RAJA RANI: MOVIE REVIEW

A Good movie is one that leaves a lasting impact and soothes your senses making you forget all your pains. You can’t please everyone but a good movie can do that. I was wondering why there aren’t any such good movies of late rejuvenating and revitalizing our senses this year. It had been ages, since I had a disturbed sleep late in the night because of a movie and the impact of it, which would lead to the thought provoking argument my brain would tend to make with my mind making me an insomniac. Director Atlee has ended my wait in his much hyped debut venture “Raja Rani”.

Leave alone the cast and crew, Fox star studios in association with the man with the Midas touch A.R. Murugadoss himself producing the movie. Need a stimulating factor more than this? Anyone can create hype, but living up to the hype is what the real talent lays and that is what ARM and his crew usually does.

Plenty of good love stories in the past and when you think you can’t be blown away any more after all these years by a love story again, Debutant Atlee chips in and thrashes your preconceived notion. The plot is as simple as anything could be. The reluctant John (Arya) and Regina (Nayantara) are forced into wedlock against their will. The rough patch grows in them, creating hatred amongst each other as they are not able to get over of their painful pleasure of romances in their past. Can they lead a beautiful life again coming out of their bitter past? Is what the rest of the plot revolves.

Can love happen after love failure? Can life get happier and better after life and love failure? Can we still lead a happy life losing our loved ones? Are you still in search for answers to the above all questions? Watch Atlee’s Raja Rani without fail and you will find beautifully scripted answers stirring your senses.

Jai fits in aptly as the innocent Surya and gives his best till date. He has improvised as an actor and it is clearly visible on the screen. Arya is all spruced up as John and proves me wrong that he can do character roles with elegance and grace personified. Nayantara is back with a bang after the hiatus and lives in the movie as Regina. Personally I would rate this as her best till date. She isn’t a glamour doll anymore. A good actor is one who makes us personify ourselves in their shoes in the movie. Nayantara has done one such pleasing and a powerful role here. She has played the role of daring and a bold Regina who would stay in yours hearts for the ages to come.

The Surprise packages of the movie were Nazriya and Santhanam. Blown away by their performances I would say. Here comes Nazriya (Keerthana) to steal your hearts with her very cute expressions and beautiful acting skills. Santhanam is indeed a bombshell package. He is not the usual mere comedian in the movie, why weren’t the acting skills of Santhanam shown to us all these days? Thanks to Atlee for bringing out the best in Santhanam. Yes, brace yourselves to witness Santhanam, the Actor in the movie. Satyaraj (James) as the super, uber cool dad, that any girl would long to have, has set his standards and benchmark here in this movie as well. 

G.V. Prakash soothes your hearing senses yet again. BGM were pleasing and too good with the songs already a chart buster after the release. Coming from the School of Nirav Shah, the debutant cinematographer George has done a fabulous job with his finesse cameras speaking and adding colors and life to the movie. Yes here is a rise of a champion director, a promising debutant, and an intricately skillful youngster who has risen up to entertain us from nowhere to now here. I decided there is something versatile with this guy, witnessing the sequence after which he decided to get his name displayed with a beautiful font beaming on the screen. Dialogues were too good to resist. It’s time to add Atlee in the list of extremely talented young directors Tamil industry has got.

Verdict:  Breathes new life into us and hits the bull’s-eye. Atlee’s great directorial panache rides us through a beautifully casted love story which would stay in our hearts for the ages to come.

A SHOE CARTON BOX FULL OF HAPPINESS!

                Have you ever given a Shoe carton box full of happiness to your family? Can you ever bring an angel to your home without knowing that she is an angel? Yes you can. It was some 8 months back on the eve of 2013’s advent, on a rainy evening my cousin shiva having been drenched in rain brought a shoe carton box much to everyone’s bewilderment in the family. He told my aunts not to scathe him after seeing what is there in the Shoe carton box. Before anyone could start guessing of what is inside, a sudden squeal came from it and in a jiffy he opened the box. Inside it there was a beautiful creamy cute little pup which was struggling to open its eyes. Petrified in its beauty and cuteness, no one spoke for few seconds. The cutie pie screeched again breaking everyone’s excitement and silence.


