pudhu dress mogam

Earlier I had mentioned that I was obsessed about “Masala Dosai”. This post is about another such obsession I have since my childhood. I have a very bad habit. I always get excited when my parents and I go out for purchasing new dresses for various occasions. I just cannot wait for the occasion to arrive. As soon as we get back home after the purchase, even if it is late in the evening, I have to wear the new dress atleast for five minutes. My parents tried to tell me that the basic purpose for getting a dress for an occasion is to wear it “new” on the day of the occasion. But I never used to listen to them. Finally they thought of a plan. My parents used to buy the dress and lock it safe in the cupboard. They’ll tell me that they haven’t bought the dress. They will “release” it only on the day of the occasion. Poor me!! This was when I was very small and I was not smart enough to realize their “master” plan. Later on this did not work out as I would find out the “treasure” by rummaging throughout the cupboard. Later when I started buying salwar materials, they made sure that the tailor didn’t stitch it till the occasion. Even if I get the dress stitched one day before the occasion, I will wear it once before the occasion.
Finally my parents gave up on this matter. Hence to this day, I am following the “ritual” of wearing the new dress (atleast!!!!) once before the occasion. Many a time, I have purchased long before the occasion and hence before the occasion arrives I would have worn the dress two or three times. In that case I’d get a bonus dress to wear for the occasion on the pretext that the dress I’d bought earlier has become old(not literally, but can’t be called as new anyway). Even now I have a new dress at home as my birthday is coming up in a few weeks time. Since I wanted to get rid of this habit, I’ve been trying real hard not to get tempted. But I don’t know how long I can control myself!!!!!!

Nyaana Sooniyam

One small karpanai..Actor Goundamani Team Lead aavum,Actor Senthil Goundamani keezha velai seyyara Programmer aavum irundha eppdi irukum..

Goundamani overhears Senthil talking to a fellow programmer.

S: Ennaya indha TL ku onnume theriya maatengudhu. Techunical Dejign(Technical Design) paathu codu pannunga nu sonnaaru. Andha dejign la pichi pichi irundha coda onna serthu pota error adikudhu. Avaru thaana andha dejign a pereparu(prepare) pannaaru.
Fellow programmer: Design la full code epdi yaa irukum, adhula important part of the code, changes to existing code thaan irukum. It is just to give us a headstart and guide us in finishing the program.
S: Vevaram theriyaadha aala irukiye yaa. Avaruku en mela gaandu. Adhaan inucompuletu(incomplete) coda kuduthu maata vekkalaam nu paakaraaru.

Ivaroda logic a thaanga mudiyaama andha programmer edho excuse sollitu escape aagidraaru. Ivlo neram indha conversation ketutu, onnum kekaadha maadhiri Senthil cubicle kitta varaaru Goundamani.

G: Ennayaa panra?
S: neenga amcha Techunical dejign vechi codu pannitruken saar.
G:Rendu naal munnaadi kuduthadhu innum mudikalayaa
S: Illa, enaku onga dejign padika rendu naal vendi irundhudhu saar. Iniki thaan codu panna aarambichen
G: Appo ennaya solla vara, naa romba complex aa design prepare pannirken nu sollriya?
S: Illa saar, avlo kashtamaa laam illa
G: Appo ennoda design la onnume illa nu sollriya?
S: Thappa nenaikaadheenga saar. Enaku adha padichi purinjika rendu naal aachu avladhaan
G: Appo nee enna maramandaiyaa, kenaiyaa, muttaalaa?? Onaku edhuvum sulabamaa puriyaadha?
S(Kovathula moonji “beetroot color” panni maadhiri aagi..) : Saar ippdi laam pesaadheenga.. neenga thaan inucompuletu coda dejign la potrukeenga. Elaathayam sethu potta error adikudhu
G:Appo enaku onnum theriyaadhu. Nee oru maha medhai. Naan oru adi muttaal appdi dhaana yaa?
S(aaaahhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa!!): Appdi laam sollave illaiye..neenga thaan thappa purinjikareenga.
G: Naa ellaathayum thappa purinjipen, nee ellaathayum seriyaa purinjipa. Appdidhaana?
S: Illa saar, indha vishayathla thappa purinjikitrukeenga nu sollren?
G: Ennayaa error varudhu?
S: Neengale paarunga saar.

Senthil keyboard la edho thedi thedi type panna try panraaru. Adhukulla Goundamani avara velaga sollitu avare enna matter nu paakaraaru.

G: En yaa #include header add pannaama matha code ellaam ezhudhinaa error adikaama enna pannum. Onna laam evan yaa sethaan indha company la?
S: Appdi paatha, onga dejign la kooda dhaan neenga idhellaam add panla.. directaa furste “cin” nu aarambichirkeenga.
G: Naan technical design la ella codeayum add pannita approm programmer ku ennayaa velai?
S: Dejign la ella line ku nadulayum andha codu enna panradhu nu irukum, andha commentu ellaathayum eduthutu codu ellaam onnu sekardhu thaan enga velai
G: Ada paavigalaa!!!! Sondha budhi ellaam use panradhe kadaiyaadha?
S: Edhu codu line edhu commentu line nu correctaa pirikarom la. Adhukellaam periya theramai venum saar.
G: Appdingala saar. Ongala romba korachi eda pottuten. Neenga evlo arivaali nu theriyaama ongala thappa pesiten. Indha arivaali ku naan kandipa oru treat veche aaganum. Koncham kooda vareengala saar.
S(perumai la rendu kombu molacha erumai maadhiri): Velai iruke.. venaa evening polaame
G: Aahaa work la evlo sincere aa irukeenga. Pul arikudhunga. Paravaa illa TL naan sollren, neenga vaanga polaam.

Thaniyaa kootitu poi as usual oru nalla “treatment” tharaaru namba Goundamani, senthil ku.

G: Odi po naaye. Inime indha company, en inume endha s/w company layum onna naan paaka koodaadhu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Odane senthil thunda kaanum thuniya kaanum nu odidraaru. “Appa, kaatu erumai inniyoda tholanjidhu” nu namma Goundamani seat ku sweet oda vandhu ella employees kum distribute panraaru. Avar mailbox open pannona PM kittendhu oru mail. The contents are as stated below.

Goundamani,
How dare you order Senthil to leave the company? What will happen to the money we spent on training him, the infrastructure and the loans availed by him? Since you are solely responsible for this, you are liable for all the money spent on him. Hence we will deduct the amount directly from ur salary for the next two years.

