Why was SRK's presence at the final accorded so much importance ? Like all others he just went there (a) To watch the final live (b) Give his son that experience and (c) Promotion and publicity for his new film Om Shanti Om. After the presentation ceremony he went and hugged them. So far so good. Now, Rajdeep Sardesai interviews him and asks a question on these lines - " Shah Rukh , do you think your presence inspired the Indian team ? " What crap! Thankfully, he did not take credit away from the Indian team.
It was free publicity for him and the eternal diplomat and charmer that he is, he perfectly cashed on that. I am happy he did not promote himself . But every news channel , online news sites like cnn-ibn , rediff and even newspapers had a photo and some unnecessary coverage.
So much footage and publicity for just being there !
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Why CHAK DE is a winner
Enough has been said about this movie . I do not wish to start all over again. Here are some of minute details and a few reasons why I rate it high -
1) The choice of the lead actor- SRK . He suits the role to a T. He was a hockey player during his college days and is a very good athlete. Never in the movie do you get a feel that he is "acting" as a coach. People have said that he has sacrificed his image and his role is kind of subdued. The film started and ended with him , so he is the real hero.
2) SRK is shown going home on a scooter . His house is in a near slum like area. Though I would contest an Indian Hockey captain being depicted as a lower middle class guy , it certainly tells us about the sorry state of the players.
As an aside , to give you a flavour of the facilities and treatment meted out to the players , the Chennai Open -2007 was won by India recently. A couple of weeks ago we had been to Savera , at- the- max -a -4 star hotel. The Indian team, along with the Japanese guys, whom they had beaten in the semis just then, was having dinner there. Though I was elated to have food alongside them , one certainly would not expect the National Team to have food sitting beside him. There was no autograph seeker either. Fittingly , the Ind-Eng final was being aired and people preferred that ! The entry at(to?) the Nungambakkam Stadium ( I think) was free. Too bad, being a part of a sports crazy wing gumbal, we never knew that . Most of them passionately follow cricket, football, tennis , hockey and F1 . Phew !
3) The training sessions , practice, exercise etc are near perfect. Having undergone many similar ones , I can vouch for the authenticity. Once again, I never felt SRK was acting . Full marks on this count.
4) The choice of the girls - Apart from a couple of them, there was no glamour or oomph content.They were pretty much the cliched girl-next-door types. Sensible
5) This is the best part - It is devoid of the Great Indian Film Curse. No songs, duets or love track. Almost all the Indian movies of this genre have had a love track. Lagaan, in fact, had a small triangle element too, with the firangi also putting fight for Aamir. Closer home , Sye in telugu, based on rugby had a full love track with 6 songs. And much closer, Chennai -600028 , based on gully cricket, had duets too.
6) The players are asked to register at the desk before the training for the WC . An AP female , Nethra Reddy, says
Nethra, Andhra Pradesh se .
The clerk says- Oh Madrasi ho kya .
She - Nahi Andhra se hoon.
He - Madrasi ya Andhra, Kya farak hai .
She - Utna hi jitna ek Rajasthani aur Bihari mein.
Perfectly sums up the attitude of the guys above Vindhyas .
7) I am not sure of this one, but there are many who feel Muslims in India support Pakistan in an Indo-Pak match. While I personally know of some classmates in my school who did that , but that is a very minute fraction. As expected , SRK aka Kabir Khan, center forward, and captain, goofs up the shot in the WC final against Pakistan and is branded a traitor. In fact a guy scribbles gaddar on his wall. This needs guts , given the superstar status he enjoys , and also due to the fact that he is also a Muslim.
Readers are welcome to chip in with their views . My personal rating - * * * * (scale of 5)
1) The choice of the lead actor- SRK . He suits the role to a T. He was a hockey player during his college days and is a very good athlete. Never in the movie do you get a feel that he is "acting" as a coach. People have said that he has sacrificed his image and his role is kind of subdued. The film started and ended with him , so he is the real hero.
2) SRK is shown going home on a scooter . His house is in a near slum like area. Though I would contest an Indian Hockey captain being depicted as a lower middle class guy , it certainly tells us about the sorry state of the players.
