Nalladhor Veenai

During my recent trip to India, I got a chance to see the movie "Varumayin Niram Sirappu". While it reflects more of things at the time then, the way KB blends Bharathiyar into the storyline is amazing. The depth of each song complements the situations and vice versa. I wanted to revisit one exceptional piece in this post.

The composition "Nalladhor Veenai" juxtapositioning an idealistic and jobless Kamal trying to get a meal and his illustrious singer father singing the song in a concert in Delhi is exceptional. Kamal loses everything but his ideals and thus has everything. His father has everything but nothing since his son is not to be found and hence no peace of mind. The song and its lyrics are here along with the rest of the tracks in the movie. I am sure many of you have seen the movie, heard the songs but give it another shot and you will never regret it.

Movie Name: Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (1980)
Singer: Balasubramanyam S P
Music Director: Viswanathan M S
Lyrics: Bharathiyaar, Kannadasan
Year: 1980
Actors: Kamal Hassan, Sridevi

nalladhoar veenai seydhae - adhai
nalangedap puzhudhiyil erivadhundoa

(nalladhoar)

solladi sivasakthi - enaich
chudarmigum arivudan padaiththuvittaay
vallamai thaaraayoa - indha
maanilam payanura vaazhvadharkae
solladi sivasakthi - nilach
chumaiyena vaazhndhidap puriguvaiyoa

(nalladhoar)

visaiyurup pandhinaip poal - ullam
vaendiyapadi seyyum udal kaettaen
nasaiyaru manam kaettaen - niththam
navamenach chudar tharum uyir kaettaen...uyir kaettaen...uyir kaettaen
thasaiyinaith theechchudinum - siva
sakthiyaip paadum nallagam kaettaen
asaivuru madhi kaettaen - ivai
arulvadhil unakkedhum thadaiyuladhoa (2)

(nalladhoar)

And here is another gem from the movie.

Movie Name: Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (1980)
Singer: Balasubramanyam S P
Music Director: Viswanathan M S
Lyrics: Bharathiyar, Kannadasan
Year: 1980
Actors: Kamal Hassan, Sridevi

theerththak karaiyinilae therku moolaiyil shenbagath thoattaththilae
paarththirundhaal varuvaen vennilaavilae paanigiyoadenru sonnaay
vaarththai thavarivittaay adi kannammaa maarbu thudikkudhadi
paarththa idaththilellaam unnaip poalavae paavai theriyudhadi
paavai theriyudhadi

(theerththak)

maeni kodhikkudhadi thalai sutriyae vaedhanai seygudhadi
vaanin idaththaiyellaam indha vennilaa vandhu thazhuvudhu paar
moanaththirukkudhadi indha vaiyagam moozhgith thuyilinilae
naanoruvan mattilum pirivenbadhoar naragath thuzhaluvadhoa (2)

(theerththak)

It happens only in India

I am back from an awesome trip to India. More on that later. Here is a sampler from my photo collection. And yes, its all India and absolutely no photoshop.

(Taken outside the town of Nagercoil in the southernmost part of India)

Wedding in the shadows

I attended the wedding of two fellow bloggers in India last week. Since I have not gotten the green signal from them yet, I will post a picture of their shadows now and their faces later...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

A quick review. Shalini and I did get a chance to see the first screening of the latest Harry Potter movie, "HP and the Goblet of Fire" at 12 last night. The movie is definitely the best Potter movie, yet. Its dark, its definitely more mature and it is outright gorgeous. The sets and effects are fantastic and there are very few areas where the computer effects stick out like a sore thumb. Effects are felt as experiences and not as just effects.

The acting has improved significantly with the only complaint being that Hermoine cribs too much and Dumbledore seems a trifle too angry at times contradicting his character in the book. That said, the chemistry between the lead characters is very good and new additions are all good. Ralph Fiennes as Voldermort, rocks !

The best part about the movie is the picturisation of the TriWizard tournament. It looks unbelievable and the thrills are many and great.

In short, the movie to beat for the winter and well, the movie to beat for future Potter ones themselves.

Here are some critics reviews:
NY Times
Chicago Sun Times

Fall, falling, fallen !

And Fall is over. Atleast officially. The weather has been surprisingly pleasant for the last week or so but things are changing...and the colorful leaves are history. For the year atleast.

So until Spring, here is to a bleak landscape and nightfall at 4.

Fall, at the door.

The nights are getting colder.
There are still a few that are holding on to their color.
But soon, it will be all black and all grey.
And Winter will be here.

Spicy!!!

This picture was taken at the same place I got many of my Fall pics and the previous Halloween post.

Its Halloween

Here is a Halloween picture that I shot in a nursery close by. I have since then seen a lot of innovative Halloween arrangements but this one blends the natural significance with pumpkins and the one with ghosts and all. And for trivia buffs, here is some information on the significance of Halloween.

Fall in Pa

Fall colors have started appearing all over town and this one is the best I have seen this season. This was taken on an evening drive around the place I live, Devon, Pa.

Man, Machine, God and Nature

This photo was sheer good luck. I had parked my car on a rainy night under the lights and the rain and lights together were creating this unique pattern above the dashboard of the car. Thankfully the camera was on hand and I got Shalini or rather her hand to pose for the photograph.

The honeymoon is over.

And thus the reign ended. It was nice and glorious while it lasted. After a comeback for generations last Fall to win the World Series, the RedSox sputtered and fell yesterday to the Chicago WhiteSox in the ALDS. It was shocking to few but expected by many. Inspite of tying for the top position in the AL East with the Yankees, the 2005 RedSox had been plagued by injuries, player chemistry and everything else that made it almost impossible for the RedSox to defeat a much better White Sox. There was a finality for the Idiot team of 2004 which will spread far and wide in the off season. While Theo pulled the almost impossible in holding most of the champion team together last offseason, changes are inevitable this year.

Yesterday, the loss was much less of a thought. The feeling of sadness in seeing the team splitting this offseason was evident in fan forums and message boards and the field. Millar, Damon, Timlin, Mueller have probably played their last game for the RedSox. And much as I hate even thinking about it, one of the greatest hitters in recent memory, Manny Ramirez, might be soon saying goodbye to the Fenway Faithful. The lovable RedSox of 2004 are soon going to be distant dream but the camaraderie and sheer joy they brought to the clubhouse and field would be remembered forever.

Goodbye team of 2004/2005. We loved you inspite of your problems and inconsistencies. We believed. You delivered . That alone is worth a lifetime of joy and joyful retrospection. May the best happen to all of you.
We will never forget the Fall of 2004.

A photo to celebrate photography

This photo was taken on Labor Day in downtown Philly. This happens to be the location of the oldest surviving photograph by Joseph Saxton in 1839. Others in the picture include my wife Shalini and fellow blogger, Saranyan. The photographer is a blogger himself, Pradeep.

Note: No one actually posed for the photo. The fact that we have all adopted similar poses is just coincidence and credit to Pradeep for having captured it at the right moment.

Fall Tracker: 09-04-2005

Not much change in the foliage this week. The hope persists. I am expecting to see significant change in the next two-three weeks. The temperature is starting to come down especially at nights.

Fall Tracker: 08-28-2005

I am tracking Fall in PA this year by taking photos of the same subject over the entire season. This is the first of the set taken last Sunday, the 28th of August, 2005.