Regards,
PM

G:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vote for Lok Paritran

Edho ennaala mudinja oru nalla kaaryam. I see an "Ayutha Ezhuthu(Yuva)" in the making. Since I was not able to volunteer for their campaign, I thought I will have a post about them. After reading Prabhu Karthik's blog, I wanted to do my bit too.

Check out this to learn more about their plans and election manifesto from Sudhish himself. I have a strong belief that these people will make a difference.

When I was discussing about this party to my father, he expressed his doubts because of the past experience. It seems that when Chezhiyan(a veteran politician) stood opposite to Vaijayanthimala(who knows nothing about politics) in South Madras earlier, he lost to her by a margin of more than two lakh votes. Ithanaikum south madras includes areas having "well-educated" people in the majority. People, do give Lok Paritran a chance. I am sure we will not regret our decision at any point of time. If people are skeptical about what a small group of youngsters can do, I just quote the dialogue between a news reporter and Surya in Ayutha Ezhuthu.

News Reporter : Oru naalu per naala enna change kondu vara mudiyum nu nenaikareenga?

Surya : Cricket la 100 runs edukanum naalum one run lendhu thaan start pannanum, naanga naalu per aa start pannirkom.

If given a chance..

If I could get back to the past and live a few selected days again, which of the 8395 days I would choose?

Would it be those days when I was a year old and I used to be the center of attraction for all those who come home? I used to love all the fusses they make over me, pinching my cheeks, trying to make me smile and trying to make my little hand hold their fingers!!!

Would it be the day when I first started going to LKG without making a fuss about the new surroundings I had to get used to? In fact I got adjusted so well that I started disturbing other students and gaining the teacher's wrath!!!

Would it be the day when I proudly showed my report card to my parents after scoring excellent grades in the first exam I ever faced in my life? The remarks filled by my class teacher were also very good and my parents were happy(whether the standard was maintained after that is another matter)

Would it be the days I spent with Meghna, my first best friend? We used to get along with each other so well and I used to spend my holidays also at her house. We can't remain without talking to each other for long even after "big" fights.

Would it be the day when I got a prize (third place) for the first time in a “lemon and spoon” competition? I got a plastic box and I treasured it for a long time.

Would it be the day when I first got on stage for my “Dance Arangetram” along with four others? We were very nervous during the Prayer song that is sung before any program but when we were on stage, nothing stopped us from earning accolades from the crowd.

Would it be the days spent with my best friends at my college, cutting classes, being “outstanding” students, doing combined studies on the day of the exam and still getting expected marks(thanks to my friends for the so many detailed answers that I was able to reproduce from the last minute learning). I learnt the importance of friends only during my college days(not because of the above mentioned situations but they were all of the type “A friend in need is a friend in deed”).

Would it be the day when I got selected through campus interview during the final year? This happened when I least expected. I never prepared seriously for it and just the day before my future seemed to be a big question mark. Lo and behold!! My career path was set and my future seemed to be clearer and more secure (all my preparations for GATE was futile, as I stopped preparing after this). I just loved the expression I saw on my parents’ face when I informed them about it.

Well, I guess I have written a small autobiography but I surely would like to live all these days again and I can’t choose between any of these as all are equally important for me. I was also thinking of adding those days which I would like to change if given a chance. But I am not able to think of any such situations. Each and every happening was for a purpose and had a learning of its own and hence should not be changed.

CUG paduthum paadu

Indha CUG oda rousu thaangala da saami!! Veruthu poi sollala, but CUG iruku nu edhukellaam use panradhu nu venaam???????

Dining hall ku poi oru table la settle aana apparom thaan nyaabagam varum spoon venum nu. Odane queue la nikkara friend ku call panni “innuru spoon kondu vaa” nu solluvaanga.. ithanaikum spoon vechirkara edam avanga utkaara edathulendhu koopadra dhooram thaan irukum.
Lunch vaangarthuku queue la ninutrupaanga.. avanga friend oru figure oda pesitu irukardha paathona porukaadhu, queue la ninnutu call panni otta vendiyadhu.. ithanaikum saapaadu vaangitu avanoda thaan poi utkaara poraanga..adhukulla enna call vendi kadaku?
Ivanga cubicle lendhu rendu cubicle thalli thaan ivanga friend irupaanga. Ezhundhu koopta nalla kekum. But call adipaanga.. adichi “Enna busyaa,tea ku polaama” nu kepaanga.. idhellaam koncham too much aa illa? Of course sometimes extensions irukum..adhuvum use panlaam, but ellaroda cubicle liyum extension irukaadhe.
Evening vandi eduka povaanga, avanga friend a gate kitta wait panna sollitu, parking lot lendhu gate oru 2 min walk dhoorathula irukum, ivanga vandi eduthutu vararthuku kooda wait panna mudiyaama, oru call panna vendiyadhu ”Enga iruka, seekarom vaa” nu.
Morning avan avan kashta pattu adichom pudichom nu office bus pudichitu, appo thaan bus la settle aagirpaanga, appo radio mirchi la edho oru paatu odum, odane innuru bus la irukara avanga friend ku call panni, “Indha paata pathi thaan nethu sollitrundhen, evlo azhagaana lines” nu aaraaichi pannitrupaanga. Innum oru half an hour wait panna office la meet panna poraanga..adhukulla ennathuku indha thevai illaadha call?

Idhellaam oru sila instances thaan. Indha maadhiri abathamaana situations neriyaa paathurken. Naanum CUG thaan vechirken. Aanaa naa indha maadhiri loosuthanam panna maaten…appdinu solla maaten. U see, all ore kuttaila oorina mattainga thane!!!

Friends like me!!

I was talking to my friend and he narrated an incident hearing which I immediately decided to make a blog out of it. As usual oru mega bulb incident thaan(en friends enna maadhiri irukardhula aacharyam enna?!!)

He had gone along with two of his friends to Forum. He wanted to get a gift for one of his friends who was married. He always believes in gifting some useful item than some showpiece or wall-hanging. So when he was searching for an apt gift he saw kitchen gloves. He immediately picked them up and saw the price. It read Rs 200. He was satisfied and walked towards the bill counter. With credit card in ur hands any purchase is just a swipe away!! As usual, he passed his credit card across the counter. The person at the counter looked at him in a peculiar way, smirked and said that credit cards are valid only for purchases above Rs150!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The price of the gloves was just Rs20 and he had read the “dot” wrongly.

He narrated this to me when we were dining out at a restaurant. After we finished eating I offered to pay but before I could take out the money he took his card to pay. The waiter took the card and the bill. While waiting for the waiter to return, my friend was explaining about how useful the card was and how easy it is to purchase goods without having to carry lots of money around. Just then the waiter returned and informed my friend that cards are accepted only if the bill amount exceeded Rs200 and we had eaten only for Rs185!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had a good laughing fit that day.

