birthday blues

Yet another year passed by. Turned 26 yesterday. Didnt have any kind of shor-hangama. No cakes, no parties. Actually i managed to surprise my roomies and friends rather than the usual other way. Basically I didnt want any celebrations. I know, age is what you feel and not the years you have spend in this world,but still 26 is a bit too old for such things. I am kinda feeling bittersweet- donno to be happy and thank god for taking me till 26th without much trouble to myself and to the world or rue the fact that still I am not out of the college.
Anyways,
Happy Birthday to Me !!!!

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shattered idols

People who know me know that I am a big time movie buff, especially when it comes to hindi movie songs. I can, with the fear of sounding a bit arrogant, say I know almost all the hindi songs. Being a connoisseur of hindi music, you can imagine how much shattered I would have been when I came across this . All my favorate songs, all my favorate composers....didnt know that I was appreciating the wrong persons. Now I feel, It would have been better had I not realised the truth. There is indeed some bliss in ignorance! Some are so brutally picked....all they have done is just used the karaoke! And I came across the worst possible case too!

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identity crisis

Aravind Subrmanian and Aravind Subramani is one and the same person. People who dont know me still dont know who it is and those who know me still dont believe its me

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gotcha

Seems like its the season of license. Got mine couple of days back...without hearing any honk ;)

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happy deepavali

Had a great Deepavali weekend.For the first time after coming to US, I enjoyed, rather celebrated a festival,thanks to SABHA, Priya and Jaya et al. Organised and enjoyed an excellent evening of carnatic music by Sudha Ragunathan on friday and got to taste amazing kalakhand and gulab jamun on saturday. Well, infact,yesterday it got me home sick after a long time. Iyya asked me if i am coming home this dec. or not. Though she said 'many relatives asked if you r coming this year', i am pretty sure it was more of her query rather than anyone else's.Added to that the lemon rice of Priya was just like how pattiamma wud make and channa dal by Priyanka was exactly the way iyya makes it....got me all senti to go home. :(

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wishful thought

Here i am sitting in my lab at mid night with the hope of getting some work done whereas my mind seems to have other plans. Cant concentrate a wee bit, no mood to study.I am utterly distracted and my hands involunterly opens mozilla and goes to inboxes and other sports and movie sites. I wish......if all my phaltu timepasses were to turn into useful work and my useful work into timepasses, i would have graduated by now! Wish I could turn my wishes into realities!

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original mile sur mera tumhara.....atlast got it!

The video i have been searching for online for a long time. Eversince the MITians came up with their own version of it, i realised how much i miss the original video of this one (could find only the lyrics online so far)
Check Out the Video here
Lets relive those beautiful 80s when all doordarsan telecasted was videos on national integrity,unity and social welfare like ek chidiya and mile sur and a screen with rainbow color strips with rukawat ke liye khed hai

