IS IT A PLEASURE TO WORK

Is it a pleasure to work? Do you enjoy your work? Are you happy to work? What will you do if you don't have work?

These are questions that I keep asking myself. Whether we work for a company or work at home or work for others it is important for us to enjoy the work and feel that it is a pleasure to work. Even a House Wife does lot of work from morning to night and she should also feel it is a pleasure to do the work at home and manage the household chores properly. "Pressure" is bound to be there is any work from time to time and it is up to the individual to handle the pressure in a nice way. With the occasional pressure, the overall work, should always be a pleasure.

While it should be a pleasure for us to work we should also ensure that it is equally pleasurable for people around us to work. If we are totally involved in the work and enjoy the work that we do then obviously it will be a pleasure to work. While doing the work we need to interact with others or work in a team and that is when we have to be more cautious as while we enjoy the work and involve ourselves in it, we have to also ensure that the others around us are equally interested in the work on hand and we have to carryon with the team despite differences in thinking, abilities and experience.

I visited the world's largest floating Book Fair. This is a vessel carrying 400 people (who work as volunteers) and the vessel has a huge book fair and keeps sailing from one country to another. The vessel had berthed in Dubai for few days and I visited the vessel. They had a cultural night in the vessel and the person who conducted the cultural explained about the different people who come from different parts of the world and work in the vessel for 2 years in various departments as volunteers. He said there is never a "right" or "wrong" as they realise there is a "different" way of doing things when they co-exist with different people.

When we work in a team or group we have to realise that people are different and hence we have to be ready to see different ways of doing things. It calls for an open mind to accept people as they are and work towards the common goals. We have to demonstrate a high level of tolerance and absorption in order to co-exist in a team or group.

Respect all the team members and develop the art of listening to others. Listening to Others and respecting the views of others is a very important virtue that we have to develop in order to work in a team.

When we work in a team it is also important for us to present ourselves very clearly and set the expectations right. I have seen people giving a "larger than life" image of themselves and then end up struggling to meet with the demands of the job. By being humble, simple and straight forward we can achieve lot more than what we could do otherwise by being "smart".

I feel "work is worship" and we have to not only enjoy doing the work but we should also always bear in mind that we do our best at the given work.

One of the key factors to excel at work is to have a clear divide between the personal and official life. I have never carried work to the home and same way I have never carried my personal work into office. It is extremely important to compartmentalise our day, diary and thinking. While we are at work, we should not think about personal matters and similarly while we are at home we should not think about work. This work - life balance is very important for us to achieve success and enjoy both a healthy work life and a personal life. I have seen people engaging in personal phone calls when they are at work. After going home these people also engage in official calls for several minutes. Both are bad in my opinion.

People who enjoy their work and also treat the people around them well are always found to excel in their work. If a Housewife enjoys her work in the Kitchen, the food will certainly taste lot better. Same way if a person at office enjoys the work he does his/her output will be far better.

The following are the key success factors to make it a pleasure to work:

1. Understand the work, your role and the objectives
2. Understand the needs of the team and what the other members of the team are doing
3. Appreciate the work done by others and recognise the contribution made by others
4. Do not present a much higher or larger image of yourself or your capabilities
5. Set the expectations right
6. Be diligent and ensure that the work is done with appropriate planning
7. Be proactive at work and try to pre-empt situations
8. Try to be ahead of the curve at all times
9. Do not mix personal life with official life
10. Do not take more than what you can achieve in a day
11. Do not crack under pressure
12. Always look for improvements and betterment
13. Plan your day and review the plans from time to time
14. Provide time for unexpected work

Enjoy your work and enjoy life.

- T.P.Anand, Dubai, 7th April 2011

ஹங்கேரியில் ஒரு அக்ரஹாரம்

அழகான மணல் மேட்டில் அமைந்த ஒரு தெரு அதில் மிக அழகான ஓட்டு வீடுகள் எனக்கு பெரிய ஆச்சர்யம் நாம் ஐரோப்பாவில் இருக்கிறோமா அல்லது தமிழ் நாட்டில் இருக்கிறோமா?

