benny's voice, which I could not point out otherwise and Kalyani's bit which I thought, lent a childlike beauty to verses of a lulaby sung to a baby girl.

On the whole, how impressed am I with the song? Well, am usually a stickler for lyrics and in this area Omana Penne might just make the grade, but the lingering music scores high enough for me!

Is it worth it?

Finally decided to blog after more than five months...obviously there is no dearth of topics I have been thinking of, but this post is more of an impromptu one. Again, cant resist beginning with one of my favourite quotes:


The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.

-Helen Keller

I recently went through and saw certain family members go through a harrowing experience following a sudden tragic incident. As I stood among everyone else, plunged in grief, for a moment the thought crossed my mind...is it all worth it finally? Think about it. The most important things in life are those that we have no control over. Birth, family, death. Why then,all the intricate planning, the constant pressure and the mad rush? Sometimes, we get so caught up in the motions of daily life or even in our pursuit of carefully planned goals that we forget to ask this all important question - is it all worth it?

Am not suggesting an its-all-just-an-illusion-so-why-bother attitude to life. I'm just saying that its common to get too comfortable with our own daily life and its details read problems. So comfortable that we lose sight of its place in the larger canvas of life. I guess if one learns to preserve this realisation of the larger canvas, most decisions in life would be made more peacefully and less time would be frittered away in meaningless outbursts and heartburn.

As for the question that remains: is it worth it all...the answer came to me as follows. A couple of days after the sad moments mentioned above, I got a call from a friend who had just had a baby boy less than 3 weeks ago. Qucikly, my mind changed gears, and as I got talking to her eagerly, I realised it. That while our conversation seemed ordinary ; centred around the little one's activities, it occured to me that it would stand out in her memory and mine, for a long time to come. This was a new beginning of another beautiful stage in life. Another couple of days later , I found myself with friends at a classmate's wedding reception, laughing and posing for photographs with newlyweds who had just begun another new phase in their life. Another day, as i walk on my terrace during the evening, an old song which I had reluctantly added among other new ones, pops into my playlist and although I have listened to it before, these lines stand out to me for the first time : "Sukh ki hai chaah to...dukh bhi sehna hai" (classic song 'Phoolon ka Taaron ka', from the cult movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna)


In only a span of days, life allows us to witness endings and beginnings. I would not have agreed to this a few years ago, but life proves the existence of this concept in its own unique way each day. Maybe it always has, and it has just taken us time to see it. The necessary contrarian forces that are at work. The yin and the yang. Black and White.Hilltop and valley.

And the sooner we comprehend it, the better we understand why it's all worth it, in the end.

Showers of joy!

The rainy season has just come and gone in Chennai. Well, if you can call it a season that is.For those of us who live south of the Vindhyas, yet east of the Nilgiris (read residents of Tamil Nadu) the rainy season is basically about 10 days of intermittent rain, probably comprising of 4 days of continuous showers. And yet, each time, this North East 'monsoon' is a much awaited affair.

And not for any romantic or even religious reasons! For a very practical one. With no perennial rivers in Tamil Nadu and particularly Chennai, these showers make all the difference for a comfortable, ground-water-rich summer which follows in a few months (and in Chennai summer begins in March if not sooner!)I suppose thats why come October, the rains are the hot topic of the season beating any other events of national or international significance. This year was no different. A late but bountiful monsoon made its appearance in October and continued onto November.

There is something about the rain which attracts us, atleast well, me. I dont understand why "Rainy days and mondays" can get you down(ok, I agree with the mondays part). And I'm like most Chennaiites who will brave the showers even as they make the helpless city resemble a refugee camp, and yet will stop short of saying "Rain Rain go away"! I dont know- there's something about wearing a raincoat and driving in the rain. Something about opening up an umbrella and hearing the patter of raindrops. The same something which fills me with happiness even as I ride in an auto, late at night from Park station (which I could not enter unless I chose to swim past the pool of water at the entrance) to Egmore, watching the rain illuminated by the headlights; although I have left late from work, my bags are wet and the auto is damp.

I guess each rain reminds me of other rainy days from the past. I remember driving to class in the rain in BIM. I remember the heavy rains of 2005 when the entire city was pretty much stuck at home for days and my university exams got delayed. I remember rainy summers from childhood when we made paper boats with the neighbours kids right here in Chennai. I even remember rainy days in Cochin when the premonsoon or "mango" showers would begin as early as April and how every week from May to August, our garden would look refreshed in a new shade of green! (Cochin is part of Kerala; Tamil Nadu's luckier, west-of-the- Nilgiris neighbour which has a real six month long monsoon)

And so, rain will always be welcome, as will be the memories it brings along. For now, am just happy we will have a comfortable summer!

Seaside holiday!

A late post but nevertheless.

After a lot of almost-cancellations, some real cancellations and postponements, we finally got off to a weekend trip to the town of Chirala in AP last month. Two of my friends from college/work and me that is. But the dampened beginning could no way spoil the superb time we had!