As an aside , to give you a flavour of the facilities and treatment meted out to the players , the Chennai Open -2007 was won by India recently. A couple of weeks ago we had been to Savera , at- the- max -a -4 star hotel. The Indian team, along with the Japanese guys, whom they had beaten in the semis just then, was having dinner there. Though I was elated to have food alongside them , one certainly would not expect the National Team to have food sitting beside him. There was no autograph seeker either. Fittingly , the Ind-Eng final was being aired and people preferred that ! The entry at(to?) the Nungambakkam Stadium ( I think) was free. Too bad, being a part of a sports crazy wing gumbal, we never knew that . Most of them passionately follow cricket, football, tennis , hockey and F1 . Phew !
3) The training sessions , practice, exercise etc are near perfect. Having undergone many similar ones , I can vouch for the authenticity. Once again, I never felt SRK was acting . Full marks on this count.
4) The choice of the girls - Apart from a couple of them, there was no glamour or oomph content.They were pretty much the cliched girl-next-door types. Sensible
5) This is the best part - It is devoid of the Great Indian Film Curse. No songs, duets or love track. Almost all the Indian movies of this genre have had a love track. Lagaan, in fact, had a small triangle element too, with the firangi also putting fight for Aamir. Closer home , Sye in telugu, based on rugby had a full love track with 6 songs. And much closer, Chennai -600028 , based on gully cricket, had duets too.
6) The players are asked to register at the desk before the training for the WC . An AP female , Nethra Reddy, says
Nethra, Andhra Pradesh se .
The clerk says- Oh Madrasi ho kya .
She - Nahi Andhra se hoon.
He - Madrasi ya Andhra, Kya farak hai .
She - Utna hi jitna ek Rajasthani aur Bihari mein.
Perfectly sums up the attitude of the guys above Vindhyas .
7) I am not sure of this one, but there are many who feel Muslims in India support Pakistan in an Indo-Pak match. While I personally know of some classmates in my school who did that , but that is a very minute fraction. As expected , SRK aka Kabir Khan, center forward, and captain, goofs up the shot in the WC final against Pakistan and is branded a traitor. In fact a guy scribbles gaddar on his wall. This needs guts , given the superstar status he enjoys , and also due to the fact that he is also a Muslim.
Readers are welcome to chip in with their views . My personal rating - * * * * (scale of 5)
Thursday, September 06, 2007
UTI - I don't TRUST U
Recently , I went to the SBI ATM in the campus to draw about 500 bucks to get a track at a shop near Velachery. In fact , it is just below the TIME coaching class and for some inexplicable reasons is named Sperm . Without going on a tangent , the issue was that the ATM had cupped and I borrowed my friend's UTI bank ATM-cum-debit card. The guy at the shop accepted the debit card and he swiped it at the counter. To my amazement and horror it did not ask the PIN . I asked the guy and he said that the machine did not ask for any PIN. My friend and I just left without much delay and then this question surfaced - What if he loses the card and the finder swipes at it at will, since PIN is anyway not being asked ? Assume that he takes a few hours to discover the loss and block it. Those few hours could spell disaster. I later came to know that even ICICI cards do not need PIN . In my experience with SBI , I have always been requested to punch in the PIN .
I wish to know 3 things -
1) Is it absolutely mandatory to punch in the PIN everywhere ( for UTI/ ICICI ) and that this was a one-off incident ?
2) Is the requesting of PIN machine specific ?
3) In the unfortunate and foolish case of PIN not being asked , how do you safeguard against losses in the wake of a lost card ?
I wish to know 3 things -
1) Is it absolutely mandatory to punch in the PIN everywhere ( for UTI/ ICICI ) and that this was a one-off incident ?
2) Is the requesting of PIN machine specific ?
3) In the unfortunate and foolish case of PIN not being asked , how do you safeguard against losses in the wake of a lost card ?
Monday, September 03, 2007
FUSSY NIGHT
Disclaimer - Extremely objectionable language and content
Yesterday, on the way to the mess I found a whole bunch of guys in "Superman" attire i.e the briefs (to be more crude undys) worn on the pants ,heading to Students Activity Centre (SAC) . Another gumbal had bedsheets as dhotis . Our hostel guys had their pants worn on the heads like caps . All these guys , under the able supervision of their second yr seniors and hostel secretaries were on their way to Freshie Night at SAC. Btw this is the same place where the convocation takes place .