2008 ல் என் மனைவி மற்றும் பிள்ளைகளுடன் நான் ஐரோப்பா சுற்றுபயணம் செய்தேன். நாங்கள் Paris, London, Manchester, Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Lucern என்று பல மேற்கு ஐரோப்பிய நகரங்களை சுற்றி பார்த்தோம்.

இந்த வருடம் கிழக்கு ஐரோப்பிய நாடுகளுக்கு செல்லலாம் என்று எனக்கு ஒரு ஆசை.

நாங்கள் வந்திருப்பது ஹங்கேரி நாட்டின் தலை நகரம் புடபெஸ்ட். Map இன் உதவி இருந்தாலும் வழி தேடி சென்றுகொண்டிருந்த நாங்கள் நால்வரும் எங்களையும் அறியாமல் இந்த மணல் மேட்டிற்கு வந்து இந்த அழகான தெருவில் நிற்கின்றோம்.

எல்லா வீடுகளும் கிட்டத்தட்ட ஒரே மாதிரி அமைந்துள்ள ஓட்டு வீடுகள். வாசலிலே பெரிய திண்ணை ஒவ்வொரு வீட்டு வாசலிலும் அழகான மாக்கோலம்.

எங்கும் நம் மக்கள்.

புடவை உடுத்திய அழகான (ஹ்ம்ம்ம்ம்) மாமிகள். வேஷ்டி உடுத்தி நெற்றியிலே பட்டை நாமம் போட்ட கட்டழகு மாமாக்கள்.

திண்ணையிலும், வீதியிலும் குஷியாகத் தாவி விளையாடிக் கொண்டிருக்கும் குழந்தைகள்.

நாங்கள் நால்வரும் ஆச்சர்யத்துடன் நடந்து செல்ல நான் என் பாட்டியை பார்க்கிறேன். என் அம்மாவின் அம்மா இந்த பாட்டி.

நான் ”ஹங்கேரியில் எப்படி நம் பாட்டி” என்ற ஆச்சரியத்தை கஷ்டப்பட்டு அடக்கிக்கொண்டு “என்ன பாட்டி எப்படி இருக்கே” என்றேன்.

“நான் நன்னா இருக்கேன் நீங்கள் எல்லாரும் சௌகியம்தானே”

“நாங்க நன்னா இருக்கோம் நீ எப்போ இந்த ஊருக்கு வந்தே”

பதில் சொல்லாமல், என் பாட்டி யாரையோ தேடினாள். பிறகு என்னை பார்த்து “செல்லப்பா, ராமு எல்லாரும் ஒண்ணா பொரப்டு வந்தோம். இந்த ஊர் பெருமாள் கோவில் உத்சவம் கொடி ஏறி மூணு நாள் ஆறது” என்று சொல்லிக்கொண்டே வலது பக்கம் திரும்பி “டேய் செல்லப்பா செத்த இங்க வா நம்ப ஆனந்து, ஹேமா, பசங்கல்லாம் வந்திருக்கா பாரு”.

நான் அசந்து போனேன். என் இரண்டு மாமாக்கள், என் பாட்டி எல்லோரும் இங்கே ஹங்கேரி நாட்டில் ஒரு அக்ரஹாரத்தில் என் முன்னே – இது என்ன கனவா?

“பாட்டி மெட்ராஸ் லேந்து எப்டி வந்திங்கோ எல்லாரும்”

“இதென்ன அசட்டு கேள்வி நாங்க எல்லாரும் பறக்கற வண்டில தான் வந்தோம். மெட்ராஸ்லேர்ந்து பொரப்டு டில்லி வந்தோம். அங்க வேற வண்டியில ஏறி எதோ ஒரு ஊர் வழியா இந்த ஊருக்கு வந்தோம்”

நான் இருபது வருடங்களாக பறந்த அனுபவத் திமிருடன் என் பாட்டியிடம் “டில்லிலேந்து நேரா இங்க வந்தியா இல்ல வேற ஊர் வழியாவா?”

