Raining cats and dogs in chennai...

It has been raining incessantly the whole weekend... The torrential rainfall has already wreaked havoc and thrown the city out of gear... Have a look at this...

Azhagiya Thamizh Magan(ATM) - Music Review!!!

Albeit I never follow Vijay's movie/music premiere, I was hooked on to ATM, the moment I came to know that 'Mozart of Madras' has wielded his baton for this movie. After Sivaji's runaway musical hit, ATM's music piqued lot of expectations among hoi polloi. And has Rahman lived up to the expectations? Here's a peek at what ARR had to offer in ATM…

* Ella Pugazhum (Singer : AR Rahman)

A booming intro song! Typical ARR style. Promises to invigorate a drowned spirit. Preludes and interludes sounds just perfect, Rahman notching incredible decibels with his high-pitch( at times vociferous) is a good listening experience… Will throw ‘Vijay’ fans to an irrecoverable state of hysteria. Cinema Halls are in for a big diwali bash with this opening song… And be prepared for 'once-more' requests... They are going to be aplenty of them… However, after constant repetition of this song, I couldn't help noticing the residues of ' Ararai Kodiyil' song from 'Anbe Aruyire'…

* Kelamaal Kaiyile(Singer : Sriram Parthasarathy, Saindhavi)

My pick of the album. Fresh. Pristine. Never-heard-before tune!!! The blend of Sriram-Saindhavi duo is magical. And I guess this 'Kokilam-Kokilam' pallavi, will become ubiquitous… Sure, it will top the charts.

* Maduraikki Pogadhadee( Singer : Benny, Archith, Dharshana)

As soon I was done with the first 2 songs, out of the blue I was confronted with this 'folk'ish number. And I must confess, ARR has not scored heavily with this song. I found reviews, drawing comparisons of this song with his erstwhile classics of 'Kizhakku Chemaiyile'… I could only pooh-pooh these Rahmaniacs... They want to praise him, regardless of whatever he does… Songs he composed for 'Kizhakku Chemaiyile' , 'Tajmahal' or 'Sangamam' were legendary… Beyond Comparison...And people are making a mockery, by doing such out-of-line comparisons…

* Nee Marlyn Manroe(Singer : Benny, Dayal, Ujjayinee)

This song started -off promisingly and sunk without a trace. Rahman's effort to sandwich a techno with Rap, has went in vain. Occasional Tamil lyrics interlaced with lackluster tune, makes it one forgettable song.

* Ponmagal Vandhal(Singer : MD Aslam, Ember Rap)

When Rahman first experimented with a remix ( Thottal Poo Malarum),I got despondent! Just because, this genius had lot of original music to offer, why should he resort to remix… Definitely I am not belittling people who venture out doing remixes and stuff… But what we expect out of ARR is fresh and original music... And this ain't one! The only consolation is the terrific husky-voice of Aslam...

* Valayapatti Thavile(Singer : Madhumita, Naresh Iyer, Ujjayinee)

I was hardly able to distinguish ‘Maduraikki Pogadhadee’ and 'Valayapatti Thavile' for quite some time… After repeated listening, I was comfortable… I still felt something nagging… Then I quickly realized it was very similar to 'Kummi Adi' from 'SOK'…

ATM music might be embraced with thumping hands by Vijay fans... But certainly not an album, Rahmaniacs can boast about… A complete let-down!

Clash of Titans...

After their epic-R16-encounter at The Wimbledon 2001, Sampras and Federer are due to clash one more time in an exhibition match at Malaysia on Nov 22. It seems just like yesterday, when the Swiss sent him( Sampras) home packing in a grueling five-setter! The fact that they've never played against each other since then, should generate lot of interest. Hope Sampras gets a sweet revenge!

Taxi Driver ( 1976)

Hailed as a landmark film of the 1970's, the story of 'Taxi Driver' piggy-backs on Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), an isolate-distorted-illusive- paranoiac-delusional-misanthropist-vietnam-veteran. Travis perceptibly smitten with insomnia, spends sleepless nights as a cabbie. The ugly face of New York City precipitated with scum, filth, and decadence sets off Travis to go on a reckless rampage, as he ends up rescuing Iris Steensma (Jodie Foster), a twelve year old prostitute from the willful custody of 'Sport' Matthew (Harvey Keitel), who runs a brothel. And Media catapults Travis an over-night-Hero!

