Antara Echoes

I used to always think Kannada movies & songs as the poor cousins of Tamil, Malayalam and the Telugu industry. My mistake..for I could not have been in for a bigger surprise recently. Am not saying the quality of their movies have suddenly shot northward but the music is definitely perking up. I still have no clue about how the movies fare but here are some really good songs that have found their way to my playlist. #1 Ninindaale from Milana - A foot tapping number by Sonu Nigam, its instantly likeable. #2 Anisuthide Yako from Mungaru Male - Now this song should come as no surprise after all the rave reviews it has received. #3 Ullasada Hoomale from Cheluvina Chittara - Melodiously sung by the immensely talented Shreya Ghoshal , this song has been on the top of the kannada charts for quite sometime now, I heard. Enjoy maadi...

Reality shows have been the order of the day for quite sometime now. Since they have captured all the prime time slots that is available there is hardly any choice left for viewers. Be it Jhalak Dikh Laja, Star Voice of India or the Indian Idol in the north or shows in the same vein such as Mastana Mastana, Idea Star Singer down south. Switch to international channels and all you get is Asian Idols, Survivor etc Now it would surely take a gigantic effort to keep away from all of them. Its almsot like a dare by the media asking the viewers to try and ignore these reality shows. So well to put it succinctly I also end up watching one or two of these. As probably most of the other viewers I have also done my bit of cribbing about the unwanted display of emotions by the contestants, the exaggeration by the judges and of course also cheered a worthy contestant. But the only thing that nags me no end is the way they claim that these shows rely on popular public voting. And how the hell do t...

Horoscopes, birth charts, tarot cards all sound like mumbo jumbo to the convent educated, scientific thinking individuals that we have grown to be. Have recently been having some very interesting discussions with a very learned septuagenarian uncle (an ex-lawyer-cum-tax advisor), who has a completely different take on this subject. More on this soon.

Posted on a popular forum and faithfully being reproduced here... What should I do to marry a rich guy? I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here. I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above. You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York. My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married? I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you? Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit. If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden (?), $250k annual income is not enough. I'm here humbly to ask a few questions: 1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym) 2) Which age ...

As many would know this is the mandala kaalam or the auspicious month for Lord Iyyappa worship. Sharing a few photos from the temple visit, instead of waxing eloquent... One portion of the divine palki getting ready. If you notice carefully the entire palki is made from just banana stem and fresh coconut leaves. Talk about being environment friendly! The decorated temple elephant swaying its ears gently to the music of the chenda made an awesome sight. There was also a program of Thayambaka and Panchavadyam organized for the evening which we had to give a miss due to the unusually cold weather. For those who would like to hear the chenda, found this youtube link -

No, I don't have delusions that there are actually people out there who are wee bit interested to read or know about my activities, but thats the kick a blog with a few clicks gives you. You simply imagine an interested audience, assume a readership base and go about expending your ideas & thoughts to the extent that now I feel compelled to state the reasons for my periodic inactiveness. Duh, actually acknowledging that in words has weaned away some of the enthusiasm with which I started this post. Albeit, to grudgingly continue, I am brushing up on my Spanish.Am still trying to figure out the 'Estar' & 'Ser' but to prove a point, here I go - Hola a todos, A mi me gusta bailar. Mi primer baile es en Julio. Practico mucho. Mi maestra canta para mi. Evito la lluvia porque estoy enferma. Nosotros percibemos baile divino. Hope I have impressed those who see the above lines as gibberish. To those who understand it and with shrinking foreheads - ahem! I told yo...

One forward mail that I really enjoyed, so sharing them here... "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." -- Winston Churchill [Applies to many people I know] "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." -- Clarence Darrow [Oops! I dont exactly have a list, though...] "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." -- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway) [Hahah can 100% apply to me but I would like to think of it as a compliment. I wonder what Faulkner would have to say about our very own R K Narayan.] "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -- Groucho Marx [Me yet hankering after 'that' perfectly wonderful evening] "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." -- Mark Twain "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." -- Oscar Wil...