The happiness weighed a few hundred grams inside this Shoe Carton box !

                    He let her down. She was just a few hours old and so she couldn’t either stand or open her eyes. Before knowing the dictionary meaning of the word “Hygiene” I got to know its exact definition by observing my family members. Hygiene and my family have always been together through thick and thin. “Hygiene factor” and “My home” are the two words that will always go hand in hand. Having been born to a family where love and hygiene have always been given equal importance I have always wondered if I am a misfit to my family when it comes to the latter, Though I am not as bad as you start to imagine me now.
                          

Easiest way to fall in love: Come home lift her up and you will fall in love !   

               Having spoken so much about the hygiene stuff, you guys are absolutely right if you had predicted that my aunts didn’t allow the pup to be there further. Yes it was an obvious fact and for obvious reasons. Shiva convinced them saying that he will let the pup out once she starts to walk and eat on her own. Yes my aunts were bit stubborn earlier, but later when the cutie pie squeaked again, their philanthropic hearts melted. She was then fed with a bowl of boiled milk which she struggled to swallow on her own. As days passed by I found no big difference between the pup and an infant. Like any infant she too had the habit of sleeping 18 to 20 hours a day and puking all that is fed to her. She did puke her food like how an infant does in its early days. Within a week we all started loving the cutie pie. In fact she had become an additional member in my family. It didn’t take much of a time to christen her. Within few days of her arrival she was christened as “Snoopy”. Ink filler (Milk filler) became her spoon very sooner. It didn’t take much of days for her to scrawl and walk on her own. Her cute little furs attributed to her silky smooth skin.

Teach me to walk and I will teach you what is unfathomable love !  "Cuteness redefined " - Isn't She Cute?

                  “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself”
                                                                                                                                          - Josh Billings

        There came those beautiful days where you can never resist and restrain yourself from lifting the little pup and making her sleep on your lap. Snoopy then became the center of attraction for everyone in our apartment ranging from juveniles to patriarchs. She loves bourbon, hide and seek, milk cream and ice creams more than I and my cousin actually do. She is mad about chocolates especially the dairy milk. She just turns frenzy the moment you open the refrigerator because as far as she is concerned the maroon colored cold storage room in our home is where we hide her favorite eatables. She never had a personal grudge against us whenever her request is denied; she never complains about it rather she eats her food happily with a glittering eyes beamed with a ray of happiness whenever we serve her.

Anger is a sign of love!  Yes She is Angry just because we compelled her for an early morning bath

           “Snoopy... Snooooooooopy” has now become the most widely chanted mantra of late in our home. Have you ever wondered how a true love feels and looks like? Want to know what an unconditional and unfathomable love is? Play hide and seek with her in the home. The moment she finds you out or the moment you remove your palms hiding your face, you will be licked to death. The more you gently nuzzle and snuggle her head and neck, the more she will lick you with her tail wagging at about 120 wags per minute. If you don’t call that love a true one probably you don’t know what love is.

            The Routine for her on any day is as simple as this, get up early in the morning and bark at us to convey ‘I want a walk with you outside the home, I am hungry I want something to eat and I will eat whatever you give me without complaining, treat me like a slave by throwing a cosco or rubber ball or a cloth or a stick as far as you can and I will bring it back to you as fast as I can. Make me exhausted playing this kind of drudgery games so that I will sleep like a kid and get up again and will lick you till death.

And I finally started walking on my own!

               “There is no psychiatrist in the world like a Labrador puppy licking your face"
                                                                                                                          -   Anonymous

              “The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants.”
                                                                                                                                        - Johnny Depp

       “If the God is one whom you can trust and believe, during your hard times and when he is the one whom you seek for a happy life then no wonder that a DOG is spelled as the exact reversal of GOD”. In my opinion if you call someone who gives you happiness and a peace of mind as God, then the Dog you own can be the God in disguise at your home.

