An Awaited Moment - The Rajni Story

YAY! Going to see today one of the most awaited movies of this year! "Shivaji-The Boss" . This is supposedly one of Rajnikanth's best movies ever and the costliest movie : costing around 60 Crore Indian Rs.

Rajni movies always bring back really nice childhood memories. I watched "Pannakaran" in Nagesh theatre TNagar with a big gang of family and cousins.

Then watched "Dhalapadhi" in a preview (special screening) , with my dad (my sis was an infant (3-4 months) then, so mom and she stayed back).

We watched "Arunachalam" while touring Chidambaram and Pichavaram. "Aandavan Solraan Arunachalam Mudikaran ("God Proposes and Arunachalam Finishes"), was the major talk in school and was used to in all our conversations.

Watched "Baasha" with my cousin in Jawaharnagar Chennai (both the movie and the place are quite close to my heart).

Was really lucky to catch "Padayappa" in Ooty (Udhagamandalam).It was just after my Standard XII board exams and a series of entrance exams and was one hell of a break for me!

I love the following lines from Rajni's one of the best movies ever "Annamalai":
Vetri Nitchayam Idhu Vedha Sathiyam
Victory is Certain , and that is an eternal Vow!
koLgai velvadhae, naan koNda latchiyam
Attaining my goals is my mission in life!

imayamalai agaamal enadhu uyir pOgaadhu
I wont perish until I become tantamount to the Himalayas
sooriyan thoongalaam enadhu vizhi thoongaadhu
The Sun may take rest, but my eyes wont rest
vaervai mazhai sindhaamal vetri malar thoovaadhu
Without toiling, the garland of success doesnt come
ellaiyai thodum varai enadhu kattai vaegaadhu
I shall strive until I reach my limit

C-Racy Talk

The whistle blew at exactly 6 PM. It was like watching a spoilt video tape on VCR with the whole frame of my vision bouncing up and down. All I could see was bobbing heads in front of me. Soon it was my time to bounce and transfer the energy to particles (people) behind me. We got moving at a pretty good pace. The 5.6 Km Coporate run had begun. All of us were adorned in colorful company T-Shirts, colors of most of which cannot be worn on normal days (bright yellow, bright blue, bright red = All Typical Ramarajan Colors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramarajan. What did you think Ramarajan is on the Wiki too! :D )

I think the people who conduct the marathons should make it a mandatory rule that all runners should wear T-shirts with sleeves. Come on, people run so close to each other in these races that it really gets smelly at times (urrgh!).

So coming back to the race,the most challenging part was overtaking the people in front of you. Unlike cars you cant honk, wave or show hand gestures to overtake. The best way that worked for me was to go threateningly close to the person whom you want to overtake, taking care that you dont stamp on their feet and then maybe do a strech or an excercise on the go. Sneezing or coughing could also work in case the person is not on his head phones. Soon he/she will acknowledge your eagerness and let you pass.

Thanks to some decent training and some really hot women in front of me (define hot as: women who were hot from running) I was able to complete the race in satisfactory time. I shall hold on to 32:27 (min,sec) for sometime :)

Disappointment

5 A.M in the morning, waste of time, waste of sleep, waste of money ....:(
India out of the World Cup, what a disgrace. Maybe itz time to bury cricket for sometime.

Art Dabble

A vase or a pot?

Bhagat Singh? or someone like him

Macho!

Seigniorage Explained

Seigniorage is the mechanism of raising funds by printing of currency for Government spending.

For e.g. if the Reserve Bank of India mints 1 Crore - 5 Rs currency notes (i.e. 5 Crore Rs. worth) and assume the cost of manufacturing each note is 1Rs. So the Reserve Bank raises 4 Crore Rs in this Seigniorage process. This money can be used for all Government Fiscal spending. The catch here, what is the effect of unregulated Seigniorage? Can the government just keep on minting notes to counter the fiscal deficit and to fund government related spending?

You may recall from Indian History one of the blunders commited by Mohammad Bin Tughlaq! He was extremely interested in Coinage and minted numerous Brass and Copper coins. Being commonly available metals, every house in India started minting their own coins (i.e forged coins). The supply of currency increased so much that it threatened economic collapse through increased inflation. The Sultan had to buy back all the currency from the public (including the forged ones) by paying in bullion/gold.

Therefore the main consequence of expansion of money supply is Inflation. Inflation as we know means that all our money deposits and funds that we possess become lesser in value.

Thus we can see the need for controlling monetary expansion and ensuring the value of currency. This regulation is done by Central banks and regulatory bodies such as Reserve Bank of India and MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) etc.

Wow economics is damn interesting aint it!

