ഇലഞ്ഞി പൂക്കളും എന്റെ കുഞ്ഞു പെങ്ങളും...

അന്നെനിക്ക് 10 വയസില്‍ താഴെ മാത്രം പ്രായം. രാവിലെ ഉണരുമായിരുന്നു. എന്നിട്ട് അമ്മാത്തേക്കു (അമ്മ വീട് ) പോകും. അവിടെ കുളത്തിനരികിലായി ഒരു ഇലഞ്ഞി മരമുണ്ടായിരുന്നു. പൊഴിഞ്ഞു വീണ ഇലഞ്ഞി പൂക്കള്‍ എടുക്കുവനാണ് എന്റെ യാത്ര. ആ പൂക്കള്‍ക്ക് ഒരു പ്രത്യേക മണമാണ്. അത് കൊണ്ട് ജ്ഞാന്‍ മാല കോര്‍ക്കും. എന്റെ അനിയത്തിക്കുട്ടിക്കായി. വിടര്‍ന്ന ചിരിയോടെ എന്റെ അനിയത്തി ആ മാല അണിയും. എന്തോ വില പിടിച്ച സമ്മാനം കിട്ടയത് പോലെ അവള്‍ എന്നെ നോക്കി ചിരിക്കും. അതോര്‍ക്കുമ്പോള്‍ എന്ത് കൊണ്ടോ എന്റെ കണ്ണുകള്‍ ഇറനണിയുന്നു. ഇപ്പോഴും, എപ്പോഴും...

പോകട്ടെ, മടങ്ങി വരാം വീണ്ടും...

Preview - WallStreet: Money Never Sleeps.

This movie, directed by Oliver Stone is a sequel to the highly successful 1987 movie - WallStreet. Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gekko in the film.



Set in New York City, the film revolves around the 2008 financial crisis. The film's plot mainly centers around the reformed Gekko acting as more of an antihero rather than a villain and follows his attempts to help Wall Street before its soon-to-be stock market crash as well as trying to repair his relationship with his daughter Winnie with the help of Jacob, Winnie's fiance. In return, Gekko helps Jacob get revenge on the man he blames for his mentor's death.



I had really liked the movie - WallStreet. Infact it's one among my favorites. Michael Douglas had done an incredible role as the cunning Gordon Gekko in that. The movie is going to get released on the coming Friday. Let's see how good it will be. :p

A Small Cheer - EPF Interest Rate is Increased!

EPF trust has decided to increase the interest rate by 1% to 9.5%. This move is beneficial for all the employees - public and private alike.

EPF means - Employee Provident Fund. This is a mandatory saving to be made by every employee. Each month a portion of the salary - normally 12% of the basic - is directed towards this. Employer also makes an equal contribution. The interest to be paid for this amount is decided by the EPF trust constituted by the Government of India. Last year the interest rate was 8.5% and for the current financial year it's been increased to 9.5%.

New symbol for Indian Rupee.

The Indian rupee gets a unique symbol — a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R' — joining elite currencies like the US dollar, Euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity. The new symbol was designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar.


Did you like it ? Did I ? - Well, initially I was a bit neutral to this. But after seeing this new symbol replacing the "Rs" - yes, it looks good. This is both stylish and traditional. :p

My favorite movies - 2 (English)

The list goes on...

1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. Happy Feet
3. Kung Fu Panda
4. Goodwill Hunting
5. Pay it Forward
6. Sixth Sense
7. Rain Man
8. Yes Man
9. The Terminal
10. The Greatest Game Ever Played

NEXT

എന്റെ പ്രിയ ഗാനങ്ങള്‍ - 2

The list continues...

1. ചന്ദന മണിവാതില്‍ പാതി ചാരി...
2. അരികില്‍, നീ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നെങ്ങില്‍...
3. ആയിരം കണ്ണുമായി കാത്തിരുന്നു...
4. ഇത്തിരി നാണം പെണ്ണിന്‍ കവിളിനു...
5. ശ്യാമ മേഘമേ നീ...
6. ഈറന്‍ മേഘം പൂവും കൊണ്ട്...
7. കൂട്ടില്‍ നിന്നും മേട്ടില്‍ വന്ന...
8. പൊന്‍ വീണേ എന്നുള്ളിന്‍...
9. വൈശാഖ സന്ധ്യേ നിന്‍ ചുണ്ടിലെന്തേ...
10. അന്തി പൊന്‍ വെട്ടം കടലില്‍...

Related posts

എന്റെ പ്രിയ ഗാനങ്ങള്‍ 1 => http://letmewriteablog.blogspot.com/2010/08/1.html

My favorite TV shows.

1. The Wonder Years (Top in my charts, deep in my heart)


2. Mr. Bean (Hilarious)


3. Mind your Language (Hilarious)


4. അക്കരക്കാഴ്ചകള്‍‍ (A mallu serial with a difference. Every episode is fun filled, simple, original and true to life)


5. Kaun Banega Crorepathi (The initial one hosted by Big B)

സൗമ്യമായ പുഞ്ചിരി...

നിരാശാകാമുക ഭാവം നിഴലിച്ച കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളിളുടെ മലയാളി മനസ്സില്‍ സ്ഥാനം നേടുകയും, സംവിധാനം, തിരക്കഥ രചന എന്നിവയില്‍ തന്റെ പ്രതിഭ പ്രകടമാക്കുകയും ചെയ്ത വേണുനാഗവള്ളി കാലയവനികയില്‍ മറയുന്നു..