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the long wait

I was waiting for her near the Garuda Statue. It would have been about 15mins., but I felt as if I have been waiting there for years. In a way, thats not totally untrue.It has been for some years now- ever since she flew to US 3 years back. May be I was nervous. I perspired more than ever. She sounded very confident and happy over the phone...as usual.
That made me more nervous.....
I dont knwo whether it was love at first sight. I hate to think so.Infact I dont believe think that a 7 yr old would be able to diff. friendship from love.I hated the thought of someone dismissing our love as a childish infatuation. We grew up together. Amrita was my best buddy, my childhood friend .We where there for each other in our joys and sorrows since our childhood.
There isn't anything in my life which I haven't discussed with her.And I strongly believe its the same with her too. Many a times I have wondered how much similar we were. We had the same taste of music, movies , food, dress etc. (hope she doesnt find out that I started eating non veg. just for her). We both were die hard hindi movie fans.We made sure that every friday, wherever and how ever much busy we are, we would not miss discussing the movie released that day.She was a huge fan of Sharukh just like I was of Kareena.And like many she hated her. Everytime she mentioned Sharukh, I made it a point to mention the name of Kareena that used to infuriate her. I enjoyed pissing her off, she looked more attractive with a reddened nose and staring eyes. Except for such trivial compromises and adjustments, we were just perfect together. We have never told that magical 3 words to each other......we knew that we were made for each other.
Oh! I forgot to mention the glaring difference we had. I was a momma boy and Amrita was a tomboy! I was the most introvert person one cud ever come across. "Its all because of you" She used to complain. "You are too much an introvert that others get the feeling that I am outspoken and extrovert".Though I didn't agree with it completely, if I look from her perspective, she cannot be blamed for thinking so.
All wasn't well in our love story. I still wonder how can two families who have been friends for decades can turn against each other just over a small strip of land! . Had we told our parents about our love before , I am sure they wouldnt have objected and it would have been a perfect ending for a perfect love story.......only if!
I wish my parents were not professors. I was too much disciplined and awed to even meet their eyes , forget about saying something like this against their wish. I wish I was as strong willed as she was.When her parents sent her to US for studies, it was she who convinced and consoled me that it wasnt all that bad to happen. She believed that parting for sometime would calm down the issue for a while and she was optimistic that we could sort out the problem later (many a times I wondered whether she was the superior gender among us.Well I dont mind losing out to her!)
It was her 'mail a day keeps the worries away' that kept us going. She never made me feel that she was thousands of miles away from me. "Its you I am concerned about" she used to say. She knew me better than me. She reassured in every mail that all we had to do was to wait for 4 years before she returned.Even when her parents were vehemently persuading her to get married, she managed to sway away all those with some excuse which only she could come up with.
In the mean time, though I tried to keep myself from getting into all the legal complexities of the case, I couldn’t help myself realizing that we were drying up financially. The fact that I am still a student (even while doing doctors i need to go to college!) didn’t help our cause. Nor their situation was good, but was definitely slightly better than ours.
When she returned, the first thing she did was to call me up to meet her near Garuda Statue. Though she didn’t mention anything, a tone of assurance made me feel that she sounded confident of convincing her parents.
That made me more nervous....
"HIIII".......she yelled as soon as she spotted me. It was a pain which I didn’t want to bear any longer.
"Hi Ami", I sounded feeble.
"What happened, Abhi?” her smile vanished in a second, "you look disturbed"
I felt there was no point in justifying myself. All I would have told her was about our financial crisis and how my uncle came forth with the proposal of his daughter to bail us out. But if those could make sense only to my parents and uncle,what is the point telling her.

"Is everything alright?" I heard her as I was trying in vain to come up with some words.

"I am engaged".

(Product of the long acting sessions we used to have in undergrad. Dedicating this to the 'actor' amongst us. Its just for u PC !!! )

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independence day thoughts

Today is the independece day for both of us - 2nd one for me and 60th one for India.It was on a 15th Aug. that i left India in search of better life and enlightment to this land of opportunities.
What all did i achieve in this 2 years of independent life?
Learned cooking: To my surprise, I exceeded my own expectations as a cook. Hereafter I wont starve to death if left alone at home. Also i can guarentee that no one would die of food poisoning or malnutrition eating my food.(except may be a rare chance of Hypernatremia)

Became social: I have become more social with people. Given how much of an incorrigible introvert i was, it is indeed a commandable transformation in me.

Made friends: Made good friends and that too quite a lot in count...from all parts of india (Infact a couple of them would directly walk into my list of all time best buddies). They have made my stay in US enjoyable.Always indebted to u all !!!

Once a vegan, still a vegan: The only thing my buddies back home challenged and I vehemently opposed is that I wud turn into a meat eater.Thankfully I have managed to cling on to my belief and live healthy here .And I can say the same abt my abstinence from alcohol and smoke.
But the sad part is other than these, i cannot think of any other creditable thing I have manged in US.(well, i cannot include orkut here though it has become an indispensible part of my life here)

I am still the person who hates school and studies, who is mad abt movies and cricket, and who would keep on talking non stop once initiated and one who loves to sleep long hours.

Now the most cliched question which pops up on the 15th aug. and 26th jan. resurfaces again in a broader and personnal sense: Have we/me utilised our/my freedom fully and wisely?.......with a bit of shame and dissapointment i would say NO!!