Yesterday I wokeup to the loud notes of nadaswaram - a wind instrument, similar to the shehnai of the North India. A little miffed at being so wokenup instead of my usual favourite FM, I walked out to see my mom generously giving alms to this person towing a decorated cow. Mom smiled seeing grumpy face, squinting at the early morning blasts of sun. "Nadaswaram is a mangala vadhyam (auspicious instrument) dear" she smiled. "Traditionally you must have seen them in south-indian marriages or street processions but they started out as divine instruments used in temple worship. There were times when people used to flock for nadaswaram concerts and these musicians were a celebrated lot. Today see what they have been reduced to" she lamented. Did a little reading on this endangered art form and came out understanding little more of them. I made a small vow to myself that the next time I come across such street artists, will spare them more than a few loose change.

I have written and deleted about nine versions of this post. Half the time wondering if I am really expressing what I am actually feeling. I also had this nagging thought that the moment I would put this in words my feelings might take a 360 degree turn. Am being a braveheart by going ahead and posting this, so don't you judge me. 'Domestic bliss' was a term I used to associate as a brand for selling modular kitchens at the most. Today on a short sabbatical I seem to find myself wallowing in this very same bliss of plain vanilla domesticity - and am actually enjoying it. Looking back as far as I can see I have never given myself the luxury of taking a break for more than 2 weeks. And those precious breaks used to be mainly while I was transitioning from one company to another.Today its more than 2 months of me waking up without having to wonder "What do I wear to office today?" and its simply exhilarating. I used to find it rather condescending when people used to...

Wishing a happy, prosperous and safe Diwali to one and all. Glittering MG Road on Diwali night

Lola Kutty and Boney Menon Party! Simply love them. Was rummaging through my files and found this video and wanted to share it with all. It turned out to be a huge file but I luckily found the link to this video on Youtube. Enjoy maadi.

Am overjoyed and as happy as every other cricket loving Indian at India winning the T20 worldcup. It was a nail biting finish and I whooped in joy as the tricolour was paraded proudly around the ground..but all the same it seemed too good to be true. A creepy thought passed my mind - Is this all true or is it part of an elaborate scripted show put up for our benefit? It was like a bad thought or dream that nobody wants to think about but it keeps recurring. Maybe I am just going bonkers. Voice in my head - heck, isn't it too much of a coincidence that the final would have to be between India & Pakistan?...Especially after the world cup debacle, cricket took the biggest beating ever in its Indian history. It was almost on the verge of dying a slow death, sponsors pulling out support , public support was lost. Me - What the hell, it was a great game. Played in front of millions. Voice in my head - Forgot the earlier match fixing tales?. After the world cup fiasco the very foun...

I dont know how they measure all this and I also wonder who pays for such survey's but the Times of India quoting one such survey states that we " Indians are the happiest lot in the world ". Good for us :) In yet another article in the magazine Nature , I read this interesting correlation between lottery winners and paraplegics. It said that lottery winners and accident victims both seem to revert to their prior levels of happiness. In other words, if a person wins a million dollar worth lottery and another person becomes an invalid in an accident - a year later their level of happiness or possibly their state of mind would both at par! Whoa, think of that. Or lets just say - 'When life offers a lemon, ask for tequila and salt'

Am making an effort to write short stories/flash fiction. Here are few of my recent attempts - Love Finds Its Way The Indomitable Palakkad Maami Cupid Unusual Feedback, suggestions, ideas, bouquets or brickbats...all are welcome.

