Puthandu Vaazhthukkal - Kara varudam.

Tamil New year/Puthandu marks the beginning of a new year in the traditional Tamil calendar which follows the vernal equinox. ( for more details, read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernal_equinox ) .
The mavillai thoranam in the entrance of my home and the neem tree in full bloom,maakolam on the verandah, all is a beautiful sight.
This day has lot of traditional significance.And there is a controversy created by the ruling Govt in Tamilnadu . I dont mind it either. I cant leave off my tradition, whoever says. Dont panic.. this post is not about that.
The food served on this day in my home and in most of the homes in my native is almost a ritual in its own right.One may be used to the table culture, but I bet, the sit-down lunch is not to be missed.
The banana leaf is laid out horizontally with the tapering end to the right, always! So many times, I do the other way round and get a frown from the elderly people sitting. So I generally sit along with my father so that I need not serve or get a frown.
The first touch to it is from water sprinkles – to moisten the leaf and clean it. The first position to occupy the leaf is by the auspicious sweet pudding, payasam, not much, just a drop off a teaspoon, sort of a ritual to indicate sweet beginnings.
Then starts the light service of vegetables, kootu, followed by the lightly finely chopped and sautéed vegetable of the day,the curry or poriyal, then a little fried vegetables varuval.All these are laid out on the top portion of the leaf.
Forget not the salt. It occupies the corner and seemingly, it means you should not forget the host who gives you food. And then the boiled lentils (paruppu), placed in the off-centre position of the leaf, with little ghee in it.
My mom makes this,‘black gram’salty doughnut – medhuvadai, and it is her speciality for all festive occasions. She places an extra number to me. No meal is considered fit to eat unless the sizzling pickles are served – the mango pickle mostly. Appalam or fried vadams enter then.
Rice is served, and the toor dhall,drumstick sambar. And the next round comes the universal tangy soup Milagutwany or Rasam. This day, its little bitter too, after adding the tender neem flowers, it is supposed to be taken,’the vepamboo rasam’. As said, it means that you will have some bitter days too.
Then there is the sweet paal payasam in regular quantity now. After that’s done, the authentic curd rice …with mango pickle.
Oh, I forgot to mention the mango pachadi, right at the onset of the mango season , comes this festival. Little sour / sweet… its YUM YUM YUMMY
Such meals are always good,not just good!Awesome !!!! …and never ever miss them if you get a chance to have. Today the nuni illai bhojanam has reduced to kesari/ sundal in ceramic cups.
And in all these years, this is the first time, I am not at home for the Tamil new year and missing this feast too.. And everyone at home will be missing me too.


Wish you all a very Happy Thamizh New Year / Happy Vishu :) God bless all of us. Wishes & Prayers.

Singara Chennai

Sometimes, we have to get away and look at the world through a different lens. It throws new light on the same old place.

Moving from a smaller city Trichy, to a metropolitan Chennai ,I am also one among those who complain about the scorching sun and the irritating local lingo of the auto/bus drivers. Trichy/Thanjavur & nearby areas are places where there is no specific accent to Thamizh. Basically , being a person who loves languages & who likes persons based on how it takes form in him/her,I hated Madras for that matter. Even now, I couldn't tolerate watching a comedy rendered in Madras Tamil.

Despite all that, today, I knew how much I miss the place and how much I love the 'Madras' city. The city is full of activity. We do not need an agenda to spend a weekend here.

Adyar Odyssey, the basement has a wide collection of books and the first floor , new DVDs and greeting cards. A walk to there is really fruitful.

Books on any subject/ old magazines/ story books/novels all in one place, and that is Moor market.

Sowcarpet-a place where I do my shopping. We get all those so called designer outfit for a lesser price compared to the showrooms.And dont forget to grab some fresh vegetables/fruits from there. The Badam Kheer and Pav Bhaji in shops are just awesome.

Any new movie ,if a must watch on the first week end of its release, I go to Mayajaal. Otherwise, it can be watched in Satyam, when I could book a ticket.

When I am troubled, I just have to take a walk/jog to the sea and its enough to send some tranquility in me. Sometimes, I have wandered around unfamiliar parts of the neighbourhood, walking around looking at the big houses and the small shops. At times, I do get lost somewhere in the dark bushy streets and struggle to get out to the streets with people, but then its really adventurous later , when I think of them.

Although the city boasts of the rich South Indian heritage, it is of diverse cultures and each nourishes within its boundaries. Being a cosmopolitan and the state capital , the city has people from all states. I do not know if I like it or not. Still, I wish we hold on to our S.Indian culture to some extent. Oops .. Regionalism.I stop,its not my intent.

Margazhi Utsavam in the months of December and January foster your sense to the wonderful art called classical music. Women in rich Pattu sarees , and the jasmine flowers adorning their heads , is a rich sight by itself. I can just walk to any nearby temple or a hall and spend three hours of solid quality time there.

