My request to my NRI friends !!

   Let me admit that intention of me writing this blog is a soft way of fundraising for one of the Non profit organizations I am associated with (NSNA) and in particular for H&H committee. I liked one of the initiatives they have undertaken that of planting trees and I would like to promote and spread the word to more people. I realized my friends in FB are spread across the globe and wanted to pen my thoughts on India’s hot weather and the need for planting more and more trees. In fact the timing of this blog comes up at a time where H&H team is doing their 2^nd project of Tree planting in Rayavaram, a village in Chettinad.

    I cannot talk for whole of India but it is no brainer that everyone knows Tamil Nadu is hot during summer. In fact I used to cautiously avoid India trips during March, April or May but destiny had other plans and 2018 is one year I had to experience entire Summer which seem to be never ending like a mega serial. Since I am experiencing this weather after nearly 12-13 years my body just couldn’t adjust to this and I had problems like vomiting, giddiness etc., Don’t mistake me that I am having symptoms of an expecting mother …let’s not disturb nature’s way of operation. I got dehydrated umpteen number of times and I have never had this many number of juices in my life and my deodorant bills can match the costs of lipsticks bills used by an air hostess. Actually I shouldn’t complain since I feel I am blessed to escape the scorching heat through artificial ways but my heart goes out to all the street vendors who had to toil day in and day out to make both the ends meet.

    Temperatures cross 40 degree Celsius is becoming common and people had to grapple with heat waves every now and then. Now the question is, what makes Tamil Nadu very hot? Technically Tamil Nadu is closer to the equator which is again closer to the sun and hence we could face severe heat climate. But for a layman simple explanation could be due to the poor rainfall which is mainly due to deforestation. Now people want to cover land with concrete and we see more and more trees being cut down. Due to this we see more and more greenhouse gases to be released in atmosphere and by cutting down trees there is less water in the air to be returned to the soil. This in turn causes drier soil by making it unfertile for growing crops. Soil is often eroded too due to deforestation. Now all of us want our kids to go to Montessori, study at IIT/MIT/Stanford etc., which is good but have we ever thought what kind of environment they will be living in. Global warming is on the rise and environmental hazards keep increasing in every country and unfortunately Environmental awareness is coming down.

    Now let us take a closer look at what HH team has done for their first project in Nattarasankottai, a chettinad village. They chose a team and planted close roughly 170 + trees. They made sure plants are tall enough which makes it easy for maintenance and also made sure each plant gets a fencing. They will also be watering the plants twice a week. There is lots of costs involved in every step and on top of costs there is lot of physical labor involved which makes the process a physically exhaustive one. But this initiative will be standing tall and will speak volumes even after many years. Now after successfully finishing their first project they will be planting trees in Rayavaram on June 28^th (2^nd project) and will be moving onto Virachalai and other chettinad towns too. Since they have a framework and dedicated volunteers assigned for this initiative they can capitalize on their start and really do more and more towns based on the sponsors and that is where I wanted to pitch in and promote this initiative.

    Now I have just talked about Chetiinad towns but we need Trees pretty much everywhere and you could be a member of Tamil sangam, part of Temple organization or for that matter be part of any Non profit organization in your city. Organization’s vision would be to promote culture and tradition based on the NPO you are associated with and you may wonder how can we contribute. See “Humanitarian” is a very broad term and anything and everything can be fitted into “Humanitarian” since we are all human beings first. If there is a flood in Chennai all of us joined hands and that was under humanitarian basis; similarly you can have a separate stream called ‘Humanitarian’ and start planting trees in your hometown through the organization you are associated with. NSNA would be for nagarathars living in USA but for others you could talk to your respective NPO heads and tie up with a local association back home. As far as costs it would roughly costs Rs. 500 (includes the cost of the plant, pit cutting, bud formation, fencing, supporting poles and labor) per plant. For watering the planting twice a week there is again costs involved but should be few thousands depending on how many trees we need to water.

     Where does people settle down is beyond scope of this blog but giving back to community and giving back to where you hail from, giving back to place where you lived and where your parents are living will make you a RICH person. As a NRI you could be contributing to community in many different ways, just treat planting trees as one another item in your list since that is need of the hour. If you happen to be a nagarathar living in USA I would request you to consider sponsoring for this initiative by that way we can have more and more trees planted in our natives and make Chettinad GREEN.

I also feel like sharing the below video which is one of my favorite scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnBMMVY3ys

Brahmapureeswarar Temple - Sthala Puranam

  Temples are spread across the globe and for a religious person any temple is a joy since god is omnipresent. But specialty about temples in India and particularly Tamil Nadu is each temple has a sthala puranam attached to it and if we know the history it just makes it even more interesting. I somehow came to know about this temple “Brahmapureeswarar Temple” and wanted to visit especially when I came to know that there is a belief that a person can change his/her fate by seeking blessings from this temple. “Fate” is something which I have reflected while reading Actor Shiva kumar’s autobiography a decade back as he said every rice we eat is already decided. But recently when I read “Arthamulla indhu madham” there was one sentence which disturbed me quite a bit and I am posting that sentence:

விதியையும் மதியால் வெல்லலாம்..என்று உன் விதியில் எழுதியிருந்தால்..

