Till death do us apart

Who do you think is the biggest celebrity couple that the world has seen? You are unpardonably not in my league if you think of the Abhi-Ash ‘spectacle’… Brangelina and Saifeena do not count…

Who else? Princess Di was more famous and charming than a placid-looking Prince Charles…
Agreed - the Kennedys were a pretty picture… the Obamas are very charismatic – individually and together…

But if you are Indian, and a Tamizhan, then well – you would cent per cent agree with my choice – No, am not gonna say “my parents”. They can easily qualify, but then, am not conceited enough to think they are celebrities:D

Anyway my vote goes to - Kalki Sadasivam and MS Amma. I have always thought of them as a cute couple – but the more I read, the more charming the couple become!
Am far too inexperienced and lowly to ever comment upon them… but trust me, I have never seen devotion, love and pride reflect more in the eyes of any other woman at the sight of her husband!

May be am old-fashioned when I think its charming the way MS blindly followed the path her husband chartered… or conservative when I say Kalki was the rudder of the ship called MS. But show me one person who has not been charmed by this couple… despite my strong convictions about independence and individuality, i cant deny being fascinated by MS amma's devotion to her husband...

'Made for each other' - sounds like an understatement, eh! :)

Also, check out this site… http://www.msstribute.org/index.php
And let me know IF you did not get goose pimples…

The Whole Six Yards… I

‘Sa se sattika se Saree’

An article in The Hindu Metro Plus prompted me to do a quick Google on our desi haute couture – the Sari!

True, much has been said about the timelessness of a Sari and there is not much ‘value add’ that I can bring… but I can’t help but marvel at the grace of this six yard sentiment…

Whether it was Draupadi’s Vastrapaharana or merely a weaver-lover’s day dreams of his doe-eyed - which gave birth to the Sari remains unknown, but the fact remains that we have embraced the Sari in a way no other civilization has held on to its ethnic dress.

Originating from the Prakrit word Sattika or Sanskrit ‘sati’ meaning a piece of cloth, the sari is as old as the Indus Valley Civilization and currently is designed in dimensions of 47X326 inches… Worn over a long skirt and a short blouse, saris are draped to be one of the most sensual of clothes. More importantly, it’s the most suitable garment, given the big busted, pear-shaped Indian frame and the tropical climes of the Indian sub-continent!

Interestingly, blouses (in essence, stitching and tailoring) were unknown in these parts of the world, until the advent of the Mughal Empire! Imagine the men’s merriment - must have had a field day, everyday (or did they grow indifferent?)!!!

I remember reading somewhere that it was not until the early 20th century that the sari got its current draping style! Mind you, there are quite a few draping patterns too – the normal one, the Gujarati ishtyle, the Coorgi version and of course the more filmy ones (remember Asha Parekh and Mumtaz in their fish-like layered saris?)

Silk textures are invariably the Kanjeevaram (prima donna, no doubt), Benares, Tussar, Raw and Mysore; and there are ofc the ubiquitous cottons, the sensual chiffons and crepes! Each suited in particular for a specific frame and occasion!

And how about the designs? Numerous - am just gonna attempt listing down a few… feel free to add more 

1. Chikan – the single strand running stitch originating in UP!
2. Bandhini – the Gujju and Madu tie and dye patterns!
3. Kantha – another running stitch pattern and authentically Bengali
4. Chettinad – the Tam checks and boxes and weave patterns
5. Coimbatore – our Manchester of the South’s own cotton variety
6. Mangalagiri – with its traditional color combinations and borders
7. Ikkat – Orissa’s famous block prints
8. Pochampalli – the Andhra version of the geometrical Ikkat prints
9. Kota, Chanderi, Gadwal, Dharwad etc…

Fine tune the material/texture and the accessories according to the occasion and lo, you have a garment that can never stop being a show stopper, be it at a party or to the office, a wedding or, god forbid, even a funeral!

Guess the biggest and most powerful brand ambassador for saris these days is, well, not an Indian by birth! Yeah, the Italian-born Ms Sonia Gandhi is known all over for her charismatic and yet simplistic style statements!

My all time favourites – the ever so elegant Rajmata Gayatri Devi and of course, the diva of Ind Biz - Chanda Kochhar :D

Nalam nalam ariya aaval...

One of the most noteworthy incidents in my life was (wait, am not gonna touch upon poignant, life altering, touching, or even shocking incidents such as my wedding or the glow of pride on my parents' faces at the Delhi Awards Ceremony or my first sight of my niece or the death of a young class teacher or the emotionally packed night repartees wid Deeps) when I, well, snubbed a lady of my neighborhood!!! :) wow... what a cheap thrill... wat a sense of victory adn accomplishment - trust me, even the Gold Medal or the All India First dint feel so good :)...