என் பாட்டி என் இரண்டாவது மாமாவை பார்த்து “ஏன்டா ராமு நம்போ டில்லிலேந்து அந்த மசக்க ஊர் வழியாதானே வந்தோம்”

என் மாமா உடனே “அம்மா அது மசக்க இல்ல அந்த ஊர் பேரு மொஸ்கொவ்” என்றான்.

”இருடா காபி போட்டுண்டு வரேன்” “ராமு பால் வாய்ண்டு வா” என்று அவர்கள் சற்று நகர்ந்து செல்ல, நான் கொஞ்சம் காலாற நடக்கலாம் என்று நகர்ந்தேன்.

நான் என் மனைவியை பார்த்து “மெட்ராஸ் டு புடபெஸ்ட் அட்லீஸ்ட் ஒரு 40,000 rupees இருக்குமா Airfare” என்றேன்.

As usual “நமக்கு ஏன் அந்த கவலை” என்றாள்.

நான் யோசித்தேன் – இவர்கள் அத்தனை பேரும் சென்னயில் இருந்து எவ்வளவு தூரம் பயணம் செய்து இங்கே வந்திருகிறார்கள். என்ன ஆச்சர்யம்.

கிட்டத்தட்ட நூறு குடும்பங்கள் வாழும் ஒரு அழகான அக்ரஹாரம், மணல் மேடு, மண் வாசனை, கோலங்களுடன் வாசல், திண்ணைவுள்ள ஓட்டு வீடுகள், தெருக் கோடியில் பெரிய கோவில் அங்கிருந்து ஒரு சிறு தொலைவில் நவீனமான மக்கள் புழங்கும் ஐரோப்பா நகரம்.

நாங்கள் கோவிலுக்கு சென்றோம். மிக நல்ல தரிசனம். கோவில் வாசலை அடைந்தால் இன்னும் ஒரு ஆச்சரியம் காத்திருந்தது.

என் இரண்டாம் சகோதரன் அசோக்தான் அங்கே நிற்கிறான்.

அவன் என்னை பார்த்து “வாடா ஆனந்த் எப்பிடி இருக்கே”

கிட்டத்தட்ட அதிர்ச்சி கலந்த ஆச்சர்யத்துடன் “நீ எப்போ வந்தே” என்றேன்.

என் சகோதரன் “நான், விஜி, அனிருத் மூவரும் வந்து மூணு நாள் ஆகறது. இந்த கோவில் உத்சவம் பார்க்க வந்தோம் நல்ல வேளை பார்த்தசாரதி கோவில் உத்சவம் முடிஞ்சதுக்கு அப்புறம் இந்த கோவில் உத்சவம் வந்தது சவுரியமா போச்சு, பாட்டியாத்துல தான் தங்கியிருக்கோம்” என்றான்.

”இப்போதாண்டா பாத்தேன்; காபி போட்டுத் தரேன்னு சொன்னா. ராமு பால் வாங்கப் போயிருக்கான், அதுக்குள்ள பெருமாள் சேவிக்க வந்தேன்”

நாங்கள் நால்வரும் அந்த தெருவில் ஒரு வீட்டிற்கு சென்றோம் – யாரோ தெரியவில்லை அனால் நல்ல மனிதர்கள் எங்களுக்கு சாப்பாடு போட்டு இளைப்பாற இடமும் கொடுத்தார்கள். என் பிள்ளைகள் இருவரும் அந்த வீட்டு பிள்ளைகளுடன் விளையாட சென்றனர். நான் உண்ட களைப்பில் சற்று கண் மூடி ரெஸ்ட் எடுத்தேன்.

