One good thing that I realized about myself is that I tend to smile a lot during the time of crisisJ I know this has annoyed my family a few times J But I guess this quality (Smile) pays off sometimes.

Now back to the problem. Off late, I have been having problems with the battery of my car. It doesn’t start if I keep the headlights turned on and try to switch off the ignition. I am not an automobile- savvy, so I do not know the exact reason that triggers this problem. However, I am assuming that turning on the headlights does drain the battery. The gentleman who serviced my car that engine was fine and needed no replacement.

This is also not what I am trying to say.

And then I got down off the car, took out the jump- start cable. I realized that I now need another car so that I could jump- start my car. And there is this lady who pulled off her car right next to mine. I just looked at her and smiled. She got down from her car and asked if I needed any help. I was like, oh yes!

She was so willing to help me. I was able to start my car back within seconds. I thanked her and said I totally appreciated her help. And here is what she said which got firmly entrenched on my mind, “oh, world is such a better place if people are nice”. And I completely agree with her. I really thank her for her willingness to help.

 And that made me think. Yes, life really is so different when we have very nice people around us. None of us will have any problems if people are nice to us. But then everything cannot be as we want. They say you should never judge a person and form opinions. Sometimes, you tend to judge a person based on his/her actions, gestures.

 I have so many thoughts going- on right now. As always any comments/ perceptions are welcome!!

Raju Raju sat on the wall
Raju Raju had a great fall
Balance sheet died
Shareholders cried
Raju Raju made a fraud

We used to watch every tom, dick, harry movie that was played on TV irrespective of the storyline or the starcast. Sundays typically used to begin with a head bath (oil bath) and then Ramayana serial at 9 am. Simultaneously we used to have our breakfast. And then some other serials (honestly, I have forgotten the names of those serials). I then used to run to pakkad mane (neighbor’s) to play with my friends. Not to mention to play on the road. Then promptly, I used come home on time for lunch. Then dose off for a nap and again get up, play and sit in front of the TV for the movie watch.

I miss so many things about my childhood including,

• ·Care free life- absolutely no tension whatsoever. I am sure nobody had even heard of the “Stress” then. Even today my mom asks me, “Adenu ashtondu stress stress antya. Nimge ivaga ella facilities ide. Namge enithu. Aadru naav esth kushi aagi idvi”

• Eating together- no matter what amma anna would always make sure that all of us sat together for lunch/ dinner. And it used to be so fun. There was always something specially cooked on Sundays. When I think back, I never remember seeing my mother frown or fret over anything. I have started respecting my mother even more now. The capability with which she managed the house- hold chores just amazes me. And not even for a single day has she whined/ complained about anything. And till today, she has so much energy, she dresses up every evening, does pooje, makes hoo bathi, gejje vasthra (these are the wicks used to light the lamp in front of god) considering she has really had a hectic day from morning. And now when I draw parallel with what I do after coming back home from work…….. again it just amazes me

• Excitement over small things
  
• Every festival was a real feast for us. Not for once did amma anna miss out on buying us new clothes. Oh!! I really don’t know how to put the feeling in words. I used to try on my new clothes almost 3 times a day (before the festival day) and yap in front of everybody to the core. On a Sankranthi day, I used to literally visit close to 100 houses. I remember last year, I wasn’t ready to go to even one house though my mother insisted several times. Again I cannot help thinking as to the reasons for this change (or should I say indifference…). And though I spend a mini fortune on clothes, the excitement I now have is nowhere even close. I have discussed this with many of my friends and the feeling is more or less the same.
• I remember the first time anna got a tape recorder home; I didn’t move a inch from that. I used to record all crappy noises/ sounds. I used to make everybody sit and have them listen to it. I ensured that all my friends got to know that we had a tape recorder at home
• I grew up with lots of my cousins around me. So there was always that healthy competitive spirit. I used to go to each of their houses flaunting my report card in front of everybody. Now when I think about it, I feel so sillyJ. And my personal opinion is that these days there is do-die competitive spirit amongst kids. I am sure that a typical 10 year old child’s life is more hectic than an IT professional these days
• My grand parents- Though they are no more, the memories of my time spent with them is still afresh. My grand father was renowned for his English in my neck of woods in those days. I remember many approaching for his help then in English and he was always helpful. He was an avid news reader/ listener. Every evening he used to fix his ears (literally) onto the radio for news. When anybody went close to him, he used to scold them away (I have been that victim many times)
• Those days anybody and everybody could walk into our compound and vice-versa. Ours was a very big house. We had all types of trees including coconut, papaya, mango, cotton, pomegranate etc etc. Flowers were grown in abundance. So many of them used to come and pick flowers and we used to help them as well. But these days, it is difficult even to look at anybody’s house. There is that general warmth missing in people and I don’t blame anybody here. Just to think of empathy, my ajji used to fill “marge” (stone vessel) with water and grains for the benefits of birds

It’s been a long post and I know I have more to write. I shall do it sometime later. Comments are most welcome!

