Travelogue: An Exhilarating two days at “Gokarna”

Hi folks, hope you all are doing great.It gives me immense pleasure in posting this, on the eve of Christmas. Merry Christmas and a very happy and a prosperous new year my friends. please do keep showing your continued patronage to all my posts as you guys have been doing ever since my first post.

Yes, it has been almost a month since the great Sachin Tendulkar retired and believe it or not, the earth still continues to rotate and people still continue to live happily and I am no exception.

It has been ages together since I travelled and explored some new places. Thanks to my office friends for not only planning an extempore trip by roping me in, but also for having executed it to perfection.

It doesn’t matter where you are going; it’s who you have along with you. I have an amiable team to back me up; despite the perpetual shyness, the kind of insecurity or the hesitancy that usually prevails in me. We found a beautiful place to get lost. it was 'Gokarna'

The Majestic Kudle Beach 

Friday, 13^th December 2013,

The Friday at the office was even more frenzy than the usual ones. Without any second thoughts, the sheer anticipation about the trip brought in the wild excitement and the delirium that made the day move faster. Paul was the trip organizer. He had already booked the Silicon Cab Tempo Traveller for the trip.“We” in the passage shall henceforth denote (Paul, Swathi, Kavita, Udhay, Praneeth, Hema, Sunil, Vineeth, Akash and me). We all were off to a slow and steady start after filling in the diesel at KR Puram gas station. There was one heck of traffic near Nagawara. We reached hebbal around 10.30 pm. Finding a good driver is as important as finding your life partner, in both the cases our precious life is at stake. We were lucky enough to have had Mr. Ramesh as our driver. He drove the Tempo traveller very subtly. As the saying goes calmness is the cradle of power, Ramesh was very calm and composed all throughout the journey. The weather was freaking cold outside. It was around 11pm when we halted at the Chandu Dhaba on the Tumkur Road as our tummy started cribbing and whining for food. We would rather say that the supper out there at the Chandu Dhaba exceeded our expectations.

There shall be two mandatory requirements for any road trip to be ever cherish able and to be etched in your memories, “1. People around you, who makes sure that you aren’t left out isolated in the entire gang and who never makes you feel aloof in the entirety of the travel” “2. The perpetual fact is that any memorable trip shall be incomplete without some Good music”. Luckily we had the above two requirements in the kitty. I am not sure if I gave a good company to the friends who came along with me, but without any second thoughts I had a beautiful company of all the 9 others who were along with me for the next two days.

Let us get back to the journey now, after the sumptuous dinner at the Chandu Dhaba, we continued to travel.  The irrefutable fact is that the number of toll plazas on the Indian highways is inversely proportional to the number of good roads we have. After having crossed some two to three toll gates within a short trot we continued to move. It was around 1 am when we halted for a tea break as the driver desperately needed a break. Ramesh was clever enough to have taken the necessary tea breaks or time outs whenever he felt, he needs one. Those small and decisive breaks which he took played a crucial role in ensuring a smooth and hassle free travel.

Saturday, 14^th December 2013,

It was 6 am when Ramesh switched off the Tempo’s engine and everyone woke up involuntarily to the sudden serenity. Every one of us had slept only in dribs and drabs.  We had reached the foothills of the Western Ghats by then. We were restrained to proceed further as the early morning fog had insinuated the ghat roads. Framed by the majestic Western Ghats we were witnessing some breath taking scenic visuals. There was a serene and settled majesty that creeped into our souls and delighted us. It stood a testimony to the Statement “Mountains are the beginning of all natural scenery”. The beautiful 60 km ride through the ghat road ended. It meant that we had reached our destination “Gokarna”. Vineeth had his Global positioning System switched on in his note 2, so as to navigate inside the town.  Thanks to the 31+ satellites zipping around the world that made us navigate bang on to the destination every time he we typed one. Kuddle beach was the first destination.

