Hasini, you got it all wrong!

Or did I? Let me explain it better..

(disclosure: This is a review of a movie review and might contain spoilers for Kuselan and Hasini Pesum padam on Kuselan)

super star yaar nu kaeta chinna kuzhandhaiyum sollum!
adhe madhiri, Kuselan movie paatha yaarai kaetaalum, who did the title role nu solliduvaanga....

Innuma purialai? okay, one more chance...

Super star's dialoge in the movie : ' Indha Kusalan ai than panathunaale kuberan aakiya andha Krishnan en Balakrishnan'

Can't be more explicit.. ippo sollunga paakalaam... Yaaru Kuselan?


Whatever be my opinion on Kuselan, this is one dialogue that I cherished the most in the movie. One line that is the essence of the story...and the beauty of it too...

When somebody reviews the movie, how on earth could they get this wrong?

Watch 'Hasini's Pesum Padam' on Kuselan for further details... For those who don't want to go thru the pain, excerpt from her review :

'Original kadhai le. Kuselan, Krishnan ai thedi povaar... aana indha padathula. Mohammed. does not go to the mountain. the mountain. goes to Mohammed.(syllogism vera). Hero Ashok. kuselan barber irukura. graamathuku varaar.'!!!

( the . in between the statement indicates the pause in her speech)

The movie was reviewed till the end with this concept.

Don't ask me if I was that jobless and bored to have time to watch Hasini Pesum padam....ironically, yes, I was...

Ivalo confident a avanga review pannadhai paatha appo, did I understand it wrong nu enakulle oru chinna confusion...

What do you think?

(Meaning is in the eye of the beholder - could be an answer to this question.)

Japanese hi-tech experience

On my way back to New York from Malaysia, it was a 5 hr transit at Tokyo Narita. I have always thought of Japan as an amazing blend of technological advancements and ethnic culture. Though I could not get out of the airport, I was wondering what was in store for me at the airport. Little did I imagine that the technology that would baffle me in Japan would be in a toilet seat!!

Yes, you read it right - a toilet seat. Though I was a little intimidated and had some embarrassing moments acquainting myself to the hi-tech seat, I was amused and amazed by it!

If you are brought up with Indian toilet habits, having access to water in a toilet will give you some peace of mind. This toilet seat will make you more than happy. It gives the comfort of a western toilet, the cleanliness of the Indian way and the luxury of electronic technology without making things too messy. What more do you need if you could listen to some recorded tunes too :)

I have not been to too many international airports or places to know if this is common, but, definitely I did not see them in Germany, US and Malaysia. I think these countries will not need it either because of their toilet habits. I did not take pics of this wonder-toilet, but have added some from the net, to give you a better picture. These pics will speak the 1000 words which I cannot say without being crude.

Check out the various options. I was fooled by the 'flushing sound' button. As I was so intimidated and was frantically searching for the flush, I just assumed that the button with word flush around it would just do the job. To my dismay and embarrassement, all I heard was a loud roar of the flushing noise. Why that button exists, I leave it for your imagination to answer.

The bidet functionality could catch you unaware if you are standing in front of the seat and trying out the buttons.










I was curious about these toilets and googled for the manufacturer TOTO and got this. Interesting!

Bird's Park - A Love Story

Wise Bluebrown :What is the reason for the melancholy in your eyes?

Smart Green :Oh, Wise Bluebrown, hope you can help me.. I am deeply in love with Preity White. But am afraid she will reject me. She is as fair as snow and has a house of her own. I live in a tree branch

Wise Bluebrown :Did you ever ask her? How could you assume? It is better to knock at the door than to assume that it will not open. Her heart and house might accommodate another person..

Smart Green flies to Preity's house and knocks on the roof...



Preity White: uh, Who is it?
Smart Green : It's me. Smart..
Preity White: Good to see you Smart.. How are you? what is up
Smart Green : ummm...ummm..Preity, I have come here to pour my heart out...I am so madly in love with you...Will you marry me?
Preity White : Oh, Smart!! I thought you would never ask!!!

Archer

Aim - shoot - Win. Aim - shoot - Win.

I have known great archers only by name - Arjunan, Karnan, Ekalayvan.
I have seen great shooters only on TV - in fact only Jaspal Rana

For the first time, I saw the action live - Bulls eye at every shot and the thumbrule was simple!

Aim - squirt - Eat. Aim - squirt - Eat.

Archer Fish!

When the caretaker of a fish farm at Langkawi stuck a moist bread piece on a wooden pole 2 ft above the water level, little did I anticipate what was to come.
I thought, the fish was going to jump up. I was wondering if it can do it without being knocked down by the pole.

I should say, I under-estimated this tiny fish(about the length of my palm). Suddenly a jet of water hit the bread piece with force making it fall into water.
I missed it the first time.. I didn't see the source.

