Autobiography

This post is about myself and few of my learnings from observations. Right from the beginning of my life till now, I have gotten everything I wanted and needed during each stage of my life.

Though both my parents were working and none of my relatives(including my grandparents) were supportive, I’ve never felt lonely at any point of time during my childhood. My parents made sure that either of them will be available and I was never unattended to.

I studied in the same school right from LKG to 12th. My father was very particular about this because he had to change 8 schools and was put in bad schools during prime times. The school’s coaching was excellent and encouraged extra-curricular activities too. I faced no great difficulty during my school life. Studies were a cakewalk mainly because I had no worries at home and my only job was to study(paal aathi kudukardhu lendhu, shoes pottu, tiffen ooti vidravaraikum everything my parents took care). Still I have disappointed my parents in that I have never gotten a subject topper(seri koncham over thaan aana avanga ivlo pannathuku it should have been a reachable goal).

When it came to extra-curricular activities, my parents found out my interest in dance(tv la “kannane nee vara kaathirundhen,jannalil kaathirundhen” paatu ku abinayam pudichenaam) and they were more eager than me initially to see me as a veteran dancer. But as soon as I started going for the classes regularly I made sure that I never missed a class(fever bothu kooda leave potadhilla)..resultant was that I did my arangetram in just 4 and 1/2 years.

When it came to sports, my parents never acted as barriers to control my enthusiasm at any point of time. They encouraged me all along which helped me pursue my passion in basketball. I’ve also participated in athletics and won a few prizes. However my passion was Basketball. During my 10th holidays, both in April and May, the amount of time I spent at home was meagre. Basketball coaching, Dance class and C++ coaching covered the entire summer vacation. Neither my parents complained that I didn’t stay at home nor did they complain for having to wake up early and prepare everything for me.

After 12th I never had any particular aim. I wrote IIT screening but didn’t get through(actually I never prepared and I wasn’t interested at all, en parents aasai kaaga ezhudhinen). Then I wrote TNPCEE and got a decent cutoff of 273.58 and was sure to get into a good engineering coll(since my parents were willing for even a payment seat). Still my parents didn’t want me to wait till the counseling and made me join arts(B.Sc Maths). Counselling started on 16th Aug and my slot was on Aug 19th at 12pm. I was never nervous at any point of time and was confident. When I reached the place where the decision is finally made, I never had any confusion(thanks to my father who helped me take a proper decision). The person to whom I spelled out my choice said “Appdi podu straight adi”..he was surprised that I didn’t do any last minute analysis.

College life helped me win some real good friends (I had just one close friend from school). Again it was also a cakewalk when it came to academics(coll vandhum enga amma morn tiffen ooti thaan vittaanga, no vekkam to say that). Till school, I used to go for only local tournaments. After coming to coll, we went to tournaments outside Chennai and my parents would be the first ones to wish me all the best whole heartedly. This led me to participate in the selection for University level in basketball but couldn’t pursue further(being in Engg college, academics would get affected nu naan bayandhadhu naala).

My next step in life was also achieved without “any” difficulty, thanks to the campus interview at our coll. It was on Jan 12th 2004. I never prepared anything for campus specifically(all kelvi nyaanam-avanga avanga discuss pannum bothu kekardhu dhaan). On Jan 12th, while going to my coll C book eduthu poratinen. First it was written test which was very easy and almost 85 of us were selected out of 300. Then was the technical followed by the HR interview. Initially during the Technical Interview I was really tensed and the interviewer realized it and helped a lot to make me feel comfortable. The HR interview was also very brief and was quite easy. But I didn’t believe till they announced the results at 12.45am(Jan 13th) that I was selected. I reached home at 1.45am that day. The best part was my parents expression when I informed them. I could see that they were feeling very happy and relieved(edho naa porandha palan a adanja maadhiri irundhudhu).

I haven’t achieved anything with great difficulty and my life has been quite easy till now. But I feel that those who have gained anything with great difficulty will value whatever they’ve got more than me. A more detailed description of this statement and why I have felt so will follow in the next post.

Ambi, done!!!

Lovable Babies :-)

Till now most of my(almost all) posts have only writings and no pics. So this time I thought I will put a whole lot of pics. I love small babies(such small eyes, nose, lips, hands,legs,fingers..chance e illai). I love to play with them. When my grandfather died, I was in ninth standard and that was the first time I saw a dead body. The body was kept in my uncle's house. I had gone there straight from school. I really didn't want to enter the house as I was very afraid. But once I entered, I immediately braced myself. Infact, I was sitting very near to the body along with my mother. Why I mentioned about this is that my uncle had a couple of months old kid then. He was sleeping when I came. I waited till he woke up and after he woke up, I never entered the house. I took him out and was playing with him till night. He was sooooooooooooooo cute and I had a great time playing with him. I have a huge collection of baby pictures. I will post a few of them here.