Meaning is if we overcome fate by intelligence that that should also be written in your fate …See this sentence has got lot of depth in it. I was literally disturbed since I was neither able to accept this nor able to deny this. Anyway for those readers who are having a smile on your face now will know what exactly I am talking about. I am a religious person and do believe God hence without any hesitation I wanted to visit and would like to share the history behind this temple.

        As we all know Lord Brahma is the creator of Universe and he was very proud that he had the power of creation. Seeing this Lord Shiva destroyed Lord Brahma’s fifth head and cursed him that he would lose his powers of creation. After losing his fifth head & power of creation Lord Brahma realized his mistakes and to get himself relieved from the curse Lord Brahma started on a pilgrimage of Lord Shiva temples. Lord Brahma installed 12 shiva lingams around Brahmapureeswarar and worshipped Lord Shiva for considerable amount of time. Pleased by Lord Brahma’s prayers, Lord Shiva gave him darshan under the magizha tree and liberated him from his curse. Not just that Lord Shiva also restored the power and responsibility of creation to Lord Brahma. Lord Shiva also blessed Lord Brahma that he would have a separate shrine at this temple. He also advised lord brahma that since Lord Brahma himself had his destiny rewritten here, he should rewrite the destiny of his devotees visiting this temple. There is a belief that since fate of Lord Brahma, the creator, himself was changed by Lord Shiva at Tirupattur (place of the temple) one can expect good fortunes coming their way by praying at this temple. Obviously only genuine requests in the form of prayers are accepted and that is applicable to any temple. As Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva here, The lord is named “Brahmmapureeswarar” and mother goddess is named “Brahmmanayaki”.

     Apart from being one of the rare temple dedicated to Lord Brahma other features about this temple is Sage Patanjali’s (considered author of Yoga sutras) jeeva samadhi (tomb) is in the temple. Also I have read that every year in the month of Panguni (March-April) for three days the sun god is said to worship Lord Brahmapureeswara. There are seven entrances to reach the main deity’s sannadhi and it is a miracle that sun’s rays cross these seven entrances and fall directly on the lingam.

   If you happen to travel by Road, Chennai and Trichy are two places you cannot miss and this temple is 30+ kilometres away from Trichy on the way to Chennai. It is closer to Samayapuram. Also outside the temple you will find vegetable sellers sitting in the floor and selling – compared to the super markets I would highly recommend these people since they bring fresh vegetables from farm and sell it for low profits. Even if you don’t need them just buy and give it to your friends/relatives and you are sure to get a call from people thanking you for the vegetables.

I am giving you the full address for your reference:

Arulmigu Brahmapureeswarar Temple,

Tirupattur

Irrungalur (via)

Tiruchchirapalli District.

Pincode : : 621 105

Official website: http://www.brahmatemple.tnhrce.in/index.html

Sundari Kanaal Oru Sethi ........

    Listening to Raja sir song alone can lift your spirits but I love watching few of his songs visually too and one among them is ‘Sundari Kanaal oru Sethi’ …I was also curious to know why did I love the song so much and my little research on the song was so overwhelming that I wanted to pen my thoughts …Also just to let you know the song is almost seven minutes …These days except Shankar sir movies songs are merely fillers where audience make an excuse to go to restroom or check their phone on latest Whatsapp message or go for a chit chat with their group but here is a song shot more than two decades back with a story said in a most poetic way in Celluloid …  

   Now coming to the context of the song I am wondering what Mani Ratnam must have conveyed Lyricist Vaali and Ilayaraja the composer during the composition session. There is this ego between lyrics and music of any song but if you find any chartbuster then one thing will be in common – music and lyrics will always compliment each other and not try to dominate each other.  The song begins with bells ringing and Shobana waiting for her man and the music sets in ….I have no clue regarding Carnatic music but seeing Airtel super singer I know atleast what is Pallavi and Charanam ….Pallavi starts where Rajini elopes Shobana and they get married followed by Santhi muhurtham ….Since there are so many emotions in the song Raja has used multiple ragas to bring out the emotions. As a layman I have no clue regarding ragas and on which context it is used but I can definitely sense ragas pertaining to joy, pain, sorrow, longingness, love, bravery are all blended within the song. Cinematography is not just visiting a foreign locale or buying some cutting edge technically advanced cameras instead visuals should portray the theme and connect the audience. Rajini sings “நான் உனை நீங்க மாட்டேன் நீங்கினால் தூங்க மாட்டேன்” which says he would never leave her and if he does he won’t be able to sleep.Now Rajini goes for war and both are separated ….   Orchestration picks up now and stage is set for war which happens so poetically with raja’s orchestration  and now comes Shobana with beautiful Chennakeshava temple in the background to sing “வாய் மொழிந்த வார்த்தை யாவும் காற்றில் போனால் நியாயமா பாய் விரித்து பாவை பார்த்த காதல் இன்பம் மாயமா” which means would it be fair if the words just float away in the wind ….and the love and joy experienced after spreading the mat and looking into each others eyes just an illusion …The way Shobhana emotes is absolutely priceless …Rajini answers through “வாள் பிடித்து நின்றால் கூட நெஞ்சில் உந்தன் ஊர்வலம் போர்க்களத்தில் சாய்ந்தால் கூட ஜீவன் உன்னை சேர்ந்திடும்” which means Though he is having sword in his hand his heart is always playing carnival and parade of her and in the event he loses the battlefield his soul will always merge with hers …..If modern day husbands say this to their spouse then they would get some good thrashing but we can feel a sense of humbleness in the way Rajini utters those words …Then both of them express their love where we can feel the longingness of the couple …..Though they are still separated there is a small portion where it seems they both are united and the glow in Sbobana’s face is enough to light up Chepauk stadium …..Again war happens and Raja’s orchestration sets the tune and director informs time is passing by showing moon and daylight and Shobana sings “சோலையிலும் முட்கள் தோன்றும் நானும் நீயும் நீங்கினால் பாலையிலும் பூக்கள் பூக்கும் நான் உன் மார்பில் தூங்கினால்” which means even thorns would prickle in oasis if we part and if I happen to rest on your chest then even flowers would bloom in dessert for which Rajini replies “மாதங்களும் வாரம் ஆகும் நானும் நீயும் கூடினால் வாரங்களும் மாதமாகும் பாதை மாறி ஓடினால்” even months would turn weeks if we join and vice versa if our paths part ways …..Shobana always dreams Rajini is around and Girl’s love is beautifully expressed through Vaali’s lyrics ….Finally Rajini comes from war and hero and heroine unite with happy tears ……

