Tuesday, August 30, 2005 

2 weeks

Two more weeks to go....well almost two weeks, for a big thing that is going to happen. I have started my countdown. Well but the thing is it has still not yet sunken into my mind that it is going to happen. Hopefully by this long week end, things will get exciting :)

Well you guys must be thinking what the hell, I am going home, to India
aathukku poren
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaa after 4 years and 9 months.

Can u believe it, neither can I and nor does my dad who is saying that I am gonna believe only when he sees my face in Madurai. Its been almost 5 years, since I came here for MS in EE, that's another story.

This being the most eventful period of my life, with me touching rock bottom, well cudn't go below that, so had to climb back up. Well if climbing up the ditch, that I was in 2 years back, can be called labor, believe me fruits of labor are sweet.

Ellam namba mela irukkara thalaivaroda kaingrayam :)

Well in the next few days I am gonna post about my tumultuous 4 years that I spent in this desert [This place is hotter than chennai] eppadikku

7:39 PM | |

Friday, August 26, 2005 

Krishna Jayanthi

Krishna jayanthi nalvaazhuthukkal.
Wish you all a very happy Krishna Jayanthi.
Fortunately with the help of some of good friends, I got a decent supply of bakshanam such as seedai, thattai :)


As always I kick off my day with a good dose of carnatic songs for an hour or so in the morning on my way to office. It kind of gives me a very good feeling starting off work in the morning

Today conincidentally my CD started off with all Krishna Songs

All of them are by Oothukaadu Vekatasubba iyer
Rendition by Sudha Raghunathan
My favs.

1) Thaaye yeshoda, Thodi -- this being my all time favourite
2) Alaipayuthey, Kaanada
3) Neerada sama neela krishna yehi, jayantashree
4) Kuzhal oothi manam ellam, Kambodhi
5) Pullay piravi, shenjuruTTi

I have a special liking for Oothukaadu's compositions. Me being an ardent fan of carnatic music [not that I know, much about it, I know/can identify only a few ragams], if you are able to understand the lyrics, it gives u immense pleasure.

Added to that all the Oothukaadu's compositions are in Tamil. Beautiful lyrics. Songs like thaaye yeshodha always used to keep running in my house in my childhood days [although I was not a big fan then], I am happy that I am able to appreciate it now. Probably repeatedly hearing songs, even the ones that u dont like, does have an effect I guess :)

Isnt it amazing, there are certain songs which make quite an impact on you, after listening to them, hmm

One another song that Ill never forget is "Pullanguzhal kudutha moongilgale", this was one song that I liked even when I was a kid :). When I was in srirangam some 19 years ago, I used to hear this song quite often in the Ranganathar temple. I used to visit the temple quite frequently with my paatti.

When ever I remember my days in srirangam, this song always comes to my mind. Nostalgic:)

Anyway all of you guys have a nice weekend.

10:49 AM | |

Monday, August 22, 2005 

Another day in paradise

Phil Collins is one of the first singers that I started listening to.
"Another day in paradise", came out when I was in grade six, I was instantly attracted to it. Although I wasnt paying too much attention to the lyrics then, in my later years, I was able to appreciate the beauty of it.

I was looking at the video of this song yesterday, it has some striking images of homeless people in US [yes!!] and across the world. This song is pretty successful in reminding us time and again, that we with all this comforts of life, are a privileged minority in this planet earth.


Keep that in mind!!!! and enjoy this amazing song.

All of you guys have a wonderful start of week :)

Enjoy!!!!


"Another Day In Paradise" By Phil Collins
"But Seriously"/1989


She calls out to the man on the street
"Sir can you help me?"
It's cold and I've no where to sleep,
is there somewhere you can tell me?

He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh, think twice, 'cause it's just another day for you
and me in paradise
Oh, think twice, 'cause it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she's been crying
She's got blisters on the soles of her feet
She can't walk but she's trying

Oh, think twice, 'cause it's just another day for
and me in paradise
Oh, think twice, 'cause It's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from every place
'Cause she didn't fit in there

Oh, think twice, 'cause it's just another day for
and me in paradise
Oh, think twice, 'cause It's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

Just think about it

It's just another day for you and me in Paradise
It's just another day for you and me in Paradise
It's just another day for you and me in Paradise

9:06 AM | |

Monday, August 15, 2005 

Lies, Lies and Damn Lies

Lie, poi kallam u may call it whatever, it is at times fascinating, irritating, makes u angry makes u laugh, it has saved u from embarrassing situations, put u in trouble and what not. I decided to find some answers regarding this fascinating phenomenon.

I tried to find a definition for that, well this is the one I liked most

Lie, n.:
A very poor substitute for the truth, but the only one
discovered to date.

Here are some classic statements about lie.


__a

I will never lie to you.