Chidambaram Natyanjali

One of the best experiences that I've had was when I had the wonderful opportunity to perform at Chidambaram Natyanjali. I was so excited at the prospect and was counting the days. 14 of us performed a group dance and all of us had a gala time during the practice sessions. I generally love to dance fast and little bit difficult numbers, mainly on Lord Shiva. For this performance we had such fast numbers. I just loved them. On the day we started I was literally jumping with enthusiasm. We reached there by afternoon and our slot was only in the night(eppo nu approm sollren). So we visited the temple and spent some time there. I was very happy to visit the temple and prayed fervently that I should be able to pursue dancing(my passion) for a long time. Then we came back to dress up for the performance. We had to rush up as it was getting late.But only when we reached there at about 9pm we got to know that our slot is only in the late night..between 12.00 am and 1.00 am.Aaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaa!! Till then I had never seen that time in my life.. I mean I was never awake during that time of the night. My father made sure I sleep by 9.00 pm and get up by 5.00 am(appo school days thaanga appdi.. ippo laam chance e illai). But I was so excited that day I never felt sleepy. We were watching the performance that was going on. I was really surprised to see such a huge crowd watching the performances even at that time during the night. Here in chennai, even if we give a performance on a holiday at 6.30pm, it would be great if half the auditorium is filled. Anga people were so interested in watching the programme and enjoying them. I loved that atmosphere. Audience support and encouragement is very important for any artiste to grow up the ladder of success. Then came our turn and we went on stage. Still none of the audience stood up to leave though it was 12 am. I just remember going on stage when the song started. Adhuku approm there was no looking back. It was really great and I enjoyed thoroughly throughout the performance. I generally love the choreography by my dance teacher and the orchestra also were a treat to hear. Normally there would be a perfect sync and it would be so lively(namba SPB paatula thannoda developments eduthu udraa maadhiri, enga orchestra um neriyaa pannuvaanga-the singer, mridangam player, violinist ellaarume). Adhuvum performing at such a prestigious place also added to the effect and the resultant was PHENOMENAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Hindus Kaasi pora maadhiri, Muslims Mecca pora maadhiri and Christians Vatican pora maadhiri enaku chidambaram pona experience irundhudhu. Thanks to my dance teacher who gave me such a wonderful opportunity.

Heights of Alpathanam

I thought twice before writing this post. This will project me as a “pakki, alpam etc”. But its ok because most of us would have been like this at one stage or the other :-p.

When I was in sixth standard, I used to have “Vishnusahasranaamam” classes once every week in which we need to recite the whole sloka. After reciting fully, the master whose recital we follow, would distribute the prasaadham(“kalkandu”). He would ask one person from each class to bring a cup(none of us would have a cup, the lid of our waterbottle which had the shape of a cup was used) and put the prasaadham in the cup so that it can be distributed to the class students. So whoever had the cup would race to get the prasaadham from each class so that after distributing the prasaadham among his/her classmates, he/she would have lots left(adha amikikalaam la). I was feeling really bad since I didn’t have such a lid for my waterbottle. It was sixth annual holidays and my parents had taken me for purchasing new uniform for the next year. They asked me if I wanted anything else. You would have guessed my answer. I wanted a new waterbottle which had a big cup like lid :-p. Avlathaan, both in seventh and eighth standard no one could beat me to get the prasaadham(because I was the class rep and I used to sit right in front of the master :-p). You should see my face when I triumphantly get the prasadham in my cup and also the look on my face while eating the remaining prasaadham which obviously would be a larger amount compared to the amount I distributed to my classmates(romba alpamaa iruku I know, but I enjoyed the fun).

In fact during one of these classes they announced that a person called “Sukhi Sivam” was going to give a “sorpozhivu” on Ramayana. They wanted a Ramar Pattaabishekam picture which I got from my house. Generally we might not like these kind of long,boring speeches. But this was very interesting. The way he handled the intricate details of the epic and the timely jokes in between were a treat to listen to. I remember one of the jokes he had mentioned. It is a very old one but it was new to me then. It seems that a villager had come to the town and was watching t.v. at a place. A football match was going on. For a long time the villager was watching the match and making all sorts of faces at it. Then when someone asked him what his problem was, he replied saying that why should everyone fight for the same ball and why cannot each have his own ball so that they are satisfied??????!!!!!!!!! We were laughing real hard at this joke at that time. It was a very interesting experience. At the same time we got to know many minute details of the great epic which lead me to admire and respect Lord Hanuman who is my favourite till now and will be forever.