The official Labrador posture! This is how she sleeps and sees TV

        Yes a dog doesn’t expect love in return like we the humans do; when you show him hatred, he will show you love, when you show him love, he will show you unfathomable love in return. Look into a dog’s eyes while you speak with them and you will understand their language. Want to know the meaning of gratefulness? Feed a stranded stray dog, you will be his undisputed king till his death. Snoopy is now almost 8 months old and it already feels like we all have been together for more than 8 years.             
         To whomsoever who told happiness can never be bought, my cousin shiva had bought this cute little sweet pup for free of cost from his friend. 240 odd beautiful days of happiness and I wish I had the power to transform Snoopy into an immortal soul so as to make the happiness around us a timeless eternity. Aren’t dogs the best companion of humans? Own a puppy and you would say yes Indeed 

LIFE BEGINS AT 40 ILAYATHALAPATHY.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIJAY ANNA!

June 22nd 2014, Sunday 12.00am

Happy Birthday Vijay Anna :)

     We all have a plenty of reasons to celebrate this week with the Indian Chess Legend Vishy defeating world # 1 Magnus Carlsen, Indian Cricketing legends Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their test debut the very same week and on the very same day (June 20, 1996) to be exact , we have the world music day on June 21. In addition to the above all reasons there is one more indelible reason which shall always be close to your heart and etched in your subconscious mind without a need to remind, unless you are a fervent Ilayathalapathy Vijay buff. 

Happy Birthday Thalaivaa! 

        Yes, Ilayathalapathy Vijay, most affectionately and tenderly called as “Vijay Anna” by a profound fan following ranging from juveniles to patriarchs is all set to celebrate his 40th birthday when the clock ticks 00:00:01am sharp on 22nd June, 2014 which shall now on be called “Ilayathalapathy day”. “A Favorite hero” is not just an ordinary individual who just acts and who is just good in looks, but he is the one who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of plenty of obstacles that comes on his way. If you exactly understand what I meant in the above definition then Vijay is undoubtedly the favorite hero of mine and many others for that sake.

Kids go berserk seeing him, I Ain't an Exception

            When the name Vijay comes on the screen, kids start jiggling and bawling out of joy, so does I. Vijay Anna has always been the one, who understands the responsibility that comes with his lovely name “ilayathalapathy” which was befittingly christened by his millions and millions of ardent fans. I never mean to say he was always undefeated but nevertheless he was undaunted in his entire venture under tremendous pressure to satisfy his diehard fans and he has succeeded in it to a greater extent. He has been a personal source of inspiration to many a people like me to get up and run harder and hit things hard when chased by failures and criticisms.

40? Just another number for him, Older the fiddler sweeter the tune.

         As Leo Tolstoy stated “there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, Goodness and truth”. There are many a things you can admire from this 40 year old youngster and his way of living, amongst them simplicity, patience, tolerance, compassion, humbleness, perseverance, persistence, physical fitness, downrightness, generosity, attitude, duty consciousness, punctuality and what not? The list would go endless when you are describing the traits of vijay Anna. The moment you see him either on the screen or off the screen you get to be animated with joy, optimism and positive vibration in spite of him being a silence personified human being.

The First look that made people go frenzy 

       His songs, dance steps and adorably cute smile have always been my personal source of inspiration and a morale booster whenever I am morally down. You would have been busted out in the office, screwed up by your professors and teachers in your college and school respectively; you would have been pissed off or deceived by people in your life when you were in any relationship. But it just takes a single vijay movie, or a feat tapping vijay song in the Television to boost up your spirits and get you to back to work, normalcy and life. (“Ellapugazhum” from Azhagiya Tamil magan and “Sandhosham Sandhosham” from the movie youth have always been my healers during my tough times.

   Doesn’t he look like a decent guy more like your brother if you don’t have one? And more like your other brother if you already have one? Whom you know for quite a longer time in your life? Doesn’t he resemble a good looking friend of yours whom you can always trust and rely on? And with whom you feel like sharing all your problems and don’t you feel his shoulders are meant for consoling us? Yes and that is why you call him “Vijay Anna” straight from your heart and not from your mouth.

Resplendent and Ravishingly cute  Ilayathalapathy!

I wish you the best of all the best things in your life, just like you have given us the best days of our school and college life. Wish you a best and joyful Birthday ever Anna! Wrinkles on your face and grey hairs on your head may depict that you are growing older but our perpetual love for you never fades, it will always remain the same forever. Wish you a very happy birthday Vijay Anna! 