There is something about food that brings out the best and worst in all of us . Being a major requisite for survival, availability of good food is a must. One may turn erratic if good food is denied. The number of eat outs in Chennai is plenty.Only that it has become too costly nowadays. The authentic food of South -steaming dosa ,Vada in any restaurant, Curd rice in Al Pranavam , Adai Aviyal in Krishna Sweets , Pakoda kolambu in Karaikkudi,bhajji on the beach road near RTO, Kuli paniyaram near Besant nagar Konica, Aavin Kulfi, Fruzee near Naihaa , Naturals Icecream...I can list so many.... all these are easily accessible by walk to me.

Life without temples is unimaginable in Tamilnadu.Whichever way we look at it, atheists too turn God fearing in times of adversity.

Adyar Padmanabhaswamy, the Lord sleeps so peacefully , one good look at Him, well I am transported to Srirangam. The deity looks very similar in the magnificence and beauty.

Marundheeswarar temple - What more to say, He is the panacea for all troubles. The whole place is so calm and peaceful.

Other places I visit in Chennai are Mylapore and Triplicane.These are the places that remind me that I am still in Chennai, & our own S.Indian Chennai.

Above everything, I miss my roommates. . Everyday,there were people to wait for me to have dinner. All the pressure at work/anywhere just vanishes when you know that you have good people around and they wait for you to dine with :) Its not so easy to find good people everywhere, you have to be destined to meet them. Again,'good' is a relative term.And make sure you grab the oppurtunity if you are destined, not often you get a chance:)

Do not know why I post this link here.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz4dkh_08hY&sns=fb I watch this almost daily nowadays. And everyone living abroad will know what this means. And am sure, home beckons everyone who can relate to the emotions of this short film.

I miss you Madras ...I miss you Singara Chennai... May be I will write about Omaha after I leave from here. That is the irony in life. We never know the worth of anything, unless we no longer possess it.

To make history-never easy !

All is said , written, read, emoted by billions of my own clan across the world. I am really wordless, when it comes to express the joy /happiness for having made this remarkable feat in history. Still, thought of congratulating the Team in my blog.

No matter, I am alive /dead to talk about the victory/ success stories to my post generation,

this post will tell them that I was well alive when my country lifted the World Cup in style.

Every young player, in the team , dedicates the victory to the Little Master. He deserves this respect. I still remember , the advertisement for Boost in which he says, 'When I was 16...' , from then on, it is history. Sure, he would have been the role model to many in the team now, when they had begun their career. And no doubt, he will be an Idol to the young cricketers of many generations to come.

Cricket & me , its a story. For now , I dont talk about it. This world cup series , I take a lot of lessons from the team.

Call it arrogance or confidence or being emotionless, or being aggressive, I like / love Dhoni for that single quality. Nothing else is really required for someone to look upon him. Commentators say enough of him during the course of the game. 'This man is an enigma sometimes. Noone really could read him at times.' I would say, it is needed for a captain of 1.2 billion hearts, to be cool, to be strong and to be decisive. This man, can be watched both for virtues & style.

Saw someone update today, ‘Have they won a war or something ? Why do they need First Class A/C passes for a lifetime.?’

People ! C’mon..it’s easy to talk/ throw comments. But it isn’t easy to make history. It is harder than we think it to be.

The pressure within/the pressure outside that is experienced for every game, it is not easy Boss. Every game is a war inside every player. He has to excel, he has to break his own records. It’s just immense. I can’t even imagine of surviving getting past that anxiety.

The captain said, "If you ask the players, they were not eating well because of anxiety. Not pressure, but anxiety. There would be food in front of you but you wouldn't feel like eating it." Anxiety quivers in the air and exhaustion weighs it down. Players are human beings too. As Mr Cool said,They don't play for the crowd that criticizes. They play for the country.

One has to be mature enough , in fact , has to be more than a human being. The billions, they earn ... worth the pressure they handle for every game. Lets think for a moment before we talk.Lets respect the victory.

And after so much praise for the entire team, I may include one another person in my list, and he is Ravi Shastri. When many cannot stand his commentary, his repetitive phrases, I like this man for some reason. Period.

Of all the posts that I updated in FB on that day, I like this particularly, 'If someone asks me , which is the religion in India, I will proudly say, Cricket is my religion and my country's ' I really mean it, and every Indian out anywhere knows what it means.

It is a night , when almost millions had their eyes moist ! The tears of joy are worth it. Thanks to the team ! To Team India ! To my;) Captain !! And to my Country ! I do not really know , what else to say, It is never easy to make history and our boys in blue had made it ! Hats off !

