What’s in a name…

 

The first thing I was taught to write (after my alphabets obviously) was my name: “Sunil. R” – neat, loud and proud. I even have a vague recollection of the day. It must have been a summer evening because I was to join school soon after…

 

Mom: “That’s it… a nice roll on the ‘S’… dot the i…. and your initial ‘R’ in bold after some space”

 

Me: “Mommy, what’s an initial?”

 

Mom: “That is your identity darling. The first letter from your father’s name ‘Ramesh’, just so you don’t get lost among the other Sunils in your class!”

 

Me: “Oh! I don’t want to get lost! Can I have a couple more just in case?”

 

Mom: “Well, you’ve got just one Daddy my dear…”

 

Me: “Why can’t I have your name too? Please Mommy, please please?”

 

Mom: “Hahaha! It doesn’t quite work that way kiddo…”

 

But it should! When I think of it now, after nearly 18 years, I might have made better sense than her back then!

After all, why do kids get named after their Dads alone? Who the hell came up with that rule? I mean, don’t get me wrong… I love my father and everything! He is a wonderful person and has been a great friend to me all these years – but so has my mom! Doesn’t it seem rather unfair that only he gets to appear on my initials? In fact, come to think of it – both of them have had equal involvement in my upbringing! I mean, it was perfect teamwork.

If my dad bought me a bicycle, my mom taught me to ride on it.

If my dad bought me a guitar, my mom made sure I practiced.

If my dad paid for my tennis lessons, my mom accompanied me all over the place when I participated in tournaments.

Both of them made sure I had plenty of love, care and attention.

In my view, both parents deserve to be celebrated equally! I wish my friends who read this to get past old habits and make that change…

 

Sunil.R.Y.

(R – Ramesh & Y – Yamuna)

 

This post is a part of contest by https://www.facebook.com/sftimetochange

 

 

 

All in all a good trip though… :-)

Dear Reader,

There are just two things I am going to tell you:

1. Never board the compartment for unreserved passengers on Shalimar Express during February/March.
2. Even if you do,h never, and I mean ABSOLUTELY NEVER speak a word in Hindi!

Read on, and you’ll see why…

‘Pack light and travel efficiently!’

This is a code I never lived by until this fateful night.

08/03/2011, Club Mahindra Holiday Resort, Munnar : 1100 hours

Being a right old slob, I had a big travel bag randomly dumped with my stuff. With this lot, I had an equally pesky friend Deepesh who decided to fix up an interview with a national television channel on our world cup song Jeet ka Junoon for which I had exactly 24 hours to make my way down to chennai! Took a bus to Alua. Fly baby fly!

08/03/2011, Alua Railway Station, Kerala : 2100 hours

The night dusked (my personal rebellion against discrimination – how can ‘dawned’ alone be allowed? x-() bright (there were a LOT of lights, duhhh) and clear (my wallet i mean ) and it was time for me to board the train (obviously unreserved) that would supposedly take me from Alua in Kerala, to Chennai in Tamilnadu. I looked up at the old grand time-piece at the station. Made it with time to spare… The platform was unusually crowded.

Now I already had to use my seriously limited Malayalam Tongue (mindadhirukku and a few words more) to get myself from Munnar to Alua and was quite tired. To add to that now I find the platform super-crowded! And not just the ordinary crowd of the usual families with annoying kids wailing and bawling away mind you. No. This is a totally different level I am talking about right now – a whole sea of Orriyan labourers!

08/03/2011, Alua Railway Station, Kerala : 2230 hours

And along came the train. Now, me being a soft natured and well-mannered person, I just could not find it in me to match their brutal expertise in bagging all the right places to squat up inside an already filled train compartment (the floor spaces between doors, seats, upper bunk edges, and even the portable berths that a few of these gentlemen enlightened me about – a saree-like material tied in between a berth and another!)

So here I was, banished to Stand-land, with over 12 hours of travel to endure before reaching my sweet city, all the while cursing Deepesh straight to the burning pits of Hades!

