A quick Recap...

A quick recap of Year 2006. Some achivements, some events, some failures, it was a right mix I should say.

January:

• The Homecoming. I at last got to get a mvoe from Mumbai to Bangalore. Joined HP Office, (on deputation from TCS) and started working on Storage Technologies Lab.
• We bought a Maruti Omni - White - LPG/ Petrol.
• Discussion of booking a flat - an ill fated decision? Only time will answer.

February:

• Bought a new bike. Bajaj Discover. I have completed 7621 Kms as on date. A lot of travel indeed!!
• Booked aflat at Ittina Mahavir, for which little progress has happened.

March - April:

• Visited Mumbai for my uncles first death Anniversary - I performed all the rituals with utmost faith.
• Visited my Wadala Peiyamma, not knowing that I wouldnt visit her again.

May - June:

• Work..Work..Work. At office.
• Travelled to Pondy after a Long time. It was a nice memorable visit. Always its great to go to the place in which you were born and lived for initial 22 years.

July:

• Travelled to Trichy, Thanjavur along with family, inthe Omni for Priya's marriage. Had a nice trip and brought along something that my brother would never forget - Horoscope of Vidhya, now my "manni".

August:

• Official Visit, I should say, for my brother to see Vidhya - We went to Raju - Sumuka's house at Electronic City to see Vidhya and her family.
• Travelled to Chennai - Muthuamma, my beloved gramdma's first death anniversary.

September:

• My brother's engagement. It was the first huge event for some time in our family. And more important for me - as I had to manage the show. Sept 3rd, sunday - Early morning Pooja and Yagnas, follwed bythe engagement - A Great event.
• Travelled to Periyakulam - vidhya's native. A wonderful small town, very pleasant, very scenic. Ramesh and Vidhya's Marriage date was fixed as November 12th.
• I started to look for a change in job. Posted my resume in websites and started sniffing at jobs seriously.
• Attended IBM interview, but turned out to be a flop, as the requirement totally did not match.

October:

• Attended EMC, Mindtree interviews. Got offers in both. A result which I never expected to occur so soon.
• Arrangements for marriage started in flow. Distribution of Invitations, Booking of Reception Hall, Shopping etc etc.

November:

• Ramesh's Marriage, Reception in Bangalore. A great event again in our family, unforgettable.
• Got the offer letter from EMC, dated Nov 13th, my birthday on the 14th.
• Resigned TCS on Nov 15th 2006.

December:

• Last few days in HP and TCS.
• Pechu, as she is fondly known as, Periyammas sudden and tragic demise.
• Amma's Cardiac issues and hospitalisation.
• Dec 22nd - Last working day in HP and TCS. A very warm farewell from HP, which I would not forget.

And now...Its exactly 11:59 as I type this...A Great End to an Eventful Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007.

Count down has begun...

The count down has begun. The New Year 2007 is just an hour away. New Year...New Resolutions.. New Hopes...New Dreams...Let me Wish Myself and All the readers of this blog a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007.

After a lot of inactivity, I have given a new life to this blog and I hope to keep it alive through the years. As I type this, I am hearing sounds of crackers being bursted in the neighbourhood. The celebration has indeed started...So lets enjoy it.

I am not the only one!!

Huh! I am ashamed that I have done this umpti number of times now. I recently read the Post "Memoirs of Mistakes" by Nil, but I just cannot apply that here. I know I am not doing what I promised to myself.

All said, I also realised that it was not only me, along with me were most of my friends too, sailing in the same boat of long inactivity. Hopefully the coming new year brings in the much needed interest and enthusiasm in all of us so that we continue what we have not been doing for long now.

A Word is mightier than a...

With the Da Vinci code, being the latest in the list of movies that are made out of literary best sellers, I thought, is it ever possible to depict and showcase a literary work so perfectly in a movie. According to me, how much ever one tries to make a visual out of words, it is just impossible to reach hundred percent. Through words one can describe the scene in a much powerful manner than showing the same visually. No matter how well the actor expresses the feel. Right from the God Father, the Harry Potter series, I have always felt that the book is much better than the celluloid. That’s the scope and challenge, a moviemaker gets from such literary works. Be it the use of extensive visual effects and 3D graphics in Harry Potter or the screenplay of God Father, or the gigantic settings in the Lord of the Rings, moviemakers have done it all to bring out the same essence of the book. One good try that is worth mentioning here is the picturization used in ‘Virumaandi’ to show the difference in Viewpoint when two people narrate an occurrence of the past. (Needless to state, I am a huge fan of Kamal Hassan.) But through words, one could have put forth it very easily.
Giving life to words on a paper is not a simple task, and that too showing a 592 page story in lesser than 100 minutes is not a joke. Salutes to Ron Howard. The effort should always be appreciated and I do it. And the biggest advantage with movies is the reach and spread that the creation gets among the public, that is the only sense, in which the silver screen beats the pen and paper hands down.

