Prelude to “ This is how I heard them! ”

If 2007 witnessed some bizarre incidents like the Kenyan Air Crash or the assassin of Benazir Bhutto, 2008 is all set for one such.

I am going to upload songs rendered in my voice here !!

Yes. It’s going to happen very soon under the title “This is how I heard them !”. I was actually in search of a perfect day to upload. Thought of initially doing it on my mom’s bday (Feb 14th), but then things weren’t quite ready at that time. The next best date would have been my Bday (Apr 4th ), but that wouldn’t have looked good. As of now, I have finalized it on the day my sis-in-law delivers. Moreover, the kids name is quite related to ‘sound’ and so there cannot be a better day than that.

I still remember the first time I recorded my voice; in 1989. My dads’ youngest brother had once come home and my brother and me were asked to sing. Suddenly from nowhere he had an idea to record them too. God knows why he did that! While I attempted “Paadam pootha kaalam” from Chitram, my brother sang “Shyaamaambaram” from Artham (both malayalam movie songs).

To be frank and not being modest or humble here, I am not that great a singer to upload my songs publicly here. I am not even trained in music. But yes, I have never been asked to shut up when I start singing. My singing experiences are limited to college functions and also when people ask me to when in public forums. This idea of uploading had struck me once when I was googling the lyrics of a particular song. I started it off as an interest, which gradually became a hobby and now it’s more like a routine.

The songs are 90% with karaoke that too created and edited by me with the help of a software. The quality of the music behind depends a lot on how good the vocals are cut from the song. I could not find any karaoke songs on the net except for a few. In case, any one of you comes across a site, which offers free karaoke songs, do let me know by posting a comment here or emailing it to the address mentioned at the end of the page.

Now regarding the frequency, I am planning to upload one song each week; but then again, it’s a plan. But I am sure, atleast every fortnight there would be one. It is going to be a mixture of Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. I am still thinking if I should key in the lyrics of the respective song that I upload or should it be a small trivia; something about the original song and why I chose to sing it.

Anyway, all the best! Don’t tell that I didn’t warn you guys before!

Being weird is fun; especially at the movies!

I was tagged into this topic by a new found “blogmate” Poonam. I don’t know if this is the first time such a phrase is used, but it sounds good, doesn’t it? Found this particular topic a lot interesting and so decided to go ahead and post a similar one from my end too.

I have been a movie and music maniac ever since I know myself and I had a supportive family too; something like what one would find in the old hindi tele series “Filmi Chakkar”.

Going to a theatre was very rare during my early days; but we’d managed to watch almost all the releases, however crap they were, through the now extinct VCR. Then, there was a brief period when I had to get permission for any movie I watch. This was the period when I missed a lot of movies. But ever since I started living on my own, I have been a regular visitor to the theatres, CD libraries and torrent sites : )

Below are some of the odd things I do before, during and after watching a movie.

1. The cast and crew of the movie do make a difference before I make my decision. A big star cast doesn’t attract me though, because I feel that a big star cast means a weak story line with more of emphasis on each characters.

2. I also make my decisions based on how good the songs are. According to me, movies without a good soundtrack have seldom tasted success. Yes, there are rare cases too, for example, movies like Papa Kehte hain and Saawariya had outstanding music, but they were nothing but crap. And in some cases, the movie complements the songs too. For instance, the songs of the Munnabhai series, Chak de, Chennai 28 or even Chotta Mumbai appealed to me only until I got to see them.

3. I usually go for a movie all alone. Well, that’s not something that I wish for though. It’s that my taste of movies are a little hatke at times and none of my friends would ever want to take a risk. And moreover, a companion is not a requisite for me at the movies; for me its almost like being with a stranger once the movie starts.

4. Though I wish to watch movies first day first show, it rarely happens. But I make sure I read atleast one review of the movie before getting to watch it. That way, I could be on a safer side. Unfortunately off late, the reviews floating in the net seems a lot manipulated (OSO, Jodha Akbar, No Smoking, Sivaji, Ammuvaagiya Naan).

5. I prefer watching a movie right from the moment they screen the censor cert. In case I miss the initial portions, I make it a point to either download or rent a pirated version of the movie. Also, I wish to get up only after the final credits roll; but sometimes I get such irritating companions who would want to be the first person to get out of the hall.

6. While watching, I hate getting interrupted. And I get furious when people move here and there blocking my view. I would sit still in the hall unless the movie itself makes me restless (quite recently Welcome, Jodha Akbar and Bheema).

7. I do like the occasional hooting or whistling whenever the movie demands. That’s one reason why I like watching the movies that stars Rajnikanth; the adrenaline reaches an unexplainable level when all of them in the hall applause or whistle at a compelling scene or dialogue. And when there is a sudden power shortage, I make it a point to join along with my fellow hooters.

