A weekend with KK & Bombay :-)

I loved the weekend ...Especially the lazy sunday spent switching channels playing
my favourite movies ... "Kandkukondein Kandukondein " and "Bombay"

Atleast now TV channels are being sensitive enough to play the right kind of movies at a time like this .Movies which promotes peace & dialogue.Watchin Bombay gets me angry, so angry with people who have still not woken up to realise all this blood shed is cruelty and no one will win a war.Such a strong message from the movie and every scene during the mumbai riots makes you emote.some of the best scenes like
One of the twin asking a Unac if he is a hindu or a muslim and what it means by that ? The response is amazing -both are ways to reach god .From casting a muslim (Naser) as a Hindu extremist and a Hindu (Kittu) as a Staunch Muslim itself, Mani Rathnam has brought in national integration - i would say !

And the highlight of the movie is some of the songs which are so thought provoking -
Yuthathai niruthu and malordu malar engu...
And even the song poovukkenna poottu kaatrukkenna roottu has some amazing lyrics that i fall in love with everytime i listen to it ..

"soalaikku enna oru kavalai eppoadhum paravaigal azhuvadhillai
sooriyanil enrum iravu illai eppoadhum sorggaththukkuth thadaiyillai
kaanaththaanae kangal kanneer sindha illai
maegangal manvizhundhu kaayangal aanadhillai
vaazhaththaanae vaazhkkai veezhvadharku illai
pollaadha jaadhi madham iraivanum sollavillai
vellaththaanae veeram kolvadharku illai
kaiyoadu kaisaerththu vaanaththaiyae thottuvidu

Aravind samy takes your heart away when he brings out all his anger and partiotism
when talking to the Religious (Political ) leaders and his friends who gets into the riot madness ... He immediately reminds me of his another patriotic act from Roja
where he puts off the burning indian flag by jumping on it ..watte scene that was :-)


And yet apart from all these , you have some enjoyable ,fun scene with the couple's romance and with their children coming in -It's cute & adorable.

When it comes to Kandukondein Kandukondein - i love the character Meenakshi (played by Aishwarya) I see so much of myself in her ..She never lives in a real world , always dreaming..is blunt and honest , adores Bharathi and sings about her impossible wishes like "Inre varvendum Deepavali pandigai ,nalay verum kanavu -naan en nambanum -Naan nattathum roja inre pookanum"

Sounds so like moi ... I dreamt ,dreamt & dreamt .....and then just like her ,Reality hit me hard and made me realise that it is okay to dream but be prepared get hurt as much ...The story revolves around this family of 2 sisters (other actress being Tabu who is constantly reffered to as unlucky woman) and then Ajith , Mammooty & Abbas appear as well playing their part ..Some angry scenes of Mammooty are too gud ..Rajeev Menon is a class apart ..making a movie where every scene delivers class and makes ur eye want more ...Such is the beauty of the locations & photography ..And such lovely costumes ,bright colours and well stitched Pavadai ,thavani -Aish has looked her best in these costumes.Lyrics for most of the songs melt you heart ..

"Kanna moochi ena da ..Kanna -naan kannadi porul pola da" ,
all the gals would relate to it -as men only know to break ur heart :-(

Enge enathu kavidhai -kanavile ezhudhi madiththa kavidhai
Sad song expressing the disaapointment of a broken heart ...

I just enjoyed wtahcing these 2 movies and overall ..Loved the weekend ..And thanked the SUN TV network for being so nice this time else you know these people, they would play a romantic thriller or a superstar movie totally unrelated to Independance on August 15th !!! So i did not expect them to play a partiotic movie which talks about religious conflicts when we are going through simliar attacks right now!!

Kudos to SUN TV network , hope we get to watch more meaningful films through the IDIOT BOX in the future too :-))

Yo Yo...

Oh... i would call it my Yo Yo syndrome ..

Suddenly i feel happy , and then sad and then gloomy and then moody
and then what not ..Varied moods and feelings :-P
That is why i call this a Yo Yo syndrome as my moods are like the YO YO toy ..
going from one extreme to another..

Guess many people do go through this but for me it's worse these day ..
I just don't feel like doing anything ...i keep looking at the window in my office
and watch the trees ...then i realise i have some work to do ...forcing myself to
complete the tasks ..i do ...quickly finish it off and back to gazing at the windows

Wonder how everyone handles that phase in life ..when you don't feel like doing a thing .... dunno what i need to pep me up ....what ..what ..what ??
Trying to listen to a lot of my favourite songs n stuff but doesn't help :-(

I wanna break free and only Kelly clarkson comes to my mind now ...
Her song which was my obsession at one time ..BREAKAWAY

Na na na ..na !!!