Life begins at 40 Thalaivaa :)

        Life begins at 40 and 40 is just another number for you. One more year has passed; and you have just entered a meager 40 and as the saying goes “Older the Fiddler, the sweeter the tune” and you will be having a lot more of this particular day to come in the future and we would be enjoying a lot more of June 22 to celebrate our “Ilayathalapathy day” in the years to come J don’t let your heart grow old. Keep your energies full, your dreams alive and level of success high. You will feel young forever. May you have a fantastic birthday with your loved ones!

The Darling of Masses! King of Chennai !

Thanks a lot for entertaining and amusing us all these 20 years. Need a lot more of your elegant dance,songs and smile to get rid of all the woes, stresses, pains that has crept inside many of us.

ARM Sir, you are a Genius, can't take my eyes off this pic

 Many more happy returns of the day once again Vijay Anna on behalf of all your diehard fans all over the world! It gives me an immense pleasure to dedicate this post to you on your birthday Anna. To all the so called self designated "Vijay Haters" just because you like someone else more it doesn't mean that you hate Vijay. So stop Exaggerating and Pretending as if you were born just to hate him.  

I BELONG TO THE YELLOW BATTALION AND YOU?

                                    When the ubiquitous and the omnipresent  football crazy people, including few of my friends, who will always be  busy celebrating and eulogizing their best loved and sought after football clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Swansea, Liverpool, Aston Villa and what not? I, as a fervent and perpetual cricket fanatic and as a not so good football lover always longed for a cricketing club to be idolized and celebrated only after our Team India. When I see my friends posting Face book updates on the Barclays premier League matches and their favorite moments during the matches, I had always felt bad for not following football keenly until the Indian Premier League came into picture.

15 Men Carrying More than a Billion's Hope,Love and Expectation! My Yellow Army!

            Even before the Teams and the franchise got announced, the very idea of IPL brought an exultant ecstasy for a cricket crazy guy like me. Yes finally the team named “Chennai Super Kings” got announced. Having been born and brought up in Namma Chennai and when you instantaneously don’t start loving the “Chennai Super Kings” even before the player auction started, then trust me when I say this, there could have been a chance of a genetic disorder in you at that time.

Courtesy: The Official CSK Fan Page

           When the man with the Midas touch,Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named the captain of CSK and when you were still a part of India’s Detroit (“Singaara Chennai”) and when you still didn’t love “Chennai Super Kings” for any such reason for that sake, then for sure you were down with some serious genetic abnormality. Dhoni, Raina, Badri were the only Known Indian names at that time until Monk, Ashwin and Jakati became part and parcel of my lives and became mere equivalent to the guys next door, in the later IPL editions. It didn’t take much of a time later to call CSK as my Team rather than a team. Earlier I was only bleeding the men in blue (Team India), as days passed by, yellow sooner turned out to be my second most favorite color only after our Team India’s Blue. The Yellow isn’t just color it depicts optimism and cheerfulness blended with mind and the intellect.

We Celebrate here when they do... Don't we ?

             3,08,13,33,48,12,47,81,07,18,27,28,29 and 99 are not just numbers within 100 any longer; they are larger than pride and life for an ardent CSKian like me and billions and are our own a-mour Prop-re. If you don’t know what these numbers really are and exactly mean to you, come on my friend, you are not a diehard and an ardent Chennai Super King freak yet. You need to know what and why it really means a lot to know all these things and back yourself up and start cheering for our yellow battalion from this September 17 at the champion’s league 2013.You don’t get to be the IPL champions twice and the Champions of the Champions league unless you belong to the yellow battalion. Some say they love CSK only because of Dhoni, some say it is because of Raina,Hussey, Albie and  Some say it’s just because you have the name Chennai in it , I strongly feel that apart from all these convincing  factors there is something beyond all  these, that unites and bonds me and Chennai Super Kings.

Shouldn't we support them at least for this Gesture?

