On-Sense !!

Sometimes you have loads of thoughts in your mind - to write about , and you never know what to choose to explain to the outside world. Some other times, there is not much going on in your brain to even write about, thoughts struggle to trickle in and flow from the intellect out onto the paper,or should I say, a computer screen in the case of a blog.

I don't know what to call this- writing fatigue, or boredom, or say plain listlessness. But then given that I have already blabbered a few lines out here, I should defiitely not be on any of the horizons of the phenomenon called "writing fatigue".

Enough of boring you people with scientific terms that I oh-so-intelligently managed to conjure up. Coming to the point of writing this post - I thought maybe I should for once try giving some nonsense as a blog also. I mean who doesn't write nonsense these days? Atleast be happy my nonsense makes grammatical sense!

I can hear you people murmuring "this guy has gone bonkers" already. Well, too much of comic-reading can sometimes lead persons to this frame of mind - where everything seems funny and impractically jovial. Things which would otherwise have escaped your humorous scrutiny can seem ridiculously funny , like this piece of writing here. I find it funny - and am laughing to myself, albeit surely knowing you guys find it a worthless piece of crap and a bore :-)

Cheers!

If... A poem could change you?

Recently I happened to read this poem by Rudyard Kipling which I thought I should share with all of you. I must heartily thank Shruthi for showing me such a beautiful piece of literature, to understand, take in, and enjoy -most importantly. After all, whats poetry without living every word of it?

So here goes..


IF...
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,


Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!



Awesome is the only word I could say after reading this. Rudyard is a poetic genius.

Of Regrets and Confessions..

After a long hiatus, I am back to doing what I do -albeit slightly better, than watching sports or music channels - Writing. There were a variety of reasons that caused this long gap in between the blogs, the primary cause being a lack of motivation arising from the roots of a constantly troubled and confused mind.
There have been situations aplenty in my life where I have been confused, lost, and probably motiveless- but the soup that I find myself in, had the dubious distinction of having created wholly by me alone. It is another story that I am repenting for what I did, and even for what went out of control- probably for a lot lot more too, as and when I am writing this blog. Now that becomes double trouble, repenting for what you did- and the entangle that you lie in after seeing the mess that you have created.

Most persons that I have met and spoken to, suggested me to clear the mess out myself by probably forgetting that it ever existed, or by even concentrating on things that I would be good at, or even ridiculous ideas such as seeing comedy shows aired on the telly. But I soon realised being forgetful or diverting your concentration on other things is not quite enough. Some things are just too much to forget,or even brush aside, aren't they?

The only thing, which I thought would be perfect, is to confess to God, as most of the Christian community does(I say there is nothing better than confessing your sins- this is one of the most impressive ideals of a religion other than Hinduism, that I adore). Do the best you can, and God- they say, takes care of the rest. It is never too late for anything.

"Look back at your past, and you almost always wonder that you could have done things differently" -

This very expressive excerpt, is from a stage drama enacted out by Mr.Y.G.Mahendra. Albeit being from a "comical-relief" sort of a play, it had a touch of truth to it. I had just about then realised its relevance to my life. Second chances do not exist in this age the world finds itself in- so almost all the while,latching onto the first becomes a prerequisite. Unfortunately, you or I cannot change the past- it is only fitting that we let our confessions of the past salvage some peace for us in the present - and enter the future with hope,belief, and the enthusiasm of attaining back what we lost.

May God bless one and all, and may he be kind to those who are in need of kindness.

A special Thank You! to all those who kept poking at me to write something at least. I would'nt disappoint you junta now on :)

Rahmania @ TOI concert!! ( Thanks to Maanasaa!)

Well, here's an excerpt from my friend's blog on the TOI concert that ARR performed in Chennai on April the 20th. Wondering why I was'nt blogging all these days? Certain "feminish" factors(LOL!!) coupled with Rahmaniacal infection !! Enough of fooling around, here's the stuff people !