Verse 1:]

Grew up in a small town
And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreamin' of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray

Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I prayed I could breakaway

[chorus]
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget all the ones that I love
I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

[Verse 2:]
Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get on board a fast train
Travel on a jetplane, far away
And breakaway

[chorus]
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
I won't forget all the ones that I love
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

[Bridge:]
Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging round revolving doors
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me
But, gotta keep moving on, moving on
Fly away, breakaway

[chorus 2]
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye, gotta
Take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

Breakaway
Breakaway...

My connection with Animation.....

I love movies and especially animated movies ...
If i remember well the first animated movie that i saw on a movie hall was "Cars" .I literally fell in love with it ....The attitude F1 race car who thinks he is god and his realisation about true love & life happens when he sees his downfall ...Human characters could not have brought out that emotions so well that those animated characters brought on to the screen !!

It was awesome ..especially when he falls in love with the girlie car and takes a drive down the road with a view of the waterfall ..i still remember that scene so well being the romantico viji :-)

Then i watched "Happy Feet" and my heart ached for the Dancing Penguin when he failed to win over his gal because he could not sing like the traditional lot of penguins..

Then came "FINDING NEMO" which tops my favourite movie list..though this should have been the movie that introduced me to the animation world ..i got to watch it very late ..It was almost 2 years back when i visited my friend in mumbai ...we caught up with the movie ....I literally prayed that Nemo's dad should find NEMO ..He was just an adoring father and NEMO takes your breath away when he gets stuck in the fish tank pipe .....Animated movies to me are "Characters filled with emotions that translates the magic of imaginary things that can bring life to the screen" ....A real beauty !!

Recently i borrowed a DVD from a colleague who sent us mails saying he was inspired by an animated movie ...that was the terrific "Kungfu Panda" . I cant forget that day ..i was at an all time emotional low and decided am gonna get over it by watching this DVD.....My sister to accompany me ..could not have asked for more ..

It was an evening filled with laughter ..The PANDA makes u laugh till your stomach aches ..he was so cute that i wished i had one pet like him :-) Such a nice movie with inspirational message ....The difference lies in how you see yourself -Nothing's impossible !!!

I watched some scenes repeatedly... how he tries so hard to visit the grand kungfu ceremony, feels ashamed that he cant see his toes - his tummy is so big and how he learns the martial art being the very himself !!!

Finally , i wanted to see "THE LION KING " which so many people often mentioned in their animated movie list .I happily delegated the job on downloading the movie to my kiddo sister ...The dedicated kiddo sis also did that and we got to spend another exciting evening with "SAMBA" ....Samba looked so cute as a cub and his proud dad "Mufasa " -Another nice character in the movie ....I loved this movie too (This goes without saying by now)....i loved the Elton john musical in this movie and i kept humming " Hakuna Matata" all the time ...Music on this movie is mesmerising !!

I know this is just a few that i have watched till now..But that's kool as... Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, i have more to catch up on my list of ANIMATED FUN:-)

Feeling of HELPLESSNESS !!

After following the news completely on mumbai terror attacks , reports and forwarded mails on bashing politicians and media ...phew ..don't we have better things to think /talk about in life ,Definitely not !!

Guess i was so disturbed watching the whole episode on the mumbai terror attacks , that i dreamt of being chased by the terrorist in a jeep ..they are firing and i manage to take the stairs of a building ..then i dunno if i reached inside the building or was shot ..as that is all i remember from my dream ..

When i woke up , i felt horrified ..wondered if only a dream can make me loose my guts , imagine being a hostage or being attacked in reality..i cant imagine !!

What surprises me the most is ignorance and behaviour of majority of the people ..
many of them i spoke to know politicians over look a lot of things including LTTE / Caste based riots for the sake of getting the votes into their kitty ...and they are still in favour of them / vote for them :-(

Wonder when all of us will wake up and realise what we are doing to ourselves?
everyone knows the politicians are looting public money ,hardly interested in common man and we stay put with all this ?? why ??

Look at the plight of our ministers ...SAD is not the word ...!!
Ex Home Minister has the audacity to say .."these kinds of small things do happen in big cities" ..it sounded worse than a movie dialogue to me ..Does he even know what he is saying being in a responsible position ...Thank God , he was fired !!!

