Taking the 'right' turn

I went to my friend's place today. While leaving her house, I checked with her on how to go to the nearest bus stop. Now you must be wondering shouldn't it be the same bus stop where I got down to reach her house then. Actually, I went to her house from a different place, so I had taken a different bus, for which the bus stop was different. Now I had to get back home, for which the bus would come to a different stop.

She said, "After going out, take right. Go straight. After reaching the end of the road, take right turn and walk some distance, you will reach the bus stop. In fact, take right or left, you will reach the bus stop either way".

As suggested by her, when I reached the end of the road, I recalled what she said "take right or left, you will reach the bus stop either way". So, I took the left turn, hoping that I would find the bus stop. I walked for some 50 meters, but the bus stop was not to be seen. The bus which I had to take, just went past me. Agitated, I ran behind the bus hoping that the bus stop would be only a few meters away and I would board the bus when it stops there. Unfortunately, the bus stop was farther than I expected. Agonizingly I saw the bus stopping and leaving the bus stop :(. Needless to say, I missed the bus.

I stopped running and walked for few minutes to finally reach the bus stop. There was a flower vendor. I checked with her that it was indeed the bus stop where my bus would stop. Just then a thought flashed across my mind. What if I had taken the right turn? Would it have been the 'right' turn?

I waited for some 15 minutes, the bus that I was waiting for arrived and for some weird reason, it did not stop at that stop. This time my friend's initial statement came to my mind, "After reaching the end of the road, take right turn and walk some distance you will reach the bus stop". This made me think again, should I have taken the right turn? Would it have been the 'right' turn?

Now I had to play the waiting game. A lot of thoughts were criss-crossing my mind. Should I have taken right instead of left? Will I have got the bus much earlier than what it would be now? Should I have followed my friend's instruction chronologically? And many more. Basically, would the right turn have been the 'right' turn?

The Waiting

I was waiting at ticket counter at the Nungambakkam railway station, around 6:35 am today. There were few people standing at the only counter open. 

As I stood away from the queue, waiting, a beautiful girl came and stood a few steps away from me. A guy came and met her and then he stood in the queue, bought the tickets and both of them left. A few minutes later, a guy with a cricket kit came and stood besides me. I guessed he was waiting for someone. My guess turned right, couple of guys dressed in white came. One of them stood in the queue, bought the tickets and all of them left for the platform.

Watching this from a distance, I could just smile. I looked at my watch. Even I was waiting. In the meantime there were others who came, stood in the queue and bought their tickets and left, without waiting.

Then all of a sudden, another guy on a phone caught my attention. He was desperately looking for someone while talking. The place was not crowded, so I could not figure out why he was not able to find the person. Then I saw a girl, rushing towards him and a few heated words were exchanged and then both left the place together. I just smiled, all that ends well is well. I was still waiting.

I looked at my watch again, it was 7 am now. At last, my wait was over. I could get my monthly train pass. I stood in the queue and bought my pass and left for the platform to board my train.

Of course, I was waiting for buying the pass. The guy at the counter said that I had to wait till 7 am. What else were you thinking, I was waiting for? :)

Chennaiyil Oru Naal - My View

The title of the movie 'Chennaiyil Oru Naal' - A day in Chennai suggests that it would be a drama or a thriller. In my opinion, it is basically meant to be a thriller, but has a good amount of drama in it. So whatever is your interpretation, you will not be disappointed. 

The poster and the trailer of the movie very well indicate that it is a multi-starer. Not only it has lot of well known faces, but it has a few new faces as well. So lot of characters and thus a multi cast in true sense.

The introduction of movie is with a small narration in the background, which tried to suggest the tone of the story, but rest of the movie does not live up to the expectation of the initial narration. Handling so many casts is definitely a challenge for any director, especially on how to introduce them and when to introduce them. But I feel that the director had made a conscious effort in that. The first 15 minutes tries to give us a glimpse of all the characters involved. All characters get an apt share of their piece of cake in the introduction. All this done over a song. Apart from this there is one more song within the first 20 minutes. If you are thinking, over dose of songs, then answer is 'no'. That is about it, no more songs.