Having been homebound for sometime now and with enough clutter in the TV channels,watching movies suddenly has became very appealing. But I have to confess that am no longer in the rampant watch-any-movie age where I could digest anything from a Saajan to a Hero No 1 but clearly not also yet there to enjoy a Satyajit Ray or Pedro Almodvar movie.Anyways its regional cinema that I am talking here. All this movie watching started with me giving company to my mom and she restricts her staple of movies to only Tamil and Malayalam films. After a point of time comparison was just bound to follow... Best things first - Malayalam films are quite a revelation. From being funny,melancholic, enchanting, tragic, uplifting to plainly being entertaining the range and depth of malayalam films has simply awed me. And am not even talking here of the well-known, superhit mad capers of Mohanlal or Mamooty that the outside world knows of. Let me confess I dont even understand the language completely....

Nothing these days is spared of abuse and religion is no exception. I recently saw and read about this new " Golden Temple " of the south being built on a massive scale of 300 crore budget and by spending about 1500 kilos of gold. Dedicated to Goddess Narayani, this temple is the work of Sri Narayani Peetam headed by a 31-year-old godman who calls himself Narayani "Amma". Who is this Amma? More on him here Messages by ‘Amma’ have been laid out along the path to the temple with messages from the Gita, Bible and Quran. “In this quagmire of materialism, Sripuram rises as an inspiration to man to find the divinity within him,” adds the brochure. Pardon me! What? Not satisfied with having reduced religion & spirituality to the level of street chicanery they now want to turn it into a money spinner also. What is more laughable is that on the same page where the news of the golden temple appeared, there is another article that says, " Help us build eight new IITs...

After a heavy festive lunch of Aviyal, kaalan, olan, paayasam etc can't type anymore than simple wishes. Happy Onam one and all..

Its the annual dance festival at ISKCON from August 17 to 21st and this year it is themed to be - ‘Sri Krishna Shringar’, featuring the five classical dance forms of India that include Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam and Bharatnatyam. Having been a student of classical Bharatanatyam for many long years I would'nt have missed this treat for anything. The festival this year boasts of having legendary artists of the fame of Bharati Shivaji and her troupe from Centre for Mohiniattam; Pandit Birju Maharaj and his dance school Kalashram; Vempatti Chinna Satyam's Kuchipudi Art Academy; Priyadarshini Govind and Madhavi Mudgal and her troupe from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Among the fortunate to attend the Kathak recital by Pandit Birju Maharaj's troupe, it was an evening to cherish. While I had a secret hope that the legendary maestro himself might give us a performance, it was not to be. But nevertheless he gave such an awe-inspiring introductory speech that it more than mad...

The passing of each birthday seems to me like someone's nailing an "Adulthood" signage in front of me. Now one is unable to easily get away with errant behaviours, careless attitudes and bizzare interests. However today, with people waiting longer to marry, stay in school longer, gleefully still depend on parents, divorce early and become a "young single" again, I feel I have just entered a period of prolonged adolescence. An adolescence with more emphasis on being responsible, acheiving a new maturity level and also what signals a whole lot of self-imposed and societal expectations. :( But life's been one fantastic ride till now and when I look back, I like what I see (except, wish I could have my dad back). And its quite fascinating to think what the future might hold... (More yummier cakes in the least..) Here is a message I received from one of my friends...and needless to say I loved it! This will be your year. This will be your year... This will be the...

Dark clouds looming in the horizon.... Rainwashed roads...

Let me tell you a very interesting albeit true story. There is large family whose one son is not very happy with the life they lead and wants to earn big bucks. So he goes and finds a job with a rich family who treat him like dirt but our guy is happy making his moolah. One day the rich family accuses him of a heinous crime and almost persecute him. The guy's family back home stands by him and goes all out to get him freed. After raising a lot of dust they manage to free him and get him back home. The father and neighbours go all out to make him feel comfortable and even go ahead and promise him a job. You think the story ends on a happy note here? No. The boy goes begging back to the rich family to adopt him since he has been proved innocent. The rich snooty family looks at him like he is some loony (which I have no doubt of) and simply throws him out. You must be thinking, "Who could ever be such a moron?" Well, we are. Atleast it looks like we are being ruled by some....