09/03/2011, Arakkonam Railway Station : 1100 hours

I thought I had seen the worst by now. How wrong I was! Bang! The compartment doors open and a hoard of new people get in. “hey aavo aavo andhar aavo” a group of eunuchs! Now, I’m no racist and am a firm believer that it is the human being within who needs to be respected. But believe me, this bunch was CRAZY! They not only demanded money but also went about acquiring the same in a very violent manner.

I was shellshocked because I am I bitch! You see, these people were demanding no less than a 100 bucks from each of us and all I had inside my wallet was a tattered tenner. I believe in plastic money but I doubt if they’d have a accepted my debit card.

Around the time these thoughts played merry-go-round inside my head, one giant of an eunuch winked at me and came closer! Cold sweat broke out of my forehead…

Until this point, I was totally agnostic. But now, I turned theist so fast that… “God please get me safely out if this mess and I’ll transfer to your account/collection box half my salary” “I’ll look at every girl in this world with nothing more than brotherly affection” “I’ll never download pirated software ever again… ”

Shaking with fright the first few words out of my mouth were in Tamil! What a stroke of luck that happened to be for me!!! The eunuch smiled and said it was okay and that they never harmed Tamilians, introduced me to her comrades who soon crowded around us took look at me with cries of “heyyyy mera gaoon ka mera gaoon ka” (belongs to my village)

Now they moved on to the guy sitting next to me. This dude started pleading them with his arms folded in reverence saying he had no money on him. Now he did it quite well and even they might’ve fallen for it, but for one little detail that he either overlooked or couldn’t help. He spoke in Hindi! The giant slapped him hard on his face and banged his head on the seat-wall behind him. Another one spit on his face while the giant stamped on his chest. When he still didn’t budge and started crying, they decided to strip him naked and look for money. Well you can imagine the rest…

In the midst of all this drama, one of them pinches my cheeks and says, “Tamil naattu singam paaru di inga… Nalla bumblimaas maari irukka raasa!” (lionhearted guy from Tamil nadu. You look sooooooo chubby and lolly-polly)

Well was I in any position to disagree?

 

Business panrom, 4 Kaasu paakarom… :-P

Protagonist's Note

Heavy rains all night through made it impossible for me to sleep. An early morning power cut (for no apparent reason) left me with no choice but to give up my desperate attempts at slumber. I woke up and blundered my way through the chores (no light), somehow managed to get my clothes on and carry myself downstairs. One brave strike at my bike’s starter and it fell out of the system. I saw the fates conspire against me and I knew that today was going to be no good. Even so, I carried myself resolutely towards the interview cabin…

SALES INTERVIEWS – DAY 2

(Knock knock)

Interviewer Mind-voice) Wow! A smart knock. So we finally have a candidate who knows how to carry himself…

(Danda nakara dan knock knock, danda nakara dan knock knock….)

Interviewer: (Opens door and finds a guy in sweatpants leaning against his back drumming on the cabin wall) Yes, may I help you?

Candidate (4): Intarview Saaar.

Interviewer: (Sigh) Okay . Come on in. What is your name?

Candidate (4): Sedhees Saar.

Interviewer: Okay Satish, Tell me about yourself.

Candidate (4): Porandhadhu, padichadhu ellam Thiruvannamala Saar. (Born and brought up in Thiruvannamalai)

Interviewer: That’s all? Do tell me more. What did you study? What do you do?

Candidate (4): (Looks as though he was just addressed in Swahili)

Interviewer:Enna lam panna pudikkum Satish ungaluku? (What do you normally do?)

Candidate (4): Vijay na romba pudikkum Saar.

Interviewer: (Amen!) Educational qualification 11th Std. nu potirke, evlo vayasu aagudhu ungalukku? (It says here that you’ve studied up to 11th Std, how old are you?)

Candidate (4): (Looks shifty) 19 Saar.

Interviewer: Huh? But it says here on your CV that you were born in 1989!?

