Booscuthalaa - Untying the Knots

Have you ever seen people eating idly with 2 spoons?..No?..Welcome to Bangalore. Even the slightly decent eateries here offer a spoon with every dish served, even for a dosa. Now, are we still in India? ..Very much indeed, in the IT capital of the nation. Being a relatively newcomer here, I really am unaware of when exactly this practice of eating SouthIndian dishes with Western cutlery originated. Initially, I used to put the spoons away and eat with my fingers but oh, I turn around and see every other person(even an octagenarian couple)cutting(!) their idlies with spoons. This is not the only thing with this city. Everything about the place is overhyped. Simplicity and thriftness are just shown the backdoor anywhere you go. I must mention the public transport rates in this context. A normal bus ticket(normal, because there are deluxe buses) for an approximately 6km distance costs Rs.10. Also, this I think, will be the lone city in the country to have diff...

After almost 17 years at Madurai, I had to shift to Chennai for my college education. It was a huge transition for me but I loved it, the main reason being FREEDOM. Moreover, I just wanted to get out of Madurai for a while(17 years in one place is a long time !!!). The CEG hostels (Block 2 room 39, if I'm right) welcomed me with their shabby cobweb-infested rooms and to make things worse, I had to share a room with three other fellow-cegians.However, very soon I realized that hostel was a great place to be and thanks to my roomies( I think they would have had a bad time with me around :-)...., and wingies( if there's a word like that, one row of 10 rooms is called a "wing").., hostel turned out to be a melting pot of intellectuals, gossip mongers and most importantly,great friends. With several relatives in Chennai, I would visit one each weekend(wonder what a nuisance I must have been to them) during my first few months at the hostel. Bu...

It is a pleasant surprise to see television artistes like Swarnamalya and 'Pattabhi' M.S.Bhaskar in convincing roles in the silver screen after a long time, thanks to Mozhi. Meaningless stunts, dialogues with double entendre, glamour that often crosses the border into vulgarity, melodrama - all these get a big NO NO in Radha Mohan's "Mozhi". Rather, it is subtlety that reigns supreme throughout. However, there are several moments that almost move you to tears . This movie certainly does not belong to the 'art' cinema category. It is pure, delightful and humorous. This can be a very tough subject to handle but Radha Mohan, the seasoned director he is, has crafted it with elan. The best part of the movie being that, the protagonist never lets anyone sympathize with her. On the contrary, she is shown as a confident, self-reliant, well-educated person. Jyothika as Archana is just brilliant, delivering an exemplary performance that is extremely memorable. Prith...

I am an ardent fan of Maniratnam and always eagerly look forward to the release of his movies. Mindblowing screenplay, excellent camera work, brilliant performances and refreshingly thematic music score are some aspects that characterise an offering from the MBA graduate(Mani himself!). And "Guru" is certainly not a letdown in any of these categories. However, does Mani have to refurbish his repertoire? Is it time to come out of the "Mani" image and start thinking out of the box? These were some of the questions that popped up in my mind when I walked out of Satyam after watching the movie a third time. Now that it's quite some time since the movie got released, there is no reason why I should keep rambling on about the story of "Guru". Clearly, this is one of Abhishek's outstanding performances to date. Every hero of Mani underplays and so does Abhishek. The Herculean effort that the superstar(today, he is one!!) has put in for this movie has gone...

Vikaasa , - the best place on earth, perhaps next to home. My memories of my school always offer deep solace whenever I'm down and help me move ahead in life. I would always love to go back to school and bask in the warmth of its campus. The coolest thing about school was that we always worked as a family and were extremely passionate about anything associated with the school. I made some really nice friends at school and would always like to keep in touch with anyone even remotely associated with my school. Our annual trips to Ambas vikaasa are just unforgettable. I've been to ambas fiesta every yeat right from Class 4 till Class 10. The Madura Club at Ambas is just fabulous. The otherwise sober Ambas(amudram) used to wear a festive look for 3 days and one might even mistake it for a school in Chennai. Our secret night meetings at the hallowed wooden corridors, paste(ing) 'on the face' sessions at night, ragging juniors(at school, haha!)...what not - We've had a ba...

That is a pic that my roomie(housie rather!) Balaji took the other day!!...at our home in Bangalore My most recent photograph... is this!!!.