The Beach View from the Gokarna International Hotel

Every now and then life takes its toll on us. We get so busy and occupied with the day-to-day chores and just forget to live for ourselves. The top view of the beautiful Kuddle beach awakened my senses and made me realize that life is beyond all these day to day chores. After a short trek to the shore we were welcomed by the relaxing sound of the overlapping waves. The blue and the fresh Arabian Sea welcomed us. All I wished was that the 576 megapixel camera in our eyes had the ability to capture things and display it later whenever we wanted to see those. After a brief inspection to a few shacks we all settled down at the Gokarna international. The rooms were pretty visually appealing and the sea was less than 100 metres from the hotel. It was around 11.30 am when we had our brunch at the paradise restaurant. The food was pretty expensive but it was the worth the brag. We had a satisfying meal over there. Kavita’s exceptional expenditure management skills need a special mention here. She did that to sheer perfection all throughout the travel and ensured that everything was crystal clear without ambiguity. Way to go kavita, you shall be our permanent expense manager henceforth.

From the left (Hema,Swathi,Paul,Mukunth,Kavita,Udhay,Sunil,Suresh,Praneeth,Akash)

We were all set then, to have a dip inside the sea. To every one’s surprise the Arabian Sea was very shallow. We were able to walk a few hundred metres into the sea from the shore. Having been to many other beaches down south, we found this water to be very saline. There was no looking back at the shore. We were playing like kids who knew nothing other than happiness. Praneeth, Udhay, Kavita and Sunil mutated themselves into professional swimmers. They were displaying their swimming prowess to perfection. Others including me were mere spectators who were scared to go on further. I didn’t want to play spoil sport so I restrained myself from going any further. We played with the discs for quite a while inside the water until everyone became totally exhausted. I was gasping for breath on few occasions but that didn’t stop me from playing in the water. We continued to play in the water until our body alarmed us saying enough let us get back to the shore.

From the Right (Mukunth, Vineeth,Sunil,Akash,Udhay,Praneeth) All Excited before the dip into sea :)

After a short rest, we were all set for the spectacular and the stupendous banana ride. I must confess that it was a one heck of breath taking experience in our life. Our air boat will be tied to a motor boat and we will be taken some 300 odd metres into sea at about 60 kmph and we will be jostled from our boats. It was until this moment I came to know the sheer importance of a life jacket in my life. Yes we all experienced a life threatening, Bone chilling and Spine tingling Archimedes principle of buoyancy. “Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object”.  After the Incredible banana ride, we played some beach football and beach volley ball. It took some time for everyone to get their teenage and the childhood nick back. At once we all got the form back, we were exhausted and we got back to the hotel.

The Breath Taking Banana Ride

Wheee...  Gosh ....It was indeed a Spectacular Ride

After an hour of rest and snacks we dressed up and got ready for the evening walk along the shore. Vineeth turned a part time photographer by then; he had taken some beautiful captures. The best images are the ones that retain their strength and impact over the years, regardless of the number of times they are viewed. Without any second thoughts, Vineeth had captured some beautiful and mind blowing images. Those images by itself shall narrate a plenty of memories for the ages to come. Paul had then arranged for a camp fire later that night with the aid of Suresh (worker at the Paradise Restaurant) who was ready to help us out for the camp fire. We all had a breezy walk along the shore, witnessing many foreigners enjoying their stay at our country by singing and dancing happily. Camp fire was all set followed by more than 2 hours of dinner at the shore with the sea breeze. Would you ask for more? Life seemed really beautiful for those 2 hours.

An Elisha Vineeth Capture :)

Everyone turned nostalgic and was asked to share their love stories. All were cornered; no one had a chance to escape. You either had a story or not, but you were supposed to at least cook up something and narrate in front of everyone. Echoes faded and memories flashed, one after the other everyone started narrating their beautiful and their painful past. The rest were keenly observing the narrators past. We all came to know that everyone has a beautiful story teller in them. It was 12 by then. Time ran in a jiffy just like our past. We were off to the hotel room. I believe we all had a sound sleep that night.

Campfire Unleashed :)

Sunday, 15^th December 2013,

The Front View of the Gokarna International Hotel where we stayed.