A Freshers Night is supposedly to break the ice between the juniors and seniors , the end of the ragging sessions and is mainly to pave the way for their smooth transition from the spoon feeding of schools to independence here and finally for a peaceful integration into the campus atmosphere. And how do the guys do it ? Firstly, every hostel has a dress code like the ones mentioned above . I won't be surprised if the freshie junta come partly naked or in objectionable attire sometime next year. Next , every hostel has a space earmarked and you are not supposed to trespass or intrude in other territories. After some stupid lecture the culturals start . All you have to do is boo majorly , mouth choicest expletives at the guys (God save the girl who has mustered enough courage to sing on the stage there) and discourage the participants. Next , under the able supervision of your seniors you have to take turns to scold other hostel junta . It is a no-holds barred abusing session . Then form a chain and run around the SAC . If you are centred or cornered in any area , you get bumps .
The culturals invariably have a skit , a couple of dance numbers -most often some country max gult song , some mimicry session by talented guys and the usual singing sessions. What do you have in the skit ? Dialogues and jokes with only one meaning- double meaning and blatant ,explicit references to porn, sex, shag, etc. The first year courses are like CY 101 - Chemistry, PH-101 - Phy. In our first year the play was called PY 101 - Pondy , which is lingo for porn here. If you thought I enjoyed it then and decided to be preachy now , well I never enjoyed the freshie nights . As a matter of fact even the hostel night plays. People are much more sensible now , thankfully , and there have not been any such plays in the recent times. Most of us, me included, do enjoy double meaning jokes and stuff, as long as it is subtle and not crass. This certainly is not enjoyable. If you are obsessed with porn go and watch it in your room . Under the pretext of entertainment , do not spoil the atmosphere. And if you think I am dead against watching porn , ping me in person, my blog is too decent to answer that :P
Finally for the most important thing of the day - Mr and Miss Freshie . After the usual catwalk or whatever is the questions session. The so called oxymoronic "beauty and brains" . Do I need to give you a flavour of the questions ?
Will all this ensure peaceful integration of the freshers ? Will this ensure developing a great rapport with the seniors ? IIT s have always prided themselves in their irreverence to established tradition - the credit system , informal classes, facilities, quizzes, 3 months of summer hols etc are some of the things found exclusively in the IITs and to some extent other colleges. As my friend said , it is this irreverence that has taken us this far. I beg and plead the organisers to follow established tradition atleast on this front . You need not go to expensive pubs and book dance floors (Like every coll in Hyd does ), Whatever happened to innocuous intro sessions , leg pulling and decent fun sessions . In fact I prefer stuff like paper dance to this, not for the obvious reason of being close with females, atleast it is not disgusting .
All said and done , I would prefer doing away with this night . At any cost you are bound to get ragged and very soon will develop a great rapport with the seniors. our batch had a great rapport with the 4th yr junta in our 1st yar and most of us remember every 2nd, 3rd and 4th year guy even now. We didn't need any fussy nights for that . If a guy is talented in dance or singing , it will come to the fore in the hostel surely. You don't need to get booed by 500 guys for that . And how do you call curtains ?? Without a drop to drink ( I mean water) and without a morsel of food. They can't even think of having a dinner !! Don't even think of asking about departmnet freshers party . They are better , atleast we got tea and cakes and unfairly more than one !!!
This is the 3rd crib post about IIT after the Himalaya thing and the monkey menace. I always maintain that but for some of these things , not all of which are trivial , I have had the best stay of my life here .
Yesterday, on the way to the mess I found a whole bunch of guys in "Superman" attire i.e the briefs (to be more crude undys) worn on the pants ,heading to Students Activity Centre (SAC) . Another gumbal had bedsheets as dhotis . Our hostel guys had their pants worn on the heads like caps . All these guys , under the able supervision of their second yr seniors and hostel secretaries were on their way to Freshie Night at SAC. Btw this is the same place where the convocation takes place .