This may not be the best of Raj Kumar’s movie. But do watch it for some amazing humor between Raj and Balkrishna. As always, raj’s acting rocks. The music is good too.

Shah Rukh Khan conferred with (some) Malaysian duke title

Malaysians said that he is theirs!! And I was like, oh yeah, he is all yours, please take him, pleasure is oursJ. My apologies if this hurt SRK fans.

I started thinking real hard, does it really matter if they really take him to Malaysia? I somehow was strongly convinced that it would not matter at all. But then on a second thought, I felt that he may have achieved something good for himself although that alone cannot qualify him to be an national asset in my list.

With so much of tension, turmoil, agitation, violence going on within the country, is this some news which is worth grabbing the headlines?? Just a food for thought. Or may be I sound too cynical, I do not know.

Any comments are appreciated.

“Nee Nillade Nanagenide”- what a meaningful song… Has anyone heard of its lyrics, just too good. M N Vyasa Rao deserves all salutes. Just love it, it has been one of my all times favorites. I recorded the song in my voice and amma calls me everytime she listens to it and emotions flow freely from both sides. The song makes me nostalgic and extremely emotional for its lyrics. Pallavi makes it more touching with her beautiful rendition.

For all Pallavi fans, here are some interesting facts about her. Not that you guys do not know, but just two cents for my satisfaction

For many of you who didn’t know, she is the grand daughter of famous theatre person A.S. Murthy (famously known as Father of Street Plays and a well- known journalist). She is also an avid Bharatanatya dancer and a theatre person. She currently home- runs institution for aspiring kids on theatre and music called “Bimba”. She learnt her sugama sangeeta from the legend Mysore Ananthaswamy and also from his son Raju Ananthaswamy!! She has acted in many serials Mussanje, Mayamruga and Garva, although I have seen her only in Mayamruga. So I do not know much about her acting skills. If anybody wants to know more, can contact me.

Coming to her awards and accolades, Pallavi has won state award for best playback singing in the movie Dunia. Again, I haven’t heard the song/s from this movie. And many more…….

Listen to the song here,

http://www.kannadaaudio.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-16530.html

Any suggestions/ corrections are welcome, as always!!

Current Mood: All smiles

When I say lessons learnt, have I learnt anything at all, across the span of 26 years?? Not really!! I am still the same old over confident, over caring, lazy, lacking seriousness at most times…can’t help it though… traits that have firmly entrenched in me:)

I have had a job change in altogether a new atmosphere. The change has been so good to me and I have now totally acclimatized to this new change. Have crossed 10000+ miles to get here, leaving my loved ones behind. But I am sure all that has paid off quite well.

Music is my lifeline. I have engrossed myself totally into it. Off late, I am observing that I spend more and more time learning different forms of music other than classical and all of a sudden I see myself picking on kannada bhavageete, so there has been a loyalty shift from carnatic to light music. And also for some reason, started enjoying Pallavi Arun more than my guru Rathnamala Prakash. I know Pallavi tries hard to get it right over Rathnamala’s effortless singing, I still see Pallavi has lots of depth in her singing too. A seperate post shall come on this.

I still have 20+ days to retrospect this year and see if I can add anything more into this.

And oh yeah, happy vacation!!!

PS: To all my fans (:)), if you do not enjoy boring, energy less posts, then you probably shouldn’t be here:) and I disclaim that I am not responsible for wasting your time. However as every cloud has a silver lining, I shall strive to post cheerful, enlightening, thought provoking lines in future…..

Like many others, I sat, watched and watched all the happenings at Mumbai on the thanksgiving weekend. Sitting thousands of miles across, I definitely felt helpless. At that very moment, I truly wished if I had some powers to reach out to the needed. It’s sad though that mine are just words without any action.

All I could do is pray to god that let our dear politicians stop thinking their profit margins out of the situation and just play fair with right decisions and actions. I really do not know if “Mission Black Tornado” was a success or failure. However, our commandos deserve a pat on their backs. Well done, Guys!

My heartfelt condolences to those to lost their valuable lives and their families who have experienced a drastic change in their lives without their loved ones being around.

May god rest the soul in peace.