__b

Art is a lie which makes us realize the truth.
-- Picasso

__c

Toni's Solution to a Guilt-Free Life:
If you have to lie to someone, it's their fault.

__d

Whoever tells a lie cannot be pure in heart -- and only the pure in heart
can make a good soup.
-- Ludwig Van Beethoven

__e

Consultant, n.:
Someone who'd rather climb a tree and tell a lie than stand on
the ground and tell the truth.

__f

It is often the case that the man who can't tell a lie thinks he is the best
judge of one.
-- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"

__g

One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.
-- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"

__h

Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of sense to know
how to lie well.
-- Samuel Butler

__i

Go out and tell a lie that will make the whole family proud of you.
-- Cadmus, to Pentheus, in "The Bacchae" by Euripides

__j

Never tell a lie unless it is absolutely convenient.

__k

Never, ever lie to someone you love unless you're absolutely sure they'll
never find out the truth.

__l

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.

__m

We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
-- Eric Hoffer

__n

Whoever would lie usefully should lie seldom.

__o

Every one says that politicians lie all the time, and that just isn't so!
But you do have to understand body language to know when they're lying and when they aren't.

When a politician rubs his nose, he isn't lying.
When a politician tugs on his ear, he isn't lying.
When a politician scratches his collar bone, he isn't lying.
When his mouth starts moving, that's when he's lying!

__p

People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election.
-- Otto Von Bismarck

__q

A lie in time saves nine.

__r

A lie is an abomination unto the Lord and a very present help in time of
trouble.
-- Adlai Stevenson




Which one do u like??

[As always I am grateful and thankful to fortune for these]

eppadikku


12:01 PM | |

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 

Josiyakkaaran!!!!!

Now for every post, I have some sort of inspiration, naan vanthu regulara post pannara category la ellai.
Mind u these are purely personal opinions.

This post is about josiyam paakarathu, I see that every body is criticizing, saying he shud be deported and what not. Just wanted to pen down my side of the whole issue.

I want to quote an incident from a mallu movie, in that movie, the hero finds himself in the midst of political violence, where party workers are chasing and killing each other, and he then enquires about the state of affairs with an elderly man in the place and this is what he had to say "karshakan krishi cheyyunnu, chethukaaran kallu undakkunnu, rashtriyakkar aalukale kollunnu, ellavarum avaru avarude joli cheyyunnu". The elderly man says, the farmer works in his fields, chethukaaran is the one who collects kallu [toddy] from the coconut trees, similarly politicians kill people.

Thats the same logic I wanna apply in this case, the same way josiyakaaran josiyam paakaran, athula enna thappu, athu avanukku pozhakkarathu vazhi. Now some people can say he is cheating others and so on, just dont go to him, isnt it as simple as that? I dont know?

He doesnt guarantee anything does he?. There was also one comment saying that the josiyakkaran, shud take the money only if all his prophesies comes tru, well things dont work that way.
Can u tell a doctor, that well pay once the patient is totally cured, s********** adippaan.

Neenga enna nenaikkarenga?

[My intention is not to hurt anybody, no offense meant please]

I also found an inspiration for the next post, this article by a pretty girl :)

4:54 PM | |

Thursday, August 04, 2005 

Pioneers

For some reason I was looking at the MIT website, and I found this fact. Fifty-nine current or former members of the MIT community have won the Nobel Prize. Isn't that just amazing, one institution producing so much.

Even though MIT is very famous, well known..blah blah...
I was just amazed by the level of innovation. Even I have done research, published papers, but universities like MIT, Stanford and Berkeley, the mantra is "Impactful research". If you go to professors' website in schools like MIT, you don't see the list of publications any more, but a graph depicting the number of people who have cited his research. The first time I saw that figure, it made me think, rather re-think my perspective on research.

It never ceases to amaze me that, the research done by these institutions directly affect our lives. Shud'nt this be the purpose of all research? For some reason I feel, the whole "research" thing is getting strayed away from all fact and realities of the field. To an extent every body can say it is the quality of people doing research in places like MIT, but my personal opinion is that skew in the spread of talent is not that bad.

I could say its just the vision/long-sightedness which is lacking I guess..not sure, if I knew I wud be in one of these places I guess :))[last line was total peela, romba feel pannaatheenga]

what say u??

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Romba serious aa irukka .. on a lighter note check this out


Palichi palichi Thammathundu istare!
Aachiramadhan kiidhu na unna pakka sollo!
Yimma osarathla keera,
Vanthu mele keera,
Oru vairamari minniginu,
Palchi palchi thammathundu istare!!!

[THis is a forward that I got from my friend]

Guess what this is about??


eppadikku

ps. romba tuf vittu I added blogrolling. I had only 15-20 mts to do it, the best part is it didnt take more than that, but I guess it is not sorted.


1:25 PM | |