     When I researched the song it described how Raja sir used Kalyani (raga to emote happiness) and Kosalam raga (to express war sequences) and how he interlinked one another to bring the emotion attached with the lyrics. The song is a classic example that magic happens in celluloid when people like Mani Ratnam, Ilayaraja, Vaali, Santhosh Sivan join hands. For every end there is a beginning and we are fortunate Rahman- Mani Ratnam happened after Thalapathi but as a cinema lover and as a music fan am extremely disappointed to see that happen at the cost of Mani Ratnam – Ilayaraja combination.

Naalayira Divya Prabhandham

     As the name suggests Naalayira Divya Prabhandham is a collection of 4000 Tamil verses composed by 12 alvars. Basically Divya Prabandham sings the praise of lord Narayana and alvars sang these songs at so many sacred shrines across the country called as Divya desams. Coming from a staunch Saivites community I have no clue on what basis I chose to start reading the book on 15^th December 2016 which happened to be almost start of Margazhi month and I successfully completed reading the book on 13^th January 2018 which was last day of Margazhi. One reason on why I chose to read this book is could be because of ‘Genes’ since my dad is an ardent devotee of Lord Perumal. I hardly knew at the start of what is in store for me during the course of me reading the book since I had to go though a massive transformation in my life. Also reading the connotation of each verse is beyond the scope of my age hence I just read the verses. I feel I have something small to offer for ones who happen to read this blog and so here I go …..

      Let me go over the Yuga we are living – are we living in Kali yuga which is considered to be period of darkness and divisiveness, hatred and greed, warfare and inequality ? If we just take a look into what is happening around the globe you may relate to what I say. Very sorry to hear regarding the gun shoot incident in Florida and if US is scary of gun shots then we have India full of road accidents and similarly there are other countries where either poverty or warfare is ruling the roost. Mother Nature is literally crying due to environmental hazards caused by insatiability of human beings. Though Chennai floods brought people together it is shame that we need something as big as Chennai Floods to make people united. If you take a closer look into Human beings - we thank for everything we have on Thanksgiving day and next day we run for deals, we pray for rain but at the same time we offer coconut to almighty not to rain on the day of our personal event.

     Year 2017 was one year where I had to go through so much of frustration and my patience was thoroughly tested. Being a religious person I even thought of deserting from worship but the commitment to read the book kept me going. Though my frustrations are far from over but am starting to understand life from a bigger picture. Now if I look back to see where did I get all the mental strength to face everything that was thrown at me then it has to be the Naalayira Divya Prabhandham book. Though we should always mantle ourselves with positivity we cannot hide the fact that we are concerned over so much of hatred happening around us, natural calamity, aging parents, health concerns etc., This is where prayers come into picture and there are different ways to offer prayers. You can sing praising the lord, offer dance, volunteer at a temple etc., You can also take up something substantial as a commitment to offer your prayers to lord such as reading. If you happen to be Lord Siva devotee you have ‘Devaram’, Thiruvasagam’; Lord Muruga devotee you have ‘Thiru pugazh’, ‘Kandha Puranam’; Lord Permal devotee you have ‘Naalayira Divya Prabhandham’; Lord Ganesha devotee you have ‘Ganesha Puranam’; Lord Sai baba devotee you have ‘Sai Satcharitra’; etc., Take the book of your choice based on Ishta Devadha and start reading whenever you get some time and always acknowledge the fact that hardships will not disappear just like that and with faithful prayers one can come out of it. I do not have the age to advise anyone but I just want to share something which I believe could be helpful based on my personal experience.

      Also February 16^th 2018 marks a decade of me starting my personal blog site. Though I have written very few of them I have got some amazing and memorable compliments from friends. I promise to take blogging more seriously and value every minute of the reader and will come up with some nice articles in the coming weeks/months. Choosing  a topic takes much more time than writing one. Being good at heart is not just helping poor and needy but also sharing something in your life which could have a positive influence in others life. Through this blog I have paid my tribute to ‘Naalayira Divya Prabhandham’ book and I believe I can bring a positive influence to anyone reading this blog.

