varnanai varalaru - II

The question came up in a previous blog regarding descriptive songs of the male variety. Agreed, not too many. Some that I could remember. Some direct and some not so.

style-u style-u thaan super style-u thaan

thekku maram udalai thanthathu in the song maan allavo nadayai thanthathu

karuppu thaan enakku pidicha

vaan poley vannam kondu vandhaay gopalane

antha vaanath pola

mathurai veeran thaane (paravai muniamma) and koduva meesai



I am sure there are more Rajini/Vijaykanth/Kamal songs that I can't think of now.

cine muni followup

last postil siriya pizhai - kandu pidiyungal please

latest news: Abi B doing Veeru's role in the new Sholay. Father pitted against son!

Cine Muni

Prashant the evergreen bachelor, is finally tying to knot, under the auspices of the hon. CM of TN. Ash is supposed to attend.

Rajini's Shivaji apparently has a role for a son-in-law. Wonder if real-life s-i-l will get a chance? He apparently reco'd kannada flick Jogi to s-i-l. The movie seems to be creating all kinds of rumors as usual. Shrikant was rumored to be in. Ash might be in it. ARR is definitely in it.

Thankar Bachan, finally removed the foot from his mouth, wonder who is next? Strike success

Namitha plans to really "hog" the screen next. Double roles with Arjun in Markandeya. Scary!

Saadha with Ajit in AVM's production.

Big B might finally do a tamil flick. His khakee is being remade in Tamil with Prashant.

The latest entrant in singing for tamil films is Surya. He plans to do one for his Chennayil oru mazhail kaalam. Aside, that title evokes wonderful nostalgia.

Oru Naal oru kanavu bombs, though the rumor floating around is a sure award for soon-to-be-married Bhava for her rendition of Katril varum geethame...

Gab-tonne is planning to produce his own movies. (Vera vazhi?) It is going to be used to spread his political thoughts. Well, at least no more of his movies on Sun TV :-) But he is really going to be a Gab-tonne, That is a scary prospect. And if he (God forbid) becomes the CM, watching those movies might become a necessary condition to live in TN! :-P

munthiri thoppu (aka grapevine)

Looks like a baby boom is going on in kollywood. Maddy had a son recently. Now Devayani is expecting (which means kolangal is being wrapped up). There was another murmur about Rajini's eldest born. Ajit and Shalini are left out of the loop here? :-D

Sneha is supposedly getting married to a gult hero (probably one she is currently working with?). Surya and Jo not getting married soon, so they say. Ms. Muzhi's market has climbed up a little now. She is doing Shock in telugu.

SJS is fast attaining notoriety in Chennai. :-) Foot in mouth disease going around kbakkam. One good example, ThankarBachan. Meera Jasmine is being rumored to be cuddly with (oh-so-cute) Prithiviraj. What happened to Lohita dahling? And Chimp is worried about having no girlfriend ;-) I am sure the girls are sighing with relief :-P

Naane kadavul is on hold for now. Ajith is probably still trying to figure out what struck his boat. :-)

And there is a kozhayadi chandai going on for the prime role of Sivaji's heroine. Trisha amidst that.

Pazham

Can you identify this fruit?


UPDATE: This was a red seedless grape, or should I say, a few redless grapes. Lack of growing space did this to them. Imagine overpopulated India in a few decades. Scary!

Relatively speaking ;-)

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Inspired by Sathya, if you can call it inspiration ;-P

Porutham

pennai parthaargal
perazhagai potrinaargal
paada sonnaargal
naaL kurikka sonnaargal
thirumanam
orumanam aakkavillai
mugathil theriyumo
agathin azhagu?


An older one here

Melvin Durai

I have been reading this guy's columns for a few years now. And he has produced some really funny ones. Check out his website here. Some of the ones I have enjoyed recently:

AIRPORT SECURITY: DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY

language barriers - had me literally ROTFL!

Couch potato. or not!