No hassle or too much hassle

If you live in the US, you probably are groaning even thinking about it. If you work in India as a software engineer or as a professional in a big city, you pretty much know what I am talking about. Why do the credit card companies torture us with the unending mailers for pre-approved credit card offerings?. I have had days when I got 4 of them. On an average I get about 10 pre-approved card applications a month. And that doesnt include the ancillary credit card offerings like magazine subscriptions and credit protector schemes and what not. I have cursed them so many times, and still fallen short of how many preapproved applications I have received from them.

The bad news is that it never gets better. As your credit improves, the offers pour in more and more. The good news is that you can actually stop this mail bombardment. The credit bureaus offer you a choice of phone in (1-888-5-OPTOUT), mail in or an online mechanism of opting out of receiving the applications. All methods come with a big caveat- revealing your social security number. While there is no obvious threat to doing so, such a move needs to be done judiciously. Here are some websites to help in the decision making process.

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/3/1/13940/79585
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs24a-optout.htm
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs24-finpriv.htm
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t

Hope this helps. And as a friend told me, never trash your preapproved card offers as is. Shred them to avoid any possibility of privacy theft.

Update: As per a legal ruling, the preapproved ads I have been getting since August last week (after the time of this posting) give me the option of opting out from the ads. The notice bears the aforementioned number and website for the same.

To opt out of telemarketing calls, please use www.donotcall.gov. Its very effective.

Kalimdor Diary

Kalimdor Diary
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This is a collage of pictures taken while I(Bheema and Bheeshma - my game characters) visited Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdom in the World of Warcraft.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

No spoilers here. This past weekend, Shalini and my wait for the sixth Harry Potter book came to an end. We had preordered a copy at the local Borders and picked it up on Saturday. Here is a quick review with no spoilers whatsoever.

The book is great but could have been better. Bear in mind that J.K.Rowling is so good that even a less than fantastic effort from her is much better than most books out there. That said, the focus on apparently unimportant issues (could become important in the last book but does not appear so, to me) is more than the important ones. Romance is given lot more space than in the past and understandably so. The kids are 16 and romance is pretty high on the list of 16 year olds. I would have preferred a little less romance but thats just me. There is much more Dumbledore-Harry interactions in this book than ever before and that is a good thing. Sometimes a bit too disconnected but nevertheless pretty interesting, we see more of the human side of the great HeadMaster that we always wanted but never got until the sixth book.

Harry is not a pain in the a$% like in the "Order of the Phoenix". In fact he is the total opposite. He is mature, intelligent and getting to be the role model he is expected to be at the end of the series. The lovable Harry who got lost in Book 5 makes a triumphant return in book 6. Ron and Hermione undergo changes too and for the better. Ginny gets more space and so do a bunch of people.

The two main characters in Book 6 are Snape and Dumbledore, not to mention Harry and each one gets an excellent character exploration from Rowling. The Book is worth reading for just them if not anything else.

Finally, there is a death. Much more sadder than Sirius's death in Book 5 and far reaching too. For the faint hearted and emotional ones, there are tears here for certain. So be prepared with hankies and all.

The stage is all set for the final book in the Harry Potter series. It is expected in 2007 but could very well get to 2008. Nevertheless, the events have been set in motion and the reader can be assured of an explosive ending to the beloved series. I personally cant wait for the final book!

Enjoy.

Image Courtesy: Scholastic and Bloomsbury. Picture refers to the cover of the deluxe edition.

Three days in Chicago: A casual tourist guide

Its hard to imagine cities bigger and nicer, having lived in Philly, Boston and Dallas, not to mention being close to NYC, Baltimore and DC. While Chicago doesnt match NYC in size it does come very close if not match the big East coast cities in being a sheer tourist delight. My wife and I were lucky to get a room along the Chicago river and right opposite to the Wrigley Building. This meant that we could see all the downtown attractions without having to worry about travel.

Downtown Chicago is magnificent, not just because of its high rises, but also its picturesque location by the Chicago river and the glorious Lake Michigan. The Magnificent Mile (N.Michigan Avenue) is a shoppers paradise. Lake Michigan is a true jewel in Chicago's crown. Spending time walking by Grant Park was an awesome experience embellished to no less extent by the annual Taste of Chicago food festival. This being the 4th of July weekend, fireworks were aplenty. We chose to see the one on the 3rd of July over Lake Michigan from Grant Park. This was one well attended event with people everywhere. For more on that, check the previous post titled Resident Evil.

For art and museum lovers, Chicago is an absolute delight. There are museums of all sorts peppered all over town. We chose to visit the excellent Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue. With nice sections on European Impressionists, it was a great trip. The best part though was to come outside the Museum and see the section of road named Swami Vivekananda way. For a moment, my chest swelled with pride. Rarely does one get to see such public recognition of an Indian in the US. The second museum we visited was the very unique and interesting Museum of Science and Industry. This is supposedly a kids place but has so much for adults that makes it a must visit for all ages.

A sight to behold is the view of Chicago and the Lake from atop the Hancock Observatory or the Sears Towers. We chose the former based on recommendations from friends and it was definitely a glorious sight atop the skyscraper.

Last but not the least a trip to Chicago is incomplete without a walk by the uniquely designed, excellently executed Millenium Park. An oasis amidst skyscrapers, its so unique, it needs to be seen to be experienced.

This was all we could squeeze in three days and there was so much leftto do. So we are already looking forward to a trip in the future where an evening Buddy Guy's Legends blues place, an evening in the Navy Pier and a ballgame at the venerable Wrigleys Field would take priority over everything else.

The Windy City sure is rockin'!

Resident Evil

Resident Evil
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This photo is a collage of photos taken after the fireworks shown in the previous photo near Grant Park in Chicago. It reminds me of zombies from any one of the tens of zombie horror movies.

Fireworks over Lake Michigan

Fireworks collage-Chicago-small
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This is a collage of pictures taken during an excellent fireworks display at Grant Park in Chicago on 3rd July. It was glorious to watch and crowded too, in the company of probably a 100000 people.

Take me out to the ballgame

Take me out to the ballgame
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

A stopgap pic while I write my next post. This shot was taken during last week's trip to the Phillies-NY Mets baseball game at the Citizens Bank ballpark in Philly. And no, the red does not mean that I support the Phillies, it means I support the RedSox :)

A Tale of Two Movies

Last weekend, I had a chance to catch up with two of the biggest Hollywood and Kollywood offerings this summer. On Friday, I saw Batman Begins on IMAX and on Saturday I drove all the way to North Bergen, NJ to see Anniyan. I shall try to objectively review and compare the two in this post. Bear in mind that my tastes have changed significantly over the last five years I have been in the US and might even indicate a bias towards all things American. I can assure the reader that while its a possibility, its not always the case, since I loved Chandramukhi and a large part of Mumbai Express too.

Batman Begins in one word to me is all that can be done right with a movie. Good star cast, good cinematography, great sets and most of all, excellent writing and directing. Chris Nolan of Memento fame, gets everything right with Batman Begins. Hours after watching the movie, I was still trying to remember any perceptible flaw in it and the effort has continued to be futile. Its that good. Frame after frame, the effort shows and the result is a very enjoyable adult comic book movie that blows past all expectations.