Culturals

When I was in 11th and 12th, I used to go for a lot of culturals. Each experience was a different one. Some happy, memorable moments, some embarrassments, some disappointments. On the whole, the experience was enjoyable.

Let me start with the disappointments and end on the happy one. Before one of the culturals at Vidhya Mandhir, Adyar, 6 of us had practiced for a fusion dance. We practiced real hard and we were so confident of winning. Our event was only in the afternoon. So we started from our school only after lunch. When we reached there, we were all so excited. But all our excitement went down the drain when they said that our school has been disqualified and we cannot perform. It was so disheartening.

This disappointment stayed for very less time as we geared for the next one at Vanavani school in IIT campus. We went there in the morning itself to watch the other events(school cut adikanum naa odane sandhosham aache). Wow!!!!!! What a big auditorium it was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We were soooo excited at the prospect of perfoming on such a big stage and before a huge audience. We enjoyed throughout the morning making fun of our school mates who were having their events in the morning( pottu nalla kalaasitrundhom). I used to love the events SOS and JAM. For those who don’t know what these events are, SOS is the event wherein the situation is that a ship is going to sink and there is just one lifeboat available. Lots of celebrities will be on the ship. Each student will be given the role of a celebrity. They should convince the judges why they should be saved. The way each and every participant tries to convince the judges would be a delight to watch. In JAM, all the participants will be seated along with the judge as if in a discussion. The judge will give some topic(might be soo irrelevant and stupid), but the participants have to talk on the topic for quite sometime. If he/she makes grammatical mistakes or pauses in between while talking or forgets to say a “code word”(which will be given by the judge) and if another participant points out the mistake correctly, that person gets to continue talking. Finally, the one who blah..blah the most gets the prize. It will also be enjoyable. During the break, I went out of the auditorium along with my friend and saw that they had set a refreshments stall. I had a butterscotch milkshake there and it was simply tooooooooooooooooo good!!!

Then comes the worst part. In the afternoon they announced the adaptune event wherein they will play a mix of different songs and we have to dance on the spot for it. My friend asked me if we both can give it a shot. She tempted me soo much that I gave in. But as soon as I got on the stage I felt so afraid seeing a huge audience in front of me. I couldn’t move. Suddenly they started playing the songs and the sound frightened me even more. I was feeling so nervous that I stood rooted to the spot. My friend and I went on stage together. She started dancing and I tried to follow her steps but couldn’t. The audience also started boooing and finally the songs ended and I heaved a sigh of relief. It was the most embarrassing moment in my life till now.

The best culturals was the one at Vidhya Mandhir, Mylapore. We were practicing a fusion dance(classical dance for a western song-Backstreet Boys). But just the day before the dance one of our main members dropped off. She had the cassette but she was on leave on the day of the culturals. The three of us decided to pick some song and try choreographing. Since the event was only in the evening, we thought we will give a try. One of my friends had a Backstreet boys song cassette but it did not have the song for which we had practiced. Still we chose another song(‘That’s the way I like it’-lyrics of the song) and started choreographing. By about 2.30pm we had choreographed for the whole song and we also rehearsed a couple of times. Then, with very little time to spare we reached the school. My mom had come early from office to help us with the costume. Finally we were ready and they called us on stage!! I was a little bit nervous initially as we had practiced for very little time. But once we started dancing I enjoyed myself thoroughly and we had excellent co-ordination(onnu rendu step marandhutom, adhellaam irukardhu dhaana). The highlight was that, we got the third place for the performance when we didn’t expect anything as there were a lot of schools which performed a lot better than us. They told that our formations(with just three people) and our coordination were very good. All three of us were feeling great that day.