200 അധികം സിനിമകളില്‍ അഭിനയിച്ചു. 12 സിനിമകള്‍ സംവിധാനം ചെയ്തു - അവയില്‍ 10'lum നായകന്‍ മോഹന്‍ലാല്‍. മലയാളത്തിലെ എക്കാലത്തെയും ഹിറ്റുകളില്‍ ഒന്നായ നാമെല്ലാം വളരെയധികം ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടുന്ന സിനിമയായ കിലുക്കത്തിന്റെ തിരക്കഥ എഴുതിയത് വേണുനാഗവള്ളിയാണ്!

അദ്ധേഹത്തിന്റെ ദീപ്ത സ്മരണക്കു മുന്‍പില്‍ ഒരു മനോഹര ഗാനം...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d166yTAht3s

Stock Markets - The beginning.

Don't be confused by the title - it just means that it's my initial post on Stock Markets. Mathematics was/is my favorite subject and Probabilities and possibilities - my favorite theme. Given that, there is not much surprise that I got interested in Stock Market once I started to follow it.

I would rate myself as a beginner to this field. And with the little knowledge I've, let me tell you, this is one field - like music - where achieving mastery is almost impossible. There is so much to learn and understand irrespective of how long you been to it.

Why do it excite me ? You could get countless data for any company that you would like and still you can't predict the price of it the next day. There are so many so called experts and analysts in the market. Just ask them one single simple question, "Will the market go up or down tomorrow" ? If you find anyone who could predict that right - do let me know. This unpredictability of the market irrespective of how much you learn and understand - really fascinates me...

Let me conclude this post with a quote from a legendary investor whom I admire so very much - yes, Warren Buffett.

"There are only two rules in the stock market.

1. Don't lose your money.

2. Never forget rule 1."

Lyrics - വാതില്‍ പഴുതിലൂടെന്‍...

Credits
----------------
രചന: O.N.V
സംഗീതം: V.Dakshinamoorthy
പാടിയത്:K.J.Yesudas
ചിത്രം: ഇടനാഴിയില്‍ ഒരു കാലൊച്ച (1987)

Song
----------------
വാതില്‍ പഴുതിലൂടെന്‍ മുന്നില്‍ കുങ്കുമം
വാരി വിതറും ത്രിസന്ധ്യ പോലെ
അതിലോലമെന്‍ ഇടനാഴിയില്‍ നിന്‍
കള മധുരമാം കാലൊച്ച കേട്ടു
മധുരമാം കാലൊച്ച കേട്ടു (2)

ഹൃദയത്തിന്‍ തന്ത്രിയില്‍ ആരോ വിരല്‍ തൊടും
മൃദുലമാം നിസ്വനം പോലെ..
ഇലകളില്‍ ജലകണം ഇറ്റു വീഴും പോലെ
ഉയിരില്‍ അമൃതം തളിച്ച പോലെ
തരള വിലോലം നിന്‍ കാലൊച്ച കേട്ടു ഞാന്‍
അറിയാതെ കോരി തരിച്ചു പോയി
അറിയാതെ കോരി തരിച്ചു പോയി (വാതില്‍ പഴുതിലൂടെന്‍ മുന്നില്‍...)

ഹിമബിന്ദു മുഖപടം ചാര്‍ത്തിയ പൂവിനെ
മധുകരം നുകരാതെ ഉഴറും പോലെ
അരിയ നിന്‍ കാലൊച്ച ചൊല്ലിയ മന്ത്രത്തിന്‍
പൊരുളറിയാതെ ഞാന്‍ നിന്നു
നിഴലുകള്‍ കള മെഴുതുന്നോരെന്‍ മുന്നില്‍
മറ്റൊരു സന്ധ്യയായ് നീ വന്നു
മറ്റൊരു സന്ധ്യയായ് നീ വന്നു (വാതില്‍ പഴുതിലൂടെന്‍ മുന്നില്‍...)

ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണ ജയന്തി

ഇന്ന് അഷ്ടമി രോഹിണി - ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണ ജയന്തി - ജന്മാഷ്ടമി.

"കൃഷ്ണായ വാസുദേവായ ദേവകി നന്ദനായച
നന്ദഗോപ കുമാരായ ഗോവിന്ദായ നമോ നമ: "

ചെറുതായില്ല ചെറുപ്പം!

News: Shashi Tharoor weds Sunanda Pushkar on Aug 22, 2010.

Their ages are 54 and 48 respectively. Enough to raise eye brows, right ? But that said, actually I admire him for being bold enough to follow his heart and being able to stand up before the world and admit it. There might be people laughing at him for this, but in my view, it's all abt companionship and life has to be lived forward. Hence if both of them liked each other, there is nothing wrong in it. Congrats to the newly weds... :)

എന്റെ പ്രിയ ഗാനങ്ങള്‍ - 1

എനിക്ക് വളരെ അധികം ഇഷ്ടമുള്ള ഗാനങ്ങള്‍.,

1. ഒന്നാം രാഗം പാടി...


2. മേഘം പൂത്തു തുടങ്ങി...


3. ഒരു ചെമ്പനീര്‍...


4. വാതില്‍ പഴുതിലൂടെ...


5. ആരെയും ഭാവ ഗായകനാക്കും...


6. കല്‍പാന്ത കാലത്തോളം...


7. ചക്രവര്‍ത്തിനി നിനക്ക്...


8. അനുരാഗിണി ഇതാ നിന്‍...


9. മിഴിപ്പൂക്കള്‍ വാടിയാലും...


10. നീര്‍മിഴി പീലിയില്‍...

പുതുവത്സരാശംസകള്‍ !