Chirala is a charming seaside town on the Bay of Bengal coast known for its lovely beach. We had arranged to stay at the company guest house which is practically on the beach - what more could we ask for! So although we reached at the unearthly hour of two in the morning,we felt welcomed by the roar of the sea nearby. But only in the morning by day light could we see just how close it was!

As planned were off to the beach by seven. The time we had frolicking on the almost private beach was simply amazing.Definitely a welcome, much needed break from the year and a half exile that has been work (exile as in taking days off I mean!) The only thing that could top off the morning at the beach was the yummy breakfast. Dont think I have feasted like that in a long time! Faint memories of the Famous Five on Kirrin beach lingered in my mind.The rest of the day passed well with good company and a short outing to the local market (the place is known for its cotton materials-so just picked up a saree for mom). The high point was spending the evening walking on the beach, the waves curling at our feet - courtesy floodlights provided by the guest house staff!

The next day had just as good a start to the morning. Only, we got more into the mood and sat down near the waves! The amount of sand we brought back in our clothes was a different story of course! Was reminded of doing that as a kid in Visakhapatnam during picnics with many families. We spent the remainder of the afternoon reading in the garden overlooking the beach. Also took time off to go for a stroll and took some good photos.Sunday evening was spent playing cards and listening to music.

When we left on Sunday night, I realised how it feels to never want a holiday to end! If you think about it, it was very simple. No TV or movies or any other entertainment. Just the beach and great company of course! I guess thats a class of holiday in itself!

Anyway the end was slighly bittersweet when we discovered we had booked the ticket for the previous night after boarding the train at 1.00 AM! After some ranting, we finally settled down in the one berth provided and sat through the thankfully short 5 hour journey. But I think I understand - "Real happiness is usually tinged with sorrow; perhaps thats part of its charm" saying. Nothing could take away the time we had.

Manged to finish the book "To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee on the trip. Had been wanting to read it in a long time; loved it. Really a different style of writing;and such memorable characters. Definitely recommended.

Reading on...

It's been two months since my last post, yet it seems much more. Have to admit that this thing is kind of addictive. Every morning as I step out of the train, on my way to work, I am flooded with topics to blog about. But, time and work-stress wait for none....certainly not for this work-commute-weathered blogger!

Anyway that's not the point. The point is what I should choose to blog about. Although, it is kind of related. To the commute I mean. Taking two trains to work every morning, other than the twenty minute commute to the nearest station has become a habit - now that it's been six months since the shift in workplace. But it wasn't so at first. Although the Chennai Suburban Railway is no complainable service (with regard to frequency of trains and overall cleanliness), its the time spent that I was worried about. Close to 40 minutes spanning over 2 trains. Boring - I thought. What a waste of time. After all, there is hardly anything to admire between Guindy station and Wimco Nagar. But things have a funny way of turning out for the best, when you least expect them to!

Because that's what has happenned. I actually enjoy the commute to work now! Well, not always, but most of the time. I mean yeah, there are days when I just hate the wait, particularly when the train stops somewhere in the middle of nowhere in North Chennai. But on the whole, I like the quiet time I get to myself. At first I thought that it was because ,my friend Deepa accompanies me most days and its always fun to chat and travel , but it’s not only that. I now find myself thinking that the travel is not a big deal. Probably because it’s has given me time to resurrect one of my favourite activities - reading. As a child I was a voracious reader. Reading was more important to me than schoolwork or anything else. The last few years have been different with other pressures such as preparation for post grad and actually studying during it. So it’s after quite a few years, that I’m actually reading every single day! And I love it. I have read quite a lot of the books which have been in my agenda for the past few years. Here's a glimpse of some of them.

1) The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffery Archer's prequel(is it?) to Kane and Abel which I had read in college. Never thought I would love this book more than the first! Especially loved Florentyna's campaign toward presidency, speeches et al.

2) Wings of Fire - Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's semi-autobiography and a beatiful account of the Indian space programme by an insider! It amazes me how patriotism can be invoked by such simple words. Dr Kalam narrates so simply what goes into making each stage of a government project a success, giving an insight into many facts about people who display the passion for creativity outside of the private sector. A must read for every Indian.

3) Angels and Demons - Dan Brown's novel which I had been wanting to read for a long time. Although it got off to a gripping start in the beginning and continued on the same path, I was somewhat, not to amazed by the end. A good read though. What I did get amazed by was the wonderful description of Rome and the Vatican, with its statues, sculptures of the Renaissance artists and history! I’m sure that as it has done to me, this book will make anyone want to desperately visit this beautiful city.

4) Not a Penny more, Not a Penny Less - Jeffery Archer's classic kind of story, the kind we had in our English textbooks at school. Very very well written. Had bought it a long time ago but found time to read it just now.

5) Chicken Soup for the Mother and Daughter's Soul - No surprised here, as expected, heart tugging stories of all kinds - that, like all Chicken Soup books make you realise the beauty that exists in simple everyday life in the form of relationships.

Have given a miss to some of my favourite books which I have re-read and magazines. Am now onto Erich Segal's "Doctors", and have many more in line. Rest in next!