A Freshers Night is supposedly to break the ice between the juniors and seniors , the end of the ragging sessions and is mainly to pave the way for their smooth transition from the spoon feeding of schools to independence here and finally for a peaceful integration into the campus atmosphere. And how do the guys do it ? Firstly, every hostel has a dress code like the ones mentioned above . I won't be surprised if the freshie junta come partly naked or in objectionable attire sometime next year. Next , every hostel has a space earmarked and you are not supposed to trespass or intrude in other territories. After some stupid lecture the culturals start . All you have to do is boo majorly , mouth choicest expletives at the guys (God save the girl who has mustered enough courage to sing on the stage there) and discourage the participants. Next , under the able supervision of your seniors you have to take turns to scold other hostel junta . It is a no-holds barred abusing session . Then form a chain and run around the SAC . If you are centred or cornered in any area , you get bumps .
The culturals invariably have a skit , a couple of dance numbers -most often some country max gult song , some mimicry session by talented guys and the usual singing sessions. What do you have in the skit ? Dialogues and jokes with only one meaning- double meaning and blatant ,explicit references to porn, sex, shag, etc. The first year courses are like CY 101 - Chemistry, PH-101 - Phy. In our first year the play was called PY 101 - Pondy , which is lingo for porn here. If you thought I enjoyed it then and decided to be preachy now , well I never enjoyed the freshie nights . As a matter of fact even the hostel night plays. People are much more sensible now , thankfully , and there have not been any such plays in the recent times. Most of us, me included, do enjoy double meaning jokes and stuff, as long as it is subtle and not crass. This certainly is not enjoyable. If you are obsessed with porn go and watch it in your room . Under the pretext of entertainment , do not spoil the atmosphere. And if you think I am dead against watching porn , ping me in person, my blog is too decent to answer that :P
Finally for the most important thing of the day - Mr and Miss Freshie . After the usual catwalk or whatever is the questions session. The so called oxymoronic "beauty and brains" . Do I need to give you a flavour of the questions ?
Will all this ensure peaceful integration of the freshers ? Will this ensure developing a great rapport with the seniors ? IIT s have always prided themselves in their irreverence to established tradition - the credit system , informal classes, facilities, quizzes, 3 months of summer hols etc are some of the things found exclusively in the IITs and to some extent other colleges. As my friend said , it is this irreverence that has taken us this far. I beg and plead the organisers to follow established tradition atleast on this front . You need not go to expensive pubs and book dance floors (Like every coll in Hyd does ), Whatever happened to innocuous intro sessions , leg pulling and decent fun sessions . In fact I prefer stuff like paper dance to this, not for the obvious reason of being close with females, atleast it is not disgusting .
All said and done , I would prefer doing away with this night . At any cost you are bound to get ragged and very soon will develop a great rapport with the seniors. our batch had a great rapport with the 4th yr junta in our 1st yar and most of us remember every 2nd, 3rd and 4th year guy even now. We didn't need any fussy nights for that . If a guy is talented in dance or singing , it will come to the fore in the hostel surely. You don't need to get booed by 500 guys for that . And how do you call curtains ?? Without a drop to drink ( I mean water) and without a morsel of food. They can't even think of having a dinner !! Don't even think of asking about departmnet freshers party . They are better , atleast we got tea and cakes and unfairly more than one !!!
This is the 3rd crib post about IIT after the Himalaya thing and the monkey menace. I always maintain that but for some of these things , not all of which are trivial , I have had the best stay of my life here .
Monday, August 06, 2007
President ,Poly-tricks and Issues
Recently , July 20th to be precise , we had a woman taking oath as the President of India. There was a huge hue and cry over the fact that it would send a strong message to the world that India was committed to empowerment of women and that this would usher in a new revolution and mark the emancipation of women . This election was not without controversy and dirty politics .It was very well known that she wasn't the ruling Congress-Left alliance's first choice . The linguistic chauvinists - Shiv Sena refused to support their old friend's candidate Shekhawat on the grounds that Patil ji was a Maharashtrian and it would be a great honour for Maharashtra. Old timers would remember that the last time around they refused to support the candidature of Sushil Kumar Shinde ( I guess VP post), who was a Maharashtrian. Strange are the ways of these guys! The thing which interested me was the farce called UNPA or Third Front - an alliance of disgruntled regional opposition parties and discredited leaders. Notable among them were our very own Amma , Naidu garu ( Yeah, AP and TN are my own ) and ousted CM's like Mulayam etc . In a press conference Amma was at her belligerent best - "The boorish and churlish language used by the blah blah.... " . Our Naidu garu was nodding his head up and down , sticking out a finger here and there . It was pretty much like GD wherein all others were arguing and one man simply saying "Yeah . yeah.... No No... Errr.. But.. Yeah " . Eventually they ended up being the proverbial dhobi's dog ( Dhobi ka kutta . Na ghar ka na ghat ka - A dhobi's dog doesn't have a permanent dwelling. Neither a house nor the washing ghat ) . Coming back to the July 20th thing , Pratibha Patil seemed so frail and weak that she could very well be called Pratibha Paati . ( Paati = granny in Tamizh ) . At one instance Sonia madam was beside her . I couldn't help but wonder at the aptness of super star's dialogue . Sonia "pera kettale summa athurudhu la" ( Ok I agree. I am a plagiarist. This dialogue was seen in Baada's blog). Sonia even has Manmohan Thatha to dance to her tunes . Let's see what Sonia madam has in store for us , for she now has " Mere do anmol Ratan , Patil aur Manmohan" !