Mersal - my Take !!

    Mersal – a movie which was much talked about not just in Tamil Nadu but all over India. What was supposed to be an average movie turned out to be a huge blockbuster due to the controversies surrounding the film and producers should thank the politicians for all the free publicity the movie gained. The movie talked about two things – Medical system and GST and would like to pen my thoughts on both these topics. They cleverly say we do not mean ‘ALL’ doctors are bad and even in the movie Mersal there is a dialogue which says only dishonest people may get angry at those who talk ill about doctors; I can just laugh at that dialogue thinking how immature Atlee is when he wrote that dialogue. As a common man I have every right to express my disappointment over the movie and I completely concede that nothing is going to change through my blog. If I can make people ponder over the movie after reading my blog  then they will realize what I am saying is true.

     One of the characters Vijay is donning is Dr.Maran and he comes as ‘5 rupees doctor’ and there is no dialogue which requests people to become 5 rupees doctor but let me go over the costs of some of the very basic essentials people use in day to day life in India: Cost of ironing a shirt is ‘6 rupees’, cost of Tea/coffee in a roadside shop is ’10 rupees’, ½ litre milk is ’21 rupees’;  Cost to repair a tire which is punctured is ’40 rupees’; Cost of one lire petrol is ’70 rupees’ ..I can just go on and on …Now let me go over cost of medical school. Costs of medical degree is anywhere between 5 lakhs to 60 lakhs for 5.5 years and depends on scholarship, Government/private college, Quota restrictions etc., One had to pursue Master’s degree too which is another 10-70 lakhs depending on many factors. Even cost of NEET exam is Rs.3750; This is purely the money factor and there is a herculean effort needed to successfully complete both and the process easily takes around 8-10 years. Now after doing all of this is this even practical to say ‘5 rupees’ Doctor is a distant reality? Maybe one in thousand may do that service who is 60+ and who does not have any commitments in life but Atlee who is a 3 films old director talking about free medical system is a biggest joke. Can Atlee and actor Vijay declare their salary to public? Since they represent Entertainment field can they work for 5000 rupees salary per movie?

    Now let me talk about the logic loopholes in the movie. Surgeon gets M.S degree and not M.D as portrayed, the scene where ambulance driver and hospital staff negotiate which hospital to go is mere illusion since ambulance of a hospital will take only to their respective hospital. Also the way in which Doctors talk to each other regarding operation and the way news is conveyed to Girls parents are all very cinematic and melodramatic. Personally I got upset when the movie portrayed checkups are scam – this coming from a mass hero would have ripple effect amongst his fans and that dialogue alone carries so much of mileage towards planting wrong impression regarding checkups. Vijay says medicines are 12% GST but that is wrong – medicines do come as tax exempted and 5%; Not to forget when mam J Jayalalitha was chief minister of TN when the whole of India was paying tax for Insulin, Tamil Nadu was the only state which was tax exempted for life saving medicines like Insulin. Actor Vijay portrays government hospitals ask fee but has Actor Vijay or Director Atlee stepped into any of the government hospitals in Tamil Nadu? Just like how foreign media showcases India as slum, poverty celluloid always portrays Government hospitals are poor but many would be surprised to know the many good things that is happening in government hospitals.

   Emotional outburst: One thing which I hate is emotional outburst that happen every now and then. India witnessed a tragic incident on December 16, 2012 – gang rape of 23 year old woman in Delhi and whole of India was protesting regarding the incident but how many are aware of what punishment was given to the men who was involved in this barbaric act. Somewhat similar incidents of emotional outburst are Swathi’s murder and Anitha’s death where people, politicians and celebrity voice their opinion but once dust is settled everything seem to go away from people’s memory. There is a political incentive behind celebrities voicing their opinion – when Gangai amaran voiced opinion against Ilayaraja recently during SPB concert that is because he was one of the contestants in RK nagar constituency and he wanted some mileage before the election; If Kushboo is voicing her opinion against Mersal then that is because she is representing Congress and wants to defame BJP before the big elections coming up in December in Gujarat. As an actor Kamal is a legend but he trying to be active in social welfare may translate into increase of trade value for his upcoming movies Vishvaroopam 2 and Sabash Naidu where Mr.Kamalhaasan is the producer of both the movies.

  Supply chain of a movie: Movie’s business is primarily due to the names involved in the movie – Hero, Heroine, Director, Production House, Director etc., if we have good technicians then rates go higher and higher. There is one variable called ‘Previous movie success’ which plays a key role in dictating prices to various regions; Distributors buy at fancy prices and sell it to theatre owners who again take a big gamble; When so much of money is involved why does a section of the group get to see the movie beforehand– atleast that way they are still taking a risk but not a gamble of buying something which they don’t have any clue. But none of the production houses are ready to show the movie before release since they are concerned about the negative talk which can literally kill the movie. So end of the day people are the victims. Also without getting the film certified how does the production houses book theatres ?  Theatres without knowing the proper release how can open their online reservation ? This is all an illusion to create an impact with audience of how much they are expecting the movie whereas the process is not followed in the first place.