Anniyan, on the flip side is really all that can go wrong with a highly touted movie. A good message of civic responsibility is lost in the cacaphony of over the top acting, glaring holes in the script and a loud movie if ever there was one. Vikram not only acts, but overacts too. In the enthusiasm of trying to delineate multiple characters in the movie, he goes completely overboard. The movie is supposedly U rated with no censor cuts. I am really not sure why we need a censor board if this is the job they are doing. The movie is bloody, gory and violent. Some of the scenes were really unwatchable for the gore content. The only things that work for the movie are the songs and their picturisation and vivek's comedy that sparkles after a long time. Even the songs could have been done better, what with almost no dancing of mention by the lead stars.

Batman Begins was an adult look at a comic book hero. It works well with both adults and kids, although it skews more towards the former with a PG-13 rating. Anniyan is an adult look at a very contemporary issue that really supposedly skews towards everyone but it fails badly in that. I didnt have hopes for a classy movie from Shankar. What I hoped for, was a sensible movie (Mudhalvan is a case to point, if you exclude all things Manisha Koirala from it) and what I got instead was a rehash of all old Shankar movies with more gore and Matrix like stunts thrown in for a good measure.

I very highly recommend Batman Begins and ask that people approach Anniyan at their own risk.

At the Crossroads in Kalimdor

Crossroads in the Eastern Kingdom
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This a screenshot of my character Bheema at the Crossroads in Kalimdor. For the uninitiated, this is a place in the virtual world of the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) "World of Warcraft". I have been having an unbelievably fantastic experience taking my Tauren Warrior Bheema from L1 to L14 where he is currently and there are 46 more levels to go. The cooperative gameplay is just awesome. It has to be experienced to be believed.

Oru Manidhanin Kadhai

Oru Manidhanin Kadhai
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

My good friend George Costanza describes a baldist thus:
"A person who does not associate with bald people".

In a recent email conversation amongst a bunch of friends, this whole idea of baldness and how people react to it, came up. Certainly in the US, baldness is not considered as bad as most other places throughout the world (read India). One friend, who went from hairy to no-hairy over a period of five years, had this to say about it. The email is produced here verbatim.

" Atleast for gaining weight we can blame ourselves, but what can we do about going bald ... it is never in our control, so no point in feeling bad. also, being bald and hair(or lack of) is an issue only in India. Here, I have known personally from 95% of girls, nobody gives a damn(thankfully!).

I did some self analysis and psychologically analysed male baldness. we go through 4 psychological stages ....

1. Shock ... when we see the initial receeding hairlines (this happened to me in 4th year)

2. Denial ... we pretend not to notice the reduced hairline and try to hide it by combing accordingly and not even think about it (for me end of 4th year and initial year here in US)

3. Anger ... this is when no matter how much we try to hide by combing hair over or not notice ever increasing baldness, the hair loss has become so much that it will be noticeable. The anger part is a bit compounded by friends/family asking .... "thalaikku ennai thekkaraya illaya? ... en ivlo mudi kotti pochu?" etc etc. Sometimes when guys(mostly Indian since hair is never an issue for guys here) continue to tease we have an angry retort like "amaam mudi kotti pochu, otha adhukku enna ippo?" (for me the next 2-3 years in US).

4. Rejected Acceptance ... It is just there and we cannot do a damn. We painfully realize that we have to live with it. We look at old pictures once in a while and sigh inside. But we also start looking at bright side ... that hair is not that much of a big deal and try to find alternative ways of accentuating our personalities to cover up for a "physical" loss. This is also when we start making sarcastic jokes at our own baldness. (since last year for me)."

Now to make this even more interesting, I am posting 5 photographs from that same friend, capturing the essence of his writing. We had so much fun reading the email with the photos, I am sure everyone here will too. Click on the thumbnail image to see a bigger version in Flickr.

Note: Big Thanks to my friend AP who was gracious and sporting enough to share this image and his own words on the evolution with all of us. An additional thanks to fellow blogger Pradeep for pasting together multiple images to one cohesive pic.

A picture is worth...

A picture is worth...
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

Well, this picture is worth 3 days, two 128 MB SD cards, multiple gas refills for the car, hundreds of dollars, and yep, 277 other pictures.
The joy of seeing it all in one single collage - priceless.
For all places shown here, visit Los Angeles, California.

Climbing the social ladder

Vetri Nichayam
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

Vetri Nichayam. Taken in Rodeo Drive,CA during my Memorial Day weekend trip it reminds me of Thalaivars pose in Annamalai and then Baasha. And that thrills me to no end.

More on the trip soon.

California and Wine

California and Wine
Originally uploaded by geeky_rp.

This photo was taken last Saturday in Solvang, CA. The color and contrast in this picture are excellent, coming from a 2 year old 3.1 MP camera. Nothing fancy, yet classy.

Rambaigal Heartil Ringtone Remo

For a change, I thought of posting something that amuses me rather than worry or ponder seriously. Pasted below, courtesy www.geetham.net, is the lyrics for the song "Kaadhal Yaanai" from the upcoming Shankar movie, " Anniyan" starring Vikram with music by Harris Jayaraj.

While this could easily become a serious discussion topic later, at this stage I want this to be enjoyed by all readers. I have listened to the song many times and everytime the lyrics crack me up. I admit to liking the song for its quirky lyrics. I don't approve of english words in tamil songs but I have to give it to whoever wrote this one for the sheer inventiveness he brings to his words. I expect this song to be picturised well by Shankar and is upbeat enough to become very popular. You can listen to the song here. Another version of the lyrics is available here.

oley oley oley yo leyo
aah.. oley oley oley yo leyo
rambo say yoke..
what to say yoke...
it's gonna rockin.noooo..nooooooooo.
yaanai sontham pearu sontham...
one mark two....

kaadhal yaanai varugira remo
mutha thanthathil muttuvom remo
appalam ithayangal bathiram remo
rambo remo...

thookathai turathem dragon remo
pookal vedikindra stengun remo
rambaigal heartil ringtone remo
rainbow remo..

algebra ivan thegam amoeba vai urumarum
king cobra ivan vegam queen ellam thadumarum..

aah aah R E M O remo remo ..romeo
aah aah R E M O remo remo ...romeo

kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
algebra ivan...
aah aah...

ring masterin singam pol
suthi suthi varum pengal paar
verkaathey enakku visirigal kodii irukku
changu chakkaram vegam pol
pattam vitu varum aatam paar
baby doll nee enakku teddy bear naan unakku

aah aah...
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...

oley oley oley yo leyo
aah.. oley oley oley yo leyo

cmon and take me away
won't you take me away
oley oley yaay hai
u wanna get it up i wanna check it up..

u wanna salsa take me to uuupa
u like to dance
open the raaazzz
unakku baila enakku oila
unakku salsa enakku jalsa
u like to dance
open the raam

hiroshima neethano nagasakiyum neethano
un meethu thaano en kaadhal bomb oh
harappa vum neethano mohanjadarro neethano
aayvaalan naano arayaa lamo

aah R E M O...
kaadhal yaanai...
thookathai turathum...
algebra ivan...
aah aah...

u wanna get it up i wanna check it up..
u wanna salsa take me to uuupa
u like to dance
open the raaazzz
unakku baila enakku oila
unakku salsa enakku jalsa
u like to dance
open the raam

Note: Repeated lines have the first couple of words mentioned followed by ...

Picture of a graffiti in downtown Philly. Philadephia is world famous for its myriad graffiti found all over the city. 

How much is a life worth?

