Madras Nalla Madras!!

At that time when I really decided to keep away from writing on filter kapi and Hindu Crossword which every other person is writing on, it was hard for someone for me to really keep shut!
Hence, I went on this search for a word that describes what Madras does to me. Got it! Feelings(Vasool raja style). I still don seem to be calling it Chennai, may be that's the amount of feelings i have towards the city that shared my life!
I have not been to my fair share of cities to say mine is the best. It is also fair for my  friends in other cities to call their city the greatest, but machan mine is 'Madras' it is an adjective of its own.
While all of them complain that Madras is conservative so slow in adapting to other cultures, tell me one thing which is not in Madras from the below!
Temples to theatre!
Culture to Club!
Dance to Disco!
Pongal to Pub!
Sarees to Shorts!
Sambar to Shots!
Madras has it all! To the right level and mix!
As I was driving this morning on the most crowded Mount Road and when I hear Ilayaraja's and Rahman's best running on the radio, that's what is Madras. Contrasts! Starting from Mylapore Mornings to Napier nights the city offers its beautiful best everytime you go around exploring her.
 The moment I just drive into the city from a vacation from may be some cold place and land up at Saravana Bhavan I realize I don need a menu card! Its all about sambar! Winding up there, I get at the car at home thinking, how i missed sweating and the heat. Life is faster when its Hot!!
The time when you are suddenly up on a Tuesday night cracking through the Satyam Cinemas website to make it to the first weekend for a movie.. My husband always says this is a perception problem that i don even consider other theatres.  But Madras is Satyam Cinemas and Butter Popcorn!
While my endless rants of Madras might jus go on and on! I would just like to retire to bed, closing my eyes to the best of Ilayaraja reminiscing about my city of dreams!
Cheers! 

Do you hear it too??

Nowadays, I seem to spend a lot more time on the road, than earlier, thanks to the distance between home and work! Making this entire drive interesting is our FM radio stations of Chennai.

They subject you to all the international chartbusters with award winning lyrics. An example would be 'Mascara pottu mayakiriye, mastana pesi kalakuriye'. Wow.. And when u try changing channels which are of course in plenty, you hear things like 'Oru Karapanboochi Polae Enna Kavuthupotale'.

At this juncture, my music control buttons on the steering wheel are in utter pain due to my frustration.

Where I finally land on one of my favorite channels where the RJ is pretty decent, and then he opens his mouth to talk about some vague topic like, 'uh don Mind.. Its that vague' and just goes on about it.. Here you know, to become an RJ, all you need is these things..

• Quite a horrible voice and some weird accent
• Un-understandable Tamil and English
• Talent to repeat the same thing 20 times back to back by changing words like is, was, and, it etc
• Real bad sense of humour
• And ofcourse, a bad line up,of songs.,

All these planned set of attempts to kill your morning are interspersed with unbelievable set of advertisements.

Thus, the morning drive comes to an end, when u almost reach work, there is this one nice song somewhere in some channel, but you need ta park and leave!!

While i do have the choice to still switch to some music on my phone, there is this compulsive behavior, to still browse these 10 channels in the desire of finding that one good song which you might feel like hearing. Am sure all of you experience this too.
Am not blaming every person here, there are good RJs who do a great job, few nice shows in the night who play nice songs and all. Still, there remains this obnoxiously bad package of shows making us feel that this medium of communication is crap! While it is really something which reaches so many people.. The entire traffic on the road am sure are browsing through the same way as I am.
Looking for that one good song, one good piece of news, or that one good talk by an RJ.. They are still looking...
Cheers

Few hours, a plenty memories!

'Rail Snehidam' I've always heard my aunt use this word when I was a kid referring to any passing quick ending relationships. Also, we ve seen our cinema industry constantly focussing on train relationships, I ve always wondered, how could a few hours with a stranger make any difference.
Today, most probably my last alone train journey for a lot more months, I reflect on these 10 months of my weekly bangalore train travel.
These people who I've met, might not be in touch but will always stay in the mind. These train journeys made me rekindle my writing spirit. These people have featured in my blog as experiences, memories or characters who inspired me. Be it the loving old couple who blessed me a great life, a chic aunty who discussed feminism with me, the busy businessman who I shared a movie on the laptop with, the young chap resembling my brother saying 'bye akka', the 'Thatha who spoke the best English I ve heard in days, and ya, the TTRs who gave me a recognizing smile! All these people have made my, if not strenuous travel, really pleasant!
These journeys have taught me so much patience, adjustment, silence, and the thing that 'I can stay without my cellphone signal and WhatsApp for a few hours, my head won't break'!!
Not to forget the best, booking shortcuts for railway tickets online.. 'Talk to the Expert'
Cheers

Love... Ageless..

I ve always wanted to write about it. Adult Love. Now, am not calling most of us in our 20s and 30s adults here. We are still in PDA(Public Display of Affection) mode in our life!

Observing behavior has now become my favorite hobby. I meet couples in train who are too old to lift their own bags! But he always protect his wife from carrying those bags, so sweetly saying its ok to her while she just goes behind him trying to atleast have her hand on one handle of the bag and feels that she has accomplished in helping her man.