The run -up to the election was also pretty amusing . There was this Shekhawat vs Shekhawat contest. Apparently Patil's husband was a Shekhawat and the candidate contesting against her was our VP Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. At about the same time Bollywood super star Himesh Reshamiyya had roped in the scorching hot Mallika Sherawat for the remix version of the immortal Mehbooba Mehbooba. My friend remarked "Machi she shakes her assets very well da . She should be renamed Mallika Shake-a-wat ". We continued the discussion and felt that Mallika wouldn't be a bad choice for the Prez post. She is also a woman , she is also a Shake-a-wat , she is pretty bold , smart , sexy etc . In short she would be a sensational and sexational first citizen . By the way, what would Mallika be called if she were to be the Prez ? Rashtrapatni for sure!!!
Munnabhai has been sentenced to 6 yr imprisonment . He is housed in some Yerawada jail , in the same wing as his one time accomplice Abu Salem . The place is (in)famous for in-prison , inter gang fights. It reminds me of the jail scene in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Munna and circuit are put behind bars for a day . Munna says great leaders have been imprisoned and they have had roads and margs being named after them. Hats off to Sanju Baba's vision . He perfectly envisaged that he would be imprisoned sooner or later . Now, public sympathy is bound to embrace him . I wouldn't be surprised if there is a Munnanagar / Munna marg soon in Mumbai . For Kollywood actors embroiled in legal issues, this is your best chance. Pain some director to remake Lage Raho Munnabhai , put in hazaar jail scenes and Voila! You have the entire state vouching for your innocence . Pathiban Kanavu Srikanth , are you reading ?? ( His wife has filed some case .)
Will ponder on other issues sometime now .
The run -up to the election was also pretty amusing . There was this Shekhawat vs Shekhawat contest. Apparently Patil's husband was a Shekhawat and the candidate contesting against her was our VP Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. At about the same time Bollywood super star Himesh Reshamiyya had roped in the scorching hot Mallika Sherawat for the remix version of the immortal Mehbooba Mehbooba. My friend remarked "Machi she shakes her assets very well da . She should be renamed Mallika Shake-a-wat ". We continued the discussion and felt that Mallika wouldn't be a bad choice for the Prez post. She is also a woman , she is also a Shake-a-wat , she is pretty bold , smart , sexy etc . In short she would be a sensational and sexational first citizen . By the way, what would Mallika be called if she were to be the Prez ? Rashtrapatni for sure!!!
Munnabhai has been sentenced to 6 yr imprisonment . He is housed in some Yerawada jail , in the same wing as his one time accomplice Abu Salem . The place is (in)famous for in-prison , inter gang fights. It reminds me of the jail scene in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Munna and circuit are put behind bars for a day . Munna says great leaders have been imprisoned and they have had roads and margs being named after them. Hats off to Sanju Baba's vision . He perfectly envisaged that he would be imprisoned sooner or later . Now, public sympathy is bound to embrace him . I wouldn't be surprised if there is a Munnanagar / Munna marg soon in Mumbai . For Kollywood actors embroiled in legal issues, this is your best chance. Pain some director to remake Lage Raho Munnabhai , put in hazaar jail scenes and Voila! You have the entire state vouching for your innocence . Pathiban Kanavu Srikanth , are you reading ?? ( His wife has filed some case .)