WHATTA MAN !!!!!!!What a day !!!!! Reached by around 4ish ! Yes.. that was pretty late .. but then.. bus journeys are so unpredictable !!!! This place, St. George's School Grounds was a fan-yard ! Every nook and corner overflowed with enthusiastic fans with expectations writ large on their faces ! My respect for Rahman Sir, incremented (any more if it could) by a million times !!!It was even exciting as Sir's assistant rang me up to find out if I could help on-stage with the scrolling of lyrics !!!! OH YES, I could !!!!! And with the brand new t-shirt on (Thanks Aravind :) ), it was easier to enter the arena ... and there.. was the never before feeling ! The all-tired group from Sharjah were rehearsing on-stage !!! and THE MAN ..was seated right in the centre, rectifying any mistakes !!! It was still 4.15 !! Messages and calls from friends said the crowd was roaring at the gates and had moved onto the road !! The stage was all set, there were lightings everywhere, and one view from the stage told us, that here , was the most popular man, to see whom, the crowd could hold no longer ! People were pouring in like a meteors-on-their-way ! Nothing could give more pleasure !I and a couple of friends did a little jig .. we had got a chance to snap-on with those celebs .. Sadhanaji, Shankarrrr, the Royal-Flautist Naveen et al ! Hariji was way too busy though !! I wish he had just spared a few minutes for fans .. the Radio Mirchi people took all the time for themselves !

And we are back, up on stage to check out the crowd :). And one glance sideways was enough to give me goosebumps .. LO ! Karthi .. seen walking right in front of me, is not spared ! Forever and ever ! Amen ! A call, a little explanation. and we meet him at his caravan ! (Yes, there are vvery few lucky people who he can identify with :P) Now all hyper and jumpy, the lyrics-scrolling didn't seem possible ! Though anyone would have exchanged diamonds to be there, the job involved little work, and no view of the concert ! So , we preferred seats with the crowd. But, it quite seemed impossible, as to walk to the crowd would be to risk a stampede ! A little contact here and there, and we were there, at the VIP section, seated in front of those dozing VIPs ! A seat, more diamonds would be swapped for :P.

It was a little dark, friends could not be located, calls and messages wouldn't reach , what with a 50,000(Maanasaa is'nt right here!!) crowd trying to do it all together !Finally, the purpose was beginning to be fulfilled ! Vijay Adhiraj (who has laughed at us for our WOW-ing :P) anchored the show, nothing much actually ! Because, nothing need be said about the songs of the Man awaited all long !

The show began with a rocking slow number Jaage hain from Guru , Rahman sir and Sadhanaji crooning to it ... what a beginning ! The crowd went ga-ga already !RAHMAN SIR - has never failed to churn out the best numbers .. they are tailored for relishing , at concerts or away ! He sang Dil se re .. the beginning percussions had the audience longing to listen to it !

The best of His was Khwaja, from Jodha Akbar (a song, apparently close to his heart, as he'd mentioned in an interview). They had set up a diwan, with Sir centre staged, and Md. Aslam and Javed Ali at either sides ! A prayer, nothing less ! The harmonium was played effortlessly, which only added feel to the already existing ! ROCKING !

The songs sung were

* Ellapugazhum from Azhagiya Tamizh Magan, the recent Tamil craze ..!

* Varaaga nadhi karayoram from Sangamam. What a song ... what singing ! Kudos to Shankar !

* Barso re from Guru. As I and a lot others feel, Neeti's neverr let any song down ! Awesome singing, though she did fumble at the naa-re part towards the end, lack of breath.. but chuck it ! She sings as gorgeously as she is !

* Vaaji from Shivaji had Hariji and Madhushree enjoying as they sang ! Mediocre I'd rate it !

* Jashn-e-Bahaara from Jodha Akbar. Javed Ali.. again.. one of Sir's best finds ! Effortless singing ... uninterrupted flow of the feel .. and amazing performance !!! I'm in love with him !

* GIRLFRIEND from Boys ..... YE ! KARTHI ! Enakkagave paadara maadiri oru feeling ! Lovely audience interaction .. unexpected sangadhis and a sudden burst into the high pitched 'Enakkoru girlfriend venumada' had me demented !!!!!!! I wish I just fainted , so he came and attended to it ! How i wish !