Thank the intruding and annoying habits of the previous generation (not the madisaar clad madi maamis, but sari draped, cell phone wielding aunties)...
Their dogma in life is that the first wedding anniversary should always be celebrated by the couple with a two-month old kid(my math is impeccable!) - preferably a son... ! Their antenna (read as math) gets worked up all the more if they live in an agrahaaram like mine and get to see such a 'chamathu (maatu)ponnu' like me...
(yuck, i hate the label, but i guess i have earned it unwittingly and now, unwillingly :( )

My fault? I defied traditional 'wisdom' and convention - celebrated my second wedding anniversary alone (not even wid my better half, let alone an infant ;))
Now this lady - we will call her Madam Nalam virumbi - a self appointed moral policewoman, whom i have hardly spoken to once before (well, she has spoken to me on a number of occasions - "emma skirt podara??? decent a chudithar poda koodathu?"... "en ma ipdi kovilla fast a suthare? ponnu madiri medhuva nada" !@#$%!@#...) runs into me at the temple... (with her, i rein in my ready-to-burst-at-its-seams smile)
Namma Nalam virumbi asks me, indignantly - "enna, pullai killai pethukara ennam illaya"!!!

Horror of horrors - something my own mother wouldnt dare ask me - my own athais and maamis wouldnt reproach me... this woman has the GUTS, the self-importance and noseyness to confront me!

Meenu, mustering all her wit (limited stock), rudeness, indifference, arrogance adn local tamil, retorted - "oh, pombalai thaniya pulla pethuka mudiyuma...purushan oor la illama"! கப்பு சிப்பு... அந்த பக்கம் sound e காணோம்...
On second thoughts, i guess I did sound crude ,vulgar and may be even promiscous, but the expression on Nalam virumbi's face - price less :) !!!

Put = புட்; Cut = கட்; Cute = க்யுட்

Yes, at the risk of repeating what scores of others have already stated - I categorically 'pronounce'- English is indeed a funny language!!! I realised, its cos, in English, we do not write things the way they are read, unlike in most Indian vernacular languages!
Now sample this:
Use is yu Z; used is yu Sd; Are there looSe ends or am i a lo'Z'r?

After 14 years of convent education, I still dont know :)

Didya knw - enthusiasm is actually pronounced In-thyu-ziazm. I can be an able (ஏபல்/ एबल) person, but my abilities (அபிலிடீஸ்/ अबिलिटीस) could be limited.

Well, if vision has to be pronounced vi-zh-un, why cant they write it so? If nymph is to be pronounced the way it has to be, wont it be simpler to spell it 'nimf'?

I, am a genius! (Courtesy: Sid the Sloth, Ice Age 1 :))

Madras... nalla madras

Aug 22 - Chennai Day...

Two and a half months since I stepped on "thamizh mann" !!! and the longest that I have stayed away from Madras (Tambaram IS part of Madras, whether you agree or not!)!

No, am not the mushy-mushy, lovey-dovey, basking-in-the-past soul who'd miss something terribly... am not cut-out for that; by the time i miss something from the past, i have already been catapulted quite some distance into the future :) and by then, all i have is fond memories and very lil emotional attachment...

Aamchi mumbai has already become home :) but it still is home, away from home!

Hmmm... fine... whats it about Chennai that captivates me, when am living in this retro city, the city of dreams?

1. Amma, Appa, Ram Daya, friends, relatives, my Pushpak (he he, aka TVS XL Super :))
2. தமிழ் - I cant pack enuf punch in English or Hindi while abusing a customer care fellow!
3. Anjaneyar Kovil (insiders, i know you know :))
4. The Contemporary mentality - not too modern, not too cocooned - eggzactly like ME!
5. The train rides :) :)
6. Central Station
7. Pondy Bazaar, Naidu Hall, Ratna Cafe!
8. Auto பேரம் :)
9. Mylapore maamis' jolikkum vaira thodu and Rangachari madisaars
10. The innocent illusion of/pride in LIC - as if it were the Petronas
11. The IT Corridor
12. Bessie beach (Marina ofc, rocks)
13. My AIR and Madras Univ visits by PP51.
14. Nandanam signal :)
15. Beach view from Beliciaa
16. Eng bus nos - 5A, A51, PP51, M15, 12B (dont scoff!- here, ५ looks like a shaken 4 while my mind reads ६ as AND)
17. The probability of bumping into atleast one schoolmate/coll mate/acquaintance!
18. Uninterrupted பொதிகை, Vijay, Mirchi, Suchi!
19. The Hindu Metro Plus - எவ்ளோ தான் online edition படிக்கிறது?
20. Karpagambal and Vadivudai Amman
21. ஆடி தள்ளுபடி
.... ... ... ..
Oops... started talking about the City adn ended up listing mostly about MEENU in MADRAS :)
"சொர்கமே என்றாலும் அது நம்ம ஊர் போல வருமா (tan ta da tan ta da tan)...
பல தேசம் முழுதும் பேசும் மொழிகள் (சென்னை) தமிழ் போல் இனித்திடுமா ஆ ஆ ஆ"