            As the saying goes “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Then winning many matches alongside winning the people’s heart is what you call the destiny. I and my friends being passionate about CSK is another story, the cutest part is that I have a nephew of mine who was just 9 years old and the way he loved and loves CSK and cricket at the age of 9 was just amazing and mind blowing. He was quite far in terms of distance  and there were numerous occasions where he had been texting me about the match’s statistics, important break throughs and the elegance of the players all throughout the CSK’s match day till the presentation gets over however late the night has turned out to be. I still remember his dad scolding him for Texting me from his mobile and for spending some 100 odd rupees only for those messages related to CSK. The cute reply from the kid “Appa Namma Ooru pa, Namma Chennai pa, Namma support pannalaena yaaru pa pannuva?!” (Dad it’s our city, our Chennai, if at all we don’t support them, then who will?) Stunned me for a while and brought an extempore smile upfront and gave me enough reasons to feel proud of being a CSKian.

May 17th , 2011



With the all Excited Yellow Army ahead of the Match :)

        I have seen CSK matches twice at the stadium. The first match which I saw was the one at the lion’s den (at the chepauk) with a gang of more than 15 all together. We were all pumped up and excited as we started our happiest journey a day earlier from Madurai on May 16^th 2011 for the match against KTK on May17th 2011 which was an 8 pm match. Going inside with the yellow jerseys, whistles, yellow head bands and yellow wrist bands was fun and a moment of pride that will always be cherished and etched in my memories apart from the CSK’s comprehensive win that night. The Mexican wave, the yellow stands, the thousands and thousands of people in yellow who turned out to the stadium were such a visual delight to watch.

This is for you My Team :)



Flying high with Pride amidst 2000 Houses at Bangalore!

         When stereo systems and the PA systems sang the song sung by suchitra  “Boys in yellow come out n play, Your goanna make them follow u lead the way – say, S-U-P-E-R K-I-N-G-S” I along the other crew members of the yellow army went berserk with goose bumps being incited many a times. The second was an encounter against the RCB in their home. It takes enormous Grit, Guts, Courage, bravery and what not? To wear the yellow jersey and to sit in the most local stand what we call (Thara Ticket in Chennai) and to shout out CSK, CSK amidst the plenty of local RCB supporters. I frankly confess that I got panicked when those people in red starred and gave me a scornful look and threw me a smug face for shouting and supporting CSK at one hell of a voice. I wondered if I would be hit and abused by them badly (Luckily I didn’t know their local language).

Right before the Start of the Match! Cheering out louder and Harder with whistles all the way from Madurai!

               Let us get in to why I love my team players. Casey Stengel once said “Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.” The story mentioned above had/have been perfectly narrated and executed by our captain Mahi to perfection many a times. We as a team have always outgrown individual performance and have learnt what team spirit and team confidence is all about and have brought excellence into reality not just once but thrice. Some one out of fun said “Teamwork is essential - it allows you to blame someone else”, we have a captain who is so very poignant in blaming himself and not blaming someone if at all the team loses. When you have a captain like Dhoni who saves runs at the back of the stumps and who safe guards and backs up the team in front of everyone when the team is subjected to destructive criticism it would not be fair when you don’t play to your fullest at least for such a graciously awesome captain Dhoni.

        Be it the mighty “Haydos” at the beginning of the IPL, be it the Agesless legend, Mr. Cricket and the Mr.Perfect “Michael Hussey”, May it be the Most elegant,live wire and the ever cool “Prince of Chennai” and the man with the most gentlest demeanor “Suresh Kumar Raina “ from whom one could very well learn what attitude is all about?, be it the ever cheerful and lively Brave heart “Bravo”, the so called “Sir”, Stylish Monk, Saviour Albie, the skiddy, tall “Ash(w)(sp)in”, Junior Mr.Cricket “Badri” and last but not the least “The Daring, Dashing, Selfless, cool, man of Attitude, ever smiling, Ravishingly cute, Captain Cool and the man who gave me what the real meaning of TEAM (Together Everyone Achieve Miracle) is! “Mahendra Singh Dhoni”. It takes a great deal and immense pleasure to support a team like this.

The Caption says it all !

"The Prince of Chennai" ! Ain't he?