Will ponder on other issues sometime now .
Monday, July 16, 2007
GOD'S OWN COUNTRY - Trip of a lifetime
Camp Fire ,Thekkady : Very happy
Munnar :Why are you staring at the cameraman ?
Munnar - Webshots
Veega Land, Kochi - What are you eating?
Veega Land, Kochi - Where are you??
Kokku Meena thinguma (or) Uppu Karuvadu (or) Sarakku Vechirken :P
Dil Chahta Hai ?
Allepey backwaters - Exposing eh ?
Jackass
Allepey backwaters - Trying a Neo in the boat
Periyar Sanctuary - You are blessed
Kalaripayattu Veeran - Don't mess with me
Veerans
Thekkady trek - Celebrating Life ( What is the guy fourth-from-right doing? )
Munnar - Unfortunately poor light
Munnar waterfall - The entire gumbal ( Who took the photo then)
Post drying - Towel boys
Munnar Lake - Polluting it eh ?
Munnar Lake - Heaven
Munnar rose garden
Munnar :Why are you staring at the cameraman ?
Munnar - Webshots
Veega Land, Kochi - What are you eating?
Veega Land, Kochi - Where are you??
Kokku Meena thinguma (or) Uppu Karuvadu (or) Sarakku Vechirken :P
Dil Chahta Hai ?
Allepey backwaters - Exposing eh ?
Jackass
Allepey backwaters - Trying a Neo in the boat
Periyar Sanctuary - You are blessed
Kalaripayattu Veeran - Don't mess with me
Veerans
Thekkady trek - Celebrating Life ( What is the guy fourth-from-right doing? )
Munnar - Unfortunately poor light
Munnar waterfall - The entire gumbal ( Who took the photo then)
Post drying - Towel boys
Munnar Lake - Polluting it eh ?
Munnar Lake - Heaven
Munnar rose garden
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
KUMBAKONAM-2
Note : Sorry for the inordinate delay. ( As if you have been waiting eagerly ) I have been too tied up with movies, friends, roaming around etc.
We then proceeded to Mayiladuthurai to visit Parimala Ranganathar ( ThiruIndalur ) . Parimala Ranganathar was simply too amazing. Probably one can spend hours analyzing the Thirumugam , the pot belly , chatur bhujam, Thiruvadi etc. Surely one of the most beautiful idols I have seen so far. He is my new favourite .Infact all Ranganathar idols are awesome. Finally we went to the Saivite shrine of Vaideeshwaran Koil. My paati and mom totally avoid going to Saivite temples. She says if it is unavoidable go there and view Lord SrimanNarayana there. Vaideeshwaran Koil is famous for its healing and medicinal powers. ( Vaidya + eeshwaran ) . My Chitthi gave me a small lump of jaggery which was to be immersed in the Pushkarni. I assumed it was eating stuff and popped it into my mouth . Needless to say my cousins had a hearty laugh at my alacrity. As an aside Raghava Swamy at Thiruvallur , is also known for his curing abilities. Infact he is called Vaidya Veera Raghava Swamy.
We then proceeded to Mayiladuthurai to visit Parimala Ranganathar ( ThiruIndalur ) . Parimala Ranganathar was simply too amazing. Probably one can spend hours analyzing the Thirumugam , the pot belly , chatur bhujam, Thiruvadi etc. Surely one of the most beautiful idols I have seen so far. He is my new favourite .Infact all Ranganathar idols are awesome. Finally we went to the Saivite shrine of Vaideeshwaran Koil. My paati and mom totally avoid going to Saivite temples. She says if it is unavoidable go there and view Lord SrimanNarayana there. Vaideeshwaran Koil is famous for its healing and medicinal powers. ( Vaidya + eeshwaran ) . My Chitthi gave me a small lump of jaggery which was to be immersed in the Pushkarni. I assumed it was eating stuff and popped it into my mouth . Needless to say my cousins had a hearty laugh at my alacrity. As an aside Raghava Swamy at Thiruvallur , is also known for his curing abilities. Infact he is called Vaidya Veera Raghava Swamy.
