KAADHALIL SODHAPPUVATHU EPPADI

Kaadhalil Sodhappuvathu Eppadi is one of the best films that I have seen in recent times. The story, dialogues, screenplay, music, acting, photography, direction - all are excellent.

Siddarth and Amala Paul are in the lead roles and both of them have done their performances very well. They have lived the character so well that you do not see any acting. All the other actors and actresses have done very well. I liked the acting of Suresh (Panneer Pushpangal fame).

There are no unwanted scenes and there are no cinematic turns in the story line. True to the title the entire film revolves around Love and how one can sodhappufy it at various stages.

This film can act as a very good lesson for youngsters and I am sure the younger generation would love this film. The sequences used and the dialogues are very simple and catchy.

I also liked the portrayal style wherein Siddarth speaks to the Audience and narrates the story and situations. Thaman has done well with the songs as well as the background score.

The director himself appears in couple of scenes and has done well in handling the subject well with lot of humour into the story line. There is not unnecessary thrusting of humour and hence it is very enjoyable.

Overall it is a very good film worth watching as it is a wholesome entertainer for 2 hours.




Don't miss this film.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
29th February 2012

பாட்டு பாட வா - நாகேஷ் பாடல்கள்

தமிழ் சினிமாவின் தலைசிறந்த நகைச்சுவை நடிகர் திரு நாகேஷ். அவர் நடித்த சில பாடல் காட்ச்சிகளை இங்கே பட்டியல் இட்டு வழங்குகிறேன்:

1. அவளுக்கென்ன அழகிய முகம் அவளுக்கென்ன
   
2. தாமரை கன்னங்கள் தேன் மலர் கிண்ணங்கள்
3. மலர் என்ற முகம் இன்று சிரிக்கட்டும்
   
4. வாழைத்தண்டு போல உடம்பு அல்லேக்
   
5. வரவு எட்டணா செலவு பத்தணா
6. சேதி கேட்டோ சேதி கேட்டோ
   
7. காசிக்கு போற சன்யாசி
   
8. டும் டும் டும் மேளம்
   
9. அழகிருக்குது உலகிலே ஆசை இருக்குது மனசிலே
   

Kid Does Push Ups On Glass Bottles

7-year-old Giuliano Stroe, known as the world's strongest kid, does push ups while balancing on four glass bottles. He already holds a few Guinness World Records!

I saw this video on MSN this morning and thought of sharing it in my blog. Very impressive to see a 7 year old boy with six-pack.

A DAY WELL SPENT

If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard,
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine where it went--
Then you may count that day well spent.

But if, through all the livelong day,
You've cheered no heart, by yea or nay--
If, through it all
You've nothing done that you can trace
That brought the sunshine to one face--
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost--
Then count that day as worse than lost.

- George Eliot

A day well spent is a day on which we have made someone feel happy and brought a smile on the face of the other person. A day well spent should also result in developing our own skills and talents. We should not get complacent with the our own selves. This is very aptly depicted by Charlie Chaplin in this clipping where he encounters a Lion inside its cage.

Have fun. Be alert. Spend your day well. Let the day well spent bring you happiness, joy and prosperity. Spend the day well by developing yourself and also by contributing to the society in whatever little way you can.

Have a Nice Day.

- T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
27th February 2012

CLAY FRIDGE

This Fridge (Refrigerator) is made of clay. The inventor is Mansukhbhai Prajapati from Gujarat, India. He created this wonderful product to help the rural population. He says the people who are living in villages in India cannot afford to buy a normal electrical refrigerator and hence he has given them an affordable Refrigerator which is made of clay. This Clay Fridge is called "Mitti Cool" and does not require electricity.

This innovation is cost effective as the initial investment is very low and there is absolutely no maintenance cost. Most importantly it is eco-friendly as it does not consume electricity.



This is truly an amazing invention by Mansukhbhai Prajapati.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E
24th February 2012

The Million Dollar Idea

This is one of the most brilliant ideas. A 21 year old student wanted to raise money for his university education and ended up with the idea of creating a homepage with million pixels. He then sold the million pixels for $ 1 each and raised a Million Dollars.

The Million Dollar Homepage is a website conceived in 2005 by Alex Tew, a student from Wiltshire, England, to raise money for his university education. The home page consists of a million pixels arranged in a 1000 × 1000 pixel grid; the image-based links on it were sold for $1 per pixel in 10 × 10 blocks. The purchasers of these pixel blocks provided tiny images to be displayed on them, a URL to which the images were linked, and a slogan to be displayed when hovering a cursor over the link. The aim of the website was to sell all of the pixels in the image, thus generating a million dollars of income for the creator.