Candidate (4): (Blinks like an Owl – Thiruttu muzhi) Saar enga amma sonnaanga enakku 19 vayasu dhaan aachu nu… (My mother told me that I was only 19 years old)

Interviewer: 2011 – 1989 evlo pa?

Candidate (4): (Blinks like an Owl again)

Interviewer: Thank you Satish. You may go now.

Candidate (4):Saar, enna velaiya irundhaalum supera seiven Saar. (Any job I’ll do really well)

Interviewer:  Okay boss. We’ll get in touch with you once we are through with the shortlisting.

(Mind-voice) :’( :’( :’(

 

Candidate (5): (Knocks) May I come in? (Neatly dressed, complete with tie)

Interviewer: (I see it, but I don’t dare believe it yet) Please be seated. (Mind-voice) Not bad, an MBA fresher!

Tell me about yourself.

Candidate (5): My name is Saravanan. I am from Trichy. Did my schooling and B.Tech there and moved over to Chennai to pursue my MBA.

Interviewer: Why sales?

Candidate (5): Because through sales I can get corporate experience and then move onto Marketing.

Interviewer: What is the kind of salary that you have in mind?

Candidate (5): Around 9 grand per month.

Interviewer: (Perfect!) You do understand that Sales involves a lot of rejection right? What would you do if a customer slams his door on your face?

Candidate (5): I wouldn’t let him do that Sir.

OVERKILL!

Interviewer: (nearly in tears) Welcome to &%^#$* Connections. You are to report here at 9 AM tomorrow for your training. After that you’ll be working out of an office in Tambaram. (Sniff)

Candidate (5): Hummmmm… Is this some sort of franchise channel? Am I not going to be on-role directly with the brand itself?

Interviewer: Yes. There are no on-role sales openings. Everything here is done through a franchise set-up. But your stationary (visiting cards, etc) would of course be branded. (Fingers crossed and praying to God Almighty he doesn’t run away)

Candidate (5): Hmmm. I’ll get in touch with you sometime tomorrow.

Interviewer: (Mind-voice) Isn’t that the interviewer’s line!? :-S

(Literally in tears now)

To be continued...

 

Business panrom, Ambaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaani aagarom… B-)

A group of my friends decided that what they needed was a scheme to multiply their money and hence came up with this new venture of theirs – channel partnership with a leading telecom brand! The rest of us tried to chip in as much help and support as we could manage. We all got together and after many boo-bahs and yawns and coffees, zeroed down on the immediate requirements.

Almost everything had arrived except the furniture which was way past the promised delivery date. Each of us enthusiastically took turns in abusing the company’s salesman (it was a job so well done that he switched his phone off for 2 days at a stretch).

All too soon, the concerned papers were signed, the new office inaugurated, and it was time to start recruiting! The requirement was formally advertised on paper (a small ad in the classifieds column) and placement consultants were notified. We chose to conduct the job interviews at the office of the brand we signed with due to it being centrally located (actually so that we look imposing to the appearing candidates).

And hence, the saga started…

THE NAMES OF CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN ALTERED 

SALES INTERVIEWS – DAY 1

Candidate (1): (Opens door and peeps in)

Interviewer: Yes. Come in. Please sit down. What is your name?

Candidate (1): (Looks at his knees and gives a ‘shy’ smile) Raghav Sir.

Interviewer: (Mind-voice) Name ke first night range ku feel panrane, ivan lam naaliki customer kitta poi enna pesa poraano…  (To answer a kindly put forward question with his name he is all squirmy as if it’s his first night, god knows what he is gonna say to his customers)

OK. Tell me about yourself.

Candidate (1): (Another shy smile) Sir I am Salem Sir. Sir I am MBA Sir. Sir I am sales Sir.

Interviewer: Okay Raghav. We are in the process of short-listing candidates. Give me a call after a couple of days. (Fat chance)

Candidate (2): (Opens door and peeps in) Sir?

Interviewer: Yes. Come in. Please sit down. What is your name?

Candidate (2): I am Ajay Sir.

Interviewer: Well Ajay, your resume says that you are an experienced candidate. Tell me about your previous job experience.