Sleep - A distant dream

Statutory warning : Consider yourself sufficiently warned , if you do not like rants of obsolete and absolute nonsensical whims , composed in the night of delirious dreams , this is not your kind. Avoid reading.

On most days, at close to 12 in the night, my eyes look red and tired and I most likely switch off my monitor and lights to go to sleep . I usually start with the thinking on the finish line of the day , most safely in terms of hours rather than in tasks. And every single hour seems to have passed just like that . When every single minute of my sleep is wasted thinking about the every 'not worth passed hour', I switch on my iPod to play a list of melodies of different times. I always have this habit of sleeping while the music is still on.May be, I am so used to the lullabies of my mother & grandmother ,all home grown , top notch singing of those days.

And then, all too soon, the spell is broken.I keep going into the lyric of the song and keep thinking.I think not to think of the words used in the song and the meaning of them that is yet to be found in my life.

Along the perimeter of the room, I search in the dark for the meaning of all those unsung melodies in life , answers for all my unanswered questions in life and try to untangle all the complexities of the characterization of my own self.

In between, the fan in the room tiptoes rhythmically , but all throughout , the music from the Apple device rules.

The flickering light from the lamps across the streets enters the room through the curtains that mildly dance to the air from the fan. A glass of water looks heavenly beautiful in that light.I sip a mouthful of water and then take a look through the window.

Many moons ago, when cellphones and iPods were a rarity, when people spoke in full sentences ,when people wrote letters to each other , when people walked being themselves rather than thickets of labels as today, I was enjoying the moonlight dinner with my family. Another time, another place, I wish I get those days back.

Meantime, I check the FB page , and yes, I could see some people still awake and sharing links. I read them/see them at that unearthly hour and like it / post a comment.

Wild doubts bubble up,puncturing the sanctity and the sanity of the moment and the lyricist of the song that currently plays.On any other day,I would have appreciated , cherished, admired with awe the beauty of the lines written...Hmm.

I am a simple person, my demands are few, needs are uncomplicated , my pleasures humble and plain.I am a careful and intent listener (if and only if I like the person & the subject), inserting a pertinent question or two to keep the narration going, nothing else really mattering. And for me, life is a beautiful painting, the best colors yet to be seen, life is a well written poem,the best words are yet to come though.

Yet , most times , I am perceived as the most complicated person and likes.Never mind, every person has every right to have an opinion. As long as it is not voiced against me/my wishes , I am happy, atleast he/she has an opinion about something in life.

Yet another night passes on... without sleep ..I remain awake for two more hours and sleep to the tune of some song at an unknown hour.

Since when I stepped out of my home in my early 17th year to a hostel, it has been the same. My bedtime early at twelve in the midnight just remains to be a distant prospect.

The day dawns wet and cold, with a sharp wind and not so ended dream ... my eyes, still yearning for some more sleep.........

P.S Cooking is NOT my hobby.

For all those , who think/ask that I like cooking after seeing the pictures that I post in FB, you are wrong. I seriously dont have any passion for cooking. I do it just as any other usual chore. As any other essential way for survival. As any other exercise you learn to keep you fit.

Check out my prev post on cooking here , http://ladypearepages.blogspot.com/2007/08/cuking-funda.html

For all the wrong/right reasons, I do not like to say that 'I like cooking/ I do yummy dishes.'

Not that I dont go to kitchen at all.I do, but out of compulsion.. compulsion of my taste buds and the acid secreted in my intestines.

Women and Cooking are inseparable, thats what most men think and expect. Hold on guys! Its not just women have the stomachs that get hungry. Good that nowadays, men too get to know to cook. Thats a welcoming change. And let the mindset of associating women to cooking too change.

Afterall, cooking needs creativity/intelligence too. Anything short/ in excess may take the food straight to the bins. Having said that, Guys who say it is the responsibility of the woman to take care of the kitchen lack intelligence I suppose. Ok, this post turns out to be Men Vs women. No, thats not the objective though.

Cooking is not my hobby , not my passion. This post is all about that. I cook to eat / to keep me healthy to pursue various other tasks. It is out of sheer necessity that I cook. Having been used to the typical South Indian Vegeterian food, I cannot really get myself accustomed to the Mexican/Greek/American/Chinese food here. Its a herculean task for me to order a dish , spotting the ingredients out , knowing what sauce / spice level it has , and finally making the bearer understand what I need. So I choose to cook for myself. And I do it with the interest required enough for the dish to taste good.

And as the groom search at home is in progress, the prospective groom will not like this post / will not like me not having cooking as my passion/ will not like me saying that guys should also cook. Never mind. This is what I am. If he could not tolerate it, well, this is a check for him. 'Think before you leap please !'

P.S. Cooking is not my hobby. I have lot other activities I like / love other than cooking. Let him not expect to serve him bajjis and bondas when he enjoys a cricket match on TV. I like cricket as any other guy in the world .