This post should have appeared a month ago, but due to unforseen circumstances is being posted only today. Nevertheless, the impact of the topic of the post is going to be felt forever. On the 24th of March this year, the Government of India significantly amended the 1970 Patent Act that covered drugs and agricultural items, amongst others. While the impact of this on the Indian farmer is significant, the impact of the Law on the entire world community is huge. This Act, which until date permitted Indian drug manufacturers to make cheaper and more affordable variants of generic drugs for diseases like AIDS, was amended to ensure that the WTO guidelines were adhered to. As a part of the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Indian drug manufacturers would no more be able to bypass the royalties for drug patents owned by American and European countries. A huge victory for the Pfizers and Bayers and a big setback for AIDS patients worldwide.

India, for those in the dark, provides more than 50% of the drugs used to treat the few million known AIDs patients in Africa and Asia. These generic drugs reduced the cost of a year's treatment for AIDS from $15000 a decade ago to almost $200 today. But with the global markets opening up and the pharma lobbies baying for the billions of dollars worth of lost business, this had to happen. With the new law in force, all future generics are required to adhere to global patent policies which means simply that the drugs are going to cost much much more. Agencies ranging from the World Health Organisation to HIV Kenya, have protested against this "Act against humanity". If imposed immediately, upto 25% or more patients will now be deprived of their AIDS medicine, simply because they cannot afford it anymore.

This brings me to the focal point of this post. Is'nt the main aim of medicine and open markets to save lives and enrich it for "all" concerned?. Why then are the people in third-world countries treated like s^&% just to make sure the coffers of some global behemoths are a few billions richer?. Even with the world becoming as money driven as it is, isnt there some worth for the human life?

Digression: Last weekend I saw "The Interpreter" which talks about genocide in Africa, which while fictional, echoes the very real daily horrors in Darfur. Would it have gotten more attention if it possessed any natural resources that the world needed, like oil, maybe?

A step backwards

Earlier this week the Papal conclave elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany as the next Pope. Cardinal Ratzinger who now goes by the name of Pope Benedict XVI is a known conservative amongst the candidates who were in consideration for the position. While its expected that the Roman Catholic Church would have mostly conservatives in its midst, this particular selection stands out among the rest for his steadfast beliefs in all the major issues facing the Church and refusing to take the step into the new millennium.

Quoting an article from NY Times, Q|In a document issued in 2000, "Dominus Jesus," the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that Cardinal Ratzinger headed said the Catholic Church was the only true path to salvation and called other faiths "gravely deficient."|Q. Now I am a moderate who believes that everyone is entitled to their religion and beliefs. I think each one of us has our own vision of God and path to Heaven. But for the new leader of 1.1 billion Catholics of the world to have such an opinion makes it a big problem. In an era of religious disputes and faith based problems, do we need one more ?. Shouldnt we be progressing towards a world where religion is what is in one's heart and nothing else?.

In addition, toeing a conservative line even by Church standards, the new Pope is against women in Church, for celibate priests in the Church, against abortion and birth control and definitely against homosexuality. Given all this, I am not sure how the Pope would succeed in mending fences that are tattered all over the globe. From a human perspective, don't we need a open minded healer of differences much more than a divider ?

Lunch with Rajini and tea with Kamal

Well, it didnt exactly happen the way the title makes it out to be, but it got pretty close. After a long time, I got to see two movies back to back on the same day and that too featuring the last two superstars of tamil cinema. What was supposed to be an afternoon showing of Chandramukhi ended being a double bill with an evening show of Mumbai Express (in tamil, of course). I am not going to review the two movies in detail since fellow bloggers Saran and Jagan have done it already. I will try to compare the two and see how it all pans out.

Chandramukhi is the unlikeliest superstar movie I have seen in the last few years. I mean it has the least Rajini screen time and very few superstar'isms. Gone are the multiple fights, the mannerisms that only Rajini can get away with, the cigarette thigie and what not. In its place is a family friendly ambience with more people in every frame and a story to boot. I had not seen the Malayalam original. So the story was new to me. It was definitely interesting and while it could have been done better, it was definitely not boring and the masala was not excessive. Sans the occasional praising-over-the-top of Rajini and the abominable acting of Jyothika (whoever chose her for the role deserves a kick in the posterior), the movie was derfinitely worth my trip to North Bergen, NJ.

After a half hour trip to the Edison, NJ and a nice snack at Hot Breads, we settled down to watch Mumbai Express. The movie started off hilariously and the humor was excellent. The gags kept coming non-stop and I loved the first half of the movie a lot. It was physical comedy at its best and hats off to Kamal for the screenplay until that point. Once the movie reaches half time, the gags slow down to a trickle and while the movie is still funny and all, the jokes dont elicit that many laughs. The plot gets contorted and well, the story totally loses steam. By the time the climax arrives, you are almost thankful. What could have been a crisp and excellent 2 hour movie ends up being an almost-fantastic but part boring 3 hour experience. While the movie still is way ahead of what goes by the name of comedy in Indian cinema today, it could have been much better with some editing in the second half. Kamal, Pasupathy, Vyapuri and Ramesh Aravind are excellent and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the kid and Manisha Koirala are awful.

Between the two movies, as always, Chandramukhi is more mass friendly while Mumbai Express carries the Kamal stamp of intelligence. The former will unquestionably do much better than the latter. For me, the experience of seeing the two movies on the same day was phenomenal. I have'nt lapped up to any actor since the days of Rajini and Kamal and now I know why. What these stars bring to the table is much more than just histrionics. They bring a level of enjoyment to me and a sense of nostalgia of my youth that is unsurpassed by any other. They make watching Indian movies a sheer joy, as it was always supposed to be.

Eppadi Padinaro

With the music season in full swing in the Philly area, I have been transported to the temples and auditoriums in Coimbatore where I had first listened to the masters of Carnatic music. The music season used to last all year long and all the top artists had Coimbatore in their itinerary. Be it Corporation Kalai Arangam where the ITC concerts took place or Ramar temple in Ramnagar where there were Aradhanas all year long, it was sheer pleasure listening to the stalwarts. The year end festival at Ayyappan Puja Sangam and the Pongal Music Festival at my alma mater, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, not only featured the maestros but also had slots for now and upcoming artists.

I remember my parents leaving early while my brother and I joined them later. Those days! Ragam Thanam Pallavis were not my cup of tea and the thukkadas were my primary reason to attend concerts. As I grew older and understood music and its nuances better, the significance of RTP sunk into me. I was hooked onto them, thereon. The quick breaks to the nearby bhelpuri stall or the Pazhamudir Nilayam during the Thaniyavardhanam are still fresh in my mind.

Besides getting a chance to interact with the artists, concerts were a place where one could forget all worries and just enjoy wonderful music all evening long. The amusing banter of the critics and the teary eyes of the ardent music fan were very much a part of the experience. Beyond all those wonderful concerts, the nightly listening sessions at home with family over hot Milo or Horlicks are some of my best memories of life in Coimbatore.

Today with concerts in the US being as frequent as they are, I miss my balmy evening trysts with Carnatic music in good old Coimbatore. Someday I hope to get back to that life with far fewer worries and far more music and peace.