Idhuku summa irundirkalam

He and She r good friends for a long time….
Today in chat

He: Hi da…Good Morning

She: Hiiii da….A very Good Morning 2 u

He: So enna iniki bayangara happy mood’la iruka pola??? (vera eppadi arambikanu theriyala….)

She: Appadi onnum illayae…..

He: !!!!!!!

She: Yaen unaku appadi thoonudha??

He: yaah adhan kaetaen….(happa avalae edho kaetuta….thapichom, with a happy smile)

She: Adhuva……….(romba lollu dhan…..avan ippadi kaekanumnu dhanae appadi enthuva avanoda msg’ku reply pannadhu madam)

He: any issues in telling me…..sonna naanum sandhosha paduvaenla (ada romba dhan….)

She: cha appadilam onnum illa.,…..naan X pathi sollirkaenla….avan iniki morning enaku vandhu GM sollitu, ennoda dress iniki nalla irukunu sollitu ponan….(criminal’a irukangapa…..avan idhula tension agardhae parkanum enna bhudiyoo cha…)

He: (kovatha konja illa rombavae control panitu) Wow….so work out aga arambichiduchunu naenikuriya??? Congrats da……

She : po da !!!!! (seri bulb!!!!)

An Experience with Mixed Feelings

During last Jan, when it was just a few months since I joined this company, I saw a mail which made me very excited. It was an announcement that a sports meet is going to be held at the office. I immediately enrolled for the throwball match and few of my friends from my area also enrolled. All of us were so enthusiastic that we found a place in our area to practice with the ball we had newly bought for the tournament (enga area oru village maadhiri..city outskirts..adhula ippdi oru place kandu pudichadhu oru periya vishayam). After all the practice we had, we were very confident and we were informed about the fixtures. We were very happy that there are so many people as enthusiastic as us (there were four teams of 6 members each). On the d-day, we started from our place in three vehicles. The ground where the match was going to be held was in Vadapalani and it was very far off from our place. But we didn’t mind the distance and we were just waiting to get there. We reached there at 9.30 AM only to find that we were the first team to arrive!!!! Later we found out that we were the last team to arrive too!!!!!!!! Anga court ellaam superaa irundhudhu. Paatha adhula pasanga volley ball velayaaditrundhaanga!!! We were so damn disappointed.

We waited for sometime. The volleyball match ended. Ivlo dhooram vandhutu verumna thirumbi poga mudiyuma? We started practicing in the court and oru game aadi mudichitom. Appo one of my friends suggested that we’ll go to a movie. As vadapalani is full of theatres we thought we will surely get to watch some movie or the other. So we started from there at 10.45. We reached Kamala first and we found that we were half an hour late. We didn’t lose hope. Next we went to Udhayam. Again we were late by 15 min there. We then thought that we could’ve avoided the practice at the court. Adhaan oru ee kaaka kooda varla illa..pinna ennathuku practive vendi kadaku. Appdiye engala naanga thittikittu we started from Udhayam. Then we saw Kasi theatre. Enna padam odradhu nu kooda paakaama we just went in to get the tickets. Paatha angayum 15min late. Seri just 15 min thane. Inga enna padam nu paatha “Ayya”. It was not a Mani Rathnam or Gautham film..edho first 10min miss pannita appro paakardhu waste nu laam illa. After all, the usual Naataamai style film. We were soooo desperate to watch a film that we thought we’d get the tickets. But andha theatre kaarane idhu onnum avlo nalla padam laam illa. Udhayam la laam nalla padam oduthu. Anga ponga maa nu thorathaama thorathitaan.

Finally enga “village” la sila theatres iruku(not “tent kottaai”). Anga edhaavadhu padam paakalaam nu we started from Kasi theatre. But by the time we reached our place we were so exhausted that we had to call it a day. We just went straight home, had a good lunch and slept peacefully. Later the matches were re-scheduled and we played in a court near our office itself during office hours!!!! College cut adichitu poi velayaadina range ku scene potom. It was a memorable experience.

Why is the media here so negative?

This blog is an outburst as a result of going through the first page in the New Indian Express today. Headlines read “Militants strike at seven places”. Just above this headline is a picture of a lady crying uncontrollably while speaking over the phone from a hospital bed. On the right side reads another news “Twin blasts in Jama Masjid”. On the left side of the page, in the Breaking News section, the first news read “Bangalore riots ‘caused $160 million dent’ ”. If u go down, last section reads "Restoring virginity for Rs 20000"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a quote from our president’s speech which I have already mentioned in length before.

“Why is the media here so negative?

Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them.Why?

We are the first in milk production.

We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.

We are the second largest producer of wheat.

We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into aself-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of suchachievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings,bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.”

I see a live example here. I know that it has been happening for a long time. But today I was very irritated because there was not a single positive news item in the first page and all these news had so many things which aroused my anger.

1. The main picture in the front page is a gal crying which is what everyone wakes up to here. Not only that, this kind of a projection will make the tourists frightened and they will have second thoughts to visit Kashmir. Just now tourism has been revived in Kashmir which will go for a toss with this kind of a projection. It is as if the media is helping out the terrorists in achieving their goal of frightening off the tourists.

2. Again on the right side, the news about the blasts in Jama Masjid, as such there has been no big damage. 13 are injured but within couple of hours, lots of devout people went back to offer prayers which means that the damage should have been very less. The mosque also hasn’t suffered any damage. When this is the case why should such a news make a headline in the first page?

3. In the breaking news section, they mention that, Software companies have lost around $40 million in revenues in Bangalore because of the riots. Well, this is a very small amount compared to the money earned by the software companies each year. And what an irony, in the same paper, in the Business section, they have mentioned the Infy revenue has crossed 2Billion mark. But what will capture everyone’s eye most prominently is that Software companies are facing a huge loss, that too Bangalore being a pioneer in the software industry, this will be taken as a serious issue, when it is actually not even worth to be given a second thought.