* Endrendrum punnagai from Alaipayuthey ... I dont need to mention it .. It's a rage !!!!!!!!! What with Shankar singing along ! Fun !!!

* Tere Bina ... a version better than the one at Marg's ! Looked very sequenced, but .. atleast it was flawless ! Lovely swarams .. don't know why .. but somehow, the swarams stole the show ! Chinmayi was good, she went nasal towards the end though !!

* Mayya Mayya from Guru ... Neeti Mohan ... dances, sings, poses, smiles all A+ ! What has she sung for Sir ??? Perfect singing !

* Sandhana Thendralai from Kandukonden Kandukonden ! Ha ... Shankar written all over it !

* Newyork Nagaram from Jillunu Oru Kaadhal .. rarely have I heard Sir speak so much ! He said stuff about the day being hot and sweaty and so lets go in for a 'jillunu' song ! WOW !!!! The song was a little messy .. he went out of shruthi .. but namma Sir na.. chalta hai ! :)

* Roobaroo from Rang De Basanti . Naresh looked out of form ! The song was edited such that 'jo gumshuda' never appeared !

* Athiradee from Shivaji ... overrated song(idiot Manas I love this song!) ! It was a lot of fun ! There was Md. Aslam centre stage, and Sir had vanished from his place near the Keys ! Ben, Naresh and Karthi occupied the top row and the guitar's already begun playing ! It was assumed that Md. Aslam might sing it ! But LO ! Sir emerged from underneath the Keyboard stand with Black glasses !!!!!! Sooooo situationally funny :P. Incidentally, he had forgotten a couple of lines from the song, but namma Sir dhaane :P... and yeah .. Karthi had me drooling to his 'Sananana Mananana' :D

* Chaiiyya Chaiiya from Dil Se. Reihana began the song, she got to sing after loong on stage for Sir ! Unexpectedly , it was Javed Ali for the Male vocals, and what a splendid job !!! Every note was perfect and the high pitches were even wonderful !

* Munbe Vaa from the Jillunu movie .. Chinmayi was shreya's substitute ... did a very nasal job ! She sang well though .. but the himesh-effect undid the feel ! Naresh was OK !

* Maduraikku Pogadhedi from Azhagiya Tamizh Magan. Ben was his usual Hyper self ! Dancing away all time .. and the surprise guest was Dharshana .. who sang it originally as well ! She did a nice job .. though got a little scared towards the end ! Her landing notes are perfect !

* Idhayam Idam Mariyadho from Jodha Akbar. This was a bilingual song.. there were Karthi, Javed Ali, and Madhushree on stage .. singing away ! Karthi began it so sofffftly, that, Sonu would have resigned his job ! And Madhushree was extremely captivating ! Javed ka tho javaab nahin !

* Kannodu Kaanbathella from Jeans. This , is what they call, a Surprise ! A complete katcheri feel ! Nithyashree, along with Valayapatti and a Mridangist were seated down, the carnatic way ! A full fledged RTP effect. And a couple of SGMPNSs, began Kannodu. She looked extremely confident in the standing position with the hand mic ! Lovely !

* There was a little break where the percussionists had their time ! It was not interesting :(

* Bombay Theme ... a lilting melody everyone would die for .. and Mr Naveen , had us all mesmerised with his feet long intruments !!!!! No wonder he's the Royal Flautist ! Cheers !

* Blaaze wandered for sometime on the stage, with 'style' for the bgm .. as he introduced the instrumentalists !

* Pray For Me Brother .. a surprise !!!!! Sir sang and played with ease and Blaaze had everyone enjoying his Rap part ! It was completely sequenced .. The whole track !