Alex Tew launched the website on 26th August 2005 and sold the entire one million pixels by 11th January 2006. It took just 18 weeks for him to raise the Million dollars. He promised the customers that the website will be up and online for atleast five years and has already fulfilled that promise.

Please visit the web page: http://milliondollarhomepage.com/



This is truly one of the wonders of Internet Marketing. I salute this genius for this wonderful business initiative.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
23rd February 2012

MANAGING RELATIONSHIPS

We are born with certain existing relationships. Even before we come on to this world there are pre-existing relationships like father, mother, grand father, grand mother, uncle, aunt, cousin brother, cousin sister, brother, sister, etc. These pre-existing relationships are given to us and we do not have a choice.

When we are growing through the childhood and adulthood is when we add some more relationships in our life and these come by choice. The added relationships are always based on our choice and cannot be forced on to us by anyone. We also drop some of these along the way and pick up new relationships. This happens both at work as well as in personal life.

I have always believed in maintaining a good work life balance and I feel the relationships that we develop would also be crucial in determining how well we are able to balance our time and energy towards work and personal life.

The pre-existing relationships with which we are born in this world continue to grow with us and gets stronger as we grow older. These pre-existing relationships are blood relationships and hence even if we are geographically separated these relationships remain deep rooted. There are possibilities for someone to de-link from the pre-existing relationships, for whatever reason. In some cases I have seen the new relationships that we add will be responsible for de-linking with the pre-existing relationships.

We have to be extremely careful in choosing the relationships as we grow - both in our personal life as well as at work. As human beings we are all filled with emotional feelings and thus are susceptible to mood swings. It is in this context that the management of relationships gains importance.

We have to be extremely careful in choosing the new relationships whether it is a friend or life partner or business associate or business partner. If we are careful at the time of choosing the people it becomes that much more easier to manage these relationships at a later point in time. If the choice made at the beginning is faulty then managing and maintaining becomes a huge challenge or a battle on daily basis. Some of the relationships break because of the mis-match in thinking and on hindsight we feel we made a wrong choice.

I have come across some individuals who maintain excellent relationship with people around them. They keep in touch once in a while and nurture these relationships very well. They never get into any conflict with others and are quite smooth sailing. One of the things they do is to completely avoid individuals who are not in sink with their thinking or style. It is easier said than done as I have seen it through my own experience.

The younger generation should be very careful when choosing their long term relationships like life partner. There is no point in jumping into relationships for the sake of it or because of any materialistic pleasures. The life time partner that a youngster is choosing will have to be a well thought out personality in order to choose the individual and family circumstances. The number of break-ups and the number of divorces have increased substantially in the recent decade becuase of the reckless attitude shown by the youngsters. I feel the youngsters should show little bit more restraint and think rationally before choosing their life partners.

Getting into new relationships, maintaining a cordial relationship and managing the various relationships that we have in life is a very challenging and tough task. The Golden Rule which I picked up from Swami Dayanand Saraswathi lecture is "I don't want to be hurt by anyone and I will not hurt anybody".

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
21st February 2012

To conserve with love

February is the month of the 40th anniversary of the Unesco World Heritage Convention. On this occasion two city boys Aniketh MJ and Sulesh Kumar have set big dreams for themselves and the country. These 24-year-old, ex-managers have taken up a mission to create awareness about lesser known World Heritage sites of India. Aniketh and Sulesh will be kick starting a trip in the first week of March covering all 28 sites that include Mughal architectural marvels like Taj Mahal, engineering feats like the Mountain Railways and the Sundarbans.

Ask them why they came up with the idea of chronicling Indian heritage sites and Aniketh says, “After visiting world heritage sites in Cambodia, Alaska and South Africa, the curiosity to explore India’s sites spurred me. A recent visit to Hampi is when I decided to do my bit to promote the tourism of our country.” For Sulesh, who was raised in the Middle East, it was his need to connect with his roots that prompted him.

They have been preparing for quite some time now. A three-month trip is a package of weather change and unpredictable conditions. So they had to read quite a bit and refer to various travel sites like the Indian Railways website. “Finding out the best time to visit was the most important in our planning. National parks in Sundarbans and Kaziranga remain closed from April onwards. Choosing the direction to travel was the key to avoid extreme heat and also to beat the monsoons,” says Aniketh.