JAI HIND to all INDIANS around the world

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most eligible bachelor

Scene: UDF, Cincinnati
Charecters: Me, Roomie, Friend

Roomie (to Friend) : U know, tat girl has a huge crush on u... u better watchout
Me (sarcastically) : Yeah right...not only her, many girls seems to be lattu over him, isnt it?
Friend blushing.......Me & Roomie chortling
Friend: But one thing is for sure, Aravind is the most eligible bachelor in UC!
Me (delighted) : Thanks yaar...so nice of u to say so
Roomie: Him??? but y??
Friend: Becoz we both have graduated.......hahahaha!!!!

I was sooo heart broken that it rendered me deaf to the huge guffaw the other two were having!!

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me in hogwarts

Am not a HP fan and I know very little about the Hogwarts house (except that Harry is in Gryffindor).So, I suppose being in Hufflepuff is not tat bad!! Atleast my traits which got me in there look good :)

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

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copied with permission without shame

Just when i had ran out of all ideas or topics or link to blog about, just when i thought of shutting down this blog due to literary exhaustion, just when cob web stared appearing in my blog due to inactivity...i found a life saver.

I am thinking about...
how to get me away from infront of this comp. and get some work done
I said…
rather lied...that i am really busy now a days
I want to…
go to Chicago, NY and Houston in summer....not able to work it out though
I wish...
i had a laptop if my bank balance was as rich as my desires. Need one urgently
I hear…
fellow grads whining the same way as I do about how thesis work and life in general sucks!
I wonder...
how I manage to find time to see one movie a day and not work on my thesis
I regret...
anything and everything in life. Life is all about improvising.
I am...
a normal,just one the millions who have come to this world with limited dreams and aspirations in life
I dance...
like a man with two left feet
I sing...
always and everywhere
I am not always...
a good company to hangout or party with
Food...
is not a thing to be wasted at all
I write...
just for the heck of it.Others do,so should I !
My passion...
cricket.....cant imagine a life without them
I confuse...
Jessica Sara Parker?...or is it Sara Jessica Parker???
I need...
a break....from everything.Wish I could go on hibernation or so!

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daivathinte vikruthikal

Just when i thought God has his fun only with humans, I came across this.
Astonishing.........painfully astonishing, for i dont expect it to survive, though i sincerely wish to be proved wrong.

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what does my birth date mean

I am not a serious believer in online predictions about u, ur future, ur nature etc etc. But off late i have come across few stuffs which makes me feel " how true it is about me!"

Here is one such...

My Birthdate: November 20

You are a virtual roller coaster of emotions, and most people enjoy the ride. Your mood tends to set the tone of the room, and when you're happy, this is a good thing. When you get in a dark mood, watch out - it's very hard to get you out of it. It's sometimes hard for you to cheer up, and your gloom can be contagious. Your strength: Your warm heart Your weakness: Trouble controlling your emotions Your power color: Black Your power symbol: Musical note Your power month: February

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

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top 5 tamil movies

This posting has been overdue by a long time, almost an year to be pricise!! Neverthless better late than never!
This one also not necesserly in order of preference.

1) ANBE SIVAM
Director: Sundar.C
Cast: Kamal Hassan, Madhavan etc
Argubily one of the best movies to be released in the 21st century. Only a master like Kamal cud hv managed to make a movie like this. And it was pleasently surprising to see Madhavan given equal footage in the movie and more surprising to see him managing to hold his foothold even in the presence of the genuis. Kamal has often been accused of ghost directing his movies and this is one movie where it was visibly evident. the possiblilty of a mediocre director like Sundar.C directing this movie is as strong as uganda winning world cup cricket.

2) HEY RAM
Director: Kamal Hassan
Cast: Kamal Hassan, Shahrukh Khan etc
Yet another master piece from the supremo. A imaginary story of a man who was all set to assasinate gandhiji until destiny had it say. A controversial movie for its anti-gandhian stand though i felt that it really glorified gandhiji and his beliefs. Unfortunate that people couldnt see it in that perspective. A truely international class movie which was ahead of its time.

3) IRUVAR
Director: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Mohanlal,Prakash Raj,Aishwarya Rai etc
Another movie ahead of its time made by Mani Ratnam. The movie was based on the real life story of MGR and now CM Karunanidhi. This movie started Mohanlal in the role of MGR and Prakash Raj as Karunanidhi. Aishwarya Rai marked her debut with this one. It was really gutsy of Mani Ratnam to make such a senstive topic into a movie tat too at a time when DMK was the ruling party in TN. Both the leading men were excellent in their roles and it was rather surprising to me that only Prakash Raj managed to get the national award for best supporting actor. It also had heavenly music by ARR. "Narumugaye" is my alltime favorate song. Even today i listen to it atleast once a day.