   GST: GST is something which I am paying more attention and I am trying to get myself up to speed on this topic.  Demonetisation and GST are two biggest moves executed by current Government and though I am not exactly sure about former how it would pan out in long term but GST is something which will help the nation since it is the biggest tax reform the country has seen. Government openly admits it has earned one lakh crores each month since July 2017 and this is huge amount of money. Well currently execution of GST is in a complete mess and chaotic and for it to get settled with India’s literacy rate is going to take some time. Actor Vijay talks about Singapore Healthcare system and says its ‘Free’ but Mr.Atlee (since he wrote the dialogue) is not aware of the funding Singapore Healthcare system gets like PF fund which are deductions from salary of every working singaporeans. Every Singapore citizen has to have an insurance plan like ‘Medisave’ ‘Medishied’, ‘Medifund’ etc., which are financed from citizen’s fund and government also contributes in the form of subsidy. So basically people pay huge taxes and hence get insurance benefits and that cannot be classified as ‘FREE’; how many in India file Income taxes? India ranks very low as far as percentage of people who pay Income taxes. So let us not compare other nations since it becomes apple vs orange comparison. 

  Cinema must be treated like Cinema which is mere entertainment – problem comes when directors like Atlee when they work with big stars like Vijay dilute a social subject keeping box office in mind. I am sure Atlee when he wrote dialogues for the film kept Vijay’s fans in mind and wrote the dialogues since he knew which dialogue would generate claps. There is nothing wrong since he does his job but when he takes a social subject he must handle with authenticity. Cinema people are perfect examples of hypocrites – Actor Karthi endorses for Bru, Suriya for Sunrise whereas their father says no to Coffee; Aamir Khan says one must follow his/her passion in movie 3 idiots and then forces kids to undertake something in movie Dangal; Vijay endorses for Coke and then cries foul against the same company in movie Kathi. Mersal is a huge box office hit and director Atlee is a big brand now but he has definitely earned lot of wrath from section of a people and my request to directors like Atlee is either don’t take social subjects or do it with conviction not keeping box office in your mind.

 

Don't play with Feelings !!

  I wanted to give myself enough time before I pen this blog since I do not want to be a sentimental fool. When someone is angry you can revert back the emotion in few days but when someone is hurt I think it takes sometime to get out of it. Something kept on haunting me about a recent incident and definitely wanted to share my thoughts.

 When you are into social life it is very hard to come out of it completely, the only thing you can do is to cautiously reduce your exposure. Politics among any organizations - be it Profit or Non-profit is inevitable since that is the way the overall design is made. With politics comes groupism and with groupism comes opinions. It is so funny how one groups thinks exactly differs from other group. Each group defends what they say is correct and then comes strategies which are drivers to execute goals for each group. The strategies is looked as politics for an outsider. I used to make fun of leading political parties in Tamil Nadu but now after witnessing whole lot of politics very closely I doubt I will make fun of any political party in future. Based on my personal interest and passion I chose a particular role but unfortunately I had to apply at the last minute due to my personal circumstances; This was looked as political move and frankly I don't expect every single person to know what was going on but the least I expected was at least people who knew me personally should understand and see this as a genuine application. Few people had to say something which was definitely hurting but I have nothing to prove to them.

 People have Master's degree, live in US with sophisticated background but when it comes to behavior they are still childish. People sponsor tons and tons of money to temple, volunteer for hours in Temples but see only part of their prayers are answered and if they analyze deeply they will know one of the reason is they have been offering lot of hurt feelings to their near and dear ones with or without conscience. All of us cannot be a Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa since manufacturing of those people have stopped long back. We are living in a rat race environment where people are waiting to push you down, kind and good human beings are considered as incapable ones. If you consider someone as your friend do try to understand him before joining everyone and raising slogans against him..end of the day understanding is what all matters. 

Wisdom !!

   While I was in India I barely used the word ‘Wisdom’ and did not have much clue about this powerful word in English dictionary; My little knowledge with the word was due to the the term ‘Wisdom Tooth’. In a way Life is very simple but in some other way life is too complicated – if they conduct ‘Neeya Naana’ I can be in either teams and win over audience since I believe both are true. But one thing that makes the equation very complicated is how is your life going to be – there are way too many factors that determine like purna jenma paavam/punyam, current jenma paavam/punyam, any paavam/punyam by our ancestors etc., Facing hardships can be very exasperating especially when you start doubting your own strengths; any number of advice or philosophy can turn you off since your mind is not willing to listen. But one who goes through this phase with head strong and comes out of it can definitely be a much matured human being.

    Out of all the proverbs the one I always cherish is ‘Whatever happens is always for good’; I have experienced this many times. At that time it is tough to digest but the rationale is revealed much later in the game and that is when knot is released. Just imagine if everything happens as per our wish will we workship the way we do? Will we be modest ? will we be thankful ? To some extent we may be but success often closes our eyes and we tend to take things for granted. In order for us to remain grounded, feel the gratitude, help our peers almighty play games in the name of ‘Hardships’.

   Many complain ‘Astrology’ is all fake and they are not ready to believe it – I can assure you there is lot of hypocrisy out there !! I am one who firmly believe in astrology though I do not know the technical aspects of it. If Astrology predicts everything like when will you will buy a house or buy a car then will you have the desire to work for it? You may tend to take it easy since you know things will happen in particular timeframe; Even worse is lets say if Astrology can predict when exactly will you die, then you may tend to play with snake or fall from 50^th floor since you know for sure you are not going to die until this particular time. Astrology can give you heads up and it is upto you to take necessary caution on your career and personal actions.