Varnanai varalaaru

Today morning I woke up with a song on my mind. Kattodu kuzhal aada aada, what a beautiful melodious song. That started me thinking on songs that describe a girl/woman and how things have progressed(?) over the decades. These were some of the songs that came to my mind.

kattodu kuzhal aada aada
kann endra meen aada aada

azhage azhagu devathai
aayiram paavalar ezhuthum oviyam

vaadi en kappa kizhange

maanin iru kangal konda maanae maanae
thaenin suvaik kannam konda thaenae thaenae

Ooa PARTY nalla PARTYdhaan
oa BEAUTYyinnaa BEAUTYdhaan
pinnazhagaik kaattich chinnap paiyangalai vaatti
minnalidai aatti varum manjal nilaa nenjaik killaadhoa

Telephone mani pol siripaval ivala

inthaadi kappa kizhange


And in kannum kannum nokia - there are weird metaphors and similes. koLLai koLLum mafia, capuccino coffee, apple laptop penney.

What next?

meendum oru kaathal kathai

kathiravanukku kaathali mel kobam
bhoomi pen, vaadi nirkiraal
megangaL adiyaatkaL
kaathulukku thadai vithikkinranar
kaathalan anullaai kothikkiraan
naatkal sella, kobamum
thanigirathu,
megangaLai virattugiraaN
oduginranar, mutti mothi
karaikinranar
bhoomi kulirgiraaL,
anantha mazhaiyil nanaigiraaL
adutha sandai varummattum

'Air Apparent

Most Indians are blessed with luxuriant black hair. At least the ones who have hair ;-) So what is this new fascination with dyeing them a weird washed-out shade of brown, I don't understand! Right from movie peeps to kids on the street, they are sporting brown highlights in their hair. Being mod and up-to-date seems to have taken a whole new meaning. People look better in what suits them, than what suits someone else. Brown hair does not suit brown people. It makes them look mousy, dowdy and washed out. I am not even going to talk about blonde looks.

It not only makes them look shabby, it spoils their hair too. These chemicals are quite harsh for the hair and over long term use, can make it really dry and coarse. Rediscover the magic of black, glossy hair.

Growing up, we were always subjected to 1 bottle of coconut oil every day. The oil not only fried your hair in the unforgiving chennai sun, it also helped add some color to your pillows and walls and sofas. People got out of that only to get here!

Most people do not use a good conditioner after a shampoo. Unless you have really, really oily hair, a mild to good conditioner is a must. And the shampoo leaves a cruddy deposit that robs the shine out of the locks. It is always good to use 2 different shampoos, one preferably to remove such deposits. A weekly deep conditioning treatment is beneficial. The best treatment can be found at home. Eggs, yogurt, black mehndi (dries up hair if used by itself, mix with an egg), coconut or gingelly oil are all good weekly treatments.

Shampoo should not be used directly on the scalp, mix it thoroughly with some warm water and apply the suds to the scalp. Leaves less deposit. Hair dryers and curlers and iron should be used as little as possible.

In case you are wondering about the title, my little one has a slight cockney in her tongue. She asks me for 'elp to brush her 'air.

meendum oor vambu

Latest news circulating is that Surya and Jo are getting married next month (Thatstamil.com. Puli varuthu, puli varuthu kathai thaan po! And that was his sister next to him during FF awards function. So chances are she might not act with Kamal in VV. Could go to Nayanthara. Incidentally, she is doing an "item" number for Vijay's Sivakasi.

Saw Velli Nakshathiram(Mal) yesterday. Good (Horror!?) movie with pathetic special effects :-) Funny rather than scary! But Prithviraj is definitely drool worthy. He dances quite well. The little girl is cho chweet!

The chimp with the beard looks scary, too much like dad.

Postage stamps on MSS and Gemini are set to be released soon!

Bombay Dreams will be touring this year, plan to catch it!

Can someone tell me why Anniyan is the number 1 movie right now?!!!! And that Sun TV comperer said Sadaa and azhagu in the same sentence :-D

Ajith is a never say never die man! He has signed AVM's next venture!

Yoga

It has been more than a year that I have regularly been practising yoga. I have been exposed to it on and off all through my life. But only recently, have I started doing it in earnest. Towards the end of the day, it helps me unwind. It builds flexibility and posture.

It has become the latest fad to do this as an exercise. This article on yahoo lists some benefits.

This last month or so, I haven't been at it as regularly as I want to and this is when I really felt the advantages of doing it. My joints tell the tale. I could jump, run and climb and do my araimandi with no problems while practising my asanas regularly.