Martin Scorsese has admirably skewed the movie through the eyes of Travis. Be it the loneliness, filthy streets of New York, non-chaste women et al… Scorsese has etched all these attributes and shades at will and with utmost perfection. Most of the scenes were shot with a pinch of dark, suggesting the estranged mind of Travis, and they were absorbing and at times very disturbing. The climax, shot for well over 5 minutes, unleashes a bloodbath, with most of the central characters involved. A massacre!!! Had it not been for the creative camera angles of Michael Chapman, bloody-scene could have doomed... Laconic dialogues penned by Paul Schrader are worth a praise, it had the stimulus to inject pain, and rarely pleasure. I really enjoyed some of the one- liners…

On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.

Shit... I'm waiting for the sun to shine.

Thank God for the rain to wash the trash off the sidewalk.

You're only as healthy as you feel.

Bernard Herrmann (remember the nerve-jangling music of ‘Psycho’), music was really instrumental in making the movie 'Taxi Driver' a classic… The subtle Jazz, occasional sforzando of drums took the movie to dizzy heights of haunt, suspense and hallucination.

(Just a day after composing the music for ' Taxi Driver' Bernard Herrmann passed away...)

Having said all this, I must admit I did not enjoy watching 'Taxi Driver' as much as I did enjoy watching 'The Godfather’, ‘Psycho’ or 'Raging Bull '. With all due respect to Martin Scorsese, I did not feel the pounding heart, lump to my throat, an occupied-cum-disturbed mind, intense emotion et al… Scorsese is masterful in generating such inexplicable feelings out of watching a movie…

Perhaps, the Italian Version of the movie (which I actually saw today) has played the spoilsport…Lost in translation :-(

I'll pick the English version and hopefully I should be made to eat my own words and may be I'll eat a humble pie … :-)

India, still a one-man-army?

After being steamrolled on earlier occasions, Indians were yet again brought to their feet by the invincible Aussies in the 5th ODI at Vadodara. More than the defeat, the meek surrender of the Indians was the real cause of concern… Barring Sachin's valiant 47 and last minute resilience from the tail-enders, the score card wasn't a happy reading… It was an excruciating experience to watch Sachin left reeling for partners, as the wickets kept tumbling at frequent intervals… Had it been not for Sachin timely knock, Indians would have bundled-out themselves for a paltry 80 or 95… Adding insult to the injury was the derogatory 'monkey chant’ off-the-ground-heroics of the notorious crowd against Symonds… Denounce those uncivilized assholes!

Now here's the million dollar question…Is India still a one-man-army??? Can Indian cricket survive without Sachin…?

Even though Sachin's batting has always been found under the scanner, invariably Sachin's knock has helped India in many a victories… The recently lost 3-4 ODI NatWest series at England saw Sachin amassing 374 runs at an enviable average of 53.42, with 4 half-centuries (3 half-centuries resulted in India's victory) under his belt... Of course there is huge junta who wouldn't agree with me on this point… Here's another fact-file for them...India's only victory in the current and on-going Future Cup came in the 4th ODI at Chandigarh and the Master' piled a gritty 79...

Sachin has always been the savior, when the Indian batting has been in doldrums… And am sure when Sachin hangs up his boots, he’ll leave a huge void… And these bad-mouthing journalists will understand what a force Sachin was to reckon with and how indispensable he was... But then it would be too late…

And without Sachin Indian Cricket will never be the same…

P.S: Latest update is aussies have scored a massive 317/8 in the penultimate game… And if India were to win this game, Sachin’s intervention is mandatory…

Engineered to Enthrall!

Here's my dream machine…Masculinity personified. Look at the dazzling metallic finish… Sexy curves… It is definitely a man-made-miracle… I just yearn to park her in front of my house some day… I don’t know how long the wait is, but it will be certainly worth it!

Have a look at some of her incredible dimensions:

Displacement: 346.00 ccm (21.11 cubic inches)

Engine type: Single cylinder

Stroke: 4

Power: 18.00 HP (13.1 kW)) @ 5000 RPM

Torque: 27.00 Nm (2.8 kgf-m or 19.9 ft-lb) @ 2875 RPM

Compression: 7.3:1

Bore x stroke: 70.0 x 90.0 mm (2.8 x 3.5 inches)

Fuel system: Carburettor

Cooling system: Air

Gearbox: 4-speed

Transmission type final drive: Chain

P.S : Lot of people say, it's inane to opt for a new bullet, instead a second hand bullet with a face-lift is the intelligent way to own the beast … Do you agree???? Please share your thought…

A stroll down memory lane...

Prelude

It's such a wonderful feeling to reminisce about the good old college days. Many a times, we grope for the 'rewind' button to travel back to the time when we once wore a carefree-careless-care-a-damn attitude as college students and bunked our classes loitering around the city with weird hairdos, torn denim pants and other wacky stuff… Gone are those evergreen days… But if you ever get a chance to relive/recap those effervescent moments, sure you'd grab them with both hands. Wont you? Period.