         Winning and losing are part and parcel of any sport and is inevitable, Cricket isn’t an Exception. Yes I am disappointed along with a million others that my team didn’t win the IPL 2013. Remember yellow battalion, there is always a second time. Don’t get demoralized for winning is not everything and winning is just commitment as our captain once told and we guys mastered the art called “Commitment”. Trust me when I say this for an ardent cricket and a CSK fan like me, I take it for granted that God has rewarded me with an amazing destiny for the passion I have for the game of cricket and the love I have for my team CSK and it’s of no wonder the God had made me share my Birthday with that of the Ageless legend and Mr.Cricket “Michael Hussey” On 27^th of May.

The Leading Run Scorer in the IPL!

 People may Change, Time may Change, faith may deter, criticisms may be sky high, and haters may still keep growing exponentially! For all the joys, Jigs, soar throats and moments of pride that my team CSK has ever given me these 6 years, there is something that would never ever change the beautiful love, passion, the belief, the trust and the support I had/have and will ever have for my Team CSK and the game of cricket! A true fan would celebrate along with his team when his team wins and would stand by his team when his team is totally down after a loss or a destructive criticism! I am true fan and you?

Ain't he a super human apart from being a super King?

        As the saying goes, I am a member of my team, and I rely on my team, I Trust my team because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion”! I belong to the yellow battalion and you?

CRICKET, WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?

          Anton Chekov once told “people don’t notice if its winter or summer when they are really happy”. This summer is really an Exception because of the freaking hot weather. It’s all because of my friends there in Tamil Nadu (Especially in Chennai and Madurai) I feel Bangalore has mutated into a burning furnace. I kindly advice my fellow bangaloreans not to boast or brag about the winter climate and the super rainy season which is all set to commence the sooner else we will be prone to be jinxed. After all these happenings, from this summer, I really do believe in jinxing and becharming (popularly called “Mutta vaikuradhu” or “Pooja podradhu” by my friends in Tamil). 

         Every summer had a story and plenty of memories which you want them to happen once again in your life, for me summers during my childhood were as simple as this “Tanned Skin; Crazy Cricketing days; Long nights; I don’t know if my body continued the Krebs cycle each and every day but this cricketing cycle continued all throughout my childhood summer. The IPL Extravaganza, the bit of good cricket that I played with my office team mates which brought the nick back and the kind of cricket I played in my Apartment with my friends has given me plenty of enjoyable nostalgia.

           Cricket is indubitably my first love. It’s not a big deal when my dad was the first person to have made me hold the bat; to have corrected my cricketing stance; to have taught me the rules and regulations of the beautiful game of cricket along with the seam positions for the in swingers, out swingers, off breaks and leg breaks and last but not the least when he was the first person to have introduced and shown me that he is) “Sachin Tendulkar” (The Second reason for cricket being my first love ) in the old solitaire TV with the good old wooden shutter. The Epic conclusion of the above paragraph is that “despite being the only child of my dad and mom I started growing along with cricket and not all alone. I never regretted for not having any siblings for the reason I loved cricket more.

                          Most games are skin deep, but cricket goes to the bone

                                                                                                                   -Aristotle

                         Cricket to us was more than play; it was worship in the summer sun

                                                                                                                   -Edmund Charles Blenden

Cricket - No matter what and where !

         I was such a freak during my childhood that I used to soliloquize myself playing cricket for my nation in the terrace. I personified the flat cemented terrace into picturesque lush green lawn which would either be Chepauk, Lords, Sydney,  Kensington oval, Old Trafford, WACA and what not  for that sake. There were days were I used to go to my dad’s office and my mom’s school during my vacation wherein I would be writing and typing the entire playing eleven of the Indian team with me and sachin opening the batting on the black board and also in the Microsoft word and notepad respectively whilst the other staff’s kids would be busy playing the dangerous Dave. There have been numerous papers that I have wasted typing the cricketers name using those extinct typewriters which was once used in my dad’s office ages back.

And up she goes... come on fetch that up trio !

            The luckiest part in my life was that I always had some good set of friends, friends of friends in school days, college days and also in my office who were not just studious and workaholic, but were also proficient in talking about cricketing statistics and also had some good cricketing skills. Yes at the first impression I do really seem to be a damn reserved guy but you will have to shatter and thrash those thoughts once you start talking about cricket to me. When the technology wasn’t too high some 14 years back a close friend of mine’s magnanimous mom, would keep cricket scores in a chit along with his lunch box during the lunch. There were days in the past where in I had to fight with my grand dad for the sports column in the Hindu early in the morning. There were days, where I used to start a bit earlier with sheer zeal to school just to discuss cricket with my close friends. The next morning cricketing debates and discussions, after some good cricket matches the previous day during my school days were just as memorable as anything could be.