The target was raised to 4 ft. We were all eyes looking at the fish. He moves a bit adjusts the angle, concentrates for a few seconds and squirts! Bulls eye again!

Now the target was raised to 6ft and perfect shot again. It was an amazing sight to watch this unique adaptation!

I was imagining Dhronacharya, a school of fish, and the following conversation

D'acharya : What do you see?

li'l clown fish : em.. people, wooden pole, em.. trees and..
baby shark : showing his teeth, fresh blood and flesh - people
archer fish : tiny white piece of bread

This youtube video says it all

Fruits of Malaysia

Durian, Rambutan, Pomelo, Langsat, Mangosteen, Pitaya

FRUITS! Fruits that I had never seen before.(Mangosteen - yes, but all the other fruits were new and strange)

Strange? you may wonder..
If you thought jackfruit and pineapple had a weird epicarp, wait until you see Rambutan(frizzy, fuzzy) and the dragonfruit (lotus ball like)

If you think you have seen a big grapefruit, wait until you see Pomelo(the XXL)

The best of 'em all, the biggest surprise..
If you thought you knew how 10 spoilt onions put in a sock which was continuously worn for 30 days by a soccer player would smell, wait until you smell a durian.
It is the national fruit of Malaysia - very, very unique and interesting! Many public places and hotels had the sign 'No Durians Allowed'. In fact, this fruit was featured in 'Bizarre Foods of Asia by Andrew Zimmern and I saw that episode a few weeks before my visit.
But, I did not know that it was widely available and widely consumed!

I missed the opportunity of tasting any of them, during this short stay, but I am sure, I will try all of 'em during my next trip.

For pictures of these unique fruits,checkout http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/tropical-fruits.html

On a different note, I(O) wonder that, when a small tropical country had about 6 native fruits,so distinct, why do we widely see only apples, oranges and grapes in our fruit stalls in India?

What happened to our own fruits? did we have any? What happened to elandhai pazham, vilaam pazham, etc?

West to East

I hope and pray that it is only by coincidence that
'jal' means water in sanskrit and
'JAL'(read Japan AirLines) flight flies over Pacific Ocean to reach Tokyo.

Visiting Malaysia...
* First trip over the Pacific
* First visit to an East Asian country
* First long, really long, travel alone
* First self-sponsored air-travel

A little nervous and anxious about it...
Meeting Parents and brother after, more than a year... All excited about it..

After my parents moved to Malaysia, I saw so much of it.. I saw it in Billa, I saw it in 'Kannaamoochi Yenada', I saw it in 'Arasi', I saw it when the tamil film fraternity visited to celebrate 75 years of tamil cinema, I saw it in TV telecast of 'Entrapment', I am seeing it in 'Varanam Ayiram' trailer...That was really an overdose. But, still can't wait to see it for real.

Added after the trip:
- The hospitality in JAL was really good.
- The food (Asian vegetarian) was decent.
- The flight always reached the destination ahead of schedule. Infact the flight from JFK to Tokyo reached one hour in advance
- Wonderful, happy trip

Happy Earth Day! Going Green

We have been doing it right for centuries...

1.When there is a mass gathering, be it marriage or funeral, we use banana leaves to serve food - saving land fill and feeding cattle

2.We had designated our own left and right hands - saving paper and plastic

3.Tender coconut was our primary thirst quencher - only if we had invented ways to add flavor and fizz to this natural soft drink

4.We used oil for setting, sikkakai for cleaning, even soap kottai for froth, kadalai maavu/pachai payaru for cleaning -
- only if we had invented ways to add natural scents and pooled in stars for advertising

5.We used just cotton for summer, wool for winter and silk for celeberations

6.We use flowers and rice for blessing and celeberations - not confetti

7.We made bio-degradable marapaachi dolls and choppu - only if we had shaped it up and marketed as 'Barbie'

8.We Still use 'kal chatti' and 'mann chatti' for cooking and storing

9.We still build olai veedu and ottu veedu

10. We even made natural dyes, eye-liners and a whole range of cosmetics

In an age old civilization, we have been doing it right for centuries. 'Bio-degradability' and 'minimzing waste' seemed to have been the agenda for the way of life.
I am not against technological advancements and modernization. But, over the years, we could have spent a fraction of our focus on modernizing our own roots than frantically running to catch up with westernization!

btw, an interesting read on 'why Indians eat with hand'
'Food' is a treat not just to the stomach, but to all our senses - Good Food, is a perfect blend of color, taste, smell and texture served sizzling hot('served sizzling hot' is my addendum - I forgot how it is a treat to the ears).

Kids - Priceless Expressions

Stumbled upon this video on net recently. Had a good laugh!



Apart from Charlie and his brother being cute, the patience of the elder one was amazing. Toddler's bite can hurt badly. It is surprising how he still waits for Charlie to open his mouth to take the finger out!