A few pictures (courtesy my N73) from Day2 of Barcamp Bangalore... A session on - 'Podcasting Techniques For Your Blog' by Swaminathan. Quite interesting, which was then followed by a session called - "Protecting The Pictures In Your Blog". Though the interaction and comments from the audience was very entertaining, I can't say Vikram Aggarwal provided new insight in this direction. And there was this session on Mo-Blog or Mobile Blogging by Arun Ram . Very interesting and it did ignite an interest in me to start my mo-blog. Watch out for that. And then there was Thejesh who co-presented and continued the MoBlog sesssion from where Arun left. While Arun spoke on the technique of using GPRS for updating the blog, Thejesh showed how EMail & MMS are the other viable alternatives. In all, it was a sunday well spent.

The other day I had lined out for myself to watch (as I always do when I am depressed) an awful sappy, mindless Bollywood caper. I might have surfed four to five channels watching bits and pieces of movies – Kal Ho Na Ho, DDLJ, Pyar Kiya Tho Darna Kya etc and none of which managed to hold my interest completely. More sadly, something kept hankering me, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth, and eventually ruined my enjoyment of the films entirely. These has been an overdose of Punjabi in Bollywood and its been that way for quite sometime now. So long that its making me retch. No offense my dear Punjabi friends. Punjabi is a fine language and with an equally memerising culture to back it. But there are surely more cultures and languages in India that can be showcased? Heck! We are the most diverse country ever in the world with a shocking number of 415 living languages spoken in India and equal number of distinctly different cultures to showcase. But No, we are going to be stuck on to jus...

There are not many such days with little or no traffic on Bangalore roads these days. So took them for posterity.. Can you identify any of these roads?

The Bhagavad Gita is considered by scholars across the world to be among the greatest spiritual books the world has ever known. Through Bhagvad Gita or the Divine Song, Lord Krishna explains the science of self realization and the simple steps to attain an eternal relationship with Him. Many great thinkers from our times such as Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweizer as well as Madhvacarya, Sankara and Ramanuja from bygone ages have all contemplated and deliberated upon its timeless message. The spiritual knowledge and the intrinsic beauty of the Bhagavad Gita is incomparable as it applies to one and all irrespective the realms of other religions. The Bhagavad Gita has never required any sort of marketing but Inspire Media, New Delhi have come up with this interesting Illustrated Bhagavad Gita, by A.P.M Raj Urs . I think its a brilliant idea as illustrations bring the story to life and can help the reader visualise a lot better. Wish there are more such initiatives, for ...

A wildlife organization has launched a project that combines business intelligence software and ancient tracking techniques of the Inuit people to study polar bear footprints. The organization's goal is to document a declining polar bear population, considered by environmentalists to be a sign of global warming. More on that over here So Is The Threat of Global Warming for Real? Notwithstanding the hoopla over the Global Warming threat that supposedly looms large in front of us, there are few voices with a little more than plain skepticism to counter this theory. We have heard a lot of the '8 years to apocalypse' story..so lets hear the other side who are crying this who issue as hogwash. And this is what they are saying - - The notion of 'man made' global warming is absolute unequivocal myth, led by agendas, lies and media propaganda...says Channel 4, UK in its documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle - Sir Nicholas Stern report on the economics of climate cha...

Pottermania reaches a never-before cresendo with the release of the final book hardly few days away. But looks like Potter fans can't seem to await any longer for the latest news is that the last installment - Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows has already been leaked on the internet. Google around a little bit and one can find few thousand "Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows" book in an array of formats - .rar, .pdf, .doc etc. Sadly none of them seem to me the original. It looks more like the work of wannabe Rowlings. However I found these pics from one of the popular photosharing sites. Still not sure about their authenticity. Have a look.. The Cover Page Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 16 The Epilogue - Nineteen Years Later. Are they for real? I have no idea!