Fever Pitch

Yes, the excitement is indeed Fever Pitch. The baseball season formally began with Opening Day on Sunday. The Champions, Boston Red Sox ( I am still to get out of last October's celebrations) faced the 800 pound gorilla, NY Yankees. The Yanks with sizeable pitching additions to their roster (Big Unit & Carl Parano) are strong favorites to win the championships this year. But then, who can forget the choke of the century last October (Can't beat that one, eh?). The Sox on the other hand have been all talk, all winter long and its time their bats do the talking. Will this be a repeat or will the Yanks rise up to the challenge, only time will tell. But for now, its Sox mania all over again. :)

An interesting aside to the season is a movie named 'Fever Pitch' that is getting released this Friday. Starring Jimmy Fallon (of SNL fame) and Drew Barrymore (of Charlie's Angels fame), the movie is a baseball version of a soccer book by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) who also serves as a co-producer. Shalini and I got a chance to watch a sneak preview of the movie last week and thankfully, the movie didn't tarnish the glory of the Red Sox. Directed by the Farelly brothers (There's Something about Mary, Shallow Hal) the mild romantic comedy about a hot shot exec (Barrymore) and a Sox crazy school teacher (Fallon) was funny and didnt tarnish the Sox name or the game. Aside from the fact that the climax was shot in St.Louis during last year's
championship and didn't go very well with fans (myself included) the movie used Fenway Park and the lore of the Curse pretty well. A decent time-pass for lovers of Sox, baseball fans (well, Yankees fans excluded) and romantic comedies.

Go Sox!

Update: The third game of the season for the Sox is progressing as this blog is being posted. The Sox have opened badly, but on par with expectations, by losing the first two games to the Yankees. I am not hoping to see any fireworks until mid-season when things hot up. Until then, I shall just soak in the joy of seeing a game a day, everyday.

Writing and Blogging: In English

After blogging for 7 months and visiting innumerable others, I have observed the unique "bloglish" that populates almost all of them (mine included). One of the reasons I started to blog was to improve my writing skills which had stagnated after my Masters dissertation work. I was desperate to return to writing and writing well. I love writing in English and this was one of my outlets (an enjoyable one, that) to exercise my rusty skills. The experience has been very interesting in that I have learnt how really poor my writing has gotten and how much I need to work on it. Blogs have helped me learn some mistakes and I have being working on correcting them. Emails have almost destroyed the sanctity of good writing and blogs were the last nail in the coffin. Before anyone jumps on me, remember, acceptance is the first step in fixing something.

I am not a lingual purist but I like reading a well written blog. With all the commas and periods and capitalizations in their rightful place and the proper use of grammar, its a readers delight. Agreed that certain posts require region specific answers that do not need to adhere to the general rule. Some posts of fellow bloggers Jagan and Saran are examples to the region issue where Tamil almost always shares equal space with English. Sometimes it appears more personal and casual to write without the rules in place. Very true and definitely not a problem. But in other cases, where the discussion is not regional but global in perspective and content, does it work ?. Does the habit of using one's own English, really take us down a path of no return ?

I am sure some of you feel strongly against my opinion and I shall be glad to hear them. But for those who feel like writing better, here are some suggested readings:

Strunk, William, Jr. "The Elements of Style". Fourth Edition.
This book is the platinum standard when it comes to writing well. Simple, very concise (akin to Ammani's quick tales) and never deviating from the point.

Aldred, Gerald.J, et al. "The Handbook of Technical Writing". Seventh Edition.
This is more for technical writing and less for casual writing.

Van Laan, Krista, et al. " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Technical Writing"
For those who like it the Idiot's way.

Truss, Lynne. "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation"
I have not read this myself but it comes highly recommended for its engaging style in making its case.

Bryson, Bill. "Brysons Dictionary of Troublesome Words"
This is a thoroughly enjoyable tome on the oft repeated mistakes in written English.

Note:
Manoj recommends "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into values" by Robert.M.Pirsig for a good understanding of quality and all things thereof.

If there is heaven on Earth, its here, its now !

Being an Indian classical music afficionado in the tri-state area is a great feeling. The plethora of interesting concerts in the summer is a fantastic experience, embellished by the fact that I finally have the company, time and resources to enjoy them to my hearts fill.
The season formally kicked off last week with a fusion music concert featuring the violin duo of L.Shankar and Gingger. Playing their unique double violin, the artists pwww.srurovided a unique experience to the audience with a blend of western and Indian classical music. Between a fantastic Kamboji and pieces from the movie, The Passion of the Christ, there were eclectic compositions that were rooted in Indian classical music, yet made the best use of classical western jazz elements. In all, a great experience, topped by a personal tete-a-tete with ex-Shakti violinist, Shankar himself.
Last night, my wife and I were treated to an amazing violin performance by son and daughter of violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, G.J.R.Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi at the local Chinmaya Mission center. A four hour marathon, the concert was brilliant. Completely relying on the classical underpinnings of the artists, the selection of Ragas was wide and thoughtful. Starting with a varnam in Kannada (you read it right, not Kanada), the violin virtuosos appealed to the connoiseurs of Carnatic music with their krithis in Kalavathi, Ranjani, Kedaragowla, Reethigowla, a detailed piece in Kalyani and RTP (Ragam, Thanam, Pallavi) in Hindolam. The latter was accentuated with a casual change of Raga to Kanada, Bhoopalam, Neelambhari and Hamsanandhi. Not to disappoint the casual audience, the Lalgudi siblings played some janaranjaga pieces like Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai (Ragamalika), Rama Mantrava (Jaunpuri), Manasasancharare (Shyama), Kurai Ondrum Illai (an MS piece - Ragamalika) and finally a Lalgudi Thillana in Misra Mandu. The experience was just awesome and I cant wait for more from the duo.
Next week is a Sruti concert, a jugalbandi this time with prodigies Ravikiran (Chitraveena) and Shashank (flute) followed the week after by another jugalbandi with Ustad Zakir Hussain and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
For the music lover in me, its just about close to perfection and I am in heavenly music bliss right now. I know this post probably appeals to a select few but I had to put it down since it was such a great feeling last night after the concert.

Humor anyone ?

One of the oft argued topics between me and my mother is India is about the programming content in the satellite channels in India. Note that I mention satellite since mainstream Doordarshan and its offsprings have long lost significance in the Indian household. When I was in India until 2000, I used to laugh at my mother and every other middle aged lady that I knew of, sitting and watching weeper after weeper being shown on Sun TV and JJ and what not. Then, I found it amusing to watch completely unbelievable stories being acted out by the worst actors acting can ever produce. The scripts were hackeneyed and so maudlin that it was as if the handkerchief makers had stuck a big time deal with all channels to ensure that the content would produce tears aplenty. Now, if only these tears are the ones you get seeing a Swades or a Braveheart or a Black(I still havent seen this one yet). Unfortunately, no. These tears and all other negative emotions arise from a torturing mother in law, poor daughter in law, philandering husband, drunk husband/father/brother/son, and all permutations and combinations of "bitch" and "a#$%&*e" that a writer with total lack of ideas can conjure.