The story slowly picks up pace, all the different characters start converging, converging towards the day about which the story is woven. A tragedy is what joins these dots. As you start wondering, what next, and then the movie slowly walks into a weak plot. The director in an attempt to make it a thriller, and to some extent, it turns out to be, but eventually marches into a high drama. Since the director is attempting a thriller, to keep up the pace, he tries a lot of things in the middle part of the movie. That spoils the taste of the movie. It is where the director, the story teller, loses the plot and the story turns into a mega drama, that does keep the audience on the edge of the seat, but for the wrong reasons.

Now instead of beating round the bush, let me come to the point directly. Why I call it a weak plot is because, the story line suggests that, to save one life, one can put thousands of life in jeopardy, which is still morally a novel idea, but the means chosen to achieve this is the most impractical one. Even worse, the movie in fact suggests that all those who finally get involved in the decision making to save the life, do that not for the sake of the life, but for their names to be etched in the history books. Even if we were to digest this, it was not something unique - it was a heart transplant and it was not the first time that it would have happened in the world or for that matter in India or even Tamil Nadu. So, not sure what was this all about making it to the history.

There are lot of other things that can be discussed in greater detail, but I am not here to dissect the movie. At the same time there were few moments in the movie that was exceptional. The director in my opinion wanted to give a message and he ends the movie with a message as well, but I am not sure if that is what he meant to give (remember the narration that I referred to in the beginning). I picked up a lot of messages - your insignificant action may have significant impact on other's life, speed kills, follow traffic rules, if you realize your mistake, then you can get rid of the punishment, when you are in an important mission, you can think of yourself as a hero, donate your organs, etc. 

Finally, 'Chennayil Oru Naal', does not restrict itself to Chennai, in fact goes 170 km beyond it and that is what the story was about. Not a must watch movie, but one can definitely watch it once.

For the way the director handled so many characters, the characters were apt in their own sense, the performance by the individual actors, and for some moments of brilliance in the story line, on a scale of five, I would rate this movie a two dot five - 2.5/5.

Thuppakki - My View

The title of the movie 'Thuppakki' - A gun or a pistol, whatever it translates to suggests that it is an action movie and so it is. So there is no disjoint on that. Whoever is looking to watch an action movie can take a cue from the title and definitely proceed with it.

 

The introduction of Vijay in the movie is with a small fight sequence but is not that impressive. The film promotions have been boasting about his appearance in this movie. Though there is nothing special about his stylish appearance (I believe he has been more stylish in other movies), but he does carry a sophisticated look, which in my opinion is definitely something new.

 

Kajal does look gorgeoous in the movie, but I fail to understand the need of her presence in the movie. In the promotion of the film, much has been talked about the love story between the her and Vijay, surprisingly I saw none. Much was talked about the comic nature of the scenes when the hero and the heroine meet, but again there is no merit to that. In my opinion, whenever she comes, the movie pauses a bit, as if the director wants the audience to take a break. If at all he wanted it to be a comical sequence, he could have scripted the scenes better.

 

As far as the comical sequences in the movie as a whole, it is not very appealing. Again, the script could have been better. Moreover, Jayaram being a veteran actor should not have agreed to such kind of comedy. I understand, an actor has to go by director's view, but I am sure Jayaram's opinion could have counted.

 

The music has failed to create any magic. But I must admit that the dance sequence have been very refreshing. No doubt that Vijay is a choreographer's delight, but off late he has been repeating many of the steps in the his dances. But this movie is different. The choreography was excellent, each song had different steps. They were a treat to watch.

 

As far as the heart of the movies goes, i.e. the plot, I believe is new to our cinema. The director has handled it very well. So far what we have seen in our cinema is physical duel between the hero and the villan. The mind game between the two in this movie was definitely an interesting one. I feel that the climax could have been still better. An abrupt end to the duel does not help the  regular audience believe that all is over.

 

Overall, even if this movies may not be a must watch movie, but one can definitely watch it once if they wish for an entertainment.

 

If I have to rate this movie on a scale of five, I would give it a three - 3/5.

Fete

One of my favourite memories from my school time had been the 14th November Fete, which is something that I even miss today.

I left Modern Public School (where I had spend my good part of school life) in September 1994 and I wrote this in November 1994 hoping that I will go there and read it out to my classmates, but it never happened.

I am using this forum for the same, after good 18 years.