Candidate (2): I am from Madurai. I studied in ******** College. I worked as admin in old company. I earned Rs. 13000 per month.

Interviewer: How did you come to know about this interview?

Candidate (2): I am seeing in Hindu Sir.

Interviewer: Oh great. But I don’t remember us advertising on The Hindu…

Candidate (2): (Blinks like an Owl)

Interviewer: Listen Ajay, if you were an admin earlier, why did you decide to come to a sales interview?

Candidate (2): (Blinks like an Owl)

Interviewer: Did you even know that this was a sales interview?

Candidate (2): (Blinks like an Owl & shakes his head)

Interviewer: Good day to you Ajay. All the best.(Bangs his head on the desk as soon as Ajay leaves)

Candidate (3): (Walks in wearing a short, tight half sleeve shirt with flowery patterns all over it and a tight fit pant with a huge bell-shaped bottom with bathroom slippers)

Interviewer:  (God save me!)

Good afternoon. Is this how you dress for an interview?

Candidate (3): Dress oorula irukku Sir. (Dress is in the city/town where I came from)

The res of the conversation happened in Tamil which I shall describe in English for the benefit of everybody

Interviewer: Where are you from?

Candidate (3): Thvnmlai

Interviewer: Huh?

Candidate (3): Thiruvannamalai.

Interviewer: Listen buddy, why do you speak so fast!? Lets take it slowly, shall we… Tell me more about yourself.

Candidate (3): (Speaks in English for the first time. Delivers the following, apparently well-rehearsed lines) I am Aegan. I am plus 2. I am want Rs. 20,000 Salary.

Interviewer: (Zoooooggggg… Out Cold! :-S)

Many more days to go...

 

Maan Vizhi Mayakkathil – மான் விழி மயக்கத்தில்

My first attempt at lyric-writing! Not having studied the language, it might be a bit rough around the edges. All the same, it’s close to my heart as it triggered my interest in poetry…

This was written for a friend of mine who asked me to write something on solitude and unspoken love…This being an unfamiliar territory for me, I had to exercise quite a bit of my imagination to come up with this. Hope the reader likes it!

 

Maan Vizhi Mayakkathil Kaadhalai Paarkave

En Vizhi Vaadudhe Thedudhe Theiyudhe

Kangalil Kaayamum, Nenjile Baaramum,

Udhirangal Kasiyave, Theipirai Thudangudhe

Vidhaithaai En Ulle Kuruththaai Kaadhal

Unakke Yen Jeevan Puriyaadho…

Iravellam Paniyaaga Naan Vaazhvadhen, Unai Kandu Naan Meendum Neeraagave

Venmegam Madhiyodu Uravaadudhe, Un Swaasam Yenai Theenda Varam Ketkiren

Or Paarvaiyil Undhan Kaadhal Sonnaaiyo Un Mounangal Puriyaamal Manam Vaadudhe

Vaaraadha Vaarthaikku Vazhipaarkireno Orey Seidhi Dhinam Pozhudhum Ketkindradhe

Uyire….

Yen Thotaththin Poovellam Karugudhe, Neeyillaa Nerangal Sumaiyaanadhe

Yen Jeevanin Dheepam Anaindhaadudhe, Nodipozhudhum Yendhan Uyri Pogudhe

Moondrezhuththum Innaal Vizhaa Kaanumo Yen Vaazhvin Kolangal Niramkollave

Theeraadha Thayakkangal Thulai Kaanumo Yen Kaadhal Naan Unnidam Koorave

Uyire….