8. I love watching the videsi animation flicks and also the movies related to cartoons/comic books; brings out the kid in me. I personally consider myself to be one the biggest fan of Spiderman and once I had no other option but to watch Spideman 2 in Telugu. Man! it was hilarious to hear Spiderman utter “Theeeskko”(which means take that) whenever he shoots his web. I have never watched a horror movie all these 26 years (oh god! Did I jus reveal my age here?) and never will too. Can you believe, I once watched a scene in Zee Horror Show (while surfing the channels), didn’t sleep and didn’t let my parents sleep for over 2 days!!! (guys, that happened long long ago!)

9. I do a lot of word-of-mouth advertisement on how the movie is; positive or negative campaign, depending on how the experience was.

10. Discussing with those who have already seen the movie. I also try and read most of the reviews that are available over the net after watching the movie. And ever since I started blogging, I try commenting; either in my blog or in my blogmates’ (not again!).

My Pregnant Girl Friend !!!

Today is her delivery !! And all I could do now is wish her all the best.

I still remember those early months of her pregnancy. Those hormone induced stress, depression, irritations, hypertensions and anxieties; gaaawd, I sure was afraid to even speak to her. There were a couple of instances, which I would not wish to forget for the years to come. One such revolved around a ‘Basundi’(for people who are not aware of what it is, Basundi is a milk sweet quite famous in South India). They say you should keep a pregnant woman happy all the time and so I asked her once as to what would be the one thing that she would long for. She has never had the habit of coming up with what she wants and so after a lot of persuasion, I finally got to make her heart open; all she wanted was a Basundi. I very well knew that it was her way of escaping from my ‘I-want-to-keep-you-happy’ pressure. But I was glad that I got an opportunity to see her smile, and I very well knew why she smiled too- it was a sign of contentment with whatever I gift her. The first time I went ahead to get it for her, it started raining heavily and I got stuck on the way with my vehicle. Believe me, it hadn’t rained in this part till then and that was supposed to be the years first showers. Got it postponed to another day; this time had all the necessary equipments to make sure I buy the sweet. I went to a couple of outlets nearby and to my surprise; none of them had a stock of it, even though I visited well before the peak hours. Since I was already running late to office, had to postpone it to another day. By now, it was starting to get embarrassing as I could not get even a sweet for her; and that too the only thing that she had asked for. The third time, I decided to get it from the first shop that I see on the way, successfully managed to get it from one of the best shops here. Well, it was at this time that fate played the dirtiest game. The moment I called her to inform that I am on the way with the sweet, she made me speechless with a shocking news. She had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes in the morning checkup and was not allowed to consume anything that increases the blood sugar(Gestational diabetes happens for the first time when a woman is pregnant and goes away when you have your baby) So much for her Basundi and my wish of seeing her happy !!!

I had met this person a couple of years before, during my post graduation. She was someone whom everyone in the class adored and whom everyone found a good friend in; even our seniors were impressed with the way she carried herself. Probably it is her humble and down to earth approach to life that makes her a darling wherever she goes. Chirpy, effervescent, mischievous; she was a mitochondrion in all sense. At the same time, she would care for anyone and everyone and is always there for you when you need her. Simply, a great human being! I really don’t know how and when, but even without my knowledge, she became an important part of my life too. She had influenced me in many ways (she still does!) and I am indebted to her for the rest of my life for not giving up on me all these while.

She is Anitha; my best friend there ever is and my best friend there ever will be. She is married to the equally charming and friendly Dr. Navin after seeing each other for almost 6 years before marriage. Coming from two different backgrounds, they surpassed all the initial family hiccups and made their love story end in a happy note. Together they make such a sweet couple and are so made for each other. The kid is going to be one lucky fella on gods green earth with such blessed parents. I take this opportunity to wish this happy family a very bright and prosperous future.

My Live-in Relationships.

Finally !!!
Earlier titled as “The People with whom I shared my room”, this post has been in the writing stage for a very long time. To be precise from October; ever since the last person with whom I used to share my apartment left me and went. Sob Sob ….(Gawd!...am I sounding like Karan Johar now?)
After describing about my family members, the next perfect set of people for me to describe would be the ones with whom I stayed with after leaving home. And yes, fortunately or unfortunately, they were all guys(don’t know if I should be sighing or smiling now !).
I have made this post as saccharine sweet as possible. Not that these guys were best in conduct or not that I was too dumb to realize their nature. It is just that for me the positives always overshadow the negatives. Honestly, I have never had a tiff with any of them, but yes, I did raise my voice a couple of times. Guys, in case, you are reading this, I sincerely apologise to each one of you for my misbehavior.