Train to Paradise

Param made a rare visit to Madras and we (Hari, Param & Me) decided to pull the time machine and hit the ‘rewind’ button. We planned to visit our college! Well, I’d like to rephrase that… We planned to go to college, again!

Hari and myself (minus Alfy, Madhu and Satish) boarded the Suburban Electric Train (prominently known as EMU) at Chromepet, which actually was our routine mode of transport during our college days. We slipped into a tête-à-tête and after momentary time-lapse, train was fast approaching T.Nagar. Param was expected to join us. He was late. Gee, he had to sprint all the way to board the train, in the end he made it in the nick of time (as he always does). We (the trio) couldn't resist from getting on to the footboard of the train...

After all we've traveled in the footboard counting post after post, station after station during our college days… We had enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) every inch of railway tracks laid by the Englishmen. It was just a tribute to the endless footboard travels we had done all through our teens.

The moment we stepped on to the footboard against the strong gush of wind, we sensed a sudden rush of blood to the head!!! Kodambakkam passed in a jiffy...Presto, we alighted the moment train entered the Nungambakkam railway station (we normally do). Took the staircase to reach our college. I still remember those days when we were fresher at college, and we took the shelter out of the staircase to escape from being ragged.

And as we strolled the lean passage, we were there (we did miss the peanut shop on the way).

The Paradise

Loyola College! 'Man, things have changed. Just like our lives… ‘We thought to our self looking at the huge edifices cropped up recently, for they never existed when we did our bachelors. Some of the buildings were CUT and PASTE to different locations. Nevertheless the aura hadn't changed. The vintage Loyola was still intact. We criss-crossed our college in length and breadth. We went to the canteen, Betram hall, and the church, playground, meadows and hostel premises.

Although we never stayed at the hostel during our bachelor days, Param was a hosteler during his MBA days. But he was ousted though, within a year for all wrong reasons (No pun intended ). He did have a lot of hostel stories to recount and time flew by (and we were busy searching for ice-cold water that param was harping about)…

After a brief stint at the hostel we navigated our way back to the concrete-seat-bench just opposite to our class. And on the way, we had a steaming elachi tea…

Flooded with trees on the either side, the seating pavement is the perfect place for a soul in search of a whiff of fresh air. We fondly recollected an incident. A blast form the past!Our college elections held exactly at the same place. A no-hoper by the name 'Harikrishnan' won the election hands down… I could still remember that day…

And it was the same place where Hari and myself were waiting for Param, when he appeared for his arrear exam in mechanics paper. I shall take you through that scene… The exams were over. Param never expected us to present that day in the first place and the moment he figured it was us, he came rushing down from the third floor to meet us…I had never seen him so jubilant… And most importantly he passed the exam!

We had thousands of hundreds other instances to recollect. I took with me some memorabilia that I collected when we were in our college and we had fun scanning each and every one of them. It was thoroughly refreshing… To name a few…

• Terminal Question Papers
• Alfy's answer sheet (we normally take the q.paper and the answer paper with us after the exam… Alfy, remember ‘The one’ – From Metallica)
• Farewell Gift ( One hell-of-a-fortune for Vaidy)
• College Diaries
• Loyola Fast Food Bills

We then headed straight to clerks room…Near the display and sign boards… It was nostalgia again… Let me detail... Attendance was marked on a day-to-day basis against each student and it was displayed on the display boards. In case of any discrepancy (cases like you were marked absent when you were present et al), you can report to the admin and get things sorted out... The only time we ever had a look this display board, was when the Lack-of-attendance list was displayed. We knew for a fact our name would definitely figure in that list. But what we were really concerned about was the fine amount ... :-) And at times getting debarred for attendance was also on the cards… So with butterflies in the stomach we would show up at display board to check for our attendance… As luck would have it, we never got debarred for attendance…

The Paradise Lost

College days were heaven. It was so fast… It is gone... It has vanished so hurriedly…

We now had to press the ‘stop’ button and press ‘play’… Wish we could press the ‘pause’ button… And enjoy…

Epilogue

The entire evening was awesome. The only glitch, we missed the presence of 'Funky' Alfy, 'Silly' Anand and 'Innocent' Rajamani… Their presence would have been icing on the cake. At least next time around, we ALL should congregate at Loyola…

Signing off ambivalently...

Sam Walton's Made in America - Final Cut...

I picked up this book, during the month of July and over these 3 months I feel like I had enrolled for a management program attending classes on a regular basis. That’s how interactive the book is… Sammy knocks my door each day to deliver a piece of lecture :-)

Well, to say the least the book was 'Breathtaking'… In the past, I've read the autobiographies of Iacocca, Branson et al… But nothing is quite revealing & revelling like ' Made in America ' … It is like a black-magician revealing all the tricks, he had learned all through all his life, to a commoner… Simple and Transparent, vintage Walton style…

I really do not subscribe to the thought ' If you are a Management Student/ If you are looking at entrepreneurship as a serious career option this book is must-read'… Nope, not at all…But having said that, I must admit there are lots of take-away from this book… Mammoth in number… Profound in sense… Just pick up and read this book, thou shall be delighted learning Walton's way of management!

