Thiruvasagam

Everytime I "simply" listen to thiruvasagam, that is, just listen to it without doing anyhthing else, it brings me to tears. Such is the intensity of the words. Such is the intensity of the composition. Ilayaraja avargalukku eththanai murai vendumaanalum nandri sollalaam (Respected Ilayaraja can be thanked how many ever times one wants to...)

Searched for the English translation for thiruvasagam and ended up reading the meaning of a lot of verses. The content is simply mind blowing. Today, reading thiruvasagam has moved me a lot. Life within me is responding in a way I haven't known before...

Pullaagi poodai puzhuvaai maramaagi
Palvirugamaagi paravayaai paambaagi
Kallaai manidharaai peyaai gangalaai vallasuraraagi
Munivaraai devaraai selladhindru iththaavarsangamathul
Ellaa pirappum pirandhilaithen pirandhilaithen...
(So many forms I must wear, so many lives I must bear... )

Uyya en ullathul Omkaaramaai nindra Mei-ye
Omkaaramaai nindra Mei-ye

Namahshivaaya vaazhga...

:')

When purposelessness becomes the purpose
When the path becomes the destination
When the end becomes the beginning
It's Home coming...

Diwali...

It's Diwali today... As I see a few of my friends who are also out of India get notalgic about the Diwalis they celebrated back home, I "attempted" a few moments to see if I did miss anything about the festival. well, as a matter of fact, No! All I used to do if I were at home were to watch TV, go to temple, curse all the "bombers" for screwing my ear as well as burning away money that could be made better use of, tie a kerchief around my lower visage to escape the cracker fumes, eat well, laze around with family, make a few phone calls...

Watching TV isn't as enticing as it used to be, especially given the crap channels out here. Temple, yeah I shall be going here tomorrow. There's a nice place here, and the atmosphere is well maintained with the chants. No crackers [:D]. I never was a fan of the sound-making ones, though I don't complain against the visual-ones. Food, that isn't a problem with so many cooks around here ;-) ISD phone calls to family and friends... that's what can be done about the last two... Also I get to watch Diwali release movies much earlier than in India :D... Heard ATM sucked. I am hitting Vel before ATM though...

One unique thing about this Diwali is that for a few of my acquaintances this is either the "thalai diwali" or first diwali with their offsprings or shall be the last "single-Diwali". Should be more special for them :) Hope they have a memorable day.

And funny, I chose today for my written driver's test and scored a 100% :-) Hope I clear the road test and get a license... Phew! Had to do quite a bit of reading the manual of about 100 pages.

On an unrelated note, food items experimented so far and which I can handle safe: Thakkali saadham, capsicum saadham, carrot saadham, all poriyals and fries, dhal fry, rasam, making dosa and chapathi . Sambhar alone pending... Should do that sometime and may be biryani...

Happiness shouldn't be limited to occasions. I want my life to be an expression of happiness as someone said. I wish it becomes a living reality.

Every moment, bursting with life, oozing with happiness and making the whole journey of life as one full blast of celebration !!!

Life, a vacation that has been offered, to celebrate, life.

Happy birthday !!!

There are so many people we come across... but very few leave lasting impressions on you. For me, I've been blessed to find quite a few people that way, whose very thought can bring about a transformation in what's running through my mind. Nov 5th, is the birthday of one such person: Kumaran :-)

Kumaran has been a great inspiration to a lot of us in the Hyd gang... His energy, his levels of activity, his enthu... the whole place turns lively when he's around... I can write a whole bunch of things :)

Here's wishing you a very very happy birthday da! May all your wishes turn true. It has been a great blessing in knowing you da!!!

Azhagiya Tamil Magan

Well well... I never could imagine Rahman composing for Vijay; someone whom I admire the most working with someone who I consider should quit... But honestly, the album simply rocks. Not once did I get a feeling that it was a Vijay movie except for the lyrics in the opening song. And in fact, for the first time after quite a while, I am loving all the songs in the album without having to skip any track.

I do get the "sounds-similar" complaint about which I am not too bothered. The songs rock. And they are not blatant rehashes like a few others out there who keep dishing out the same stuff over and over again. A brief look at the songs in no particular order. Use an excellent headphones to catch many of the intricate sounds.

Ponmagal vandhaal: By far the best remix I have heard so far. Aslam's voice is excellent and the rap is out of the world. Especially when the rapper sings the "muthukkal sirikkum" line. Have an ear for the occasional female voice in the background.

Valayapatti: Only Rahman can ever come up with this number. A song that fluctuates between so many genres, yet blends so perfectly into one magnificent composition. A tight song to sing as well. Not a place where I can complain about the song. Having small aalaps for raga names is another thing to watch out for besides the stunning Nadhaswaram pieces, multitude of strings, the harmony and backing vocals. The lyrics is something noteworthy and catchy ("Nee nerungumbodhe current erudhe unga ooru kalpaakkamaa). The singers have done an amazing job in this song, for that matter, in all the songs.

Ella pugazhum: High pitch rahman sung intro for Vijay. First of its kinds and by far, should have been the best intro song for Vijay. The high pitch is something that only rahman could possibly go. The intense harmony energises the song pretty much. A much needed reprieve from the dappankuthu Shankar Mahadevan sung intros. This song is set to set the theaters on fire by Vijay's fans.

Kelaamal: What a song!!! Saindhavi's voice is so mellifluous. Especially the "kokilam kokilam" bit is simply too good. Sriram does a good job as well. A very tough song to compose and sing as well... Vintage rahman stuff.

Maduraikku pohaadhadi: Another folk number. Another winner. Am tired of writing excellent, fantastic, etc etc... Benny is someone I am going to look out for... "asarudhu asarudhu" bit is very much hummable.

Nee Marilyn Monroe: Benny rocks with Ujjaiyinee in this song. Western song from ARR has always been my cup of tea and this one is yet another one of those. Not another MD can dish this out.

An album that I expect to do commercially well too.

Am mighty pleased and very happy as a Rahman fan.

Mind.currentState

Am not ok. There is this something going within this little mind...on and on... and I don't know why... One moment it's so stable and the next moment it is at utter chaos... And surprising enough, now there is anger and intensity attached to it... Feel like kicking everyone at times... feel like destroying myself other times... ever since i came to this alien land, this strange thing is happening.... definitely it is not home sickness... i wish things get clear sooner... i don't want to simply come out of it.... i want to come out of it consiously...so that next time this shall not show its ugly face... i am getting stupid by the day... ufffff..... am being proved contrary to the beliefs i held... i am no better than the slush... but i do know my choices... the lotus or the slush... oh dear one, as i let you seep through me, make me flower... please...