Venkata Uvaacha...

Things were too pressurising for the past two months. I was literally sitting inside a cooker. I won't say that the work load was huge. But I had to do too many things. Filling innumerable spreadsheets, plan & track, code, test, deliver, boost team's morale, withstand every rotten egg and tomato that my boss & onsite co-ords throw... throw some back as and when you get a chance.. Well being a project lead is afterall not that simple.. 'With power comes responsibility' :) Now that the BIG release is over. Am out of that cooker... to see more pleasant things... scribble things like these, read Bourne Identity, be with my ipod, guitar and mandolin more often.. missed tasks during the past 60 days... Just now completed an Adv Java e-learning course and typing this aaraam se... God! Let life be like this for some more time........

As I entered the hall, ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ flowed into my ears. ‘Sanskar’ was telecasting the usual 6 PM prarthana … an animated visual depicting the greatness of ‘muscular Hanuman’ … real good stuff… that too amidst a dozen TV channels that telecasts nothing except Ms.Sherawat, smooches & Mr.Hashmi.. (oops! Sorry for those synonymous repetitions.) Those animations pulled me into a flashback...... ‘ Hanuman to the rescue (adapted from Kirttivasa Ramayana )’ was the title of that comic book. Publisher: Amar Chitra Katha . It was a gift from ‘Bala athai’ ( athai - Aunt). I was in III – ‘C’ then. I utter a ‘Thanks’ to her for this book till date… my first handshake with Hindu mythology. I read (read studied) that book cover to cover almost everyday… so many times that each description, each dialogue, got imprinted in my mind. I would be fast asleep and appa would ask: “What does Hanuman say when he meets the physician Sushena ?” And I would spring from my bed with the answer. This...

The conductor shouted “Thennangur” as the three of us alighted. She also got down with her suitcase. We exchanged looks as I started casually “How long is the temple from here?”, wanting to strike a conversation with her. “Not very distant. But normally a bus will ply till the temple. Seems like it will not today given the road’s condition”. We smiled at each other. Mission accomplished! “I’ve been coming here since 1989, the year when Guruji established the temple. By His grace I’ve attended every ‘utsavam’ …”. “What about your accommodation mami ?”. ( Mami is the Brahmin way of addressing an elderly woman.) “Since I belong to the mandali I won’t have any problems. You guys can also stay with me.” ‘ Lakshmi is safe’ – we smiled again. Detailed introductions filled the next five minutes of our walk. Pallavaram to Infosys to Haridos Giri … She then directed us to the Pandurangan temple and said “Have darshan . Come to the cottage. Vishalam mami’nu kelungo. Solluva ! ”. ‘Vishala...

70 odd days since I had penned into this space… Lots of interesting things already happening in 2006… Everyday I think of writing something. And as usual my laziness takes over. But not today… this ‘Small Wonder’ has made me sit up and scribble some lines… ‘Konjam Nilavu’ has always been THE song. It has got everything. Everything. I had tested my sub-woofer and music system and my Sister’s as well with this particular song. If you cry for ‘effect’, this is the song. I always get ecstatic when I listen to this piece of Rehman. But this time I didn’t. I didn’t know how to react. Speechless I was. Ear phones into my pinna… the other side of the wire connected to iPod video! When Srikanth plugged those white little buds into my hearing organ some ten months back I decided instantly – ‘this is MY gadget. I’ll buy one soon!’. That was a ‘Mini’. Patni and Hitachi made sure that Sathish smells some Nippon air. I made sure that he gets me one of those amazing small pieces that Apple makes eve...

As per Arthi's request... Every stage of our lives brings a different shade, a different experience worth treasuring. At 13, our fascination with the cricket bat gives a satisfaction that nothing else can. A girl in your class giggles and your heart breaks - it would’ve been the 16th or 17th year since your birth. Books, music, instruments, puzzles – these happen at various stages and each gives a distinct hue to our life’s rainbow. Enrique, Sheldon, Sachin, or Vivekananda posters embellish one’s mind and heart at different times as one’s tastes and thought processes change and evolve. I’ve also not been spared from this very syndrome that defines various milestones. When nostalgia overpowers me at times, I buy a ticket in time machine to travel some years back… my first game of Gilli… all those Indi-pop days… Paree hoon main, Piya Basanthi… cousins priding over ‘Most Tintin and Archies completed’ tag… Bhagavad Gita recitation – whose pronunciation is best … spending oodles o...