I moved to the US and got exposed to a *LOT* of sitcoms. Fresh episodes aplenty of Friends and Everybody loves Raymond and Frasier and King of Queens and South Park coupled with reruns of Fresh Prince of BelAir and Cosby Show and the Holy Grail of comedy, Seinfeld have made me realise the joy one gets out of having a laugh, sometimes non stop for 22 minutes. I worship humor at the altar of Seinfeld which I have watched so many times, I have lost count. The subtle humor of Frasier and the utter crassness of South Park and Family Guy, make you wonder, why is there no such programme in India. I remember those days when I was young and Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and Nukkad and Ghar Jamai used to make me laugh. I ever remember watching reruns of Dekh Bhai Dekh that elicited laughs aplenty. Where are those truly funny serials. Sun TV for its part has singularly associated serials with absurdity and crap. Their comedies are so pathetic, Ill refrain from commenting on them. The few minutes I spent watching TV in India during my last November trip are best forgotten.

This brings me to ask, are Indians people who want to cry and nothing else ?. If thats so, why do so many of us lap up the sitcoms in the US so much. Does that mean that the satellite channels are to be blamed for streaming crap after crap to homes all over the country ?. Or is it really the fault of housewives and old people who sit and watch the load of bullshit being thrown at them morning, noon and night ?

Will we Indians, in India, ever watch an Indian program and laugh out loud with gay abandon at the genuine humor of good writing, ever again ?

A B&W version of the front of my wedding invitation from last November. Uploaded on request from Noisyparan (http://noisyparan.blogspot.com) 

An experiment in self discovery. You be the judge :) 

Internet and Life

Before I start this post, I'd like to give a shout out to Regina Lynn, whose column regularly appears in Wired. She writes all about sex and technology. If you wonder what thats all about, check out her articles and you'll get a feel for it. Well, I am not here to really write about sex and tech. Regina does it much better. Her column inspired me to write this post and I thank her for that. I am here to write about the bigger picture, our life online and our life, not online.

Many of us who blog and/or read others blogs know very well what I am talking about. Is there any one amongst us who does not feel that our life is increasingly becoming more online, and less of reality ?. There are of course those exceptional ones who balance a fantastic online life with a great social life. But this is not about those select few to whom I bow, by the way. Its for the rest of us, who try to balance a work life, an online life and then our real lives. My wife often complains about me spending too much time on the computer when I am at home. I agree. I am at fault. But then, how do I fix it? We people, atleast those in the US, know about how everything from paying your bills to finding out routes to communicating with people to meeting our potential future partners, do everything on the internet. So how then do we escape the cluthes of the technology that really is only supposed to be there for help, and not take over our lives? Not exaggerating the scenario, I do have a good social life. I go out regularly and my wife and I do stuff that is fun and does not involve the computer. But I can also see that the quality time is courtesy a good wife who shares a penchant for doing stuff, sans the computer. I dread to think of those days before my marriage when I was wedded to my computer and all things tech. If it were not for those few friends with whom I shared some good times, my life would have started and ended with Startup and Shutdown.

I know many readers here are single, working in some good company and making a lot of money, but really not knowing how to spend their time in a way that excites and challenges you. To those people Id ask, any luck yet ? Have you made the critical breakthrough that reinforces your mental supremacy over the control of the machine ? Have you succeeded in seperating your online life from your real life, in flesh and blood ?. If so, where do you draw the line ?

The Complete Song

Like most of the readers here, I love listening to music. I listen to many forms of music from Indian classical to hindustani to Jazz to blues to hiphop and reggae. While this post isnt about all of them, its about the one form that I listen to the most of the lot: Indian film music. Indian film music has a charm of its own that fuses the best from the aforesaid and many more styles and comes up with an amalgam thats unique in very many ways. Sometimes its inspired and sometimes its blatantly lifted. Sometimes its completely original and sometimes its a mix of all the mentioned. Whatever be the case, film music enthralls the listener to an entirely different level from where he or she is.

I listen to a *LOT* of film music: hindi, tamil, and occasionally telugu and malayalam. Out of the lot of songs, there are some that have a retentive quality thats quite fascinating. I call these "complete songs". A complete song by my definition has all that you expect from a song and more of the same: an addictive and immensely hummable tune, captivating voices singing it for you, likeable and situationally suitable lyrics and as an added feature, nice visuals that pop in front of your eyes, when you listen to the song. If ones inspects these criteria carefully, you can note that there are but only a few songs that will fit the bill. I am in the process of making a list of such songs in the hope of creating a personal "Complete Songs Collection". Any suggestions are very welcome. Some examples to start with are:

1. Chayya Chayya - Dil Se ( ARR, Gulzar, Sukhwinder Singh, Swapna Awasthi, Manirathnam , SRK, Malaika - anything more you can ask for?)
2. Engeyum eppodhum - Ninaithale Inikkum (MSV, Kamalhassan, Rajinikanth, SPB, Kannadasan, KB and the disco fever of the 70s)
3. Ilamai Idho Idho-Sagalakalavallavan (Ilayaraja, Kamalhassan, SPB and the power of dance, I can listen to this one piece all day without getting tired)
4. Chandralekha -Thiruda Thiruda (ARR, Anupama, Vairamuthu, Manirathnam and a whole new meaning to music that rocks)
5. Mettu podu - Duet (ARR, SPB, Susheela, Kadri, Vairamuthu, and KB - if only the marriage of carnatic music and film music is always so good)
6. Thakida Thathumi-Salangai Oli (Ilayaraja, SPB, Vali(?),Vishwanath- the complete song featuring the best of the complete actor)

I have a few more almost there songs but these really are the benchmarks against which I can measure the rest. Any more you can think of ?

We love the game. Do they ?

Update:
Two days back , something happened in an NCAA basketball game that gave an interesting twist to the arguments we have been having on the quality of sports today. John Chaney, a supposedly ex-hotshot coach of Temple University's basketball team was unhappy with some so called "illegal screens" used by players of St.Josephs and the officials not noting them. He sent in seldom-used 6-foot-8, 250-pound Nehemiah Ingram for the single avowed purpose that he didnt like the way St.Joe's approach to things. What followed was one of the most shameful acts in college basketball history. Ingram became, in Chaney's own words, a goon to show he meant business to St.Joe's players. What was a 6 point game until then was lost on a 16 point margin but the message sure got delivered. John Bryant, the St.Joe's player who was the prime target for Ingram and Chaney is now out of action for the season.
What followed was even worse. Chaney, who has tremendous clout in Temple, took a self-imposed single game suspension for his act. Not the league, not the school, no one had the power to say, he must be suspended for the rest of the season, like the career of John Bryant, who is now going to watch the rest of the season roll by from the benches. This illustrates how much coaches matter in NCAA. A similar act in professional basketball or any other sport would have resulted in atleast 5-7 game suspension for the coach, not to mention sever fines and disrespect. Here, Chaney gets away with just a game, that too self-imposed.
Is this the way sports are going to played in the future ?. An all poweful coach, doing and getting away with what he wants and everyone else just sitting and watching ?

Original Post:
I remember a decade or more years ago when cricket was all that made sense to me. It was pure and blissful and kept me on my tenterhooks all year. And then the match fixing scandal broke out. While I tried rationalising that only a few players were tainted and the game as such was still as pure as it used to be, the enormity of the situation had started to sink in. Its professional and like any profession, there is so much of dirt in it that at this point of time was threatening to obscure the beautiful game that it was.

Fast forward to last year when the doping accusations in baseball started filtering in. BALCO and Barry Bonds were all over the papers and the SF Giants slugger was trying hard to convince the public that he had nothing to do with performance enhancers or steroids, while everyone from his friends in the game (Gary Sheffield) to his trainer to his ex-girlfriend spoke otherwise. Soon Jason Giambi and Sheffield were pulled in and the book "Juiced" released last week, ensured that infamy was here to stay in baseball.

