Visit to Temples last week

I went to Sripuram Golden Temple [near Vellore], Kanipakkam and Srikalahasti [both near Tirupati - After a long time I am into AP :)]. Sripuram is famous for its golden temple. God here is Narayani. God @ Kanipakkam is Vinayaka or Pillaiyar. Srikalahasti's God is Sivan and Parvathi. More info about those temples can be found @ www.sripuram.org, http://www.kanipakamvinayaka.org/, http://www.srikalahasti.org/

Violation of Norms

Yesterday when I was travelling in MTC bus from Velachery to Medavakkam, few college students [not really sure which college they belong to] got into bus @ Vijayanagar junction. They were standing on the steps [as most youngsters do] and start hitting the inner roof along with a song. It was really irritating for the passengers but no one turned out to tell them to stop. I being one among feeling guilty [Eventhough I feel some authoritative power should be there, I also has to accept the fact that its every citizen's responsibility to fight to get their rights]. Bus Driver told them to stop twice but none of the college guys listened. He stopped the bus at Madipakkam signal and went for calling Traffic inspector. As always, before the Traffic police came students went on to catch the next bus. And they again got into the bus when the bus neared Narayanapuram stop. This time again they started doing the same and were challenging driver that no traffic police will come for the rescue. I wonder who had given right to them to enjoy at the cost other's precious time. Who had given such over courage not follow norms when one should follow it in public. Main victims are Bus drivers and passengers. I would suggest bus drivers should be given a toll free number of the traffic police with which they can contact and take immediate action.

Road to Good Cinema - Title Copyright - The Hindu

The most recently released 'Angadi Theru' is gaining accolades from all quarters of society. It is both commercially successful and critically acclaimed by reviewers. The story is about the workers in Ranganathan Street [a location in Chennai which is very famous for having many commercial establishments] in TNagar. Reviews says that the movie had taken Thamizh Cinema to international standard. The kind of movies, experimentation that is happening in Kollywood is not currently happening any other southern film industries [Tollywood, Mollywood and Sandalwood] and even in Bollywood. After UNNAI POL ORUVAN [my first movie @ Mayajaal], I had not seen any good movie in Tamil [even though few movies came]. I am very much eager to see this one [Angadi Theru] especially because of reviews by magazines and TV. Happy to see that Tamil Cinema is going international. Will come back with the movie review after watching.

Vijay TV's new line of Movies on Sundays

Vijay TV started telecasting small budget Tamil films which got recently released and done either average or poorly at box office on Sundays [Normally at these times the channel previously used to show dubbed English movies]. It started with the romantic comedy 'Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru', followed by 'Kathai' [Psycho-thriller], 'Pugaipadam' [subject based on college life] and 'Renigunta'. Yesterday only I had an opportunity to watch these new line of movies and it was 'Renigunta' which was shown yesterday. Eventhough the movie was not up to the mark because of more violence, it does have its moments. Problem is with the screenplay which doesn't engage you with the storyline as it goes. Anyways I am happy that at least Vijay TV had started telecasting small budget films which has more value than that of Superhero films.

Observing Earth Hour at your city on: 27th March 2010, 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM Local Time

On Earth Hour this year, over a billion people from over 90 countries and 900 cities around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple-turning off their lights for one hour. You can join in too! All we have to do is ‘switch off’ the lights for just one hour on 27th March, 2010 between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM local time to join this global movement. By doing so, we send a clear message that we are together in our fight to ensure a cleaner and more secure future for our planet. Pledge to save the Earth. Sign up at www.earthhour.in and participate in Earth Hour 2010.

Today - International Day of People with Disability

December 3rd is International Day of People with Disabilities. Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, this day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues, the rights of persons with disabilities and integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect like political, social, economic and cultural life of their communities.

Money Suckers

There is a word 'Uzhaipurinjigal' in Tamil which literally translates to 'Work suckers' [Getting more work from workers and paying them less]. Autodrivers in Chennai are in a similar way can be called Money Suckers. There is no rule to make them charge nominally to the consumers. One of the biggest challenge faced by Tourists & others who visits Chennai is autodriver trying to charge heavily for even a small distance. We had already spoken and many articles have been written in all the top dailies and magazines without any use. I think its high time Govt should step in and implement digital meters similar to the ones in Hyderabad.