While it was easy for Aniketh to convince his family about his trip, for Sulesh it was a bit of a struggle. “My family was surprised initially but I managed to convince them. The funny bit was my grandmother thought I was going on a pilgrimage to all temples across the country,” says Sulesh.

Having quit a comfortable corporate life and venturing out into the open to explore the ‘other side’ of the country hasn’t been an easy decision for them. “I had to prepare myself mentally for a trip without any comforts and a tour without any confirmed accommodations,” says Sulesh. Their focus right now is to get part of their trip sponsored by sports and outdoor gear companies. But at the end of it, they want to write a book dedicated to the country. “Most certainly, we plan to introduce a travel guide that will also spread awareness about these wonderful sites,” says Aniketh.

What is it that they are looking forward to the most and pat comes the reply, “Sighting the one-horned Rhino in Kaziranga, the majestic Royal Bengal Tiger at Sundarbans and of course the visit to Taj Mahal,” says the duo.

THE ROUTE MAP
Start @tanjore
MARCH
Through Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal. The duo’s route map will include the following important sites: Mahabalipuram temple, Badami-Pattadakal-Aihole temples, Sun Temple at Konark, Sundarbans and Darjeeling’s Mountain Railways.

APRIL
Through Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The duo’s route map will include the following important sites: Manas and Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuaries and Keoledeo National Park, Bodhgaya, Khajuraho temples, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, and Jantar Mantar.

MAY
Through Delhi, Shimla,Vadodara, Mumbai, Goa and back to Tamil Nadu. The duo’s route map will include the following important sites: Qutub Minar, Ajanta, Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park and Ellora Caves and Churches in Goa.

JUNE
End @ Ooty

========================================================================
This is a news item that appeared in Deccan Chronicle today in Bangalore. Aniketh is my wife's nephew and it is making us feel very proud.

All the best Aniketh and wish you and your friend a very successful trip.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
20th February 2012

Nice Mistake

Yesterday I blocked my time from 3.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. for a client. I reached at the client office exactly at 3.30 p.m. and came to know that the information for my review was not ready and hence my appointment was cancelled. These are common occurrences over the last few months since I chose to be an independent Management Consultant. I went to the nearby Cafeteria to have a cup of Tea and was thinking how to engage myself for the next 2 to 3 hours.

I learnt Arabic in 2011 and still not very confident of speaking in Arabic as I feel my vocabulary is very poor. I have been planning for the last several weeks to watch an Arabic Film to improve my understanding of the language. Last week I thought of going for "Omar wa Salma 3" but could not go. When I was having tea I thought of going for the Arabic Movie in Grand Cinestar. I remembered seeing the timing in the newspaper as 4.40 p.m. and hence thought there is plenty of time to reach the theatre. I enjoyed the Tea and then left for the Grand cinestar.

I reached the theatre well in advance and purchased the ticket for the Arabic Film "Omar wa Salma 3" and the counter clerk told me that it is in Screen 12. I walked over to the area and started looking at the rollup stands kept for various films. There were two entrances and I noticed two people going through the right side entrance. I thought instead of waiting outside for the next 15 minutes it is better to go and sit inside the theatre. I walked into the theatre and they were already playing the introduction about Grand Cinema. There were three others in the theatre which was a bit of a relief. I have watched several films alone in the theatre and felt lonely and hence it is nice to be in the midst of people.

After the introduction of Grand Cinema they started showing an English Film which initially I thought is the trailer. After couple of minutes I realised that they were showing the film "Man on the Ledge". I was a in a dilemma to stay back or to leave the theatre as I realised I am in Screen 11 and not Screen 12. The English Film started off in a very interesting way and I thought it is better to watch this film as it is very interesting.


From 4.15 to 4.40 I watched the film very happily and was suddenly disturbed by an Employee of the Theatre. He was verifying the tickets of all the four of us who were in the theatre. When my turn came I gave the ticket and before he could examine with his torch light I told him "I bought the ticket for Arabic Film but came here by mistake". He said "Sir, please follow me" and he led me out of the screen and quickly took me to Screen 12. There was nobody in the theatre and I was alone. As soon as I got settled in a seat they started the Arabic Film "Omar wa Salma 3".

The Arabic Film was very good with lot of humour and drama. I enjoyed watching the film though I did not understand nearly half of what they spoke. I could follow the story and the sequences well.