   Gaining wisdom at a young age in a way is good, there is an unofficial competition in my household between me and my wife about who talks more wisdom. In a way I laugh at it and in a way I feel happy since we are getting matured. A person who is trying to have a baby for a long time  will laugh at people who wants their kid to be a male/female, a guy who lost his job will laugh at people who complain about commute time between work and home etc., Any small act of kindness matters and it could be as simple as offering a banana to a poor person. Just be happy and thankful of whatever you have today since you don’t know how long will things last.

Mani Ratnam – The Film maker !!

   I was not sure of writing a blog of my favorite director but upon watching Mani ratnam’s interview with Gowtham Vasudev menon which I totally loved I realized I should write one. The best part of the interview was ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’ was discussed only for few minutes and the entire conversation was regarding the working style of the legend. Internet is an easily accessible medium and all it takes to review a film is someone has to tape your talking and then you can post the video in Internet and create a sensation. These guys on top of not having Filmy qualification they hardly know anything about movie making process, logistics of film making, movie distribution, etc., They just feel they are pretty good critics since their videos have garnered more views. Some of the people who reviewed the film in Internet are pathetic. Anyway these days all of us including me categorize a film saying its either ‘fast paced’ or ‘slow screenplay’ – this is where the problem starts. We have to see each film as a distinct film and not treat all films in a same way. I recently watched ‘Kodi’ and ‘Singam 3’ and though I liked these two movies to some extent comparing these two with Mani ratnam movie is a criminal mistake. Our mind is just polluted and we expect movies to have either edge of the seat thriller or a story which unfolds faster. All coffee lovers know that coffee taste so good once we boil the milk for few minutes but we always take the route to boil the milk in microwave and compromise our taste buds – reason is we want to have the coffee faster. My wife says whenever I talk I always bring a food comparison and now realize how true that statement was !!

    Let me just briefly walk you through some of the subjects Mani Ratnam dealt in his films – friction between the newly wed couple (Mouvna Raagam), Underworld don (Nayagan), story of step brothers (Agni Nakshathiram), story of couple both suffering from terminal illness (Geethanjali), story of autistic child and the plight of the parents amidst cruel face of society (Anjali), adaptation of Mahabaratha (Thalapathy), romantic love story with terrorism as background (Roja), Tamil nadu politics in a nutshell (Iruvar), Love story between hindu and muslim with Bombay riots as background (Bombay), Post marital relationships (Alaipayuthey), Story and agony of srikankan tamils to meet their near and dear ones (Kannathil muthamittal), Youth in politics (Ayudha eluthu), Biography of Indian business legend (Guru), Adaptation of Ramayana (Raavan), reflection of modern urban youth vs old traditional values (O kadal kanmani) and once again a romantic love story between the lead pair who are opposite in nature (Kaatru Veliyidai). I strongly believe for a movie to be considered good then the heroine character has to be good – Divya in Mouvna Raagam, Roja in Roja, Shaila Banu in Bombay, Kalpana in Iruvar, Shakthi in Alaipayuthey, Indira in Kannathil Muthamittal, Tara in OK Kanmani and Dr.Leela in Kaatru Veliyidai are just etched in my memory. He is one director who shows girls as independent, bold, intelligent and garrulous. Can we imagine a film maker who has touched so many sensitive topics in celluloid? To handle these topics with brilliant characterizations, technical finesse, articulate craftmanship and not to forget realism deserves huge round of applause. Ofcourse celluloid demands fantasy elements and to deliver quality films laced with great music, mind blowing cinematography one has to master the art very well and only a top notch individual can do that which according to me is Mani ratnam. 

Realism: Let me just go over few scenes from his classics which depicts realism to the core.

Mouvna Raagam: Now how many of us know that the home in Delhi (one Mohan lives) shown in Mouvna Raagam was actually in Madras. That is where a film maker comes into picture – right from surroundings, sounds, people everything has to have a realistic touch as per the narration of the movie. I love one of the scene in which Revathy stops Mohan from sipping a coffee saying sugar was not added to it assuming he won’t drink and she can use the coffee later in the day. Also one other scene in second half where Revathy rushes to open the door to greet his parents she would be with Idly batter all over her hand. These small details just blends so well into the narrative. I can keep on talking about this movie but on a lighter note I always had this dream before marriage to watch my favorite movie along with my wife post marriage, only to realize Minu slept half way through. Next day Minu said it’s a good movie but not as good as I portray ….Hmm....Minu watches movie by forwarding many scenes whereas I like to watch movies from Title card rolling ....

Roja: Arvind samy takes his newly wed wife to introduce to his Chief and the chief once realizing it’s a tamil girl connects with her so much and the camera angle is tilted to show a Tamil Murugan calendar in the backdrop ….automatically the audience relates to the narration and not to forget Chief requesting Paal paniyaram to Madhu bala in the end ….I am just trying to be myself ..

Agni Nakshathiram: Vijayakumar often swaps names between Ashok and Gowtham which are just instinct gestures by Vijayakumar but it adds so much to the intensity of the movie as both the brothers share the same biological father.