Mega Bulb!!-Part II

Idhu enga office la nadandha oru koothu. As usual naan superaa bulb adichen. Enga bay la first cubicle la enga TL and next cubicle la naan. So we share a common landline. Periya thalainga kittendhu call varum nu naa phone e edukamaaten. Avaraye ella call um attend panna vitruven. Enaku landline la yaaru call panna pora? Adhaan CUG iruku.. lunch or tea ku polaama nu cell la koopta mudinjidhu. Since enga gang la 6 of us irukardhu naala sometimes call panna somberithana pattu mail adichiduvom. Official id official mails ku payan padradho illayo indha maadhiri vetti mails ku nalla payan padum. Idhula company policy la kottai kottai ezhuthula kuduthurpaan- “Use ur official mail id only for sending official mails and not personal mails”. Yaaru madhikaraanga idhellaam. Anyway vishayathuku varen. Adhanaala naa office landline use panradhu romba kammi.

Oru naal enga TL seat la illa. Call vandhudhu enga cubicle la irukara landline ku. Yaaru nu andha phone display la paatha enga periyathalai(PM). Aaaahaaaa!!! Enaku erkanave koncham periya thalainga kitta pesardhu naa odharum(this was almost 6 to 7 months back, ippo laam thalaila kombu molachiduthu la ;-)). Receiver a eduthu andha side lendhu endha response um vararthuku munnaadi “ Hello Ravi, Jude is not in his place. Shall I ask him to call u when he comes back?” appdi nu solliten. Oru few seconds andha side lendhu silence. Enaku phone vekkardha illa thirupi “hello” sollradha nu confusion. Adhukulla andha side lendhu response “Naa Jude thaan pesaren, inga Ravi room lendhu, anga Aravind irukaara?”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enaku oru nimisham enna pesardhu ne therila. Avar enna nenachirpaaru, Ippdi aarva kolaaru la sodhapitome. Inga vandha approm enna solluvaaro nu nenachitrundhen. Nalla velai thirumbi vandhu onnume nadakaadha maadhiri computer la muzhugitaaru(yaar kanda angendhu “why blood same blood” vaangitu vandhaaro ennavo?!!).

Best vacation outing of mine

During the summer vacation time, when I was doing my schooling, my parents used to take me to various places each year. Out of all those experiences, the one I liked the best was the time I used to spend at Trichy, BHEL Township when I was 10yrs old. My father worked there for three years. So whenever I had my holidays I used to spend atleast a week there. The best part I like about the place is that it was so calm and peaceful. I can just look straight across the road when crossing it as there is minimal traffic on the roads. I am not exaggerating. Also it was full of greenery. Both sides of the road had big trees and it was never hot. The quarters in which my father lived was also a big one. At that time, we were living in a small 440sq ft single bedroom flat in Chennai. Hence when I saw the two bedroom quarters, with a very spacious hall I was gaping at it. The first time I visited it, I was running around the house like mad as I was very excited. Also at home, my favourite pastime was watching T.V. However, during the days I spent in Trichy, I would have watched T.V for about an hour/week or so. This was because, each day I had different “appointments” ;-).

There were different sectors, each containing different types of quarters. Everyday I used to visit the other sectors because I love to explore new places and it was very pleasant walking in those roads. There were two temples in the C-sector which was 15-20 minutes walk from my place. I never used to get tired walking. I made friends with my neighbour’s two daughters. Actually their family helped my father a lot in the beginning as that was the first time my father was away from the family. Hence they are very close to us. Their two daughters also belonged to my age group. So we used to play in the evenings. I’ve gone to their school once, which was almost half an hour from my place. Another interesting thing about the place was that there was a club very near to my place. It had recreation hall in which people used to play carom, TT and chess. There was a big library from which I used to take books like Noddy and Enid Blyton to read. There was a big swimming pool and the “blue” water attracted me and I wanted to learn swimming. That was the only wish which didn’t materialize due to time constraints( I usually stay there only for a week and we’ll have other plans also). There was a swing, see-saw and rides meant for small kids. It was near the swimming pool. So I used to sit on the swing and watch the kids learn swimming. Every Saturday they used to show a film on a big screen in an open space. First time, I was so excited about it but rain spoiled the whole thing. Next time it was a stupid film “Archana IPS”. I didn’t get a chance to watch any other film.

I also learnt cycling there with the help of my friends. Normally, while learning we’ll get “veera thazhumbugal”. But in my case, I damaged the cycle :-p. I was riding with my friend holding the cycle carrier. She didn’t tell me when she removed the hold. When I suddenly realized that I was alone, I panicked and jumped out of the cycle. The cycle fell into a pit!! On the last day of my father’s tenure there we went to an exhibition and had a great time there. I made two more friends at the exhibition and all of us had a gala time there. The memories of my stay at Trichy will be cherished throughout my life.