When I walked out of the theatre after watching the film I was very satisfied for two reasons - (a) I watched an Arabic Film for the first time in my life and enjoyed the film (b) It was a nice mistake to go into Screen 11 instead of Screen 12 as I ended up watching "Man on the Ledge" for about 20 minutes. Overall a good experience as this is the first time I am making such a mistake in life.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
20th February 2012

ANCIENT INDIAN INDOOR GAMES

Now a days children are very fond of video games. There are a number of hand held devices which are full of such games like the PSP, GameBoy, etc. These games certainly help the child with improving the reflexes. I wonder if the ancient Indian Indoor games are played in the houses (either in India or Abroad) in this modern (electronic age) world.

In the olden days we used to play these ancient indoor games at home. During monsoon season we cannot go out and play and schools will also be closed due to heavy rains. This is the best time to play Indoor Games like "Paramapadam"; "Pallanguzhi"; "Aadu Puli Aattam"; "Dayakattai "; etc. I have very fondly played these indoor games during my childhood days.

For reasons unknown to me I have not taught these games to my children. The worst part is I have also forgotten the rules of these indoor games over the years as I have not been in touch with these games for almost three decades now.

Some of these games help to improve our number crunching ability. One has to think a lot before playing these games and hence it certainly sharpens our thinking process and increases the brain power. In present world we are glued on to Television sets and Digital Gadgets so much that we do not have the inclination or the time to play these ancient indoor games.

T.P.Anand

Dubai, U.A.E.

15th February 2012

பாட்டு பாட வா - பிரபு பாடல்கள்

இளைய திலகம் பிரபு எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த நடிகர். அவர் பாடல் கட்சிகளில் மிகவும் பிரமாதமாக நடிப்பார். அவரது நடனமும் எனக்கு ரொம்ப பிடிக்கும். அவர் கடந்த முப்பது ஆண்டுகளாக தொடர்ந்து நடித்து வருகிறார். இந்த முப்பது ஆண்டுகளில் ஒவ்வொரு ஆண்டும் தவறாமல் அவர் நடித்த படங்கள் வெளி வந்துள்ளன.

எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த சில பிரபு பாடல்களை இங்கே தொகுத்து வழங்குகிறேன்:

1. என்ன வென்று சொல்வதம்மா வஞ்சி அவள் பேரழகை
   
2. மழை வருது மழை வருது குடை கொண்டு வா
3. தூளியிலே ஆட வந்த வானத்து மின் விளக்கே
   
4. ஆகாய வெண்ணிலாவே தரை மீது வந்ததேனோ
   
5. ஒரு பூங்காவனம் புது மனம்
   
6. போடாத தாளம் போடவேண்டும்
   
7. ரோஜா பூ ஆடி வந்ததே
   
8. காதோரம் லோலாக்கு கடை சொல்லுதடி
9. ஒ மானே மானே மானே உன்னைத்தானே
10. கண்டு புடிச்சேன் கண்டு புடிச்சேன் காதல் நோய கண்டு புடிச்சேன்
11. பூவே இளய பூவே வரம் தரும் வசந்தமே
    
12. அஞ்சலி அஞ்சலி புஷ்பாஞ்சலி
    
    

EK MAIN AUR EKK TU

I saw this wonderful film over the weekend and enjoyed every bit of it. The movie is shot in Las Vegas and watching the movie brought back fond memories of my visit to Las Vegas in October last year. Most surprising thing was the car driven by Imran Khan as I had driven the same car when I went from Grand Canyon to Las Vegas. My relative Raghavan owns a Toyota Prius Hybrid and the same car (same colour) is driven by Imran Khan in this movie.

Imran Khan as usual has done a fantastic job. He has played his role very well. Kareena Kapoor is beautiful and carries herself very well. This role is tailor made for her and suits her personality so well. The Onscreen chemistry between Kareena and Imran is very good. Boman Irani looks out of place in this role of a strict father. He is not very comfortable and does not justify his presence on the screen.

It is a simple story extremely well narrated without any dramatic turns or cinematic twists. A good entertainer with good screen play and dialogues. Thankfully there are no fighting scenes in the film.