4. Finally comes the worst part of all the news. Already the values and virtues set by our forefathers have gone down the drain in most parts of the country. Now to add to it, these kind of “initiatives” will bring down whatever leftover culture and ethics remain. Yes I am talking about the section that reads “Restoring virginity for Rs 20000”. What a start to the passage? It reads “A scientific triumph or a regressive procedure that further compromises the position of women in conservative India?” It seems Gujarat surgeons have found a way to restore a woman’s virginity. Let the invention be true or false. I am least concerned about it. But look at the kind of patients who get admitted to undergo the operation.
a.Most women queue up mainly to keep their virtue intact in the eyes of their future in laws and husbands.
b.Sex workers who want to get married
c.Some don’t want their husband to find out about their premarital affair.
They say if such an operation succeeds they will strike gold!!!!! They are making business at the cost of destroying the ethical values that a woman should possess. Already not many hesitate in having a pre-marital affair and it has become so common. If this succeeds the count will go on increasing and there will be no difference between US and India in this matter(India should become a developed country like US, they say, developed in such atrocious things??). How will a guy or the guy’s parents trust a girl whom the guy is going to marry if such a thing works out? I think Express themselves found it was too much to project such a news item so outrightly, that they have added at the last saying, “Instead of educating the society by spreading information about sex, doctors are making money out of such backward mindsets”. I sincerely pray that this initiative fails miserably!!!!

News items like Infy’s revenue raising to $2 Billion, the process of building the aircraft version of a supersonic cruise missile, Komagan of Autograph ovoru pookalume fame has done music for a film ( a guy who is physically-challenged achieving such a great thing) and the successful test firing of a multi-barrel rocket system feature somewhere in the middle of the paper which can be spotted only if someone can sustain interest in reading till the last page of the paper and also has a magnifying glass. Not only this newspaper, most of them are like this. We should detest such newspapers and read only those with valuable news items in it. The problem lies with both the media and the readers. Just because most of them prefer “Hot” news to informative news, the media is obsessed with projecting such news. For them it is just business. They need not be patriotic. After all they have to earn their living. Only if the readers show that their real taste lies in relishing the achievements of India rather than its black spots, will the media stop being so negative. I sincerely wish that this change in trend happens soon.

Presentation kalakitomle

Seminar, session, presentation ... indha vaarthai ellam enaku nu kettaale podhum ... "manasukulle bayam vandhucha ? vandhallo vandhallo"
college le lam eppavachum seminar eduka vendi varum .... (adikadi vara maadhiri naanga vechika maattom le ! ;-) ). but appolam veliya bayame illadha maadhiri eduka try pannanalum(succeed aanalum), ullukulle bayam ingeyum angeyum poondhu velayadum ...

but office vandhadhuku aprom, adhuvum oru moonu naalu presentation kaprom ippo dhaan thonudhu - over coming this stage fear, rather public-speaking fear, though may seem to be very difficult or impossible , is not really that difficult ....

ppl who r already gr8 speakers, I do not know how u would feel abt this post .... but this is how i feel ...

today i had to give a presentation on a technical topic ...

'cos of this very fear of having to deliver a session to an audience of 13-15 made me not do so many of my love-to-do activities .... I would spend a lot of time thinking abt how bad a scene it would be if I mess up the session ???!!!

but as i was becoming technically more knowledgeable about the topic, I felt some confidence build up .... it did last for a long time .... but jus the day before the presentation, ie yesterday, I do know where all that confidence vanished ?! I suddenly started feeling as though I had not prepared enough & was gonna mess up .... I went home in the same state of mind .... full of tension....

early this morning , I realized ther's no point worrying .... & that the best way out of this thing was through it - i just had to do the presentation well..... was it that difficult a job ???
I put in some more ppt slides that i had kept pending .... did a good amt of practising just like how i would have to present in the session.... believe me , at the end of the practice, I felt the whole world's confidence in me !!!

idhe mood le office ponen .... pona odane paatha ... oru assessment review ku en manager kooptaru ... i'm sure this is the best ever interaction i've ever had with my manager ! I felt myself so optimistic, positive, confident and all the positives possible on earth ! i'm sure the scene would hav been so different without that practice session in the morning ....

but this "gethu" feeling dint last long .... :(

after some time , wen i was discussing the presentation topic with my tech lead, he asked me a doubt abt which i had no clue at all ..... i felt sick ! back to square 1 ! i fell into the same mood that i was in last nite ....
after some analysis of that doubt, i realized that it was not a big deal ... but then it had already flattenned my enthu & confidence .... I had to do something to change the situation , else i knew i would do a flop show ................

Hmmm.... I spent about 15 minutes in solitude .... talking to my myself .... telling myself all the good things ..... explaining to myself how easy the job was ..... how i knew almost everything about it .... how ignorant the ppl attending the session would be abt the topic .... what good a feeling it would bring to me if i did the show well ... worst case - enna thalaya seeviduvaanga ?!

My self-motivation did work out ! I did end up boosting up my morale !

The best part was when the ppt file that i had prepared dint open up from the system in the presentation room ! :-O

so i was asked to give a white board presentation - for which i was least prepared .....
but i did manage the show very well with some help from my tech lead ....
the show went on smooth ! very smooth ! I could feel that i was relaxed .... & the audience were also interacting, which meant they did pay attention & also understood the stuff !

Today I kinda saw a practical example of "You are, what you think you are" ! :-)

Mega Bulb!!

Yesterday, the project account I am currently in would have been closed, thanks to me. Well it wasn’t my mistake totally. My TL never informed me. Suddenly, late afternoon, a guy entered our ODC. I hadn’t seen him before. Still I assumed that he must have been newly recruited lateral. When I initially joined in Chennai there were just 40 of us in our department. Now it has grown to a whooping 300 or even more. I don’t recognize most of them in our department nowadays. Hence I thought that he must be a new joinee. He was talking to my TL for sometime and then my TL pointed to my place and they both started walking to my cubicle. He asked me to unlock the system ( I was at another cubicle discussing something with a colleague). I was puzzled but I did as I was told.

The Guy : I need a few screen shots which I will store in a file. Please send it to me after I leave the place.
My TL : Sure.
Me : I have a software called zapgrab with which u can easily take screen shots.
The Guy (Blinked at me, smirked): Its ok, I will use print screen.

The Guy (opening IE and checking out the history which consisted of various blogsites mainly and some front end applications related to the client) : Can u access any email sites from here?
Me (again looking forward to help this guy) : Actually..(looking at my TL) browseatwork.com also doesn’t work? Else we can access mails from that right?
My TL (glaring at me) : No mail sites can be accessed from here.
Me(thinking to myself) : Why is he lying? I can access my AIM mail. I will tell this guy once my TL leaves the place.