Next morning after having the breakfast at the Gokarna restaurant, 7 of us( Kavita, Udhay, Praneeth, Hema,  Swathi , Vineeth and I)started to Mahabaleshwar temple. Rest were busy sleeping.  

I was taking few snaps of the beach in my mobile until I was stopped by a foreigner from Poland who told me to take snaps of the clumsy shore as well. He was telling how people have made a real mess of this beautiful place by throwing plastic bottles and covers just like that. I felt ashamed for being a helpless Indian when the foreigner told so. It was time, once again for Vineeth to unleash his photography Skills before we started the temple. We went to the temple and we were made to do the rituals on our own. Money played a crucial role in making us see the God quite earlier than the others who were waiting in the Queue for hours together. After all money is everything, God isn’t an exception. You need money even to see him faster. Swathi, Kavita and Hema went on for a shopping until Ramesh went on to pick up Paul, Sunil and Akash. It was around 12.30 pm when we started to jog falls.

And this is where we stayed :) 

The all dejected gang at the  water less Jog Falls :(

After a horrible lunch at the Kamat hotel which elevated the stature of Tami Nadu and Andhra food even higher. We reached Jog falls around 4.45 in the evening. We did a strenuous trek just to witness that water wasn’t there at the falls. But that didn’t stop us. We went on to take enormous snaps so as to cherish those for a life time. Who knows we may never come again to this place. We started around 6 pm from Jog falls. En route to Bangalore our next halt was for supper at the Shimoga district. We had an extremely scrumptious dinner at the Bright restaurant as suggested by a local auto driver. Bangalore was some 271 kms from there. It was Ramesh heroics all the way from there. There was no looking back we landed Bangalore by 3 am.

There ends the beautiful and an Exhilarating two days at “Gokarna”. Thanks a lot Paul, Swathi, Kavita, Udhay, Hema, Praneeth, Vineeth, Sunil and Akash for these 2 most amazing days in my life.  "It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice." You guys were indeed so very nice to me and I believe that I won’t be spared or left behind for any of the future trips that shall be on your cards.

Post Scriptum:

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his pillow and bed. I did realize that awesomeness after this beautiful trip. please do take a sun screen lotion whenever you travel to a beach from now on.

A Letter to Sachin Tendulkar from an Ardent Fan (Mukunth Bhaskaran)

Dear Sachin,

From where do I start? Do I start from the day when I was 4 to 5 years old? Wherein my dad taught me what cricket is and introduced you, for the very first time in my life pin pointing at the old black and white solitaire television with the good old wooden shutter, that he is Sachin Tendulkar. Like how your journey began with the first bat that you got as gift from your sister, my Sachin Tendulkar story, the passion for the game of cricket, respect and worship for you as an individual and my life’s journey along with cricket had began since then.

                                                                           Courtesy: Star Sports

Thanks to late Tony Greig who gave blissful life and colors to most of the innings at the earlier stage of your career. If I shall be recollecting your good old innings, only those innings wherein Tony Greig had been the commentator will flash on at first as he made your batting even more special. (“Sachin Tendulkar” Read this in Tony’s tone and you will get to know how special your childhood was)

Individuals can never be greater than any sport, but then you came and shattered this belief in me, because for me cricket was always synonymous to sachin and sachin in turn was synonymous to cricket. It’s been just few days since you made me and many others weep like a kid with the best ever farewell speech in the history of any sport. It is now imperceptible to my senses that I won’t see you taking guard at number 4 to safe guard India. For those generation in India, that were born in the early 90’s after you made your international debut, you were just everything, you are a superhero, you are the God, you meant cricket to us, you were the one man army who would rescue and single handedly take India to victory and what not?

Now that we won’t see you play again in the Indian Jersey, after you delivered the beautiful, sensational and the crafty farewell speech much similar to your batting, I feel, as if someone whom I loved unconditionally, someone who was a habit to me ever since I started to talk and walk, a kind of one sided friendship and affection has suddenly vanished forever from my life. It shouldn’t be an exaggeration if I tell you that I get the same feel that one would get after a sudden demise of someone close to our heart, because you have influenced my life to such an extent Sachin.