 

 

மான் விழி மயக்கத்தில் காதலை பார்க்கவே

என் விழி வாடுதே தேடுதே தேயுதே

கண்களில் காயமும் நெஞ்சிலே பாரமும்

உதிரங்கள் கசியவே தேய்பிறை துடன்குதே

விதைத்தாய் என் உள்ளே குருத்தாய் காதல்

உனக்கே யேன் ஜீவன் புரியாதோ

இரவெல்லாம் பணியாக நான் வாழ்வதேன் உனை கண்டு நான் மீண்டும் நீராகவே

வெண்மேகம் மதியோடு உறவாடுதே உன் சுவாசம் யேனை தீண்ட வரம் கேட்கிறேன்

ஓர் பார்வையில் உந்தன் காதல் சொன்னாயோ உன் மௌனங்கள் புரியாமல் மனம் வாடுதே

வாராத வார்த்தைக்கு வழிபார்கிறேனோ ஒரே செய்தி தினம் பொழுதும் கேட்கின்றதே

உயிரே

யேன் தோட்டத்தின் பூவெல்லாம் கருகுதே நீயில்லா நேரங்கள் சுமையானதே

யேன் ஜீவனின் தீபம் அணைந்தாடுதே நொடிப்பொழுதும் எந்தன் உயிர் போகுதே

மூன்றெழுத்தும் இந்நாள் விழா காணுமோ யேன் வாழ்வின் கோலங்கள் நிரம்கொல்லவே

தீராத தயக்கங்கள் துளை காணுமோ யேன் காதல் நான் உன்னிடம் கூறவே

உயிரே

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

The movie starts off with Captain Jack Sparrow traveling to London to confront an impostor who has been recruiting a crew in the name of Captain Jack Sparrow to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. After rescuing his friend Joshamee Gibbs, Sparrow learns that the British Navy is after the Fountain as well headed by his old rival Captain Hector Barbossa (now a one-legged man) who it transpires has lost Jack’s old ship Black Pearl.

Soon, Jack finds out that the impostor is none other than his old flame Angelica who turns out to be the daughter of the much feared Blackbeard. Blackbeard it transpires possesses weird powers and practices voodoo magic.

Captain Jack Sparrow finds it hard to decide who is more dangerous – Blackbeard or Angelica!

While the movie does manage to weave in the ‘sense of adventure’ for its audience, the director dilutes it at some places where the romance between Philip Swift (a captive missionary) and Syrena (a captured mermaid) overloads on mush! The visual effects part leaves a lot to be desired for given the width of scope in the movie. Blackbeard succeeds in inducing the fear factor while Captain Jack Sparrow as always, never fails to entertain with his witty retorts and inimitable style. The music deserves a special mention for noticeably enhancing the experience. The mermaid song especially creates a brilliant mood which is both divine and sinister!

Pirates of the Caribbean has always held a place in my fav-flick-list because of the ever fabulous score and Johnny Depp himself! Even though ‘On Stranger Tides’ may lack luster when compared to its much celebrated prequels, it still doesn’t fail to entertain and is an ideal pick if you like fantasy & adventure.

Verdict: On Stranger Tides – A two-man show; Johnny Depp & Hans Zimmer! 

 

You could’ve just asked you know! :-/

Girl: Honey, missing something?

Guy – TAKE 1: Yep! My pair of iPod earphones. Remember using them yesterday before turning in. Dunno where I put… CLICK!

Guy – TAKE 2: Nope! Y? CLICK!

Guy – TAKE 3: Oh yes! U…

Guy – TAKE 4: Oh yes! U…

Guy – TAKE 5: Oh yes! U…

Girl (for Takes 3, 4 & 5): Awwwww… My baby! Are you doing fine? Maybe you should invite your friends over so that you don’t get too bored…

Guy – TAKE 3: Oh yeah, I already did! We had beer, watched some DVDs and all. Having a lot of fun after a long time you know. Good thing I… Pause…

Guy – TAKE 4: Of course not! (friend from in the background “Dude! Pass me da *&^%&* remote will ya?) Pause…

Girl (for Takes 3 & 4): You don’t love me anymore…

Guy – TAKE 3: Why, what’s wrong?

Girl: You said you are having so much fun after a long time! So you are not having fun when I am around? Anyways, forget it! CLICK!

Guy – TAKE 4: What rubbish! Of course I love you baby.. What made you think so?

Girl: What did have to lie to me for? It’s perfectly alright if you want to get together and have fun with your friends. What’s there to hide? Unless you are doing something wrong… Anyways, Forget it! CLICK!