The Guy (checking the users created) : Why is there a second user created apart from the admin user?
Me (as a matter of fact) : To share files
My TL(giving me a dirty look) : Actually we can share files only within the specific network allotted to the project and it is very secure. Only project related files are shared.
The guy vigorously searched for the files shared, checked the permissions and went through some of those files. Then he left it at that. Only then I realized that there was something wrong and never opened my mouth after that. My TL answered all his queries after that. After the guy left, my TL told me that the guy had come for a SECURITY AUDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First thing, we are not supposed to have any unlicensed software. But I was happily asking him to use an unlicensed software!!!
Second, we are not supposed to have access to any of the mail sites. I was about to tell him that he can access AIM mail (helping tendency..huh!!)
Finally we are not allowed to share files across the network which is another security violation. I was not supposed to reveal the fact that we share files across the network. But I did just that (honesty at its best). If my TL hadn’t been there, the project would have gone for a toss!!!! Later when I narrated the incident to my friends, they had a great laugh (naa superaa bulb adichadhula avangaluku avlo sandhosham).

Love Marriage Vs Arranged Marriage

The most argued topic among today’s youth is Love Marriage Vs Arranged Marriage. I just thought that I will put forward some of my views based on what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen. What is love?
Is it something that happens to a guy when he sees a girl at the busstop, theatre, college and other public places for the first time( the so-called love at first sight)?
Is it something that happens to a guy when the gal he “jolluvittufies” at, turns to smile at him (only because he is her classmate illenaa en madhika poraa)??
Is it something that happens to a guy when a friend of his says “Take care and get well soon” when he is ill(ennamo ivan life la yaarume ippdi akkarai padaadha maadhiri thaan)??
Is it something that happens to a guy when he finds a gal constantly looking at him at a Kalyana Mandapam (Avalukum idhe nenaps irukum)?
Is it something that happens to a guy or a gal when he/she go out on a few dates where they’d have just talked some “sweet nothings”?
Is it something that happens to a gal when a guy she’d known half an hour back offers to drop her home as it was getting late (how sweet he is to drop me?!)?
If I keep listing, it will be an endless one. There are so many such instances by which many decide that they are in love which is very foolish. The worst part is many of them have a girlfriend or a boyfriend just for the sake of having one (illenaa oru paya madhika maataanaamla).

According to the dictionary, love is a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude towards a person. It does not arise through any of the above situations. It arises only when both of them understand each other really well so as to predict each other’s behaviour to various situations, adjust to each other’s shortcomings, trust each other fully(they’d not break–up at petty fights or even big fights for that matter) and a source of encouragement which helps them become successful in life. Such a relationship would only last forever. Nowadays most of theses qualities are absent in the relationships which cause them to break very soon.

“En kaadhal deiveegamaanadhu nu solluvaanga” Enna deiveegam nu paatha, veeta vittu odi vaa naa odi varathuku thayaaraairupaanga. This is absolute foolishness. According to me such people should never be trusted for a lasting relationship. Parents would have poured their love and affection to bring him/her up and would have faced lots of difficulties in the way. Within a few months or even years,(after the love-bug struck) he/she would be willing to leave his/her parents for the guy/gal. If their love is true, they should fight for it and marry only with the blessings of both their parents. You might argue with me saying that if parents don’t agree till the end what would happen to their life? Most of the parents wouldn’t want their children to suffer for long. They are mainly afraid because they feel that their child is not capable of selecting a suitable partner and might end up in a mess. Practically speaking, nowadays many of the relationships break because many of them realize they are not compatible for each other only after marriage when they start living together. So there is nothing wrong in the concern of the parents. However if you take pains in making them understand that your relationship is strongly built around trust, faith, deep understanding and care for each other they are bound to accept at one point of time.

There are some parents who are very orthodox or have an aversion towards the word “Love”. It is better for their children never to fall in love at any point of time and marry the guy/gal their parents point out unless they have confidence (no over-confidence please) that they can convince such parents. Else it will be an unbearable pain convincing them. Such parents will resort to “emotional blackmailing” (or even edho switch potta maadhiri odambu appo mattum sonnadha kekum- edhaavadhu complication vandhudum). They will not listen to all the reasoning that you try to give. Obviously you will not have the courage to oppose them if they fall sick and would have to marry whom they point out ultimately. This will result in spoiling of your own life unless something like “Mouna Raagam” happens (cinema um nija vaazhlkaiyum onna irukaradhu romba aboorvam). But in this situation many of the lovers will resort to running away and marrying. For them their happiness is more important than their parents’ concern and care. There are some who convince their parents after marrying but that does not happen always and in most of the cases “Alaipaayuthey” only result (thappa nadakardhula mattum cinema um nija vaazhlkaiyum romba othupogum). You cannot take chances when “lives” are at stake. Most of them will not think about all these complications when they find someone they like and will become closer to them. Finally when it comes to commitment they will chicken out saying that their parents will not agree (indha nyaanodhayam avaloda/avanoda “flirt” pannum bothu varliyaa). This should be avoided as it affects the other person’s life very badly.

I have extensively dealt on Love and Love Marriages in the above paragraphs. Looking at the other side, most youngsters nowadays feel that arranged marriage will not work out because of their hesitation in marrying someone whom they know only for the past three months or so and three months is not enough to know about a person. I just want to ask such people a simple question- How many months did it take for u to know ur boyfriend/girlfriend? Even they were strangers till u got to know them. You cannot fully understand a person till you start living with that person after marriage. Parents are more experienced than you and would surely search exhaustively before they find a proper match. I have seen successful arranged marriages and failed love marriages and viceversa. Not only this, in case of love marriages, most of the time it will be an inter-caste marriage and the parents would have to answer a lot of questions to their relatives and friends (unnecessary trouble). However in the case of arranged marriages, parents would hold their head high throughout the event and even afterwards when they find their son/daughter happy.

I am not against love marriages. I just want the youth to think well before they confront their parents and putting them into a painful situation. If you feel the ordeal is really worth it and you will not be happy will anyone else other than the person you’ve chosen then go ahead. Be it love marriage or arranged marriage, it will be successful only if the guy and the gal have good understanding between them, adjusts to each other’s shortcomings and have unconditional love and trust for each other. The request I put forth to the parents is that (aamaam appdiye padichida poraanga paaru..still for my satisfaction) when their son/daughter confesses that they love a person do not reject immediately. Do investigate about the person and do whatever you’d do if he/she had been chosen by you. After that if you have any valid reason to reject (that your son/daughter might have overlooked), then do so else please get them married. Please don’t oppose blindly as your son/daughter might be matured enough to select a perfect life-partner for themselves and a caring and loving daughter-in-law/son-in law for you.