Media on the other hand publishes/telecasts everything and anything for the sake of TRP's ..huh ..I was watching the coverage on TV last nite -how we are getting geared and preparing our airforces etc ..Is this a breaking news ?? don't they have common sense ...??
the whole world is watching us including the guys who will plan the next attack...
And the same reporter on TV gave the news that the LET head were watching the coverage on TV and guiding /updating the terrorists inside TAJ and Oberoi on the NSG's movements ....what a pity ???

After so much has happened and that will happen in the future, are we still going to put up with all this and stay quiet??

I am so tired of saying ..i can only pray ..high time i got over the feeling of helplessness and ACT upon it ..I really wanna do something to contribute to PEACE !!

How many are willing to join me ??And what should we do .?? Any ideas???

Living Buddhism

where do i begin to tell you ? If i started to write on this topic -i can go on for pages ..the first time i heard Nam Myoho Renge Kyo when i was 21 years old .It's been a long journey till now ..more than 7 years into living Buddhism ..i can only say i am glad !! Whether it was the group prayer sessions or the social initiative like the earth charter or peace exhibition , every event and activity helped me grow.

I actually did not take Buddhism seriously until i met a lot of young people like me joshed up and full of positivity sharing their experiences being in the Buddhist practice .Some of them not only spoke great things but they actually emitted so much goodness and joy around them.I thought ..why not give it a shot ..as i did not have anything to loose but a lot to learn !! The more i read about Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism -my faith towards Buddhism deepened...Timely guidances from Dr Daisaku Ikeda -Sensei(as we fondly call a Guru)were fascinating to read ...I wondered how someone who is a spiritual leader is able to address issues of a person like me who was just in her 20's !!

He is such a practical person and his writings are dated forever ..am sure it will carry relevance for the future generations too.Believe me ..he had answers for the weirdest possible questions about life , love ,marriage, work ,parents ,friendships and even Sex...He addressed the most common problems people face in day today life
he encouraged every individual through his writings.. he spoke tirelessly about peace & how to practice it ...what makes me look up to him is "He walks the talks"

one of the most valuable lesson i learnt from practising Buddhism is "I AM RESPONSIBLE " for whatever happens to me in my life and no one else is !!
This is indeed a great lesson which helped me realise ..whether it was friendships turning bad ya work going the unsatisfied way ..I was responsible and i can turn around the situation if i act upon it .

My most memorable moments of early Buddhist days would be the study meetings that happened every Wednesdays at my place :-) ..Every Wednesday rain or shine -we , a bunch of young gals gathered at my place to read various Buddhist books on interesting topics like ..Karma, changing your karma, ninth consciousness etc..Am sure i took all the learnings very seriously as i can imagine ..people who i did not like when i met them the first time are my best of friends today...if it was not for Buddhism ..it would not have been possible .Buddhism teaches you to respect human beings as they are , it helps you understand everyone has some goodness ..
Makes you forget the grudge,overlook the hurt & hold on to the goodness of self & others ..sometimes it is very difficult to forget the hurt and move on being normal with people who have wounded us.. as we say "Am human ,not a saint" ..but the struggle lies in trying to achieve that state ...Of all the valuable lessons Buddhism teaches me ..the most invaluable of all which i really hold as a value for my life is


"Buddhism teaches you to be happy & live a joyous life irrespective of the troubles that will surround you from time to time"

And that is what i try to practise through living Buddhism "To be happy & joyful -No MATTER WHAT !!

Friends....

Friends....they have rocked the world with their outstanding show on television
I hooked on to them only in the recent past .can you believe this "A show that can have you hooked on after a decade on t.v ..that's friends for you"

Rachel,Ross,Monica,Joey,Chandler & Phoebe -these are not unfamiliar names to those who follow the show .But for those who don't know them, They are the characters on the show . I laugh my gut out watching the show. It's an interesting sitcom ever produced on television till date and what more -they were successful commercially too
From a person who was never a television addict or a comedy lover ..Friends changed me completely . on watching the show regularly ..i started to yearn for friends like that ...I do have some of them who are pretty close to me ..but guess u need to be more blessed to live in together with friends and enjoy those small things in your daily life ..!!