ഇന്ന് ചിങ്ങം 1. കൃത്യമായി പറഞ്ഞാല്‍ 1186, ചിങ്ങം 1. കര്‍ക്കിടകം കഴിഞ്ഞു പ്രതീക്ഷകള്‍ പുതു നാമ്പിടുന്ന പൊന്നിന്‍ ചിങ്ങം പുലരുന്നു. ഹൃദ്യമായ നവവത്സര ആശംസകള്‍...

Happy Independence Day!

"ഭാരതമെന്നു കേട്ടാലോ
അഭിമാന പൂരിതമാകണം അന്തരംഗം"
- വള്ളത്തോള്‍

ഇന്ന് സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യ ദിനം. കുറ്റങ്ങളും കുറവുകളും കണ്ടേക്കാം. എന്നാലും ഇത് എന്റെ, അല്ല നമ്മുടെ മാതൃ രാജ്യം. സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യ ദിനാശംസകള്‍... വന്ദേ മാതരം, വന്ദേ ഭാരതം.

ജയ് ഹിന്ദ്‌...

My Favorite Movies - English.

This is a list of movies that I really like. Here are 10 of them. There are many more, but it's just the beginning.

1. Forrest Gump
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. The Pursuit of Happyness
4. Bucket List
5. 50 First Dates
6. Wall Street
7. Matrix
8. Terminator II
9. Catch Me if you can
10. GroundHog Day

NEXT

സൌമ്യം ദീപ്തം

മലയാള പത്ര, മാധ്യമ രംഗത്തെ കുലപതി കെ.മം.മാത്യു യാത്രയായി. ആദരാജ്ഞലികള്‍...

നാട്ടില്‍ നിന്നുള്ള മടക്കം. (Ret'rn journey from home)

Nimizhangal kozhinju veezhum thorum, ente nadu kannil ninnum kooduthal kooduthal akalunnu. Ennal, kannukal adaykkumbol, ente nadu ente hridayathinodu kooduthal kooduthal adukkunnu !!!

മഴ...

ജാലക വിരിയിലൂടെ തകര്‍ത്തു പെയ്യുന്ന മഴയെ ഞാന്‍ അടുത്ത് കാണുന്നു. ഉതിര്‍ന്നു വീഴുന്ന ജലകണങ്ങള്‍ എന്നെ ഭൂത കാലത്തിന്റെ പച്ചപ്പിലേക്ക് കൈ പിടിച്ചു നടത്തുന്നു!!!

Back pain - Pain is back!

Apart from having a catchy and rhyming title, you might be wondering what am I going to write under this. And to tell you the truth, I also don't have much idea on what really to write except the simple fact that it was really painful!



(This is not me or mine. I look better! :p)

Do I have a history of back aches ? Hmmm... no, but it did visit me once before abt 2-3 yrs back, when I was at my home town (which was fortunate - no not the pain, but being @ home that time) Then, it was very severe, I was bed-ridden for a complete day or two without being able to move and Ayurvedic messages brought the pain to a closure that time.

This time, the pain was not that much and a couple of days rest and that Tiger balm reduced the pain. What particular reason would have prompted the pain to revisit ? Well, me being a software engineer it's a given that I don't exercise much ("Not much" reading - Not at all!). But recently, I started this good practice of walking back from my office to home. The distance is about 3 kms and it takes me around 25-30 mins. And this walk is done with a laptop on my back(or bag) And the weekend prior to that day, I had gone to play cricket, had played tennis and also had spent nice little time swimming around the pool after the tennis match.

I guess having to do all these activities, made by body to complain that "Boss, you need to relax, I'm not used to this!!!" I totally agreed, rested for a couple of days and now its ok.

I did a little googling on it and to my astonishment found that about 85% of the people do come across back pain atleast once in their life time. Have you ? Added to the fact that - back pain is the most prominent reason for an employee to take a sick leave. Hmmm... thats news for me, because most of my sick leaves are invested for fever and throat infection!

Signing off...

Incoming....

U could see the following posts shortly...

1. Back pain - Pain is back !
2. Oru kochu bhoomi kulukkam - Twice in 3 months !!!
3. My fav'rite number - 23.
4. My fav'rite actor/actress.
5. My fav'rite tennis player - Federer.

Well, you might be just wondering, why am I writing so much on my fav'rites ? It's just that it's my fav'rite month and I thought I would just jolt down abt my likes this month. That's all. :)

My favorite movie - Telugu.

I like watching movies and I feel language is not a barrier to enjoy a good movie. I haven't watched a lot of Telugu movies, but from the ones that I indeed watched, let me pick my favorite. :)

Nominees
===============
1. Magadheera
2. Happy Days
3. Bommarillu
4. Arya
5. Arya-2

And my favorite Telugu movie is - Magadheera - without doubt, beyond doubt !!! I really liked the movies - Happy days and Bommarillu, but Magadheera is in a different zone of its own.

I had seen this movie, couple of months back and my initial reaction was - Wow !!! Fast paced, rivetting and incredible love story and Ram Charan and Kajal Agarwal, they are a lovely onscreen pair to watch !!! And to top it, the movie is filled with beautiful songs.

I just love these songs.

1. Dheera Dheera Dheera...
--------------------------------------------



2. Panchadhara Bomma...
------------------------------------------



3. Naakosam Nuvvu...
----------------------------------------

My favorite month - June

June is the month of mansoons - what we call "Edava ppathi" when the rains are accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms. It's when the schools open after 2 month long vacations. And June is my favorite month. No, not because of any of the fore said reasons, but purely due to the simple fact that I was born in the month of June!!!

I was born on June 7th, 1984 and not many are privy to this information - simply because my official b'day is on May 16th !!! Let me explain... :)

In old times, there was a simple pre-requisite to join Std 1 - you needed to be atleast 5 yrs old as on June 1 of that year. And there was no way I could make it and this would have meant waiting/wasting 1 academic year just for that 1 week !!!