Confusion at Bank

Last Saturday I had gone to a nationalized bank here to check the status of my request for transfer of account from Bangalore branch to Chennai branch. It was twenty five days after I submitted the request. The person who handled such issues was always surrounded by a lot of customers. I noticed it last time when I came to submit the request letter. Though it was a five minutes job it took me nearly forty minutes because I was waiting for almost twenty minutes to get his attention. When I told him about the transfer of accounts, immediately he asked me submit my ATM card, Cheque book and Passbook. Actually since my account in Bangalore was a temporary one (for holding the bond amount that was mandatory for joining my company and the salary till the bond period of fifteen months got over). Hence they never provided the Passbook. So before I could explain him this, he saw that I didn’t have the passbook with me and wrote me off saying that they will not accept unless I submit the passbook also. Thanks to my Dad, I had got a printout of my email to the Bangalore branch asking about the process of transfer and their reply suggesting that I needed to submit only my ATM card and Cheque book. But to get his attention I needed to wait another ten minutes after which the whole process was over in five minutes.

This delay is attributed to the fact that the bank was computerized recently with a core banking system and there were a lot of confusions. Last Saturday I was a victim of such confusion. I showed him the copy of the letter that I had submitted at the time of request for transfer. I think he would’ve just read the subject of the letter before passing it back to me. He again asked me for my name and the branch in Bangalore where I had my account. After I provided him the details he was immersed in the computer for sometime after which he turned to me saying that the account has been closed there and a new account is opened here. However, THERE WAS NO BALANCE IN THE ACCOUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was shocked. Won’t anyone who was supposed to have balance close to One Lakh (courtesy the returned bond amount after the bond period) be damn shocked if they hear the above statement?????????????? After I recovered from the shock, I told him that it is supposed to have a huge balance and I mentioned the amount. I also showed him the latest ATM slip that I had got when I went to withdraw the month before. He answered coolly that the computer shows nil amount. I told them that I would call up the Bangalore branch and enquire about the balance. He said that they might have closed the account and sent a DD for that amount. He asked his colleagues whether they had seen a draft with my name from the Bangalore branch. He also searched in his desk but couldn’t find any such DD. This went on for half an hour or so and I was very irritated with the way they handled this issue so calmly. Such a huge amount was at stake and they were as if I had just told them I’d dropped a five rupee coin on the floor and they are searching for it!!! Then he got tired of searching and asked me to go home and come back another time. I was all the more irritated. I told him to check whether there is any balance in the old account number. Again after “thattifying” on the computer for sometime he turned back to me saying that the account is intact and the balance is also intact. I had the urge to just shout at him saying “Why the hell did u stage this drama then?” But I asked him “What was the problem?”

He calmly explained that since they have got core banking in place, the account number will remain the same throughout India across all the branches and only the location code will change. But they had made a mistake of opening another account in my name. This mistake cost me two and a half hours on a hot Saturday morning. When I came out it was noon and by the time I reached home I was half-baked by the sun!!!!!

Heroin(e)s of Tamil Cinema

“Kaakha Kaakha”Jyothika: Bubbly, cute and chubby, started with poovellaam kettupaar, overacts sometimes but strikes right back with matured acting at most other times, her eyes are an asset!!!
“Priyamaanavale”Simran: Known for her hip shakes ever since Once More and Nerukku Near, also later became famous for good character roles, however resembles saroja devi when it comes to crying.
“Autograph”Sneha: Un-recognizable in her first film,Virumbukiren, in contrast gained good recognition in Autograph though her commendable performance,she would make a good character artiste if roles are chosen properly.
“Gajini”Asin: Beautiful gal, was portrayed extremely attractive in Gajini with her funny tamil accent, should be choosy about her roles else will end up being a puppet in masala films.
“Saami”Trisha: With lots of gossip and controversies to her credit, though she is one of the high-paid actresses here, she still has to learn a lot on acting which does not end with singing a couple of duets,pulling the hero's leg and making efforts to cry sometimes(she ends up looking like a kid lost in crowd then).
“Ayya”Nayanthara: Attractive face with a beautiful smile, being an amateur, tends to overact a lot which makes her acting very artificial, looks better in sarees than in western wear, should refrain from doing item numbers (most guys might disagree with this point though -:p).
“Sanda Kozhi”Meera Jasmine: Can be cute, mischievous fun-loving in one scene of a movie and be matured,serious and earnest the next moment in the next scene, handling both extremely well, is a very versatile artiste.
“Ei”Namitha: Well, actually am at a loss of words, u see she is such a wonderful actress and Tamil cinema got a boon in the form of her, she can portray herself as a kezhavi and kumari with the same makeup pairing with father and son at the same time, trying to steal “kattipudi”mumtaz’s fame and also will soon play roles of the likes of “Silk Smitha”, ”Disco Shanthi” to help out sarath kumar,sathyaraj and Vijayakanth track down goondas by her "mesmerizing" item number at some "Muniyaandi Vilas" hotel.
“Jayam”Sadha: The role of a innocent village girl in her first film was the perfect fit compared to any other films she has done so far, has to go a very long way to improve her acting skills.
Heroines like “Kaadhal”Sandhya, “Autograph”Gopika,”Daas”Renuka menon should do more films before their skills can be reviewed. Again as I had said for my previous post on heros, these are my opinions and not facts. All are welcome to disagree with my opinion.

Tribute to the one and only "Karadi" of Tamil Cinema

I happened to visit praveen's blog site and I found two videos which inspired me to post this blog. The two videos are available at these links: karadi1 and karadi2.

Vaada en machi
Vaangitharen bajji
Serndhuko en katchi
Illena pichiduven pichi

Ennada mannaru
Paathiyaada june aaru
Vella nikkudhu en caaru
On moonji aagidum daaru

Mani adicha soru
Vuttu vasalla iruku dooru
Pesi adikaadhada boru
Namitha va paatha aagiduva joru

En payyan peru simbu
Avan stylela oru chimpu (chimpanzee)
Ponnunga kitta viduvaan jollu
Avana maadhiri poruki yaarnu sollu

Vaadi en sundari
Naa vaangitharen mundhiri
Edukaadha nee kathiri
Mudi vettikaadha naan somberi

Chinuku chikkaan chikka
Nee use panra shampoo chikaa
Jimthalakadi jimka
Naa kudikum coloru limca

School pasanga vechirpaanga noteu
Nee Election la enaku podu voteu
Jeichi vandha vaangithaaren boatu
En mudiyaala senjadhu indha ‘fur’ coatu

Keluda en maapu
Naa veppenda aapu
Podaadha daa soapu
Egiridum da topu

Nee oru komaali
On moonji la adipen thakaali
Nee aagiduva gaali
Naan saapiduven pappaali

One plate Masala Dosai please!!