தூங்கி எழுந்தால் தெருவில் ஒரே கூச்சல் கும்மாளம் நல்ல மாலை பொழுது அமைதியான அக்ரகாரத்தில் மகிழ்ச்சி பொங்கும் சூழல் மிகவும் ரம்யமாக இருந்தது.

நான் சற்று காலார நடந்து செல்ல ஒரு வீட்டு வாசலில் எனக்கு மிகவும் பரிச்சயம் ஆன மாமா ஒருத்தர். மெதுவாக அவரை அணுகி “நீங்களும் வந்திருக்கேளா. உங்கள முன்னால ட்ரிப்ளிகேன்ல பாத்தாப்ல இருக்கு”.

“நான் இந்த ஊருக்கு வந்து பத்து வருஷம் ஆறது” என்றார்.

எனக்கு தெரிந்த இவ்வளவு பேர் இங்க எப்படி ஒரு சேர இந்த ஹங்கேரி அக்ரஹாரத்தில்.

அந்த குழந்தைகள் அக்ரஹார வாழ்கையை, ஐரோப்பா கலாச்சாரத்தில் கலக்காமல் எப்படி சமாளிக்கிறார்கள் என்று புரியாமல் தவித்தேன்.

அந்த தவிப்பின் நடுவே என் செல்ஃபோன் அலாரம் ஒலித்தது.

எழுந்து பார்த்தால் மணி ஏழு. ஆபிஸுக்கு இன்று சீக்கிரம் போகணும் முக்கியமான மீட்டிங்.

ஆனால் கனவில் நினைவு போல் வந்த ஹங்கேரி அக்ரஹாரம் என்னை முழுக்க வியாபித்திருந்தது. நான் இருப்பது துபாய். என் கனவில் ஒரு அக்ரஹாரம் அதுவும் ஐரோப்பா நகரமான புடபெஸ்ட்டில்.

நான் இதுவரை கண்டிராத ஒரு நாடு ஹங்கேரி. அந்த நாட்டில் ஒரு அழகிய அக்ரஹாரம் அமைத்த என் கனவு என்னை நெகிழ வைத்தது. என் கனவில் வந்த என் பாட்டி இந்த உலகை விட்டு பிரிந்து பதினைந்து வருடங்கள் ஆகின்றன.

உண்மையிலேயே வாழ்க்கையில் இது போல் எத்தனை புதையல்கள்.

Life is a treasure!
(உண்மைக் கனவை கண்டதும், விண்டதும்: தி.பா. ஆனந்த், துபாய், ஏப்ரல் 2009)

My First English Poem

Rolling back in years
Still left with some fears

Seems like a long way
Memories are not far away

Trying to recall if there are any achievements
Heart is filled with many events

All the knowledge gained - unable to connect
Feel better to share through internet

Humiliated by many
Don't know if i deserve so many

Came with nothing and will go with nothing
Will definitely leave behind something

Always been getting only what I deserve
Never kept anything in reserve

Nice to remember so many events, so far in this birth
Hope will be remembered for a few deeds, after my death

- T.P.Anand, Dubai, 31st March 2011

Indian Political League (IPL)

Cho Ramswamy, Chief Executive of the IPL convened a press conference today in Chennai to announce the IPL 2009. According to Cho there will be only eight teams in the IPL 2009:

1. Daredevils led by Mamata Banerjee

2. Royal Challengers led by Lalu Prasad Yadav

3. Super Kings led by Rahul Gandhi

4. Knight Riders led by Amar Singh

5. Trend Setters led by Mayawati

6. Hurricane Hunters led by L.K.Advani

7. Duty Lovers led by Manmohan Singh

8. Regional Roarers by Jayalalitha

Each team will be meeting the other teams twice over a period of four weeks and they are allowed to level charges against each other. A panel of experts will examine all the chargers and allot points. The panel of experts will comprise of the following eminent personalities:

Somnath Chatterjee, Bal Thackeray, A.B.Vajpayee, Pranoy Roy and MF Hussain.

Cho further added that being the Chief Executive of the IPL he will have a casting point in case there is a tie between two teams.