हम इतनी दूर से आए हैं देखने को Fete,
हम भला वक़्त क्यों गवाएँ देखने में rate.
हमें तो only भरना है अपना पेट,
इसलिए हमें money के चक्कर में मत कराओ wait.
हम  नहीं हैं कोई सेठ,
जो झट से जेब में हाथ डाले और कहलाएं great.
आप थे हमारे classmate,
हमें मत दिखाओ बहार का gate.
साल में बस एक ही बार आता है यह date,
और फिर भी करते हो आप late.
अरे हटाओ यह slate,
जिस पर लिखा है यह मनहूस rate.
झटपट पकड़ो मुझे एक plate,
Be sure, I will not pay for what I eat :)

Forgive the rawness, it was just my 3 rd attempt to small poems :)

Stretched myself to limit after a long time

Today I had to visit a place in Tambaram, a place at a distance of 25 km (shortest distance by road). When I took out my motor bike at 2 PM, I found that the telescopic suspension of the front wheel was leaking. So that meant that I could not take my bike. Going by public transport was ruled out as there was no straight forward way to reach my destination and that required multiple hops as well. But I had to go to that place today at any cost.

So I took the most bravest decision of recent past. I decided to test my physical endurance.  I decided to travel this distance on a bicycle and that too in Chennai traffic. Not that I have not traveled on bicycle on long distance in the past. But not in the recent past. The last time I had traveled in bicycle was in year 2001 when I was a student and even then, the maximum distance that I would have traveled one way was 20 kms. This time it was 25 kms minimum, one way and that too I was riding bicycle (long distance) after a gap of 11 years.

Moreover, I have not made any attempt to test my physical endurance limits in the last 4 years. Also, I have been very careful after I got a niggle in my right knee in January 2010. Last time when I made such attempt was when I was in Belgium. It was in August 2008, when I participated in the famous Dodentocth (known as The Death Walk). One has to walk a distance of 100 km in 24 hours. In my previous attempt in year 2007, I finished the walk in 23 hours 50 minutes. So in 2008, I had kept myself a target of under 20 hours. So if walking a distance of 100 kms was not enough to test one's endurance, a target like that was an ambitious one, which I realized during my walk. My start was very good, I guess I completed the 50 kms mark in around 9 hours, so my target looked very much possible. Then my body started giving up and I slowed down. After my 80 kms mark, I was walking barely at a pace of 4 kms/hr. When I reached the 94.6 km mark in 19 hours 20 minutes, making 100 km mark under 20 hours seemed to be at distant dream. I was disappointed and when I reached the 95 kms mark, I do not know what came to my mind, I decided that I will not give up. I started running hoping to complete the distance of 100 kms in 20 hours. Imagine, after walking 95 kms, completely drained physically, I decide to travel the last 5 kms in approx 35 minutes. I still do not know if that was courage or foolishness. But I made it in exactly in 20 hours. As if walking 100 kms was not enough, running that 5 kms in 35 minutes was definitely stretching myself to limits. So that was the last time I remember when I stretched myself to my limits physically. That was long long back.

Some of you might ask, what about Umpiring that I do. Does it not test me physically? Yes, it does test one's physical endurance, but I do not feel, I have been challenged to my limits. I have not done multi-day games either. Moreover, I feel it challenges one mentally more than physically.

After I got the niggle in my knee, I have not been doing anything that could keep me fit physically. Let me tell you that I have not yet got over that trouble with my knee. I still feel very uncomfortable with my knee. So deciding to travel that distance was not going to be easy. Remember, it is not just one way, I have to return as well. So it was going to be 50+ kms on a single stretch and that too in the scorching heat of Chennai and in the humid atmosphere. I am not exaggerating. So I set out on my journey. It was all going good. The first signs of strain came up as soon as I crossed the 20 kms mark. My throat had dried. I stopped besides a tender coconut vendor. I drank the coconut water and set out again. Though I was feeling that strain, I was still feeling ok and capable of making the distance. I reached my destination without any issues. So I had done the first part. For me, this itself was an achievement, traveling a distance of 25+ kms in one stretch and my body had not given up. I completed it in 1 hour 25 minutes, which I feel is a good timing as well. After reaching my destination, I had to climb stairs and only then I realized the effect of my travel. I climbed with some difficulty, but it was still manageable. 