The Indian Tri-Color looks beautiful and patriotic especially on few occasions to me, the one at the Rashtrapathi Bhawan, the one at the coffin of the Indian martyrs and last but not the least the one that is carved on your helmet, that would face the sun, every time you raise your head and willow high to acknowledge and thank your dad.

From now on, every time when the wicket number 2 falls for India, everybody will be recollecting their own Tendulkar story with their eidetic memory with a void that will always remain empty and can never be filled when someone else walks in at number 4.

My heart wouldn’t pound harder or skip a beat any more when someone nears a ton. I wouldn’t be superstitious and my lucky blue T-Shirt shall remain untouched there in my cupboard. I won’t be losing my control anymore when someone gets out.

I shall never search for lame excuses which I had been doing ever since my childhood, may it be bunking the tuition classes just to see you bat, and may it be asking permission from my mom amidst my busy study schedule just to watch you hit a single straight drive so that I shall get back to study. I will never again ask permission from my manager or super seniors to see someone bat or just enter the ground, so that I can go to the first floor cafeteria all the way from eleventh floor just to witness you walking into the middle. I shall never risk my life again driving like Valentino Rossi or a Lance Armstrong to get back home faster, just to witness and experience the child like joy and enthusiasm that develops every time I see you come out to the middle with your bat. To whom would I now look to, with all the joy and happiness that I had only for you?

Every time you come out from the pavilion with the Indian flag carved on your helmet, with the bat tucked under your oxter and gloves that would be ready to be strapped and when you walk down crossing the boundary rope glancing at the sun, creating an inevitable ray of hope in us. Who would now give us the incomparable and the unparalleled frenzy at the fall of second wicket? There were those days when a single straight drive of yours had made my whole day happy. Sachin when will I get all these days back?



If human life had been a fairy tale I wouldn’t mind giving you few younger years of mine just to watch you bat forever for India. But then after all we are mere humans who didn’t find a way for it. Now who will heal or divert the anguished and dismal dumps of many with those sizzling straight drives and priceless paddle sweeps?



There is always that kid in me, who’s Superhero, will always remain to be you Sachin. Now whom will I personify and play those imaginary straight drives, flamboyant flicks soliloquizing Tony Greig‘s commentary in the terrace?

Sachin, your journey that started during the week of Children’s day during 1989 has officially ended after 24 years on the very same week, isn’t this enough to officially understand that our childhood, and a part of a beautiful and a blissful life is all over?



Sachin you were the first to have taught me what patriotism and ambition is, you taught us perseverance, you taught us dedication, hard work and how to respect elders and how to treat younger ones than you, you taught us humility and the on the whole you taught us what it takes to be a special and a beautiful human being, but then you have also taught us the pain of missing someone close to our heart.

A single thank you won’t suffice for all that you have given us all these 24 years Sachin. Thank you Sachin for making us believe “Impossible is nothing”, for being the Superhero ever since my childhood, for being an Inspiration to us and for enriching my lives with the beautiful childhood, adolescence and beginning of manhood.



Sachin, you have a left behind a beautiful story and legacy in everyone’s heart that shall be conveyed to the future generation if not now at least in the future, every time when the second wicket falls.

  

                                                      

    Courtesy: Google +

Legends don’t retire because they live in our hearts, thank you sachin it has been a real pleasure and a privilege watching you bat for India all these days. We will be missing you for the entirety of our lives, for all those beautiful memories you have given us, for all those joys, jigs and innumerable patriotic moments that kept kindling the dormant patriotic Indian every time we see you taking guard.

    

            With tears
      Mukunth Bhaskaran
(Another Proud Indian just like you)

PS: Thanks to Khelnama for Publishing this article of Mine in the below link http://www.khelnama.com/131119/cricket/features/letter-sachin-tendulkar-ardent-fan/14120 :)

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?