The IPL 2009 will be conducted as scheduled for four weeks commencing from 16th May 2009 and by 15th June 2009 we will know who the next Prime Minister of India will be. The Prime Minister of India will then be officially announced by Mrs.Pratibha Patil, President of India.

Barrak Obama the President of United States of America felt that the Law and Order situation in the sub-continent is not very conducive for conducting the IPL 2009 in India. Whilst Cho is very confident that the IPL 2009 can be conducted peacefully in India he has finally agreed to the line of thinking expressed by Obama.

In a dramatic turn of events Cho has surprised the whole world today in the press conference by announcing his decision to host the IPL 2009 in “Mir” the Russian Space Station. While the decision is well received by the Teams and Indian Public it has nevertheless upset Obama as he expected the matches to be played in the United States of America.

The players of all the teams along with the Panel of Experts will be flown to the space station by “Shuttle” and true to its name it will make a few shuttles between the Space Station and various locations in India to transport the teams. Cho has decided to use Shuttle to give badly needed cash flow for NASA and to please Obama.

The IPL is being entirely sponsored by Satyam Computers and Cho is very confident that the additional expenses due to change in venue will be borne by the sponsors. Additional funds are being pumped into Satyam by Tech Mahindra so that the IPL matches can be smoothly held in the space station.

A special arrangement has been made with Sify for all the satelitte TV channels and cable operators to show the matches live. The Indian public can also cast their votes through the Sify outlets which are well spread across the length and breadth of India.

Cho has made several visits to the Chanchalguda Prison in Hyderabad to discuss the financial aspects of conducting the IPL 2009 with Raju. It is learnt through reliable sources that Srini was present during all the meetings though he would prefer the media to believe that the meetings were conducted only by Raju. Cho has also visited Bombay to meet Mr.Anand for the additional funding to be provided by Tech Mahindra.

In a surprise move while closing the Press Meet Cho has announced that the entire proceeds of the IPL 2009 will be given to NASSCOM as there are several million pink slip holders from the IT and ITES Industry who are standing (literally standing outside NASSCOM offices in India) members of the Association.

The Captains of the teams (who are also the owners) have already conducted a public auction and selected players for their teams.

The team members will be announced by the Captains only on 15th May 2009 during the Shuttle flight. Cho has thanked the Russian government for quick support in agreeing to conducting the IPL 2009 in “Mir”. Cho is leaving by a special Russian Aircraft this afternoon to oversee the arrangements in the Russian Space Station.

- T.P.Anand, 12th May 2009 (a humorous thought process – not to offend any individual)

HOUSE WIFE - THE BEST BUSINESS MANAGER

A housewife is a married woman who takes care of the household and is not employed outside of the home.

In several TV programs I have seen ladies answering the question “what do you do?” – “I am not doing anything, I am a house wife” or “I am just a housewife”. Some of the modern woman say “I am a home maker”. It is not all easy or simple to be a “House Wife”.

Housewife is actually the Queen of the home as she takes care of everything in the house and manages everything on her own. It is an enormous task to be a “house wife” as she has to handle several relationships – children; husband; parents, parents-in-law; brothers and sisters; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. She has to do a lot of balancing act and be very tactful and at the same very watchful. She has to cater to the differing demands of different people at home and still be cheerful at all times.

The basics of Business Management talks about Planning, Organising, Motivating and Communicating. A successful Business Manager is one who is very good at these principles of Management. Every “House wife” exhibits these business principles in the day to day life and they actually excel in all of them.

When a girl gets married and migrates to the new house she quickly adapts to the living conditions. I remember the lines from an old tamil song “மனம் இருந்தால் பறவை கூட்டில் மான்கள் வாழலாம் வழி இருந்தால் கடுகுக்குள்ளே மலையை காணலாம்” .