The actual challenge was now, when I had to travel the same distance to return back to my home. I started with confidence. The fact that my body was holding up well after a travel of 25 kms made me believe that it was not going to be that difficult for me to return. As I anticipated, it was not very difficult. It took me the same time to return back to my home. I did stop in between to have some water and sugarcane juice. When I reached my home, I felt really elated. As I said, I have not been playing any sport or doing any activity to keep myself physically fit, in the last 3.5 years and to be able to travel a distance of 50+ kms  without much problem makes me feel very good. My knee also seems to be ok.

I know it is too early to feel good. I have to see how my body holds up after I wake up tomorrow. But that is tomorrow, let me feel good for now :). If my body responds well, then I will continue with these long distance rides and try to push myself in each subsequent attempt.

My review of Kolaveri

While browsing through my Facebook account, I saw a video where the message was that, 'If you have never failed, you have never lived'. That message gave me an assurance that I was living, having failed on numerous occasions, even very recently for that matter.

But that assurance was short lived. There is a lot of buzz about this song 'Kolaveri'. One of my friend asked me if I like it. I told my friend that I have not even heard it. So my friend said, 'If you have not heard it, you are not living'. Now it was question of weather I exist and if I was living. So I decided to listen to that song.

The first time I ever heard about this 'Kolaveri' was when one of my colleague asked me what it meant. I was curious to know how he came across this word. He said that it was a Tamil song sung by Rajini's son-in-law. He recited the first few lines of it and I did not find any Tamil word in it. I was wondering how is it a Tamil song. So that was my first experience with 'Kolaveri'.

After that I saw the word 'Kolaveri' being used everywhere, even in Cricinfo. Still it did not kindle my curiosity and it was just another song for me. Now that my existence was questioned :) and the song was being referred as a love failure song, I thought why not listen to it.

When I heard the song for the first time and saw some related videos, I came to know of a few more facts about the song. It is from a movie called '3', directed by Aiswarya, daughter of Rajini. The song has been composed by some 18 year old guy. It has been written and sung by Dhanush.

This song has been touted as a song from a lover who failed in love. When I heard the song for the first time, for me, it was anything but a love failure song. The music was noway suggestive of the pain in a love failure. The lyrics itself had very few parts suggesting it was a so called 'soup song'. For me it was a song from a person who is drunk, not able to put his words and thought in a structured manner. May be the reason why he was drunk could be because of his love failure. But, does that qualify it to be a love failure song? To be honest, I do not know :(. The movie is not released yet, so we do not know how this song has been picturised, may be that would do some justice to the claim of it being a 'soup song'.

As far as the composition goes, it is really catchy. More than catchy, it is a foot taping music. I do not have any idea about the guy who composed it. Not sure how many other songs he has composed in the past. But, this one is definitely pleasing to hear. It has good entertainment quotient. The music has lot of energy in it. As the song progresses, the energy also increases. Again not a conventional way to present a love failure. Even if it is an unconventional way, I doubt it.

On the lyrics front, it definitely shows the naivety of the lyricist. The lyrics does not have a structure. It is is as if anything that came in mind has been scribbled. If I consider the conventional lyrics, then I would even go to the extent of saying that it has no lyrical value. The best part of the lyrics is "Pa pa pa ppaan, pa pa pa ppaan, pa pa pa ppaan pa pa ppan". Just because it is not a conventional song (again, it is my opinion), I can give him a 5/10 for the lyrics. The lyrics has definitely cut the barriers of state. This song has cut across the international boundaries as well. On popularity front, it is very high on the charts. On entertainment value as well, it scores very well. I do not have to certify that. I guess that is what they aimed at and have achieved it. We Tamil speaking people use the word 'Kolaveri' quiet often in our conversation but never knew that it had the potential to get this popular :).

I am also of the opinion that Dhanush has sung it very well. At the same time, I feel that the way he has sung this song betrays the claim of it being a love failure song.

In the end I would say that it is an unconventional song that has achieved a popularity that would be enviable by others in the industry. It has a good foot tapping music and is very catchy. Let us now wait and see how this song is picturised.

Now after reading through this, do not ask me, 'Why this Kolaveri da?'. :)