4) MAHANADHI
Director: Santhana Bharathi
Cast: Kamal Hassan, Sukanya etc
The story of a father of 2 teenagers who was betrayed and lost everything in his life including his kids. Another senstive and powerful performance by Kamal was the highlight of the film. The scene were he confronts his daughter in sonakachi still hurts me. Not many movies have managed to emotionally haunt me, but this one tops the list. If i am to list the nightmerish experiences i dont want to have in my life, this would be one. All blame on Kamal for making me feel its soo real.

5) SERVER SUNDARAM
Director: R.Krishnan & S. Panju
Cast: Nagesh,K.R.Vijaya,Muthuraman etc
The story of a hotel waiter boy becoming a movie superstar. I suppose this was the first movie in which Nagesh acted as the hero. What makes this movie interesting is that the message of this one, even decades after its making, is still revelent. Dont you think u lose your simple life, your close ones once you go after the comforts of life? These are the kind of movies which i would call evergreen, were the revelence to the topic doesnt fade away even years after its making.

There are many more movies I would have liked to add , like Kannathil Muthamittal, Roja, Nayagan etc. If the readers have noticed a bias or excessive laudation from my part for Kamal and Mani Ratnam,then, I would like to add that its intentional. because I consider these two greats to be in a league of their own much above anyone else in tamil filmdom. On any given day, I would prefer watching the crapiest of Kamal or Mani Ratnam movie over any others best.Also,its quite sad that most of these movie bombed big time at the box office.Maybe, we audience havnet grown to that level of maturity to apretiate good movies.

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rotflol

hahahahahaha Can it get any more ridiculous???

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kalikaalam

This is quite unfortunate.Shouldnt have happened anywhere.To be killed by own brother??? Unthinakle and unfathomable for me.This is not the first sibling murder i am hearing, but such a thing happening to a person in the upper stratum of the society......i cant digest it.Its just tarnished the value and trust of blood relationship (my patti would have said 'kalikaalam').Till i heard the news, i was optimistic that he would survive and i honesty wished too!I wish this world be a better place hereafter.
May his soul rest in peace!

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cleveland diary

Sometimes ignorance can be a bliss. Thats precisily what i experienced couple of weeks back when i went to attend Cleveland Thyagaraja Sangeeta Aradhana.I am not a compulsive carnatic music enthusiast.So, i donno much abt the stalwarts in that field. This ignorance is what saved me from being overawed in the presence of the greats of carnatic music.
For the 2nd year in a row, i made it to Cleveland for the Tyagaraja Aradhana.Its an annual 10 day carnatic music concert held in cleveland for the 29th year in the running ! It has concerts by well known personalites and also by some budding and aspiring talents.My cousins sisters have been performing violin there for last 16 yrs or so and my uncle is an active volunteer of that.So, last year my sole purpose of visit was just to meet my relatives, which i lived upto by sleeping thru most of the concerts :) But this time, may be coz i got a taste of the music 2nd time around, or may be it was much better tis time (first one seems to be more probable), i enjoyed it throughly.I got the oppurtunitu to listen live to eminent figures like Sudha Raghunathan,Aruna Sayeeram,Dr.Ramani,Ravi Kiren,Ranjini & Gayatri,Umayalpuram Sivaraman etc.Also there were superstars like Sanjay Subramaniam,T.M.Krishna,Papanasam Sri Ashok Ramani etc. which i missed.
I am not an expert in this field, neither i have any previous reference of their concerts attended...but indeed it was enjoyable.Though i had heard of Sudha Raghunathan and Ravi Kiren, the other icons were ,to be honest, completely unknown to me.Its only after my return to UC, that i go thru net about them and realised their stature.Indeed it was a priviledge for me to see them perform live.But the stand out even for me was the bharathanatyam performance by Sujatha Srinivasan.It was too good.Even a completely stranger to dance would have been captivated by there 'natya'.And equally excellent was the mridangam demonstration by Umayalpuram Sivaraman assisted by Chitraveena Ravi Kiren.His dexterity on mridangam was magical.
I think even i hv started developing taste for carnatic music.i am the only odd one out in my family- each single member in my family is good in some form or art, either music or instruments. though my parents and others desperately made me learn mridangam,i was lazy enough even there to be a 'drop out'.If I say that I attened all the concerts of all artists even without dozing off even once, then that speaks a lot about how much i enjoyed it ( people who knw me will understand, hw easy i sleep if made an audience-be it class,seminar, concert or anything).
I still donno any nuances or technicalities of carnatic music, i still manage to fit all songs in my 'adi or roopaka thalam'(only 2 i knw), but i think i hv become more receptive to this kind of music.It has become like how english movies were like to me till sometime back-its hard for me to sit thru the first 15 mins, after that i will be completely engrossed! Am already looking forward to next years concert.And i hv promised my cousisns that i will be better equiped with the technicalities so as to enjoy it more.
It was refreshing to see how many kids and youngsters here in US devote much of their time and energy to indian music when its facing much neglect from youngsters in india (that includes me too!).I met 2 youngsters coming all the way from UK and Ausralia just to perform tere...thats for dedication and commitement! Maybe its another case of we indians need to learn abt India from NRIs!