Alai Payuthey: A typical middle class scene when Shalini and her sister have breakfast where mom complains about hair not tied, daughter complains about upma being the routine breakfast and the best was mom tying a thread around Shalini’s hand for her to do the exams well. These are pure slice of life is an Indian household. Talking about this movie I love the house in which Maddy and Shalini stay with just brick and cement (without being painted) only to realize later when I bought my home that I do not even have control to change the place of my Microwave. Reality sucks !!

Once audience able to relate the narrative in celluloid they get connected to the movie. But obviously movies do need fantasy and that is where songs come into picture. Practically we buy few sets of clothes in a calendar year but in movies we love to see hero and heroine keep changing dresses, we may not be able to go to places shown in the movie and hence audience enjoy those during song sequences.

King of Romance: For a hard core Mani Ratnam fan it is easy to point out that he is king of romance as you can see pretty much all the movies there is a strong dosage of romance. Now for someone who is 60+ in India to deal with romance the extent Mani Ratnam has explored shows he must have done an extensive thesis on ‘Love and relationships’. He is one film maker who does not believe in skin show and always differentiates between lust and love– there is one scene in Roja where by mistake Arvind swamy would happen to tear the blouse of Madhubala, had it been other directors they would have asked music director to make the scene look sensuous by some crap BGM score instead Arvind samy says ‘Sorry …it happened by mistake’. People critisize ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’ so much but if you look deeper the movie deals with relationships and difference of opinion between the lead pair. In real life it is the small incidents which creates misunderstanding between couples and that is portrayed beautifully in the movie. Movies like Mouvna Raagam and Alaipayuthey says love after marriage is the true one, Anjali and Kannathil Muthamittal shows love between the couple keeping children in background, Rajini marries a widower in Thalapathy so on and so forth. Love is always shown with lot of dignity and Mani Ratnam extracts the best out of the actors.

Break the stereotypes: Running time of his movies vary by each movie, number of songs vary per movie, heroine may have kids if the story demands, close up shots are plenty if that is necessary for the movie, on board an actor quite opposite to his nature like the RJ Balaji character in Kaatru Veliyidai, shoot songs in India and still show the aesthetics and talk less about his movies instead have his movies do the talking

    Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam aka Mani Ratnam is a film personality we should all celebrate. Given his recognition any actor in India will be willing to work under his direction knowing he is a low pay master. Sometimes people like Mani Ratnam are forced to make movies in many languages across same time to have pan India release but due to availability of dates with lead actors and other logistics challenges they had to compromise on Nativity as they have to wrap up the shoot. Obviously his movies in 80’s and 90’s are no match to his current films but nevertheless he is still one of the best film makers in the country. Now makers have tough time to defend one scene which sensors believe may be controversial but here is one man who has touches many sensitive subjects in the likes of religion, love, relationships, political battle, disabled kid etc., and still came out in flying colors. He would have made many movies and increased his bank balance but he did not believe in number game. He is inspiration to current crop of directors and his movies act as a dictionary to them. Through this blog I have paid my tribute to my favorite director in Kollywood – Mani Ratnam

Shame on Media

    Indian democracy is said to have four pillars – legislature, executive, judiciary and press which is nothing but media. Media has several different forms like – paper, television, social media etc., Many media is privatized and influence with government authorities can obtain you license to one of the lucrative industries. I am so disappointed with Indian media – anything and everything is sensationalized in order to garner viewership. Their only goal is TRP which is a key metric to denote how well they are performing in the market.

    Sasikala going to jail is captured like never before as if a freedom fighter is convicted, there are alerts, flash news, minute by minute updates on her activities on the day she went to jail. I am not sure about the judiciary aspects but when someone is convicted there has to be process in place saying person who is convicted should report within so many hours or days but here is a person who took her own time and media did not question that instead they passed on the news to public by elaborating hour by hour details. I was informed Thanthi TV program called ‘Kelvikenna pathil’ is a very nice program – yes Pandey definitely does a good job but if you carefully evaluate the program all he is trying to do is counter attack the person he is interviewing. Though he feels something is correct but still he goes up and beyond from what the other person is saying by cleverly presenting facts and smartly interpreting information. People may think Pandey is too good by grilling the person but actually he is trying to be loyal to his employer by making the program more interesting and gaining more viewership. Now let me talk about the super duper famous star ‘Gopinath’ of Vijay TV fame. The day he did doctors show I lost all respect for him but that is just personal level. He can talk about any topic under the sun given the amount of reading he does but where was he during Jallikattu protest, why did he not raise any opinion regarding Jayalalitha’s death, why did he not question Udayanidhi stalin during DMK’s regime on 2G scam, why did he not raise any questions regarding Swathi’s murder case …People may say he is not  police officer or government official to handle law and order in the state but he projects himself as a social activist and says his program will ask questions to raise concerns on current state of affairs. Now he went to a place to stop hydrocarbon project and also gave a speech – this is mere eyewash to gain popularity. He criticizes government authorities and at the same time interviews celebrities associated with political parties; why this hypocrisy? His program picks on good topics but intensity is lost when they edit which one is aired. I have heard from few folks that people talk quite a lot but the one appearing on TV is very less – obviously you cannot show everything but the way program is shown on TV is to attract good one liners, punch dialogues, emotional aspects and also anything which can has the potential to be sensationalized. Media projected Nadigar sangam elections so much which increased their business by many times but do an election comprising of 5000 votes overall deserve this much hype? If Vijay Mallya is arrested, Karunanidhi is hospitalized, Nayantara is separated from her lover, Simbu’s beep song is released then that news dominates the day overlooking many important aspects in the state administration.