One of the most absorbing book residing in my shelf, no second thought about it!!!

FuSiOn - Life was on!

Fresh out of college with pristine thoughts

Unaware we’d be bind through a common knot

Stupid quarrels to candid talks, we’ve travelled together in unison

Inundated with undying love and true affection

Over and over this relationship doesn’t sour

Never shall die the spirit of FUSION, we may roar!!!

Maestro's Terrific Twenty!

My all-time favorite numbers strummed on Ilaiyaraja's harmonium!

• Sangathil Padaadha - Ilaiyaraaja, S.Janaki ( Auto Raja)
• Idhayam Oru Kovil - Illayaraja ( Idhaya Kovil)
• Madai Thirandhu - S.P.B (Nizhalgal)
• Vellai Pura - K.J.Yesudas ( Pudhu Kavidhai)
• Poo Maalayae - Ilaiyaraaja, S.Janaki (Pagal Nilavu)
• Pothivacha - S.P.B, S.Janaki (Man Vaasanai)

• Nethu Oruthara - Ilaiyaraaja, Chitra ( Pudhu Pattu)
• Naan Thedum - Ilaiyaraaja, S.Janaki ( Dharma Pathini)
• Adiye Manam - S.P.B, S.Janaki (Neengal Kettavai)
• Raja Raja Chozhan - K.J.Yesudas ( Rettai Val Kuruvi)
• Kalyana Malai - S.P.B ( Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal)
• Rakkamma - S.P.B, Swarnalatha( Thalapathi)
• Illaya Nila - S.P.B (Payanangal Mudivadhillai)
• Nee Partha - Hariharan, Asha Bhonsle( Hey Ram)
• En Iniya Pon Nilaave - K.J.Yesudas ( Moodupani)
• Idhazhil Kadhai - S.P.B, Chitra ( Unnal Mudium Thambi)
• Indhaman - Ilaiyaraaja, Chitra (Karagattakaran)
• O Vasantha -S.P.B, S.Janaki (Neengal Kettavai)
• Sangeetha Megam - S.P.B (Udhaya Geetham)
• Thendral Vandhu Theendum - Ilaiyaraaja, S.Janaki ( Avadharam)

The list is absolutely personal and grossly restricted. Feel free to add your favorite Raja rendition.

Unethical Journalism!

I read this blog last week and was foaming at the mouth about this irresponsible-unethical-journalist, who's compiled a pile of shit and had sparked-off unwarranted debate!!!

T20 final between India and Pakistan, touted as 'Mother of all finals', did prove to be humdinger of a contest and the former managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat… A thorough edge-of-the-seat-thriller. Post match, during the presentation ceremony Ravi Shastri invited the losing captain Shaoib Malik to have a few words… This is what Shaoib had to say...

“First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the MUSLIM lives all over the world. We gave our 100%, India have a strong batting line-up. We did well to restrict them to less than 160 but our batting didn’t come through. The Indians bowled really well and we played some bad shots. That’s why we ended up on the losing side in this game.”

It is evident that Malik had uttered something repulsive… But what people should/must understand is the fact that it wasn’t just repulsive, but impulsive as well. Pakistanis have this dubious distinction of slaughtering English to agonizing levels, and Malik was no exception. But whatever he said wasn’t intentional and words popped out of his mouth on the spur of the moment...

Now that all is said and done, what is the role of media here? They should have ideally subsided Malik's words and should have engaged themselves with the match analysis and stuff…But what it has done??? Or rather what this Columnist had done… He's picked few words (Malik’s of course) and totally blown that out of proportion. During a time, when the peace process between India and Pakistan is scaling amazing thresholds, articles such as this, which threaten harmony, must be severely condemned.

Investing time in the 'Comments' section would best illustrate my point. If you read through carefully, you can find threads where people engage themselves in a war of words. It was chaotic, on one hand people defending Shaoib and reprimanding on the other… It was even more agonizing when I read oodles of comments appreciating the columnist for reporting this story… What kind of a show these people are putting out there? Fuck ‘em!

If the author had expected all of this hullabaloo and clamor, and had that been his intention, he's deemed to be forbidden from writing anymore!

A perfect solution to this menacing problem is to allow the players to honestly express themselves in their native language. Soccer does it, why shouldn't cricket embrace this practice and let the game be devoid of controversy.