Expansion of Velachery Taramani Link Road

When the expansion of Velachery Taramani Link Road, I was happy that it would reduce the traffic and thereby the journey time. But, how long our politicians or civic officials start these sort of construction works during rainy days. I think the work started before 2 months approx[I'm not able to remember exact time it had started] & for more than past 2 weeks no work had been carried out due to rain from NorthEast monsoon. Also, travel time doubled due to the recent rains in the Velachery-Taramani link road. NorthEast monsoon is the one by which TamilNadu receives more rainfall than SouthWest monsoon. And I hope civic officials know these already. But, whatever regime comes to power they didnt do proper planning to make sure that the money invested in big projects like these [construction of flyovers, expansion of roads, etc] are not wasted. Its really worst that the taxpayers money are wasted. I really wonder if God will change India!!!

Deepavali

I hope every one had a great Deepavali.. Right from new clothes, movies, sweets and the least crackers. Nowadays, I am not really interested in crackers.. I dont know if it's a conscious decision, but for the past few years I am really not interested in firing them.. I somehow feel that it is creating more pollution[noise and air] rather than creating happiness. May be that it creates happiness for children. There are approximately 600 accidents during this Deepavali as per Dinakaran Newspaper report across TamilNadu. Normally any festival is touted to be bringing happiness which lasts forever. And Deepavali is no exception. But sometimes, it turns out to be rather bad moment when accidents occur. Moreover, Earth is already warming up and by firing crackers we are creating much more polluted air and thereby increasing global warming. I accept that Deepavali is coming only once a year. But if you consider the amount of toxic gases that are emitted during deepavali, it would be more to calculate. I think as a responsible human being it's our duty to give a well deserved living space for our future generations. It doesn't mean that I am totally against festival. 'Festival of light' should do or for that matter must do some good thing to Earth.

Eeram & UnnaiPolOruvan

Last week, I saw Unnai Pol Oruvan @ Mayajaal. This is first time I was in Mayajaal and enjoyed the show. The movie which is a remake of 'A Wednesday' was a treat to watch. It runs for 2 hours. Starring veterans like KamalHaasan, MohalLal and Lakshmi, along with Ganesh venkatram, Anuja Iyer, Bharath reddy, it deals with common man's angst against terror attacks and the kind of action being taken by government to tackle the same. There are many pluses for the movie. Acting, casting, background score, logical storyline[except at few places], screenplay and on. The only minus I found was frequent use of English dialogues which ofcourse common man cant understand [When the movie is said to be common man's angst against terror, use of much english words doesnt fit the bill]. Also, happened to see Eeram last saturday. Again this movie is different from normal minimum guarantee movies[having 5 songs, 4 fights, some comedy, sentiment and lot of heroism]. Visuals of this movie is a great plus. The whole movie has atleast little bit of water[in any of the form with rain especially being one of the important one] in almost all the scenes. As far as the acting is concerned, no seasoned veterans are there but their acting is excellent and mindblowing. Eventhough it is thriller genre, we are not feeling it as visuals keep you chilled throughout. Both these movies give some hope similar to Subramaniyapuram and other low budgets, but movies with good storyline.

Attacks in Srilanka and Australia

Its been a long time since I posted. Its also very late to blog the issue in Srilanka and Australia. Situation in Srilanka seems to worse even aftermath of the war. There are many Tamilians who are placed in a congested tents. Also, medical facilities and food are not available properly. More than 20 students have been already attacked due to racialism in Australia. Its high time that Indian government need to take stringent and quick action on both these high priority issues.

Voted?!

Hope that everyone out voted. I voted yesterday for the first time ever eventhough I had the right to vote for the past 7 years, but because of the fact that I didnt had a voter ID till now. Yesterday also I didnt had the voter ID. I had applied for Voter ID during this march and till tuesday no official had come for verification to my residence[Of course, we cant expect them to come at the last moment]. I was having the acknowledgement form which I got after submitting the voter information form during march. I had taken it to the booth [despite the fact that my parents were told by some officers that the forms submitted during march and thereafter were blocked at collector office] and asked the officials to check if my name appear in the list which they have. To my surprise, it appeared in the voter list and I recorded my first vote. Eventhough the person is appearing the voter list, just because of the fact that they had not been visited for verification will give an image to citizens that there name will not be probably in the list. Now my concern, is that how many of such votes will become kalla votes?

D-day tomorrow

More than last one month, all the parties were campaigning for the present lok sabha elections. Requesting all of you to franchise your vote. Please dont blindly vote for the party based on the money or things they give as bribery or any other parameter. Consider manifesto released by the parties and accordingly choose the right candidate. If you think no candidates are valuable enough, then use rule 49(O) to inform the same so that ur vote will still get counted.