In the beginning of the movie they show that there are three type of children, viz., (a) children who listen to parents and do exactly what they are told (b) children who do not listen to parents and are rebellious and (c) children who pretend to be listening and when the parents are out of sight they indulge in what they like. I narrated this to my younger son Akshay and asked him "so which category do you and your brother belong". He said "we are in the fourth category". I did not have the guts to ask him to explain what he meant by the Fourth Category. I presume the fourth category is a mixture of two out of three and not a concoction of all the three.

MARINA

There has been lot of publicity and hype for this movie and hence I was keen to watch the film. I saw the film yesterday and have mixed feelings about the film. The film is neither a full time entertainer nor a film that leaves a heavy impact in our minds. The moral of the story is "Allow the children to get educated properly and avoid Child Labour".

Pakoda Pandian has done a wonderful job and rightly deserves the first title card. The new entrant Gautham Purushoth has also done very well.

The other new entrant Siva Karthikeyan and Oviya have done their role with ease and are quite natural and casual in the roles. There is no romantic scenes for Siva Karthikeyan and Oviya as the focus of the film is not on their love story.

Marina beach is captured well throughout the film. The message on Child Labour is conveyed but without much stress. The search for Gautham by the two police constables is neither serious nor comedy. The reason for the DSP to search for Gautham was real disappointing anti-climax.

In Madan Talkies I think Mr.Madan will give only two and a half stars for this film.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
9th February 2012

SRIRANGAM TEMPLE

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spandana/3514825120/

I have visited the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam several times in the past. On my recent visit on 31st January 2012 I noticed a blue board on the way to the Chakrathalwar Sannadhi. This blue board had the layout of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. The layout of the place is really very stunning.



This temple is the biggest temple in the world as it covers an area of about 631,000 square meters with a perimeter of 4 km. The temple complex is 156 acres in extent. There are seven prakarams around the temple. There are 21 towers (gopurams) in the temple and the Rajagopuram at the main entrance is 236 feet tall. The Rajagopuram is visible from far off places.

Srirangam is one of the 108 divya desams and is considered one of the most important vishnu temple. It is a beautiful island town. The people who live in this town are very fortunate and blessed.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
7th February 2012

Harris on the Edge

"Harris on the Edge" live concert happened at Dubai Festival City yesterday night (4th February 2012) and I watched the electrifying show. The concert was for exactly 2 1/2 hours and as usual the show started late at 8.10 p.m. though the start time announced was 7 p.m. It was a very chill and windy evening and the audience enjoyed the show with lot of people dancing for the beats of Harris.

The show was originally scheduled for 3rd February 2012 and for some reason got postponed to 4th February 2012. Harris announced that 3rd February is a very auspicious date for him as his first film as Music Director "Minnalae" released on 3rd February 2001. He is a very shy person and speaks very little. He enjoys his music and jumps in joy during every song. His style, music, talk and walk has a lot of resemblance with A.R.Rahman.


The stage setting and the arrangements were very good. They also had a 3D visual for the song "Rendaka Rendaka" which was very enjoyable. True to the title of the concert Harris Jayaraj kept the audience at the edge of the seats throughtout the concert. It was non-stop music for 150 minutes packed with 24 top compositions of this young Music Director. The orchestra on the stage was very good though the number of instrumentalists were less than the number of singers.

The following is the list of songs played at the Concert:

1. Adiye Kolluthe
2. Pudu Pudu vazhigalum parka
3. Mun dinam paarthaene paarthathum thottrenae
4. Thoothu varuma thoothu varuma
5. Ven Pani Ven Paniye Nillu
   
6. En Friendapola yaaru machaan
7. Kannum Kannum Nokia nee kollai kollum mafia
8. Iru vizhi unadhu
9. Anbae en anbae un vizhi paarkka ethanai naalai thaviththen
10. Kalyanamthan kattikittu odipolaama
11. Elelama sollamale ullam thullumaa
12. Vaseegara un nenjinilae
    
13. O ayeerae ayeerae thoovum poomazhai
14. Asku Asku
    
15. Uyirin uyirae
    
16. Palapalakkara agala nee anal adikkira
    
17. Ennamo Yedo
    
18. Rendaka Rendaka
19. Nenjukkul peythidum vaan mazhai
20. O Ringa ringa
21. Ava ennna enaa thedi vantha anjala
22. Mangai nilavin thangai
23. Karka Karka
24. Vennilavae velli velli nilaavae
    

Overall it was a very good show and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Hats off to Harris for putting up a very nice show and hats off to the organisers.

T.P.Anand, Dubai, U.A.E.
5th February 2012