Bits And Pieces

Let me key you in on the background when this post was written - Yesterday, i watched 2 movies. I forgot the first one's name (a nice guy died in it), and the other was Sweet November(the girl has cancer). I'm usually only jobless enough to catch one movie, but yesterday was an exception. And today, i borrowed a book ( "The Gift" by Danielle Steel) from a good friend and had a nice time reading it. I think you can get what i'm driving at - Yep! Major emotional overload! I'm a sucker for feel good emotional stories, and if there's a death of some loveable character, which there usually is, my eyes get all leaky. The first time that i can remember myself reel crying is for Lion King, when Mufasa dies. And then it continued with films like baazigar, Forrest Gump, Kal ho na ho, and so many others. If you ask me, i'd say that Shahrukh has perfected the art of dying! Same with books. I mourned pretty badly when Beth died in Little Women, and DANIELLE STEE...

I think old people look very beautiful. Not in some smouldering or hot sort of way of course, but, you know......in a cute and crinkly way. And i like spending time around them, listening to what they have to say, most of which are memories of the good old days. The stories that my paati (mom's mother) has told me - seriously good :) and all real life stories. There's this one that's titled "Saleththu amma shaani aducha kadhai". I'm very sorry dear non Tamil readers (if there are any of you), the best translation i can give is "The Salem mother dung throwing story" :) My paati's family hails from Kumbakonam, and this story is about her grandmother (my ellu paati) whom everyone referred to as salethamma. In those days the common practice was to clean up the dining floor with varati (dried cow dung). My ellu paati did that, and casually, she strolled to the thinnai (the front portion of the house), and flung the used varati. And WHAM! It hit a poo...

Ok, i'm already tired of being the only person who can view my blog. And it's getting to be very boring. So, irrespective of whether the blog is good or bad, i've decided to go public. Any constructive criticism is most welcome :) And if you have something interesting to say, please be my guest. What's life without sharing our experiences, especially if it can lighten others' minds..... WELCOME TO BITS AND PIECES Nice to have you here :)

Paatiiiiiiiii........seththa inga varelaaa........nammaathla palli irukku, adha verattungolaen pleeeese. This is perfectly normal at home, but elsewhere, there would have been a LOT of sniggering :) Welcome to the iyengar household, where saathumdhu(rasam) rules, Dhudhyonam(curd rice) is a way of life, and after a hard day's work (or gossip), we all go back to our aathu(home). For a looong time now, the tamil brahmins have been teased for their baashai. Take a flashback to the hindi film 'Padosan'. Remember the 'yekku chatura naaru' song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HwrMGpFaik Yup, that's precisely what i'm talking about. Funnily enough, most of the people i've seen can pronounce 'ek chatur naar' as it should be. I guess it's just that we've got cult status like the sardarjis :) It's really funny, you know, how the brahmin community has been caricatured. If the cinema people need some iyer or iyengar mama, just throw in a person w...

All of us have superstitions. Atleast most of us do. Want to know what mine is? I've got a fixation with the number 8. If i can't get 8 i'll settle for 4, and if that's not possible, i'll go for a multiple of 8, or atleast an even number (i pick up the phone after an even number of rings). Weird la? I know it's silly, and i also know that even if i pick some other number, my life's not really going to spiral downwards. But there's a feeling in 8 and it sort of makes me feel complete. Let's take the example of music - In carnatic music, 8 lays a foundation. I'm sure a lot of people know about Adi taalam. Take most of the rythms and beats you listen to, and you'll find the underlying current of 8's in them. And what about the exercise drill that we used to have in school? The counting goes all the way upto 8 before coming back to 1. Once you start looking for it, you can actually see 8 everywhere. Funny though it may sound, i actually drink...

I read a book a few days back and since then i just can't stop thinking about what it says. A NEW EARTH - Awakening to your life's purpose by Eckhart Tolle I borrowed the book from my chithappa and i think that must have been one of my life defining moments (ye all, hear the clap of thunder that adds significance to an otherwise dull moment). It is a spiritual book, but not boring, and it is not religion specific. Although written by a German, with loads of inputs from the bible, it did not affect my belief in the Hindu faith. Following is an extract from the book - "THE DUCK WITH A HUMAN MIND After two ducks get into a fight, which never lasts long, they will separate and float off in opposite directions. Then each duck will flap its wings vigorously a few times; thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened. If the duck had a human mind, it would keep the fight aliv...

After several false starts, i've finally done it. My very own blog, that only i can view (as of now atleast) :) I've always heard about blogs, and i've read a few as well. What is it about this online ranting that appeals to so many? Must be the publicity. What appeals to me? No idea whatsoever. I just wanted to type away i guess, and here i am :) On to some resolutions - I solemnly swear that i will update the blog atleast once a year, but i hope to achieve a better performance than that (don't wan't to feel guilty about not being able to achieve any lofty targets). I will maketh ze blog az interezting az izz pazible. And i will not start any hate campaigns. And...........well that's it.