The “House Wife” starts her day much ahead of the others and is the last one to go to bed. She works tirelessly throughout the day and probably relaxes for a short while in the afternoon to take a nap or to watch a TV Programme. The most preferred TV Programme for a “House Wife” is either on Cooking or on Religion. They also find time to learn about the developments in the society and in general news on national and international issues.

The “House Wife” is fully aware of the procedure involved in getting Gas Connection; Telephone Connection; paying bills for Telephone, Electricity, Water, Property Tax, etc. She is familiar with the banking process and is comfortable operating a bank account or to operate a Safety Locker in the Bank.

She takes on the role of a caretaker for the elders at home. She plays the role of a teacher for her children. She plays the role of an advisor for her husband. She remembers the birthdays of all the family members. She remembers the nakshatram, gothram, rasi, etc., of every member of the family. She takes care of every single member of the family and meticulously plans every activity at home. “உண்ணும் அழகை பார்த்திருப்பாயே, உறங்க வைத்தே விழித்திருப்பயே, கண்ணை இமைபோல் காத்திருப்பாயே”

In her busy schedule of taking care of so many relationships some times (many a times) she forgets to look after herself. I am reminded of some of the classic lines of tamil film songs – “வாழை போல தன்னை தந்து த்யாகி ஆகலாம்” “உறுகி ஓடும் மெழுகை போல ஒளியை வீசலாம்”.

The house wife is the epitome of “multi tasking”. The toughest role that the house wife plays is that of a “wife”. The great “Kannadasan” wrote in one of the old tamil films “”வேரென நீ இருந்தாய் அதில் நான் வீழ்ந்து விடாதிருந்தேன்” “என் தேவையை யார் அறிவார் உன்னை போல் தெய்வம் ஒன்றே அறியும்”. These two lines of Kannadasan sums up the relationship of husband and wife and highlights the great role that a wife plays in the life of a man.

I feel a “House Wife” is the best business manager as she has all the qualities that are required for a good business manager. I feel every business should hire a “house wife” as their business unit head. I do not know how many “house wife” are ready to leave the home and start taking care of a business. If the “House Wife” cannot come and play the role of business manager then it is better that business managers learn a few lessons from the “House Wife”

As business managers if we can emulate what our mother, wife, sisters do at home then we can be very successful at work. They are the best examples to learn all management principles. The “House Wife” demonstrates excellent time management skills; Organising skills; motivation; excellent communication skills; multi-tasking; people management skills; leadership qualities; budgetary control; internal audit; accounting; finance…. basically “A to Z”of business management.

Every “House Wife” should feel proud of being a “Home Maker”.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
18th July 2010

The Power of "C" in Chennai

Chennai is my hometown and is a wonderful city. I was thinking what all we can link to this famous city Chennai and realised that the letter C is associated not only with the name of the city but also with all the things that are famous in Chennai.

This is what I call as the Power of "C".

Chennai is associated with, famous and well known for the following C's:

Carnatic Music: The Music Festival in Chennai during December is world famous and people come from all parts of the world to listen to the Maarghazhi Mahotsavam. Carnatic Music concerts are held at several places in Chennai during December and all the Sabhas and auditoriums are full during the Music Season.

Coffee: The filter coffee that you get in chennai is very famous. We have very popular brands of coffee powder in Chennai, viz., Leo Coffee & Narasu's Coffee which have been in existence for over 50 years.

Car Makers: Chennai is known as the Detroit of India. We have three world famous companies making Cars in Chennai, viz., Ford, Nissan and Hyundai. These Car Makers have also given room for hundreds of Automobile Spare Parts and Components manufacturers.

Cinema: Chennai was the hub for all the south indian language films like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The number of studios has come down drastically but still Kodambakkam in Chennai is world famous for movies and is popularly known as Kollywood. Cinema is something which people of chennai love. Cinema stars have played a major role in politics as well. Annadurai, Karunanidhi, MGR, Jayalalitha, Sivaji Ganesan, Vijayakanth, Cho Ramaswamy have all come into politics from the Cine field.