Guy – TAKE 5: Yes I did. Just one guy.. Poor thing. He had some problem with his girlfriend.So I thought it best not to leave him alone…

Girl (for TAKE 5): Awwwwww! Poor guy. Some girls are so unreasonable… Anyways, so sweet of you to help him out and be with him! That is why I like you so much. You are soooo sensitive! Honeyyyy, you still haven’t wished me today!!

Guy: Ohhh… hehehe… I was jussstt ummm about to wish you dear… Errmmmm… Ahem… Happy Birthday? (:-/)

CLICK!

Guy (After 15 solid minutes of wracking his brains): Shit!! SHIT!!! It’s the anniversary of our first date!!!!

Tries calling her back.

The ****** number you are trying to reach is currently not reachable. Please try again after sometime.

Guy: GLOOOOOOM! Brooding brooding brooding moping moaning brooding….

I couldn’t even watch TV in peace this year! thank God I don’t have a girlfriend…

 

Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya – Musical Bliss!!

 

Have been wanting to write about this one for quite sometime but then it kept missing it. Anyways, better late than never, so here goes:

A stunner of an album composed in Tamil by Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman for the movie Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya. The album is centered on a two people who are in love and fall apart later.

There are a total of seven songs from different genres of music, the album is pure magic and totally enchants the listener. The standout in the set of songs would be a Malayalam rock number sung by singer/composer Alphonse. The special feature of this song is the employment of Alphonse (A Malayalam singer/composer) as singer. All that I had ever heard him singing was melody and now suddenly he comes out all screamy and passionate with this slow rock number! Just one word: REVELATION!

The songs in this album outscored all competition received critical acclaim equal to one of A.R.Rahman’s previously pampered works Alaipayuthe. And that’s not even getting started on the background score, but that would require a separate review!

One little concern for listeners is that this album, like all of A.R.Rahman’s works, sort of grows on you and might not be liked immediately.

Give it a chance and believe me, you will not regret it!

 

Apple IPOD Nano – Sleek, Smooth & Sexy

Is Apple Nano any good?

No.

It is much more than good!

There may be one or two players around that might boast of better audio quality but nothing approaches Apple’s ease of use, quality, style and now, for the first time, value for money. That’s right; not only is the Nano a superb player but it is also competitively priced.

Nano-specifications

The new nano is better engineered than the original nano and is MUCH more capable in terms of longevity. It feels extremely sturdy too. Push the colour screen firmly and there is no evidence of discolouration or pressure points at all. The size and weight of this model remain the same as its predecessor – 90 x 40 x 6.5mm & 42g respectively. While the screen size is also retained (1.5inch/38mm diagonally), the screen brightness has been increased by 40 percent which makes reading easier outdoors.

Upgrades:

Apple has managed an impressive increase in battery life from 14 hrs to 24 hrs. A larger and easier-to-operate Lock slider and a dished Enter button in the centre of the click wheel add to the user-friendliness of this model.
An all new search function that makes browsing through your music by name. Those of us with large libraries will find this feature extremely handy.

Something to grumble about. Maybe?

Even though it bears the tried-and-tested click-wheel navigation system which is of course the best among everything I’ve used so far, it does have its disadvantages – you have to use the hold switch more often than you do with players that don’t have touch sensitive controls in order to avoid turning the volume up and down inadvertently – but its ease of use easily outweighs this relatively small inconvenience.

 

Senheisser HD 280 PRO – Comfort does matter!

One job that this pair of headphones excels at is blocking the ambience. Put them on and you can hardly hear a thing from around you! At the same time, they do not compromise on the user’s comfort. I have practically used them for hours together with no strain on my ears at all thanks to their amazingly soft and cushioned ear pads.

However one aspect that I found thoroughly unforgivable is the base response. The HD 280 Pro, while sounding fantastic and close to natural in the mid & upper-mid range, plays weak base. Of course, I use an equalizer to balance things while working, but it would have been nicer with good base response.