ek chalis ki last local

Two months in Bombay, atleast once inside the Andheri Station everyday- but never been in a 'local'!!!

I should be ashamed of myself - how can i not have travelled by the famous (read as crowded) Bombay train??? Well, thats how things stood, as of Saturday (Aug 8)... and what better way to open my account than on a Saturday (Appa says, 'sani perukkam' - Saturn increases and therefore Saturday augurs well for most activities)...


Well, coming back, my caro sposo wanted to go to the Town (imho, in Mumbai, town revolves around the axes of Dadar, Victoria Terminus, Churchgate and Nariman). Hence we set forth on this journey to the centre of the earth, oops, the heart of the city :), in a train.

The equation was right for me;

A Saturday afternoon + Opposite direction of the general flow of traffic + a Fast train = an easy ride... (so much so, it left me wondering, whats all this gung-ho about the train trave(ai)l? Everything seems so innocently quiet and at peace :) )

Add to it, the nostalgic pleasure of a solitary train travel in the ladies compartment (no offence meant to my better half, who seemed better off in the General)!!! but sigh... 20 kms covered in as many minutes... i wouldnt have complained if it had taken an extra ten minutes...

On a broader note, my contention has been that, if a train starts from some place, it invariably reaches its destination at more or less the appointed time - there is no question of traffic jams, processions (flooding in the tracks could be a plausible excuse; but a flooded road is worse off than a flooded track, I presume, unless the rail network decides to shut down).

And yeah, the ladies compartment - is a haven of sorts... when I run the risk of being sandwiched, i can be grateful that am being squeezed by people of the same species (Men are from a different planet, you see :)) and the multitude of vendors who have mastered the art of getting into and out of crowded trains, propose a welcome treat to the eye (to the purse also???)

No pollution, no back pains; sheltered stations, higher frequencies, better communication, more standing space, fourth seat comforts... numerous are the attractions of a train, over a bus (how we would travel three hours (close to ninety mins by train ) to attend a four-hour evening College!!! )

If you think five years of incessant train travel and a couple of years of intermittent but back-breaking bus travel (all in Chennai) has made me prejudiced towards trains - think again. Has there been a soul amongst us, who has not been captivated, at some point of time in life, by the sight of the great caterpillar plugging into/out of a station???
(Heard about the kid who wanted to be an engineer cos he thought, an engineer's job is to in an engine(train? this kid did turn out to be an engineer, whose goal (succesful, too) in life was to travel by both the TGV and the Shinkanzen!)
Ofc, not everyone is a freak who spends sleepless nights crouching in the lower berths, merely in analysis of the direction and union of tracks... but am sure, there is hardly a kid who hasnt quarrelled for a corner seat in a train!!!

But then, the charm of a train is unparalleled; dont take my word for it, just ask a kid... child IS the father of man :)

Writers Block

Yet another blog in a world of zillions, but the same old story... huh!

A couple of months back, I laughed at my cousin who asked me to consider blogging (after all, dont i suffer from a writer's block, perpetually!!!)

Cant help it though... Had this germ of an idea for a long time now, never taken seriously… until... until, i was so 'jobless' that I had to do something to keep my little brain from rusting away in toto.

I know, I am not a coherent person, am a very confused character (or am I???), I don’t have a way with words… and am really late into the world of blogging...

Eh come on, what the heck… I write cos I wanna sound myself off :D
The more I think of it, the more feasible and exciting it sounds… (typically like me – a strong anathema to new ideas, change, innovation.. but will eventually warm up to it :))
Let me atleast give it a shot… Even if I fail (excuse me, can somebody define failure in blogging?) I haven’t much to lose… I had atleast tried it…

My dear blogspot (and poor readers), here i come...

Me signing off (with loads of love, regards, ideas, words, queries and question marks) ... for how long, i know not...