Cricket: Every citizen of Chennai loves Cricket. The Famous Chepauk Statdium (another "C") has played the host for some of the memorable matches in the past. Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai for the last several decades.

Clubs: There are a variety of Clubs in Chennai. Gymkhana, Boat Club, Cosmopolitan, Presidency, MRC, Mylapore Club and many more are located at every strategic part of the City. All these Clubs promote various social activities and sports and are thronged by people of all walks of like and all age groups.

Culture: Chennai has maintained and preserved the social culture. Chennai has always accepted migrants from different parts of the Country but retained its Cultural values and continues to be conservative. Chennai has grown over the years into a loveable, liveable Metropolitan City with a cosmopolitan outlook but preserved its deep rooted culture. Even today there are a variety of Cultural programmes that are held in Chennai all around the year.

Colleges and Schools: Chennai is very famous for the Colleges and Schools. People come from different parts of the world to study in these Colleges, Schools and Institutions. There are also plenty of Coaching Centres (again another "C") in Chennai for different courses like CA, ICWAI and also for competitive exams like the GRE, GMAT, CAT, etc.

Coovum River: Last but not the least Coovum River in Chennai is also very famous. The Governments (both Central and State) have done a smart thing by using the land adjacent to Coovum River for the Railway Project. If they clean up the Coovum River then Chennai will become more wonderful and enjoyable to live.

HARIYUDAN NAAN - FINALE

Hariyudan Naan - yaar antha naan? At the end of the mega finale which was held in Sheikh Rashid Auditorium in Indian High School in Dubai we found out the answer to this question. Instead of Naan it was actually Naangal as the Judges selected one female and one male singer. Ravishankar and Lakshmi ended up as the joint winners of this one year old show. The first runner up was Sharanya and the Second Runner up was Gopalakrishnan.

Kartik was voted by viewers through SMS and received highest number of votes though the Judges eliminated him after the second round.

The Grand Finale was started at 6.45 p.m. and ended at 11.45 p.m. It was 5 hours of non-stop entertainment and the entire audience was glued to their seats throughout the show. It was a fantastic event and was very well directed and conducted. Hats off to Director of the show Ms.Subhashree Thanikachalam.

Chinmayee took on the role of Vijay Aadhiraj and compered the Grand Finale.

The evening started with a chorus sung by all the Seven Finalists - Niranjan, Ravishankar, Kartik, Gopalakrishnan, Lakshmi, Sharanya and Bhargavi.

Chinmayee then entertained the audience with two great hits Maiya Maiya and Kilimanjaro. Anush gave the male voice support for the Kilimanjaro song. Anush was specially invited by Hariharan to play the keyboard for the finals.

Sharath then rendered a classical malayalam song which was composed and sung by him last year for which he won the Kerala State Award. His singing was simply superb and extraordinary. The Audience gave him a huge round of applause.James Vasanthan said Sharath is a "Asuran" in singing and composing. James could have better described Sharath as the "Chackravarthy" as "Asuran" is always linked to evil.

Hariharan then came on stage to entertain the audience by rending three songs - viz., Nenjukkul peithidum vaanmazhai; Nilavu paattu nilavu paattu and the great Amitabh Hit - Rang Barusae beege chunaruvaali rang barusae. He wished Happy Holi to all the audience (I do not understand why he chose to sing that song and also wish Happy Holi to a Tamil Audience - may be a national integration effort).

The First Round of the Grand Finale was "Performance Round".

Kartik was the first to sing and he chose "Uyirin Uyire" and sang really well.

Lakshmi chose the song "Who's the Hero who's the hero kaakka vandha vaathiyaaro". She did a splendid job.

Niranjan selected a difficult song "mazhai thuli mazhai thuli mannil sangamam". He handled the song very well.

Bhargavi made a wrong selection and rendered "aiyo pathikichi pathikichi o o penne". This song ensured her elimination from the first round and made the choice for the Judges very easy and simple.