Hence my father changed my official b'date to May 16 which gave me enough experience on this planet to join class 1. :) This also made sure that most certainly I will be the youngest student in any class I studied. :) And I could do Pre-Degree as the last batch (later, there were only Plus 2 - no Pre-Degree) and it allowed me to study in Saint Berchmans' college - one of the most prestigious institutions near my place.

So cutting the story short, I was born in June, on a Thursday and on a day when it never stopped raining!!! Hence I love rains, I love Thursdays and I love June !!!

My favorite theme song - MI

I really like the Mission Impossible film series and the special agent Ethan Hunt portrayed by Tom Cruise. But there is one more thing that I really love abt this movie - its theme song.

Its rhythmic, interluding, deep, mysterious and pulsating. Wanna get up and get going. And make me wanna step to the tune of it !!!





And by the way, this is infact my current ring tone !!!

Iron Man 2 - Bigger ? Yes, Better ? - Nope.

I watched the movie Iron Man 2 recently. I had seen the prequel - Iron Man and had really liked the movie. It was a wonderful entertainer and Robert Downey Jr had done an exceedingly excellent act in it. Hence having a sequel to that with the same and right amount of fun filled in it is a difficult job. Hence I watched Iron Man 2 with some what muted expectations.

I felt it's an Ok movie nothing spectacular - but pales in comparison to the original.

Its filled in with more action packed scenes, fights and Robert Downey Jr has done his role well. But I felt it's filled with a little too much action and the story also doesn't have much substance in it. No, not that I want some strong story in an action entertainer but there should be a central theme that's driving the movie from start to the end. Here I felt it to be a little weak.

Hence may be worth a watch for the action scenes and Robert Downey Jr. But definitely not as good as the first one - Iron Man - which is one of my favorite superhero movies.

Abt me - More abt "About me" !!!

A confusing title ? Well, this post focuses more on whatever I have written in the abt me section.

Abt me - "Sensitive, intelligent, calm and fun loving person. A bit reserved but friendly. Like to lead the life with calmness and composure and make people I communicate with feel a bit more better."

Decoding...

Sensitive - Yes, my teeth is sensitive and so is my heart. Like my teeth that goes numb if I take something too cold or too hot, my mind also gets moved by small things. For instance, if u hav read my posts, u could see that moving me to tears doesn't require much - a touching movie, song... - that will do.

Do I repent ? Do I want to change it ? No, not at all - this is me and I like me as what I'm. I'm no perfect, but I know I can control my emotions and my head can preside over my heart when needed. And I like to express myself rather than keeping it in my heart and showing an ever smiling face. And shedding tears is not a bad thing in my eyes - should men cry ? Why not ? It cleanses your heart - make you feel and understand the real life.

And being sensitive also enables me to think abt others, their perspective. While talking to others, I make it a point not to hurt their feelings because I know how I feel when I'm hurt.

Intelligent - hmmm..., I like to belive so. If u hav any objections mail me. :)

Calm - I like to be calm and composed, probability of you making the right decision is at its highest when you can think with a calm mind. :)

Fun loving - Well, I like to enjoy the life, have fun from it. There is a popular notion that I'm way too serious, but at heart I'm not. I'm fun loving - I like a lot of things - movies, music, reading, watching n playing - carroms, cricket, chess, cards, badminton, tennis..., blogging, travelling, spirituality, stock market, investing...

Bit reserverd but friendly - Hmmm... reserved - well, yes a bit but not always and not to all. I like to go out with friends, chat with them and have fun. But yes, I do feel that - I'm friendly to all but I have very few friends !!!

"Make people feel a bit more better" - Yes, this is another thing that I keep in mind during my conversations. As I wrote earlier, when I'm talking to you, I make it a point not to hurt you and if at all possible make yourself feel a little better. And "more better" - I guess is grammatically wrong - but blends nicely with the line. Hence I intend to keep it so. :)

So thats all abt me. If you have any comments, I would like to know that - leave it here or mail me. Because this is what I feel I'm, but you better know if this is indeed what I'm !!!

Kovilan passes away.

Malayanmayude priyappetta kadhakaran vismruthiyilekku. Again, I haven't read any of his writings but by reading the obituaries in the newspapers I knew more abt him. Read that he had a very humple beginning and seems he ran away from home to escape poverty.

There was one line that touched my heart and left me disturbed. "Thanikku aharam vilampi thannu, swayam pattini kidannu maricha ammaykkulla samarppanam ayirunnu Kovilante adhya novel." Oh, my goodness...

My favorite songs - All time.

Well, there are so many songs that I really like and to pick a selected few among them is difficult. To give you a perspective, I try to add only selected songs that I really like to my favorite videos in Orkut and already there are more than 100 of them !!!

But still, for all of us, there will be some songs that are a notch above the rest. Songs for some reason we like more compared to the rest. A simple instance will be songs that you hear as a kid, that touches you then and then your liking for it grows while you grow. The ones that came to the top of my list exactly fits that description.

1. Unnikale oru katha parayam...

This song is so close to my heart and I'm easily moved in to tears every single time I hear it. Personally, yes, this is one of my most favorite songs (and movie).

Simple yet touching lines, the perfect movie scenes that blends nicely with the lyrics and Mohanlal at his best. I especially like the lines - "E pazhmulam thandu pottum vare, e ganam illathe akum vare... "



On a lighter note, this is one of the songs that I attempted to sing in a competition and I got the second prize for that !!! After all there were only two of us. :)

2. Kanner poovinte kavilil thalodi...

What to say about this song (n movie) ? Oro malayaliyudeyum nostaligia... Wonderful n heart crunching...



