Baran

I got introduced to Majid Majidi through "Children of Heaven". And later one of my friend recommend "The song of sparrows". Now, I saw "Baran". The director takes the life of a common man and the under previledged in all of his stories and strikes a chord in the viewer.

One of my friend said, it's very easy to say that I understood from books or papers (e.g.Tsunami, being an AIDs victim, recession, conquering Mt. Everest) but it hits deep only when one experiences it at first hand.

Pallavas, Kalki and me

Perspective of viewing historic place like Mahabalipuram takes a 180 degree turn when one reads Kalki's "Ponnin Selvan" and other works like "Shivakamin Sabadham".

In fact, after reading "Poonin Selvan" the urge to visit Mahabalipuram and to visualize things described by Kalki has grown manifold.

The carvings in Arjuna's penance is my favorite. A similar carving is unfinished at a near by distance.There are explanations/stories on what this big stone canvas convey the viewer. Whatever be the story it's a master piece.



It's awesome to see the shore temple at sun rise.If you are spending 30-45 minutes in the early morning, the change in the shades of light and shadows in the temple tower are so beautiful that it would make you to stay at Mahabalipuram.

The entry to shore temple starts from 6:00am

Listening to music with your whole body

The Kabir Project

I wanted to write about Kabir Project for a long time. This project tries to preserve and bring what Kabir really meant in his mystic songs.

Sufi singers had been singing the songs at festivals and other places. It's interesting to see that some families are doing it for generations (300-400 years) apart from their regular business.

One of the Sufi singer sings the following verse (of course in Hindi).

“O servant , where dost thou seek Me?

Lo! I am beside thee.

I am neither in temple nor in mosque…”

PS: If you have chance to see the documentaries, don't miss.

Business Class Sedans in India

Recently, I had chance to test drive petrol version of Honda city (Rs.9+ lakhs), Fiat Linea (Rs.8+ Lakhs). Comparing Honda city and Linea being in the same class Linea has more value for money (e.g., steering mounted audio and mobile controls, etc).

Fiat Punto >= Tata Indica and
Fiat Linea >>= Indigo CS

in terms of the strength of the body (car) and the plastic used. But the quality of Indigo CS is not comparable to Punto and Linea.

Now, Tata comes up with Indigo Manza (Rs. 6+ Lakhs) with all the features as in Fiat Linea. Both Linea and Manza runs on the same Engine with slight difference in specifications and performance.

Need to see the performance of Manza and have to choose on what to buy!?

It seems like car manufacturers announce their next generation product once they feel their old product is out of stock! :)

"There will always be better cars in the market just after you buy one for you and smart people never buy one for them but recommend it to others!"

New India

Things have changed and would continue to change faster than ever.



"Change is permanent"

Travelling

Travelling is one of my favorite way of wasting time! :)

One can see drastic changes in people's way of life while traveling in train from Chennai to Delhi.

I have also noticed it while traveling from Kanyakumari to Chennai. Though Kanyakumari and Chennai belong to the same state Tamil Nadu, the language Tamil is spoken very differently at all these places. It's really interesting to see the transition from place to place on the way.

History helps in understanding the evolution of lifestyles(words/slang) specific to a group/locality of people in Tamil Nadu. This is a fascinating research area. I would be interested in discussing with people who work in this area either as an amateur or by profession.

Being in Chennai for more than 3 years, I had the opportunity to visit places around.
Chennai has a number of lesser known places whose history is interesting.

May be the concerned authorities would take necessary steps to create awareness among general public about the historic places and preserve them for the next generation.

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” - Saint Augustine