During our childhood days we will be obsessed with so many things. One such thing that I was obsessed with was “Hotel Masala Dosai” ( this is just one of those many things I am obsessed with.. don’t think I am a “saapaatu raami”). Anyway whenever I used to go to a hotel my standard order would be Masala Dosai. Most of the time my parents won’t even ask me what I want. This is because they have tried a million times to make me order something different but I just couldn’t resist Masala Dosai. So they realized that it is a waste of time convincing me and so whenever we go to a hotel they’d order Masala Dosai for me by default. My mom also tried to make such masala dosais at home noticing my “craze” over it but hotel Masala Dosai maadhiri varave varaadhu!!!!! This continued throughout my school days. The side dishes for it(saambhar, three types of chutneys-white,green and orange) and the masala stuffed inside the “moru moru” dosai…mmmmmmm…delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The reason for me writing a blog about masala dosai today is that today morning I had masala dosai for breakfast. Generally I bring breakfast and lunch from my house. Today for a change I wanted to have it at office and by default I bought Masala Dosai without checking the menu for other items. It was tooooooo good and reminded me of my childhood days. After joining college I started trying out different things at the hotels but to this day Masala Dosai still remains my favourite.
However I would not recommend anyone to have it at Bangalore. They smear some “podi” on top of it and it tastes sweet. It totally spoils the taste of masala dosai. Hence, though I was in Bangalore for almost two months eating outside most of the time, I never ordered for Masala Dosai. Instead I took a liking towards “Gobi Manchurian” and “Onion Oothappam”. Back here at Chennai, I continue to experiment various dishes but Masala dosai always top my favourites list.

My only ragging experience!!

Our college is one of the well-known “strict” colleges in Chennai. And so a big NO to ragging( mind you.. only if u are a day scholar u escape). However u get caught the moment u step out of the college to participate in culturals or sports. That is the only way the seniors get to meet and converse with the first year students. During one such sports meet(TIES-2000 at Crescent Engineering college), my friend and I went to a stall there to have something for lunch. Unfortunately two of our seniors were having lunch there. Their faces lit up with a mischievous grin when they saw us. As expected they called us and we dutifully went near them. One of them started firing questions at me.

Senior : Which year?
Me: First year
Senior: Which Branch?
Me: ECE
Senior: Do u know Naveen? He is also from ECE
Me: Yes. He is in my class
Senior: I heard most of the first yr gals are behind him. So u are also one of them, right?
Me(was taken aback at this question but answered innocently and truthfully): No, I don’t like him at all.
Senior: I know that u are lying.
Me(in a haste to defend myself I gave a “vaaku moolam”): Not at all. I actually hate him. He comes by the same bus as me and from my bus stop. He smokes everyday before boarding the bus. And he is part of a rowdy gang traveling by the same bus. I hate them all.
Senior(taking a minute to digest what I had just said..): Well.. this guy is also part of that gang. Do u hate him?
He was pointing to another fresher with whom I had spoken a couple of times. Anyway it was not a good tactic to ask my opinion about a member of that gang when he is also present there.
Me: No ( The mono syllable sounded better than lengthy answers which put me into tight spots like this one)
Senior: Then u like him!!
Me: uh..oh…ummmm… (was feeling very embarrassed)

To add to my misgiving the senior called him and asked him if he liked me. He was also blinking not knowing what to answer. I didn’t know why this senior was bent on asking such embarrassing questions (side business edhaavadhu panraara nu therila!!). Just when I was praying for the ordeal to end, our PD came to inform us about our event timings. We were so relieved that the next moment we vanished from that place.
As luck would have it, I later learnt that the senior was actually from the same school as Naveen and his gang and that he was also PART OF THAT GANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well.. that led to “unwanted” popularity because the gang started commenting and “ottifying” whenever they saw me after the incident.

Isai Sangamam

Yesterday night, at 9 pm, as usual I was switching between channels and the programme on vijay tv caught my attention. It was the “Sangamam” programme. In this programme, each week, a Tamil playback singer would sing his or her favourite numbers( either sung by him/her or his/her idols). Yesterday night was a repeat of last Sunday’s programme. Still I wanted to watch it the second time. This was because of the singer chosen for the week. It was none other than “Chinnakuil” Chithra. Wow!! Her voice, the collection of songs she sang, the dedication and the interest with with each song was rendered, her sweet Malayalam-accented speech in between, all of these together had me locked to my seat that I didn’t even change channels during the break(fear of missing even a single song). Here is the list of songs she sang during the programme(captured everything except one or two).

Chinna Kuil paadum paatu ( Poove Poochudava)
Enge Enathu Kavithai (Kandukondaen Kandukondaen)
Kalyana Thennila (Mounam Sammadham)
Un paarvail oraayiram (Amman Koil Kizhakaale)
kanna varuvaaya (Manadhil uruthi vendum)
Ninnukori (Agni Natchathiram)
Andha Nelaavathaan naan (Mudhal Mariyaadhai)
Oru jeevan azhaithadhu (Which film??)
Othayila ninnadhenna (Vanaja Girija)-Couldn’t believe she sang the song with all those gimmicks. She felt so shy to sing it in the show. A similar kind, she also sang Maarugo Maarugo (Sathi Leelavathi).
kolavizhi amma Rajakaaliamma ( The Breathless song from Purusha Latchanam)
Kaalam Kaalam aga vaazhum (Punnagai Mannan)
Anjali Anjali (Duet)
Guruvaayurappa (Pdhu Pudhu Arthangal)
unakenna mele nindraai (Simla Special)
Paadu Nilaave then kavidhai (Udhaya Geetham??)
Sundari Kannal oru seidhi (Dhalapathi)
Edhedho ennam valarthen (Punnagai Mannan)
Poove poochudava
Athaan Ennathaan ( Sung by P.Susheela-Film??)
Megame Megame Paal Nila (sung by Vani Jayaram-Film??)
Ezhu swarangalukkul (Aboorva Raagangal)
Kaadhodu thaan naan paaduven (sung by LR Eswari-Film??)
Karupu nila nee thaan kalanguvathen (Karupu nila??)
Idhudhaana (Saami)
vandhadhe (Kizhaku vaasal)
Thooliyile (Chinna Thambi)
Uyire Uyire (Bombay)

All through the programme, it was a real delight to listen to her. No wonder she is a favourite among many people and an idol among most play back singers. Her songs made me feel so light and calm that the songs were still haunting me till I fell asleep, long after the programme ended.

Last week, it was the turn of Harish Raghavendra who rocked the show. I had a great time listening to his collection of songs, all of them being melodies which served as a feast to my ears. Melodies always stand out at any point of time. I am looking forward to more such wonderful shows.