3. Ormakkayi eniyoru snehageetham...

Of all the album songs, this is my favorite. Just fell in lov wit this song just the very first time I heard it. Again the lyrics, its rendering and the picturization. And it being sang by the best singers - Yesudas and Chitra - make it all the more appropriate.

Madhavikkutty - aka - Kamala Surayya

Malayalathinte priyappetta ezhuthukari manju poyittu oru varsham. Snehathinte a neermathala poovinu ente ashru pushpangal....

Frankly, I haven't had a chance to read any of her novels, but I can see that her writings had a marked impact on the kerala literature and on general public. Hence I bow my head in respect to her.

Donating blood for the first time !!!

April 15th, 2010 - Vishu Innayirunnu. Kani kanuvanayi ravile nerathe unarnnirunnu. (5 am)

Since I got up early, reached office early. Felt so positive today - had adequate time for all. I guess, getting up early is much much better than staying late in the night and then getting up late... Early mornings are so fresh and needs to make it a point not to miss them.

There was a blood donation camp going on near my office. Thought, I will donate my blood for the first time as its for a good cause and today is a good day. Avar 3 forms fill cheyyan thannu - kure medical questions... Chappu chavaru athu ithu, ellam kazhinju... Forms fill cheythu thirichu koduthu. Aviteyirunna ammachiyoru chodyam - have you been residing in the US for the past 3 yrs. Oho, 3 kollam US'il thanne odiyittulla blood matrame edukkukayullo ? I said, no, I'm from India and infact today I'm just completing my first month in this country. I didn't know about this particular rule and thought that any healthy man who is not suffering from any illness or not taking any medicines can donate blood. Hence came for it. She said sorry abt that - may be next time !!! I said - ok, done. :)

Jeevithathil ithu vare blood donate cheythittilla. Blood test cheyyan thanne chora edukkunnathu kanumbol feels sad !!! Appozhanu 300ml chorayoottunnathu !!! Just kiddin... Now feeling differently and I want to donate blood if needed. Dont know something is changing abt me and I like this change !!! Angane adyamayi donate cheyyan poyathu inganeyumayi !!! Ivite entha indiakkarante choraykku vilayille ? :) Karmam karmam. Just kiddin...

Vishu in US

15, April, 2010 --- 1185, Medam, 2.

Vishu day
=========
Ivite innu vishu anu. Well, nattil innale ayirunnu. Normally Medam 1 anu vishu. Ithavana athu Medam 2 ayi. I used to wonder - how come vishu falls exactly on April 14th every year. It never happens that my actual b'day (Malayalam one) never falls on the same english date every year. This year also, if it had been on Medam 1 it would have been April 14 only. For some reason vishu was on Medam 2 and hence April 15th.

MEDAM
========
Medam marks the beginning of new year in Astrological terms. This is the first rasi. If you had been to any astrologer or have seen your horoscope this is the first house. Any counting begins from this one only. The top third column from the left and it belongs to Sun, sun is at its hottest this month. Summer holidays chummathano thannirikkunnathu !!!

Memories...
==============
Being back to my life... Vishu kkani always brings back the nostalgic memories - being at home, the night before vishu parents will be arranging everything for kani. In the morning, I will be woken up with mom's hands closing my eyes, bringing me to the pooja room. Idinjil kathichu vachittundakum. There would be fruits, pulses, cereals and in the middle - being surrounded by all this - my Lord - Krishna !!! Oh thinking abt that sight itself is so heart warming. Then parents will be giving us Vishu kaineetam. We go to kudumbom - father's ancestral home, paradevathaye(Mahavishnu) thozhunnu. Then go to ammath (Moms ancestral home) there also salutes kudumba daivam (Bhadrakali), comes back... burst crackers.... so much fun. Me and my sister used to see who collects more kaineetam. And usually she wins. :)


And today here I'm - feeling lonely in this big beautiful world !!!


My vishukkani
===============
I had brought with me a small idol of Mahavishnu - Srivallabhan. Actually my each day starts with him only. Hence woke up, saw him as the first glance, took the $10 as if receiving it from my parents, laptop played the song - Kani kanum neram... Thats it. Ithayirunnu ente vishu kkani.


After this I called home. There is a time diff of 12.30 hrs b/w here and there. It meant that at home its already the evening. Sun is abt to set there, while the day is just going to begin here !!!Talked to my parents and sister. Needless to say, they all miss me and I too miss them. Mom was telling, ithavana kanikonna poothittilla !!! Seems that too miss me !!! :)

U never realize the value of things you miss, unless you miss them !!! Well, I accept this - life is like that. U can't hav everything at the same time, cheer up my boy !!! :)

Orkut'il kure nalla krishna related videos upload cheythirunnu. Frnds'num relatives'num vishu asamsakal scrap cheythirunnu. Pinne facebook'l oru puthiya account create cheythu. Eni athinte oru kuravu vendallo !!!

Oru kochu bhoomi kulukkam !!!

It was Sunday, April 4, 2010. Time - 3.30pm. Lake forest, California.

I was in the bed, in the net (internet) wathing the funny serial - "Akkara Kazchakal". Suddenly the bed began to tremple, began to shake and move sideways... The window curtains were also flowing left and right. Oh, my god. Suddenly I realized... I was experiencing a real earth quake !!! It lasted for 10-15secs and then slowly the earth came to a standstill.

That was quite inexplainable !!! Heard of earth quakes but experiencing it was different.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-us-baja-earthquake-science,0,52222.story

=== Here is the news on it ====
"A strong earthquake south of the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday damaged buildings in northern Mexico and shook high-rises in downtown Los Angeles and San Diego. At least one person in Mexico was killed and others were feared trapped in their homes.