It's amazing to see a lot of emotions,friendship apart from the comedy .And that typical British humour here and there ..sometimes i wonder what did i miss that am unable to get the joke :-( , Now it's become easier as hubby dearie has gifted me 2 of the seasons (the old ones) which has subtitles ..he he he :-)

The most beautiful thing about this show is , it is so realistic .There is no drama in it and all these actors are so natural .They live the character and all of them play their part well .No one over shadows the other .If you watch all the episodes keenly , you get to see all of them equally irrespective of something crucial happening in one of their lives .Credit goes to the script writer and the director for managing that so well. Am sure six of them would have become great friends through this show.You can relate so much to most of the stuff happening in the show as you feel like it is happening next door or in your life !!!

what comes to my mind when i think of them - a quick intro to the Friends !!

Ross - Who can make you laugh just with his funny expressions!!
Rachel - The Babe
Monica - Cleanliness Freak
Joey -The Flirt
Phoebe - The Singer who has a dry humour
Chandler -The Funny Guy..

Oops..how can i forget the famous title track of this show ..
"I'll be there for you"
I can't stop dancing to this when i hear it ..shoop ,shoop ,shoop !!

My Mohammed Rafi

"MOHAMMED RAFI " I would not have known about him or about his great music if it were not for Appa. He had such huge collection of Rafi 's and old hindi ,tamil film songs.I remember the big gramaphone that we had in our house in trichy ..and the numerous number of records that we play on the gramaphone to listen to the songs

So many times , whenever amma questions him on the fortune he has made for his growing daugthers , appa would jokingly say " Look at the beautiful and infinite number of musical records and my precious gramaphone Jaya-These are the pricelss fortune that i have collected for my daugthers "

Well ..appa was rite .. !! They are priceless to me ..The music that they made me listen and the interest for good music /songs that he passed on from his gene to me .
And the most valauble asset i cherish till date is my introduction to Mohammed Rafi.

Mohammed Rafi mesmerises me ...the only this i regret about being born in 1980, is the fact that the same year took away Rafiji. How i wish i could have seen him once in my lifetime ...The more i listen to his songs , the more i fall in love with him
so many songs ..He trained us to identify Rafi's voice. Keerthi & I used to compete is telling him which one was Rafi and which was n't him ...Infact , he also made us know the great lyricts of those years ..Majrooh Sultanpuri , Sahir Ludhianvi,Shailendra ..and the best of music directors S D Burman, O P Nayyar, Ravi ,Madan Mohan , Naushad,Shankar Jaikishan,Lakshmikant pyarelal and many others of yester years ..Anyone who composed for a Rafi Song and we ought to know them .There was some sense of achievement when we answered appa coprrectly in those little quizzes he had for us when a Rafi song is being played . And how i cherish those days ...Whether appa had money or no ..He had lots of peace within himself ..I guess it was all the magic of Mohd Rafi .I feel like as if Mohd Rafi is a family member .We talk so much about him ... Even today ...i talk to my sister about Rafi songs ...i keep yacking about Rafi to my husband .

Rafi saab's songs are haunting ...like that song in the movie night in london .. "Oh My Love-Nazar na lagjaye "..That songs lingers in my mind for hours together after i listen to it ..even now when i think about it ..i can hear him sing .......

One song that i could die for is " Chand mera dil , Chandni ho tum ..Chandi se hai door ..chandhni kahan..." ...watte song .... I have tears in my eyes when is ing that song ...i feel like a man and wish i could sing it for a woman like how he did ..it is that beautiful indeed... and some of the peppy ones like "baar baar dekho" , "Yahoo ..", "Taarif karoon kya uski"," Aaj kal tere mere pyaar" and the ever melodious .. "Teri aankhon ..ehsaan tera , chaahoon ga mein thuje, jo wada kiya ho ,mein gaon tum sojaon.." ...my gosh..the list will be endless if i started to list them ..All i can say is ...he is a wonderful singer and a good humab being ...something that touched me when i read about him ...

"Rafi sang for many lesser-known composers as well. Once, when a minor composer, Nisar Bazmi (who migrated to Pakistan in early 1960s), did not have enough money to pay him, Rafi charged a fee of one rupee and sang for him"

"Rafi preferred to take one time fee for each song and that was the end of it. But in later part 1950’s Lata wanted film producers to give her a certain percentage of Film’s profit as a royalty for her songs. Rafi did not like this idea and never demanded royalty from the Film Producers"

What more can i say ..to know this great guy who is my favourite singer is too good a human too ...He ought to be as good music can only emerge from good souls and am sure you will agree after listening to "Kiya hua tera wada ...oh kasam ...oi radha"....here i enclose the song for those who dont know Rafi or have not listened to any of his songs ...Go on ..Listen and connect to your soul !!!