The Da Vinci Code

The movie “Da Vinci Code” was supposed to be released last week. Being one the readers of the book I know the exact contents of the book. Even though it is a work of pure fiction and even though Dan Brown makes it very clear in the very first page, one would, in the grip of the story, might momentarily believe it’s real. I did. This is more so in the case of Da Vinci, because of the usage of some real organizations and poeple (Opus Dei, The Priory of Sion), setting (the Louvre) etc.. But its only until we come out of the grip of the read, to realize it’s nothing more than an amazing piece of fiction.

Now, with the completion of the movie, I was eager to watch how well Ron Howard has managed to recreate the words in the form of visuals. But then arrives the controversy. I just could not imagine what is this fuss all about? And this being debated more in India, probably shows, how conservatives we are still. It’s not only about Christianity, but the same controversy and the hunger strikes were there when the films like Water, Fire and Kamasutra were made. My view point is, are the sentiments of people here in India are so vulnerable that a single movie can change the belief that we all have grown along with, all these years? It’s really sad. Yes, I agree that we have our own values, culture and tradition and I also firmly believe that our culture is our Identity in this world and is the Differentiator to the outside world. At the same time, we should not oppose an art work that throws a different view. And that too, when it’s a work of fiction! Hopefully things will change soon, for the better.

Music is magic

As I type this post, I am listening to one of the magic works of A R Rahman, the tracks of RDB. Music is magic. The captivation it has among people is amazing. It’s not who the creator of the music is, but it’s about how captivating and enthralling it is to you.
As a true music lover I listen to all kinds of music which I feel good and suits my taste. I mostly like soft music, and Rahman has given a lot of that in this piece. Particularly the tracks “Tu bin bataye” and “Luka Chupi” are extremely good. The Guitar that goes along in Luka Chuppi is amazing. The sound of the string is really pleasant to the ears. When one observes closely, one can listen the triggering of the strings crystal clear. This along with the voice of Lata Mangeshkar and Rahman himself is pure magic. To top it all, the song ends with the rendering of the swaram. Being a Hindustaani semi classical, I would rate this one as one among the top songs that has come out of A R Rahman. I just cannot think of any other word than Magic to describe this work. As I have always felt the more and more I hear some songs, more and more I like them. I listen the background music which goes along with the song throughout. I feel that is the difference between music makers like Illayaraaja, Rahman and others. A soft piano that goes along has not been mastered by many except these two great masters.  Music to me is all about experimentation and these two great men never stop doing it. Listen and observe to enjoy yourself.

Encounter with Fire

Date: April 4th, 2006

I had a close encounter with fire. That is when I realized the power of nature. I was performing the Navagraha Homam after my uncle’s “Aata thevasam” (First Death anniversary). When fed with the right fuel, ghee and pieces of wood (samith), the force of fire increased. The very sight of the fire rising up was great indeed. I tell you Fire is beautiful. I thought to myself, human beings are also a form of nature. One, when fed with the right fuel of knowledge, can prosper in life. I pray that everyone in this world gets the right measure of the right fuel so as to prosper well in life.

Its all in the mind – Continued…

Well, a few weeks back, I had posted how I felt when I was driving the PY registration bike in Bangalore. My eyes kept on searching in every nook and corner of the roads for policemen.
Now, we have paid the required Karnataka Road tax for that bike. And when I am driving the same bike now through the roads of Bangalore, I just do not think about the PY registration and my eyes no more searches for the conmen and my hands do not maneuver the bike to hide behind the larger vehicles. It is indeed all in the mind!!

Oh! This one is mine!!

I just remembered I have a web log!!! So here I am back, awake from a loong sleep.

I had so many things to post but I posted none of them. so now I thought I shall just pump things in here soon.