If you are the sort of person who feels that being lean means ‘advantages alone’, stop and read this! When I had been caught in swarms, many a time I had managed to sneak through, thanks to my built, or the lack of it rather. I kept patting myself ‘Good job. Being lean is great!’ Little did I realise the real troubles that will arise due to this pencil body until my college. That was when I did some serious commuting in trains and buses. I used to board EMUs at Chennai Central, the starting point, making myself cozy for the next two or three stations. When the train reaches Perambur, flocks of office goers and students flood the compartments. The eyes of fatsos get immediately drawn towards seats next to people like us, the ‘torture bearers’!!! For them it is comfort… for us it is … well HELL!!! The next 30 minutes will make you feel as if you could’ve sat on the engine of the train rather than here :-( . If trains are horror movies, buses are real devils! The main problem with ...

Weather in Chennai has become too much unusual this time around. The pleasantness that has become a part of Chennai atmosphere has made sure that Cox & Kings take notice. Who knows the city might get the ‘Best Honeymoon spot’ tag very soon if every depression kisses the city on its way. Bangalore has become total crap (this is a big problem of mine.. I tend to use the same word too often, like Alok of FPS. ) The rape and murder of a call-centre executive has left the cosmopolitan hub shell shocked. My strong feeling is that the entire system needs to be revamped. You can’t allow girls to wander like nocturnes. Not going to help… Equal rights and women’s liberation are all fine. But a man is physically stronger than a woman… always… nature’s stamp… no one can change this. If this issue is not seen seriously and persistently enough, this place we live in is going to turn into a land of rapists. BJP has touched its pinnacle of insignificance. Party tussles in BJP looks like f...

‘Suchi Suprabatham’ kept the eyelids of the occupants at least half-open. The Infy bus was maneuvering along what I would describe as one of the worst affected roads in the city, the culprit being incessant downpours here. Madipakkam, the lake turned-residential area turned-lake was slowly drying up, thanks to some mercy from Varun over the past two days. ‘Chennai Margazhi’ has always been pleasant. Today the sun was looking almost like a moon, only more illumined, what with the heavy mist veiling him every now and then. At 7-7:30 AM, the most happening places are the road-side tea shops. A glass of tea in the right hand…. cigarette, butter biscuit or ‘Dina thandhi’ – depending on taste - in the left… a perfect start for so many here. The IT Highway potholes made sure that motorists accumulate their share of misery for the day. Suchi started the day with an over exaggerated discourse on how a cup of filter coffee early morning can raise our determination to unsurpassable extents...

Wrote this a day after experiencing something out of the world. An evening I'll remember forever... “How was the evening?”, Srikanth asked me. His Unicorn was speeding along the Beasant nagar road. I was speechless… it had been just minutes since we had experienced bliss! Classes, null pointers, deliveries… we decided to take a break. The air carried music even as we entered the Beasant nagar Pillaiyar Koil at roughly 7:15 PM yesterday. A Thyagarajar Keerthanai invited us into the premises where hundred or more rasikas were witnessing a magician in full swing. O.S.Arun it was… Srikanth took a place in the floor and I made myself comfortable in a bench along with some old mamas. Arun was having a superb time with a perfect accompaniment. Music was flowing like silk. “Yamuna…” was touching. The situation - a group of Bhaktas inquiring River Yamuna about Lord Krishna’s whereabouts. The way in which he weaved the raga was stupendous. The unparalleled expressionism in his voice made sur...

My first post. New to blogging. Every 'dude' in town has a blog in his email signature. Lemme also get funky! System.out.println("Hello blog world!!");