Cricket is more than just a game ! a synonym for joy and happiness

       People around me changed, time changed and along with them even I changed but the only thing that remained unchanged even as I grew older was the excitement and the kind of love I have for the game of cricket. The more I see cricket; the more I play cricket eventually I end up in loving cricket more and more. It’s not that easy for a game to give you sleepless nights, exorbitant enthusiasm and excitements unless you love it more than your lover and when it’s more than just a game and a portion of life for you.

        Down the lane I dreamt only of cricket, I have padded up and executed some good shots and bowled some mesmerizing and awe-inspiring hallucinatory deliveries in my terrace and the corridor of my home where my neighbors would have always thought me no less than a cricketing lunatic. The imaginary balls that I have bowled during my childhoods had sent many stumps gyrating, spinning and have heard them jolting all around which will always be bowler’s sight.

I just don’t know how it feels to others, but for me a game of cricket on a scorching sun doesn’t just bring out the sweat but also helps me to veritably forget the enormous amount of bleakness, anguish and the dismal dumps that were accumulated in my mind. I must confess that it’s quite difficult for me to talk about the game of cricket without bringing in the little master. See the way I just failed even now. Whatever may be the weakness may it be the emotional ones or the physical ones, those will be vanished within a wink, the moment I start playing cricket or when I watch cricket matches in the TV.

To sum up, “people wait around too long for true love”, I am so happy that I got it in the name of cricket ever since my childhood. The game of cricket has not just been a part of my life, but it has always been a personal source of inspiration and a kind of optimism that always keeps me moving forward, no matter what and no matter where. People may come in or people may move out of my life but my life would move on, if ever I get some food that would suffice for my survival in the earth and a TV with cricket being telecasted all throughout my lifetime and with a bunch of people who would play cricket regularly around me.

Indians and cricket: The Inseparables !

If ever cricket apparently gets a life, there is something I would always want to ask her… will you be my valentine? Not just today but forever??

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THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OF "ATHENS OF THE EAST" (MADURAI)

                                                        

Vandiyoor Theppakulam at Twilight

                  Hi People, Hope All of you are doing well. Chop-Chop and now it has almost been 6 years for me in Madurai. Started my graduation in 2007 and now I am about to complete a successful stint of almost 2 years in a reputed corporate firm, designated as the so called “Software Engineer”. What was supposed to be a sojourn for me and my family in Madurai, till I complete my graduation has indeed become an odyssey to be frank. Like Duncan Fletcher’s extended contract for team India, we keep extending our stopover in Madurai and procrastinate the relocation to Chennai each and every year.

                            

                A thought sprouted why not to write a post? after witnessing a series of events that moved and made me love the people of Madurai more. There are a couple of times where I have lost more than 400 rupees in BMTC Volvo buses. The BMTC (Bangalore) bus conductors have the habit of not giving you the change although they have it with them, unless you keep pestering them for it. There was a day when I gave the conductor a 500 rupees note for a 100 rupees ticket as I didn’t have enough change and he told he doesn’t have the change either and will give me later. The bus was crammed and meanwhile my destination came when I realized that I forgot to ask for the change and got down as such. The conductor had looted my 400 bucks with such an ease and strategy. Not to forget that many conductors here in Bangalore don’t even provide the tickets properly, but they will get the ticket money for a sum lower than the actual ticket cost and will keep the money in some pocket which duly is meant for that illegal money.