The magnitude 7.2 quake struck at 3:40 p.m. local time in the state of Baja California, Mexico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was 16 miles southwest of Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico, a town 20 miles south of the border with California. Seismologists raised their preliminary estimate of the strength of the quake after initially calling it magnitude 6.9. The quake was felt across Southern California and parts of Arizona."

The story of my experiments with the "kitchen" !!!

Eventhough I have been staying away from my home for the past 8 yrs, frankly speaking I didn't know anything abt cooking. (Kindly note the past tense being used.) I'm fine with having food outside from hotels and there is no problem with me as long as the food is good. Hence there was really no need for me to cook for myself or to learn it.

But things do change and change is good. Recently I came to US on an assignment and here things were different. Here eating out meant shelling out too much. Once we (myself n my friends whom I stay with) had dinner outside and had pizza. It cost me $12 and the worst part was food was not good, I didn't like it. Given this circumstances I was forced to learn something which has been alluding me for so long - learning cooking.

Rice.... the easy one.
------------------------
Learning how to cook rice was easy. You need to have rice (ofcourse) and a cooker. Thats it, rice will be ready in a matter of 10-15 mins. Wow, I didnt know it was this easy !!! Now, when time came for my hands on - I took the rice, washed, put it in the cooker and left it there.

Usually it takes 10 mins and by the whistle you will know if its ready. But even after the stipulated time - I didnt hear any whistles, I returned to the kitchen to take a look and saw something was missing. Did I forget to put something ? Well, yes - I had forgotten to put the whistler on the cooker !!!

Oh my goodness !!! If somebody sees it I'm gone. Quickly I latched on to one of the whistlers lying around and put it on the top before others will come and see the negligence from my side !!! Since the whistler was put much later and I'm sure no whistles will be blown now, I turned it off after 12 mins.

Mahesh came to the kitchen to see how I'm progressing and he was surprised. Rice was already ready !!! Infact he could open the cooker so fast - usually evenafter turning off the gas you need to wait for the pressure to b e released as to open the cooker. But since I had forgotten to put the whistle the pressure had gone much too fast and cooking was done fastly. He was wondering how I made the rice so fast - not knowing what really had happened !!! I just smiled and prayed inside that the rice is atleast eatable !!!

Now to my surprise, when we used it for dinner - rice was just fine, infact it tasted better !!! Mahesh asked - Govindan, did u take any new rice ? It tastes so good today ? I said, no its just the same rice - the only difference is Gtouch !!! Telling inside - praise the lord !!! :-)

Mallu capsicum fry
--------------------------------
The next day, I spent some time googling through the making of various mallu dishes and found that there are numerous sites on this. We had only onions and capsicums and I decided to try my hand on that. So I cut them to small pieces. In between Giri came to tell me that the pieces have to be cut a little bit smaller and I was in no mood to take in any advice - he has been on the phone for the past 2 hrs and now coming and telling me that the pieces have to look leaner ? I told him - either u leave it to me or u do it. He went back happily and restarted chatting on the phone !!!

I put everything together, heated and the dish was ready in 10-15 mins. I left the task of putting right amount of salt to Mahesh as I know that salt is one little thing - that can ruin your entire efforts. I fried it for some more time and the capsicum fry got ready.

What to name my first preparation ? I was not sure at the beginning how my dish will end up with and so when my frnds asked what I was making, I didnt tell any specific names. So after it was ready and as it looked more like a proper capsicum fry - I named it mallu capsicum fry with Gtouch.... I guess it was good, Chandresh was telling wat ever you name it - the thing is good. I said thank you to him and lord. Praise the lord !!! :-)

Coming up shortly !!!

These are some of the posts which I hope to publish shortly...

1. The story of my experiments with "kitchen" !!!
2. A day in US.
3. BlindSide - Movie that touched and melted me to tears !!!

My Meetings With... Death !!!

The first incident happened when I was a little child - less than 5 yrs old.

When I was a kid, that time (also) I was less "active". I mean, I will be happy playing around myself. So one day, I was just playing alone in our courtyard. My mom called me for something and I rushed in to the home and fell at the steps - with the edges of the step making a hard impact on my forehead. The edge was so close to my right eye - but fortunately, it just made a cut in my eyebrows. You can still see the mark that it left in my right eye brows !!!

Blood came gushing out... The impact would have been so fatal considering the point of impact and my tender age. I fell unconsious and it terrified my mom. She and relatives took me to the bed. My brother - just a kid that time - was seeing all these drama from the nearby window to the room where I was kept. So he being just a kid and just surprised and terrified to see all these, it seems - he asked mother - Amme, Gopi chathu poyo ? (Mother, did Gopi die ???)

When my mother told this story, I can't stop laughing. "Amme, gopi chathu poyo ?" - how innocent the kids really are !!! And ofcourse, I didn't die - lived long enough to tell the tale. :-) By my kundalini (Grahanila) also - Saturn is in a really good position that gives me an assured age of 72 yrs atleast. :-) Seems, this world has to bear me a little longer !!! :-)

Looking back, this incident reminds me of how close I was to death, to being partially blind, impact to the head could hav left me paralyzed. But nothing of that sort happened. Hence this also reminds me how close I'm to God and how well he takes care of me. :-) Oh my lord, I'm yours for the taking !!!

Incident 2
---------------
Well, this happened at a place where I thought it will never happen. And also it happened as a choice made by myself which made it look all the more interesting !!!

During my last visit to my home town, we went to Veega Land - an amusement park in Cochin. Apart from myself, my aunt, her small kid, one more cousin brother and my sister were there. It was fun to begin with and while all was going smoothly, we saw a ride - "Double flip monster" which surely was going to add spice to our trip.