* The diwan. now held the unbeatable singer-pair .. Hariji and Sadhanaji ! A little aalaap and a a few Keys later, it was a confirmed Udaya Udaya ... what a song !!!!! And from there ... Hariji announced a teencee competition for the audience where we had to repeat his swarams !!!!!! Ah ! If we could do it, we'd have been on stage boss ! A million swarams later .. the tempo picked up and Behaag appeared out of thin air ! Ae Hairathen Aashiqui , jagaaaaaaaa math !

* Azeem-o-shaan- Veerapaandi kottayile- Rukkumani. How does Sir know how to merge his own songs to get the best feel ever !!!!!!! Towards the end, there were little kids on stage, (whom I envied) drumming and smiling from up there ! (naangalum varuvom) !

* Humma Humma. Ha ! Shankar and Sir were on stage with a little teaser of 'Ammmaaaaaaaaaaa' .. as it metamorphasized into HUMMA HUMMA as Blaaze had us all tapping our feet !!!!! And security guards appeared out of nowhere ! This was the cue that the concert was about to end ! Anyway .. Humma saw the bursts of several paper clouds and oohs and aaha from fans !

* VANDE MATARAM .. Salaam to Rahman sir for having given us this wonderful concert ! Towards the end of the song, all singers appeared on stage .. as is customary ! I thank Times of India and Rahman Sir for this ultimate opportunity , to sit close to the stage and have the time of my life ! I profusely thank Mr Radhan for having made this possible ... and one BIG hug to all the crazy fan-friends who made it there ...

A nice piece of writing na? Thank you Maanasaa! (and next time make it better)

Hi5 to every Rahmaniac out there!

MITAFEST 2008 - REVIEW.

The annual cultural extravaganza of the Madras Institute of Technology – MITAFEST 2008 got off to an auspicious start on the evening of the 20th of march 2008 – at the Rajam Hall of MIT , in the presence of the Vice Chancellor of Anna University- Dr.Viswanathan and other notable dignitaries(Don't you think that Vichu guy sucks? ). With the Pro-show of Krish slated for the later part of the evening , the inauguration itself saw a good turnout. Previously SSMusic and their VJ’s were seen scouting MIT for voice talents in the SSmusic Voice Hunt, alongwith having some lighthearted fun by organizing informals. Accounting to the occurrence of heavy rain , the Intra-college choreo event was shifted out to the following day. Nevertheless the organizers ensured the pro-show took place. It was rescheduled and venue changed to the Hangar-1, where most of the events would take place. Krish and the accompanying orchestra ensured the audience’s minds danced to their tunes. “June pona”, “Manjal veyil” and “Oru mugamo” were the sure-shot crowd favorites , and they ensured entire hangar energized up to face the unabashed frenzy of Mitafest.
The second day of Mitafest saw a flurry of events , ranging from the Scitech and General quiz to the Intra college choreo and Light music. However , the sleepy hollow of Hangar-2 was the happening place throughout the day, with hoards of people appearing for the Literary events and Art events. Tamil events like arattai arangam and kavidhai-potti’s were also held during the day. The evening started off with intra college choreo sending the audience into a trance. It was ably followed up with the light music finals which saw intense competition between other college teams. B.S.A.Crescent Engineering College won the first prize in light music followed by SSN.
The final day was to be the crowning glory of Mitafest- with most of the events entering the final stage. On one side the hangar-2 saw gaming reaching hitherto unknown levels of excitement with counter strike videos being played and hardcore gamers pitching it out against each other. On the other side there were rangoli and other informal events taking place , besides the quizzes which ended up going down to the wire. But the real sleeping giant this year should be the shipwreck and JAM finals that took place in Rajam hall on the last day evening – parallelly alongwith the variety show. Shipwreck entered its final stages with the likes of jayalalitha and karunanidhi pitting their brains and wits against sharad pawar and ganguly. It was hilarious to say the least. Even better was the JAM that followed – Murali from SSN conducted the session and he ensured the participants had their share of laughter and the audience too. Mitafest 2008 concluded with an attractive choreo nite which was won aptly by A.M.Jain college, and others like Solomon twisters from CEG and Madha engineering college also participated in it.