Finally we returned totally exhausted at 10 pm and after dinner crashed immediately. The next day my Perimma and her sons came. That day was spent totally at home. All of us were together after 9 years. These guys keep meeting at the drop of a hat, I somehow don't get to go Kumbak regularly. When we all last met 9 years back,about 15 of us, we saw Jeans. The next 2 days were also spent at home and the temples. We got an opportunity of viewing Kodai Abhishekam at the Raamar Koil and a first row seat meant viewing without hassles. Back home there was a mini war among my cousins and myself for the Puliyodharai.The dumbass that I am, I wasted time segregating the molagai pieces while they cashed on the remaining part. A nice lesson learnt - females don't vittukuduthufy when it comes to food. The best part of the stay was my virtuoso Paati's heavenly food. My Perimma left that night and it was our turn to bid a sad adieu. Our bus was at 10 am the next day. The return journey was again a torture. I was in the aisle seat and my cousin in the window. It was a classic and literal case of "out of the frying pan,into the fire" when I swapped places for sometime. I didn't sleep a wink thanks to the heat,a modicum of normal conversation also not possible due to the movie.
We reached Chennai late in the afternoon . We went to Thiruneermalai ( 61), 7 kms from Pallavaram. Once again a very beautiful temple and a standard Kollywood temple scene shooting place. This temple has 4 sannidhis with Perumal in different postures - Ninran (stood) , Irundan (sat) , Kidandhan (slept) and Nadandhan (walked). Ninra Thirukolam is Neervanan , Irundan is Shantha Narasimhar (in the Praharam), Kidandhan is Ranganathar and Nadandhan is Thiru Vikraman. There are some legends associated with Sage Valmiki's penance and his insistence on viewing Lord as Neervanan and hence that form. Another legend is about Thirumangai Azhwar's dedication and pertinacity. There was a great deluge when Thirumangai Azhwar wanted to view Perumal in Thiruneermalai. The place was completely immersed in water.So, Azhwar waited there for some six months and then took Perumal’s darshan and the subsequent Mangalasasanam. It is said that we get the palan of visiting three Divya Kshetrams - Srirangam( Ranganathar), Thirupathi (Neervannan ) and third name has decided not to make it's abode in my brain, as a result of which I cannot recollect it here.
This marked the end of a sublime trip. God's own country was to be ravaged by 12 of us the following week. The pictures worth thousand words will be posted soon. Any attempt to describe the beauty of the place would be blasphemous as it is beyond my descriptional ability , due to which I have decided to resort to the easier way of posting pics, in this process ensuring that my esteemed readers and my blog don't miss out my adventures , thus entrenching a deep sense of satisfaction in me and giving me a chance to spurn any tag of "lazy, thus not blogging" !!!
We reached Chennai late in the afternoon . We went to Thiruneermalai ( 61), 7 kms from Pallavaram. Once again a very beautiful temple and a standard Kollywood temple scene shooting place. This temple has 4 sannidhis with Perumal in different postures - Ninran (stood) , Irundan (sat) , Kidandhan (slept) and Nadandhan (walked). Ninra Thirukolam is Neervanan , Irundan is Shantha Narasimhar (in the Praharam), Kidandhan is Ranganathar and Nadandhan is Thiru Vikraman. There are some legends associated with Sage Valmiki's penance and his insistence on viewing Lord as Neervanan and hence that form. Another legend is about Thirumangai Azhwar's dedication and pertinacity. There was a great deluge when Thirumangai Azhwar wanted to view Perumal in Thiruneermalai. The place was completely immersed in water.So, Azhwar waited there for some six months and then took Perumal’s darshan and the subsequent Mangalasasanam. It is said that we get the palan of visiting three Divya Kshetrams - Srirangam( Ranganathar), Thirupathi (Neervannan ) and third name has decided not to make it's abode in my brain, as a result of which I cannot recollect it here.
This marked the end of a sublime trip. God's own country was to be ravaged by 12 of us the following week. The pictures worth thousand words will be posted soon. Any attempt to describe the beauty of the place would be blasphemous as it is beyond my descriptional ability , due to which I have decided to resort to the easier way of posting pics, in this process ensuring that my esteemed readers and my blog don't miss out my adventures , thus entrenching a deep sense of satisfaction in me and giving me a chance to spurn any tag of "lazy, thus not blogging" !!!
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