Seeing it my sister was telling - if atleast one of you can join me I would have gone for that ride. My aunti and cousin brothers (kids) were out of the question for trying somthing like that. Personally I wouldn't have tried that unless it was for my sister. Hence I thought "what is there - if she wishes to try that, let me give her company - its just a ride !!!" and that decision I was going to repent before too long !!! :-)

So we went in for that ride and it started. Oh my god, it was terrific - sorry wrong selection of words, actually... I was terrified !!! :-) This monster thing, started to rotate in full speed - sometimes clock wise, somtimes reverses and spins in anti clock wise and most of the times - me closing my eyes and praying to God for mercy !!!:-) In between, my sister was asking - Gopi kochatta, enganeyundu ? (Brother, how is the ride ?) - and I was telling inside - edi, jan jeevanodeyenganum thazhe ethiyal ninte karyam kattappuka !!! (If somehow I touch down alive, you are gone !!!)

And finally after the longest 3 minutes in my life, the monster finally came to a halt. I was sweating too much and had I tried that thing thrice, I'm sure - it would hav burnt all my fat and my body would hav toned in to a leaner fitter structure. :-) But that was enough and I was just happy to be alive again !!! :-)

Now, there was another ride that struck my sister's eye which was also of the extreme kind !!! Again she made the same plea - if you can give me company we can try that. This time no brotherly feelings came to her rescue. I told her - no my sister, I'm very sorry - but not one more time. :-)

Looking back, these experiences I like to keep them close to my heart. I still remember that ride, when in between I had opened my eyes and was seeing the world rotating around us and the monster trying every possible bit to throw us out of our seats... Yes, I was terrified but some part of me told it was terrific and doing it for someone you care for made it all the more worthwhile !!!

Signing off...

Curious case of our mind !!!

Our mind has an interesting problem. Even if everything is going well - it never let us think so !!!

Let me explain this with a simple example. I have a tonsilitis problem that visits me once every quarter. During that time I will have fever and severe throat pain. Those days, I will think - Oh god, if this illness is rectified how better it would be. How happy I will feel if I can talk freely and eat anything I want. So eventually, in a week's time - after running its due course and me finished with the course prescribed by the doctor - fever and throat pain vanishes. But surprisingly when I'm no longer worried about my throat, I'm not at all concerned about it. Just the thought that my throat is fine doesn't bring much joy to me - because my mind would already have found some thing else to worry about !!!

Let us take another example. We all want to be wealthy and ofcourse money does define to a certain extent how much happy a normal person can be. But is that the only parameter ? Let us consider the wealthiest people in India. Let's leave Sunil Mittal - he is an NRI. Now, you know whom I'm talking about - the Ambani brothers. If you don't know how much they are valued, let me throw some interesting facts.

Elder brother Mukesh Ambani had a networth of close to $40 billion and a his poorer brother !!! (poor only when you compare him with Mukesh) Anil Ambani has $20 billion. In Rupee terms that is close to 2 lakh and 1 lakh crores respectively. Oh, my goodness - that's a lot of money, they can have anything and everything in this world. They don't need to work and can go for vacation day after day. Can happily stay at home or wherever they want and enjoy life. But are they really satisfied ?

Well, it came in the news just recently that Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries will be moving the supreme court against RNRL - a company controlled by Anil on a gas dispute case. What it is all about ? Anil wants RIL to supply gas @ 2.4$ and Mukesh wants it to be done @ minimum $4 per barrel. Cool, right? COnsidering all those wealth that is already amassed by them - still they are fighting against each other day in and day out to improve each one's profitability meaning enhancing their networth.

Hence it is just the frame of mind that helps us in determining how happy we are. We can always look at people who are above us in terms of money/power/positions and then worry - oh, I'm not like him or her. Well, if this comparison is done so as to identify your limitations and address it so as to propel yourself higher - then it is good. But in most cases it is not that.

An ideal way is to have a calm mind that takes in each day of life, every experience that brings along with it - both pleasant and unpleasant. As Srikrishna says in Bhagavat Gita - "This too will pass". During my class 10th exams - there used to be 12 subjects, one every alternate day. At that time, I felt this is going to be the toughest phase in my life and if these exams are over I will be happy and tension free. Was I ? Momentarily but again same feeling returned for class 12th / entrance examinations. Or simply said the tension remained more or less the same it is just that I was attending different exams.

Each day will pass and you can't control it. You will be faced with new experiences both good and bad and you can't control it. The only thing that you can control is how you react to those experiences. Focus on whatever you do and give your best - even if you don't succeed in it you will have the satisfaction that you tried your best. And my friend, let me assure you, in most cases your best would take you to the top of the rest !!! :-)

Upcoming posts

These are topics that I would like to write on, I would like to discuss, would like to share my thoughts on...

1. Movie Review: 3 Idiots - Awesome movie !!!
2. Controversies - You can't take back what you told !!!
- SRK on Pakistani players and IPL
- Jayaram on Tamil Maids
3. Spiritual: Krishna - My Lord, My God. My Source, My Destination.
4. Philosophy: The curious case of our mind !!!
5. Music: Songs that touch my heart and break me in to tears...
- Unnikale Oru Katha parayam.
- Niranja Mizhiyum.
6. Lyrics of good songs - Kavya Narthaki, Chamak Cham Cham.
7. Stock Market and Life.

A day in my life !!!

It's been a while since I blogged - been kind of busy last few days. Well, I know thats not an excuse to pursue something that you like to do. Another good habit that I haven't been pursuing off late is writing diaries. When I was a kid, I used to write in diary regularly and then the regularity diminished and it disappeared for the past 4 yrs !!!