Chumma oru time pass - behind the scenes

when two victims of this 'time pass' activity get to talk ... (of course, outside college ! )

He: Hi
She: Hi ...
He: nee enga inga (ennamo ivaruku andha edathuku patta pottu kudutha maadhiri )
She: mmm... pakathule en friend veetuku vandhen ... nee ?
He: oh... en veedu inge dhaan pakathule iruku ...
She: oh ok...
He: hey aprom ..... nee onnum thappa eduthukalaye ?
She: edhuku ???
He: illa, anniki class le pasanga romba over a ottitaangale adhuku ...
She: cha cha ... idhule enna iruku ?! chumma velayatuku dhaane ....

after few months ... over phone ....

He: enna madam, romba busy o ?
She: yen ya ? enna call pannirundheya ?
He: aamam. veliye poyirke nu unga amma sonnaanga
She: Yep, had gone out with my school friends . semma fun !
He: oho .... eh un friends -ponnunga yaarukaachum intro kudu ya ....
She: edhuku ??? (aamam , appadiye kuduthuttalum .... ; ) )
He: adhellam edhuku unaku .... intro mattum kudu.... aprom naanga paathupom ..... ; )
She: enaku enna vera velai illaya ? :-/
He: enna ya ... un best friend kaaga idhu kooda panna maatteya ?!
She: maatten .... en best friend ketta payyan aagardhuku naan kaaranama iruka maatten :-)
(saamarthiyamana reply nu nenapu)

meanwhile , the 'time pass' @ college intensifies ....

She: vara vara indha ottal ku oru alave illama pochu ....
He: enna ya , yen tension aagare ?
She: pinna enna ya .... edhuku eduthalum otraanga :-( erichala varudhu ....
He: free a vidu .... nee "illa illa... " nu sonna dhaan over a ottuvaanga ya .... (experience speaks?!) "aamam apdi dhaan" nu sollu .... avangale niruthiduvaanga ..
She: mmmm ....

sila naatkaluku piragu ..... tholaipaesiyil ....

He: enna ya call pannitu onnum paesama irundha enna artham ?
She: onnum illa
He: Hello .....
She: (mounam paesiyadhu ;-) )
He: Hello .... illa ya vandha odane yen anna sonnaan , nee phone pannenu .... appove panniruppen, vera velaya irundhen .... adhaan pannale ....
She: (mounam innum paesudhu......)
He: sorry pa, adhaan velaya irundhennu solren le .... helloooooooooo ???
She: mmm
He: enna "mmm" ?!
She: sollunga Mr.Busy Bee ...
(aaaha ...... konja nerathuku munnadi inge yaaro 'angry' a irundha maadhiri irundhudhu ??!!)

few months later ....

She: Hello sir epdi irukeenga ?! epdi irukaanga unga 'gf' ??!!
He: enna ippo unaku prachanai ? :-/
(enaku oru unma therijaganum ... prachanai ippo yaaruku ? sir ka madam ka ???? )
She: hey y tension .... cool ...
He: indha pasanga dhaan vevasthaye illama avaloda otraanga na .... neeyum kadupetharae ...
She: eh relax .... enna ippo ... summa velayatuku dhaane .... ???
(hmmm..... engeyo kaetta dialogue maadhiri iruke ....)
He: (murmers) ellam velayatukam ....

thai pirandhal vazhi pirakum ?! .... abt a month after wishing each other pongal & maattu pongal , on Feb 13th .....

He: aprom, naalaiku enna madam enna plan ?!
She: yen enna naalaiku ?!!!
(milk vazhiyum face.... )
He: enna ya ipdi kekarae ? naalaiku valentine's day .... nyabagam illaya ?!
She: oh adha ... adhuku naan edhuku plan pannanum ?
He: ei poi solladhe .... yaarayachum propose panradha plan illa ??
(enna oru villathanam )
She: hello .... naangellam nalla ponnunga ...
He: idhu enna kadhaya iruku ... appo propose panravanga ellam kettavangala ?
She: iyyoooooo naan edhuvum sollalai po .
He: seri naaliku yaarachum vandhu un kitte propose pannaanga na , enna pannuve ?!
She: ha ha ... enna kelvi idhu ...
He: sollu enna pannuve
She: eh loosa nee ... adhellam yaarum panna maattaanga ...
He: adhellam illa ... suppose panna ??????????

few years later ......

He: enna ma iniki enna samayal ???
She: for a change, iniki vegetables ellam potte noodles panniruken !!!! :-)
(aaha .... what an achievement ! )
He: iyyo kadavule ... en naake tharkolai pannikum pola iruke .... ivala katti mekka vechiteye !
She: paesu nee paesu .... ellam namma friends a sollanum .... otradhule aarambichi, ippo un kitte naan paechu vaanga vendiyadha iruku !

..... continues (no no ... not this blog-post, such 'behind the scenes' dialogues and of course our favourite 'time pass')

_/\_

Education is Divine!!

Alternate saturdays some of us from our company go to a school to make the students comfortable in the listening,speaking,reading and writing skills of English. The children studying in the school are mostly from a poor background. They don't have any idea about what they can achieve through proper education. If we ask the children what they want to be in life, their answers would amuse us. Some would say "I want to be a lorry driver(his father's occupation)","I want to be a fisherman" and most of the girls would blink at us not knowing what to answer.However the Headmistress of the school wants them to be very confident enough to face the outside world and get well-settled in a decent job. She feels that if the students are well-versed in English they can confidently face the world. That's why she sought our help.

Though there'd be teachers teaching them English, we are not like them.. being strict,scolding or beating them if they make mistakes and making them write impositions. Each of us were alotted a few kids so that they would receive individual attention. Those kids are very attached to us as they crave for individual attention. Even if one of us don't turn up during a week, the kids would never go to another person unless pressurized. The interest they show in learning the material that we provide is just amazing. That encourages us to give them more. The usual routine would be two hours of studying followed by games wherein they'll have some peculiar games and they will not leave us until we play with them.But all this will be fun only if two or three kids are associated with each of us else there will be so much chaos and confusion that we'll end up teaching nothing. This is because if we try to give individual attention to each kid, the others will lose interest by the time we attend to the last kid.

I really find this volunteering job very interesting and I enjoy teaching the kids. I look forward to the alternate saturdays to be of some help in achieving the school headmistress's vision.Well.. waiting for the day when such children would become well-educated,confident and self-sufficient and in turn make our country a self-sufficient one with a drastically reduced poverty level.