So here goes….let me introduce them to you first -----



From extreme left, Mathew, Vinod , Me and Sujith

Vinod – Period of stay : June 2001 – March 2003
The most brilliant and studious person among my roomies. Btw, he is still into something related with studies and it wudnt be a surprise if he would turn out to be the next Abdul Kalam. I know him from my graduation days and he has been this very same down-to- earth person from then. Probably it would be this quality of his that has made him popular among us. He is a moving google map of chennai, he can direct you to any remote area in Chennai. Today, if I dont get lost in the roads of Chennai, its only because of this guy. He cannot stand seeing anyone in trouble and I suppose he has got the longest of the helping hands with him. A person with a solution to any problem, however big it is, he would not move an inch even if an atom bomb got dropped near him. He would casually say, “So what, it’s jus a bomb, its not that the sky has fallen down.” But even if the sky falls down, he would come up with some other excuse to stand still. With him there is no moment for sadness or confusion. A hard worker, he does part time work along with his studies and research (even today) and has appeared in the newspapers and also in Zee News for the same. I am proud to have been his roomie once. (As mentioned above, this post was written long ago, now Vinod is employed and he has started his career)

Sujith – Period of stay : November 2004 – May 2006; November 2006 - November 2007
A true Casanova in all senses; he attracts the opposite gender like a magnet. I used to wonder with envy how he does it with ease convincing so many girls to be his friend. The best part is that he would remember even the minutest of things each one of them said. Phew! What a man! He was a junior of mine during my post graduation, though elder than me. We began our conversations in a rather funny way and we would still think about it and laugh our hearts out. Flashback : sujith was about to join college and somehow during his interview at Chennai, he managed to get my mob number. He smsed me asking a favour . I dint have a clue who it was and so I casually replied, “Hi. How r u? Who r u ?” Even after that, we never spoke much but we used to express our hi-byes. Our conversations later on began with exchanging songs and then one fine day turned into roomies. We started living together when both of us were going through the worst of times in our respective lives. That I guess made us gel with each other so well. The best financial controller among my roomies, he must have already saved for a generation now. He knows where, when, how and what to spend and makes sure he saves double the amount he spends. He is also the cleanliest and the most systematic person among my roomies. He is a very good companion who loves to live in his own world most of the time. He might not be good at giving you a solution for any of your problems but I can guarantee he would be there for you to listen to you whenever you want him to. I can never ask for a much better roomie.(Again, a news; this guy is getting engaged on 22nd of this month)

Mathew – Period of stay: October 2005 – May 2006
He is the most casual, fun loving and spent thrift among my roomies. A sainik school product, during our college days, his main aim was to be a part of the Indian Army. Fate had something else for him, infact something better, I should say. Our friendship also dates back to our college and infact Mathew, Vinod and I were classmates. He was my chemistry tutor and during those days, I would use only his notes for the exams. We were referred as “Bermuda Bros” during the later part of our college and have even acted in a hindi play together. He is a born actor, singer, dancer, and a charmer. Even though he is a lot vibrant, he is totally a no nonsense type. My stay with him was for only for a brief period; 6 months and we had the some of the best time ever. It was Sujith, Mathew, and me who was living together and it was an experience staying with this two completely opposite personalities. A total movie and music freak, one could expect him at the theatre that screens even the worst movie. Mathew is also a good cook but doesn’t go by the conventional methods of cooking and always gives us a surprise when he comes out of the kitchen. He is married now and is expecting another member in his life very soon. I am sure his family is very lucky, as I personally know well how good a caretaker he is. I regret not being his roomie for a longer period.

Apart from these people, I also had an opportunity to stay with three others during my brief stay in Dubai. Sreenath, Gowtham and Zakir; all four of us lived together in a small dingy room. But I must admit, I had so much of fun staying with these people. It would be inappropriate to include Sreenath here in my roomies list as he is much more than a mere friend to me. Not much to write about Gowtham and Zakir as I could hardly understand them.

Now I don’t think I would have another roommate as it is time for me to move on with a life mate. And I just hope I don’t miss these guys anymore, hehehe !!!

Current Favs : Feb 1 - Mar 1

Apologize for the delay in this post. Feb was a hectic month with all the work behind the awards and related stuff. Also the site was undergoing a construction and I hope everyone is happy with the change in the look.

Couple of new entries while Jodha Akbar still remains on the top.


1 Kwaaja Mere Kwaaja from Jodha Akbar (Hindi)
2 Jogi Aaya from Black and White (Hindi)
3 Venmegam from Yaaridi Nee Mohini (Tamil)
4 Break Free from Krazzy4 (Hindi)
5 Uyirile En Uyirile from Vellithirai (Tamil)
6 Engu Ninnu Vanna from Calcutta News (Malayalam)
7 Kannil Vandadum from Vaazhthugal (Tamil)
8 Pehli Nazar Mein from Race (Hindi)
9 Maambulli from Kadha Parayumbol (Malayalam)
10 Maa from Taare Zameen Par (Hindi)