Gopalakrishnan selected "urvasi urvasi take it easy urvasi" and did well.

Sharanya chose the A.R.Rahman hit "konjam nilavu konjam neruppu ondraaga saernthaal enthan degam". She sang exceptionally well.

Ravishankar sang "thathai thathai" from Manmadan. He sang this song with total ease and did a very good job of it.

At the end of the first round the Judges announced the elimination of Bhargavi.

Ranjit came and rendered two songs - "raja raja rocket raja" from Siruthai and the remix "ennoda raasi nalla raasi" from mappillai.

The second round was a medley round wherein the six participants were to sing a few songs (due to time constraints it was kept at 2 - 3 songs instead of 5 songs).

Lakshmi started the round very well with some excellent P.Suseela numbers like "thamizhukku amudendru paer"; "pon ezhil poothathu pudhu vaanil" and "kattodu kuzhal aada aada". These are very soothing melodies of the great P.Suseela and Lakshmi handled the medley exceptionally well.

Kartik was the second to perform with two songs "ennai vittaal yaarum illai kanmaniye unn kai thazhuva" and "chinna chinna kannanukku". I felt he could have chosen some other songs for the medley.

Sharanya chose Ilayaraja hits "edhedho ennam valarthen"; "pani vizhum iravil nanaindhadhu nilavu" and "kalai thendral paadi varum raagam pudhu raagam".

Niranjan chose S.P.B. Hits and sang "aval oru navarasa naadagam"; "mandram vantha thendralukku manjam vara ennam illaiyo" "thaen sindhudhe vaanam" "Idayam oru kovil adhil udhayam oru paadal".

Ravishankar chose Yesudas hits and sang "poo maalai vaangi vandhaal pookkal illaiye"; "uravugal thodarkadai unarvugal sirukadhai" and "unnidam mayangugiren". He did an exceptionally good job and the third song "unnidam mayangugiren" really made the audience spell bound.

Gopalakrishna sang "mazhaiyum neeye veyyilum neeye" from Azhagan and "aen pennendru pirandhai" from Love Today. I felt he could have chosen some other songs.

I was expecting Gopalakrishnan to be eliminated after the second round but to the surprise of several people in the audience Kartik was eliminated by the Judges.

The Third and Final Round was then open for the remaining five singers to render challenging songs.

Lakshmi started the final round with the great all time hit of L.R.Easwari "pattathu raani paarkum paarvai vetrikku thaan ena enna vendum". He sang very well and kept the tempo very well throughout the song.

Niranjan selected the Balamurali Krishna hit song "oru naal podhumaa". He sang exceptionally well and gave a real threat to the other contestants with this number.

Sharanya chose the great all time hit of P.Suseela "Naalai entha velai paarthu odi vaa nilaa". It is a very nice melody of the great legend P.Suseela and Sharanya really sang well.

Gopalakrishnan chose the Hariharan hit number "kaadal theendave - udaya udaya unarugiren". He sang very well but I felt he could have chosen some other song.

Ravishankar then came and sang the great super hit song from Bale Pandiya "neeye unakku endrum nigaraanavan". He handled the song exceptionally well and got the maximum applause from the audience during the song. Once he finished singing the song the audience clapped for almost three minutes non-stop. He was emotionally moved by the applause and standing ovation. I have heard this song being sung in several competitions and programmes but I have never heard anybody sing like Ravishankar with such perfection and ease. It was a fantastic performance.

Hariharan said there is a twist in the story and instead of selecting one winner they have decided to select two. Ravishankar and Lakshmi were chosen as the joint winners of the Hariyudan Naan competition.

The moral of the story is "knowledge of carnatic music and training in classical music is extremely important and essential to become a good singer". Both Ravishankar and Lakshmi have been learining carnatic music and that has helped them a great deal to grasp the tips given by the Judges over the last one year.

I have watched several live shows in my life and this 5 hour show in Dubai for the Grand Finale for Hariyudan Naan will remain as one of the greatest shows seen by me.