Olympics over the last few years has been filled with doping scandals aplenty. Ben Johnson anyone ?. Late last year and early this year, owners and players of Major League Hockey in the US fought over who gets more money and the talks broke down last week and the announcement that there would be no hockey this season, followed. This time, money was the culprit.

Looking at all these, it begs to be said. Is there no more game in the game anymore ?
Is it all about winning and the adulation and money and not about the joy of being on the arena or the field and enjoying the sheer joy of playing the game ?
While its hard not to be cynical about it, are we at the end of the road for the spirit of sports or what is left of it ?

Wireless Municipalities

Almost five years ago when I started my Masters program at Virginia Tech, the wireless LAN industry was almost non-existent and wireless was all things cellular. In 2001, the Communication Network Services of VT (parent of my research group) started a pilot WLAN deployment project of which I was a part. It was one of the earliest and largest campus WLAN deployments inspired by the now legendary Wireless Andrew project at CMU. It was an awesome experience at a time when WLAN was bleeding edge.

Cut to today. I live in Philly where the city Mayor recently proposed the setting up of the largest single WLAN network encompassing the entire Philly downtown and some suburbs. I was excited on hearing about it. Philly downtown has three fairly big Universities-UPenn, Drexel and Temple. The aim of the program is to provide affordable high-speed service to low income residents of the city and also the many thousand students who cannot otherwise afford high-speed access. This move which envisions a $10 million investment by private sector and the municipality would result in 4000 wireless antennas hoisted upon lamp posts over the next 18 months. The private sector isnt really enthusiastic since the largest cable operator in the US, Comcast has its headquarters in Philly and doesnt want to pay for something that would reduce its cable internet subscriber base. Verizon Communications also isnt happy since its trying to make money with its $30 a month DSL plan. They believe that the municipality wants to hurt the hand that feeds it in form of donations and taxes.

This brings us to the question: are socialist ideas of taking broadband to every home at affordable prices really the best for the corporate community that feeds the municipality to a vast extent ?

Is the Philly project, arguably the largest such in the country, a landmark event or one big mistake ?

VoIP

There have been some extra serious topics going around and I thought Ill write about something more generic for people to chew on. Last week I picked up a Vonage broadband VoIP phone connection at home. Have to say it was long time coming. I usually like being ahead of the curve but this one I got in late. Neverthless, it has been a good experience until now. I got a 500 minutes package for 15 dollars a month which includes all the call features including Caller-Id for free and also 800 and 911 calling.I got my Activation fee waived too which was definitely nice and a Linksys router with phone ports that needs to be returned when I disconnect my service. Best of all ,you get to use your old phone and not the headset and computer speakers that are otherwise associated with VoIP.

No wonder the CLECs and RBOCs are not happy. There are already reports of local service providers blocking VoIP service in the fear of losing their revenue streams. Vonage is complaining to FCC about local operators blocking its service and its getting nastier by the day. Meanwhile, elsewhere Skype, while getting good deals under its belt is having Customer Service issues.

For Indians in the US, there are VoIP providers offering unlimited calling to India for 35 dollars a month. And for people who need more than 500 minutes a month, Vonage offers a 24.99 unlimted calling plan. And then there is AT&T CallVantage which has garnered good reviews but is a tad more expensive than Vonage.

All in all, we have a good bunch of options to choose from and with competition hotting up, things will only get better. And in that note, Ill wrap up.

Shameless Plug: If you decide to take a Vonage connection, let me know and I can refer you :)

Update: Pradeep has a good writeup on the overall VoIP picture here.

Whats with Valentine's day and gifting ?

No, I am not a Shiv Sainik who is against the celebration of V Day because of moral crap. That is pure bullshit from people who have nothing else to do and whose wives dont get the attention they deserve from their husbands. I am a sane, literate person who questions the increasing pressure and focus on V Day. Its been 5 years since I was in India for V Day. So forgive me if I am out of touch with things there.In the US, things are now at a point where the amount of caring and love you have for a person is increasingly being measured in terms of extremely tangible metrics like how many carats is the engagement ring, how many tiers are in the wedding cake and yeah, how many roses did you give to her for Valentine's Day. Added to this are what gifts to give for V Day. Is it thoughtful or insensitive. The works.

I understand that February the 14th is a day for people in love to express in some way or the other, their feelings for their lovers. Cool. I am all for it. But to have the expression of love being measured in terms of material things is taking this a bit too far. I have gifted my girlfriend and now my wife for every single of the V Days we have been together and am glad to note that she doesnt measure my gifts with any yardstick but the fact that I remembered and gave her something. Unfortunately my friends have a whole different story to tell me about their V Days, ranging from getting some really special action or getting none based on their gifts, being kicked out to the couch courtesy a bad gift and so on. Is this really how a Valentine's day is supposed to be ?

Are we losing track of the simple pleasures of live and giving anything and everything a tangible and material twist ?

We are a dynasty baby! Oh Yeah !
Pictures Courtesy: http://www.boston.com

Dynasty!

Just a few seconds ago, the New England Patriots nailed their third Super Bowl in four years and picked up the tag of the first dynasty in football in the 21st century. I would love to write and write and write about this victory given the amount of anti-Patriotism I have had to face from Eagles fans in Philly. But I will stop here and soak in the glory.

Attaboy Brady, Teddy, Dillon, Harrison, Dillon, Givens, Branch and every single member of the victorious Patriots. And most of all, attaman Belichick.

We believed and will continue to do so, always.

Go Pats !

PS: No Nipplegate this time around. Sadly.

Its SuperBowl time and the Patriots are in the SuperBowl, again ! This is me at my work during Interdigital WingBowl 2005. 

Is it worth the price ?

I am heading into a contentious territory where I have debated with many over the last few months. A fellow blogger even wrote a related article on NASA and marketing, a few weeks back to great response and debate. I wouldnt want to take up the big picture but rather focus on one small area, portable music players and the now ubiquitous iPods. For more than a year now, I have drooled over getting myself an iPod. I knew it had much less functionality than many players out there. It was definitely more expensive than the rest of the pack and was more propreitary than most, if you want to put Sony's foolish Atrac NetMD systems at the top of the pile. But the industrial design of iPod and its siblings were enough to dispel all other problems away and let us marvel at the engineering and design that went behind this runaway bestseller.

This brings me to the question, is it really worth the price ?. I succumbed last evening to the lure myself and treated my wife to a iPod Shuffle, the least expensive sibling of the family. Like the rest of the iPod family, the Shuffle gives you some good stuff but also compromises on other useful stuff like a display, FM tuner and a voice recorder. The Creative Micro Muvo N200 has a similar configuration as the iPod Shuffle but with an added FM tuner and display for $30 more. I could have afforded the price. But, then it didnt have the charm of the Pod. As is the case with all other Apple products, are the looks worth the price ?. I certainly thought so and plunked a 100 bucks on it. The sound quality is exceptional and the looks are awesome. The comfort of use is good and so is the process of moving songs into the Shuffle using iTunes. But then you cannot move songs to the Shuffle without iTunes which sucks sometimes.

Time will tell if my decision was wise or not, but for now, my wife loves it and so do I !