On the whole Mitafest 2008 was an enjoyable ride of FUN,FROLIC AND FIESTA !

Countdown to MITAFEST 2008 !

Just one more day to go for Mitafest to kick off - and this time it is sure to bring about the transformation of the geek to the freak. Ok, enough of putting up junk sentences trying to convey one meaning -
“GET THE HELL OUTTA YOUR CLAMSHELLS JUNTA !IT’S PARTY TIME!! ”
And now for the updates -
**********1. KRISH Pro-Show tickets are available with Vijayakumar- Ph.no : 9962222620. Book your passes as its FIRST COME FIRST SERVED . Other college junta are allowed , so CHECK IN GUYS N GALS !
2. The campus is being decorated gradually. So if you aren’t having time to notice those flashbulbs hanging from the trees, you’ll do well to get your eye checked.
3. The Open Air Theatre(OAT) galleria have been done, and this time the design looks different and a lot more spacious than previous years. ( which translates into more fun for us )
4. Stalls have been put up - and we hear quite a few good grub stalls are coming about this time ( Mexican food anyone ? )
5. Hangar -1 continues to house the sport-studs of MIT , but then by tomorrow it will undergo a sea change- housing systems for the gaming challenges. ( rumours are flying that XBox consoles maybe on the way - keep your eyes peeled!)
And remember to call your friends dudes and dudettes -
MITAFEST IS MORROW, NO MORE SORROW !
********** - Singers from A.R.R’s and Ilayaraja’s troupe coming along too:)

We ain't here for any Monkey Business, or are we??

This is quite a moment I must say - one of the rarest occasions when I am left with too many things to write , too many people to speak about , and too many technicalities to explain. But still , this is our moment and let's savour every second of it. The ever elusive Commonwealth Bank/Victoria Bitter series has been won by India.
(Yes, this is not the Under-19 team which has won it - that is another long story altogether. Its the seniors team this time around ;) )
We remember seeing the familiar look on M.S.Dhoni's face at the conclusion of the T20 Worldcup last year in Southafrica - when we saw what he did today after India had won it all fair and square against Australia. Maybe a lucky look ? Who knows - either ways he is playing for our city in the IPL and its good if he has a bit of luck too!
And so, ladies and gentlemen, the much-talked about Australian summer has finally ended , and to India's credit - on an upbeat note. Let us travel back and analyse what we have learnt out of this gruelling three-month long slugfest.

1. Big-talking is fun. *
*if you aren't playing the next match.
*if you are playing the next match.
*if you have long hair plaited in a little bundle up there.
*if you are balding.(Haydos and Punter beware ;) )
*if you are not someone called "The Master Blaster"
*if you don't have any other job in the team to do.

2. Itching/scratching/touching yourself in the wrong places on the ground is forbidden. *
* Conditions apply to excessively under-dressed-populated Australian cricket grounds.

3. Streakers are a lucky sign for India. Everytime one appears we win. So then why were they two in the second final at Brisbane ? Sources tell there aren't enough nudist beaches in Brisbane's vicinity.

4. Want a free ticket back home + become a national hero + make the whole world talk about you ? Give a wrong decision + treat all appeals with equal racism.

5. Want to stay back on the tour ? Be under 22 years of age.*
*preferably belonging to Mumbai ,Delhi and having spiky/long hair.

6. How to go into a form slump ? Be paired with Deepika Padukone ( plus trade in your mom and dad to speak about the both of you on Headlines Today)

7. How to retrieve yourself from a form slump ? Look at the lady officers when the oh-so-masculine streakers emerge.***

***P.S - Any idea if Cricket Australia are recruiting female streakers to spread the game?

8. How do you make your wicket look very costly ? Let loose "obnoxious" comments on local radio. *
* ensure it gets across to the Indian Mafia(or Media??)

9. How do you screw up yourself ? Not let a veteran retire in peace and victory - keep him out of the team.

Lastly.....




10. How do you win against the Mighty Australians?

Let an in-form Sachin invent "Khatam Karo Ghar Chalo".


I think the last four words explain it all.