                          

People of the City that Never Sleeps

                  This particular god-awful event might have in fact happened to many a people in Bangalore if I am not wrong. I don’t blame those bus conductors alone here; my carelessness has also played a decisive role in losing my money. I wonder how a passenger will travel peacefully despite travelling in an air conditioned bus, without having got his change back. Most of the passengers will definitely be obsessed about his balance money for the entirety of the travel and will obviously be prone to lose the happiness despite the luxury travel. A similar kind of event happened in Madurai as well, where in I gave the conductor 100 rupees for a single ticket of 11 rupees (when you give 500 rupees for a single 11 rupees ticket in Madurai you will be abused and kicked out of the bus eventually, however polite and soft the conductor is :P) he told he will give the change afterwards, I forgot to get the change back as I always do, but this time when I got down and after the bus went few yards further, the bus stopped and the conductor got down shouting “Thambi………. Thambi……”, I turned back and went towards him without even remembering that my change was with him… and he said "Micham vangiko pa sorry marandhutaen" (Get the change back, sorry that I forgot to give you back).

The Cultural Icon of Madurai

                       The Majority of the Auto drivers in Bangalore and Chennai are intractable and are tough nuts to crack. They don’t mend to you easily, though you call them bhaiyya or Anna or whatever! One such instance in Chennai, when we asked an auto driver for a route near ECR he chided with rudeness and clamor for no reason and another guy deceived us by deliberately rerouting us to a wrong route. Whereas in Madurai when you just spell out the word brother in the local dialect “Annae” rather than Anna, the Drivers would be moved and I bet they would guarantee you a reasonable cost for the travel and would respond you with all smiles for all the questions you put forth. A profound influence of the cultural heritage of Madurai is seen over among its people too.

   

                    As a student waiting for my college bus at Thamukkam Grounds for more than a year, I would be witnessing the Akshaya trust van, halt near us for a minute to feed an old man who was residing at the platform! Whenever Akshaya trust van comes, you can blindly tell that the time is 8.05am, such is their punctuality in feeding the needy and the roadside dwellers 365 days a year! Take a bow and a special salute to Mr.Narayanan Krishnan, the Madurai born philanthropist and the owner of Akshaya Trust. His godly, virtuous and daily deed of providing food thrice a day to all the needy people around his vicinity via his Akshaya Trust, preach us the Virtue “Helping hands are better than praying lips”.

                          Click on the below Video, to know who this Godly Human, Narayanan Krishnan is

                 The value system remains intact. The beautiful people of this beautiful city that never sleeps (Madurai) follow a very simple lifestyle and they are all polite to the core, well-behaved, good-natured, respectful and friendly. In addition to above all traits they do live in Rap-port with each other.

An old lady - all smiles with the Madurai Idly

                        Recently when I reached Madurai on an early morning and when I got into a local bus I witnessed something wholly engrossing and fascinating. It was around 5.30 in the morning and it was breezy cold that particular day. Hardly 6 to 10 were only seen in the local bus. An old lady fumbled and got into the bus from the railway station. The conductor, who was quite young, gave his hand to that old lady to lift her up as she was fumbling and shivering out of the cool breeze. He then said “Paati kooda yaarayavadhu kootitu vara koodadha? En thaniya vandha? Sweater, shawla keala vachurukiya romba kulurudhu inniku! (Why did you come all alone? Why don’t you bring someone with you? Do you have a muffler or sweater with you? It’s quite cold today).

                     You may wonder any good human being who knows what humanity is? Would do all those above mentioned things, but what’s so special about these people particularly in Madurai! I should definitely confess that having been to many other places in Tamil Nadu, having stayed in Chennai for more than a decade and a half and now after completing nearly 2 years in Bangalore I would say the people of Madurai are the best when it comes to hospitality. People of Madurai are warm and they even treat a stranger with utmost concern and humbleness. The dialect of Madurai may be difficult to interpret or quite odd to understand but it definitely is music when you suddenly encounter to hear it from people far away from the “Athens of the East”. The innate helping attitude in the people of Madurai, and the way they make their guests feel comfortable with their arms wide open is what their individuality is all about. The ever cheerful people of Madurai have indeed preserved the essence of their ancient culture and have made their heritage very proud.

Madurai Unleashed

   
   Nationality isn't all about blood. It is what is in the people’s heart. The love for your Nation, the respect for your Mother land, those who inhabit it, and the respect and acknowledgment of the spirits and elders. That is what it is to be an Indian on the whole. Proud to be an Indian and Tamizhan!

PS: Naanum ippo Madurai Kaaran da !