Advance Happy Mother's Day

Wishing you all advance Happy Mother's Day. [In India, it is celebrated on second Sunday of May]. Thought of sharing the below forwarded mail: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Women Cry? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him. "I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will." Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?" "All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say. The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?" God said: "When I made the woman she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly. I gave her strength to carry a man through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good man never hurts her, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed." "You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

Violation of laws

India is probably one of the country where laws are meant to be violated in most of the cases. For instance, previous week TN government had reduced the fares of MTC deluxe buses to half the amount to woo the voters as against the conduct guidelines given by EC. Previous week, while I was travelling from Thuraipakkam to Tambaram, I boarded in a deluxe bus and the bus conductor had given me ticket from Kandanchavadi to Tambaram for Rs.5. I was surprised and asked him why is it less? He said athellam kandukka kudathu[literally get transalted to '(you) shouldn't care that']. In this case, government had violated the law. Another case is that we all know that smoking is banned in Public places in India long back but I see many people smoking in public places without any fear. I had seen a person carrying his daughter in one shoulder while on other he was smoking a cigaratte in Tambaram railway station. I wonder if those people do know that smoking is banned in public places. This is just one instance where the law has been violated by an individual. There are many cases where law was/is violated by general public, government officials, etc. I hope it wont be violated in the future atleast.

Ayan @ Prarthana

I had seen the movie Ayan which is the latest release of Sun Pictures @ Prarthana Drive-in theatre last week.. About the movie, I hope there are lot of things gone into research for knowing about the so called kalla kadhathal[illegal movement of goods].. The visuals are really amazing and the songs too.. Surya did a neat job while Prabhu was mind blowing in his role.. Jagan did bagged a good role.. The negative shades of him getting revealed were picturized neatly.. Tamannah didnt exactly have a good role to show her talents[Are we having some good roles for heroines nowadays?] I liked Renuka's[Surya's mother in this movie] acting too.. But the second half was too tiring.. I thought after watching few scenes[like the court scene where villain arrives and one more scene] that the movie will be ended but it extended.. There are few scenes which actually was illogical, but on the whole the movie was worth watching once.. About the theatre, it didnt have good seats[ticket was priced @ Rs.60]. It seems the tickets were Rs.30 prior to Ajith's Billa.. Also the rest rooms were not good at all.. One more issue was that the persons who are coming in car do light up and flash it on the screen which creates a glare..

Iniya Thamizh Puthandhu Nalvazhthugal

Hi All, Wishing you all a very happy Thamizh new year.. Its a bit late[one day] that I am wishing you all a very happy new year.

One more horrible journey today

Today I came by a van to office[Maxi Cab]. Similar to share auto some guys are using the vans for transportation and charging commuters. Condition of vans are so horrible which i came to know when i sat near the driver[front seat].. the speedometer was not working.. also, window glasses and doors were in such a pathetic condition that it will fall out anytime... Dont know what can be done on this issue again..... Will govt. or traffic police take action?

Bitter Journey:(

Last week, when I was travelling to my hometown[Thiruvannamalai - which is hardly 3.5 hrs from Tambaram], bus driver stopped the bus near unknown hotel for dinner. Normally as per the rules I think they shouldnt stop anywhere as it is just 3.5 hrs of journey and also most of the buses to my hometown has been upgraded to Express Bus status. Even if they are stopping they should stop at Mamandur Hotel[which is a government run hotel]. Two of the passengers started fighting with the driver and conductor after they came back for the reason that they had not stopped bus @ Mamandur bcoz the food was not good at the stopped place and its been around 25 minutes time bus was stopped[they will stop for a max of 15 min normally].. Driver was not responding properly.. After bus started off, one of the passenger went near to him and asked for his name with the intention to book a complaint against the driver, he didnt tell the name and stopped the bus in the road. The passenger then came back as other passengers requested the driver to start the bus and asked this passenger to return back. All this fighting between passenger and driver had taken for just 5 min and driver started off the bus as per the request of the other passengers without giving his name. I remain a mute spectator. I found my guilty that I was not able to do anything like going in support to the passenger. I noted down the bus number and it is TN25 N 0057. When I informed this incident to my friend and one of relative both they told that nothing would happend even if you complain.. Also it seems that the drivers are stopping at unknown places just because of the fact that they will get free food from that hotel... Any suggestions if something can be done on this??

Elections are ahead

Elections are barely 20 days ahead. Requesting you all eligible citizens to vote without fail. If you are not voting you dont have the eligibility to criticise the government. Do vote and select appropriate candidates after which you cannot feel for not voting. If you are not able to find eligible candidate for whom you can vote, you can use 49-O rule which tells you are not voting anyone thereby avoiding "kalla votes". For more information on 49-O, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49-O