A conversation for a movie

Last night my wife and I finally sat down to watch "Before Sunset" which had come via Blockbuster Online, earlier in the week. I had heard a lot about the movie and was waiting to see the first movie "Before Sunrise" before I saw the sequel. But Blockbuster unfortunately put the first one in a short wait and I had to watch the sequel first. I dont regret it too much as an afterthought. The movie is a rare, almost unheard of "romantic sequel" to a modest cult movie that was released 9 years ago. The first movie is about how a young writer played by Ethan Hawke and a French free-spirited person played by Julie Delpy meet one evening in Vienna. They get to know each other and enjoy their company immensely. They have but one evening to get to know each other before they go their ways, the next morning. While parting, they plan to meet again 6 months hence in the same place, if they were still intent on being with each other. This is the premise of the first movie, as described here.

The second movie, picks up 9 years later with the hero, now a writer, promoting his book in Paris and the heroine, now an activist with Green Cross, comes to his last book signing before his evening flight to NY. The two pick off the strands of their past and what happened between the fateful evening in Vienna and today. The entire movie is a conversation between the two, set amidst the glory of summertime Paris. While it seems to be a bore to watch two people just talking throughout the 80 odd minutes, rest assured, you'll be more than surprised. The movie is unbelievably real and you can feel as if you are there as a third participant in the conversation that traverses a multitude of topics ranging from Buddhist monks to death to lost love to the history of Notre Dame to sex and what not. The movie's screenplay written by Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater (the director) themselves, sparkles with amazing insight into the flaws and strengths of human character and is a fantastic study of the two common place individuals in a unique situation. Needless to say, the climax is really the piece de resistance. You dont see it coming and when it does, you have a smile on your lips that tells you, there is always hope at the end of the tunnel.

I am now waiting to see the first movie and while I do that, I very strongly recommend you see one or both of them. Rarely do we get to watch movies where it not technique or the cinematography or the stars or anything else which is a staple of most movies today, that really matters. For once its about people and their emotions and simply wonderful character interplay between the protagonists. No more. No less.

A Collage of photos taken during the snowstorm that hit Northeast United States last weekend. 

www.blogmatrimony.com

A few days back while I was discussing stuff related to blogging with some friends, I came across this unanimous feeling that many people are possibly using blogs to impress people of the other sex. Now before you start raising the cudgels against me, give me a patient hear and then decide.

A friend of mine used to tell me that he had a domain registered and maintained a website just to impress women. He got married and voila, the site is taken down :). A week or so back there was an interesting conversation in a fellow blogger's site about how female bloggers attract more posts than their male counterparts. While I argued that it isnt true, a nagging feeling in me indicated otherwise. Do many bloggers blog because they truly want to put their thoughts and feelings out there, or do they blog just to get the attention and consequently the partner they deserve. While it might be a very far shot at the least, it is not Utopian for sure.

Blogs in essence are about a person's passions and his or her thoughts that he or she would like to discuss with friends in public. Would this also not be the best means to put your inner self out there in the hope of landing a good partner for life ? I think it makes a lot of sense, IF the person's writings truly reflect the personality. Writings, attitudes and feelings can be easily faked in the world on blogging and to get completely carried away to the extent of considering a person as a life partner would then be utterly stupid. In an online world where males pose as females and chat and vice versa, would it make sense to trust a blogger's words ?

Finally, given all the aforesaid arguments, would a person be able to pick (and correctly at that) a good life partner from blog-dom ? Here is to one such couple and the pathetic tamil film that is going to get spawned (if its not already in the works) as a result of love by blogging :)

God and the Tsunami

I have been reading and hearing a lot of interesting interpretations of the Tsunami from people of various religious beliefs and aspirations. As a believer in the existence of a greater being, I am confused as to how to interpret this situation.

As people of many faith chime in www.beliefnet.org, religion can be used to account or discount the reason for the Tsunami. Some said that it was God punishing us for losing track of our morals, while others said while they believed in the existence of God, the Tsunami was not his act. If I were to believe in the omnipotent God, how can I accept an argument that he was not responsible for the Tsunami. One Indian religious group went to the extent of attributing the Tsunami as a punishment from God for putting the Kanchi Seer behind bars. Given that it struck areas where religion assumes tremendous significance, it is hard to fathom the reasoning behind the death of so many of His or Her believers. Each religion tries to twist this cruel fate of nature to its own interpretation of sorrow and eventually redemption. But if we look through the eyes of the lonely fisherman who has lost all of his family and friends and livelihood, its hard to put things in the perspective.

A fellow blogger gave a positive twist to the whole thing by saying the Tsunami brought people together as never before. While I can see his logic, I cannot agree to that completely. Would God destroy his poor and diligent followers while letting the rich and probably more cynical to survive ? The existence of Heaven and Hell, while giving a spiritual explanation to how God treats followers, does little to explain the so many deaths of young and old, male and female.

Or is it, as scientists and even the engineer in me, says, its an act of nature. No more. No less. Tsunami's are events of nature that happen due to shifting of plates and one such happened here. And it will probably be another 400 years before we see another in the Indian Ocean.

Is there a God and if so, what was His or Her role in the Tsunami ?

Update:
01/17/2005: And now a Virus in the name of seeking AID for the Tsunami. The world continues in its ways, Tsunami or no Tsunami.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5539215.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=zdnet

Swades: We, the people

This past weekend I got a chance to watch Swades, a new Hindi movie by the maker of Lagaan, starring Shah Rukh Khan. I have to say, it was a fantastic experience. Much has been written about whats wrong with the movie and why it flopped. Let me write whats right with the movie, especially since it assumes so much significance for all of the readers of this blog.

Swades is a story about an NRI finding out how much his country needs him and going back, "To light the bulb", to use the line from the movie. For once the hero is a flawed character who works with NASA and wants to continue doing his stuff in the US but when he makes a short trip to India, sees how much he can really make a difference. Before you can jump on the "movie on brain drain bandawagon", the protagonist gets to bounce his ideas on an illiterate lot in a God forsaken part of India. While I was watching the movie, so much of it made sense to me. A lot of it stuck me as so true. The idea that the country needs us is put across so beautifully. And before all the software engineers who sneer at us desis in US get to do their victory laps, let me say this. Folks, wake up and smell the coffee. SRK gets to exploding the myth that is so rampant in India that inspite of all illiteracy and poverty and corruption, we are the greatest country in the world because of our "culture and tradition". As SRK says, while we have the potential to become the greatest country in the world, we are nowhere close to it. So true. We talk of values while we can neither control the sleeze on screen nor the double standards of so called moral police like Shiv Sena. We talk of tradition and refuse to break away from the caste system that has almost ruined the education and public sector employment system. We call the western world as unmoralistic and what not. Hey, it doesnt hurt to do what you like and not hide behind moralistic morass.

The movie boasts of some fantastic music and meaninful lyrics to boot. Each song makes the viewer think deep. Something that is so sorely missing from the songs of today. There are thankfully no duets in Switzerland nor is there the comic sidekick to the hero. The movie tells as story and it does that really well.

Yes, our country needs us. As the Mela Ram character so succintly puts it, "Whats the use in putting a lamp outside your house that lights not yours but your neighbours porch". Someday we, or atleast I will go back home to do my best for my country. Until then I shall do my mite in helping my country progress, albeit indirectly. I would like to light my bulb someday, in India and while that day is not tomorrow, it sure isnt far away.

Do watch the movie and trust me, you wont walk away without thinking about it afterwards.