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travail of a scoprio

Being a scorpio, its in my stars that i am sensitive. Not that i will be distured easily, but even small incidents, at times,refuse to go away from my mind.again, not tat it haunts me or so, but time and again, it just reminds me that they r still alive within me.

This is about a highschool mate of mine and this incident took place long time back when i had just joined engineering.This guy was pretty close friend of mine.Like, one with whom i used to do homeworks,play games and all.He was one my closest buddies.Since we both had names with A, we often fell in same groups in most of the group activities (u knw, all those roll no.wise classification of teams).But after highschool, due to the lack of developments in e-communication at tat time and lack of privilage for free use of telephone, i lost touch with him.So, there was tis new hindi movie released which we all had been anticipating for a while and so, we friends in the engg. college went for FDFS.We went tere about 3 hrs in advance (given only collegiates fight for first day first show for hindi movies in kerala,3 hrs was good enough time in advance!).But when we reached tere,i realised all youngsters in all enginnering colleges in tat town think alike-just like us!Since the ticket counter hadnt opened, we all were hanging out, chattering, bird watching etc and then i happen to see this friend of mine with his college mates.I called out his name -he didnt seem to notice. I thought,ok may be he didnt hear me so i frantically waved my hands along with shouting his name.He did see me, but his reaction was just limited to a smile.As soon as the counter opened, there was tis sudden gush of junta. Since i was standing near the door, all i need to do was just to stand relaxed as i was just pushed right to the front of the counter and managed to in the top 10 in the queue.and i cud see this serpentine queue to some distance beyond the reach of my vision.Suddenly, this friend of mine came near me and "Hi aravind,how r u?"."Am good", replied me.Before i cud ask him wat he is doing he asked "could u get me 5 tickets?" I didnt have to think twice before shouting back "NO". But being inherently diplomatic, i somehow managed to curb my instincts and reasoned him that i already hv more than 10 tickets to purchase... and he vanished amongst the crowd.What hurt me most was hw 'matlabi' he was.I would hv still got him tickets had he been courtious enough to enquire about each other before asking for tickets.I am someone who cherishes friendship a lot and who believes good friendship lasts for ever.Its absolutely fine with me, if people wants to move on with their lives, but what he did that day was quite ignoble.I wonder, wont he himself wud hv realised how improper he was?. I wish he did, so that he doesnt repeat it.If i happen to meet him again, i dont think i can treat him the same way as my close friend. I am not upset coz i lost a friendship, i am upset coz he lost my trust.

I donno what reminded me this incident.Maybe i wud hv thought or tried to act the same way as my friend.Or, maybe i have had mostly pleasent memories of my friends, that such incidents stand out as sore thumb... i am not sure.I donno, if I am just making a heavy weather out of such a small issue.But i cant help it, it doesnt quit my memory. I am helpless....i am a scorpio!

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influential problem

seems me and ash have trouble with the same !
:)
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