Faith and Science

http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/2007-01-15%20--%20science%20vs%20faith.png

Bad Day

You wake up in the morning and something seems wrong and you know it is your bad day.

You have run out of toothpaste.
The water inlet pipe breaks leaking water all over.
The coffee boils over making a mess of your stove.
There is a button missing in the shirt you had pressed with care.
You rush to the bus stop to realise that you missed the bus and next one is 30 min later.
You hurry to office in a cab hoping that no one noticed that you are late.
You realise your whole team is awaiting your arrival to solve some critical problem.
Your inbox is full of mails with critical status that have to be replied to.
You are served burnt and yucky tasting food at lunch.
With severe headache you have to attend a really long and boring afternoon meeting.
You sweat it out to get the applications running on the server and realise that someone has pulled the plug off!
Just when you are about to leave someone requests you to solve a problem for him.
Finally after braving all these you go home And you thank god that the day is over!!!

And thatz the best time to hear the following song by Daniel Powter titled "Bad Day".
It is like rubbing salt on your wounds, yet it is damn good!

---------------------------------------

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee you go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Will you need a blue sky holiday?
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on
You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day(Oooh.. a holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't knowYou tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Life 70 mm

Akayla (1991)

Dil To Paagal Hai (1997)

Unnal Mudiyum Thambi [you can do it brother!] (1988)

Talaash (2002)

Koi Mil Gaya (2003)

Tum Se Milke (2003)

Kyun? Ho Gaya Naa (2004)

Jillendru Oru Kaadhal [A cool Love] (2006)

MujhSe Shaadi Karoge (2004)

Shaadi Se Pehle (2006)

Vivaah (2006)

Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar (2004)

Snapshot

Books of the Month:
Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
Four Clocks - Agatha Christie
Warren Buffet Illustrated Cartoon

Songs of the Month:
I'm glad : Jenifer Lopez
Would You: (Touch and go)
Chup Gaya - Hum Aap Ke Dil Mein Rehte Hain
Dole Dole - Pokiri (Telugu)
New York Nagaram - SOK

Faces of the Month
Anoushka - from movie Rendu in Tamil
Anonymous face that I saw in Jurong East MRT

Stock Picks of the Month
CNN - IBN
Mindtree

Discussions of the Month
Real Estate Investments
Mutual Funds Investments
Ethical issues regarding ppl who have been thru break ups and past commitments

Targets of the Month
Enjoy as much as possible :)
Target 2 more kilos loss
Trek up Mt. Guilin
Jog around Bukit Batok Nature Reserve

TV Programs of the Month:
Seinfeld
Fashion House (just saw one episode, itz hot)
Jodi No 1
Kalakka Povathu yaaru

Movies of the Month:
None Till now

Biting Philosophy - Thathuvam Solren Kettuko

I had recently gone to these comedy dramas in Chennai. One of them was titled "Thandramukhi" by Y.Gee Mahendran's troupe. It was one laughing riot. The following are excerpts from the drama:

Thathuvan Solren Kettuko:

1. Ticket Vaangi Ulla Ponaa adhu Cinema Theatre
Ulla Poi Ticket Vanginaaa adhu Operation Theatre!

2. Daily Calendar'la thedhi (date) kizhikkarom, adhu namakku theriyum
Anaaa andha thedhi-laa naama ennaa kizhikarom-nu andha calendar-ku theriyumaaa!

3. Kaasu irundha Call-Taxi. Kaasu illena Kaale Taxi!

This is a latest addition damn good:

bus un mela aerunaalum nee bus-la aerunaalum ticket edukka poradhu nee thaan. :D

The Kolkata Experience

I had really fond childhood memories of Kolkata. I again visited Kolkata this December 2006 after a gap of around 14 years. Though I dint see any major changes / developments compared to high growth cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai I was still glad that Kolkata has maintained its unique cultural flavor.

KOLKATALOGY

Radha Pallavi
(Radha = Poori like Kachoris with Pallavi = Aloo Dum like Subzi)

Singhada
(~ equivalent of a Samosa but not quite the same)

Misthi Doi (Dahi)
(Sweet Curd)

Puchka / Fuchka
(~ Paani Poori)

Rosho-gulla
Rasagullas

Mouchak
(A Sweet and Savories Shop in Gol Park)

Park Street
( A famous street in Kolkata with lots of restaurants and brightly lit)
~ MG Road in Bangalore, Orchard Road in Singapore)

Peter Cat
(a famous Restaurant on Park Street)

Bhalo Aa-chi ?
Doing good?

Teek Aache
Am good!

Ami Thumi-ko Bhalo Baashi
I like you very much (~ I Love U)