    Money dominates the policies; If a jewellery shop is about to be opened in the town then they pay exorbitant advertisement fee to have their ad placed on the very first page. Media should have a policy of not to display ads in the first page. Some news may not have business value like an inspiring real time story but rather than placing it in a nook and corner they can give more real estate to the news by placing it in a nice slot to attract readership. Tamil Nadu farmers are protesting in Delhi and there has been little coverage and even when the coverage is there media is either sensationalizing or sympathetic towards the whole topic. Media started to cover Marina beach protest only after it gained more attention, basically only after it realized there is a monetary potential to the whole proceeding. Through the name of ‘Reality shows’ media also taps emotional quotient and translates into Business which is very sad. A small kid eliminated from a round is projected as a loss in Olympic race by having a BGM score, tears all round, close up shots of parents etc., It just pisses me off completely.

   There is quite a lot of investment made in starting a media and without attracting sponsorship it is difficult to sustain the competition. Once sponsorships come into picture then external influence comes into picture on how media is run and also founders drive the initiatives keeping the sponsors in mind and not the public. End of the day people are made fools by watching news which is not close to reality. Delhi gangrape attracted so much attention for media and then once the dust settled very few media covered whether justice prevailed; For media the news happened at first instance provided so much fodder whereas latter did not. Anyway I am not against media since they are the ones who bring the news to our doorstep but when media commercializes everything then I just feel very disappointed.

Thaipusam 2017

  Thaipusam is celebrated as victory of good over evil. It is to be believed that on Thaipusam day goddess Parvati gave Vel to Lord Muruga to demolish Asuras. Offering Kavadi to Lord Muruga has its own significance – burden in one’s own life will be lessened. Thaipusam is widely celebrated across the globe and here in America Murugan devotees are lucky enough to participate in Shiva Murugan temple’s Thaipusam celebrations. Padhayatra is one such ritual where devotees take pilgrimage to temple. Living in a country where few drops of water on the floor is cautioned using a yellow board, pilgrimage must be a distant dream for many. A Trail in California which is pretty much straight for most part of the journey and all the way to temple – do we call this luck or do we call this a divine intervention?

   Volunteers – a word which gained more respect and meaning after seeing them in action. Young adults take off from their work, young ladies get together on a house and do mass cooking, Teenage boys do Bike patrolling, teenage girls help their mom on break spots, small girl gives napkins, 70-year-old lady does pandhi visaranai, so on and so forth. Food for breakfast, lunch and dinner is not catered but cooked by volunteers; Just to make sure people are not lost during the walk especially the out of station folks, leads are assigned and several folks are assigned on many intersections just to direct to the right path.

  Key to hosting a successful event for an organization is to plan things and execute them meticulously. If one can bridge the gap between planning and execution, then success story is on the making. Let me give you three examples. They had multiple counters for serving food and one volunteer gave plate, spoon and napkin together which reduces time rather than allowing people to pick each one from table. They had dedicated volunteer to collect plates, napkins, spoons by that way they can prevent trash bag getting filled with empty space. By this way they could fill in more and this on top of being environment friendly it also reduces number of trips to dispose trash. Next one is traffic control – with overwhelming numbers each passing year they came up with a strategy in how they want to control traffic amongst the walkers. They placed volunteers in appropriate junctions and basically the person did a traffic constable job in managing the overall flow of walkers. I love the concept of neither sodas in any of the break spots nor junk food. Liquid items were buttermilk, rosemilk, chai, coffee, Gatorade and panakkam which were all well made.

   Padhayatra is a wonderful experience to interact with nature – place your feet on the ground, look upto the glorious sky and feel the wonderful breeze of air and in the process, also thank nature of our existence in this world. There are more and more challenges for the organizers every year due to the overwhelming response from devotees across the country. Being religious is good in many ways and there are many ways to offer our prayers to almighty – Padha yatra is one such thing. ‘Seva’ actually means ‘Selfless service’ and just want to go over this term in detail. First and foremost as devotees we have to acknowledge the fact that many may not be able to do physically exhaustive tasks like Anga pradhesham, padha yatra etc., If we are being truly religious then we can encourage devotees and motivate them and if the other party still feel they cannot then it is our responsibility to give them the free space. Some offer money, some volunteer their time, some sing bhajans, some market the events etc., people can do anything to their capacity and lord will be happy to accept prayers of his/her devotees. The true devotion is the key and this is called ‘Bhakthi’. I know people who are now old who have not indulged in any padha yatra but still having a fulfilling life with good health, wealth, prosperity, good children etc., But there were truly devotional and always good at heart. If one can perform traditions like Padha yatra in a foreign land then that is well and good and should consider themselves very blessed and at the same time they should encourage more people to participate in future. I have been blessed to experience Padha yatra in USA for three consecutive years and would highly recommend you to participate in future. It just takes one experience for you to keep coming again and again.