My favorite kind is the power yoga - intense, advanced asanas, which is a low-impact aerobic activity. Builds flexibility and stability. Needless to say, shavasana is my favorite ;-), but I do like my animal and bird asanas.

I know this yoga guru who is a centenarian, fit as a 40 year old, active and still teaching the art. A proof of the benefits of life-long yogasanas. This is one exercise, good for the body and mind, with no age restrictions or fitness levels. If at first, you can't reach down even to your knee level, keep at it with patience, eventually you will be able to place your palms on the ground, and the journey would have done you a whole lot of good!

I tried teaching yoga at a kids camp recently and it was fun. The children enjoyed trying out various poses, the breathing and relaxing. In fact, it is a good habit to cultivate from childhood. My 2+ year old also loves to do it with me :-)

So if you haven't ventured there yet, go for a spin(al twist).

Translation help needed

Tamil pulavars and pandits, please help. Sometime back I learnt Varanam aayiram as a dance. But I am not satisfied with the way it is being depicted. I found this site which gave an approximate translation. But this is not enough for choreo purposes. I need help with certain words. Any help is highly appreciated.

I love this dance. I feel it needs to be fully understood before one can express what it conveys.

vAraNam Ayiram SUzha valam Seidu
accompanied by elephants in a procession

nAraNan nambi naDakkinRAn enRedir
The lord walks towards/in front of me

pUraNa poRkuDam vaittup
They carry brimming porkudam

puRam e~ngum tOraNam nATTak kanAk kaNDEN tOzhi nAn
toranams being put up all around - I dreamt thus, my friend



nALai vaduvai maNam enRu nAL iTTu
What exactly is vaduvai? - marriage? or girl/groom?

pALai kamugu pariSuDaip pandaR kIzh
under a paakku mara panthal
paalai ?
parisudai ?

kOLari mAdhavan gOvindan enbAn Or
majestic as a lion - kolari

kALai pugudak kanAk kaNDEn tOzhi! nAn
kalai ? - young man?


indiran uLLiTTa dEvar kuzhAm ellAm
indira and devars

vandu irundu ennai magaL pESi mandirittu
magal? as in daughter?

mandirak kODi uDutti maNa mAlai
what does mandira kodi mean? newly blessed costume or something?

antari SUTTak kanAk kaNDEn tOzhi! nAn
durga places the garland on me


kadiroLi dIpam kalaSam uDan Endi
bright lamps and kalasam bearing

SaDiriLa ma~ngaiyar tAm vandu edir koLLa
dancing maids welcome me

mathuraiyAr mannan aDi nilai toTTu e~ngum
adi nilai tottu is explained as not removing his sandals?

adirap pugudak kanAk kaNDEn tozhi! nAn
earth quakes as he walks in


ku~nkumam appi kuLir Sandam maTTittu
why kunkumam appi? do they rub kunkumam all over and not just on the forehead?

ma~ngala vIdi valam Seidu maNa nIr

a~ngu avanODum uDan SenRu a~ngu Anai mEl

ma~njanam ATTak kanAk kaNDEn tOzhi! nAn
manjanam aatta? spraying scented water or something?

kodambakkam pakkam

thatstamil.com has an article on Sruti Kamalhassan getting into modeling. She sure looks tall enough for that. Soundarya Rajinikanth is into special effects (Chandramuzhi was her work). Talking about Chandramuzhi's s.e., I think they went a bit far when they did kungfu style wired fight sequences. And Prabhu's wig was almost natural looking. I guess a lot of that movie's budget must have gone to making the main men look young ;-)

Now look at these 2 (super) daughters. Soundarya looks very pretty (lakshanam as we say), Sruti though cute, isn't a beauty.

tamilcinema.com has a review of Sathayaraj's Englishkaran. That man is the undisputed master of lolluvism. Should be a good entertainer.

Daas is apparently a hit in the making. Remake Ravi is going to renamed Raasiyaana Ravi ;-)

Kiran's thoppai seems to have jumped (koodu vittu koodu). Namitha sports it these days.

And looks like Surya is sporting a wig these days, not a bad one. I heard he had to shave his head for a recent movie.

Seems to be mottai season in Kollywood, with Sarath giving company.

oor vambu - vera enna, adds masala to the morning cuppa.