My husband always talks about his 'Guru' who during their pilgrimage trips used to trek Sabarimala slowly with his wife and they used to hold each other all the way atop the hill at the age of 80! That's what we call Love. Love that has seen everything living in a joint family, in laws issues, financial crisis, child and difficulties and still has made the most of their happiness!. Making fun, laughing at weaknesses, and the romance is so subtle but you feel love and positivity in the air! Makes us wonder how ageless love can be!

While I was thinking about all these things, I came across this movie - Pannayarum Padminiyum. A totally under hyped movie that really should be a flag bearer in Tamil Cinema. A movie that broke all boundaries of the regular formula followed. A man who tried to impress his wife by trying to learn driving and the woman who wanted to experience going with her husband in the car with pride. The bond showed in the movie got tears in many eyes, including mine in the cinema hall making us wish to have such a love story to say!

The basis of this I always feel is going  through all the peaks and troughs together in life with a positive attitude. In short, fighting and freaking together!

Will I ever get to being there. Only time will say!!

Cheers
 

Hampi - Overrated or Underknowledged!

My February this year started with a trip Hampi, a historic place in northern Karnataka, earlier the Vijayanagara kingdom. As every traveller would do, I read a few reviews, asked around people and browsed through photographs a week before my husband and I were to land up in “The Abode”(as described by websites. If you wonder that the previous line sounds sarcastic – Yes, it is!
Hampi to my eye was nothing more than overrated historic ruins that have been made outrageously famous because the research was conducted by non-Indians. This line might provoke a ‘What? – Aishwarya is so tasteless’ feeling, but trust me, until you reach that place, you would never realize that it is nothing close to what has been described or photographed.
So, the culprit was me who pushed my husband to plan the trip. Whilst I enjoyed the trip, my stay and all that, I still wonder, what did I come back with? We initially saw a photo library full of the most beautiful pictures with awesome lighting and angles. Kudos to the photographer! We went and found that, the spot looked nowhere close to what we saw. Yes, photographs deceive.
Monuments open only form 9am – 5pm, when its sunny in an area full of rocks and sand, all you feel while travelling are heat waves on you. After walking and scaling the stairs and rocks of those completely unmaintained monuments you walk out to find a small shop in the corner selling water for Rs.50. (You have no choice). And place after place which includes things like Queens Bath, Market and all that looks the same – deserted and ruined.
It wouldn look good if I don credit a few places that had excellent art work like a stepped tank, some chariot and a Rama temple, but it still remains unbelievable to me as to how this place has gained great popularity. Being a Madrasi, I would say going to Mahabalipuram is a much beautiful experience where enough refreshments, shelters and shades make your visit comfortable.
I wouldn discount the entire experience as my taste lies more towards beaches and islands and maybe it is my under knowledge that makes me write this. But that doesn’t take away the fact that Hampi is a completely overrated spot. My suggestion – do not stay for more than a day and a half. Rather spend your time in Bangalore - Shopping!!

Success is a 'relative term'

Success is always a relative term” said the old and wise or may be that is what I have been told to believe. But never have I seen it in practice.
Like how in the movie 3 Idiots – when a baby is born people stare inside the cradle saying “he will make a successful Chartered Accountant like his father and take over the family business”. By the way, does the baby have any idea of what you are saying? He/she is forced to grow listening to sermons of different definitions of what success really means, by the time he realizes, he/she is so confused.
That’s when he/she wonders – “What is successful”? Is being a DJ at a 5 star hotel not successful? Is being a copyrighter at an ad company dumb? This phenomenon is purely because of those pages of definitions.
Success in the family is defines as any of these or being ‘like’ any of these –
·         Being a doctor at Apollo Hospital
·         BE to ‘Some Big Named’ University followed by MS in the US
·         Settling in the US in Intel or IBM(which 100000 other people are too!!)
·         Being in Timbuktu as some programmer (Timbuktu is outside India! Come on!)
·         Phd from IIT(that could be in some subject you might have no idea what it is)
·         HR in one company(They have no idea of reality)
·         Business – Preferable Legacy
·         Married to someone of any of the above categories(Girls – it is so easy to be successful)
·         And this list just goes on!!
oh! I forgot, successful people own apartments!
This is the typical Indian mentality, where if you don’t fall under these categories, either you are told - you are unsuccessful or you need to work on falling into these categories. I am no exception to having heard these sermons, though I am a firm believer of my first statement. Pressures become so high when there is a choiceless situation too! 
While I ve always thought everyone who is happy with their life, happy with where they are today and who love what they are doing are successful. They have it all right – work, money, family, contentment! But most of them that way are shunned for being non-ambitious, in-turn unsuccessful and non-respectable in the society. The society – no one knows is just a group of over-bearing, exaggerating, set of people who are saying just the right things in their lives (That is what we do too!).
For those who love what you do – continue doing it. You will always remain the most successful and happy! In mind, heart and soul! Success is always a relative term!!
Cheers