So now that its been a while since I blogged and even more - since I wrote somethin in my diary - I thought why not combine the two. So this blog talks abt a day in my life. And let me take my liberty for the first time - to write in my mothertoungue - Malayalam.

Diary ezhuthanam ennudu. Pakshe, enthu, engane ennu oru roopavumilla. Porathathinu madiyum !!! Ok, here it comes or goes :-)

Feb 07, 2010. SUNDAY.
======================
Ravile 7manikku unarnnu. Athisayam 7nu eneetathanu. Sundays are "REST DAYs" for me. "Visrama divasam". Annu sadarana ente brkfst+lunch orumichanu. Randundu gunam -

1. Oru nadappu ozhivayi kittum.
2. Kurachu roopa labhikkam.

Pakshe innum nerathe unarnnengilum a pathivu thettiyilla.!!!

Orazhchayayi - Tonsilitis + Fever - vidathe koodiyittundu. Minijjannu Dr kondappol blood test nadathanamennu paranju. (koode koode varunnathu kondavanam) Innale athinu poyirikkukayayirunnu. (Just to note - while doing x-ray scan, I had to remove the sacred thread - poonool - and I felt so awkward even though it was just for a short span of time !!!) Angane test ellam kazhinju athinte report innu vanganam.

Athu poyi vangi vannu - Vijayashree Diagonostics near St Johns hospital. Report'umayi veendum doctor'e kandu. He said that everything is normal. "Havoo enthoraswasam" !!! "Sinusitis" anatre. Kelkkumbol adutha veetile kuttiyude peru pole. :-) Orazchathekkulla marunnukal koodi kurichu thannu. Santhosham. Athum vangichu. Samayam 12.15. Neram ketta neram. Brkfst - samayam poyi, lunch time ayilla. I mean, enikkayi - pakshe mallu messil meals ready ayi kannilla. :-) Kurachu neram net surf cheyyam ennu vicharichappol ottayennam free illa. !!! Thirichu roomil vannu.

T.V chumma vachu nokki. India - South Africa test - avar adichu thakarkkunnu. Dr thanna injection'nte gunamano ennariyilla - nalla mayakkam vannu. Eneettapool - 3 mani kazhinju. Angane "lunchum" poyi kitti. :-)

Angane, 3 manikku unarnna jan veendum T.V kku mumbilayi. Asianet'l super duper hit malayala chalachitram - Baba Kalyani !!! Daivame lalettante immathiriylla chila chitrangal kandal "petta thalla sahikkoolaa" :-) Pulliyude, itho polulla - ithinekkal bhayanakamaya film kondittanu - enee Mohanlalinte cinema theatre'l poyi kashu mudakki kanunnilla ennu theerumanichathu. A film anu - "Hariharan pilla happiyanu !!!".


6 maniyayappol chaya kudikkuvan poyi. Oru mallu bekary aduthu thanneyundu. Pinne, Net surf cheythu. Orkut'l kurachu nalla songs add cheythu. Ente looks - Attractive akkiyalo ennundu. Kanan valiya thettilla ennanu ente viswasam. :-) Viswasam athalle ellam. !!! :-)

Thirichu vannu. Roadies - 7 kandu. This was the last episode in India before starting with the African safari. "Deal or no deal" kurachu neram kandu. A game of pure probabilities and possibilites. I would say its more closer to gambling and not a logical game. Athenthu kunthamengilum akatte - its just a game show. So there is a lady contestant and she had come with the family. Chechi aniyathiyodu paranju oru number paranjolan. Aval paranja number - 7. Doom.. aaa box'il undayirunnathu - 50 lakhs !!! :-) Enikkitrayokkeye sahayikkan pattoo enna lookumayi aniyathi. Full desp ayi chechi !!! :-) Ethayalum veettil chellumbol aniyathiyude karyam kattapookka. But, poor girl - it was just a random selection as I said earlier there is no logic in it and it could have been any thing. Avalde bhagyathinu 50 lakhs thanee pottichu kayyil koduthu. !!!

Dinner kazhikkan 8.15 ayappol poyi. Oru malayali hotel'il ninnum anu (orchid) sthiramayi kazhikkaru. Innu valiya visappilla - (orkukka - ravile/uchaykku onnum kazhichittilla.) Idavilayayi - 1kg orange / 1 kg munthiri - iva thattiyathallathe. :-) Pinne, pakale - chayayum, parippu vadayum. (Jan communistonnumalla. Chumma prasathinu paranjatha !!! :-) Angane, enthanennariyilla - visappu theereyilla. Dinner innu vere ethengilum (nalla !!!) hotel ninnavatte ennu karuthi. Chennu pettathu Vishnupriya yude munnil !!! ???? :-)

Sorry, Vishupriya oru restaurent'nte peranu. :-) But the name surprised me a bit. My sister sometime back had told me that she would like to change her name - and Vishnupriya was my first choice. Avalum achanum valare close anu. Achante name - Vishnu ennanu. Hence I thought this name to be very appropriate.

Ethayalum dinner kazhichu. Thirichu roomil vannu. HBO'il film "Collateral Damage" Arnold Schwasnagar'nte thanu. Adyavasanam kandu. Thante priyathamayeyum eka makaneyum vaka varuthunna terroristi'nethireyulla revenge anu cinemayude thread. I liked it - I mean, you will really feel for him - having lost his wife and only son what else will he do !!!

Ok. Marunnukal kazhichu, athishtam poleyundu. Etra nirangalil, roopathil :-) 4 tablets in all - thrice a day. Innathe expenses ezhuthy vachu. Diary ezhuthy. Kidannu.
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