English as she is spoke

I was reading Narayanan sir's blog on Spoken English. And that started me off on this subject.

First of all, I am not an expert. But I am willing to learn. I have always been fascinated by the written word. Provided, they make sense. Majority of the people who speak English (that includes me) make very common mistakes when they do so. My problem is that I think faster than I speak and end up stuttering and tripping up. I can control better when I write. We can always check and re-check what we have written and correct ourselves.

English, we don't realize this, has many dialects. There is Americanese (within which we have Bostonese, hickish, Texan, etc), Hinglish, Thanglish/Tamlish, and countless others. This language has withstood the ravages of time because of its ability to adapt. How many of us know that English evolved from old German! The dictionaries are constantly being updated with new and borrowed words. That by itself makes this language a great one.

When writing, certain gaffes seem to be native to the country it belongs to. How many Tamilians use "can" and "able" in the same sentence? I don't think I have heard this from any other community. Most Hinglish speakers, add that ubiquitous "no" to turn a statement into a question. And they also add a rhyme to words, like chai-wai, etc. I knew a Punjabi girl who visited my house, saw the big stuffed toy lion in the corner, and said, wow, what a big loin, yaar!

To truly globalize what you write, it is important to get rid of such regional errors. The best way to do that, is to read, read and some more. The more widely read we are, the better we are able to write. I look at what I wrote a few years back and can plainly see that if I had to rewrite that now, I probably can do a better job. My problem is, I don't like to rewrite - too lazy :-)

Call me a snob, but I cannot read something if it is poorly formed. I am always picking on technical docs that I have to read. I can't help it, they call out to me ;-) But I have learnt to not be too vocal about them though.

So, if you find a bug in this blog, do let me know ;-)

HP - What to expect now?

Now that we have 3 years for the next and final book, the best thing to do is to chew on what we know so far and lay forth possibilities and assumptions. If you have not read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood prince and plan on doing so, stop right here. If not, continue reading.

The chapter on Spinner's End is of special significance. That is the reason for what happens in the last few chapters. Was Snape caught in the snare by Narcissa (name is a clue?) and Bellatrix? Or did he really know what it was all about? Or was he using legilimency to go along with them? And why was wormtail living with him? Assuming he went along with the flow and promised to help Malfoy, did he then recount the whole deal to Dumby? That makes sense coz Dumby believed in him strongly. And it doesn't make sense that he would trust someone so much only to be let down.

And when Hagrid says he overheard Snape and Dumby, it was probably Dumby wanting Snape to go through with it and Snape not wanting to do it. So chances are Dumby really died, fully knowing what was going on, or he pretended to die.

We don't know what he drank in the cave. When he came back, he wanted to see Snape. May be he knew what was going on. And when Snape used the unforgivable curse on him, did he really mean it. Because, remember in The Order..., Bellatrix tells Harry that the curse can work only if you mean it. So, what if Snape didn't mean it. He still did his share for the Unbreakable Vow, but Dumby somehow acted dead (remember the draught of the living death) and why would he do that weird acrobatics before falling down. And how come Fawkes didn't come to save him?

Fawkes' lament is supposed to heal, so who does it work on? What happened to Fenrir Greyback at the end? When Dumby is laid out, and the body catches fire, Harry thinks he saw a phoenix shape fly away. Significant, may be?

But Dumby's picture is on the wall. Does that mean he is dead? or he is no longer the principal?

RAB is probably Regulus Black, if so then the locket at Grimmault Place is the real one? Remember when they cleaned the place, they found a locket that they could not open.

The DADA post is cursed by Voldemort. What is the significance? Could Hogwarts be the place for the final climax? Harry is heading back to Godric's Hollow? Could there be a horcrux there? Some say Harry might have a horcrux in his scar. Which makes a bit of sense, the connection between the two being a side-effect.

Too many questions. We are going to have hundreds of theories, all worth reading.
So, time for a second reading and then back to square one, just to make sure I haven't missed any clues.

Puthumai Penn

She was always on the forefront of the groups that fought for women's liberation. She was very vocal about wanting women to be frontliners. She helped bring women forward, be it a ration queue or bus queue or even a cinema queue. The day came when she found a life mate. Now she dances to the whims and fancies of her husband and mother-in-law, always a step behind them.